BW 2018 Feedback

[stubby]

I like manuals that have Goofus- and Gallant-like characters to highlight concepts. Maybe you can make "Lurker" who just likes looking at cool creations and "Moderator" who routinely stomps scrubs in forum battles?

We had them in past editions - the BrikWarrior and the BrikWussy - but the way I did it distracted too much from the core mission. This book has an increased focus on the four Horsemen though, so there's a possiblity to work them in as negative examples maybe.

A couple big changes since the last time I mentioned - Horse Varieties and Riders are gone, probably for good, Crankiness and Heroic Weapons are moved out of the Core Rules to be introduced later. The system for controlling a Horse or other vehicle is a lot simpler now, and more in line with other equipment items.

http://brikwars.com/rules/draft/6.htm
http://brikwars.com/rules/draft/h.htm

As of this update, the only units in the Core Rules are the minifigs, the Hero (hard-limited to one Hero per player), and Horses. All the tactical variety in the Core Rules is now focused on weapon loadouts and terrain rather than minifig specialties, and it's a much more self-contained package than it was before.

[AZKAMAT]

So, Brikwars has expanded its satire to Creative Assembly? Streamlining...

[stubby]

So, Brikwars has expanded its satire to Creative Assembly? Streamlining...

I'm just streamlining the Core Rules to tighten them up into a more cohesive unit in their own right. Most of the stuff that's getting removed is just moving to the later half of the book, rather than getting eliminated entirely.

Technically the horse varieties already were the streamlined version; by taking them out I'm forcing players to build from scratch again. If I really wanted to de-streamline I'd take the Horse chapter out completely.

[stubby]

MOC Combat and Chapter 7: Structures are now up, along with a new Table of Contents showing the progress.

Lots of rearranging stuff in MC - kanon stuff is out, budget stuff is in. Unit Inches are now the default, but the other budgeting methods are still included as options. Ű values for everything got simplified a whole bunch.

Not a lot of changes to Chapter 7, although I took Structure Levels out and simplified Size Damage and the Mechanik a little.

Slight changes to all other chapters, mostly cleanup and line editing. The Close Combat Maneuvers formerly known as Attack and Counterattack have been renamed to Strike and Counterstrike, to make it less confusing when a Close Combat Attack (the maneuver) let you make a Close Combat attack (the action).

http://brikwars.com/rules/draft/contents.htm

http://brikwars.com/rules/draft/mc.htm

http://brikwars.com/rules/draft/7.htm

[dilanski]

I'm angered by the lack of collision rules. Without them, I have nothing to discuss with my anger management therapist.

Speaking of objects colliding with other objects. Apparently "Praetorian tank tread are well known for their love of trampling minifigs". This is racism. All tank treads love trampling minifigs, and it is discriminatory to rule out one race of tank treads in particular. However should that excerpt make it into 2018, here are some new bloodier images, as I can't stand looking at my old stuff.

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Last order of business. I've got a game planned for Saturday. Will be using 2010 as 2018 isn't quite ready, but is there anything in particular I should be porting over, or you'd like playtest feedback on?

[stubby]

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Nice

Last order of business. I've got a game planned for Saturday. Will be using 2010 as 2018 isn't quite ready, but is there anything in particular I should be porting over, or you'd like playtest feedback on?

2018 is functionally the same as 2010, only the names and presentation order have changed for the most part. The only big functional changes are taking weapon parries away from non-Hero minifigs to speed up close combat ( 5.2: Close Combat ), and simplifying the cost of steering a vehicle to a hand-use requirement ( H.2: Riding a Horse ), if you want to look at those.

[Red_SPAMbot]

Is there still going to be CAPITALISM? Because I'm working on a CAPITAL A minifigure.

[dilanski]

So I am a little interested in the differences between 2018, and whatever the physical book version will be called. You are still using the 2005 formatting for this, but will much be changed for the print version?

[stubby]

Is there still going to be CAPITALISM? Because I'm working on a CAPITAL A minifigure.

There's no way I'm losing CAPITALISM, it's one of the worst puns in the book and so I will die to defend it. But CAPITAL A is tricky to use because I think Marvel will get angry about using him too blatantly.



So I'm working on his nemesis, CAPITAL F, who is a non-trademark-infringing supervillain fighting to trick minifigs into thinking they have value independent of how much money they make for their corporate owners. (Naturally he's just a marketing gimmick made up by the CAPITALIST government to show the perils of anti-CAPITALIST thinking.)

So I am a little interested in the differences between 2018, and whatever the physical book will be called. You are still using the 2005 formatting for this, but will much be changed for the print version?

For the print version I'm going to hand it off to an actual layout artist who does this stuff for a living. I'm good for amateur-level layout work but I know when to call in a professional.

[Tzan]

Have you gotten an estimate on the cost of pro layout?
Just curious.

[dilanski]

Have you gotten an estimate on the cost of pro layout?
Just curious.

And more importantly estimates for filling the book with glossy double page art and picture spreads.

[stubby]

I'm looking at some interesting options for both of these. But for now I'm focused on getting the rules draft completed.

[dilanski]

I'm looking at some interesting options for both of these. But for now I'm focused on getting the rules draft completed.

Brikwars Physical Edition confirmed for being the best looking wargame book ever.

Out of interest, is the plan to split the print version into two halves for Core Rules and MOC Combat as well? I've noticed the Core Rules have better pointers towards there being extra rules in MOC Combat. I'm imagining the Core Rules covering maybe a dozen pages, while MOC Combat being massive with its page spanning tables.

[stubby]

New updates today. Chapter 8: Weaponry is uploaded, with a bunch of icons added and stats merged to make the tables a little less wall-of-text.

http://brikwars.com/rules/draft/8.htm

I dug back into Chapter 5 to simplify Close Combat a little more. Now instead of Counters you just get Parries and that's it. You could still Bail in theory, but you have to do it as a Response Action rather than a standard Counter. You can still Counterstrike when someone tries to leave Close Combat, but that's listed as a special case under the Withdrawal maneuver and no longer as a Counter either.

So now it's just down to Shield Parries for attacks, and general Parries for Shoves and Grabs. On the bright side, Shields can now be used to Parry any incoming Damage as if it were a Close Combat attack, as long as the Damage is coming from somewhere in your minifig's field of view. It makes Shields a little more special as an equipment item than they were before.

Out of interest, is the plan to split the print version into two halves for Core Rules and MOC Combat as well? I've noticed the Core Rules have better pointers towards there being extra rules in MOC Combat. I'm imagining the Core Rules covering maybe a dozen pages, while MOC Combat being massive with its page spanning tables.

The print version will also be separated up this way, although not into literally separate physical books. I just think it's an easier way of presenting the info, to give new players the basic idea before jamming their heads with options.

In theory I could make two versions of the book, one full version with core rules + moc combat, and an intro softcover with just the core rules to hand out at conventions or something.

[dilanski]

In theory I could make two versions of the book, one full version with core rules + moc combat, and an intro softcover with just the core rules to hand out at conventions or something.

What will be the fate of Quikwars then? Seems rather redundant given how compact the core rules are getting.