Advanced Starship Combat

[Rixx Telar]

I saw on the decipher site that a starship book is coming out. Is this the advanced combat rules?

Although I found space dock a great addition, the only problem I had was that the damage to particular systems was to random. You attack from the front and through random dice rolling you can hit the shuttle bay at the rear of the ship.

Are there any details about the new rules yet??

[Sho-sa Kurita]

The advanced combat system will be "Engage!"

The ship book referred to in the release schedule, is a ship recognition manual in the vein of the BattleTech tech readouts, purportedly in landscape format with full-color pics. Woo-hoo!

-- Daniel

[Doktor Evil]

I don't want to talk for Decipher but I think that Engage will be more like a proper wargame, like Babylon 5 Wars or BattleFleet Gothic. I think (again, I'm venturing guesses here) that maybe Decipher wants to do like FASA did : putting out a wargame-like ship combat system that can be bought on its own but that can also be used in conjonction with the RPG, allowing to use characters'stats in the game.

[mattcolville]

Originally posted by Doktor Evil
I don't want to talk for Decipher but I think that Engage will be more like a proper wargame, like Babylon 5 Wars or BattleFleet Gothic. I think (again, I'm venturing guesses here) that maybe Decipher wants to do like FASA did : putting out a wargame-like ship combat system that can be bought on its own but that can also be used in conjonction with the RPG, allowing to use characters'stats in the game.

That's just about right. I'm Mr. Starship Combat right now. I did the rules in the PG with help from the Mighty Modron-Mounted Mad Monk Mappin and am working on Engage! which hereafter I shall be referred to by me as Engage since I'm sick of working on games with exclamation points at the end.

Little story; with Engage I was pretty stoked at being given the chance to make the definitive Star Trek minis game for the next 20 years. A chance to update one of the most popular sci-fi battles franchsises, get people to stop associating Star Trek Space Combat with Starfleet Battles, and really make something new and cool.

But, in the end, my proposed design had little innovation. Hard to invent totally new ideas in this industry. I thought my initiative system was pretty cool, but then someone reminded me of where I'd seen it before and I thought 'oh yeah.' If you've played. . .let's see. . .Silent Death, Red Alert (the disk game) and the starship combat rules from the RPG then you'll recognize most of this stuff. It is skill based so you will be able to use your actual ship from your RPG session, though basically all the main characters only contribute one skill, so it's not an RPG solution.

Our current model is; if you want an RPG solution, we've provided one. Lots of support coming its way from the Starships book and, I think, the Operations Manual. If you want a tactical game, we're doing Engage.

Engage is a long term project. It'll take almost a year to complete and right now I'm working on the Two Towers Adventure Game for Lord of the Ring (it has mass combat rules in it!) So while Engage is important to me, at this early stage it's not my highest priority. I say that as a preemptive strike against the slew of questions that may arise. I have the basic design of the game, and we may start playtesting soon.

[Long Tom]

Well, since you mentioned playtesting, I'd be only too happy, as would many others, i'm sure , to have a go for you, Matt.

Long Tom

[Imagus]

Lurks in the background with a stupid encouraging "and me but I'm way too cool to say so" grin...

[Doktor Evil]

I second that motion

[ImperialOne]

If you should need a voluntary playtester who has played every Trek space wargame and variants from other rule systems such as SFB, FASA Trek Starship Simulator, Full Thrust, Fleet Action and that dic\sc game, Red Alert

[GlassWalker]

And of course I will probably come off that way... There seems to be a huge sentiment for the warm fuzzy (non hard numbers and stats) type stuff here.
Well... I just don't care for it. I want measure units and etc. I want to be able to chart power if I need to, count range etc.
I really really really want to be able to design my own ships. That in the end will be the deciding factor for Coda. I will not jump in until I can construct my own ships.
I might regretable by 3rd edition d&d instead. When will I be able to build my own ships? With Engage! I hope. Please tell me it is so.

p.s. This is an incredible sight. I love it.

[Sho-sa Kurita]

Originally posted by GlassWalker
There seems to be a huge sentiment for the warm fuzzy (non hard numbers and stats) type stuff here.

Only in relation to speeding up RPG combat. That's an important distinction. A lot of us like the hard-stat, wargame stuff, but it can bog down an episode, so the context is the important thing here.

When will I be able to build my own ships?

In a matter of weeks, with the Narrator's Guide.

-- Daniel

[Doug Burke]

1. Ship Construction Guidelines are in the Narrator's Guide.

2. If you absolutely have to have tactical measurements, power distribution, and a wargame-type space combat system, you will have to wait for Engage to have one that is designed specifically for Coda.

[Capt. K. Vaughn]

Will there be a general call for playtesters of Engage here or at the Decipher site?

Regards,
CKV.