Aeronautica Imperialis: review

After some time of chasing and locating this rulebook I have succeeded. Despite being made in now long gone 2006 and not supported any more by GW, it still an interesting game. Aeronautica Imperialis have in many ways influenced many of following “hits” of gaming industry. X-wing is one of them. How to summarize the overall impression if this game in brief sentence?

Peculiar dogfight.

Lets try to break it down in smaller points and elaborate on high and low point of this definitely interesting game.

1. Stand alone game.
2. Dogfight
3. Peculiar details
4. Juicy extras and balance

Stand alone game.

Aeronautica Imperialis is a Warhammer 40k spin-off specifically dedicated to aerial dogfights. Period. It ignores the huge amount of 40k inconsistencies and “holy bolter” of its game system WS and BS. It simply puts us in the sky and gives some flying lessons in style of World War 2. As it was written prior to modern Storm Talons and Sunsharks it has relatively small, but balanced amount of aircraft for each race, but our main workhorse/opponent is Imperial Navy Thunderbolt. Fighters and Bombers are the only types, but these classes have small influence on the gameplay. Flyers characteristics are much more important. Addition of Advanced rules makes for more in-depth games, but at the same time makes it even slower. Things like limited ammo, pilots skill, weather, terrain do affect combat, but if you mastered this relatively complicated game it will make it more tactically challenging.

Dogfight.

Well... put it this way, Imperium of Man is dying and backwards, just for the sake of Space Marines being cool dudes of entire setting. In case of Aeronautica Imperialis this put an emphasize onto close aerial fighting, without Space marines on a main roles. Instead Imperial players fly with Navy. On a technical side, in time of Imperium, Thunderbolt fighters can fly to the orbit of the planet but they have no radar and heat-seeking missiles have less firepower than autocannon. So pilots main activity is to get on enemy's tail and pepper it with bullets. All other missions like Bombing raids, troop insertion, Air patrols are added on top that sweet adrenaline of “dakka-dakka”.

Peculiar details.

The sweet sound of “dakka-dakka” comes at a price. Main idea of game is to predict position of enemy's aircraft, put your plane into firing range and roll 5+ or 6+ if you are higher or lower than target. To do so, you change following: Speed, Altitude, Thrust, then you play Manoeuvre cards to do Barrel rolls, High-g turns, Dives, Climbs and Turns. For each plane! Then you have 3 set ranges for weapons with variable effect on firepower. Book states that game with 2 planes may take an hour to complete and game with up to 12 planes several hours. In my small experience dogfight of 2 vs 2 planes took approximately 40 minutes.

Luckily we were not using advanced rules, but still some small things like overshooting enemy because your speed is higher than his, firing loads of shots and not scoring anything because you needed 6+, hitting but not damaging plane (similar to roll to wound), makes Aeronautica Imperialis a very detailed game. This in my opinion is both strong and weak point of it.

On a strong side: it really delivers a shot-by-shot dogfight experience.

On the other side: the very complexity of it slows it down.

Game system written by Games Workshop veteran Warwick Kindrade is as simple as it gets for a aerial combat simulator (though book insists that it is not a simulator). But to make it's gameplay faster and even more easier to grasp and master it would have to lose many of its detail which make it so rich. For example 4 vs 4 game of X-wing takes an hour to complete, Axis and Allies: Wings of Victory is similar in speed.

Juicy extras

On top of well-tested and balanced game book contains colour schemes for all aircraft, technical specifications, fluffy descriptions, in-game data sheets, “historical” missions, campaign rules (which are easy and based on 3 tables), some special rules, couple of pages dedicated to painting and terrain.

Overall book is high quality hard back with typical Forgeworld glossy paper. Currently sold together with supplement for 40k games for £30. Probably while stock lasts. Since GW discontinued its Specialist games in 2012, this book would be a collectors, not gamers buy. For now there are much faster and more competitive games on a market. But of coarse, they are not in Warhammer 40000 universe. 

Nilin.

"... lets play another game, Colonel. but this time, the hunted will become the hunter!"
Nilin. Memory hunter.
"Remember Me"

I really wanted to love this game. It had such promise, such potential, such nice views on both Neo-Paris and Nilin. Media hype have spilled an incredible journal of Antoun, Memorize creator filled with both personal and political history of our world circa 2054. But. It's empty and lacks many essential things. On top of everything else, Nilin, her memory loss, quest for rediscovery of herself, had-to-hand combat with arrogant bosses reminded me what "Remember Me" was trying to be: a version of Japanese manga: Alita: Battle Angel . Well, at least we got to see how powerful memory mixes could be.

Thunderbolt vs X-wing.

