tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post2483327934382963773..comments2024-03-19T07:52:04.764-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Retrospective: StrikerJames Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-88501399138146283382011-12-21T16:15:37.271-05:002011-12-21T16:15:37.271-05:00I too acquired my copy of Striker by way of the GD...I too acquired my copy of Striker by way of the GDW reprint series. I've designed a number of vehicles, but used few of them in games. I like taking real-world AFV stats and trying to replicate them with Striker rules. I've gotten more use out of the rules section "Integrating Striker with Traveller" because of the information on determining world defense budgets alongside Trillion Credit Squadron's naval budget rules.Robert Weaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07917387796213598551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-12502757666400939562011-12-19T20:03:04.696-05:002011-12-19T20:03:04.696-05:00I have to admit to loving all the complicated desi...I have to admit to loving all the complicated design sequences in Striker. I spent many, many hours designing vehicles, building units, etc. However, we only ever actually played it once, and it was a bizarre game. We played a game where we were a TL8 mercenary unit, and we were hired to guard a convoy of...something...for someone...(hey, it was a long time ago), on Harn. I remember having huge fun shelling a Thardic legion with cluster bombs. Good times. <br />Ultimately, though, Striker was something my friends and I played with more than actually played.Cord the Seekerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15768966473685556824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-26817466266479463912011-12-19T13:12:10.246-05:002011-12-19T13:12:10.246-05:00I gave it a pass at the time. Traveller had enough...I gave it a pass at the time. Traveller had enough crunch for me without extra rules. Altho I'm always thrilled with more figures!<br /><br />Ah, Star Fleet Battles. Fun when it initially came out, this game went out of control with all the rules additions that kept getting cranked out. Still have my official loose-leaf binder with pages updated through whatever date I finally gave up on updating. Really, to me the game became a contest of which obscure or new rule you could whip out to the consternation of your less-prepared foe. Eh, I'd rather have fun.Baron Greystonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16636292202674906870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-3461296381321526202011-12-15T20:59:12.089-05:002011-12-15T20:59:12.089-05:00I think you are being a bit unfair. Given the comm...I think you are being a bit unfair. Given the comms of that day (real snail mail) telling the ref to answer the question doesn't seem that odd to me. By default this is what all were really forced to do! As far as the rules, I again try to look at it in context of the time. Squad Leader was on the market with its "innovative" programmed approach. In the case of GDW they were still coming out of what we would now their DTP phase. Just look at their covers...they starting using more than one color! In terms of writing rules they still were very elementary with formatting. To me, this is why it is hard to read...too much dense text. But if you get past that, the rules are actually elegant given they let you play from clubs to lasers. The emphasis on command and control is a Frank Chadwick fetish and doesnt square well with the (then recent) Empire Strikes Back version of war. You are quite correct in that the construction section overshadowed all else but Striker is not a bad game, just poorly presented.RockyMountainNavyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16208992845018220559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-5652789838241069082011-12-14T23:39:18.027-05:002011-12-14T23:39:18.027-05:00James Maliszewski said: "What I found interes...James Maliszewski said: "What I found interesting is that the designer suggested not asking GDW directly, instead suggesting that the referee is the final authority for rules questions."<br /><br />Now I see... sorry for the misinterpretation.Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-65344065619108064662011-12-14T22:36:26.194-05:002011-12-14T22:36:26.194-05:00I was utterly obsessed with obtaining Striker back...I was utterly obsessed with obtaining Striker back in my Traveller hey-day, but never actually ended up getting it. In recent years, I was ultimately cheesed to get the complete Classic Traveller on CD from Marc Miller/FFE, which included Striker. But after reading through it, I was kind of relieved that I had never gotten it. It's not a bad game in and of itself, but my Traveller games certainly never suffered for not having the extra cruft.toddroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668825555921002430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-19241449770888274372011-12-14T19:52:49.170-05:002011-12-14T19:52:49.170-05:00Like many GDW rules sets it had lots of errata and...Like many GDW rules sets it had lots of errata and appeared to not seen mush actual playtest before being published. Talking to the GDWers back in the 90s I was surprised to find they never actually put any of their design formulas in a spread sheet to see if they worked.Captain Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10682678777940123469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-59709684487011894162011-12-14T18:10:24.221-05:002011-12-14T18:10:24.221-05:00I was another who, loving Traveller, looked high a...I was another who, loving Traveller, looked high and low in the local shops for a copy of Striker... but never found one. <br />Now that I've been getting into 15mm skirmish games(go Gruntz!)a bit my fever is back on to find a copy. <br />Like Star Fleet Battles it's a game I've always wanted to try, despite have a bit of a reputation for being 'difficult'.Timmy Crabcakeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14737954661234574830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-71543401277309599862011-12-14T11:39:24.847-05:002011-12-14T11:39:24.847-05:00Frank Chadwick was at Celesticon this past fall, a...Frank Chadwick was at Celesticon this past fall, and one of his seminars was "30 years of Striker." The recording of this is at <br />http://www.celesticon.com/seminars.php<br /><br />I've never played it, nor much of Traveller, but I loved a lot of GDW's other stuff, and I enjoyed his talk. Note that it's mostly directed at the wargame crowd, and talks a fair bit on technology.