Space Command Paper Prototype
Processes
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Goals
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Preparing for the Game |
How to Play |
1. Print out hex grid or create a 6 X 11 hex grid.
2. Print out ship pieces to fit the game board and cut them out. 3. One player uses the enemy ships while the other plays with the player ships. 4. Before the game begins, the player chooses which crew to use in their ships - The game scenario dictates crew size. This is an advanced optional feature |
1. Player 1 starts first.
2. They choose a ship and select an action. Ships can use abilities and perform actions (moving, turning, and shooting) as long as they have the AP. 3. The player can end their turn at any time, but they must end the turn if all of their ships are out of AP. 4. The enemy player takes their turn. When they end their turn, player player 1 turn starts again with their ship's AP restored. 5. A ship is destroyed and removed from the board when their hull reaches 0. 6. The player and enemy player keep taking turns until the player has won or lost the scenario. |
Ship Interactions
1. Moving - moving forward costs 2 AP, backwards costs 3 AP. Turning costs 1 AP.
2. Shooting - player can shoot from any of the 6 cardinal directions up to 6 tiles away. The player uses a 6 sided die to calculate hit percentage. Shooting a target adjacent to a ship needs a dice roll of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 to land a hit. When a target is 6 tiles away, only a 6 will land a hit.
3. Laser Attacks - laser attacks deal damage to shields and are only 10% effective against hulls. AP cost depends on the firing ship.
4. Ballistic Attacks - ballistic attacks deal damage to hulls and are only 10% effective against shields. AP cost depends on the firing ship.
5. Plasma Attacks - plasma attacks splits and deals even damage to shields and hulls. For example, a 10 damage plasma attack deals 5 damage to shields and 5 damage to hulls.
2. Shooting - player can shoot from any of the 6 cardinal directions up to 6 tiles away. The player uses a 6 sided die to calculate hit percentage. Shooting a target adjacent to a ship needs a dice roll of 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 to land a hit. When a target is 6 tiles away, only a 6 will land a hit.
3. Laser Attacks - laser attacks deal damage to shields and are only 10% effective against hulls. AP cost depends on the firing ship.
4. Ballistic Attacks - ballistic attacks deal damage to hulls and are only 10% effective against shields. AP cost depends on the firing ship.
5. Plasma Attacks - plasma attacks splits and deals even damage to shields and hulls. For example, a 10 damage plasma attack deals 5 damage to shields and 5 damage to hulls.
Understanding Card Information
Player Ship Cards
Each ship has unique stats that make them better than other ships in certain situations and worse in others. For example, the Defense Craft has the most hit points out of all the other ships, but has limited movement and attack due to its low AP. The image below highlights the stats each ship has and why the information is important for the player to know. Enemy crew cards display the same information.
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Crew Cards
Each ship can have up to four crew members equipped to it. Every crew member boosts the stats of the ship or can add an ability to the ship (up to two abilities). There are four types of crew members (Captain, Engineer, Navigator, and Weapons Officer). Ships cannot equip crew members of the same type. This means that a player cannot equip more than one captain or more than one engineer, etc.
Each crew member has a ship that they prefer to be a crew member of. Players can equip crew members to ships they do not prefer, but by equipping a crew member to a ship that they do prefer, allows the player to equip the crew member’s special ability to the ship. For example, equipping a Support Ship Navigator to an Attack Craft grants the Attack Craft passive stat boosts, but players will not be able to use that Navigator's ability on the Attack Craft.
Each crew member has a ship that they prefer to be a crew member of. Players can equip crew members to ships they do not prefer, but by equipping a crew member to a ship that they do prefer, allows the player to equip the crew member’s special ability to the ship. For example, equipping a Support Ship Navigator to an Attack Craft grants the Attack Craft passive stat boosts, but players will not be able to use that Navigator's ability on the Attack Craft.
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Scenarios
Scenarios determine how many ships and crew members the player can use during the scenario. Some scenarios have scripted events that force the player to dynamically adjust their strategy. Here are the two scenarios I have tested with the paper prototype:
1. Hoard - Player choose any combination of ships up to three. There is no limit to crew members. Enemy starts with 3 ships and a new random ship spawns every two turns on their side of the map. Scenario ends when the player loses or wipes all the enemy ships off the map. Player ships start on the left edge of the map and enemy ship start on the right edge.
2. Mission 1 - Player must use 1 attack, 1 defender, and 1 support ship. Players can use 8 crew members. Enemy starts with 1 attack, 1 defender, 1 support, and 1 missile ship. Full crew bonus disallowed. Scenario ends when player destroys all the enemy ships or loses. Player ships start on the left edge of the map and enemy ship start on the right edge.
Scenarios to try:
1. Ambush - Same setup as Mission 1, except the player is allowed to use their full crew bonus. The twist in this scenario is that the player is ambushed by two more random enemies after destroying at least one of the enemies ships after ending a turn. The enemy starts off with 1 attack, 1 defender, 1 support, and 1 missile ship. Scenario ends when the player destroys all the enemy ships or loses. Player ships start on the right edge of the map and enemy ship start on the left edge. Enemies spawn from the player side of the map.
2. Escape - Player can use any combination of three ships and can use 10 crew members. Enemy starts with 2 attack, 2 defender, 2 support, and 2 missile ships. The player's ships start in the center of the map adjacent to each other. The enemy ships surround the player ships. The player's goal is to get a ship to either the left side or right side of the map and survive a full turn.
2. Mission 1 - Player must use 1 attack, 1 defender, and 1 support ship. Players can use 8 crew members. Enemy starts with 1 attack, 1 defender, 1 support, and 1 missile ship. Full crew bonus disallowed. Scenario ends when player destroys all the enemy ships or loses. Player ships start on the left edge of the map and enemy ship start on the right edge.
Scenarios to try:
1. Ambush - Same setup as Mission 1, except the player is allowed to use their full crew bonus. The twist in this scenario is that the player is ambushed by two more random enemies after destroying at least one of the enemies ships after ending a turn. The enemy starts off with 1 attack, 1 defender, 1 support, and 1 missile ship. Scenario ends when the player destroys all the enemy ships or loses. Player ships start on the right edge of the map and enemy ship start on the left edge. Enemies spawn from the player side of the map.
2. Escape - Player can use any combination of three ships and can use 10 crew members. Enemy starts with 2 attack, 2 defender, 2 support, and 2 missile ships. The player's ships start in the center of the map adjacent to each other. The enemy ships surround the player ships. The player's goal is to get a ship to either the left side or right side of the map and survive a full turn.
Paper Prototype Mini Postmortem
What Went Well
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What Went Wrong
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What I Learned
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