For almost a month I've been playing with idea of RPG / flight simulator crossbreed game. I know. It even sounds weird, but I've learnt to trust even craziest idea which came into the head of mine. This one was inspired by this particular plane:

Imperial Navy Thunderbolt

Despite the being an obvious product of Games Workshop's approach towards aerodynamics (flying brick in other words), I love that plane. It has heroic vibe, lots of guns, unique appearance and style of World War 2 dogfighter. Warhammer 40k setting easily transfers players into grim and gritty warzone, and Dark Heresy book would provide enough background and rules for detective storyline enveloping the flying missions. As a point of reference I took Korean War (1950-53). That conflict provided more than enough information on planes, combat, pilots, their living conditions, attitude to war and people. (Russians, Chinese and Koreans would be replaced by Orks, eventually :-)  

But before I began fleshing out main characters as Inquisitor, Squadron Leader, Commissar, Naval Intelligence officers, Adeptus Mechanicus Magos (somebody had to upgrade and refit the planes) I stumbled upon some serious problems.

The first one is: rules for simulating air combat.
Obviously you'd look at Aeronautica Imperialis, game produced by Forgeworld. The result was frustrating. Not only the game is discontinued along all other Specialist games of GW, the rules have a very steep learning curve and require a lot of bookkeeping. In addition games tend to be quite long and overloaded with unnecessary and irritating rules like limited ammo or fuel consumption. For example: Thunderbolt may fire only 4 times per battle hitting on 5+ or 6+. Different altitudes of planes, positions, speeds and manoeuvres add to the complexity of it. After careful consideration, this game would not do the job of quick air combat between the ground missions. Well, the greed factor is still there. Its £30 for 16 pages of rules, while rest of hundred or so pages are fluff and pretty pictures.

The second one is: absence of models.
Well, as I've mentioned before Aeronautica Imperialis, along Epic: 40k and other titles have been discontinued. Aftermarket is expensive as models become rarity and slow to offer. I completely accept my fault and responsibility for NOT buying any of those model before. Sorry, GW. Next time I will be faster and clutter all my living space with your products. In the mean time I'll learn how to scratch build the tiny plane from paper.

The outcome of this sketch was discovery of very interesting set of rules by David Child-Dennis, a game designer and historical wargaming enthusiast from New Zealand.  Thanks to http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/ I can share this outstanding work here:

• Airwar Korea 
• Airwar Vietnam
• Typhoon (modern aircombat)

Ironically, as well as Aeronautica Imperialis I've came across another relic of long forgotten past: Crimson Skies! The incredible and crazy creation of FASA Corporation, people behind the myth of giant walking robots. In Crimson skies they managed to cross breed table-top aerial dogfighting, bravado of 30-s, zeppelins and piracy. Rules are relatively easy to grasp and free to download. See for yourself:

Crimson Skies rulebook

Last but not least, came X-wing with incredibly easy, fun and balanced rules. Which are available for download for free.

X-Wing miniatures game rulebook 

The X-wing ironically have taken my attention away from 40k. Not only this game consumed quite a bit of time and money, it inspired set of new ideas for other project I'm working on. (sci-fi of coarse :). It also showed that time of over complicated games is coming to an end.

In short time, from the moment idea of Thunderbolt campaign was born, it grew, flew on the high hopes, hit the wall of reality, died and opened the the whole new areas and approaches for future projects as well as finding some rare the jewels.

So, I guess thank you, Thunderbolt.

Sincerely yours,
Mark-Paul Severn. 
(the wanna-be-designer with megalomaniac ambitions)
     

10 Commandments of Imperial Guard Drop Trooper

1. Everyone jumps – none quits! Thus you shall conquer fear and inflict it upon enemy.

2. Everyone jumps – no exceptions! Only those who jump are your brothers in arms.

3. Everyone jumps to win, or die trying!

4. Battle is Drop Trooper’s fulfillment. Train yourself, endure hardship and seek victory.

5. First my weapon – then myself. If weapons are in good order you shall prevail.

6. Support your brothers in arms. By the spirit and aid of your comrades you shall prevail.

7. Grasp the plan and purpose of every enterprise. It’s you who makes the difference.

8. Aim carefully – shoot sharply. Wasted shots are unacceptable gifts to your enemy.

9. Respect abilities of your enemies. Fight with courage, valor and all of your might.

10. Be alert, be prepared, be tough and be fast. Thus you shall be the Emperor’s finest.


Written by
Mark-Paul Severn
Elysian Talons codex.

Conflicting logic

"Never ask for anything. 

Especially from those who are stronger and 

more powerful than you are. 

When they find you worthy 

they will offer anything you need." 

That's how I have been taught. That is how it should be. But real life is not the book.


I recollect one of the conversations while i was looking for a way into design studio of one of major gaming companies. My question was "how do you recruit new designers? How do get influx of new ideas?"

The answer was a roundabout conversation about getting into the company, sending huge amount of CV, making it through the ranks of publishing industry or just being lucky. The latest addition to that design studio was a "random guy who knew our product inside out", and I was reminded again that getting a job is matter of skill and determination. You don't actually have to be "the game designer" to design our games, that was an overall impression of that encounter.

