We have seen with the Gunboat in X-Wing that FFG does read the forums. Today I did a blog post outlining my thoughts on a Ground Assault game. I'd be interested to read what others think about my ideas, and curious to know how you'd improve upon them.
Here's the link: http://swfarfaraway.blogspot.com/2017/09/prepare-for-ground-assault.html
I like your direction; very similar to my own thoughts. I've written my own version of an X-wing-compatible Ground Assault ( available in pdf ) and am working on a more traditional wargame version of the rules now. I too wished Legion would have been on this scale.
There's also the original WEG Assault on Hoth , which does a great job for a thematic Hoth battle, but loses some free play.
1/270 (6mm to 10mm scale) is about right for 1:1 for vehicles and aircraft, with infantry units representing squads. Differences in speed are a challenge; for X-wing compatible I had ground units either move or shoot on a turn, but not both; for the wargame variant I used a mandatory full-speed move for aircraft at the start of their activation.
By statting up a range of units, you can run Hoth, Scarif, Takodana, and a whole host of battles. I've playtested my wargame rules with the Battle of Hth, and will be testing the Battle of Scarif scenario this weekend (using MicroMachines as the minis; scale isn't perfect but close enough).
It seems the phrase "Ground Assault" is very popular for these sort of ideas!
Quite independently of the above rules I have also worked on ground based combat and the full rules can be found here:
Infantry are the most interesting ground units to represent. They should be able to move a reasonable distance as well as take up defensive positions to improve their survivability. Just because a snowspeeder can fly several hundred times the speed of a man doesn't mean it would move this fast when attempting close air support. Movement is vital in a game as it literally dictates how many turns of activation a game needs to run to achieve a desired outcome so the more movement the better the game experience. Of course having transport vehicles then becomes the best way to move infantry over the battlefield. The best way to speed up gameplay is to not have ground units have to pre-plot maneuvers like flying vehicles. Ground vehicles activate by their relative "Skill" so can then move in a more reactionary way which is far more realistic. Nothing worse than two enemy ground units closing with each other and then suddenly one veers off before contact due to them "wrong guessing" where their opponent was planning to move to. This works for flying ships but not for ground units IMHO.
So yes I agree wholeheartedly with your sentiments on what a ground based game should have to be compatible with the range of X-Wing ships. I would be very interested to see what ideas you come up with. I hope you have a chance to look over my rules and see if you think they are similar to what you are thinking about.
Mini Luke, Leia. Han, Chewie, C3-PO, R2-D2, Vader, Probe Droid, Wampa and Tauntauns are absolutely necessary!
Edited by DB Draft7 hours ago, Hawkstrike said:I've written my own version of an X-wing-compatible Ground Assault ( available in pdf ) and am working on a more traditional wargame version of the rules now.
45 minutes ago, DB Draft said:Quite independently of the above rules I have also worked on ground based combat and the full rules can be found here:
I'll take a look at these.
7 hours ago, Hawkstrike said:
There's also the original WEG Assault on Hoth , which does a great job for a thematic Hoth battle, but loses some free play.
I've pre ordered the 30th Anniversary WEG Roleplaying game. I'm expecting that most of my battles on the ground and in the sky will be played it using those rules. I'll probably get a collection of vehicles just so that I can see the battle taking place.....
53 minutes ago, DB Draft said:
Mini Luke, Leia. Han, Chewie, C3-PO, R2-D2, Vader, Probe Droid, Wampa and Tauntauns are absolutely necessary!
First, awesome picture, and second I can't deny the mini characters look great.