[Consim-l] Grav Armor initial impressions From: "Markus Stumptner" Finally, after more than 2 years, in December I managed to set up my downloaded copy of Grav Armor. This is one of the Dwarfstar minigames available for download at Joe Scoleri's site, and since my experience with those I've played since I downloaded them (Barbarian Prince and Dragonlord) has been excellent, I have always been looking forward to this. I didn't have a copy but I knew the game for a long time and there are few tactical SF boardgames that promise such a colorful experience in so small a package. The Dwarfstar maps have always been very appealing to me. As with other eras, most SF tactical games have moved out into miniatures, and the resulting time and expense requirements are just higher than what I consider necessary for game enjoyment. The rules to Grav Armor are 15 pages in the tiny Dwarfstar format; I suspect that would translate to about 4 pages in an AH rulebook. The game is fairly straightforward, and most of the chrome lies in the unit differentiation - units are rated for attack, defense, EW capability, movement, movement type (hover, grav, infantry), and weapons type (missiles, particle beams, gatling lasers, and mag bolts). There are only a couple of special rules dealing with active defenses (most units can add those to their attack at range 1) and the fact that missiles attack multiple units in a hex (with each additional unit getting a -1 modifier). Shooting simply means adding the attacking EW and combat values and subtracting the defender and terrain. That gives you a column on the table and you roll 2d6 to see if you have a hit. It is shocking to be reminded that we had such clean though multifaceted systems 25 years ago, when even today some people still do awful 1970s style CRTs for tactical games. Oh well. (A minor wrinkle is that the CRT has "holes"- a higher roll does not always guarantee a hit. That is no problem in terms of hit probability since there are no dieroll modifiers, all modifiers are column shifts.) All of this this makes for a lot of tactical interaction with a rather simple package (all weapons/defense modifiers are listed below the CRT), and the fact that terrain may be rated differently for detection and movement plus that detection does not have to be traced through the most direct path makes for some quirks in picking the correct position; careful tactical play is rewarded. The only bits that I had to keep reminding myself of in the first cople of turns were the effects of white EW values (doubled on defense) and black defense values (added to attack at range 1), and the detection bit. There is a great temptation to consider detection as line of sight and that often does not work; tactics have to adapt. In particular, I found that the massive support units turned out very vulnerable since their fire range was not appreciably greater than other units, their defense value is low, and their own EW value often also, requiring close in work. These are not long range artillery to be used from the rear! The big guns are in orbit. (I haven't yet played a scenario that uses them but hope to rectify that soon.) The most interesting aspect of the game is probably the sequence of play. All fire is essentially opportunity fire. Each player gets a movement phase and the other player can fire any of his units during or before the start of that phase, or after its end, but only once. As a result, play moves very quickly since there's not a lot to keep track of except rotating units that have moved or fired. Good design. Stacking is unlimited (hexes are assumed to be about 50km!), but since missile armed units which make up the majority attack every unit in a hex, albeit at an increasing modifier, people will tend to keep their units apart. Another effect is that since fire is equally lethal at all ranges (except range 1 when things get much more lethal since now you can use your active defenses, e.g., anti-missile missiles or short range lasers, for attack), once you are in range, you might as well keep moving. There is nothing to be gained by sitting still, and nothing lost by moving to a different hex that gives equal protection. Overall, the playing experience was the same as with the other Dwarfstar games I've tried: very enjoyable. This is a lot of sophistication in a very small package; worth every minute I spent on the components (for obvious reasons I can't say "worth every cent" :-). It's not a "filler" game because the scenarios are generally not small. They