Posted By WotC_Rob 10/18/2006 at WotC boards

15 of the 40 pages of the rulebook were posted. The 15 pages embody the core rules of the game. Layers of complexity are added with special abilities and fleet command options.

There are three principal designers listed for the game, Ryan Miller, Bill Slavicsek, and myself. Bill mostly made "big ticket" decisions like the use of the square grid (makes the game more accessible to casual/younger players), d20 (Ryan would have loved to use d6s!), etc. Ryan is a talented game designer, and I empowered him to lead the initial design team so that his ideas would definitely be heard and represented in the game. Many different initiative and combat systems were hashed out and playtested. Eventually we distilled the rules down to where they are now. We certainly tried Star Wars Miniatures style initiative and combat systems, we also tried pulsed segments where the ships moved and fired (and resolved damage) in size class order, etc. With three very different designers involved in the project, the final product is an amalgam of a myriad different ideas, inspirations, and ideologies.

I was fortunate to have input and playtesting from Richard Garfield (designer of Magic the Gathering), Frank Gilson (Star Fleet Battles Gold Hat champion), and Jonathan Tweet (designer of Dreamblade). They've all had their impact on the game and improved various aspects of it. Did we end up with a game for everyone? No. That would be impossible. Did we end up with a game that we enjoy playing? Definitely. The look and feel of the game is considerably different from what you will experience with Star Wars Miniatures.

We wanted a fast paced game that felt like Star Wars. Lots of people have pushed their Star Wars toys around and fought imaginary battles in their heads. We've merely provided a common set of rules for people to use. The key essence is that you get to push around Star Wars ships and blow the opposition into bits. It is pretty darn cool to have an X-Wing fight its way through a cordon of TIE fighters, launch a proton torpedo at a capital ship, and manage to deliver a crippling blow. It's even better if the X-Wing manages to survive that torpedo run...

There are certainly reasons to move capital ships. Building up a bigger wave of fighters is one reason. Bringing limited arc weapons to bear (which are generally stronger than 360 degree weapons) is another. Getting away from fighters is important at times. Getting to fighters can be important. Turning a stronger shield toward the enemy may be crucial. Etc.

A couple of examples of special abilities and Fleet Commander options:

broadside: Some weapon systems can attack only enemies to the ship's side. A broadside is as wide as the ship's space on that side and extends across the stellar grid from that ship.

A ship that has enemies to each of its sides can make one broadside attack per side during the attack phase (maximum two broadside attacks).

Fly Casual: (Command, class 3) When a class 3 ship would be hit by an attack, that attack is instead treated as a miss. This Fleet Commander option affects only one potential hit against one ship. You can decide whether to use this option after seeing the result of an attack roll.

You've seen much of the game. But you haven't seen everything yet. Will you like the game? I hope so!

Rob

Posted By Browncoat on 10/23/2006 3:04 PM
The Vong don't exist in the force so how can they be "dark side"?

Posted By Omand on 10/24/2006 8:40 PM
Hey guys,
 There are no sub-factions within these two factions in a formal sense (unless you create it yourself).Â
Set order for the lists we have determined so far appears to be divided by ship class.

Cheers

Posted By luciusgilmer on 11/12/2006 3:13 PM
Is this a game where it will be essential to own the starter set to enjoy the product?  In other words, will there be an acceptable substitute for the map, let's say, allowing one to download the rules and just buy boosters?