Re: (TFT) Magic Carpets and Brooms

["Chris Nicole" <chris_nicole@operamail.com>]

Jay,
I can't recall us using a ground scale or time for each turn.
The game was scaled for playability using mainly Airfix and Revell kits
(1/72 scale).

I mainly took the data from Kenneth Munson's pocket encyclopedias of
world aircraft in colour.
A wonderful collection I still have and enjoy browsing.
Les Ward is/was a great enthusiast of WW1 aircraft among other things
and had his own well stocked library.
So we had some well informed discussion on the ratings for various
aircraft.

When I added new aircraft, I tended to work on 1000 feet for each
heightband, and 10 mph for each MP.
These were generalised or rounded down for aircraft in combat
conditions.
Climb, Dive and Acceleration rates were derived from commentry in KM's
aircraft notes.
e.g. Sopwith triplanes could climb like a rocket.
Pfalz's were exceptional divers, some other aircraft had a nasty
tendancy to fold their wings if pushed too fast. etc.
To some extent we might have over-emphasised the difference between
various aircraft.
Historically improvements in aircraft performance were fairly subtle at
this scale.
But Pilots tended to push their aircraft to the limit out of neccesity.

The survival dice rolls for landing an aircraft may seem rather harsh.
But you should take into context that they are crash landing in
No-Mans-Land and were likely to be shelled and machine gunned by both
sides!

If a pilot flew off the table alive, they were assumed to land safely
behind their own lines and could fly again in the next game.
The club campaign grew very popular, with players customising their own
aircraft.
Snoopy's Sopwith Pup was always a popular choice and we had no end of
Red Barons!
I quite liked the two seaters and did surprising well (luck mainly!)
flying an RE8 or Roland Walfish.

Regards,

Chris - Rat-a-tat-a-tat!

