| From: | >>>>Axlrose - ...<<<< axlrose@**********.com |
|---|---|
| Subject: | A bit behind... |
| Date: | Sun, 23 Jan 2000 07:39:50 -0600 |
Onward with comments and replies to my unreleased Event cards. Anything
quoted is from Matt Breton's piece on the matter. Except for Mike's map
for Red Alert (sorry, haven't played in years so did not check out the
map), the list died again. Guess that is what happens with no interest
from the parent company.
About the module labelled as "Bug City" - Matt does have a point about how
various objectives not related to the theme can be worked in assuming side
jobs and all. I believe what others, including myself, did was take the
original flavor FASA did with Chicago and the title it gained - "Bug
City". Then the discussion of the module aspect entitled the
same. Therefore, the leap from one point to the other would seem a natural
extension. So while FASA had a theme about the bugs, a module around the
same theme would not involve objectives 'outside' that theme. That is,
anyone that has extensively read said book from FASA realizes trips to
Amazonian were not included.
>But this fault will crop up in any set of cards you make -- even your
Events aren't immune to them. If you're deep in the Amazonian jungle, why
be bothered by fireworks?
The way I have the Event cards work, their affects begin before the
Objective Phase. Therefore, before a team can wander off into the
Amazonian jungle, the fireworks display is occurring. It can be argued
that the team would not be affected. Yet then a good many of the cards can
be ~ignored~ under the same pretense. Why should a "Metahuman Prejudice"
affect a troll deep in the jungle with only his team behind him? Or a
headquarters located in the city with its positive/negative aspect
affecting Indians out in the plains? If everything becomes a fine-lined
aspect, the whole game suffers. It seems through poor design FASA created
the game with the role-playing game as background flavor. While in the
RPG, a runner wants something, he or she has to go through contacts and
whatnot. Yet with the CCG, pay the required nuyen and the action is
complete. Yes they did have contacts in the CCG for such things, but from
the many decks I have seen, not too many actually use said flavor
cards. Even worse, anybody posting a deck with greater than 70 cards had
the first thoughts on the matter be "Reduce your deck size!" As someone
pointed out - I believe it was Matt's friend, "Where is the city to the
CCG?" Until there are revisions to the game as it stands currently, Event
cards and flavor cards are nothing more than a nuisance to a quick grunt deck.
>I'm thinking more along the lines of the tracked modules from later on,
where what's required is equal parts thinking and involvement, and there is
no strict "solution" to the module.
Again, as I ~ranted~ in the previous paragraph, until there is a revision,
a mixed bag per se of action, runners, and thinking, most objectives will
come down to destroying something. And the easiest way to destroy
something is through grunt runners. I have personally seen here on the
list how quickly people do _not_ want something that is extreme. For
example, when I was creating my "Black Ice" challenge upon a challenge
card, I took at the time the most powerful decker - Fastjack, and added
every possible matrix gear card to arrive at a final decking skill. Then I
did the same with other lesser deckers to get a general range of
skills. Then I created the range for the ice somewhere in the middle of
those higher ended numbers. Based upon the RPG, black ice is something one
should not take lightly. Yet when it came to the CCG, because the ~only~
was to destroy it was to have matrix gear cards, there were
complaints. And a good many of those complaints were because people in
general do not have decks with those matrix gear cards! Therefore, this
was an unstoppable challenge!!!
So until a time comes when objectives hope and/or require a multitude of
archetypes to be available, the single-minded theme with bare requirements
will be the way the game stands. While my Event cards are not the new
dimension of gaming Matt might be looking for, "I don't see a strong need
for more cards which add more bonuses or more penalties.", at the same
time, under certain circumstances, a combination of various cards will
allow certain abilities to be brought into play for a limited time. One
card can allow your opponent to freely arrest your best runners without
quarms would certain put a dent into one's style of play, no? Or city
districts getting destroyed by rampant gangers? Or finally a use for many
of those flavor cards released through FASA?
>But there's more to deck-building and deck design that just specific
cards. Urban Brawl and Wake the Dead lean heavily over to the grunts,
true; but it's only because so _many_ of the cards require heavy-hitters -
even ones that don't specifically reference a runner profession, high
threat rating, or another card at all - that a lot of people grabbed onto
the quick Rocker-Troll deck as the "best" deck for SRTCG.
>Similarly: some cards may not benefit grunts at all. Some may be out and
out against them. But if, taken as a whole, on average they provide a
small benefit to the grunts, why not play with a grunt deck?
>This is something that's hard to code against: anything that helps
Runners in general helps them; anything that hinders them is likely to
hinder Runners in general more. If you play with the entire set of events,
you're liable to give them that slight overall advantage; if you allow
players to pick and choose events -- even if they're shuffled together
beforehand -- then they can really bias the deck.
FASA must be faulted for creating a game leaning heavily towards grunt
runners. While people like us attempt to create cards with more of a
balance, I have seen people's ideas with the idea of heaping ability upon
stats as counter-balances. I am not insinuating I am the greatest card
creator either, but there have been times I looked upon a card idea,
attempted to filter it into the game mentally, and wondered if the original
creator thought the whole out. There are reasons why trolls cost more than
elves overall - because trolls have greater attack and defense! A few
years back, someone on this list created a breakdown of costs for runners,
including all abilities and skills, to conclude with a grand total. This
person's idea was sound. Once I get back into my other ancient computer,
I'll see if I kept the piece and repost it here with the author's permission.
My Event cards attempt to balance out what is currently available. I did
not intend a leaning towards grunts overall, but that is because the
original game has set as the foundation such a base. My cards attempt to
be specific to an archetype while possibly affecting its
counterpart. There is also the limit in turns to how long the bonus and/or
hindrance is in play. A good number of my cards require those obscured
flavor cards too. And I decided that the only picking and choosing of
Event cards occurs in numbers, not in specific cards. That is, if players
decide on a dozen cards total out of the current 30 or so cards, those 12
are randomly chosen. So they might affect one archetype completely or not
at all.
Matt mentioned if certain cards require other cards in play, what is the
benefit overall? Well, what about the original card itself - many offer a
bonus via a chance. But many people rather go with the sure bet and not
risk such a move. Again, back to square one... What if the game was
revised that the only way gear/armor and gear/weapon cards (for starters)
can be brought into play is via a contact dealer? No more of the pay X
nuyen and instantly add to a runner actions - think more of those flavor
cards would then be used? Yes, along with these revisions would be reworks
on how to draw contacts out faster to not stall a person. Dirk Montgomery
would have a bit more purpose.
An idea as I wrote the above - all players start with 10 nuyen to be
instantly spent on contacts and/or locations that are brought into play
before anything occurs - including my Event cards. Any nuyen not spent can
not be saved. Therefore, a grunt player can have a focal point to draw
weapons into the game, a decker player can have a Coffee House in play as a
similar focal point, etc. While moving towards the flavor of the RPG,
those flavor cards finally have a purpose besides spaces in a collection.
Oh well. All comments and criticism appreciated.
>>>>>Axlrose - ...<<<<<
