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Old 02-17-2019, 10:04 PM   #4
ColBosch
 
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Join Date: May 2007
Default Re: Triplanetary - Landing and Takeoff

Argh. Okay, I can't get this stupid camera to work. So let me try to explain:

"In orbit" isn't really a thing. What's happening is that your ship has a velocity of 1 and is being pulled by gravity every turn. You have to remember that the Astrogation phase is a thing. So, to leave orbit without using Overload, during the Plotting phase mark down first where your ship would move without considering gravity: one hex straight "ahead." Then spend one fuel point to alter course by one hex from there. During the Movement phase, place your ship counter on the hex you chose, then adjust it for the gravity arrow for the hex you left, then draw in the new vector. A little experimentation will reveal you have several choices that will put you in an empty hex with a vector that won't pass through a gravity hex again.

The turn by turn procedure:

Turn 1: During the Astrogation phase, announce that you're taking off. During the Movement phase, move your ship counter from the planet hex to the appropriate gravity hex (remember, you can only launch from a hexside you've landed from - choose wisely at the start of the game!). Don't draw any lines; your velocity is 0. This takes no fuel.
Turn 2: During the Astrogation phase, announce that you're entering orbit. Draw a dashed line from the hex your ship is in to the empty hex that touches both that hex and the one you intend to move into (either clockwise or counter-clockwise around the planet). During the Movement phase, place your ship counter in the next gravity hex and draw a solid line to there. This burns 1 fuel.
Turn 3: During the Astrogation phase, announce that you're leaving orbit. Draw a dashed line to the appropriate empty hex, as for turn 2, then choose a new endpoint, continuing or redrawing the dashed line to that hex. During the Movement phase, move your ship counter to that hex temporarily, then adjust its final position to account for the gravity hex you just left. Draw solid line between the hex you started from and the final, adjusted hex. This costs 1 fuel, and congratulations, you've left orbit and may move about the map freely.

To fully understand and play Triplanetary, you must not skip the Astrogation phase. Moreover, the dry-erase markers are not optional accessories; they are crucial to properly playing the game. Use them! Every turn, start the Astrogation phase by drawing a dashed line to where your ship would move if it neither spends fuel nor is affected by gravity. Then place a dot for where you'll end up if you spend a point of fuel and/or are affected by gravity; feel free to place multiple dots (or just use your fingertip) as you figure things out. Once you've settled on your final endpoint, erase any temporary dots. Don't forget to draw your vector line, as you'll need it to plot next turn's movement.

I find Triplanetary to be an astonishingly elegant system, but you have to throw away all your normal conceptions about how hex-grid movement works. If you stick to the rules and work through the implications, you're going to find a lot of neat tricks in there, without needing hundreds of pages of special cases.
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