Dakkon426 said:

Count me and my gaming buddies in this. Only one of each unit in our games. I just like each unit to feel unique and precious within the game. Losing BBQ squad or Mickey should be a terrible blow for the allies, but it loses all drama if there are two or three more of them in the nearest tile. We once played with repeated squads for that infantry-only SeeLowe mission (since we didn't have enough troops at the time to fulfill the AP) and we all agreed it was a terrible experience. Suddenly our most beloved units lost all appeal, and we were throwing them under the bus, knowing there was a backup standing nearby. Plus, now that we have some many different units available, why would we need to repeat the same one?

Loophole Master said:

+1 To that! unique units are more fun! But i think that adding some grunt trooop like recon boys isn't game breaking;)

Loophole Master said:

When playing just for fun, I too like to limit one of each unit. We have also tried some house rules that force you to use all units.

One rule was once a unit is elminated in a scenario you could not use that unit for the next scenario. Then another time we made a scenario that turn one you started with 300 points of units, then on turn 5 you brought another 300 and then on turn 10 you brought the remaining units.

It is fun playing units that you are not use to or don't like.

Dcal12 said:

Is there any other reason to play this? Money, glory, revenge?

Gobbo said:

I hadn't bothered posting it before because someone else had already posted an army builder program. For those who'd rather have something simpler:

I wrote it in Open Office, as I never bothered paying for full access to the latest version of Excel.

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/EAX2Tlrrw4T4T1uuaysZ7UyyInJkZeSUpTEZwYvzqB7hESNcX5QngtsfOqkBkJXxS6pY5AtrjWkdtTJf49_Vo5rD_PgA/Force%20Calculator/Dust%20Tactics%20Force%20calculator.ods

I saved it as an Excel file, but it changes the order of items, and places the background image on top of the data fields.

http://f1.grp.yahoofs.com/v1/EAX2TnXgMDL4T1uu74fpye3IGudVyCunCelyB7aA2LpeFxq6KRB6xitGUI7uBaMzcf0dyLzjyptybXqOFpg30e7Lzber/Force%20Calculator/Dust%20Tactics%20Force%20calculator.xls

People with Excel can change the order, or the newer versions should be able to access the Open Office version.

I based it on the downloadable army list files fromthe FFG site. New units can be added to the last page simply by adding a line between existing units and entering the name and cost in the appropriate fields. That will add the unit to the drop down menus on the Axis and Allies pages.

In case people have issues with the fonts I used, I used Arial for the Allies, and Behrensschrift for the Axis, just for the feel.

The entries for Heroes, Walkers, Heavy Squads and Squads are listed in the unit area, so they can be shifted to where a player wants them, or left off the sheet entirely for more room.

The Num field is a simple counter that will multiply the value of the unit. Heroes need to have a 1 entered because the sheet was made to allow any configuration of units, but that shouldn't be too much hassle.

I like to play with a diversity of units simply because they each bring different capabilities to the battlefield.

I don't have a problem with multiples of units, and some units work quite well for specific kinds of missions, but I tend to like a balanced force so any mission becomes workable.

Running a competitive event, I would never use a scenario that favored a specific unit type (ex: objectives inside buildings where flamethrowers are more potent) without also having scenarios where such units would be at a disadvantage (ex: more open fields of fire where range 1 limits capabilities).

Players can then choose to bring units that excel in one environment, but have problems in others, or a balanced force that can do well in both.

Commanders rarely have the chance to pick the perfect combination of units for each battle, so players should be able to create a balanced force to handle anything thrown at them.

Loophole Master said:

When you play Game Nights, there is definitely a competitive play atmosphere. Still friendly and for fun, but with sweetly painted heroes on the line, you definitely get a little more serious army building.

There is also the question of theme. A buddy of mine has played an all zombie force, an all Axis armor force, etc

blkdymnd said:

Yeah and even if I never wanted to play duplicates, I would never suggest someone else should at Game Night. I must say I have taken a couple Pounders.

Money? I wish.

Glory? ahhhh Yeah.

Revenge? ALWAYS!!!!!

Well, Gimp. The Sheets keep telling me No Document Found no matter which one I try and how I try to save/open it

Gobbo said:

I checked the links after posting, but apparently Google shifts things more than I expected, and the links are now invalid.

I created a Boardgame Geek account, and uploaded the Open Office sheet there. Once they've approved the upload, I'll add a link for it.

Cool Thanks

If you are using Open Office (or either MSWord or WordPerfect IIRC), you can simply create a table, type in the names of the units and the point cost. Then you put "Total" in the last line for unit name and use the sigma function (funny looking E) with click and drag over the point costs to sum them up.

It is how I build my army lists. If I wanted to get fancier, I'd add a "quantity" column and then it would autocalc the cost of the force when adding and subtracting units.

Mine is a simple spreadsheet with a table of units and values on the last page. As units are added to the table, they automatically are added to the drop down menus of the first two pages (Allies and Axis backgrounds).

Use a drop down to pick a unit, put in the number added, and the total point value is calculated. There is a field top center for a force name, and a field that totals the value of the entire force. There are entries so players can group units as heroes, walkers, heavy squads, or normal squads with a group title, or simply list their units however they want to.

It's simple, but retains the look of the official army list documents from FFG's site.

But Gimp, you are taking the little extra time to make a real army building form and I was just making a glorified doodle pad to put in my army lists that were more legible than I could do by hand.

Algesan said:

If you'd ever seen my handwriting, you'd understand why I create computer forms for my gaming.

I've created automated spreadsheets for a few of the RPG's I play with, so this was nothing.

I gave up on Boardgamegeek, and have uplaoded the spreadsheets on Rapidshare.

https://rapidshare.com/files/4214431735/Dust_Tactics_Force_calculator.ods

Is the Open Office Form, and

https://rapidshare.com/files/3608486097/Dust_Tactics_Force_calculator.xls

Is the Excel file with the image moved to the front.

so ,

i saw one of the building thrown together the other day..it did not fit the squares.

does anyone have any input on this?

was it just done in too much of a hurry?

or does it really not fit the grid correctly?

Sgt G

The issue is simply that the building had to be thicker than the thin lines separating the squares on the grid.

They had to decide how to interface a 3D terrain piece most effectively on the 2D game grid. To give people more room to maneuver figures inside, they allowed the building to cover some area both inside and outside the lines of the grid. It was either that, or make the building fit inside the lines completely, and be less functional for moving around the models.

The building still works fine on the grid, and you have more space for maneuvering models inside thebuilding. I thought it was a very nice compromise.