Another one - Transmutation vs Lo-Tech A. Literally no reason for Lo-Tech to exist as a rule because all models currently possessing it only have 1w. Should have just used Transmutation and then added an alternate level of it when something was introduced with >1w on their starting profile.
On the other hand, no pre-measuring just moves potential analysis paralysis to the initial decision phase of things when people can simply get hung up on wondering which potential move is not only possible but most beneficial. Trying to design to avoid analysis paralysis is difficult because there will always be some decision points for a given player to get hung up on and mileage will vary by group. Because analysis paralysis stems from people weighing cost/benefit given a bunch of unknowns and getting stuck overthinking it. Since table top games will always have an unknown element (even if that is just the other player(s)), they will always be vulnerable to analysis paralysis and only become more vulnerable the more potential options and unknowns they present. So pre-measuring causing analysis paralysis is very much a YMMV thing. I've seen people hem and haw for minutes on a movement declaration because they weren't sure they had the movement to pull off certain potential actions and weren't sure which of their Plan B's were best. Pre-measuring would have told them immediately and moved the game along. Meanwhile, in games with perfectly precise measure (hex-n-chit stuff) I've seen people defer that same level of paralysis to the "which of these spaces is most beneficial to me" maneuver decision. In general, providing more information isn't any more likely to cause paralysis than less information and depending on the individual or group, one or the other might result in more headaches. So at least as a personal preference (and especially in Infinity, which I feel flows smoother with pre-measuring than without) I find pre-measuring in most games to be preferable since it feels like it leaves the core purpose of the game as a simulation of conflict in a more pure state. Without pre-measuring it starts to feel like I'm micro-managing minutiae more than a commander generally would in such a situation and it tends to bring me out of the whole thing.
Pre-measuring is easy. You have a bunch of 1" bases and markers on the table already. You know the table dimensions. 24" to the center or ~34" on the 45° diagonal. You also have all sorts of objective markers that are known distances from points on the table and one another. The table is practically a grid already in most scenarios. If you cannot figure out how to make very good estimates of distance after a few games... sheesh.
Or, like one of the early player interviews on the White Noise podcast, you have some kind of disability that actually prevents you having the special awareness to do so...
Yes, positioning to stack mods should be considered the fundamental way to win firefights. I certainly try to teach it that way. Transmutation goes back and forth between the two profiles freely (Su Jian). Lo-Tech only goes down. Pretty important difference.
You're thinking of Mechanical Transmutation. regular Transmutation (eg. wulver, fraacta) is just one-way as well. the only difference between transmutation and lo-tech being "first wound" and "all wounds"
Haha - @Section9 this was the immediate reaction of a few people on the Australian facebook page when I raised the issue. Transmutation only exists on Dog Warriors and Fraacta. The key difference is Transmutation takes effect after the first wound, where Lo-Tech A is once it "loses all wounds on the first profile" - but this is irrelevant as the only profiles with the rule (Blackjacks and Puppets) only possess 1 wound anyway.
In N2, Transmutation had a special interaction with Viral - in that Viral wounds would prevent Dog Warriors being able to change profile... But that interaction doesn't seem to exist any more.
kinda wondering if the rumoured "Redjack" may have more wounds in order to make that rule relevant. To me it seems like deliberate design space thats been left in there to allow for a lo-tech TAG.
But this could've been achieved with an alternate Transmutation rule, rather than a completely different rule :P As we have discussed. Make Transmutation A, Transmutation B... Rather than having Transmutation and then Lo-Tech A and, foreseeably, Lo-Tech B at some point.
No no no, don´t call it Lo-Tech B, call it Tech-Change Lvl 1, so we have another, nearly redundant rule to add to the bloat and confusion :D
Sepsitors, it's a negative play experience we don't need. Possession too. Otherwise, the rules could use a tidy and simplification. Nested rules and similar but slightly different rules (looking at half of having programs) just make the game convoluted and harder for new players.
As a Combined player, I refute this. People not having Cubes is a negative play experience. I pay a lot to get my damn brainwash gun only to have it made irrelevant vs certain unit types or entire factions. >: [
Judging by the assurance and the precision of answers provided by HellLois, or historically by Palanka, it's more than reasonable to conclude that the senior staff at CB are very clear indeed about their own game. Our problem is not that CB don't know their game; it's that they do, but see no reason to explain it further to those of us who don't.
Surprised someone brought this up. I actually have a bit of brain damage and have shockingly bad spacial reasoning due to it. I try to visualize distance according to base tokens, but I have no eye for distance. My friends have laughed, and my joke is that my inches have a tolerance of an inch and a half. I play most of my games without premeasuring. I wouldn't want to force my opponents to play differently on my behalf
The disability issue was one of the themes that continually resurfaced in the old forum debates on pre-measuring; I guess because we generally want to be inclusive about our game, but (check the sig. ) there can be problems if we don't clearly distinguish the issues.
Kudos. I myself have a neurological condition that doesn't affect my ability to manage the game, but can be disturbing for others. I generally explain the condition to people when I meet them and apologise for the disturbance. Many are just fine with that, but I've had some remarkable encounters because people are ignorant of the condition and intolerant as a consequence. For whatever reason, that's sometimes especially so in the gaming world. That's regrettable, and no doubt ideally wouldn't be so, but if my opponent seems particularly uncomfortable then I'll concede the game and excuse myself, because like you @Q.A.I., I don't feel I can reasonable require other people to understand or tolerate my condition.
It tends to draw in a type that isn't that socially mature. There is also a crowd that are looking for a game that removes factors other than skill. Personally I think they should play chess but I try not to tell happy people they're wrong. Personally I would allow an opponent to measure 8" if they had a condition without a second thought, but further than that it would be giving them an advantage I don't have even close access to, so I would only allow it if it was that or not playing at all. I misrange Combis all the time. I don't think it is reasonable to expect everyone to be as flexible however. Sometimes a condition just stops you from doing something. I don't really need a mechanically balanced game but a lot of people are looking for that and imposing a different experience on them isn't going to make a good time.
No. Their answers are rarely assuring or precise. Claiming it is so comes off as sycophantic. No, the problem is that CB doesn't know their own game sometimes. And if they did understand it, they should explain it to us.
