====== OGRE Digest, May 17th, 2003 (Last: May 15th) ======== ===== Preventive Maintenance Scenario From: David Morse ===== Question about infantry cost From: "Chris French" ===== asking SJ about inf cost From: "Clayton Springer" ============================== From: David Morse Subject: Preventive Maintenance Scenario > Proposed new rule: every armor unit (not including in-tow units) must > roll a die for every hex entered. On a roll of 1 the pilot/driver has > done something Amazingly Stupid and the unit is disabled. > > (Okay, maybe that's way overboard. ;). > > ===== > > [More like roll once just before the scenario to see which units are > down for PM and will take a few turns to get ready. -HJC] Heh, I like this enough to try it. Sure puts the stops on the "two howitzer" RAID/Breakthrough defenses if one of your howitzers doesn't show up to work that day! But my favorite game was when I played the Advanced toast-the-command-post scenario, and the Mark V rolled a 1. The defense was like "whew!". ============================== From: "Chris French" Subject: Question about infantry cost > Infantry that completely ignore D results could stack 5 platoons in > every hex, but they still couldn't chase down LGEVs. -HJC] That's INF's job in Reality -- holding the line until the armor shows up. > From: David Morse > I'd settle for "most of the time". In an all-town map, obviously the > INF reigns supreme. Reminds me -- I need to draw up my "Battle of Montreal" scenario. > Argh! HVY, LTs, and arguably Ogres suffer heavy damage when attacking > dug-in infantry. But if the infantry have to be the attackers they're > in trouble, and if the infantry are facing any other unit, on attack or > defense, they're in the big-trouble-no-bubbles kind of trouble. Exactly. INF's job is to hold a line, or a particular bit of terrain (towns specifically). Their only use on the offense is to keep enemy INF off the armor (_Panzerblitz_, in essence). > [OK, totally clear map with no terrain. I have a scenario very much like this in the works (uses basic map, treats craters as hexes with 6 rubble hexsides). > Isn't the problem lack of proper fire support rather than some strange > inability to run down hovercraft on foot? -HJC] Damned if I know. > From: stephan beal > Subject: Strategic Ogre >This would, at > least in part, account for the relatively slow tech development in the > timespan of The Last War That's what I said. Development stops, while all efforts goes to cranking out units. BTW: _The Economist_ had an article talking about a "slowdown" in Moore's Law, due only to the heat being generated by these super-small, super-powered chips. > (As if that makes any sense... OMFG, i can't believe i'm justifying > technology development speeds in the context of a fictitious board game.) All games have to have some sort of internal logic -- otherwise, the munchkins will run amok. > Can we dig up the founding fathers so we > can attach generators to their spinning caskets yet? I picked up a copy of _The Federalist Papers_ the other day. I'm thinking of starting my own political party.... > What if I told you that folks are already working on applying this > material for all three purposes? Should I just kill myself now? :) > From: "Clayton Springer" > Subject: asking SJ about inf cost > [Actually, you're not accounting for the ability to split fire, which > gives it Attack 2+2+2/1. Splitting fire isn't really that useful, unless your foe is a devotee of the Fuzzy-Wuzzy Cult. > From: stephan beal > Subject: disabling tanks > (Okay, maybe that's way overboard. ;). *WAY* overboard. :) In _Murphy's Rules_, page 12 of the Second edition, there is the following: SHORT GAME: In OSG's _Starquest_, each player rolls on a die at the beginning of the game -- there is a 1-in-6 he will be destroyed before he starts. I think your suggestion is there. :) CF ===== [Don't kill yourself. Leave that to the robots. They're experts! The signs that we're on the Ogreverse timeline are coming in way too fast to keep track of them on a part time basis. The Diet votes special powers for the Japanese PM to use the so called self defense forces while the US goes back to developing mini-nukes. It's like Illuminati, if you know what's going down you can see the back story in the news items. -HJC] ============================== From: "Clayton Springer" Subject: asking SJ about inf cost [ And Steve Jackson has written about the value of infantry and how to use them. See: http://www.sjgames.com/ogre/articles/gevnotes.html -HJC] I had read that before and it has some good advise on the use of units. And is equal valid whether infantry is worth 1 or 2 VP. However it doesn't explain why a platoon is ought to be worth a heavy tank in VP. I was hoping for SJ to discuss his choice of the point values. For example does he comment on the fact that, in victory point terms you are almost always better off shooting at the inf. At the current points value, who wouldn't exchange a platoon for armor? ===== [Not if the grunts have any cover at all. Missile Tank vs Heavy in woods: average damage is 3 VPs. Missile Tank vs Platoon in woods: average damage is 1.5 VPs. Howitzer save and secure behind a line of grunts: Priceless. -HJC] ============================== Send all submissions or mailing list changes or problems to ogre@sjgames.com Archives for this mailing list may be found at http://www.io.com/~hcobb/ General online support for the OGRE game is at http://www.sjgames.com/ogre Ogre, G.E.V., Shockwave and other products mentioned here are trademarks or registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games. All rights are reserved by SJ Games. This material is used here in accordance with the SJ Games online policy at http://www.sjgames.com/general/online_policy.html