posts from @stepnix tagged #mech

also: #Mecha

stepnix
@stepnix
TresFoyle
@TresFoyle asked:

oh hey so do you have opinions, as a mech game enthusiast, on Kernel?

not yet BUT i have it in a bundle so that's fixable. Gimme some highlights of yours and I'll try to add some of my own


TresFoyle
@TresFoyle

I'm automatically enamored of any game that offers a super-focused premise I'd never come up with on my own, especially when it's doing something goofy with sense of scale, so "borrower-scale mecha foraging simulator" is a premise that automatically makes me want to love what I'm looking at. It's putting itself in pretty obvious dialog with Union Salvage in terms of what the mechanics are for (resource gathering, complex logistical problem-solving, and mech-scale crisis/combat all kind of on the same plane of importance) but it comes in a much lighter package, all told, which is an admirable undertaking given that I've yet to find a truly short mecha game that's grabbed me.

The core mechanic feels very Eurogame-y to me: spend fuel to roll dice, bank the dice you've got in your mech, spend dice one-to-one to solve problems of rank equal or lesser to the pips on the dice you burned. It's cute and I like it in the broad strokes, even if I think it's a bit of an adjustment re: where the tension in an action winds up (this could be an easy thing to acclimate to in practice, or it could completely throw off the whole vibe at the table—I'd want to get in an actual session before I made any claim one way or another). Risk/reward is fairly elegantly handled by making both cargo and physical harm take up the same space your dice go, creating a nice neat death spiral encouraging you to get in, get the goods, and get out clean.

But once you get into the nitty-gritty it feels like the game just sort of keeps adding more death spirals, and while I'm still hesitant to pass judgment without playing, actually using the mechanics starts to seem a little forbidding. You only get three revs of your engine to roll new dice before you need to start burning resources—okay, fine, tough but fair. You pay an extra point of resources every time you rev once you start dipping into your goods—starts to feel kind of suffocating. Once you get to the actual mech listings and start parsing how much any given mech has to offer in terms of the slots-to-engine-power ratios and how that translates into how many actions you can actually reasonably take in a single excursion, maybe it's just me, but it makes a gal wonder how the hell you're supposed to ever break even and feed positively into the elaborate base-management downtime gameplay.

All that said I love the nearly full-page aside about how to flavor weapons at Wee Little Fella scale, and how dangerous water is. Somebody was extremely committed to the idea that their ruleslight little guy big adventures game convey little guy situations with maximum verisimilitude.


stepnix
@stepnix

First things first: the robots are cool and i like them



giant robots YIPPEE!!!

Genre: Mecha, but with some clear super robot elements

Touchstones: Gurren Lagann, Super Robot Wars, Neon Genesis Evangelion (especially)

What is this game?: Steel Hearts is a game for fighting robots and aliens in a future sci-fi setting, with distinct anime flavoring

How's the gameplay?: Steel Hearts features grid tactics combat with an emphasis on reaction play and d6 pools. As you and your allies make attacks, you build up a resource called "synergy" that lets you take actions off-turn. Your mechs are built part-by-part, so you can truly call your robot your own. The combat isn't as tactically demanding as some other grid games, but there's plenty of room to come up with wild combos.

What's the setting (If any) like?: Steel Hearts takes place in the "New Century," after the emergence of alien monsters called "Wyrms" has reshaped Earth's political and ecological landscapes. By default you're teamed up with the Earth Defense Alliance, but there's a whole cast of factions jockeying for position.

What's the tone?: The book is light and upbeat, but makes no secret that people will die. There's a decent chance of whiplash when your "Bard" pilot whose mech covered in audio equipment is forced to confront the shared humanity of those it's killed, but, that can be a fruitful contrast!

Session Length: uhhhh can't tell so I'm gonna guess 2-3 hours

Number of Players: 1 GM, 3-5 other players

Malleability: The mission loop should be adaptable to a wide variety of settings, many of the mechs are associated with specific in-universe factions or events but the mechanics don't explicitly interface with them.

Resources: Automated mech builder sheet available in the Itch forum

Warnings?: This game is unfinished, and you will need to homebrew NPCs and mission biomes yourself if you want to make an extended campaign out of it

Steel Hearts makes some decisions I don't quite understand (like intentionally invoking dnd comparisons several times), but as soon as it's actually done it's going to be my go-to grid tactics super robot recommendation.