“The best way to learn games is to play games. The best way to make games is to work.” – Alan Emrich
Your Weekly Homework Game:
This week's homework builds on your Weekly Homework (i.e., “Ship”) Game’s current Concept Document (i.e., its Title, High Concept, Hook, One-Sentence Marketing Description, and a single paragraph description of the game’s setting, Epoch, scope, scale, and who the player represents). You're required to hand in a written document that includes your name plus the Concept Document information from last week’s homework assignment (with the Ship Matrix and Victory Conditions).
After copying and pasting that information from last week, you’re going to extend that Concept Document by adding this week’s homework assignment information at the end in a new section.
This section is entitled, “Week 3 Homework: Conflict Resolution” and, specifically, you must write:
A description of how conflict will be resolved between the pieces.
Specifically, what sort of conflict resolution model(s) will the game use (and in what way)?
What are all of the different possible outcomes?
Where do the Laws of Probability fit in (if there is any element of chance involved)?
Explain how will the values of each unit's attributes (e.g., its "numbers") interact when they conflict with each other. To make this very clear, give an example of a sample unit conflict being resolved describing:
each unit involved
each step in the conflict sequence or procedure
the value(s) used in the conflict interaction on the units involved
any random determinations (i.e., card or dice results) used in the conflict resolution
the interaction of all of the above
and the final outcome (or "result") of that sample conflict (i.e., its effects on the pieces involved et al).
Important: This homework assignment is worth almost double the usual amount! Don’t neglect to do it, and be sure to do a good job with it. This is a big bunch of points that will greatly influence your midterm grade!
Here is a sample of what to write for this week’s homework. This is an “A” grade assignment based on the game Galactic Civilizations II.
Combat is deceptively simple. Move a ship into the same parsec as an enemy ship or Starbase and the two sides will battle it out. Battles work as follows:
Ship vs. Ship
When individual ships fight, the attacking ship fires each of types of weapons as a single shot. That is, all of its available Beam weapons, Mass Driver [i.e., Gun] weapons, and Missile weapons are each grouped into single attacks using the total value of that group’s weapon strength. When firing, the weapons roll a die with a value between 1 and their combined attack rating. For example, if a ship has a Beam strength of 5, its Beam attack would generate a random number between 1 and 5.
At that point, the defender then rolls a value that is between 1 and its corresponding Defense Rating. Shields defend against Beams, Armor defends against Mass Drivers, and Point Defense defends against Missiles. Non-optimal defenses (e.g., Armor and Point Defenses vs. a Beam attack) are also added to the Defense Rating against that attack at rate of the square root of their value.
For example, your ship is attacking with six Laser Cannons, each of which provides a Beam attack strength of 1, for a total of Beam attack strength of 6. (Your ship has no Missiles or Mass Drivers.) The attacker would thus roll a Beam attack value between 1 and 6.
You're attacking a ship with two Deflectors, each providing a Shield defense 1, and Titanium Armor that provides an armor defense of 9 (which you only receive the square root of). The defender would roll a defense value between 1 and 2 (for the Deflectors) plus another die roll between 1 and 3 for the Titanium Armor (the square root of 9 is 3). These results are added together, so its total possible defense would be somewhere between 2 and 5.
Thus, ship combat is resolved using the Dice-off Method (i.e., each side generates a random number and they are compared to determine the result).
If the attacker’s roll value is greater than the defender’s (total) roll value, then the difference is subtracted from the hit points on the defender. If the defender survived, the roles are reversed and the defending ship shoots back at the attack (in a classic I Go, You Go combat sequencing). This sequence of play is repeated until one ship has no hit points left and is destroyed (i.e., a Sole Survivor contest).
Fleet Battles
ln a fleet battle, the attacking side adds together all of its ship attack values against a single defending ship, even if the defender is also a fleet (in which case the most lethal but most easily destroyed defending ship is targeted first). Then the roles are reversed until one of the fleets is destroyed.
Combat Example
Imagine a Dreadnought class ship (40 hit points) with five Phaser Cannons (20 Beam attack), three Harpoon Missiles (9 Missile attack), and one Singularity Driver (4 Mass Driver attack) and no defenses.
