I realise these forums aren't well traffiked anymore, but I wanted to keep sharing my wargaming experiences with you folks, and this didn't seem quite right for the facebook group:
I ended my summer MF0 gaming hiatus this past Saturday. I had scheduled an open demo session at Fandom II, the downtown FLGS. Dispite some interest on facebook, no-one showed up looking for a demo. But Jon and Xenovorous showed up with their frame companies, so we had an impromptu 3 player Rapid Attack skirmish.
My CompanyMy frame company, The Dragons.
In the rear, a support Hi-Leg:
d6Ra d6Ra d8Ra d6B d6G d6W d6W
Then from left to right, a battlefield salvage Chub:
d6Rd d6Rd d6G d6Y d6Y d6W d6W
and 3 hand-to-hand soldier Commisars:
d6Rh d6Rh d6B d6G d6Y d8G d6W d6W
d6Rh d6Rh d6B d6G d6Y d8G d6W d6W
d6Rh d6Rh d6B d6G d6Y d8G d6W d6W
Two Stations. In the foreground, an electochemical fuel cell (for powering something big!); and behind that, a forest shrine.
By bringing a company with the most frames & the most systems, I had a 'score per asset' of 3 and my starting score was 21, the lowest of the three, and so my position was 'point offensive' player.
Xenovorous' CompanyXenovorous' company was tied with Jon's for the least number of frames, but it had neither the most nor the least number of systems, so his 'score per asset' was 6 and his starting score was 36, which made his position 'offensive' as well.
Jon's CompanyJon's company had both the least number of frames and least number of systems, so his 'score per asset' was 7, giving him a starting score of 42 which put him in the 'defensive' position.
(I didn't keep a record of the loadouts for Xenovorous & Jon's companies, sorry guys)
Initial SetupIn a battlefield of short sections of walls & vegitation simulating ruins in the process of being overgrown, Jon set up a perimeter in one corner, with some fairly strudy walls to hide behind.
My 'point mobile frame' can be seen facing one of Jon's initial defense frames, with the rest of the company arrange behind it, making my intentions against Jon clear.
Xenovorous' company is to one side of my axis of advance, in postition to attack either of us.
Starting scores: Jon 42; Xenovorous 36; Myself 21
End of First RoundJon held onto his lead. My frames pursued one of Jon's into his perimeter but couldn't engage it in hand-to-hand combat. A lucky hit from my support frame crippled Jon's support frame, while return fire from Jon's support frame lightly damaged mine. Xenovorous' frames advanced towards the centre.
No frames were destoyed, and no stations changed hands.
End of first round scores: Jon 42; Xenovorous 36; Myself 21
End of Second RoundEarly in the second round, Xenovorous captured on of Jon's stations, lowering Jon's score to 35 and raising his to 42, thereby giving Xenovorous the initiative. Xenovorous also opened fire on my support frame, severely damaging it.
With Jon's score still ahead of mine, I continued to concentrate on him. My support frame finished off Jon's support frame, reducing his score even further. My hand-to-hand frames continued their drive into Jon's perimiter (taking considerable damage as they went), finally catching up to his frame beside on of his stations.
Under pressure from both Xenovorous and myself, Jon's position was looking untenable.
End of second round scores: Jon 28; Xenovorous 42; Myself 21
End of Third Round & GameFire from Jon's frames destroyed one of my hand-to-hand frames, reducing my score to 18, making it seem that I would remain in last place. Exchanges of fire between Xenovorous & myself and Jon & Xenovorous had no practical effect. But at the end of the round, my hand-to-hand frames finally destroyed Jon's frame (which they had been persuing for the entire game) and captured Jon's remaining station, finally dragging me out of last place.
The game was called at the end of the round on account of time, with Xenovorous the winner, myself in second place and Jon in third. We all agreed that it had been a good game.
End of third round & final scores: Jon 14; Xenovorous 42; Myself 21
It was time to pack up then, but I snapped a couple of closup shots of the aftermath:
It was great seeing Jon and Xenovorous again, and even better having a full game, and a multiplayer one at that!
Regarding my performance in the game, while I did managage to lift myself out of last place, I got the feeling during the game that attacking Jon was a misstep for me. I've had very few multiplayer games of MF0, and in two player games where I've played point offense, charging into the defender's perimeter with a closely grouped section of soldiers has served me well. In this game though, I think that attacking Jon this way helped Xenovorous more than me. This thought occured to me partway through the second round, but I decided to stick with my original plan and see where it got me. If I had attacked Xenovorous from the outset, I would have put him in a position where he couldn't possibly win without attacking Jon himself. This strategy certainly wouldn't be a guarenteed win for me, but it could be something interesting to try next time I'm in a similar position. I aslo think my hand-to-hand section suffered from a lack of SSRs, which I normally spread through "assault" sections like these (not everyone had SSRs, so we decided to play without them). Next time I'll bring some extra SSRs for the use of other players.
