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Tuesday 21 October 2014

Podracing revisited

For a while now I've been trying to hunt down my old Star Wars Podracer Micro Machines but to no avail. I thought they were somewhere at my parents' house, but I've recently been coming to terms with the idea that they were lost forever and I'd never get to  play any podracing games with them again.

But then, out of the blue, my parents presented me with an additional and unexpected birthday present last weekend. Somehow, against all odds, my father had managed to source unopened packs of all the podracers I used to have. Needless to say I was blown away by the thought and effort that went into this gift! 

8 podracers ready to be ripped from their packaging and put through their paces!


So now I can turn my attention to playing podracing again! I was going to use some rules I picked up at least 10 years ago at SALUTE, but looking at them again I'm not too sure. Instead, I'm looking at the Machinas rules from Two Hour Wargames. Although intended for post-apocalypse death races, I think they could be adjusted for podracing with a little effort. So I set about drafting these modifications and have come up with the following areas of change:

Vehicle Types:

The range of vehicles in Machinas obviously doesn't include podracers! So I've started off by replacing this with three categories of racer: Light, Medium and Heavy. Each has different modifiers during the race and can carry a different weight of modifications. 

Upgrades:

Again, most of what is needed for the post-apocalyptic wasteland doesn't apply to Star Wars, so I have done away with the decks as they stand and started to work on some setting-specific lists of upgrades to choose from instead. 

Heat and Boosting:

Generally the rules for Machinas are good as they stand, but I wanted to add something to reflect heat management and the key decision about when to boost the Podracer. I also think this will add an extra layer of decision making to the game, which I would enjoy. 

At the moment, my draft version of the rules requires the player to decide the extent of the boost applied that turn and deal with any repercussions and control issues. Then, at the end of the turn, a check is made for heat damage and the pods can reduce their heat levels. 

Rules are also included for determining how the Non-Player racers apply boost during a turn. This section was essential for retaining the solo play capability of the rules and for allowing multiple players to compete against game controlled racers.

Course and Events:

The final major change is in the courses. The tracks cover a range of terrain and each section of the course can have a particular hazard associated with it that needs to be negotiated when the pack moves into it. In addition, different environments have different random events to cover their unique dangers. 



So that's as far as I have got right now. I've drafted a working document, but just need the chance to play a few games and see how it works out. I think the combination of extra decision making and theme will make this an interesting variant for Machinas, even if I do say so myself! More news will follow after testing and I'll make a PDF version available for anyone who is interested. 

Monday 20 October 2014

Zomtober 2014 (Week 3)

Gosh, a bit of a rush last week. My birthday was on Friday and dadhood was keeping me busy and reducing my sleep, so painting drifted down my priority list. Still, by Sunday I was mostly finished except for bases, just no time to post, so I didn't do too bad. On the other hand, my work was rather rushed in the end.



Gangers, looking for trouble


Femme fatale zombie hunter and a burglar!

For the good guys, the forces of law and order.

Humm. Not so happy with any of these as I have photographed them, but the plan was just to get them done, which I did. So that's something.

Here is my updated list:


Scenario
Models
Quant
Done?
1,2
Hospital Staff
6
Yes
1,2
Hospital Security
2
Yes
1,2
Hospital Patients
3
Yes
1,2
Print and laminate 3rd Floor map
n/a
Yes
3
Police Officers
Min 2
Yes (6!)
3
Gangers
4
Yes
3
Print and laminate Underground level 1
n/a
Yes
4
Police officer (for elevator surprise)
1
Yes
5
SWAT with SMG
4

7
Print and laminate rest of hospital
n/a
Yes
7
SWAT with SMG (reinforcements)
6

8,9
Reporter and cameraman
2

10,11
Gangers
6
n/a
12
Thief
1
Yes
13,14
Firemen
4

n/a
Suzie: Zombie hunter
1
Yes





Extras



Zombies
Loads


Army
8+


Riot Police
8+


Convert cars to police cars
2



When I look at it like this I am quite happy. I have removed the 6 gangers listed later as I have figures already for them. So this week's focus will be on SWAT and firemen by the look of things!

Sunday 12 October 2014

Zomtober (Week 2) Game report

As an added bonus this week, I was able to play a game with the figures I painted. I had tasted the first two scenarios from the Hospital 911 book and concluded that they would be more fun combined into one. It would make more sense for my campaign and I was also tired of getting killed by the zombie in scenario 1. Seriously, if you want to experience what it is like to wake up in a Hospital room wearing nothing but a gown and then discover that your best mate has been turned into a zombie, then you have to play this! It is also a timely reminder that your average unarmed Joe really stands little chance against one of the undead!

Anyway, like I said, I combined the first two scenarios. I controlled the patient in the room and the medic on reception, but used different activation dice for each until they came into contact. The patient had to get out of there pronto, while the medic had to investigate what was going on, call security and ensure any other visitors were okay.

Here's how it went:



Wow, that was pretty awesome to play. There are a lot of factors introduced in Hospital 911 which add to the game. The special NPC movement meant I was never sure what the visitors would do and the delay on the lift added tension as it was bringing the only guy with a gun. Although in typical ATZ fashion that didn't help him too much...

It could really have gone a number of ways. The patient was lucky to knock the zombie down and get out of the room. A new rule slows patient movement down unless they can get help, so it was a good job the medic got there okay. Only one of the potential contacts turned into anything (the three visitors), which was just as well because, if the hallway had got really bogged down with civilians, it could have been a bloodbath, with the single zombie spreading its infection.

And to top it all off, when the security guy died, I ended up with my a campaign group consisting of unarmed civilians of limited skill, one of which is already badly hurt enough to have been in hospital. To be honest it'll be interesting to see what happens to them next. But first I have some other scenarios to play.

Zomtober 2014 (Week 2)

Well, here we are at the end of Week 2 of Zomtober 2014 and I am happy to say I have met my initial goal!

I have now painted staff, patients and security for the hospital, as well as going on a surprise printing and lamination spree to complete the floor plans for the whole building!

Here's the evidence! First up the figures:

Hospital Staff

Patients and Security Staff

All of my first Zomtober effort

And here are the floor plans:



Six floors of hell!


So now I am all set to get my ATZ campaign up and running. Exciting times indeed! And all thanks to Zomtober!

It has also got me thinking about making my own floor plans for exploring other buildings. I've run though the first couple of Hospital 911 scenarios already ('unofficially' as it were, not for the campaign) and they work really well in converting ATZ to more of a 'boardgame'. There is a lot to be said about being able to run a small game with minimal set up and certainly without needing to lay out a whole city section!

Finally, here is my table, recording my progress! Hope everyone else is having fun with Zomtober too!

[UPDATE: Here is the game I played with some of the figures I painted this week]



Scenario
Models
Quant
Done?
1,2
Hospital Staff
6
Yes
1,2
Hospital Security
2
Yes
1,2
Hospital Patients
3
Yes
1,2
Print and laminate 3rd Floor map
n/a
Yes
3
Police Officers
Min 2

3
Gangers
6(?)

3
Print and laminate Underground level 1
n/a
Yes
4
Police officer (for elevator surprise)
1

5
SWAT with SMG
4

7
Print and laminate rest of hospital
n/a
Yes
7
SWAT with SMG (reinforcements)
6

8,9
Reporter and cameraman
2

10,11
Gangers
6

12
Thief
1

13,14
Firemen
4

n/a
Suzie: Zombie hunter
1






Extras



Zombies
Loads


Army
8+


Riot Police
8+


Convert cars to police cars
2