[Tales of the Solar Patrol] Countdown to blastoff!

Stormcrow · 03-09-2010, 02:21 PM

One of the players in my game of Tales of the Solar Patrol suggested that the atmosphere of the game would be improved if we played out the countdown to launch when their ship blasts off. This seems like a good idea to me, but I am uncertain how to do it in a meaningful way. It also seems like a familiar idea, as if I have read about it somewhere before.

Can anybody here make any suggestions on how to integrate a countdown into the rules for spaceships? Ideally each player would have some job to perform in order to announce, "Check!"

Sword-dancer · 03-09-2010, 02:28 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hobEA...eature=related

Perhaps this helps

Stormcrow · 03-09-2010, 02:36 PM

Not really...

Mr_Sandman · 03-09-2010, 03:08 PM

Maybe a "go/no go" flight check. With each player making a skill check on their specialty, maybe opposed by a secret roll to see if there is an issue they miss.

"Engines?" (roll, roll) "GO"
"Helm" (roll,roll) "GO"
"Weapons" (roll, roll) "GO"
"Radar" (roll, roll) "NO GO. Interference from the sunspots, I need a minute to recalibrate."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZolVCyn6L8

sgtcallistan · 03-09-2010, 04:48 PM

I would suggest that each character have a function in the take-off process; like the above go-nogo.

The Engineer and his gang must maintain the ship, ready and control the power; Nav must calculate and lay in the plot for the ships' course. Pilot must recommend a course, and guide the ship; the commander must make the decisions of why, what and when to to do it.

Make this a ritual run-through for each take-off until the crew is competent, the ship is shaken down; then throw in a time-constrainted take-off, or have vital equipment fail during an attempt to make a launch window, there are many possibilities.
The Nav could 'lose the plot' at a critical juncture, for example; an excellent way to have the ship discover a hidden location.

Captain-Captain · 03-09-2010, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_Sandman

Maybe a "go/no go" flight check. With each player making a skill check on their specialty, maybe opposed by a secret roll to see if there is an issue they miss.

"Engines?" (roll, roll) "GO"
"Helm" (roll,roll) "GO"
"Weapons" (roll, roll) "GO"
"Radar" (roll, roll) "NO GO. Interference from the sunspots, I need a minute to recalibrate."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZolVCyn6L8

Just remember to dock 2 CP from the player who says "And I'll form the head!". :)

Actually, the first Helmsman book (conveniently titled "The Helmsman") by Bill Baldwin went through a fairly deep check off list before the IFS Truculent took off. If you can find a copy, it would likely give you several things to check for before liftoff.

Mr_Sandman · 03-09-2010, 08:26 PM

To expand on the thought I tossed out before. I see two possible ways to do it.

1. Do it as a quick contest of skills.
As you go through the checklist, each player rolls against his character's appropriate skill.
The GM makes a hidden roll against 10 - modified by 1 or 2 up or down based on extra time or less time to launch, adverse conditions, etc.

If the player succeeds, as far as the character knows the answer is "GO."
If the player fails, the character knows the answer is "NO GO." There is a problem that will take seconds or minutes and a successful skill roll to fix before a safe launch can be made.
If the player succeeds but the GM's hidden roll succeeds by more, then the character still thinks "GO," but there is a problem the character didn't spot, that will become an issue during the launch, or sometime later.

The problem I have with this is that a failed roll lets the character identify a problem while a success leaves the player guessing whether there is a problem or not.

The way I can see around that is:
2) The GM makes a hidden roll for each character.

Success: Tell the player "go."
Failure: Tell the player "no go." There is a problem to fix.
Critical failure: Tell the player "go." There is an undisclosed problem.

The problem here is lots of rolling for the GM. It seem like it would break up the flow of role playing the preflight check. One solution is that the GM could pre-roll several launch sequences, and have the sheet of results in front of him. He could just give each player a thumbs up or thumbs down as the captain goes through the checklist.

03-09-2010, 02:21 PM	#1
Stormcrow Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ronkonkoma, NY	[Tales of the Solar Patrol] Countdown to blastoff! One of the players in my game of Tales of the Solar Patrol suggested that the atmosphere of the game would be improved if we played out the countdown to launch when their ship blasts off. This seems like a good idea to me, but I am uncertain how to do it in a meaningful way. It also seems like a familiar idea, as if I have read about it somewhere before. Can anybody here make any suggestions on how to integrate a countdown into the rules for spaceships? Ideally each player would have some job to perform in order to announce, "Check!"

03-09-2010, 02:36 PM	#3
Stormcrow Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ronkonkoma, NY	Re: [Tales of the Solar Patrol] Countdown to blastoff! Not really...

03-09-2010, 03:08 PM	#4
Mr_Sandman Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: L.I., NY	Re: [Tales of the Solar Patrol] Countdown to blastoff! Maybe a "go/no go" flight check. With each player making a skill check on their specialty, maybe opposed by a secret roll to see if there is an issue they miss. "Engines?" (roll, roll) "GO" "Helm" (roll,roll) "GO" "Weapons" (roll, roll) "GO" "Radar" (roll, roll) "NO GO. Interference from the sunspots, I need a minute to recalibrate." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZolVCyn6L8 Last edited by Mr_Sandman; 03-09-2010 at 03:13 PM. Reason: Added youtube link

03-09-2010, 04:48 PM	#5
sgtcallistan Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chatham, Kent, England	Re: [Tales of the Solar Patrol] Countdown to blastoff! I would suggest that each character have a function in the take-off process; like the above go-nogo. The Engineer and his gang must maintain the ship, ready and control the power; Nav must calculate and lay in the plot for the ships' course. Pilot must recommend a course, and guide the ship; the commander must make the decisions of why, what and when to to do it. Make this a ritual run-through for each take-off until the crew is competent, the ship is shaken down; then throw in a time-constrainted take-off, or have vital equipment fail during an attempt to make a launch window, there are many possibilities. The Nav could 'lose the plot' at a critical juncture, for example; an excellent way to have the ship discover a hidden location.

03-09-2010, 08:26 PM	#7
Mr_Sandman Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: L.I., NY	Re: [Tales of the Solar Patrol] Countdown to blastoff! To expand on the thought I tossed out before. I see two possible ways to do it. 1. Do it as a quick contest of skills. As you go through the checklist, each player rolls against his character's appropriate skill. The GM makes a hidden roll against 10 - modified by 1 or 2 up or down based on extra time or less time to launch, adverse conditions, etc. If the player succeeds, as far as the character knows the answer is "GO." If the player fails, the character knows the answer is "NO GO." There is a problem that will take seconds or minutes and a successful skill roll to fix before a safe launch can be made. If the player succeeds but the GM's hidden roll succeeds by more, then the character still thinks "GO," but there is a problem the character didn't spot, that will become an issue during the launch, or sometime later. The problem I have with this is that a failed roll lets the character identify a problem while a success leaves the player guessing whether there is a problem or not. The way I can see around that is: 2) The GM makes a hidden roll for each character. Success: Tell the player "go." Failure: Tell the player "no go." There is a problem to fix. Critical failure: Tell the player "go." There is an undisclosed problem. The problem here is lots of rolling for the GM. It seem like it would break up the flow of role playing the preflight check. One solution is that the GM could pre-roll several launch sequences, and have the sheet of results in front of him. He could just give each player a thumbs up or thumbs down as the captain goes through the checklist.