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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
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I'm taking a short break from my work on Post Captain to experiment with a different type of solitaire design challenge. Post Captain is currently in the midst of a major overhaul of its Chase Mechanics. When I find myself making such drastic changes I often get worried that I've lost connection with my initial vision and need to step back from the project for a while.
For the last week I've been working on a redesign project. One of my favorite design projects last year was my redesign of ZEDDECK - High School of the Zeds. So as a fun new design challenge I chose to redesign Warhammer Invasion to work as a solitaire game.
here's the thread documenting the design process...
Solo or Coop variant?
I have had a love hate relationship with Warhammer Invasion for a while. I really like its core ideas but feel guilty every time I look at the game because I've invested a lot of money in cards yet can never get any of my local group to play. Its a sad reminder of how often I buy into a game that immediately becomes a paperweights. I've reached a point where I don't buy multiplayer games I'm passionate about because I know my group wont play them. This is one of the main motivations behind designing solo games.
I've had an obsession with games like RANGER, AMBUSH, and DVG's LEADER series for a while but I also recently started playing FRIDAY. I enjoyed some of the concepts in FRIDAY but kept wanting it to be more cinematic and less mathy. I read Robinson Crusoe and watched Castaway in the hopes that they would help me feel like I was actually experiencing the theme but it still just felt like mathematical puzzle. This is a hard problem to solve in game design, AMBUSH and RANGER do this by hiding the games matrix beneath the surface so you can't game the system. This makes it harder to make long term strategies but easier to make choice in character or in the moment.
So what does this have to do with Warhammer Invasion? My goal was to take the returning conflict idea from FRIDAY and use it as a theme in WI. In FRIDAY you draw 2 cards each turn and must pick one to resolve a conflict with by drawing a certain number of cards (like ZEDDECK). The exciting part is that the card you don't pick goes into a discard and will return over and over again until you defeat it. This gives you the choice to gamble against a stronger challenge early because you know you won't be able to stop it in the later phases. This concept felt perfect for a survival card game.
The Next step was to figure out how to add unpredictability to the solo AI and determine how it develops its capital locations. Those core concepts developed quickly and in the end the challenge was how to make the endgame as tense and challenging as possible. This is where the FRIDAY concepts came in. Each turn all the units in the battlefield attack. Killed units are discarded and the victorious units are moved to a victory deck. At the end of the game all the victorious units return for the final battle. This gives the player the difficult choice between ignoring the attacker and wait for him to go away or sacrifice development now so he doesn't have to face that enemy again later. That's enough rambling for one night...
Here's a link to the PDF rules:
http://mermuse.jmwebdesigns.com/post/WI_solitaire_sm.pdf
and these are some of the solo AI capital boards:
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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
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Good news, I've finished the map for mission 2...
This map requires a lot more strategy as it has a large number of dangerous reefs. The mission revolves around The USS Ranger and John Paul Jones daring raids in British waters BUT you take on the role of a young British Post Captain ordered to capture the American privateer.
Play testing update:
We had another big play testing event today and the results were good. I tried out the pre programmed wind chart but so far players prefer rolling the dice for wind duration. The main suggestion has been to use a smaller die (D4) so you never end up in a 6 duration storm.
I also decided to change the meaning of a STEADY result on the wind die. Originally this meant the wind direction would not change but its easy to forget what the last role was and its confusing what to do when this is the first wind roll of the game. Now I'm testing having STEADY be the prevailing wind direction for the map. This allows me to give a certain wind direction a much higher chance of coming up during a game.
The chases often last a little too long so I will be testing a shortened chase chart and a 2X modifier for movement on a 5+ weather gauge result.
I also found a few flaws in the current AI system. The AI don't handle reassigning crew well when they move from short to long range!
I have struggled with a way to make the Chase segment more strategic and less random. The best suggestion I've heard is to use a special wind die. The Chase wind die would either...
move the wind 1 point to to the east, 1 point to the west, trigger a storm, or trigger a fog bank. This means the wind is still shifting but not in such a dramatic and unpredictable fashion. The fog result would allow the ship with the weather gauge to immediately escape if it wants to.
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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
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Playtest of the chase system in POST CAPTAIN with ships of different classes. The HMS Culloden is a 74 gun 3rd rate and the Nymphe is an 18 gun frigate.