-- 
  Chris Nicole
  chris_nicole@operamail.com


On Thursday, October 20, 2011 12:00 AM, "Jay Carlisle"
<maou.tsaou@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Okay heres a look see at the subject
> 
> Flying your aircraft
> 
> Remember we move both straight and diagonally..
> 
> > On the square grid both sides and vertices are used for facing purposes
> meaning a 45 degree turn changes facing from a square-side to an adjacent
> square-vertex or vice versa, while a 90 degree turn goes from like to
> like.
> 
> Each aircraft has a movement allowance and a turn radius, based on its
> speed
> and agility.
> 
> > If I can hold this together then, uhhhhh, <googles Harry Potter brooms>
> 
> http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Broomstick
> 
> > WOW! Really?
> > I thought Id have to cheery pick the plane list because of the lack of
> broom models I knew of but it seems Ive more to model here than I
> thought.
> 
> Turn radius
> 
> The turn radius letter indicates how the aircraft may turn.
> Under no circumstances may an aircraft make 2 turns or manoeuvres in the
> same square.
> 
> A - allows aircraft to make a 450 anti-clockwise or a 450 or 900 turn
> clockwise (rotary-engined scouts)
> B - allows an aircraft to make 450 turns in adjacent squares
> (inline-engined
> scouts)
> C - allows an aircraft to make 450 turns, but with at least 1 straight
> move
> intervening (some early scouts  wing warpers - and later two seaters)
> D - allows an aircraft to make 450 turns, but with at least 2 straight
> moves
> intervening (very unmanoeuvreable or damaged aircraft)
> E - allows an aircraft to make 450 turns, but with at least 3 straight
> moves
> intervening (damaged aircraft only)
> If an aircraft has a turn radius of D or greater, that aircraft cannot
> perform an Immelmann (although we use the term Immelmann this term covers
> other manoeuvre such as stall turns or zooms)
> An aircraft's turn radius may be reduced as a result of combat damage.
> Aircraft reduced below turn E may only make one 450 turn each round.
> 
> > So here Ive got something that is a bit nifty.
> > Square-hexes let me call some brooms to move on the hex-grid while
> others move on the square-grid and maybe the best seeker stuff gets the
> option.
> > A hex-face change from face to adjacent face is 60 degrees.
> > Ill save vertices for the Ogre battle-map/fields.
> 
> And;
> 
> Movement Allowance
> 
> This movement allowance is expressed as Movement Points (mps) and you use
> it
> up like this:
> 
> Move 1 square straight ahead 2 mp
> To turn 450 (or 900 clockwise for turn class A) 1 mp
> Perform a sideslip 3mp
> Climb 1 height band 5mp
> Jink 3mp
> Perform a wing-over 5mp
> Immelmann (or zoom or stall-turn) 7mp
> Perform a loop 9mp
> 
> > So here it seems to be discovery time.
> > What is a square, MP, turn?
> > Not arguing about anything as Im shooting for using the model flexibly
> but rather curious.
> > So lets see
> 
> And;
> 
> The playing surface consists of a squared board, with squares large
> enough
> to each contain one aircraft model, mounted on a stand.
> Because we allow movement in both the horizontal/vertical and diagonal
> directions, the bases should be octagonal.
> This also helps to indicate the direction the model is facing, should
> that
> not be apparent from the model itself.
> We use a six foot by four foot board with four inch squares. This is OK
> to
> take to wargames shows but ideally you would want something bigger with
> 1/72
> scale models.
> 
> Plus;
> 
> As this was going to be a participation game we had already decided to
> use
> 1/72 scale aircraft on an 8 foot by 6 foot board.
> 
> With;
> 
> We have designed these rules to give a quick, fun game of World War One
> air
> combat.
> But we have also designed a realistic game, showing the differences
> between
> the various types of aircraft available at different dates.
> 
> > So playability and space were a factor of design (wise choices if I may
> say).
> > The remarks about realism and aircraft types leads me to believe that the
> real-world data is buried in the game mechanics to some extent.
> > I guess Im asking for designer notes.
> > But I can infer some stuff.
> 
> Remember, you can only perform Immelmanns, zooms, stall turns, loops or
> wing
> overs if your aircraft is currently turn class C or better.
> To perform a sideslip the plane moves 1 square forwards and 1 square
> sideways, keeping the same facing it started with.
> A plane may only perform one turn or sideslip in each square moved into.
> A planes current speed is reduced by 1 mp for each 2 turns or sideslips.
> To perform a climb the aircraft moves 2 squares straight forwards,
> without
> performing any other manoeuvre.
> A planes current speed is reduced by 2mp for each height band climbed.
> Aircraft with an Acc of 2 may climb 2 height bands in the one manoeuvre,
> at
> a cost of 6mp.
> A jink is an attempt to become a more difficult target for any aircraft
> that
> are attacking you.
> Move 1 square forwards, and count as jinking during the shooting phase
> this
> round.
> To perform a wing-over you move on square to the side, turn 900 or 1350
> and
> lose one height. This costs 5mps but does not count as a turn or
> manoeuvre
> for the purposes of losing speed because this is counteracted by the gain
> for diving.
> To perform an Immelmann (or zoom or stall turn) a plane moves 2 squares
> straight forwards then turns to face in any direction.
> A planes current speed is reduced by 2mp for each Immelmann performed.
> To perform a loop the plane moves 1 square forwards and faces straight
> ahead
> or at an angle of 45 degrees to its original line of flight.
> A plane may accelerate by its Acc rating up to its move allowance, or
> decelerate by 1 or 2 mp each round.
> You add the additional mp for acceleration during the movement phase each
> round, and lose deceleration mp at the end of the movement phase each
> round.
> You may not attempt to move any plane less than 6 mp.
> This represents stall speed.
> If you have less than 6 mp available because of battle damage or
> manoeuvres,
> you must lose sufficient height bands to increase your movement allowance
> to
> 6.
> Each height band dived through gives a plane +1 bonus mp.
> These are added to current speed for this round.
> If you perform a climb you lose 2 mp from your current speed for each
> height
> band climbed.
> You must you all your movement points each turn. You cant carry them
> over
> from turn to turn.
> But if youve just got 1mp left and you dont want to turn, you can
> ignore
> that movement point.
> 
> And;
> 
> How high is the sky?
> 
> There are 12 height bands.
> No aircraft may fly at a height of more than 12 or less than 1.
> If you descend to a height of 0 you are either landing or crashing!
> If you are not spinning you can land successfully by rolling a 4+ on 1d6.
> If you fail your pilot is dead.
> Aces need to roll 3+ and for superaces anything but a 1 is sufficient.
> 
> > Okay altitude records say 10,000 feet was broken by 1915 and well over
> 30,000 by 1920.
> > Speed records were around 150 mph in 1915 and near 200 mph by 1920.
> > I suppose I could analyze all the different types mentioned but I have a
> few student type references from the early 40s that gives an overview of
> the more modern planes but focuses on an army trainer at the time which
> was
> a bi-plane configuration uhhh <more googleing>
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing-Stearman_Model_75
> 
> > In its Acrobatics and Precision Flying chapter it spits some good info
> for degrees of bank, feet of climb or dive, and acceleration or
> deceleration
> required for the various maneuvers.
> > hummmm
> 
> Finally;
> 
> Feel free to experiment with these rules, ignore bits that you don't
> like,
> add extra rules and options.
> But REMEMBER, we've spent a lot of time getting the balance right with
> long
> sessions of playtesting.
> 
> > That last is what I worry most about
> > The edge I keep walking is the messing with a good thing bit.
> > Guess I need to read out that damned hypertext Potter page
> > ugh I keep steppin in it!
> =====
> Post to the entire list by writing to tft@brainiac.com.
> Unsubscribe by mailing to majordomo@brainiac.com with the message body
> "unsubscribe tft"
> 

-- 
http://www.fastmail.fm - Send your email first class
=====
Post to the entire list by writing to tft@brainiac.com.
Unsubscribe by mailing to majordomo@brainiac.com with the message body
"unsubscribe tft"