<br /><br />As I understand it, the orders element was meant to bring the wargame closer to an RPG.Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13103472744612438430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-25862658272201665132011-12-14T11:32:34.703-05:002011-12-14T11:32:34.703-05:00Just to be clear: it's not the SASE part of wh...Just to be clear: it's not the SASE part of what I quoted I found interesting. As you say, there were lots of games that included similar lines. What I found interesting is that the designer suggested <i>not</i> asking GDW directly, instead suggesting that the referee is the final authority for rules questions.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-38589021630209767552011-12-14T11:19:44.514-05:002011-12-14T11:19:44.514-05:00I'll point out that questions-via-SASE was not...I'll point out that questions-via-SASE was not uncommon at that time in other rulesets. Some other examples:<br /><br />- Moldvay Basic D&D (p. B61, 1981)<br />- Battlesystem Fantasy Combat Supplement (p. 1, 1985)<br />- 2E Battlesystem Miniatures Rules (p. 5, 1989)<br />- Star Frontiers rulebooks (inside cover of Alpha Dawn Basic, Alpha Dawn Advanced, Knight Hawks Tactical Operations -- "don't let a Dralasite lick it, though" -- 1982-3)<br /><br />(Note that the last three examples all had heavy involvement by Doug Niles, for what that's worth.)Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-23728021181253316632011-12-14T11:18:32.252-05:002011-12-14T11:18:32.252-05:00One of the things I liked about Striker was the sy...One of the things I liked about <i>Striker</i> was the system of orders. The way this worked made the game play more like a RPG than most miniatures games I'd played. It's as though you were playing multiple characters, some of which you didn't have complete control over. You could extend your control over the more recalcitrant characters by sending them orders, but orders take time to transmit, or by leading them directly with more confident characters. There's a vignette in the books which indicates how this works, by providing a short piece of fiction, then a description of how it plays out in the game, and finally a brief description of how the command system differs from games that provide more omnipresent control.faoladhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691952430041394614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-70278331097973398002011-12-14T10:55:41.958-05:002011-12-14T10:55:41.958-05:00Actually the request for clarification with a SASE...Actually the request for clarification with a SASE was fairly standard amongst the tabletop wargames industry at the time. It being in the nature of wargames to be particularly quarrelsome when it came to rules and "rule quibbles." Mostly, in recognition of the valuable time of the designers the questions were posed in a Y/N format, although there were some famous Names where you got pages of neatly-typed onionskin back for what you had originally thought was a simple query.<br /><br />As for <i>Striker</i> itself, I actually liked the combat system here better than the standard one for <i>Traveller</i>. I felt the increased lethality and simple damage resolution steps was more in keeping with modern weapon injuries than the more graduated response imposed by the standard rules.<br /><br />It was also the first product that gave you specific rules for actually designing vehicles - something that would be a standard in later <i>Traveller</i> products (and influence GURPS etc) - rather than just defining a vehicle. Quite a profound effect, and something which shaped a lot of the subsequent Third Imperium.<br /><br />My loss of the original box set when it was stolen is something I still feel bitter about to this day. Which is how much I liked the rules.<br /><br />As a set of tabletop wargame rules (waht it actually was), it was reasonably OK, but nothing particularly special - it's main claim to fame was the design sequences. It was also fairly Old School too, being focused mainly on the weapons, where most serious skirmish wargames rules of the time were either starting to focus much more on command and control issues (including morale and pinning effects of fire as well as the inevitable fog of war effects), or going much much simpler (ala Warhammer).Reverance Pavanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01217657347160811310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-72336641613258059532011-12-14T09:46:59.631-05:002011-12-14T09:46:59.631-05:00I bought Striker as soon as it came out, and a bun...I bought Striker as soon as it came out, and a bunch of the 15mm miniatures for it, but never actually played it. I don't think I even made it all the way through the rules; it was just too bewilderingly complicated.Sean Robsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16429301144221551751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-1155886316615753672011-12-14T08:11:30.002-05:002011-12-14T08:11:30.002-05:00I can understand you not having the "right mi...I can understand you not having the "right mindset". I looked at quite a lot of wargames, too, but there was always something about the game's rules or philosophy that didn't really worked for me. True, there are some interesting games here and there, but nothing I'd play regularly.<br />Guess we just have to be lucky to find the wargame intended for us. For me, it as Starmada XDDoreshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06287649794589606798noreply@blogger.com