Ahoy gents,

There are a myriad of gaming systems out there for 6mm SF gaming. Aside from Epic we have Future War Commander, Slammers, Iron Cow, Dirtside II, Strike Legion, etc etc

Is there anywhere a comparison of rule systems and their strength (and weaknesses)?

Thanks chaps!

Not that I know of. Although I suppose we can start one right here what with the expertise we have on this forum.

I am a big fan of DSII's alternating activation system. Everything's an action, and the player with fewer activations can elect to pass if they like. It is slightly more detailed than EA and uses a sliding die mechanic (d4 - d12) and opposing rolls to resolve combat. What I don't like about it is its lack of customization. You can build your own units and what not, but you have to buy into the author's ideas on things and don't have fine granularity in your weapons and units.

I've yet to play IronCow but it is very much a tank on tank kind of game. Vehicles have 3 armor values (front, side and rear) and ranges are preset to certain values. Overall it is fairly simple compared to the others but can add a lot of complexity via optional rules. Orders are issued secretly at the start of the turn which definitely adds to the fog of war. The game is I go you go, however, which is a pretty big turn off for me.

I'll post more on the others later.

_________________
Dave

Blog

NetEA Tournament Pack Website

Squats 2019-10-17

I say go for it !!! Get some input from the crew !!!

_________________
Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Unit activation vice IGO-UGO is pretty much an essential for me. Then again, its rare a game system cant be changed to it (a bold assumption I know), so its more a comparison of the mechanics of firing, moving and support systems which vary.

For me, I want a system in which you can feel the strengths and weakenesses of units, support systems can be boled on as required, and a process whereby leadership, training and morale reflect in performance.

And for me any game system should allow a change, however slim, of the unlikely to be pulled off - such is the stuff of heroic legend and battle turning events!

So thanks for your intiial thoughts Dave - looking forward to more when you can.

Anybody else? Cheers

No problem, I'll see about some more summaries when I've got the files in front of me on Tuesday.

FYI, by I go you go I meant I move my entire force and fire, you move your entire force and fire. Like 40k is.

_________________
Dave

Blog

NetEA Tournament Pack Website

Squats 2019-10-17

Yes, Unit Activation is the only way to go ... anything else is "bolt action vs. assault rifle", so to speak, IMO ... BTW ... here is Stike Legion TOEs/List/stats for most 6mm companies model inventories, including recently added 6mm Slammers. These show IMO, "how good' those rules could be. http://www.legionnairegames.com/Downloads.html Again, IMO, DRM's Seeds of War & now Strike Legion, seem to be pretty good sets of rule at that level of detail & complexity. Where "The Crucible" 6mm Slammer rules are a little less complex and detailed but certainly a good rule set too, for it level. All 3 seem quite playable, without being anywhere near "Beer & Pretzel" or at my least favored set of Epic Rules SM2. Which was surprisingly the most successful of G/W attempts at Epic Rules. And of course, IMO, Epic:A is their best attempt in many ways ... And I think FWC is pretty good also ... in playability, detail and complexity ... my 3 measuring sticks ...

_________________
Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Yes, IGO-UGO ... like 40K ... just another reason to dislike 40K !!!

_________________
Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

I should add that the Strike Legion army lists represent only a fraction of the possible unit types that can be created with the system as is, and many more are in the works or planned for release (including Epic Orcs, 'Nids, and Tau, more Battletech mechs, Brigade's Aeronef and Land Ironclads models, Command Horizon minis, OGRE minis, and maybe something for Spartan's Dystopian Wars models - and I haven't really started on the 15mm model lists yet...). Problem with getting all of them finished is it's a one-man operation, and I have to split my work time between my regular work responsibilities, writing new material, painting minis for photo shoots (book illustration), book layout, and creating new army lists.

I do aim to add a new army list at the rate of one every 2 weeks. The process includes coordinating the vehicle/unit stats with the original source material to reflect the army/setting's capabilities and peculiarities more accurately so that crossover games - let's say Slammers v. Space Marines - allow the respective forces to retain their own unique capabilities and army 'feel' when playing 'in the same sandbox', so to speak.

Cool !! My money is on the Slammers ...

_________________
Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

Can't disagree with you there - however, Warmaster's order system makes the IGO-UGO mechanic much more fine-grained, more like IGO(maybe)-UGO(maybe). Add in reaction moves for cav (as I believe they do for historicals), and you get a pretty deep system. When I play WM, the last thing I'm lamenting is the IGO-UGO system

I mention this because I believe Future War Commander is a WM-based ruleset. But "encyclopedic knowledge of obscure gaming lore" Dave has more expertise than I do on rule sets.

_________________
Let us playtest like the Greeks of old... You know the ones I mean

You are correct. Future War Commander, Bblitzkrieg Commander, and Cold War Commander are all Warmaster based, as are several others, IIRC (Trafalger?). But back to Sci-Fi.

_________________
SG

Ghost's Paint Blog, where everything goes that isn't something else.

Shows you what I know... I thought the Future of Future War Commander meant it was Sci-Fi

_________________
Let us playtest like the Greeks of old... You know the ones I mean

grumble grumble I meant the other ones grumble...

_________________
SG

Ghost's Paint Blog, where everything goes that isn't something else.

Of course, as with many things, rule preference is a matter of predilections and taste ... Always DWWFY ...

_________________
Legion 4 "Cry Havoc, and let slip the Dogs of War !" ... "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

I think it woud be really interesting to develop a table which explains the strengths and advantages of each system.
I'll hacve a think about that and what sort of characteristics would be of use to consider - would that be useful to others?