Hi guys,
Just finished a battle against Ted Chang, and figured some may be interested to hear what is possible, and how playtesting is progressing. This is really just a collection of notes that were distributed to our playtest teams, and there is a 'proper' battle report for BF Evo coming in the next S&P.
In terms of SST there are important differences in the way units work (power armour and jump jets tend to do that) but the core rules are exactly the same. So, exchange WZ-10 for Slingshot, Challenger for Tanker Bug, and so on. The LAMI are very similar to the infantry used here, though their weapons are a bit more frightening. . .
*Start Report*
This was a 3,000 point game, Chinese PLA against the European Federation Task Force. The following armies were used in a Sweep and Clear mission. Note that any similarity between these forces and what actually becomes available next year _may_ turn out to be a coincidence
EFTF
2 British Army Infantry Squads
Challenger II MBT
Typhoon II
Future Lynx
British Army Command Squad
2 SAS Patrols
2 French Foreign Legion Squads
Leopard 2 140mm MBT
PLA
4 Infantry Squads
Team one of another Infantry Squad
3 Type 99 MBTs
J-12
WZ-10
SOF Squad
2 EQ-2050s
FAV
Command Squad with no IFV
We played for four turns before it became clear the PLA had won - but we weren't sure until the very end of that turn. The battle swung backwards and forwards and, in one sense, it was actually several battles taking place at once, though all had an effect on the others.
In the infantry battle, the Chinese held most of the cards, especially in the contested ground, where they reached cover first and set up their MGs. The Foreign Legion tried valiantly to advance, but were mercilessly cut down. Cover and numbers won this for the Chinese.
In the armour battle, the PLA were dogged by bad luck (or were just plain rotten shots!), and lost all their Type 99s by the end of turn two. However, the Challenger was badly damaged, though both EFTF tanks could now advance on the PLA infantry and shatter their hold. . .
Until the aircraft turned up. The PLA did not even try to take part in the air battle - instead, they concentrated on attacking the EFTF ground forces, intending to take any aerial reprisals on the chin. Two missiles from the WZ-10 took care of the Leopard, while two 1,000 lb. bombs from the J-12 destroyed the Challenger and most of one British squad. Undaunted, the Typhoon II swept in to down the WZ-10 and nearly succeeded - after its pass, the chopper was belching smoke. However, the EQ2050s, lying quietly on the PLA base line, launched their TY-90 missiles and blew the Typhoon out of the sky. The Future Lynx took one of them out with a TOW missile, and laid into the PLA infantry with an MG, but the last EQ2050 downed it in the next turn.
There was a fourth battle going on, between an SAS patrol and the SOF on the far side of the table. The SAS had taken control of a tower, and were raining sniper fire down on anything that moved and looked interesting. They were able to stall the SOF by taking out the Sergeant but, in the end, MG fire blew them out of their hiding place (took a bit of time though).
With no armour left on the table, and the PLA dominant with infantry and air power, it was only a matter of time. . .
Conclusions
A few tweaks are coming from this battle, mainly in the air rules - you'll get the updates very soon, but they are minor.
This game seemed very balanced - indeed, many of our games are coming right down to the wire. The multiple-battles-in-one is an interesting idea that I had not considered before, but it seems to work, as each 'battle' is fully capable of affecting another, so there are valid reasons for a player to refuse fighting one (by not taking armour, or air power, perhaps), so long as he plans his forces accordingly.
It was good to see things continuing to scale up well. This is something that was built into the SST system originally (we fully intended for it to be playable in a sports hall, something you can see in the air rules), and seems to be retained.
I think many people are going to intially forego infantry as much as possible to concentrate on 'special' things - the 'shiny' factor. However, once you get infantry into cover, they are very hard to shift. Yes, you can use a big tank gun to blast them out, but you only get to fire it once per turn, and there are probably better targets about. . . As always, a balanced force will win the day, particularly when a mission demands ground be taken. A tank remains a tough unit, but one good shot will destroy even a Challenger 2. A couple of squads of infantry holed up in a building or forest, on the other hand, will likely require close quarters fighting by infantry to shift.
Air power is extremely useful, but it is not dominating and you cannot rely on it - even Gunships can be taken out by relatively weak weapons (once you move into the D10 range).