include up to 50 units per side and were obviously carefully constructed to highlight the system from all sides. But (extrapolating from my solo experience) they should be playable in an evening and it should be quite easy to construct some 1- or 2-hour scenarios. After action replay to follow. Markus Last 3 games played: Abensberg/Eckmuehl, Star Viking, WW I --------------- http://www.dbai.tuwien.ac.at/user/mst/games/ --------------- "We've got them now." -- last dispatch to General George Crook by General George Armstrong Custer [Consim-l] Grav Armor scenario 1 replay From: "Markus Stumptner" This is a replay of my first game with Grav Armor, played solo the week before Christmas. I will put up a version with images on my game page soon but here's the text version for now. It's a bit detailed for a game that most people here probably haven't played but I didn't have the time to make it shorter. :-) SCENARIO 1, The Relief of the 42nd. In this scenario, the Lerlim Empire forces (blue) have to defend a city in the center of the map with an initially rather weak force (a reinforced battalion), massively reinforced from the mapedge on turn 3 (four battalions with support). The scenario takes place on a human-habitable world. Interestingly enough, the lakes and seas are both usable for infantry and better than being on flat ground (presumably the infantry stays underwater in their space armor?). The city of Ekud lies on a minor plain surrounded by mountains, forests, and lakes. Virtually all combat in this game is long ranged fire; therefore it makes sense for the defenders to place outlying forces in the surrounding defensible terrain to guard the approaches, and hope that this will slow down the attackers until the reinforcements come in. The Silon 6 particle-beam equipped support unit, the heaviest unit available, will be placed in the mountains to the north so it can sweep all of the open terrain there. The Panhuman League (Red) decides to concentrate their forces in the south and east, away from the Silon unit. This will however require a rather circuitous route to the east. Turn 1 The Imperials, happy with their deployment, stay where they are awaiting the attack. The League troops cautiously bring some tank units in range of the infantry in the forest SE of Ekud, out of range of the personnel carriers' gatling lasers. Turn 2 In the S, the League knocks out the Eta armored personnel carrier unit in the southeast. The Imperials send in a Siga light tank to reinforce the infantry position, but it is taken under long range fire by the infantry further east and also destroyed. The Panhuman assault vehicles in the NE target the Medium Militia in the mountains E of the city and inflict severe losses; the militia quits the battlefield. In the League movement phase, their forces move into the mountains NE from the city and set up a major strongpoint next to the infantry in the woods SE of Ekud. The Silon targets the Ota missile assault unit across the plain (5EW+7SP-4EW-3Def-2Terrain=3) and destroys it. [The combat description simply lists the modifiers involved: EW, Strength Points (SP) for the attacker, EW, Defense value, and Terrain for the defender, resulting in the CRT column.] With massive Imperial reinforcements due on the next turn, the League have caused some losses, but probably not nearly enough. They are poised to sweep the approaches to the city if reinforcements want to get in, but they are not close enough to take it. Turn 3 The Imperial relief forces sweep in from the western mapedge; the League forces hold their fire to see what happens. The Grav cavalry races to reach the cover of the mountains SW of the city, the armored militia battalion goes further south to engage the armored battalion there, while the support vehicles stick to a northerly route, coming in over the lake. With that approach route unthreatened, the grav infantry SW of Ekud moves along the mountain slopes into the city. The fighter sweeps around to the south, obviously to take a snipe at the tank battalion in that sector before the militia's older tanks arrive. However, it is shot down by the tanks before it gets to fire. Its main effect has been to force the tanks' attention away from the infantry in the forest guarding the southern approach. That is now attacked solely by the infantry next to it, so let's see how an infantry close assault (from only 50km out!!) works out in this game. Its enhanced EW defense gives the infantry a spectacular -15 modifier (7 defense, 3 EW doubled, 2 for terrain), while