dvdswnn wrote:
dvdswnn wrote: I was wondering if players would be interested in having the option (and I stress option) to equalise fuel when creating an engagement. Ok, I've scanned through the previous threads mentioned and it's good to hear that there as those that would like to do something about this and there are those that would not. So an "option" should be a way to satisfy both parties, right?
To those threads you can add this one http://www.youplay.it/play/forum_showmessage.asp?msgid=25929 in which took part even Phil Hall, the original designer of Blue Max, in a private message with him I had the honor to have it described as a lecture. May be you will find there some interesting hints.
For those that are against changing the great game Blue Max is in any way, first the game itself has changed a number of times. Altitude for example was introduced in the second edition as an "option" of course. Second, this site itself differs from the original board game. The boards used here are different from the actual board game and I don't recall any rule about being able to place your planes anywhere at start. And I also don't recall any rules about choosing whether to allow "Pilot Killed" or not.
I'm not asking for every plane to be equal in every respect, just give us the option to make it equal in one respect.
As it is different the victory point system that several players disliked and that Phil said he would have introduced if, in the brief period in which he designed "Blue Max" for GDW. Now, this site has some "house ruling" (diferent map sizes, free planes placement, no Pilot Killed chits). If you reflect on them you will find that, once made some implementations of the basic rules, they were easier to fit in the frame of the program.
Personally I think that if for the fuel problem you must find the right balancing laws to introduce it in the game frame, then you will have made the basic step to allow Nick and the staff to find a solution.
We had this problem in 1984 and introduced some different house rules to address the problem and the game was still just as enjoyable. They ranged from having a random modification to the initial fuel level, having planes of similar type have the same fuel tank size, to just dropping fuel altogether.
You see that you made your house ruling! 
But the most popular one for making fuel less important was having a random mission, which included baloon busting, photo reconnaissance, bombing and the traditional patrol/command of the air.
This is the most difficult one since, as Phil Hall said, Blue Max was thought as a "simple game to recreate that short moments of the dogfight" and the fuel rules was given to give it an ending system. For instance in "Down in flames" each game lasts only ten turns. Ending earlier if you are shoot down. |
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