The Adrenaline Spike
Volume 1, Issue 2
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the official newsletter of DJ Burnett's AC Games
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News

GPC Delayed for Improvements

The bad news is that the release of GPC has been suspended for this month, with no set release date in the immediate future. The good news is that I suddenly had an influx of great ideas to improve the game. What does this mean to you? Unfortunately you'll have to wait a few more months to get your hands on a copy of GPC.  However, when it is released it will have approximately 30% more new material, and the scope of the game will be improved one hundredfold. You are going to love these changes! 

ArmyBuilder Data File for GPC  Also On Hold for Improvement

I have temporarily ceased work on the ArmyBuilder play aid file for GPC . The extra material I am adding to the game includes changes to the original point cost of units as well as the addition of many new units. Therefore, the original ArmyBuilder file I was creating is now obsolete. When the changes to GPC are completed I will again begin work on the GPC ArmyBuilder data file, and it will be available on the AC Games website soon after.

AC Games Finds a Temporary Home on the Web

The arrival of the official AC Games website (with our own domain) is still a few months away, but in the meantime I have created a temporary home for AC Games on my Gaming site, Kazashima's Dojo. You can find the Dojo at: www.geocities.com/kazashima.html 
and follow the links, or go straight to AC Games at www.geocities.com/kazashima/AC.html. Here you will find general information on AC Games (the company), upcoming products, and yes, current and back issues of the Spike. After the site moves to our own AC Games domain, the link on this page will take you to the new site. In the meantime, stay tuned to this site and The Spike for information regarding AC Games.

Q: What are you doing to GPC?

Good Question. GPC was finished, and it was a good game. Then one night I was standing there at work, and suddenly inspiration struck me. In that moment I had 4 (yes, 4) ideas on how to improve the game. Since that night a few days ago, I've had several more. At first I was very excited, I couldn't wait to get home, boot up the PC, and get to work. The night dragged on and by the time I got home I was dead tired. I was still excited, but the edge had been taken off by fatigue. Then the task of completely stripping the game down to its very core and rebuilding several key mechanics seemed daunting. And it is daunting. But the good news is that the excitement of a completely new GPC with all of this new material added didn't fade. I have begun working on it and I expect to finish in a month at the latest. 

So, this gives you some insight into how the design process goes (at least for me) but doesn't answer the $100,000 question: Exactly what kind of changes am I talking about? I'm talking about changes that will greatly enhance the game and expand its possibilities. 

Unit Types: I am reorganizing and rewriting the abilities of the original GPC unit types, and adding several new ones. The revisions to the original units will not be earth-shaking. A Rifleman is still a Rifleman and a Sniper is still a Sniper. However, there will be minor changes to their abilities and descriptions, to bring them into line with the other changes to the system.

Many new unit types will be added, including more powerful units than those in the original version of the game. New special unit types will be available, such as Commandos and Demolitions, for accomplishing special scenario goals, and will have special abilities that fit their role. However, none will be so specialized that they won't be useful in any battle. 

There will also be more Vehicle Unit Types available, each with their own particular strenghts and weaknesses. The Jeep of the original game will stay mostly the same, the Tank will be scrapped for 2 or more different types of Tank, and special vehicles such as mobile artillery and APC's will be available.

Point Costs: As with most miniature wargames, GPC uses a point system for building your armies. Players receive a certain number of 'points' (decided upon mutually or according to the guidelines of a scenario). Each unit type 'costs' a certain number of points to 'buy' (add it to your army). 

I am changing the system which I used to determine the unit costs in the original version of GPC, to give it more balance and uniformity. With these changes also comes an official system by which you, the player, can create your own unit types, complete with point costs that are in line with the official unit types included with the game. At this time I am not certain whether I will include this 'build your own units' system in the finished GPC rulebook or release it elsewhere (on the AC Games website, in The Spike, or as part of a GPC suplement). Rest assured it will be available in some form soon after the release of the GPC rulebook.

