1. The new Air Superiority Game, "Gunslingers", is being advertised to have revised 2nd Edition rules. What is being changed?
Like most designers, I am always thinking of ways I could have done things better. A lot of people are unaware that I designed the first game to have the right feel and the expense of some true physics and aerodynamics. I'm a pilot, I made the game feel right, knowing some concepts were artificial. Air Sup has been on the shelves for 3 full years now and I have received lots of help and suggestions from aerodynamicists and physicists who also play the game and have noted the deviations. Where possible, I am making changes that reflect truer aerodynamics: to wit, the 2nd edition rules contain the following.
a) Revised turn tables: including the ability to make 90 degree turns with the expenditure of a single FP.
b) Restrictions on changing nose pitch attitudes.
c) The ability to gain or lose altitude while performing certain roll maneuvers.
d) A change to make ACCEL and DECEL the same: i.e., two accel points = + .05 speed instead of three as before.
c) A more realistic set of transonic/supersonic speed effects on aircraft.
f) Revised electronic warfare rules. The use of decoys is simplified and made more realistic.
g) Revised missile flightrules. Accurate speed and deceleration of missiles. Simplified attack procedures.
h) More detailed aircraft damage tables.
i) A consolidation of all game charts into a more user friendly booklet which includes a summary of flight rules.
j) Data cards are changed in looks and include additional information such as ejection seats, air refuel capability, and victory points.
k) Simplified Initiative, Sighting and Radar rules.
2. Cleaning up some aerodynamics inconsistencies in 2nd Edition rules sounds great but what is being done to ease the playability problems that exist in first edition rules: mainly the massive die rolling that is required at some points in a game-turn, such as initiative and Sighting and radar searches?
Originally, the game remained very playable at the two to four aircraft per side level. Good players wanted to do larger battles but the mechanics requiring each aircraft to make an initiative roll, and each aircraft to roll to sight every other aircraft on the map caused a geometric increase in die rolling. Second edition seeks to eliminate unnecessary die rolls by revising concepts. For example:
a) Only one Initiative rolls is now made for each side versus for each aircraft. Each aircraft applies available modifiers to the base roll to get its specific initiative number.
b) Sighting is based on the assumption that everyone on a side is randomly searching for the enemy all around and all the time. Thus only one roll is made for unsighted enemy aircraft each turn with modifiers based on how many aircraft could be looking for it instead of having every friendly jet determine range and modifiers and search for it individually.
c) A study of radar physics revealed that at the ranges most scenarios and games are played at, even the lesser capable radars can detect the enemy with 98+% probability all the time. The die roll for searching is thus eliminated and only the die roll for attaining lock- ons is retained to reflect operator technique. For the most part, if your radar is on, and the enemy is in its arc, it will be detected.
These examples just illustrate a few of the time savings gained by reducing die rolling in play.
3. What about the decoy system in the game? A fast airplane can put out many more decoys in play than a slow moving one and thus has a greater chance of defeating enemy missiles. This doesn't seem right.
It isn't. it did kind of make the speed is life rule a little truer though in an artificial son of way. I just didn't think of a better way to play decoys until now. The use of decoy counters and the rules for deploying them are all eliminated in 2nd edition rules. In 2nd edition, the concept of "protection levels" is used.
Basically, you are allowed to select a protection level of from 1 to 6 that your decoy dispenser will provide while it is on each game- turn. The level of protection is provided regardless of your speed. Decoy counters are not used at all. The protection level enters play as a die roll modifier for missile launches and attacks. The level you pick also equals the number of decoy bursts your dispenser uses up.
4. Players are often able to outmaneuver missiles and dodge them due to the limitations of moving on a hex grid: can anything be done to correct this. Sometimes I can move my missile to turn and pass in front of or behind a target but not exactly through his position: this is frustrating and unrealistic.
Agreed, in 2nd Edition, the act of actually having to fly a missile through the target is eliminated since a lot of game time is wasted trying to figure out the perfect missile move to cover all the possible places an aircraft can go during its next proportional move. Now the rule is that if the Missile has enough movement points to cover the distance from where it is to the target at the start of its proportional move, the attack is just declared using the angle-off that exists at that instant.
To compensate, angle off modifiers are more adverse than before. Missile tracking is still required though so in some cases it is still possible to evade missiles by getting out of their tracking arc before they attack.
5. If 2nd Edition rules change Accel to equal Decel, what happens to Rapid Accel aircraft?
Rapid accel aircraft are allowed to gain 0.5 speed for the first excess Accel point left over in a game-turn and then for every two thereafter like regular aircraft. Example: a rapid accel aircraft would gain 1.0 in speed for having 3 accel points in a game-turn while a regular aircraft would gain 0.5 speed and carry 1 accel point to the next turn.
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© Copyright 1990 by J.D. Webster
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