... I think it is about time all the Car Wars rules were put into a book about the size of Autoduel Quarterly. It is rather troublesome to spend a good amount of time hunting for a certain rule to settle a disagreement, by looking through one rule book, then another ...
--Richard Deecken
south Holland, IL
All the rules in one book? Hmmm ... I think you've got something there.
--SDH
I'd like to get my 2c worth in. It mainly concerns all the useful info concerning such tings as helicopters which is locked up in the idiotic Autoduel Champions supplement, screaming to get out. Please pardon the sarcasm, but most people of reasonably high intelligence gave up superheros when they were under 8 years old. (Coming soon: Autoduel Smurfs? Autoduel He-Man?) Seriously, though, to each his own. How about an expansion set concerning helicopters for us "stuffy" purists (John Nowak eats quiche). Also an expansion set listing all of the weapons and accessories known to exist would be very welcome.
congratulations on Expansion Set 61 It's a great idea to allow duellists such a wide choice of vehicles to choose from, and color cutomizing was a flash of genius. I have already taken it a step further (I draw up a whole new counter with colored pencils for each new design), but the inspiration came from you. By the way, what's your secret to making wrecks?
--Paul Radecki
South Bend, IN
No secret. We just run the little counters into each other until they look that way.
--SDH
Mr. Scott Haring, editor of this fine magazine;
Mr. Eric Scharf, of Bellevue, WA;
Mr. Clark Breslin, of Albuquerque, NM;
Mr. Craig Sheeley, of Springfield, MO;
and anyone else who has written or plans to write a letter on this subject:
ALL RIGHT ALREADY!!! Obviously, I stand corrected. I find it appropriate at this time to offer my most humble and sincere apologies for my "insolence," as Mr. Breslin so aptly put it.
Mr. Breslin was correct in that I did need to learn a little more about explosives, and Mr. Sheeley's letter was very enlightening. I regret that my rudeness inspired such wrath from a nameless respondent, and such grief for Mr. Haring.
I realize that I am probably just asking for more, but would it be feasible to assume that said mines, although not exploded, might be put out of commission?
Once again, my apologies. By the way, Mr. Breslin, a knowledge of explosives isn't absolutely necessary as long as one knows where the trigger is and how to squeeze it properly. If you're ever in the Washington, DC area, look me up.
--Benjamin S. Hay
Arlington, VA
For those just tuning in: Some issues ago Mr. Hay wrote a letter asserting that mines should be destroyed by flaming oil, or flamethrower or laser fire. The responses, most notably by the gentlemen named in Mr. Hay's letter, were quick to assert - in the strongest of terms - that Mr. Hay's position was not correct. At any rate, I hope this brings to an end this particular debate. Next subject, please.
When I moved last year, I failed to send you a change of address, and as a result, I failed to receive the last three issues. Luckily, I was able to pick up one of the issues form the local hobby shop and the other two from your back issue department. I still have a complete set.
Since I have not received the last three issues by subscription, I am not yet aware of the types of AADA items that are available. About two years ago, however, I took a sheet of sticky-back mylar, my technical pens, and a little time and fashioned an AADA emblem window sticker for the rear window of my Volkswagen. The reputation of the trained AADA membership at large must be one to not be taken lightly, for I can truthfully state that since the day my vehicle started sporting the AADA emblem, I have not once been challenged to combat on the road. Not even pot-shots from some hidden sniper. Can you imagine the return on such an investment in the reduced maintenance costs of armor repair alone? (It does make an unfortunately clear target in the arena, though.)
So, you may wish to tell your readers two things: 1. Send in those change-of-address notifications as soon as you move, and save yourself the inconvenience and possible grief; and 2. Show your colors, as it pays to advertise.
May your magazines never run empty and your gunner always be sober.
--Mark Miller
Fresno, CA
I have one word to describe ADQ 3/1 - Great! I really liked the Continuous Smoke Screen. Before, if you wanted to lay a wall of smoke, you had to go 10 mph! The external weapons pod adds a lot of flexibility to the game, but I have one question. Can EWPs be mounted universal? If so, how much does it cost? The scenario - "Grand Theft Autoduel" - looks awesome, though I haven't had time to play it out. It seems very promising. I have one gripe, though. The Thundercat power plant is too heavy. I liked the idea, but after the power plant, tires, driver , and average armor is put on, you don't have much weight for decent weaponry! Well, anyway, the rest of the ADQ was great, and on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 9. Happy Autoduelling!
