Rules queries.

[myrm]

OK ran through the first campaign with my 5 pilots, and the first couple of missions of the 2nd campaign and a number of queries came up.

1) Mk83 1000lb bombs.
These seem identical in stats to the Mk 82s, but require more hardpoints and cost more....what benefit are we missing for them, if any? There seems no reason to buy them

2) Altitude
a) Im probably missing something here but is altitude only selected at the point an engagement occurs - allowing you to freely change altitude during flying - or do you have to change one altitude band per movement on the target approach track paying fuel to climb? (We currently assume that Wings have to be at a defined altitude band and pay fuel to climb)
b) Are climb and dive actions restricted to the Engage objective during engagement. Several times pilots wanted to change altitude as a prelude to escape and so would have liked to Dive or Climb under Disengage, especially since the altitude change was to get away - an F4 gets away from a Tiger much easier if it can do this.
c) If you Engage/Climb while at Close range and end up on a different altitude from any targets then presumably you cannot fire, but the pilots asked if changing altitude in this way dropped you long range (I said no because enemy engaging you may follow)

3) Dive
Can you really not engage ground targets when executing a dive manoeuvre?

4) Climb/Dive - WHen it says cannot go below Low or above High - does this mean you cannot execute a climb at High, or that if you do climb (doing vertical manoeuvres) then you simply do not change altitude - reverse for Dive at Low.

5) Disengage
7+ required to succeed - is it really meant to be that hard? Evasion or Afterburner on some planes with poor crew (-1 or -2 for each) make it near impossible or completely impossible to escape even if you outnumber the enemy in Close range.

6) Enemy pilot quality
Green are effectively -1 skill on everything, Standard are 0 skill on everything and the top flight enemy are +1 on every skill?

[mwaschak]

OK ran through the first campaign with my 5 pilots, and the first couple of missions of the 2nd campaign and a number of queries came up.

1) Mk83 1000lb bombs.
These seem identical in stats to the Mk 82s, but require more hardpoints and cost more....what benefit are we missing for them, if any? There seems no reason to buy them

The 1000 lber's are some of the most economical bombs in the game for the right mission. The stats are slightly better, and the damage is the same as two rippled 500 lber's. The real payoff is you are making one roll. That roll can be affected by Unique Attributes, and probably one your mud pie pilot knows how to make happen. So sometimes it is the right bomb for the situation.

2) Altitude
a) Im probably missing something here but is altitude only selected at the point an engagement occurs - allowing you to freely change altitude during flying - or do you have to change one altitude band per movement on the target approach track paying fuel to climb? (We currently assume that Wings have to be at a defined altitude band and pay fuel to climb)
b) Are climb and dive actions restricted to the Engage objective during engagement. Several times pilots wanted to change altitude as a prelude to escape and so would have liked to Dive or Climb under Disengage, especially since the altitude change was to get away - an F4 gets away from a Tiger much easier if it can do this.
c) If you Engage/Climb while at Close range and end up on a different altitude from any targets then presumably you cannot fire, but the pilots asked if changing altitude in this way dropped you long range (I said no because enemy engaging you may follow)

a) Close. Alititude is only changed by your starting altitude selection at the start, and then only by action. So if you have a pilot who is approaching the target area, he can choose to spend a turn (one action), and Dive, to drop from Medium to Low.

b) Nope, you can change altitude with any objective, and still climb or dive. One of my favorite ways to disengage is hit a climb with an overpowered craft and put that bandit at a disadantage on their turn.

c) You are correct. It is tough to get out of close range if you get drawn in. You may not be in a position to fire, but you are still dangerously close to the other pilots at close range.

3) Dive
Can you really not engage ground targets when executing a dive manoeuvre?

Eh? In fact it helps.

From 4.4.4.2.1 Attacking Ground Targets
"Second, the Dive stat of the plane is added or subtracted from the roll for unguided munition and cannons."

The part in 4.4.2.2 is referring to the altitude of aircraft, not ground targets.

4) Climb/Dive - WHen it says cannot go below Low or above High - does this mean you cannot execute a climb at High, or that if you do climb (doing vertical manoeuvres) then you simply do not change altitude - reverse for Dive at Low.

You can't issue the order since the plane simply can't do it. In the case of dive, the pilot simply won't dive in the ground, or the plane won't climb any higher. So the net result of the action is basically nullified.

5) Disengage
7+ required to succeed - is it really meant to be that hard? Evasion or Afterburner on some planes with poor crew (-1 or -2 for each) make it near impossible or completely impossible to escape even if you outnumber the enemy in Close range.

Yes.

I actually have an optional rule on this but I need to do some more testing. It had a changing disengage number based on the competence of the enemy (VS instead of static).

6) Enemy pilot quality
Green are effectively -1 skill on everything, Standard are 0 skill on everything and the top flight enemy are +1 on every skill?

Yep! The expansion will have more but I was running out of counter space.

If you would like some help with a mission or two, I would be happy to try our Keith's new gamebox and run a quick campaign .

-Jay

[myrm]

1) Mk83 1000lb bombs.
These seem identical in stats to the Mk 82s, but require more hardpoints and cost more....what benefit are we missing for them, if any? There seems no reason to buy them

The 1000 lber's are some of the most economical bombs in the game for the right mission. The stats are slightly better, and the damage is the same as two rippled 500 lber's. The real payoff is you are making one roll. That roll can be affected by Unique Attributes, and probably one your mud pie pilot knows how to make happen. So sometimes it is the right bomb for the situation.

