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Post by kaemaril on Feb 19, 2010 23:32:08 GMT
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Post by hogscape on Feb 25, 2010 4:30:38 GMT
It's nice to see Kurt so enthusiastic about the game and to hear that he's a 30-year fan but I can't agree with some of his conclusions. That his players would balk at the initiative system just indicates that they are not ready for a genre-emulation game and perhaps lack a touch of maturity - which is counter to his suggestion that the game is aimed at a younger audience. I'm really quite old and wrinkly and this game is about as complicated as I can take thanks very much!
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Post by Curufea on Feb 25, 2010 5:59:18 GMT
I think younger audiences would be fine with it because they haven't spent years being indoctrinated in the initiative mechanics of other, lesser, systems.
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Post by ugavine on Feb 25, 2010 15:22:20 GMT
I started RPing with Star Wars D6. In the initial game there was no Initiative, highest skill roll went first. It was at least 10 years before I played a game with Initiative rules.
I've played simple games and complex games, and there are good and bad at each end of the scale. I would rate DW:AiTaS as a very good Simple game. In fact the only game close to it which is probably a little bit better rule wise is Savage Worlds.
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Post by JohnK on Feb 25, 2010 15:58:05 GMT
Hullo, hogscape, It's nice to see Kurt so enthusiastic about the game and to hear that he's a 30-year fan but I can't agree with some of his conclusions. That his players would balk at the initiative system just indicates that they are not ready for a genre-emulation game and perhaps lack a touch of maturity - which is counter to his suggestion that the game is aimed at a younger audience. But it's very clear from the writing in the game and the way some of the stuff is set up that DW: AiTaS is geared towards a younger audience. As for the Initiative system, while it does emulate the DW style very well, it is quite counter-intuitive for most rpgers out there with any degree of gaming experience. Some players, as noted in several threads around here, have taken quite a bit of time to get used to it and think outside the typical rpg box.
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Post by JohnK on Feb 25, 2010 15:59:42 GMT
Hullo, Curufea, I think younger audiences would be fine with it because they haven't spent years being indoctrinated in the initiative mechanics of other, lesser, systems. Exactly. Even now, after six or so game sessions, several of my experienced Friday night gamers have struggled to come to terms with the Initiative system, which goes agains the grain (their words, not mine).
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skagra
2nd Incarnation
Posts: 59
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Post by skagra on Feb 26, 2010 23:07:26 GMT
RPGs ( and any game with a theme) need balance between game play and simulation. Initiative in DWAITAS is clearly a case of where game play is enhanced at the cost of poor simulation. I could see experienced RPGers being bothered by this more so than newbies.
Personally I think it's ingenious . A wonderful mechanic to discourage combat; artificially steering the adventures away from hack and slash styled gaming. My GFs just popped out and will stop at my hobby shop. Hopefully my game's arrived - I can hardly wait!
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Post by JohnK on Feb 27, 2010 15:49:31 GMT
Hullo, skagra, RPGs ( and any game with a theme) need balance between game play and simulation. Initiative in DWAITAS is clearly a case of where game play is enhanced at the cost of poor simulation. I could see experienced RPGers being bothered by this more so than newbies. DW: AiTaS is not meant to be a simulationist rpg, given that it is based on Doctor Who, so in that regard, I think you are mistaken. That said, the game play is enhanced, because it emulates one of the strengths of DW - surviving by one's wits rather than by one's combat prowess. Personally I think it's ingenious . A wonderful mechanic to discourage combat; artificially steering the adventures away from hack and slash styled gaming. My GFs just popped out and will stop at my hobby shop. Hopefully my game's arrived - I can hardly wait! The game mechanics for Initiative doesn't discourage combat, it merely allows those who want to solve problems through other means do so *first*! Look forward to your thoughts about the game, in the proper thread, of course.
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Post by omega on Feb 27, 2010 17:35:11 GMT
We love Kurt and he's a good guy and we are subscribed to his reviews.
Most RPG's were derived from tabletop miniatures rules, which are essentially battle rules and some of us have grown up with the likes of D&D, which evolved in to D20 and other similar systems which take for granted certain requirements that have been 'established' as a default rules framework for nearly all RPGs since.
DWAITAS challenges that by being a game that doesn't subscribe to the default, rather, it has been designed to emulate a specific genre.
Rather than taking a TV show, movie or comic and then trying to hammer that shape into an existing hole of rules, the designers have taken the show and created the rules around it.
There is always a debate about granularity in RPGs (how detailed the rules are to simulate the game reality with more or less number-crunching and charts) and streamlining (how easy and fast it is to play with less number-crunching and rules).
To get the best of both is a feat in itself, to actually make a game work, play well, be fun and then to encapsulate the feel of the show is a triumph.
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Post by The Handyman on Feb 27, 2010 18:28:54 GMT
My players must be exceptional...they have no problem at all grasping the concept of the initiative system and in fact seem to revel in it. They LOVE successfully talking their way out of stuff...and even the group's combat monster doesn't mind waiting for his spot in the order. We like the system so much it has become our default. We almost never use the "basic" system of action resolution anymore.
The Handyman
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Roger
2nd Incarnation
Lord Of Time And Space
Posts: 74
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Post by Roger on Aug 20, 2012 2:17:42 GMT
I personally LOVE the fact that you can stop a baddie from opening fire by quickly talking him down. That is SO the Doctor. Of course it doesn't always happen but it's GREAT when it does.
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Post by Mark Anthony Quested on Aug 20, 2012 11:38:15 GMT
A couple of other reviews:
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Roger
2nd Incarnation
Lord Of Time And Space
Posts: 74
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Post by Roger on Aug 21, 2012 0:55:38 GMT
A couple of other reviews: The second (EryxUK) was a decent review. The first (Grumpy) was a bit painful to watch. Both gave good reviews to the game though.
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Post by Mark Anthony Quested on Aug 21, 2012 14:37:38 GMT
A couple of other reviews: The second (EryxUK) was a decent review. The first (Grumpy) was a bit painful to watch. Both gave good reviews to the game though. Grumpy was reading from his script, whereas EryxUK was mostly off the cuff.
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