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The Nmyphe spots the HMS Culloden leaving port and bravely gives chase, quickly capturing the wind gauge. After a few ranging shots I order more crew to the gundeck. I believe I should be able to take pot shots at the larger ship while still staying clear of her mighty guns. The rumor is that the Culloden is in poor shape and has an inexperienced captain at the helm.
Our next shots are a mixture of rod and chainshot fired along her stern. The barrage of spinning metal mauls two of the Culloden's Mainsails. As they struggle to repair their rigging the wind shifts and they can't react quickly enough. They end up facing into the wind, losing all rudder control.
Our next shots rip through their bow and the hull below the waterline. It looks like weve holed her hull and damaged her pumps. This new damage plus the mauled sails will keep her crew busy for a while.
As we pass back around to rake her with the other side, she recovers stearage and her sails begin to fill. She is able to turn just enough to bring a few guns to bear and we exchange broadsides. Both ships are hit below the waterline and begin to take on water!
Her speed increases still more as they finish patching the last of their damaged sails but they are still very low in the water. There's no sign that her pumps are working. Another good shot below the waterline might finish her.
The captain of the Culloden pushes his men to make more sail in order to wrestle the wind gauge from us and bring his mighty guns to bear. He is rewarded with a loud "crack" as his main mast crashes down on deck. The wreckage dragging behind turns the ship towards us allowing him another chance to exchange broadsides.
The Nymphe shudders beneath me as cannonballs rip through her bow. Our first shot is fired on the rise and pass across her deck sending splinters flying everywhere. The second shot hits below the waterline and the enemy ship groans and begins to sink. The HMS Culloden strikes her colors and we begin the difficult process of rescuing and stowing so many prisoners on our small frigate.
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The Nymphe consistently out sailed and out fought the larger ship. The Culloden is one of the oldest and weakest of the "Ships of the Line" in the game and is quite fragile with only 3 hull points.
The key to thee battle was a shot that took out the Cullodens pumps early on and then the crews failure to fix the pumps for the rest of the game (they drew 3 cubes for their repair checks 4 turns in a row!). Of all the critical/special locations the "pumps" are the location most likely to be hit because they are easier to live without. This puts too much emphasis on the pumps so I may simplify the system to remove the pumps and have you simply move crew to the hull to make repairs. Will need to test this more too see what I think.
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note: I also uploaded a paprecraft wind die to the Playtest section of the forums..
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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
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One of the design goals for Post Captain has always been to make a solitaire experience for gamers who like miniatures. For some reason miniature games never support solitaire play.
I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of modeling and painting miniatures for use with the game Ambush and now I'm doing the same for Post Captain! Here's the first of my painted French crew...
They are 10mm mini's to fit on
the ship locations.
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And now for something completely different:
I'm doing my best to stay focused on Post Captain but I have so many game ideas floating around in my head at any time that it's hard to ignore them all. This is a game I've been trying to get out for almost 2 years. I won't say much about it now but here's a little teaser.
I couldn't get the game to come together till I find the right inspiration.
The art of &Rew has really helped me move forward with the project. I've posted some playtest cards on my site but I won't have the playtest rules ready for a few weeks.
http://mermuse.jmwebdesigns.com/post/RPX2.jpg
http://mermuse.jmwebdesigns.com/post/RPXt.jpg
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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
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Post Captain playtest report
Mission 2 - Hunting the Hunter
Captains Log:
May 1st -
Within sight of Fair Isle we are overtaken by a fierce storm. It looks like it might last for a full day. I have only 5 days in which to locate and capture the American Privateer so this storm is a major setback.
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A few hours ago the storm passed and has been replaced by an eerie calm. This is worse than the storm because at least in the storm we could make some headway.
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A northerly wind carried us down the coast and by the morning we are cruising the Rost of Keels, hoping to come across some local fisherman with news of the Privateer.
May 2nd -
No Fisherman today but we do come across a British Merchantman. To our relief they have recent news of our Prey. The Privateer was seen yesterday off the Orkneys. We head SW at best speed to give chase.
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At sunset the lookout spots a sail. Its the Privateer, the USS Ranger! The Privateer panics and in their rush to flee their top mast carries away. We close and fire a ranging shot that just falls short.
As they scramble to repair their rigging, the wind shifts and they find themselves in irons. We beat into the wind and close to short range. Our next shot rips through their bows damaging their pumps.
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A storm overtakes the two ships. While I reduce sails they crack on risking everything to escape. As they speed away to the west we see water spilling over their side, they have repaired their pumps and their maintopsails appears to be filling again!
