page 196: Crossfire

[grixit]

We're getting a complete writeup of the game, right?

[icekatze]

hi hi

Ooh! The long awaited Loroi-chess. After all the discussion we had about it back in the day, it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. Finally an opportunity for Alex to show off his genius.

I notice that the earlier incarnations had the capture target on an elevated hill, but now it looks like it's a lowered gravity well instead, maybe?

[Arioch]

I notice that the earlier incarnations had the capture target on an elevated hill, but now it looks like it's a lowered gravity well instead, maybe?

The traditional form of the game represents a fortress on a hill; the "modern" version represents a planet in a gravity well. The mechanics are the same in both versions.

[Werra]

Wouldn't a gravity well have the opposite effect to a hill for defensive purposes?

[dragoongfa]

Wouldn't a gravity well have the opposite effect to a hill for defensive purposes?

Not really, on a hill you fight against gravity as you try to climb it. As a spaceship you fight against gravity as you try to maneuver close to it in a combat situation; slingshot maneuvers and all that are well and good when no one is trying to shoot at you but when you have an enemy in system the last thing you want is to telegraph ahead where your position will be due to a slingshot maneuver.

[Mk_C]

Wouldn't a gravity well have the opposite effect to a hill for defensive purposes?

It's an abstraction.

[Werra]

@dragoongfa
A hill makes ranged attacks more difficult. A gravity well would make those easier. If Heinlein wasn't such a degenerate coomer, I'd recommend reading "Mooning a harsh Missus" for a demonstration of the principle.
Would a planets gravity well noticeably affect ships with the engine output and engagement range of Outsider?

[Sweforce]

With a name as "Crossfire" there really need to be a third party in the game, namely that fortress/planet in the middle. I guess that it starts out neutral but eventually one of the players capture it. If that mean that game is won or that the owner only gain some power from having it is another matter.

[boldilocks]

@dragoongfa
A hill makes ranged attacks more difficult. A gravity well would make those easier. If Heinlein wasn't such a degenerate coomer, I'd recommend reading "Mooning a harsh Missus" for a demonstration of the principle.
Would a planets gravity well noticeably affect ships with the engine output and engagement range of Outsider?

In the heinlein example, the gravity well is also where your target resides, which means you just have to drop a rock and it falls on him, as if you lived on top of a building and he lived in the alley below. In this case, both sides are mobile, and the gravity well is a complication that has to be accounted for, which is akin to you and your target living on two rooftops with an alley between you. You can throw rocks at each other at equal cost. And maybe there are more rocks in the alley, but then you have to go down there and get them.

[Mk_C]

If Heinlein wasn't such a degenerate coomer

Where do you think you are?

[gaerzi]

With a name as "Crossfire" there really need to be a third party in the game, namely that fortress/planet in the middle. I guess that it starts out neutral but eventually one of the players capture it. If that mean that game is won or that the owner only gain some power from having it is another matter.

Yes:

I gathered that it is much like chess in such a case I am mainly interested in how many tiles a board has, the number and type of pieces and how they move.

Those details are not finalized, so if you plan to describe a game in detail, I can't really help you.

Here is what I can say about Crossfire:

• The game has three sides: two armies and a fortified city on the hill surrounded by three towers. The city is neutral; the objective for each of the two players is to either capture the city or to wipe out the enemy force.
• The board is hexagonal. I'm not sure whether it's 9 or 11 hexes across.
• The three center rings are progressively elevated. Changing elevation ends the movement of moving piece.
• Each player can move multiple pieces on his turn, according to the number of command units he has remaining.
• Pieces are captured by surrounding them with a superior force. Each piece type has a different combat strength and movement allowance/rules.
• The player that moves first has the two towers on the hill facing him.

A possible board setup for a 9-hex version:

Looks like the final design is 11-across. Though it's possible 9-across exists as well, there are plenty of non-standard versions of chess with larger or smaller chessboards, variant units, etc. so crossfire could have variants as well.

[DevilDalek]

Makes me wonder what kind of entertainment systems they recovered from the Bellermine.

"Cool game! Now this one is called 'Homeworld 10, multiplayer.."

[GeoModder]

Makes me wonder what kind of entertainment systems they recovered from the Bellermine.

"Cool game! Now this one is called 'Homeworld 10, multiplayer.."

Flying Saucers!
Why go for anything less then the classics?

[Dan Wyatt]

Makes me wonder what kind of entertainment systems they recovered from the Bellermine.

"Cool game! Now this one is called 'Homeworld 10, multiplayer.."

What if someone has some FPS games like CS or CoD?

[gaerzi]

Makes me wonder what kind of entertainment systems they recovered from the Bellermine.

Insert a promotional comic homage/parody of the Hostess comics with the Bellarmine crew enjoying a multiplayer session of Stars in Shadow 42.

[Jagged]

So when do they start firing ball bearings at each other?

[Quickdraw101]

Makes me wonder what kind of entertainment systems they recovered from the Bellermine.

"Cool game! Now this one is called 'Homeworld 10, multiplayer.."

What if someone has some FPS games like CS or CoD?

Or they come across Minecraft or GTA.

[DevilDalek]

I'd say a warrior based society would have a lot of fun with them, and the pilot bunnies would appreciate minecraft after their survival training.

[Dan Wyatt]

Makes me wonder what kind of entertainment systems they recovered from the Bellermine.

"Cool game! Now this one is called 'Homeworld 10, multiplayer.."

What if someone has some FPS games like CS or CoD?

Or they come across Minecraft or GTA.

What if some weeb brought in some dating sim? Space gets lonely sometimes.

[Arioch]

When you're in orbit, you can't just drop a rock to hit a target on the planet below... the rock stays in orbit with you. From orbital velocity, it takes more energy to drop to the center of the gravity well than it does to escape it. And to do so, you need to slow down, not speed up.

Also... it's an abstraction. Don't tell me the Queen isn't actually the most powerful unit on real battlefields.