Planned Changes

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MoonstoneSpider
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Planned Changes

Post by MoonstoneSpider » Thu Dec 08, 2005 1:25 am

I thought people might be interested in seeing how I plan on changing things between the playtest and final editions. These are changes based on playtests so far.

Changes marked with an asterisk are completed in the new documents.

* Rules Change: Mecha arms no longer matter. This was annoying to keep track of in playtests, and also unfairly penalized characters who's concept was "A big wheeled Tank" unless they're tank had arms, which was stupid looking.

*This means Hindu mecha need a new advantage instead of being able to carry more weapons without the hard-mount penalty. I'm leaning to AS on melee combat tests.

And the Prehensile Tail needs a new purpose too.

*Recolor each section to be different. Right now section 1 is Royal Purple, section 2 is Cyan, and section 3 is probably going to be Orange.

A much, much better index. This will have to wait until everything else is done.

*A "Legendary Enemies" section to mirror the legendary Guerillas section, showcasing some of the most evil Dreadful Tide enemies.

*I stupidly failed to create any enemies with infantry skills. The Peaceforcers will now have shotguns, rifles, and body armor and some of the Dreadful Tide will get Power Armor and Machine Guns or Howlers.

*If I'm going to keep the existing cover I'll need an excuse for the starships on the top, since the game specifically states that most guerillas will never even see a starship and only one has ever been involved in combat. I thinking I'll add an entry for a Dreadful Tide dropship/troop carrier.

I noticed that there's really no ordinary, everyday missiles in this game. The Black Raptor is pitifully weak (Intentionally), and every other missile has some special power be it multiple attacks, area explosions, or the Satan's Breath "Kill Everything in a Line." I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not. I may want to add at least one ordinary missile.

*I've changed how iniative works. Now players don't actually take turns, they simply roll. If attacks need to be resolved in a certain order, the attack with fewer dice goes first. Thus there's an advantage to firing less accurate, inferior attacks. Also spending a load of combat pool dodging or otherwise blocking attacks means you'll also have to wait to actually fire your gun again. This mixes up turns and tends to be more fun.

Seeing how well Curris' character came out, I've decided to colorize all the artwork. I'll post some of the new bits in the other forums as they come up.

I'm contemplating removing the entire brace/weight/IS/mecha size mechanic from the game. I'm not sure the extra crunch really adds anything to the game. However if I remove such a rules-heavy section I need something to make up for it with.

Possibly I need some short stories toi help establish the world, beyond the newsclips intro. But I'm afraid I might make the metaplot too concrete. One of the main ideas behind Dreadful Tide is that the players get to determine the story, I have tried to produce loads of rumors (From the Cielos Nova to Akula building Starships to Bone Queen languishing in some prison) but no concrete facts so that players can feel like they can really affect the world without being constrained by the metaplot.

Curris
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Re: Planned Changes

Post by Curris » Thu Dec 08, 2005 3:27 am

I haven't built my character yet. It's on the way though. I was going to choose an image and color it myself as well. It kinda fits the theme, that each pilot customizes their mech to merge better, so everyone colors their own. It has appeal.

Anyway, Shurijo was the one who has colored his and submitted already.

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Shurijo
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Re: Planned Changes

Post by Shurijo » Thu Dec 08, 2005 5:59 am

I think Moonspider was speaking of coloring the sections of the book rather than the mechas themselves. (I think, I don't remember seeing the mechas labeled in sections.)

You could also add character bios to the sample NPCs instead of short stories.

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