the infantry attacks with a fairly good 12 (3 EW+2 strength+7 "active defense") and the APCs with 11 (3 strength+3 EW+2 gatling lasers at 1 range+3 "active defense"). The infantry's -3 attack requires a 9 to hit (they manage one 11, which results in a disruption) and the APCs miss. With the loss of the Ota missile unit, the League has a single Nu light tank unit in range to fire at the Silon or the city, and decide to go for the Silon since its mag bolts would only damage one unit in the city anyway. (6Str+4EW-5EW-5Def-2terrain=-2, requiring a 9.) The tank rolls a 10, destroying the Silon. Phew! The way to the city is clear. The League infantry in the SE mounts its carriers, leaving one company behind to deal with the Imperial infantry disrupted in the forest, and moves towards the city. It braves defensive fire from the Eta in the city (3S+3EW-3EW-3Def-2Ter=-2), and the first company is shot down, the troops perishing in their carriers. The infantry misses the second company coming in. The Nu light tanks from the northern flank are moved to support the tanks in the south. The last infantry in Ekud closes the turn by firing at the Eta APC two hexes away (2S+3EW-3Def-3EW-2Ter=-3) and destroys it (DR9), but the infantry has already disembarked. Turn 4 The big question is, can the left-behind League company wait to see whether the infantry tries to get out in the open, or should it fire immediately? Let's see. Firing now would mean 2S+3EW+7Active Def-7Def-6EEW-2Ter=-3. Waiting would mean 2S+3EW-7Def-6EEW=-8. So we fire immediately. A 5 means a miss. The APC (3S+3EW+3AD+1Gatling-7Def-6EEW-2Ter=-5) misses as well with a 7. The Militia tanks decline to engage the Zetas to their east and pull back to the mountains SW of the city. The Grav Cavalry APCs fly to the city and are taken under fire by the laser assault vehicles looking down on the city from the mountains, going down in flames. (6S+4EW-3S-3EW-3City=1, DR 9) Big mistake by the Imperials; the two infantry units remaining are all that will now be available. They fly the remaing light tanks into the mountains west of Ekud. (I originally thought I'd move them into the city, but then realised that they outrange the Zho assault vehicles E of the city, for which they would still be easy prey even if they moved into the city. (7S+4EW-2Def-3EW-3City=+3!) So they don't. This leaves us with a Zeta tank missing the SE outpost infantry at -5,DR4, the Zho assault vehicles killing the Eta APC in the city (+2,DR10-miss!; +2,8-hit), and the infantry next to the city (-10,7-miss). The Imperial infantry outpost returns fire to knock out the Eta APC that just missed, but fails to hurt the infantry. Non-militia infantry in defensive terrain is appropriately tough and requires significant effort to destroy. We'll se if the other three League companies coming towards the city will be enough to dig out the defenders. The 4-ranged Nu light tank barely fails to knock out one of the Zetas in the south (+1,6), so does the Del next to it. The others hold their fire. This places the League player in a quandary; his APCs are quite vulnerable even to the infantry's missiles but with 5 turns to go he cannot use 4 of these for a safe approach through the mountain chain and forested foothills. He decides to unload the infantry on the lake so they can sneak into the forest on the next turn, avoiding two turns of creeping closer through the mountains on the northern shore. Missile fire from the city costs him one of the APCs. Clearly I still have to practice proper insertion of mechanised infantry. They just absolutely need to get out outside range. The League Zetas are called north for infantry support; the battle around the city will now become a slugfest from each side's mountain positions. Also, the League finally has its support vehicles in place. (Lesson: always place your support vehicles well; they are slow and with their Hover MPs they also cannot use the grav units's Free Flight moves at 1/2 MP/hex.) So we move the first League infantry unit (four are left, total) adjacent to the city. At this point I realised that I had made a massive error on the Imperial side. The city by its high defensive value, also impedes detection for friendly forces of enemy on the other side of the city. The light tanks which I had placed SW of the city therefore were actually unable to target the assault units in the mountains on the other side of the plain. (This can be justified by claiming that the detection values are supposed to work via remote drones etc. that