Posted by: Paul M
« on: July 15, 2021, 11:39:46 AM »I have the vassel documentation and the desire to make a real starfire set for the game but I need to find time and also practice a bit. I'd like the counters to have different information on them such as movement and turn mode and have it be adjustable depending on damage...also shields up, streaming air and so on. But I'm not sure how to make the counter art and how to script this all but from what I can see it is do-able.
I can say that Starslayer and I have used vassel to run a few battles it most certainly works but the counters are a bit dull and you end up tracking everything manually.
It is a lighter version of SFB with rules that are written by David Weber so they are vastly entertaining but full of interesting bits "...a presser beam is for all intents and purposes a reverse polarity tractor beam..." without ever saying anywhere that the tractor lock applies or not...still they are fun to read. What starfire after 3rdR lacks is Starfire Assistant (SFA). Any improvement to the game system is lost due to really it is just unfun to do the management without a database program to keep track of things. I tried a solo Galactic Starfire game and that ended when I hit my first NPR and realized I'd have to double my 3 EXCEL spreadsheets for them...and every other NPC in the game. Starslayer just says "no" when I suggest either modern Starfire or other systems (VBAM, Squadron Strike) as they all lack a SFA eqivelent.
I've played Starfire by mail in the 80's...second edition and 3rdR for ages now. Glad you are enjoying our write ups. We do keep getting distracted by Stellaris or City of Heroes (or in my case Cyberpunk 2077) so it comes in fits and starts.
I can say that Starslayer and I have used vassel to run a few battles it most certainly works but the counters are a bit dull and you end up tracking everything manually.
It is a lighter version of SFB with rules that are written by David Weber so they are vastly entertaining but full of interesting bits "...a presser beam is for all intents and purposes a reverse polarity tractor beam..." without ever saying anywhere that the tractor lock applies or not...still they are fun to read. What starfire after 3rdR lacks is Starfire Assistant (SFA). Any improvement to the game system is lost due to really it is just unfun to do the management without a database program to keep track of things. I tried a solo Galactic Starfire game and that ended when I hit my first NPR and realized I'd have to double my 3 EXCEL spreadsheets for them...and every other NPC in the game. Starslayer just says "no" when I suggest either modern Starfire or other systems (VBAM, Squadron Strike) as they all lack a SFA eqivelent.
I've played Starfire by mail in the 80's...second edition and 3rdR for ages now. Glad you are enjoying our write ups. We do keep getting distracted by Stellaris or City of Heroes (or in my case Cyberpunk 2077) so it comes in fits and starts.