Both captains push their ships to their limits. A cheer breaks out as the privateer's mizzen mast lurches and crashes to the deck. Moments later our own maintopsails come crashing down. Even in her damaged state the privateer is still outdistancing us.
Crews on both ships race aloft to repair the damage and in half an hour both ships have returned to their top speed. By now the privateer is just visable on the horizon at the extreme range of our cannon.
The ship disappears into another storm. We follow them in and the ship flounders in the trough of a wave taking on water at an arming rate. When the storm passes there is no sign of our prey.
May 3rd -
No sign of the privater today. We have repaired most of the damage to the ship but many of the crew are still under the watchful eye of our surgeon. I will continue on to the Orkneys.
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Sunset - off the coast of North Ronaldsay.
At sunset the lookout spots a sail to the west. It's the Ranger! We beat to quarters. It looks like she will stand and fight us this time.
We close for a full broadside. The shot rips across her deck but fails to do any significant damage.As both ships speed towards each other, the crew quickly makes their way to the deck.
I cross their bow, blocking the wind from their sails rake them with another full broadside as they they wallow helplessly. Their gundeck explodes and the ship lurches over. Through the holes left in their side we can see the awful carnage our broadside has caused.
I pull clear of her unwilling to board her while she still has so many men willing to put up a fight.WE watch as her crew drop their swords and boarding axes and rush into the tops to make more sail. She's running!
We fire one more time, this time breaching the hull just below the surface, and board her. As we quickly sweep the deck of all resistance, her captain steps forward and offers his sword.
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They fought valiantly. If it wasn't for that devastating broadside that wrecked her gundeck we might still be fighting her.
Playtest Notes-
Now that's more like it! This is how mission 2 is supposed to play out. A first meeting, a decent chase, and a final dramatic battle. I wish the search would have lasted longer and that I would have had to search more locations for clues before finding him but overall I'm quite happy with how it turned out.
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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
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This is my first pay test for a new mission for my solitaire PNP game Post Captain.
Mission:
In the mission you are ordered to track down and capture an American privateer that has been raiding up and down the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. He has been spotted around the Orkney Islands several times in the last week and it is believed that he may be using one of the northern islands as a base off operations. The presence of an American Privateer is not unusual in these waters but this privateer is different. There are rumors that he has been dropping large caches of weapons off in the Northern isles to support the rebellion. If this is true it could mean that the Americans have decided to support Napoleons invasion plan. You must capture the privateer captain alive so our agents can question him.
You are to cruise the area for 5 days stopping all ships to discover if they have news of the privateer. You should talk with the local fisherman as well as the lighthouse keeper on North Ronaldsay Isle.
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A large quantity of fire-arms and ammunition was believed to have been landed at night and smuggled into the nunnery in order to assist the enemy's army should it effect a landing. It was decided that the matter ought to be investigated immediately, and accordingly the Rev. Mr. Blackburne, a Justice of the Peace, was chosen to superintend operations.
Events:
In the waters around the Fail Isle you can meet fishing boats, a captured British frigate (with privateer prize crew), and a captured British merchantman (with a prize crew form the privateer).
In the open sees you can meet British ships, A French Warship, and the American Privateer.
In the waters around the Orkney Isles you can meet fishing boats, British ships, and a captured merchantman (with a prize crew form the privateer), and the American privateer. The Orkneys also have two locations to visit... a fishing village on Westray island and the lighthouse on North Ronaldsay Island.
Each time you get info (from on of these events) about the privateers location it increases your odds of finding him at sea.
The Play test:
We spent the first day sailing around Fair isle looking for the local fishing fleets. We stayed in the shallows for most of the next day but we didn't sight a single sail.
Later in the day as we headed towards the Orkneys we hailed a passing Merchant. He had no news of the privateer so we continued on our way. As we approached North Ronaldsay Island we were becalmed. When the wind returned it was from the West so our progress through the night was slow. The next morning we sighted the lighthouse on Dennis Head and sent a boat in to question the keeper. He informed us that the privateer had been spotted in the last 24 hours.