Just finished a battle against Ted Chang, and figured some may be interested to hear what is possible, and how playtesting is progressing. This is really just a collection of notes that were distributed to our playtest teams, and there is a 'proper' battle report for BF Evo coming in the next S&P.
In terms of SST there are important differences in the way units work (power armour and jump jets tend to do that) but the core rules are exactly the same. So, exchange WZ-10 for Slingshot, Challenger for Tanker Bug, and so on. The LAMI are very similar to the infantry used here, though their weapons are a bit more frightening. . .
*Start Report*
This was a 3,000 point game, Chinese PLA against the European Federation Task Force. The following armies were used in a Sweep and Clear mission. Note that any similarity between these forces and what actually becomes available next year _may_ turn out to be a coincidence
EFTF
2 British Army Infantry Squads
Challenger II MBT
Typhoon II
Future Lynx
British Army Command Squad
2 SAS Patrols
2 French Foreign Legion Squads
Leopard 2 140mm MBT
PLA
4 Infantry Squads
Team one of another Infantry Squad
3 Type 99 MBTs
J-12
WZ-10
SOF Squad
2 EQ-2050s
FAV
Command Squad with no IFV
We played for four turns before it became clear the PLA had won - but we weren't sure until the very end of that turn. The battle swung backwards and forwards and, in one sense, it was actually several battles taking place at once, though all had an effect on the others.
In the infantry battle, the Chinese held most of the cards, especially in the contested ground, where they reached cover first and set up their MGs. The Foreign Legion tried valiantly to advance, but were mercilessly cut down. Cover and numbers won this for the Chinese.
In the armour battle, the PLA were dogged by bad luck (or were just plain rotten shots!), and lost all their Type 99s by the end of turn two. However, the Challenger was badly damaged, though both EFTF tanks could now advance on the PLA infantry and shatter their hold. . .
Until the aircraft turned up. The PLA did not even try to take part in the air battle - instead, they concentrated on attacking the EFTF ground forces, intending to take any aerial reprisals on the chin. Two missiles from the WZ-10 took care of the Leopard, while two 1,000 lb. bombs from the J-12 destroyed the Challenger and most of one British squad. Undaunted, the Typhoon II swept in to down the WZ-10 and nearly succeeded - after its pass, the chopper was belching smoke. However, the EQ2050s, lying quietly on the PLA base line, launched their TY-90 missiles and blew the Typhoon out of the sky. The Future Lynx took one of them out with a TOW missile, and laid into the PLA infantry with an MG, but the last EQ2050 downed it in the next turn.
There was a fourth battle going on, between an SAS patrol and the SOF on the far side of the table. The SAS had taken control of a tower, and were raining sniper fire down on anything that moved and looked interesting. They were able to stall the SOF by taking out the Sergeant but, in the end, MG fire blew them out of their hiding place (took a bit of time though).
With no armour left on the table, and the PLA dominant with infantry and air power, it was only a matter of time. . .
Conclusions
A few tweaks are coming from this battle, mainly in the air rules - you'll get the updates very soon, but they are minor.
This game seemed very balanced - indeed, many of our games are coming right down to the wire. The multiple-battles-in-one is an interesting idea that I had not considered before, but it seems to work, as each 'battle' is fully capable of affecting another, so there are valid reasons for a player to refuse fighting one (by not taking armour, or air power, perhaps), so long as he plans his forces accordingly.
It was good to see things continuing to scale up well. This is something that was built into the SST system originally (we fully intended for it to be playable in a sports hall, something you can see in the air rules), and seems to be retained.
I think many people are going to intially forego infantry as much as possible to concentrate on 'special' things - the 'shiny' factor. However, once you get infantry into cover, they are very hard to shift. Yes, you can use a big tank gun to blast them out, but you only get to fire it once per turn, and there are probably better targets about. . . As always, a balanced force will win the day, particularly when a mission demands ground be taken. A tank remains a tough unit, but one good shot will destroy even a Challenger 2. A couple of squads of infantry holed up in a building or forest, on the other hand, will likely require close quarters fighting by infantry to shift.
Air power is extremely useful, but it is not dominating and you cannot rely on it - even Gunships can be taken out by relatively weak weapons (once you move into the D10 range).