I have promised to build up my portfolio and come back later on. Then I got hooked on the freelance with other set of skills, not involving dice, rulers and book writing. (I was doing an interpreting, should you ask. ) As a result, my confidence and understanding of doing the skilled job have increased dramatically. You don't have to be a paper pusher and beg for a chance to enjoy doing what you really good at.

That of coarse leads towards to freelancer in the crowd. It is demanding, just because the product of your sleepless nights have a great chance to get lost in hundreds of other titles. Unless of coarse you will take a path of business and try to make money on the set of rules you made. Some do.

But there is a certain pride in that. You've done it yourself. Your way.
No begging. But you are open to the offers.

Sincerely yours,
Mark-Paul.

Dice Tower's 10 tip to a game designer.

These guys are really funny, but surprise surprise they are correct in their tips. :))

Triss Merigold

Triss Merigold. Wizard.
Witcher 2: Assassin of the kings

RPG rant

Some facts of life to begin with;
1) an average person with belly, wife, kids and mortgage would be scared to death in the middle of firefight. 
2) Hollywood logic ignores reality for the sake of giving viewer a false sense of superiority.
3) D&D is a curse, as it is designed to give player aforementioned cocky superiority.
4) Real life conflicts rarely solved by games logic. 

So what are you talking about, man? I'm talking about fun of role playing games, what kind of feeling they are designed or intended to give player and game master. It not a secret that over-educated, under-sexed and less than well adjusted to rules of life people need something (including me). 

They need a feeling of importance, of success, of belonging to a group with similar interest and ideal and most of all - achievement. RPG's have provided all of it long before arrival of computers and social networks, by pen, paper and bunch of friends sharing same vision. Chemically speaking our brain does not distinguish between fear of imagined monster and sudden fear of drunk driver coming at you. So naturally, when you apply you imagination with a help of friends and GM to the scene of defeating a horrible world-eating monster level of you bravado goes up on a chemical level. 

It works. RPG takes off the boredom of mundane life and makes it easier to muddle through job, ridiculous bosses, kids, winging women, irritating classmates, lack of cash, long ques, traffic jams and so on. You remember that you are a monster slayer, THE Savior of the Universe or whoever who is really cool. Painful realisation that its only an imagination is taken into account, but who cares? 

That is where Hollywood logic takes over. "If truth stands in a way of a good story - publish a lie", as someone famous and American said. And here we go:  one bloke standing in the spotlight under fire and giving a porcelain smile while fencing off bullets and ugly villains. But we spent our cash and lifetime on that. Then, as culture and business repeats and multiples both heroes and villains we getting use to the same fake image. On some point, going against this trend becomes even refreshing and new. (Yes, I am talking about Deadpool.)  

But where is D&D here? 

An average street fight or pub fight last from 6 seconds to 4 minutes according to police estimation. Modern platoon size firefight with similar sized opponent may last from 10 minutes to an hour depending on terrain and other factors. In order for party of D&D heroes to get from one room to another and exchange couple of blows with an enemy they have to make a bunch of rolls, identify and use skills and spend approximately 30 minutes. 

But when you finally managed to hit something the process is even more painful. There are people who are much more agile in calculating the amount of damage, soak, resistance, extra special rule than me, I openly admit. But they probably spend good chunk if life doing just that.However on the final result player's ego is overblown by the math. You just made a gazillion damage to million hit points enemy! Monster is roaring in anger and falls to your noble feet asking for forgiveness. The hit like that would take out a battle tank, and you did it with a sword or a fist. But player grins in the manner of the Universe Savior and crawl to the next boss fight. Cool? Awesome! 

But after a while it becomes a habit, as you casually chop, talk, sing and roll your way through just another "mystery" with grotesque idiot trying to conquer the world. What is more scary player lose the ability to see relevance to what they do and impact on the fantasy world they are saving. Their role is assigned as Savior's, but do they care for mukes? No. They are here to provide fun and hit points.

Psychologically speaking, this creates an "comfort zone", where you easily guess what to expect and well aware of what you are capable of. Something not so common in the real life. As you progress with a character this comfort zone gets bigger and more comfortable, even GM are forced to make an adventure where every role would have a time to shine. So adventure becomes a grid of talking, stealing, fighting and casting spells. But does it provide a challenge or achievement? In the terms of game, yes. There are always bigger bosses and more hit points. 

In terms of thinking out of the box? Doubt that. The "comfort zone" of Savior is sturdy. That's where GM's talent really shines, if he or she manages to overcome the rules which are bigger than Bible. 

How to make players care for the team? How to give motivation other than prescribed adventure for money? How to keep them unsure of what happens next? How to make a right balance between heroic action and story? How to keep players focused on the game rather than socialisation? How to reward or punish players who just managed to blow the whole plot into oblivion? And most important, how give a feeling of achievement not by lucky roll but by taking decisions and making them happen?   

I'm not giving the answers, but just asking the right questions is helpful.

Sincerely yours,       

Mark.