Army Lists: I am toying with the idea of creating a backstory and different 'armies'. By this I mean one player could decide to play 'Roger's Rangers', which for the sake of the example, we'll say is an army who's tactics and abilities are suited to guerilla warfare. The units from this army would tend to move farther and faster than other armies, and have more long range attack units to suit the 'hit and run' style of this army.  On the other hand, 'Slaughter's Marauders' would be an unruly mob of bloodthirsty psychos who particularly enjoy killing their enemies up close and personal. They would tend to have many short range weapons that do alot of damage. This system could include special abilities such as Stealth (for the Rangers) and Berzerker Frenzy (for the Marauders). For the sake of the example, Stealth would represent the Rangers abilities to sneak up on their enemies, giving them the advantage of surprise, meaning they win initiative on every turn, and Berzerker Frenzy would allow the Marauders to ignore light wounds and keep fighting as if unwounded (though they'd still be considered to be lightly wounded for purposes of determining the results of further damage). 

Right now this is very much undecided. While this system adds variety in the types of troops and units available to a player, it also limits his choices by limiting him to choosing units from only allied armies. I have also considered leaving the game as it is and making different, specialized unit types available from other sources. Stay tuned to the Spike for further developments in this area.

Other Changes: The above changes are the ones that will affect the game the most, but there are others. Most of the other changes are minor, such as tweaking a combat roll table to make it more balanced, or increasing a die roll modifier for ability to make it more powerful, and so forth. Nothing earth shaking here, just a few adjustments to make the game more playable and balanced, which makes it that much more enjoyable for the players.

So, while a delay in the release of GPC may be disappointing to you and myself both, the expanded and improved GPC will be well worth the wait. The new version of the game will give you more, and better material, so while I apologize for the delay, I think you will be pleased with the results. 

A General Retraction Regarding The Spike, Issue 1

In the first issue of The Adrenaline Spike I stated that GPC would be available soon, and set the price at $7. To say I jumped the gun is an understatement. I  have explained above the reasons for the delay of GPC's release, and I apologize for any inconveinence this may have caused. 

As for the price, rest assured the final price of GPC will be reasonable and inexpensive. I can't promise it will remain the same $7 as stated in Issue 1, however. Due to the nature of publishing, when you add new material the price goes up. If possible I will maintain the price of $7 for the finished GPC rulebook. If, however, the price does go up, it will not be bu more than a dollar or two. This is a business and I have to eat, so I have to be realistic in my pricing. At this point I just don't know how much the new GPC will cost to produce and ship, so I can't set a price. Again, I apologize for any inconveinence. 

The Future of AC Games

AC Games will be Incorporated as a privately held corporation within the next few months. At this time production will begin on our first few games. The plan is to release no less than 3 games to the gaming public on the same date. These games will vary in style and form, and the only one of my many designs that will definitely be one of these three is, you guessed it,  GPC. Many designs are being considered for the other two slots in our starting lineup, but at this time, I believe one will be a GPC supplement, and the other will be a solitaire adventure game (sci-fi and sniper games are being considered). At this point, its too soon to tell, as soon as the decision is made I will announce it in The Spike.

The AC Games philosphy is to start small and work our way up to producing our 'flagship' designs: A sci-fi survival RPG and a live-action medieval combat game. The reason for this is that these larger products cost more to produce, and to keep costs low for the AC Gamer, its better if we pay for the production of these products ourselves rather than taking out a huge loan, which will drive our prices up. We want to stay in business and keep producing good games for years to come, and this means not overreaching our finances, and keeping our customers happy with low prices for quality products. 

Expect AC Games to officially start business before the end of the summer, and expect 3 great games to be released at that time. In the meantime, read The Spike for further developments, and thank you for your interest in AC Games.

--DJ Burnett
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for subscriptions, ordering, submitting articles, or general questions
email me at 
kazashima@yahoo.com
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Thanks for your support. Issue 3 Coming Soon!

Copyright 2000 DJ Burnett