The stats I am using for the 1000lbers are S3 H1, same as the 500lbers (based on the errata document), but they require more hard points and more cash than 500lbers. The 2000lbers are listed in my set are S4 H2 and +1 dam and I could see the use. I was actually thinking that the errata for the 1000lbers might be wrong and they should be S4 H2 and then they would be worth it.

2) Altitude
b) Are climb and dive actions restricted to the Engage objective during engagement. Several times pilots wanted to change altitude as a prelude to escape and so would have liked to Dive or Climb under Disengage, especially since the altitude change was to get away - an F4 gets away from a Tiger much easier if it can do this.

b) Nope, you can change altitude with any objective, and still climb or dive. One of my favorite ways to disengage is hit a climb with an overpowered craft and put that bandit at a disadantage on their turn.

Ah now that makes escape easier for the big lumberers. The text on disengage seemed to suggest Evade and afterburner were the only action options to me.

3) Dive
Can you really not engage ground targets when executing a dive manoeuvre?

Eh? In fact it helps.

From 4.4.4.2.1 Attacking Ground Targets
"Second, the Dive stat of the plane is added or subtracted from the roll for unguided munition and cannons."

The part in 4.4.2.2 is referring to the altitude of aircraft, not ground targets.

OK, the targetting options for some actions explicitly include ground targets, the Dive action text didn't so we were wondering if it was meant to simulate very High G aerobatics to change height and so unsuitable for ATG launches.

An aside - adding the Dive stat for the plane - does that include the pilot dive skill (so attacking includes modifiers for plane dive, pilot dive and pilot ATG/Cannon) or is the pilot skill used only the ATG/Cannon weapn skill?

If you would like some help with a mission or two, I would be happy to try our Keith's new gamebox and run a quick campaign .
-Jay

I think Im getting the hang of it, these questions were all minor points of play, 95%+ of which went smoothly. I find Rule 1 of running any game is the players will always pull out something you didnt expect to see - Ive playtested enough games and run too many RPG scenarios for that to have passed me by and the guys playing in the MAS game are no exception.

Plus Im in the UK so time difference may be an issue

Tim

[mwaschak]

The stats I am using for the 1000lbers are S3 H1, same as the 500lbers (based on the errata document), but they require more hard points and more cash than 500lbers. The 2000lbers are listed in my set are S4 H2 and +1 dam and I could see the use. I was actually thinking that the errata for the 1000lbers might be wrong and they should be S4 H2 and then they would be worth it.

Go with S4 H2. I don't have my copy with me at the moment, but they should stat-wise be slightly better than the mk 82s.

Ah now that makes escape easier for the big lumberers. The text on disengage seemed to suggest Evade and afterburner were the only action options to me.

Yep, even those big birds with the nice powerplants have their advantages. It also makes the choice about which planes to pick for a MAS more important.

An aside - adding the Dive stat for the plane - does that include the pilot dive skill (so attacking includes modifiers for plane dive, pilot dive and pilot ATG/Cannon) or is the pilot skill used only the ATG/Cannon weapn skill?

Yes. So if you get the right pilot in the right plane they can do some real damage with inexpensive ordnance. Unfortunately those tend to be the pilots that specialize too much, and can't get out of trouble.

I think Im getting the hang of it, these questions were all minor points of play, 95%+ of which went smoothly. I find Rule 1 of running any game is the players will always pull out something you didnt expect to see - Ive playtested enough games and run too many RPG scenarios for that to have passed me by and the guys playing in the MAS game are no exception.

I am glad to hear it is going well! If you have any questions, you know where to find us. We are working on expansions and supporting the original product so stay tuned for more material as time allows.

Plus Im in the UK so time difference may be an issue

Good point . We have run quite a few by email and forum too.

-Jay

[myrm]

Go with S4 H2. I don't have my copy with me at the moment, but they should stat-wise be slightly better than the mk 82s.

Will do.

I am glad to hear it is going well! If you have any questions, you know where to find us. We are working on expansions and supporting the original product so stay tuned for more material as time allows.

I already have my eye on World of MAS and the WWII variant....

Good point . We have run quite a few by email and forum too.

-Jay

Now, knowing how to run the thing over Play By Forum (what you present, how you present, how you break the turns down etc in a forum) would be interesting.

I have some friends Im running through a B17:Queen of the Skies game and MAS adapted to forum play would be an excellent successor (not exactly urgent, they are only at mission 9 of 25) - possibly the WWII one over the modern but we'll see.

[mwaschak]

I already have my eye on World of MAS and the WWII variant....

I have been helping Charlie with the edits for WWII and I don't think you will be disappointed.

Development work on WoM is in progress, and I should have something playable soon .

Now, knowing how to run the thing over Play By Forum (what you present, how you present, how you break the turns down etc in a forum) would be interesting.

We actually do quite a bit of MAS playing here on the forum, but I forgot that the playtesting forum is actually hidden. It is pretty simple really. The mission is posted, bidding progresses, and then there is basically a post for each action. One player runs the game and rolls everything as needed.

-Jay