Game Development Continued…
Huh…looking back on it I don’t think I’ve ever done a “Game Development Continued” blog post back to back…shrug…it’s what I want to type this time, so I’ll do fiction or art next week.
Anyways, let’s talk torpedoes. In some ways, torpedoes are almost like skidding in BattleTech. I know, I know…how does that connection work? Well, stay with me for a minute.
Skidding in BattleTech is complicated. In fact, it’s so complicated that when I wrote Total Warfare several years ago (the ‘new’ definitive series of BT rulebooks) and I re-organized the rules so that only “tournament” rules were found in that book (any non-tournmanet rules were moved to other advanced rulebooks, such as Tactical Operations), I had some playtesters advocating for its removal from Total Warfare because of the problems it created in ‘tournament events’
Another way to look at it, the previous core BattleTech rulebook (BattleTech Master Rules), devoted 3 pages to it, including an example. However, from my own experience of playing the game for long years and from a pile of community feedback, the number of ‘what if’ statements those 3 pages didn’t cover was shocking (my all time favorite was “what if he skids off a cliff and there’s a VTOL in that hex at a lower Elevation?”…yup…happened in a game). So in Total Warfare (note I really didn’t change the rules at all), skidding required 5 pages and has two giant examples in it.
So why devote that much page count to such a complicated rule? Because it always felt so BattleTech to me. Giant, lumbering metal-clad monsters tromping through a city and the MechWarrior trying to pull off a maneuver with a ‘Mech that’s too extreme and down it goes, tumbling and slamming into other units, toppling buildings and so on. Not only did it feel right, but despite the complexity, a skidding situation never failed to create a series of groans mixed with “That was total Wicked!” (And for those following all my blogs, you know I’m a big believer in the importance of that in game play). Not to mention how many great fiction stories have put that mechanic element into use.
Hopefully you’re following me then, as I believe the aerial torpedoes feels right for Leviathans. Just like with skidding all those years ago as I was developing Total Warfare, I’ve had several discussions with playtesters about ‘is the complexity worthwhile.’ Now remember to put this into context. It’s not really that complicated at all…but compared to how gun batteries fire, it can slow the game down. But even outside of the flavor it helps to convey to the French (which make heavy use of torpedoes), it provides a style of game play that helps to make Leviathans…well…Leviathans.
It’s been so long, I just opened up the Word file of the first iteration of the rules that went out for playtesting (dated April 10, 2008 by the way), and man have torpedoes changed. The initial rules had them very similar to gun batteries but with hidden hex designations and the need to write hex numbers down secretly and so on. Those were too complex and ultimately didn’t feel right.
The torpedoes as they’ll exist in the game are an area of denial style of play. Firing and Target hexes are designated with playing pieces before movement, then all movement occurs. Before combat (i.e. firing of gun batteries), you then check LOS between the Firing and Target hexes and if there’s a ship along the LOS, the firing player makes a Breach Roll. And it’s a nice set of dice you’re rolling…hard to connect, but you’re almost always going to bunch through if you do.
The in universe concept behind how torpedoes work is that to miniaturize the electroid, electric generator, propellor and explosive down to a size to fit in a torpedo makes it…well…not exactly stable. So you lock in its firing solution and a clock that’ll ignite its movement, lob it over the side where it bobs and you get out of the way and then it activates, racing off on its pre-determined and very blind course, hitting anything that can’t get out of the way.
Ultimately this doesn’t do much good against smaller Type ships…but if you’re able to lay down multiple lines across a big, slow Battleship…you force him to go where you want or risk taking a pile of strong Breach Rolls. And by all means, be careful of your own movement so you don’t hit yourself…that’s happened several times to great groans and cheers.
See ya next duty shift!
Randall
I was wondering how torpedoes were going to work. The area denial idea seems pretty cool. I can’t wait to try firing off a couple spreads. So, the game comes out next week, right? XD
Torps sound interesting.
Thought it would be very, basic, just like guns, but do more damage and harder to hit with.
Fun. Sounds like a nice game mechanic, with an interesting piece of in-universe tech fluff behind it. I’m really looking forward to giving the full ruleset a shot. (Every pun intended, of course.)
Funny you should use skidding in BT as an example. I had one of those “That was totally WICKED!” moments last week, when I skidded a 30-ton ‘Mech into an already-damaged light building, and put him through the other side… off the map.
We named that ‘Mech “Elvis”.
See…exactly…
Thanks for sharing ElectronJohn.
so they’re “torpedoes” in the more traditional sense..that of a self-propelled explosive mine.
originally “torpedo” was the term used to refer to naval explosive devices, be they freefloating, tethered, or attached to spars. often these were contact fused, but electrical or mechanical command detonation were also used. the famous quote “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” referred to these devices, specifially the tethered kind used to defend harbors.
tethered torpedoes were the preferred deployment, since freefloating ones followed currents, and could easily hit your own ships. Spar torpedoes were explosive charges on basically spears, ram them into the ship, then pull away and detonate. (they got abandoned quickly when the all metal hull became common). you even had “land torpedoes”, which were explosive devices buried underground and fused to go off when people walked or rode over them.
the modern concept of the torpedo, that of the self propelled device, originated in the 1870′s, when the first self-propelled torpedoes were adopted. specifially the whitehead torpedo, invented in 1864. these were similar to the description above. basically an explosive mine with a propulsion system. though whitehead’s torps were fired from tubes. you’d line up the tube on the target the way one might a gun, adjusting for target movement during travel time and so on, then fire the torp, which would then move in a straight line along that course. accuracy sucked, but small boats could carry plenty of torpedoes, and big ships like battleships couldn’t turn fast enough to avoid them..even if they could see them in time. this is what made the Torpedo boat dominate warfare so much.
looking at the wet-navy tactics for unguided torpedoes…i’d expect the “torpedo fan” to be popular. you’d fire several torpedoes, all along slightly different courses, to bracket the target. if you missed with one, or the enemy managed to avoid one, they ran the risk of hitting the others.
i hope that in a future expansion in leviathans though, we see the first “guided” torpedoes..probably using a preset mechanical “program” so the torpedo will conduct turns. or possibly they could trail electrical wire, allowing for direct guidance. (something easily possible as early as the first world war, but not minituarized enough to fit to real world missiles until WW2..and not practical in non-sonar equipped submarines…but certainly an option for big, flying devices..) one would expect these kinds of aerial torpedoes to have shorter range (space taken up by guidance equipment) and use up more space on the firing ship (the wire spools), but be far more accurate.
though to be honest, the idea of guided torpedoes in leviathan probably would unbalance it…
Oh, have no fear glitterboy2098. While only ‘straight shot’ torpedoes will appear in the Core Box, I’ve numerous ideas jotted down for playtesting “enhanced torpedo munitions” for release at future dates.
Are there any suggested links or publications that cover naval fleet formations and engagement tactics in detail that you guys maybe came across in your development?
Fantastic stuff. The area denial idea seems fabulous and pretty cool. I was wondering how torpedoes were going to work. So smart and detailed information, keep up.