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Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2003 12:46 am
Posts: 27069
Location: Edmond, Oklahoma USA
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Hi!
Yikes PG, that a rather long question. At one time I even had a file I would copy paste to answer it quickly. 
Usually the question is directed at the difference between SM2/TL and NetEpic.
I'm not really attuned to what E:A is beyond my reads of the books when it came out, but here are my thoughts on what Netepic IS. SInce you have more knowledge about E:A than I do you can make a better comparison than I.
Here are the main NetEpic Highlights.
1. At its core it uses the SM2/TL. This means orders (first fire, charge, advance and fallback). To hit values, weapons with "x" numbers of attack dice and a save modifier applied as a penalty to the targets armor save. Beyond that, the details and even some core mechanics have changed so much as not to have any similarity with its roots.
2. Unlike Sm2/TL is has "alternating" activation. I really dislike "you go I go" mechanics that GW is fond of. In Netepic you choose one unit to reveal its orders then move it. It does not resolve combat until that phase (which is also alternating), but unlike E:A you don't move and resolve the combat action which is what true modern alternating activations look like.
3. Fog of war. Order are held secret (unturned) until the moment the unit actually moves. This was a simple but highly effective way of introducing uncertainty into thee game without cumbersome mechanics. In the original SM rules you would reveals all your orders thus seeing what the opponent would do. Coupled with "I go you go" nature of movement it was too static and predictable. Now, guessing keeps you on your toes and a nice action/reaction ensues during play keeping players involved. This probably is one of the best things we did for the game.
4. Overwatch (snap fire). We brought this back from the first edition rules. A tactical game just isn't complete without a manner of interdicting movement. I was surprised SM2 didn't use this rule. It was easy to add to the game and the benefits are very tactical in nature and did not unbalance the system.
5. Titans. For many this is the aspect that draws them to the game. The mighty lords of destruction blasting all before it. Of course most incarnations of the game failed to deliver this (Sm2/TL included). The only game version in my opinion that got the titan rules "right" was first edition AT. Those who played under that system know what I mean, titans were TOUGH, until hit by another titan... which is the point!
We borrowed heavily from that system. Netepic re-introudced the titan build system. You buy an empty chassis and "arm" you titan. This determines cost and VP yield. SM/TL had a silly system where all titans cost the same regardless of weapons. All weapons are NOT created equal, thus cost should vary.
We also modified the titan weapons to be more like their AT equivalents. We brought back the titan "electrohulls" (point defense), no longer would titans be easy meat for hordes of lowly infantry.
Another popular rule was are changes to the eldar holofields and their vulnerability to barrage weapons, which made them unfieldable under standard SM2 rules. While they still ignore holofields they now ALWAYS scatter (you can "lock on to it"), thus phantoms now grace the tabletops once more....
Titans are now worth their points. They are tough, not invulnerable, but tough.
6. Praetorians and super heavies. The rules for these in SM2 were...well ... awful... A single hit and failed save would kill the mighty Capitol Imperialis.... no good. Some Super heavies were worth the price of titans, why treat them as a lesser class?
Under Netepic these guys have templates to determine hit locations, just like titans. They are now worth their points and this also made the squat army very competitive versus titan heavy armies.
"Smaller" super heavies like the baneblade have a more streamlined damage table. Not as good as praetorians, but worth their points.
The name Praetorians is the very old (first edition era) name for things on the size of the Leviathan and CI.
7. Psy system. One of the things people liked about SM/TL were all the neat powers or "spells" different psychic units could do.
The system was quite unbalanced as GW put it out. NetEpic eliminated the extra psychic phase introduced by TL and strictly defined what power can and cannot do.
This eliminated a lot of confusion and arguments that these powers during play caused.
8. One "feature" of netepic is that pretty much everything ever produced by GW has rules for it, including FW models. IF there is a model for it, NetEpic will make rules for it. One guideline we strive to follow is that we NEVER eliminate models or units. People invest time and money in their armies, we won't deny them the use of them by deleting stuff.
We have included some armies GW never made like Slann and a different take of the Necrons (besides the currently more GW faithful Necron lists).
One thing I dislike about E:A is "count as". This doesn't exist in NetEpic. Each model and weapon has its own rules. Some epic models have a long history and we like rules to reflect their unique flavor and history. Its a matter of taste of course, but that is the design slant in NetEpic.
These are but a handful of things, at least, the major differences I can remember.There are so many small detail changes that affect overall play, they are too many to remember, much less list.
Heck I don't think even I KNOW the full breadth of the changes.
While there are many things we like about it, there are some things the system needs.
1. Scenarios. If you play the usual "line 'em up" for objective the battles get quite stale. It really needs a good scenario/alternate to mix up deployment and game objective.
2. The underlying mechanics are old and dated. I and others have tinkered with adding many newer mechanics suppression, better morale system, etc). The system just cannot effectively incorporate them without crashing the system. This reality is what motivated me to make another system from scratch (Heresy) to include more modern design features.
3. Comprehensive illustrated rulebook. This is the only one I'm on the version of solving...
I can take more directed questions if you have them.
Primarch
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