Post by Adam on May 7, 2009 20:18:19 GMT -5
So IF has been getting some playtime in these parts. In a bizarre and unexpected turn of events, it actually works, straight out of the box.
It's really weird. Normally, each Duel of Steel update takes at least a week or two of on-off effort to implement. After the first three playtest games of IF, I put in all the fixes and corrections we'd found in a little over half an hour. Strange. Still, it means I can forge ahead with the 40K mod alongside the normal IF rules. Which means that we get to pit Darth Maul up against a Chaos Lord all the sooner. Wonderful.
IF plays a bit like 40K, only better. The action points system makes everything more tactical. The game is very fast - 200-250 point games take about an hour and a half - mostly due to the speed at which stuff dies as well as the quick mechanics. The unexpected lethality of attacks in IF is balanced out by the lack of range on most of them - most units are capable of nuking their chosen targets within 10", more if they're lucky, but there's no three-foot heavy bolter gunlining. Vehicles do have long-ranged weapons (the longest is the Hailfire Droid, which can launch missiles 36"), but those are usually best used on other vehicles; their anti-infantry weapons typically hover around the 14-16" mark.
The game requires little bookkeeping, although spare D6s as wound markers are more or less essential. You do need a fair number of D10s to play it; so far, the maximum possible number of attacks at once is 32, but that's if a full unit of 16 B1 battle droids all manage to get within 10" of a single target alive.
IF's close combat rules are an interesting and unique mechanic, as well as Command and the way the running rules work. In IF, you aren't limited to melee weapons in close combat - that is, you can still shoot. You can of course only target stuff that you're engaged with, but hey. It didn't make sense to disallow ranged fire in melee for the Star Wars armies, as most of them don't have melee weapons at all, and I see no reason to change this for the 40K mod.
Command is one of IF's workhorse abilities. You end up using it almost every turn, especially if you have vehicles. Vehicles very rarely kill opposing vehicles in a single activation, and so an extra go at shooting the homing laser/hailfire missiles/etc is an obvious use, but there are far more applications. Commanding MagnaGuards is a useful way of getting shot of droidekas. Commanding droidekas is a useful way of getting shot of anything that's not a tank. And that's just the attack actions; with the option to run as well, making an extra movement, you can speed units across the board or reposition them if they're out of place.
The different running rules don't really do much to normal troops; they can either run or shoot, as it goes. With Ac 2+ units, it's a different matter. You can run double your Speed, a not-uncommon ability in many games, and then still attack, which is the more unique bit. Granted, you get fewer attacks, but hey, that's what Command is for. Heroes can run into position, drop a Command and still have one action left over for a lightsaber block or some Sith lightning or whatever. Bikes are the ultimate responsive unit - STAPs, for example, can run 18" and have a 14" attack range, letting them cover almost the entire board (with Anti-Material(8) weapons, no less).
What else is cool about Infinite Frontier?... hmm. I'm quite pleased with how the Heroes are turning out; spending those precious three action points is quite a thought-provoking matter. Keeping Heroes alive is a challenge, especially if you want to get maximum use of their powers throughout the game. I've also managed to dream up a bunch of nifty abilities - there are more to come for the CIS heroes anytime soon, and the three Republic heroes sitting in a text file on my hard drive are pretty sweet. Gamebreaker abilities, my name for once-per-game moves that can turn the tide of a battle instantly (like Warmachine's feats, only I didn't want to steal the name), are something I want to include more of. Grievous has one, Wrath, and it's utterly awesome. Activating elite units or B2 battle droids twice in a turn is sweet.
So, er, yeah! That's it. Keep your eyes peeled for an update coming soon (hopefully tomorrow sometime), and the 40K mod will also begin shortly.
It's really weird. Normally, each Duel of Steel update takes at least a week or two of on-off effort to implement. After the first three playtest games of IF, I put in all the fixes and corrections we'd found in a little over half an hour. Strange. Still, it means I can forge ahead with the 40K mod alongside the normal IF rules. Which means that we get to pit Darth Maul up against a Chaos Lord all the sooner. Wonderful.
IF plays a bit like 40K, only better. The action points system makes everything more tactical. The game is very fast - 200-250 point games take about an hour and a half - mostly due to the speed at which stuff dies as well as the quick mechanics. The unexpected lethality of attacks in IF is balanced out by the lack of range on most of them - most units are capable of nuking their chosen targets within 10", more if they're lucky, but there's no three-foot heavy bolter gunlining. Vehicles do have long-ranged weapons (the longest is the Hailfire Droid, which can launch missiles 36"), but those are usually best used on other vehicles; their anti-infantry weapons typically hover around the 14-16" mark.
The game requires little bookkeeping, although spare D6s as wound markers are more or less essential. You do need a fair number of D10s to play it; so far, the maximum possible number of attacks at once is 32, but that's if a full unit of 16 B1 battle droids all manage to get within 10" of a single target alive.
IF's close combat rules are an interesting and unique mechanic, as well as Command and the way the running rules work. In IF, you aren't limited to melee weapons in close combat - that is, you can still shoot. You can of course only target stuff that you're engaged with, but hey. It didn't make sense to disallow ranged fire in melee for the Star Wars armies, as most of them don't have melee weapons at all, and I see no reason to change this for the 40K mod.
Command is one of IF's workhorse abilities. You end up using it almost every turn, especially if you have vehicles. Vehicles very rarely kill opposing vehicles in a single activation, and so an extra go at shooting the homing laser/hailfire missiles/etc is an obvious use, but there are far more applications. Commanding MagnaGuards is a useful way of getting shot of droidekas. Commanding droidekas is a useful way of getting shot of anything that's not a tank. And that's just the attack actions; with the option to run as well, making an extra movement, you can speed units across the board or reposition them if they're out of place.
The different running rules don't really do much to normal troops; they can either run or shoot, as it goes. With Ac 2+ units, it's a different matter. You can run double your Speed, a not-uncommon ability in many games, and then still attack, which is the more unique bit. Granted, you get fewer attacks, but hey, that's what Command is for. Heroes can run into position, drop a Command and still have one action left over for a lightsaber block or some Sith lightning or whatever. Bikes are the ultimate responsive unit - STAPs, for example, can run 18" and have a 14" attack range, letting them cover almost the entire board (with Anti-Material(8) weapons, no less).
What else is cool about Infinite Frontier?... hmm. I'm quite pleased with how the Heroes are turning out; spending those precious three action points is quite a thought-provoking matter. Keeping Heroes alive is a challenge, especially if you want to get maximum use of their powers throughout the game. I've also managed to dream up a bunch of nifty abilities - there are more to come for the CIS heroes anytime soon, and the three Republic heroes sitting in a text file on my hard drive are pretty sweet. Gamebreaker abilities, my name for once-per-game moves that can turn the tide of a battle instantly (like Warmachine's feats, only I didn't want to steal the name), are something I want to include more of. Grievous has one, Wrath, and it's utterly awesome. Activating elite units or B2 battle droids twice in a turn is sweet.
So, er, yeah! That's it. Keep your eyes peeled for an update coming soon (hopefully tomorrow sometime), and the 40K mod will also begin shortly.