Pint-Size Battling Robots at Engadget

Pint-Size Battling Robots at Engadget



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The Absurdity of Battle Value

There is an interesting post at Flechs ...

On the Absuridty of “Battlevalue”

Ian writes ...

I’ve got a bone to pick with Battlevalue. As I was in the process of doing my research, it came up on the CBT forums recently. Unfortunately it didn’t get the discussion i think it deserves.

... and I have to agree.

BV seems to function as an attempt to express in numbers the imbalances in the game. Imbalances that increase for every variable (equipment) added without adjusting existing variables (rules and equip). BV as a game design choice is a problematic at best. [emphasis added]

Definitely problematic, but Ian has hit on a greater truth: BV is a game design choice. Battle Value (BV) takes a lot of criticism for it's flaws, and rightly so. Most people though, fail to recognize what BV really is. When we agree to play a game that is balanced (for better or worse) by BV, then it becomes a de facto rule of the game. For example, BV is known to penalize too much (reduce final BV) for Mechs without sufficient heat sinks, therefore the overgunned mechs that cannot fire all their weapons without overheating become the Mechs of choice faster than you can say "Black Hawk Prime".
[image sarna.net]

First: Does anyone find it necessary to keep track of all BV destroyed while playing a game to understand what the situation is? Of course not. Destroying equipment is an act that already has in-game value. ie. It effects game play. Point systems that have no other effect than their comparative value are arbitrary methods of evaluating game events compared to what they are supposed to represent.

Ian is 2-for-2 so far. It does not matter the BV you destroy, rather it should be much severely can you damage the other players units given the relative BV of both sides. In other words, if you can battle someone to a draw using less BV than the other player, then you should be counted as the winner. The usual tournament scoring rules do a very poor job of measuring how damaged each side really is. (I should note that the rules for the Battletech Open 2.0, which will premier at ORIGINS this summer, are a step in the right direction.)

Second: If I play a ‘mech with a point value of 1000 against a carbon copy of myself running a ‘mech with a point value of 999 on a symmetrical map. Which one will win? No idea? Me either. What about if [I] had a 950 point ‘mech? Any idea now? Maybe? 900 points? 800? Where are the significant figures in this measuring system?

Ian does it again. The present BV system (there is little difference between 1.0 and 2.0) assigns arbitrary numbers with no meaning. What is amazing is that they work as well as they do. This is a completely ad hoc scoring system that makes a number of unfounded assumptions and demonstrably wrong calculations*. Most people don't realize where it goes wrong either.

* I have a post in mind to justify that statement, and I continue to work on something better. Stay tuned.

Understanding Comics

This book is one of the optional texts for Ian Schreiber's Game Design Concepts class I signed up for this summer.

Ian Writes: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, by McCloud. While this book claims to be about comics, many of the lessons within can be applied to game design and other forms of art. It also happens to be a comic book itself, and fun to read.
[image scottmccloud.com]

Ian is correct, it's a great little book and I can easily see how most of it can be applied to games as well as comics. I did a little web searching on Scott McCloud and quickly came up with even more good stuff: Scott McCloud's Web Site including a blog and much more, Scott McCloud's TED lecture, and of course you can pick up your own copy Understanding Comics for $16.55 + shipping at Amazon.

Here is the Scott McCloud video from TED:

On the workbench, part 2

These minis are back for assorted repairs. The Fafnir (left) has a bent gun on the left arm and some chipped paint.
(Unfortunately I didn't get any pics from the left side, which is the best part. Time to get the camera back out.)


The Cidada (middle) has a few chipped spots and the ink has worn off the antenna.



The Thunderbolt (right) just needs a bit of glue; it has so many pins holding it together that something is always coming loose.



Hey Guys! Come Back!! I'm not done!!!





This is one of my favorites. The original Cicada is in a static and unexciting pose, especially for a battlemech that is supposed to be fast. For this modification I had to do extensive cutting, reshaping, and pinning, and the whole thing is mounted on a piece of music wire running out the back of the base and into the right leg, so the whole miniature is literally suspended above the base, posed in mid-stride and both feet off the ground. The antenna are toothbrush bristles. I did the sharks grin with micron markers (red and black on white paint) and a lot of practice on paper before I dared to try it on the mini itself.

Prepare for the Robot Apocalypse

TPL writes about the Robot Apocalypse at Nothing's Simple. Pay him a visit and discuss your favorite world conquering robots.

On the workbench, part 1

This past week I finally got my paints and miniatures tools back out after a long break. I have really tried to do any repairs to my existing miniature for two years now, so I have a backlog of work to do just to get everything back into game-worthy condition. I've got a stack of pictures to show, so I think I'll break these up into several posts and spread them out over a week or so. If you are impatient, you can peek at the whole collection here.







These first two pictures are of the Blackhawk I've been working on for a friend, and something even more important: I save the paper that I use to test my colors until the I am finished painting. Because I like to mix and blend colors, this in like a roadmap to recreate the palette I was using back in November.




Next are two photos of one of my project boxes. I have a couple of companies of tanks I need to finish up, and a few mechs in various stages of assembly or painting.



To the below are some nearly completed miniatures, but have already seen some action on the gaming table. I still need to spray them with dullcote to knock down the shine, and flock the bases.

My Dice Are Here!

My order of custom dice from Chessex arrived earlier this evening. I really like how they turned out.




Thanks Joe! :-)














To get your very own set of GBR dice, all you have to do is track me down at ORIGINS in June. The Battletech tables in the miniatures area would be a good place to look.