probably would have a hard time passing through the fireworks going on over the city even outside a major attack; anyway, it's how it works.) Anyway, the tanks therefore unleash all their fury on the infantry that has moved adjacent to Ekud, and manage to disrupt it. However, a second disruption fails to materialise and the infantry in Ekud has already fired, so there are no longterm effects on the disrupted unit. Turn 5 Imperial movement. The League troops immediately pour a fusillade of fire on the Imperial infantry still holding out in the SE. However, four shots at -1 (needs an 8 to hit) and one at -3 fail to impress. This would be great opportunity for the Imperial light tanks to race close and get a shot at the League tanks but there is no good avenue of approach. Racing across open country with the League infantry close by seems like a bad idea, and even their MPs are insufficient to enter the forest that their own infantry is hiding in. So they will stay in hiding behind the city. The militia tanks will move north to (eventually) get a free field of fire and be able to threaten the League support units. The League support units also pour fire over the forest, but to no avail (there is one hit from the heaviest, the Omi9 unit, but it ends up as no result). Better to have used the shots to fire at the city. Oh well. The assault units fire at the city; also to no avail. Probably will have to get them close, too. League movement. No way around it - the league troops will have to get close to the city. However, first the Imperial infantry gets a shot at the league troops out on the lake, and at all the units stacked next to the SE outpost. Let's do the outpost first. The infantry fires with +12 the first unit (infantry with -15) and with +5 (since the Active Defense only works against the first target) against -10 (for the tanks). That gives us -3,DR8-miss;-6,2-miss;-7,5-miss;-8,9-miss;-7,6-miss. No damage done. The infantry firing at the lake shoots with +5 vs -13 for the infantry targets and vs -7 for the APCs. They target the APCs, and the missiles will then also attack the infantry but only at the worst column. This also gives no hit. I now realise this was actually stupid; I should have shot at the League infantry next to the city. Oh well, can't be helped. So the League infantry on the lake finally makes landfall, being joined by two companies of Zeta tanks from down south. That's all the League movement and so now the Imperial tanks fire down on the infantry next to Ekud, with values of 10,8,8, and 7 against a defense of -15. -5,5-miss;-7,3-miss;-7,8-miss;-8,5-miss. The Omi2 shoots at the same infantry and almost hits on with -6,9. Last, the Imperial Omi9, now in position, will shoot a missile strike at the League assault vehicles in the mountains. +12 vs -10,-12,-12, this gives 2,5-miss;-1,3-miss;-2,1-miss. Well, if they keep rolling like that, the Imperial fortunes look dim. Turn 6 Imperial movement. The imperials bring their reinforcements closer. The League waits to see where the promising targets are, then starts firing. The infantry on the SE outpost is shot at by 2 tanks, an infantry and two faraway Eta APCs. One tank achieves a hit but the morale holds. League infantry fires at the city, also to no effect. The Omi 9 sees that a mag-bolt (range 4) militia tank is now in a position to hurt it and destroys it (-4,8-hit) fires at another tank in the same hex (+2,4-miss) and destroys the militia in the same hex (+2,7-hit, 11->9-destroyed). The Zeta7 tank gets to choose between the last militia tank in this hex or the Omi9 in the forest behind it (this is a classic example of why detection in this game is not LOS! he is seeing a support unit placed in forest behind mountains), and goes for the Omi9 (+2,10-miss!!). But the Nu light tank in the same hex goes for the Omi9 as well and destroys it (+2,9-hit). The just-landed infantry shoots at the militia tank instead (-5,10-hit). The assault vehicles and remaining 3 support units fire at the infantry in the city (-6,-5,-5,-4,-7,-7) but all miss. Need to get closer still. League movement. The infantry advances adjacent to Ekud. Also time to risk bringing the assault vehicles closer, although they will not make it adjacent by the end of the scenario if they want to stay in cover. The League infantry near to Ekud is fired at by a Silon5 with -3,8-narrow miss, by the infantry in Ekud itself (which disrupts one), and some of the old light tanks (Tau8) whose EW is not good enough to see the tanks further east. Over their