It is being attacked by a squadron of four Fighters (12 hit points each). Each Fighter is equipped with two Mark III Plasma Cannons (4 Beam attack) and one Chaff (1 Point Defense).
As the attacker, aII four of the Fighters get to take their shot first (before the Dreadnought can respond). Each one rolls a die between 1 and 4, and these values are added together and compared to the Dreadnought’s defense. Since there four Fighters, that means a total attack value between 4 and 16 will be generated against the Dreadnought.
Attacker’s first shot: Four Beam attack die rolls (d4) totals = 11. Dreadnought takes 11 damage and is reduced (demoted) from 40 hits points to 29.
Defender’s first shot: The Beam attack die roll (d20) = 8; Missile attack (d9) = 6; and Mass Driver attack (d4) = 4 for a total of 18 versus the target fighter’s Point Defense (d1) =1. The first fighter takes 17 damage and is destroyed (captured).
Attacker’s second shot: Three Beam attack die rolls (d4) totals = 9. Dreadnought takes 9 more damage and is now reduced from 29 hit points to 20.
Defender’s second shot: The Beam attack die roll (d20) = 2; Missile attack (d9) = 1; and Mass Driver attack (d4) = 2 for a total of 5 versus the target fighter’s Point Defense (d1) =1. The second fighter takes 4 damage and is reduced from 12 hit points to 8.
Attacker’s third shot: Three Beam attack die rolls (d4) totals = 6. Dreadnought takes 6 more damage and is now reduced from 20 hit points to 14.
Defender’s third shot: The Beam attack die roll (d20) = 20; Missile attack (d9) = 7; and Mass Driver attack (d4) = 1 for a total of 28 versus the target fighter’s Point Defense (d1) =1. The second fighter takes 27 more damage and is destroyed (the ‘overkill’ damage is not applied to another fighter; it is wasted).
Attacker’s fourth shot: Two Beam attack die rolls (d4) totals = 5. Dreadnought takes 5 more damage and is now reduced from 14 hit points to 9.
Defender’s fourth shot: The Beam attack die roll (d20) = 11; Missile attack (d9) = 4; and Mass Driver attack (d4) = 2 for a total of 17 versus the target fighter’s Point Defense (d1) =1. The third fighter takes 16 damage and is destroyed.
Attacker’s fifth shot: One Beam attack die rolls (d4) = 3. Dreadnought takes 3 more damage and is now reduced from 9 hit points to 6.
Defender’s fifth shot: The Beam attack die roll (d20) = 5; Missile attack (d9) = 5; and Mass Driver attack (d4) = 3 for a total of 13 versus the target fighter’s Point Defense (d1) =1. The third fighter takes 12 damage and is barely destroyed, thus ending the battle.
The Dreadnought has survived, but with only 6 hit points left it will probably be heading back to port for repairs.
Sample Weekly Homework ('Ship Game') Assignments
are available for your inspection!
Outstanding sample homework files are included inside this .zip file. It contains complete sets of homework assignments for this course from several award-winning ship games including: Alien Colony, Extreme River Rapids Racing, Hive Mind, and Outlaw Star. Peruse these to see what is expected from you each week!
In addition, this week's assignment only can be seen in isolation from this series from the game:
Pirates: The Battle for Booty.
Your Graded Course Project Game:
Concept Development: Last week, you should have finished conceptualizing your game – using your ‘thinking time’ to ask and answer a lot of “wopen” questions. You should have made notes, too, on your answers to those questions and your key design ideas. This week, you get to put it in writing!
You’re going to write an Inception Document for your Graded Course Project Game and hand it in for a grade in class next week (up to 4 points). In short, you’re going to hand in a document with your name and the following information about your Graded Course Project Game:
Title
High Concept
Hook
One-Sentence Marketing Description
A single paragraph description of the game’s setting, Epoch, scope, scale, and who the player represents
A mention of any cool / special / unique features for this game that you formulated while conceptualizing it
A sample Concept Document .PDF file
is available for your inspection by clicking here.
Exam #1 is next week:
Next week there will be the first course exam (worth 25 points) on the terms, concepts, and principles from the material presented in Lessons 1, 2, and 3. Be sure to study the Lesson Review Sheets handed out in class and make sure you've read all the Required Reading material found in each week's assignment links.
