Re: (TFT) Starleader: Assault

[David Ferris <dferris@research.att.com>]

Hussar Walt asketh about the differences between the Starleader: Assault
(S:A) playtest kit and the production version:

> "Different" as in it still sucks...  or Different, "ye Gods, what an
> improvement!"  ?

"Different," as in, "This sucks, but in an entirely different fashion!"

Actually, I haven't read the production version (let alone played it),
although I did play the playtest kit version solo several times. I only
had a chance to glance through the production version. Apparently,
following Consim-L criteria, that means I'm not qualified to comment on
the game, but o' course that's never stopped me before.

> Gee, Dave, can you regale us with any anecdotes from those madcap days
> as a Metagaming playtester?

Nope. Unfortunately, I volunteered as a playtester very shortly before
Metagaming collapsed, and all I got from them was a "Hi, you're now a
playtester!" letter and the S:A playtest kit, both of which I probably
still have somewhere. Next I heard, months later, I spotted blurbs in
hobby magazines mentioning that Metagaming had folded, and meanwhile a
brand new company called "Steve Jackson Games" had set up shop and was
starting to sell cool new stuff.

[Start flashback sequence. Cue helicopter rotorblades, flashing
psychadelic images, Doors and Jimi Hendrix tunes.]

I was there, man. I'm telling ya, man, it was like... Hey! This is the
wrong flashback sequence! Get it right! Mumble mumble stupid idiot
technical support people grumble grumble...

[Start different flashback sequence. Cue elevator music, asteroids
smashing into the earth, 90-foot image of Bill the Cat.]

That's better.

So there I was, sometime around 1982, reading some material from
Metagaming (probably in Interplay) about how they were working on this
cool new thing called S:A, how it was supposed to be the sci fi patch
for TFT, and how they were looking for playtesters. I wrote in
volunteering to playtest, never having done any playtesting at all
before, and was quite surprised when I received the playtest kit quite a
few weeks later.

When I wrote in to volunteer to playtest, I believe I mentioned that I
was working on a game featuring a military force known as the Irvanian
Commandos, which might fit in with the S:A/TFT series, and asked if
Metagaming would be interested. They were, at least enough to want to
see it when I got it finished. I never sent anything in, of course,
although parts of the work have surfaced in various places since then.
Guy, do you remember any of this?

This is all somewhat ironic, because now, 16 years later...

[Trumpet fanfare, fireworks frame the stage, spotlights focus on
90-foot  image of Bill the Cat]

... I'm starting work on a version of Generic Legions for 15mm and 25mm
miniatures. I want it to be a fun, exciting system, so I'm looking back
at two of the favourite games from my own dark past, hoping to capture
those same feelings: SPI's Commando (with extensive local
modifications), and TFT. GL/25mm may turn out to be what Starleader:
Assault originally intended to be: tactical man-to-man level combat,
usually taking place aboard a starship, featuring squad after squad of
Irvanian Commandos dressed up as Princess Leia and weilding
muzzle-loading assault rifles.

Well, I'm not sure S:A had gotten as far as the Princess Leia thing, but
you get the picture.

DLF

_____________________________________________________________________
David Ferris               Senior Technical Staff Member
dferris@research.att.com   AT&T Labs Research
Room B015, 973-360-8664    http://www.research.att.com/info/dferris
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