Alchemy's Workbench #5: Hulk On Hold

Just a quick update on my little side-project of combining the Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Game System and, Space Hulk to create a truly solitaire experience in the grim darkness of a Tyranid infested hulk.

It's probably not the update that you were all looking for though.

As I have SO many projects on the go at the moment, I have decided to shelve both this and the Diablo II conversion project until a couple of others are completed and, I can give them the due attention that they both deserve.

In the short-term, I have decided that the best number of projects for me to be working on without the risk of getting hopelessly side-tracked is probably two to three. Picking the three with so many pots on the boil was a hard one though but, I have decided to run with the following:

• The Dungeon Masters Series: I'm halfway now and I have really enjoyed working on this one, so there was no way that this one was going to get put on-hold when it's running so well.

• Flashpoint: This is a project that I have had sitting around for a few months that is pretty much in it's final stages now. Unlike my other projects however, this will be a salable product that can be yours for all of a dollar.. What is it though? Oh, it's just the only set of miniatures rules you'll ever need. ;0).. And I'm looking for a distributor.

More on this one to come.

• Assorted Painting and Modeling Projects: I have a whole bunch of miniatures and terrain (some my own, some that I'm doing as favors to other folks) that I am painting up when I have some time to spare, as well as a number of models that I am building from scratch.

These represent some of the only time that I am spending away from my laptop of late, so I certainly wasn't going to can them!

That said though, I certainly intend to showcase some of my finished works here. I may even lend a helping paintbrush in the future to folks who need it (I don't charge by the way but a few miniatures thrown my way as a thank you never goes a miss. ;0))

So, that's where I stand at the moment. Lots of stuff going on to the back burner.. But only until I have time and space for them.

Where's The Doctor when you need him?

Alchemy's Workbench #2: Further Thoughts on A.I

I really have to say a big thank you to Jerry for being such a great sounding board on this one and, his comments have really got me mulling over just how I will handle the A.I in my solo player version of Space Hulk.

Whilst I quite like the method that the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure System uses to handle enemy movement and action, it becomes very easy from a player point of view to exploit when you always know exactly what your enemy will do in any given situation.

It's like attracting your enemies in a first person shooter and then camping around a corner. Knowing full well that they will just walk on over blindly, only to have both barrels of a sawed-off shotgun pumped into them at point blank range.

It's just not realistic and, it's certainly nothing like playing against another human being.

Then again, the only real alternative card driven A.I out there, found in Gears of War may be more unpredictable but, it's random and, random A.I is really no kind of A.I at all.

Both of them also really fail in taking into account the mind of a gamer too.

Strategies change based on who you're playing against, how experienced you are and, the situation at hand. All of which should be considered when designing the games A.I. Even if there is an optimal strategy, there is no guarantee it will be used or even spotted by a player or, that it will be relevant to every single game. Maybe not even the next game.

All of this as you can imagine is proving quite interesting food for thought. Can a board game ever truly have a functional and realistic A.I?

Alchemy's Workbench #1: Space Hulk For The Lone Gamer

I am an avid games designer.

Rarely a week or even a day goes by that I don't conceive of a new idea for something that I think would make for quite a cool game. I have a notebook full of doodles, diagrams, loose paper and, writing that's testament to this.. Not to mention the many text files I have strewn over several hard drives.

Most of these ideas however rarely see the light of day for one reason or another, the most frequent being that I'm not a patient fellow and the idea of me sitting down for the amount of time it takes to complete a project is frankly laughable. Especially when I consider that the next idea is just around the corner!

So instead of sitting down patiently I have decided that the best course of action is actually to get my ideas out there amongst my readership, so that it can be best judged exactly which ideas are worth following, right here, right now.

So for the first time EVER, I welcome you all to come and take a gander at the Alchemy Workbench and take a look over one of my more recent musings, Space Hulk for the lone gamer (the title needs work if nothing else).

Space Hulk is a grand old game which enjoyed a recent, if pricey face-lift and, although 3rd Edition was only a limited run, there are still enough 1st and 2nd Edition copies out there being played to make doing something with the concept worthwhile.

So, what do I have in mind?

What I want to do is completely strip away the mechanics of the game and draft in those from the D&D Adventure Game System.

There can be no doubt that these games, although sold as "cooperative" are far better played solo and, that the ability to manage enemy AI in such a consistent manner is just what you need if you're planning on playing Space Hulk solo. It's like a match made in heaven!

I can see there being a need for a few tweaks and additions but by and large the work is already done for us.

The first and most obvious thing that will need changing will be the Power Cards included in the Adventure System games. What I envisage here is that common actions like firing a Storm Bolter become At Will Powers, whilst heavy weapons are handled by "Utility Powers" and, reloading them becomes something akin to a "Daily Power".

The next change I feel would be to create a decks for the hulk (similar to those included in the Deathwing expansion for Space Hulk but handling smaller sections) and, a deck to handle enemy AI, like those included in the original Adventure System games with a couple of tweaks.

I also think that I might add in an Event Deck similar to the one included in both Space Crusade. Realistically this is a must as the Adventure System wouldn't function as well without one and, it is the Adventure System that we are initially looking to emulate.

Thinking again about AI system though, it is less important that we create enemies that function uniquely and, instead that we create groups of enemies that function well.

What I mean by this is that D&D thrived on throwing a wide range of enemies at you that attacked and moved in a number of different ways but, what we want to recreate for Space Hulk is a hive mind. All of our cards will will be pretty much the same except for the number of Genestealers they bring into play, so we really need to create AI that takes best advantage of this, which in my mind means bringing their weight in numbers to bare.

So I pretty much have the majority of "how this will work" mapped out and, I even have a few ideas beyond this that could have this project written up and ready to play within the space of week or there abouts if given the time.

My question is though, what do you think of the idea?

Alchemy Bytes #5: Bizarre Talisman Crossovers

If ever there was a phrase that I didn't think I would be using it's "Talisman-Space Hulk Hybrid".

The two games really couldn't be much more different. Sure they both use D6 and involve pretty miniatures on a game board but, to all intents and purposes, that's where the similarity ends.

Still, the Internet is a weird and wonderful place and, gamers creative folk. So I present to you for your gaming pleasure, Talisman Space Hulk.

As if that wasn't enough, the site that I first learned of this on also has a number of other interesting Talisman expansions, including Talisman Bloodbowl.

Probably not a good idea to combine the two though. ;0).

Play Report: Mijnlieff #1

As gamers we soon learn that there is a great difference between knowing the game and, playing the game. In my last post we took a good look at the former but, how does the theory work as practice?

Well one thing that I have certainly learned from play is that changing the board drastically changes the game. Now this may seem like an obvious point to bring up for those of us who have played games with variable boards before, like ZOMBIES!!!, Space Hulk, Dungeonquest and, The Legend of Drizzt to name but a few.

Mjinlieff differs however in that the shape of the board drastically alters the value of the pieces to you as a player. If for example you create a board with very few diagonal connections, then the diagonal pieces become worth a lot more to you because they place greater limitations on your opponent and the spaces that they can play into in response.

Something tells me that this is only the tip of the iceberg too.

This is certainly a game I expect to be playing a lot more of in the future as it's right up my street! Abstract, Strategy and, Rules light. Stay tuned for more reports as we see just how deep down the rabbit hole we can trek with this gem.

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