As we headed back into the offing the lookout spotted a sail. The Privateer was rounding Tor Ness and heading towards us. The captain gave the orders to beat to quarters and the rest is a blur. Both ships tried some ranging shots but they fell short. The ships were evenly matched until a shot from the privateer brought down a mast. The captain turned and raced into an approaching storm cloud expecting the privateer to reduce sail but both ships sailed into the maelstrom with full battle sails. Both ships emerged from the storm battered and within close range. The privater had the wind gauge and decided to exchange broadsides. The result was devastating. They fired just as our ship pitch up over a wave and all the shots hit below the waterline. The ship lurched and began to sink. We had no choice but to strike the colors.
Conclusion:
This is going to be a hard mission to balance. The ships were almost equal but my ship was much older and had bad copper plating (represented by fewer hull points). I'm not unhappy that I lost but I was hoping to meet the privateer, have him escape, and then meet him again later for a final battle. In order for this to happen I may just need to shift his AI type between encounters.
Ideally I would like him to be the hunter the first time you meet and then become the hunted after that. The key to this may be to have him act like a WARSHIP (always attempt to close) until you fire on him. Once he realizes you are a warship sent to hunt him he would act like a MERCHANTMAN (always flee). With these AI changes I believe the story will flow better. The privateer had too much bravado for the type of cat and mouse encounter I was hoping for.
I also added some new "Reef" events that would could cause the player to run aground if they are the in shallow waters around the Orkney islands but this event never came up. I'm hoping this will make for some difficult decisions on your cruise. When your ship is in the shallows it has a higher chance of finding local fishing vessels but also a higher chance of running aground.
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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
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I'm a little overwhelmed this weekend. The play testing sessions gave me some fresh ideas on how to streamline the process of tracking the passage of time and the winds duration BUT I really want to finish the first pass on the rulebook before I start making too many minor tweaks.
I've completed the first 4 pages which simply scratch the surface and help to introduce the core mechanics. Future pages will show more of the depth of interesting strategic choices but those will have to wait till next weekend.
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The POST CAPTAIN rulebook (in progress):
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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
-
I'm a little overwhelmed this weekend. The play testing sessions gave me some fresh ideas on how to streamline the process of tracking the passage of time and the winds duration BUT I really want to finish the first pass on the rulebook before I start making too many minor tweaks.
I've completed the first 3 pages which simply scratch the surface and help to introduce the core mechanics. Future pages will show more of the depth of interesting strategic choices but those will have to wait till next weekend.
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The POST CAPTAIN rulebook (in progress):
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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
-
I'm a little overwhelmed this weekend. The play testing sessions gave me some fresh ideas on how to streamline the process of tracking the passage of time and the winds duration BUT I really want to finish the first pass on the rulebook before I start making too many minor tweaks.
I've completed the first 3 pages which simply scratch the surface and help to introduce the core mechanics. Future pages will show more of the depth of interesting strategic choices but those will have to wait till next weekend.
...
The POST CAPTAIN rulebook (in progress):
...
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John Paul Messerly
United States
Sherman Oaks
California
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The latest play test have confirmed that the new ship layouts are working. These ship cards only have one minor improvement... each ship now has it's national flag flying. This allows me to show the ships nationality without adding extra text. I really want to keep these sheets as clean and uncluttered as possible.
HMS Weazel:
Sémillante:
Jeanne d'Arc:
Atalante:
Scipio:
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Post Captain is a solitaire PNP game of sailing, sea chases, and espionage during the Napoleonic Wars. You take on the role of a young captain who has just been given command of his first ship. The game's missions revolve around the the tangled web of political intrigue surrounding Napoleon's plan to invade England.
The game play focuses on navigation, 1 on 1 sea battles, and assaults by landing parties. The dramatic chases of naval literature are reproduced using an abstract system that represents the relative speed and position of each ship. Each turn the ship that has the highest maneuverability is considered to have the "wind gauge" and gets to move (closer or farther away) and/or attack. The captains navigational and crew assignments choices define his ships maneuverability each turn.
The primary game play mechanic revolves around the orders you give to your crew. You assign crew to different positions on the ship in anticipation of where you think the wind or the enemy will be. The game is divided into two segments. A "Mission" segment where you navigate on a large map attempting to reach objectives on time and a "Chase" segment where ships engage each other.
The goal of the system is to simplify naval combat to focus on dramatic storytelling rather than focus on charts, modifiers, counters, and complex rules. All conflict resolution is handled by drawing colored cubes from a cup. This will tell if a test was successful and in combat it also tells what part of the ship is damaged. As a solitaire game the goal is to achieve enough mission objectives to earn renown in order to increase your rank and upgrade your crew.
Sun Apr 22, 2012 11:58 pm
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