Search found 1392 matches

by Tyrel Lohr
Sat Jun 17, 2017 2:13 am
Forum: Hotlabs
Topic: Your Wishlist for Companion and First Contact?
Replies: 62
Views: 37587

Re: Your Wishlist for Companion and First Contact?

I'm in the process of kickstarting (in the metaphorical rather than modern literal sense) a revised version of 2E with Galaxies, and once that is complete we can push out the update to 2E customers and then proceed with releasing the rest of the updated content. It's not optimal, but it's pretty muc...
by Tyrel Lohr
Sat Jun 17, 2017 2:06 am
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Tackling the 4X Experience
Replies: 9
Views: 6457

Re: Tackling the 4X Experience

As an update, tomorrow I'll be getting us caught up and go over some more of the concepts for where Galaxies might be able to go based on the testing of the last few months. This week simply wasn't conducive to much creative output, which seems to be the larger problem with VBAM's recent development...
by Tyrel Lohr
Fri Jun 16, 2017 2:19 pm
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Rebirth: Combat Demo
Replies: 16
Views: 15505

Re: Rebirth: Combat Demo

It's been a long week for me, too, and my allergies have flared up the last day so that I ended up in bed shortly after work last night. :x I'll take a look at the doc after work. I'm not too worried about misinterpretations, and alternative interpretations are also helpful. When I skimmed it yester...
by Tyrel Lohr
Tue Jun 13, 2017 2:08 am
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Tackling the 4X Experience
Replies: 9
Views: 6457

Re: Tackling the 4X Experience

In working through the outstanding issues with the game, I ended up stripping the rules back to absolute bedrock. I kept the basic system generation scheme from Galaxies but removed almost everything else -- shipyards, supply depots, you name it. From there, I started iterating on basic mechanics an...
by Tyrel Lohr
Tue Jun 13, 2017 1:43 am
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Rebirth: Combat Demo
Replies: 16
Views: 15505

Re: Rebirth: Combat Demo

Good! I do like this model. It removes a lot of difficulty in transitioning between space and ground battle, and makes fighters "special" and worth taking even when they are EP-for-EP not always as great as ships, since they can be particularly helpful in ground fighting. This was somethi...
by Tyrel Lohr
Mon Jun 12, 2017 4:08 am
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Rebirth: Combat Demo
Replies: 16
Views: 15505

Re: Rebirth: Combat Demo

1) Consolidating the ground and fleet combat models. Yes! Makes a lot of sense. I would really like to see this. However, if you are going to do so, there needs to be a Ground equivalent of fighters, to that AF is a stat you'd "want" to give a ground unit. Flights can be used to provide t...
by Tyrel Lohr
Mon Jun 12, 2017 3:35 am
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Tackling the 4X Experience
Replies: 9
Views: 6457

Re: Tackling the 4X Experience

This is a realistic and perceptive analysis. One of the only things I'd like to preserve, though, is that VBAM is sufficiently universal and flexible that it can portray "historical" scenarios, that start us right a the Late Phase, with well established colony worlds and some advanced tec...
by Tyrel Lohr
Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:25 pm
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Tackling the 4X Experience
Replies: 9
Views: 6457

Re: Tackling the 4X Experience

Okay, let's say we're starting a new game. I'm going to setup a single player game, just because it's faster and it gives a better introduction to the concepts. We start with a single home system -- we'll call ours Nova Sola -- and put it on the map with its three jump lanes connecting to random nea...
by Tyrel Lohr
Fri Jun 09, 2017 7:56 pm
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Tackling the 4X Experience
Replies: 9
Views: 6457

Tackling the 4X Experience

One of the major elements that has come out of Galaxies is that most of our core player base are most interested in the 4X "start from scratch" style scenario. Part of what I've been wrestling with has been how to shift the emphasis of the rules in this particular direction. There are some...
by Tyrel Lohr
Fri Jun 09, 2017 4:33 am
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Rebirth: Combat Demo
Replies: 16
Views: 15505

Rebirth: Combat Demo

Over the last few months, Geoff and I have been testing out some new concepts related to Galaxies. This stemmed from a playtest that was started with Geoff and Jay as players and me as CM in January. We ran into a snag with ground combat that led to a massive shift in focus. What follows is an examp...
by Tyrel Lohr
Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:04 am
Forum: War Room
Topic: Galaxies: Federation Border
Replies: 7
Views: 6123

Re: Galaxies: Federation Border

I've been playtesting a vastly simplified set of raider rules in my "Rebirth" branch of the Galaxies rules. You roll d10 for each system that contains a colony or convoy. Subtract 1 from the roll if the system is in rebellion or already contains pirates, and these effects are cumulative. O...
by Tyrel Lohr
Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:52 am
Forum: Officer's Lounge
Topic: Diplomatic Intel question
Replies: 4
Views: 4919

Re: Diplomatic Intel question

Intel + Diplomacy has always been a bit of a sticking point. Of course, most people will tell you that no 4x game has ever had great espionage/intel rules -- and I think they're right. It's also jousting at the same windmill and hoping for a better result :) I have played games where each "play...
by Tyrel Lohr
Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:46 am
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Diplomacy
Replies: 13
Views: 7130

Re: Diplomacy

The easiest option for voting is to either give each empire 1 vote, or else 1 vote per Census (if you'd prefer proportional representation). I think a good implementation for galactic councils would be for them to be able to pass certain laws that give bonuses, but have an upkeep cost of some sort a...
by Tyrel Lohr
Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:37 am
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: Tech, Special Abilities, and Unit Design
Replies: 90
Views: 41575

Re: Tech, Special Abilities, and Unit Design

I have never understood the need for a limit to ship classes. Maybe its because I came up with Imperial Starfire, but if I want a new class then I design a new ship and put it in production. Especially considering how much of a pain it seems to be to make sure everything necessary is available at t...
by Tyrel Lohr
Fri Jun 09, 2017 2:22 am
Forum: VBAM Galaxies
Topic: VBAM Galaxies
Replies: 41
Views: 19959

Re: VBAM Galaxies

I've been AWOL the last several months, mainly because of work and end-of-the-year stuff having monopolized most of my time. I also had quite a few family commitments in May that kept me away from the computer. BTW, Congrats, Will, on the new addition to your family! I think further playtesting of G...