heads, the more modern Nu3 and Int fire at the Nu and the Zetas further east: +3,9- the Nu is killed; -3,4-miss on the Zeta. Turn 7 Imperial movement. The shots against the infantry have no effect, the Zeta kills the Titan unit the moment it comes in range (very lucky shot, a 10 was needed), A massive barrage goes down on the city, with one infantry unit actually ending up disrupted. League movement. The League units finally break contact with the bypassed outpost (should have done that much sooner!). The assault vehicles move adjacent to the city. They are missed by the Silon5 but are hit by a murderous barrage from the Omi2 (+3 -1,8-hit;-3,10-hit; -4,10-miss;no hit on the inf) that kills the Chi and one of the Zho units. AT fire against the Zetas is useless but the Tau8 light tanks fire at the remaining Zho (0,11-hit) and kill it as well. At this point the League decides to throw the remaining two Eta APCs and the unmoved Zeta into the fray. The remaining Del1 militia unit kills an Eta (0,DR10), while the second Tau8 misses. What a round! The last shot goes to the undisrupted infantry in the city which fires at the neighbouring infantry (-3,11-miss! What misfortune to hit the "hole" in the table so high up). It misses all the vehicles but disrupts another infantry with a natural 12. Turn 8 Imperial movement. The easternmost League Zeta6 (+10) opens fire on the stack of tanks W of Ekud, starting with the pesky Nu (-8) and finally kills it. However the missiles keep raining down on the Int and Tau8 light tanks (+1,7-hit; +1,7-hit; 0,8-hit) - only the Del1 militia unit survives(-3,11-miss). An incredible barrage. The Zeta7, now next to Ekud, targets the Omi2 support unit (+3,3-miss). The support units now move to better firing positions, but everybody else concentrates on the city. We start with the missile units since they can score multiple hits - if a disruption occurs, everyone else can then focus on the disrupted units. Everyone, including the massive support units, misses (some very narrowly), and then the last two units to fire, the Eta APCs with a +1 for their point blank Gatling lasers, score a disrupt - the second targets the same unit - another disrupt and the infantry is destroyed. There is now one infantry unit left in the city, the Del1 militia tank next to it, and two support units. Perhaps I should have placed the static militia in the city after all... League movement. The southern outpost, believed bypassed, comes back to the action by firing at the league infantry that just went past it and disrupting it with a 12... One unit less to fire at the city next phase. The League tanks all come together in hex 0201. And the barrage begins. The Silon5 kills the Zeta7. The Omi2 disrupts one infantry unit. Six units end the turn stacked next to Ekud. Turn 9 Imperial movement. There is only one unit for which it still makes sense to move, and that's the Del1 militia tank. The League decides to let it enter the city; better to hope that it will be killed by some barrage than waste missiles on it outside the city. The fire begins with Omi9 (+12) firing (-4;10-miss!!;0;3-miss) followed by the Silon4 (-4,9-hit!;0,4-miss). The hit roll is a 10 reduced to 7, disrupting the infantry. The Omi2's (+9) are next (-7,6-miss;-2,3-miss;-7,9-miss;-2,4-miss), followed by the Zeta6's (+14) (-2,7-miss;+4,10-hit;-2,7-miss). Now the Del tank is gone. Left to fire are the Eta APC and the two infantry units in the hex, with the Eta firing first (-6,11-hit). The Eta's hit roll is a 6, reduced to 3, which is another disruption - the infantry is eliminated. League movement. Everyone and their dog storms into the city hex. Well, not everyone. The infantry unit adjacent to the outpost is again attacked and disrupted by the outpost infantry. However, that still leaves three infantry and three vehicle units entering the city. The only thing they have to do is to weather the fire by the two Imperial support units in the mountains west of the city. Fortunately, only one of them is missile armed; the other one will only kill one unit in this turn. And the infantry does survive, though all the League vehicles (both Omi2's and the remaining Zeta tank) are eliminated. The game ends with a League victory. (The imperials lost 20 units to the League's 16; quite bloody.) Markus Last 3 games played: Abensberg/Eckmuehl, Star Viking, WW I --------------- http://www.dbai.tuwien.ac.at/user/mst/games/ --------------- "We've got them now." -- last dispatch to General George Crook by General George Armstrong Custer