The Adrenaline Spike
Volume 1, Issue 3
May 14, 2000
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the official newsletter of DJ Burnett's AC Games
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News

Work on GPC Progressing at Fantastic Rate!

I have been working feverishly on the new, revised GPC, and I can happily report great progress. I have already created the new point system, and am extremely happy with it. The size of the original game has already doubled, with still more to add and change. I am now working on expanding the troop and vehicle selections, and adding a backstory to the game. If work continues at this pace (depending on work and other outside factors), the game should be ready for a series of playtests by next weekend (May 20-22). At this time I am hoping to begin the final edit on Monday, May 23.

New Game on the Horizon!

I have, in my free time, began sketching out the basics of a new solotaire mini-rpg, which I'll refer to here as SK. The game is in the prototype stage now, being worked on mainly in my head, when I need a break from the revision of GPC. At this time I expect to move on to working solely, and diligently, on SK as soon as the final version of GPC is completely finished.

So, what is SK all About?

SK will feature multiple races and professions (characters are versatile, they choose a profession, which differs from a character class in that it is merely a beginning package of skills and abilities which the PC can grow beyond, purchasing skills and abilities outside those of his or her chosen profession). 

The selection of professions will go far beyond the standard, limited selections available from 'classes' in other games. Characters may switch professions, retaining their old skills and abilities while gaining the benefits of the new profession. However, progression in  abilities unique to the old profession is much slower after switching, to maintain play balance.

SK will be primarily geared towards solotaire play, but is also usable with a GM and multiple players. Any limitations to this in the basic rules will be addressed in an inexpensive multiplayer/GM sourcebook, which will also contain new material useful to the solotairy player (as they act as their own GM, the material will be geared towards any type of play, with a single section geared specifically to GM'ing SK for a group of players). 

SK is a fantasy adventure game, so expect some old favorites such as elves, dwarves, and dragons to appear (some with new twists), but there will also be many new types of adventurers to portray. The combination of racial and professional special abilities and skills, as well as a general pool of abilities and skills to choose from, will allow a player to create widely diverse characters, each and every one completely unique. 

AC games will market many pre-created adventures for the solotaire player, and later many for the multiplayer group as well. However, the basic rules come complete with a system for generating your own dungeon-type adventures on the fly, as well as ideas for other sorts of play.

This game will be supported with many supplements, including both rules additions/expansions and ready-to-play adventures. Stay tuned to The Spike for further news of SK.

A Sneak Peak at Point Costs in GPC

The new point cost system for units in GPC brings the game balance and a great increase in fairness. How so? Let me show you.

Under the old system you could purchase a basic Heavy Machinegunner and a Flamethrower Trooper for the same cost: 2 points. Both units can target multiple enemies while making one shot, however, the machinegunner has a much longer range with fairly heavy damage, but the Flamethrower has an extremely short range with fairly heavy damage. While this balances out to a point, it does not completely reflect the abilities of these units in their point cost.

How do you remedy this? First I assigned a base point cost of 5 to every Troop type (vehicles have a different base cost). Then I broke down all considerations given when designing Units; Rank, Range, Damage Level, Special Abilities, and so forth, and assigned a point cost to each one. Then its just a matter of looking at the description of the Unit type and adding up all the points for the abilities it has (note: I did this while designing the game, you the player never have to figure costs in this manner, except when buying extra levels of experience). 

Here are the final cost breakdowns for the Heavy Machinegunner and the Flamethrower Trooper:

Heavy Machinegunner					Flamethrower Trooper

	5 pts (base cost)						5 pts (base cost)
	5 pts (range)					              10 pts (multiple targets)
              10 pts (multiple targets) 				              10 pts (very heavy damage)
           +   5 pts (heavy damage)				              10 pts (extra damage)	
        ----------------------------				        --------------------------------
          25 pts (final cost)			                                   35 pts (final cost)

As you can see, its not a huge difference, but it does reflect the slight superiority of the flamethrowers deadliness when compared to the Heavy Machinegun, in an abstract situation. Of course the flamethrower would be chewed up by the Heavy Machinegun at medium range before it got close enough to fire, but in their own roles these point costs accurately reflect the abilities of the two units. 

You will have also noticed a dramatic increase in point costs for these units from the original GPC system to the new one. The original system used very low point costs for ease of tracking points when building your armies. However, the low point system did not leave me room to balance the point costs out for differences in weapons and abilities. This has been corrected, and the increase in size of the point costs should cause no difficulties, you still have to add the numbers, the numbers are just a little bigger. I suggest a calculator (which you  would have used anyway) or for much simpler and faster armybuilding, download ArmyBuilder (see issue 1 for details) and get the GPC ArmyBuilder data file when its available.

Please note that this example is from a work in progress, so point costs of these units, and for the abilities shown in the example may change. However, now you have a good idea of exactly what sort of changes I'm making to the system, and an idea of how the finished system will work. 

As mentioned in Issue 2 of The Spike, at some point the nuts and bolts of the new point cost calculation system will be made available to the public in a GPC supplement, which will allow you to create your own custom units. 

Exercising my Editorial License
A few words on Small Press Games

As a gamer I have always supported the small press game companies by buying, and enjoying their products. Now that I am starting a small press company myself, its given me alot to reflect upon about the importance of small press games.

Just like the film industry has independent filmmakers vs. the big studios, gaming has small press vs. big game companies. The line is a bit fuzzier in the gaming world, as many big companies extend a helping hand to small ones, and its a friendly rivalry, for the most part. However, just like in the film world, the big companies have the budgets to create a glossy beautiful package with little substance inside.  Then they charge you heavily for it. Small press companies have a limited budget, so their products have less production value. No glossy covers and full color art, and if they have art, it may be downright ugly. However, to make up for this, if they want sales, they have to make sure there's substance in their product. Real meat and potatoes for the gamer. And...when its done, they charge you less than any big company would dream of.

So for your gaming dollar you get more (useful and interesting material) for less (money). What more could you ask for? I know, I know, you could ask for more for nothing, but as I've said before...us game designers have to eat too. You will find many great free games on the internet (just go to a search engine and search 'free rpg' or 'free wargame' and you'll find hundreds). These are usually labors of love by people who already eat fairly well from another source, or people who don't want to go through the fuss of running a business. At any rate, I include these in my definition of 'small press' because they are competing for your time (not money in this case) against commercial games by providing quality and substance. 

Over the years I've gotten many great games for free on the web, and for very little money from small press companies I found in the backs of magazines, on the web, and in catalogs. The subject matter is usually a bit riskier, or wackier, or downright strange, but the price is great and the material is new and edgy. These people know how to take risks, and if you do invest in one and find out its not worth your time and/or money, you've lost alot less than if you had invested in the new system from a big company and spent $30-50 for each of the three books you need to play. I, for one, have never been disappointed in a small press product I paid my hard-earned money for. There have been some free ones that left me scratching my head, wondering why I bothered, but they're free, so nothing was lost but the time it took to look over the rules.

As a game designer and gamer, I urge you to look into small press games. This isn't a self-promoting pat on my own back. Of course I'll be happy if you choose to invest your time and money in my creations, but I encourage you to play the field. Check out all the great small press and free games out there, I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Happy gaming, and thanks for your time.

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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 4 Coming Soon!

Copyright 2000 DJ Burnett