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Post by Precinct Omega on Mar 8, 2017 21:18:15 GMT
Based on my own playtesting efforts, if you want to get to grips with the rules, I suggest the following:
1. Make just one character. Start off with no upgrades.
2. Use the Red Force and play a solo game. This will mean starting with one Grunt, one Elite and one Boss, but you'll acquire more Grunts and Elites quite quickly, so you'll probably want at least half a dozen of each.
3. Ignore complications and treat Jokers as Aces for now.
4. Deploy an objective marker in the centre of a 3x3' table (2x2' for 15mm) and add terrain to taste. The mission is to reach the objective marker, perform an Interact A(10) test, and extract from any board edge. Entry point is a table corner of your choice.
Play until you're au fait with the basic rules and Red Force actions. Then stop, add a couple of upgrades and start again, generating complications with Jokers.
When you complete this mission (or die) re-start with two characters. If you can find a willing victim, have a go at a co-op with one or two characters each. And then take PvP for a spin.
I'm going to work on the first campaign fairly soon, so suggestions and requests based on playtesting are welcome.
Regards,
Robey
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Post by Precinct Omega on Mar 19, 2017 14:34:16 GMT
 This is a simple aide memoire for Red Force actions. |
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neuzd
New Member
Posts: 7 
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Post by neuzd on Sept 29, 2017 10:34:37 GMT
First let me say that I'm pretty excited about this game because the rules are easy to grasp and the solo system is very straightforward.
I have basically zero experience in wargames, I played 3 or 4 Battletech games using the "Recon By Fire" solo system, and then when moving to sci-fi skirmishers I've struggled a lot trying to "get" a whole system all by myself. Two Hours Wargames' Chain Reaction has a lot of street-cred but the way it's written is all over the place and I have hard times following every time I try to pick it up.
Anyway, my experience with Zero Dark hasn't been very exciting, I followed Robey's suggestions (and indeed I got the rules quite easily) and this summer I played a couple of games with one and two characters respectively.
I'm pretty sure the fault of my bland games is to be found on the scenery which was mostly empty: it was definitely too easy to get straight to the objective unnoticed and leave with just a few scars.
So, while we all wait for Robey to "get back on the battlefield" do you guys have suggestions for an unexperienced gamer like me?
Apart from the obvious "fill up your table with scenery" (which I can now do, thanks BattleSystems!), is there some other idea to make a Zero Dark solo-game more varied and exciting?
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Post by Precinct Omega on Oct 5, 2017 18:36:06 GMT
Well, I'm thrilled you got the hang of the rules quite quickly, but I'm not that surprised you found it easy to get in and out unnoticed. I don't know if the lack of terrain can be blamed more than the fact that the game is still weighted quite heavily in the direction of the heroes.
It's still a delicate balancing act, I think, and I've not quite got it right. But hopefully I'll have an updated version of the rules available soon that will address some of my own concerns with the game - and perhaps some of yours. What would be really helpful - if you can remember back that far - would be a brief summary of the battle you fought.
Stealth definitely needs work - it's a bit over-powerful at the moment that everyone can just sneak their way wherever.
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Post by Precinct Omega on Oct 6, 2017 15:40:08 GMT
Pay attention to the following points if you're looking to move beyond the very, very basic introduction:
1. Jokers are complications. If a bogey of the right category isn't available, the activation moves upwards. So, no Grunts: activate an Elite. No Elites: activate a Boss. No bosses: activate a complication. If there's no enemy left, keep flipping complications for every action!
2. Make sure you're using the latest version of the AI system (shown in summary, above). One in three cards can activate an attack, so there's no way you should get across an un-terrained board without getting shot at by *someone*.
3. Bogeys get 360degree arc of vision as soon as they are alerted, so sneaking behind their backs is only possible until they know you're there!
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neuzd
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by neuzd on Oct 9, 2017 13:41:08 GMT
The games that I played were the very basic setup (remember, I'm greener than a green baby frog), so I played without complications and upgrades; get to the objective in the center of the battlefield and leave.
The setup of one game was 1 character, and the red force was composed by one grunt, one elite and one boss.
The other game was with 2 characters so, two grunts, one elite and one boss.
The table was just shy of 3' per side, adn it wasn't completely devoid of scenery. By "mostly empty" I meant that there were a couple of small buildings and another short free-standing wall.
Alarm wasn't raised until "late" (the whole games lasted few turns), so Elites and Grunts -which have been facing the other way- never had LOS of my men, while the Boss, in one game probably never had an activation card flipped, while in the other was behind one of the buildings and got sight of my army too late.
Stealth was never a conscious effort. I just didn't take early shots and no bogey was looking at the direction I was coming from.
Of course it's been quite some time, but even if I had kept better track of what happened, the fact that I'm so new to wargames means I also have very little insight and experience to know better in a particular situation, so to improvise and make the best out of an unexciting situation.
And that's why I was asking for suggestions. I reiterate my initial impression, that in more cramped spaces a greater number of turns should be required to get to the objective and the bogeys will also have more opportunities to "get in the way".
Sadly my main problem now is space, so I don't know when I'll be able to bring the game up again for a spin.
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Post by Precinct Omega on Oct 9, 2017 19:59:03 GMT
Great points, neuzd, well made. I went and ran a bunch of tests using the same set-up principles as you and found that it was a bit of mixed bag, but I do need to tweak what will alert the bogeys a bit. There is a strong random element to the deployment and response of bogeys, so feel free to move them around to make the game more interesting. Or just shoot someone early and see how that changes their response.
I had one game in which I snuck in, killed a bogey without raising the alarm, grabbed the objective and left, despite generating TWO complications that brought two heavy infantry to the table. Another in which I got wounded on the way out but got away clean. And another in which I was brutally gunned down by a Boss activating at just the wrong moment and rolling a pair of 12s.
I actually went with zero terrain to replicate the most basic of conditions, but I'm still working out what an "ideal" terrain amount is going to be.
Now I'm uploading the beta-beta, why not have a look at the campaign and see what a difference it makes?
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