--Scott Jones
Vancouver, B.C.
Almost every technical development will have some sort of balancing drawback. And
External Weapon Pods are not universal - and can't be made that way.
--SDH
Like Mr. Haring, I don't understand Alexander Baxter's gripes about rules changes invalidating his characters' kills. First of all, I can't think of any rules changes that could have invalidated previous kills. Second, even if there were such changes, certainly AADA officials wouldn't be so cruel (and suicidal!) as to tell "old hand" duellists that their kills no longer count.
I have nothing against rules revisions. Yes, some of them take away from Car Wars' simplicity, but there is trouble when rules are too simple. For example, a player who tosses a grenade towards a huge gang of bikers and sees it "miss by so much that the grenade has no effect" is going to fell very cheated, and rightly so. As another example, look at the "All Fired Up" rules in ADQ 2/3. The original, "simple" rule made a lone flamethrower all but useless for setting things on fire (which is funny, because that's the whole idea behind a flamethrower!). "AFU" is more complicated, but it's restored the function of a flamethrower and made for a lot of happy pyro-duellists.
It all boils down to this: No one is forcing you to use any specific rule. If you don't like a rule, optional or official, then don't use it. If you do like a new rule and your ref can apply it without slowing down the game, then use it, and enjoy the improved, more realistic game you've just created.
Here are a couple of simple rules improvements I'd like to pass on:
ADQ 3/1 addressed the question of falling on grenades. Unfortuanately, the answer gave us a new damage roll to remember, and covers only the isolated case of a person falling on a grenade. In cases where damage should be heavy, such as falling on a grenade or having it blow up in your hand, or using an SMG at point-blank range against an unsuspecting opponent, all the ref needs to do is roll damage mor than once, and choose the highest roll. Thus, our heroic grenade hugger would take the highest result of, say, four one-die damage rolls. Who knows, he might make it.
...Similarly, in cases where damage might be less, such as a character hitting the dirt to avoid a burst effect, the ref might roll damage twice or so and apply the lowest result. This all simpler - and more comprehensive - than memorizing new damage rolls for specific cases.
ADQ 2/4 tells us that a severe skid on snow or ice only does one point of damage to tires. And what about rapid deceleration, skids, and bootleggers performed on ice, snow, oil, rain, and gravel? These road conditions make driving rough, but they should be easier on tires than hot, dry pavement. So: Simply subtract the hazard's difficulty number from the tire damage. A bootlegger on gravel does 1d - 1 damage to each tire; in heavy rain, 1d - 2. A severe skid in gravel or light rain will do 1 point of damage; no damage in oil, ice, snow, or heavy rain. And so on.
Enough on rules changes. In closing, here are some tips for improving your Car Wars set: To keep grubby fingers from greasing up your counters, cover each one with Scotch invisible (not cellophane!) tape. It's 1/2" wide, so just lay a strip over the counter and fold the ends under. also, to make nifty can-on-front, wreck-on-back counters as per the AADA Vehicle Guide counters, glue each vehicle counter to its respective wreck counter, back-to-back. This also makes the counters heavier and less likely to blow away in those sudden arena hurricanes (i.e; players' sneezes).
A final thought: Am I wrong, or does par of Car Wars' appeal lie in letting grown men play with little cars again?
--Rob McCain
Jacksonville, FL
I have just finished ADQ 3/1, and it seems as if your mag gets better with every issue. Every time a new one comes out I find myself updating my favourite cars with the latest goodies from Uncle Albert and friends.
I was pleasantly surprised to see Boulder in the Road Atlas. It seems as if our well-assorted city has passed with flying colors. The grenade rules were sorely needed, my thanks to Mr. Haring. On quirk, though. The hand-held launcher can hold five grenades. Yet the launcher only takes up 2 grenade-equivalents. a person carrying just five grenades would, of course, use 5 grenade-equivalents. I'd made several designs for such a weapon myself, and this is what I was stuck on.
I'm waiting anxiously for the deluxe set, expansion 7, ADQ 3/2, a new adventure, computer Car Wars, and anything else that comes along ...
Remember, there are never too many roads to travel, or too many scummy cyclists to smoke, cube, mangle, or destroy.
Who says Boulderites are weird?
--M. Szvetecz
Boulder, CO