FFW PBEM wrap-up

[JeffreyAllanBeeler]

I think the PBEM game needs mission oriented orders.

Like operate in this area with that goal in mind.

Its too bad you had no ability to redirect the Swordies onto Garda Vilis.

Lanth is a waterhole of death but with the 68th and the Sordies you could have taken the reduced colonial fleet that showed up.

 

[PBI]

Originally posted by GrognardJeff:
I think the PBEM game needs mission oriented orders.

Like operate in this area with that goal in mind.

Its too bad you had no ability to redirect the Swordies onto Garda Vilis.

Lanth is a waterhole of death but with the 68th and the Sordies you could have taken the reduced colonial fleet that showed up.

I agree with you on the amount of flexibility required for operations of this type. We had the specificity required so that the fleet commanders knew the immediate priorities our boss wanted us to hit, but we lacked an overall vision, so that when we were forced to improvise, we would all more-or-less be operating from the same play book.

Remember that I wasn't certain where the 68th was going; he looked like he was heading for Regina. The same for the Swordies; I had no idea about their operational plan, either. The other thing that was on my mind was the fact that if I had been caught alone by the Imperial Colonial reinforcments, I would have been destroyed or badly damaged, and would have effectively been unable to pursure serious offensive operaitons. Granted, the Imperials would have suffered, too, but the Zhodani losing a fleet that early would have been a much more serious loss.

If my fleet had been larger, perhaps I would have charged for Lanth and let the Swordies linger at Vilis, but oh well.

 

[kaladorn]

The 3277th Marines finally succumb under a pile fo furry bodies, but manage to inflict a total of 20% casualties on the Vargr 101 field army before going down. Yes, the Vargr outnubmered the Imperials 100:1 at the outset, and suffered 20 casualties for every Imperial killed...

I always wondered exactly what you had to do to recieve the Starburst for Extreme Heroism. I think we've just seen an example. I'm sure there was the occasional survivor from this Regiment, but most of them must have been casualties. Decorations all around for the survivors post-war, after they get back from the Mindbender Re-education Camps.

That's a story almost worth throwing into a scenario at some point....

 

[JeffreyAllanBeeler]

The members of the 3277th were either liberated on Balent when the 212th took it or the rest of the Vargr home worlds or ended the war deep in the Imperium with the Vargr Fleet. No Mind Bender reeducation camps for them.

 

[PBI]

So, has anyone given any thoughts to wanting to attempt a second game?

 

[JeffreyAllanBeeler]

I just emailed John about doing it again as he talked about setting up another game this year.

 

[JeffreyAllanBeeler]

When the next game starts what if any rule modes would people like to see?

Full bore would be a Ground Forces OOB with most the Imperial Army deployed up front with more Imperial Navy units too.

I would want the refuelling rules clarified too.

 

[jappel]

I'll be making a decision about whether to run a new game or not within the next few weeks.

If I do run a new game, I likely won't make significant changes to the OOB. The victory conditions will probably be revised, though, accounting for at least population as well as tech level - and possibly starports or bases too, if a balanced set of VC can be worked out with them.

Examples of refuelling is a good idea.

John

 

[PBI]

Hey, cool. I was also thinking of volunteering to run the next game, should our valiant GM wish to play this time around

 

[theSea]

Cool! I'm in if it goes again.... that was a lot of fun.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

That's ADMIRAL Dreaded Thread Necromancer to you, Spacer.

Bravo!

This is excellent reading and I am printing out a copy for later study.

The War Diaries Kick Much Butt!

Love "fresh fur" and "What is C. thinking handicapping the fleet this way...."

As for Star Burst for Extreme Heroism with a Diamond, not only should the valiant 3277^th Imperial StarMarine Regiment, but also Captain [NAME UNKNOWN] of INB Quar SBD #17 for holding out against the numerous psionic attempts that would in the end lead to the detection and destruction of the vessel and all its crew at the guns and minds of the Zhodani 14^th Colonial Fleet be awarded post humously to their heirs on behalf of the grateful Third Imperium of the Stars and Rule of Man.

And last of all, if anyone gets brave enough to do another one, I'm game.

 

[flykiller]

I was also thinking of volunteering to run the next game

did this ever happen?

 

[Able Baker]

You can turn that argument around 180 degrees and say that the boardgame has some unrealistic elements that doesn't match 'reality' for the sake of making it a balanced game.

Incidentally, Jewell should have forces 6 times greater than those portrayed in the game. Why? Because when FFW was published GDW hadn't come up with the population multiplier yet, which means that all planetary forces were computed as if their pop multipliers were 1.

Of course, that means that the Imperial and Zhodani forces should be multiplied too (since they're presumably based on tax revenues calculated as if the worlds all had pop multipliers of 1). The question is, how much more? If you believe that all pop A worlds have multipliers distributed evenly from 1 to 9 and all pay proportional taxes, then they should be 5 times higher. Other assumptions may allow you to reduce the figures. Personally I prefer to say a factor 3, but I'm aware that my justification is shaky (Basically I don't think worlds with 90 billion people should be as plentiful as worlds with 10 billion people).


Hans

Hans, your intuition is very right. Consider Benford's Law, that is very pertinant to population growth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benford's_law.

The "average" (arithmetic mean) digit would be ~3.4, but as we know the actual distribution, one should use that. Considering Benford's Law we can prove that the numbers of the PopMod were not modelled but basically just evenly generated.