Old AE battles

[SWSF Hoppus]

Do you remember any AE battles? Describe then! Context, number and type of ships, outcomes, etc!

[SWSF Hale]

I remember my first battle... can't remember where it was, but I had a STRK. I think by the time I showed up most of the fighting was over, but the powers at be decided to promote me because I was a reliable poster and responsive on AIM.

Rolled around in a VSD for quite a long time after that. Eventually worked my way up to the Royal Guard Star Destroyer.

In GR it was all about the VEC for me. Ramano and I convinced Laswell to stock my VEC with Z-95 headhunters.

Good times.

[SWSF Hoppus]

Do you remember the sort of numbers/units present at the battles? Did you lose most of your units regularly?

I remember a few battles, only one where it was a real fleet v fleet action. It was my first battle as well, in RA when I first joined AE. I had a ESC stocked with X, A and B-Wings. I got in late as well, lost some fighters, and the battle was paused.. I remember there being a few Star Destroyers and MC class ships.

My remembered experience is not ever losing a ship... often because of how posting worked, I was only ever going head to head with one or two other people or PDF. So, it was rare that EVERY SHIP would fire on ONE SHIP, because of the disorganization and rate of posts -- if whoever you attacked responded in an hour, you could post again! So, there was no actual order of battle like Bob, Bill, Frank, John, Sally, Sarah, then Bob, Bill Frank..etc.. it was all over.

I don't think that was too bad an idea, looking back.

Shifting to a world of 1 v 1 player and huge fleets, its not as satisfying IMO.

To get back to that story rich, player rich world... you have to have a sim where at most players are controlling 2 ships I think. 2 v 2 or 3 v 3, and going back to the rules that allow the posting (at least 1 hour, or until opponents respond). We arent kids getting on and posting as responsively, but I still think it would be better.

I duno. Really interested to see how everyone remembers battles, posting, losses, victories, etc.

[SWSF Hale]

Had to replenish TIE Fighters on the regular. Also had to spend many "game hours" undergoing hull repair and shield recharging. We couldn't just bounce from battle to battle. The game moved very slow, despite the high numbers.

[SWSF Hoppus]

One thing I used to love about AE was carrying disassembled fighters in the cargo space or extra warheads! You'd retreated to a safe place, recharge shields, start replacing lost fighters, etc.

If we could get a game with 6+ active users, and we each had a single ship or two at most, I think our turnaround on posting, etc would be much faster. The commitment to post is so much less than when you are moving around multiple ships PLUS all the support craft...

I think once we started to command 4,5,6,7 capital ships each, is when we started seeing the "everything fires its weapons at Target 1". If we split up posting again, maybe that phenomenon wouldnt be such an issue. If you look at damage tolerances on ships in AE, they are quite low. An ISD and VSD can smoke anythign almost on its own in one turn... yet I remember so many cases of ships escaping total destruction. Losing an ISD felt like a not too common and really big deal? Also, waiting 6 weeks to build a new one when you're 14 years old is a long f'ing time! I feel like that all contributed to things.

The other thing I loved about AE is the way our characters "Took over" from the canon stuff post endor. I dont recall Luke or Mon Mothma being present in SLs and stuff? Same for Imperial sims. OUR characters became the focal point. I would love that to be the case going ahead, too.

[SWSF Hoppus]

The big question of course remains how do you bring in new players who are interested? I can't imagine we are the only ones drawn to this sort of game. Its not the same as video games. Its not the same as D&D style RPGs. Its not the same as table top games. I think the IMMERSIVE aspect (the ENTIRE GALAXY of planets laid out, econ systems, etc) was part of this. That and the number of players and characters. I think we lost all of that in the newer versions of the games we've tried.

There were some issues with AE in terms of how math and stuff worked - it was made by 13 year olds after all! - but it doesnt need a massive retrofitting either... I don't know. 

But I have no idea how you recruit players or get the game in front of folks interested. Certainly we'd need rule sets that are better written and designed for folks that didnt grow up for it, etc.

[Medivh]

I remember being really, really, really bad in battle.  Like, completely incompetent.

I don't think it was AE, but whichever sim it was ... well, I did not perform up to par.

Even in LotF - where I helped create the universe - I was really, really bad at battle.  To the point where I lost most of my fleet, including my command ship, in the first real battle they engaged in.

I was always better - or at least more creative - with spec creation than battle tactics. And that fit my character/faction better.

[Syren]

Ditto. I was only ever in AE briefly before moving to Sisterhood of the Sith (SiS) which was storyline based. Hell, that's where this whole thing originated - the primary plot points anyway. My teenage self did not have the life experience to flesh it out and those SW chat rooms were wild. Battles were never my cup of tea but I was always impressed by the level of detail that went into each move. 

[SWSF Hoppus]

I definitely think the narrative is super important and what I miss the most. Like the sworn-enemies that Rejja mentioned, that sort of ongoing duel and story, was central to the "immersive experience" of the AOL-era simming game.

[SWSF Eidolon]

From what I can remember most AE battles were PDF clearing assaults.  Usually 2-3 heavy capitals and however many smaller assigned cruiser could be motivated player wise.  Retaliatory strikes were more often adopted strategy than always responding to where you were attacked due to posting time and what not.  Short of the larger Golans, most PDF could be cleared in a couple rounds of posting, which you'd be lucky to have 3 players in HS for that location by time you had to post your 1st damage reply and then likely at least one other reply before the posting time req and hs travel time reqs had met up for help to arrive.

A memberlist of 12 was great and all but if half of them were reliable posters/communicators/responders as Hale pointed out, that was what really made it feel like an 'operation'.  I remember KJ and I both cruising in VSDs for quite awhile and going on a short run of 2 or 3 opposing players planets.  The 80CMs of the VSD in AE and that 1/4 magazine launch rule (i think?) made it a beast in the opening exchanges.

The one aspect of AE battles I remember disliking was it became a matter of everyone deploying all of their support craft and it becoming a mob of star fighters and supports with less perceived value of activity from the battle cruisers.  If I recall, the ISD in AE had something to the effect of 40 support ships between ATRs, STRM Transports and Lambdas.

What really set AE apart for me was it was the first integration of Attack/Defense Ratings I'd ever seen for starfighters and that it seemed to have a total cohesive system compared to everything else we had at the time. The most extensive sector/planet list, the most in depth economic system with both currency and supply.  And of course the community, the rivalries etc.

[SWSF Hoppus]

Yeah, the auxiliary craft were abused to hell. One of the issues there was that SFs had damage tolerance ratings based on SBD/RU, while Aux had the Shields/Armor = length. So they were about the same size as a B-Wing but powerful as hell!

The AR system was so cool. I loved it. But I've been trying to fold combat into one set system with modifiers for scale. It's not quite working out for dogfighting, though. But I dislike having a separate combat system just for dogfighters...

I also recall most battles being PDF clearing assaults. I didn't remember the tit-for-tat response, which sucks. I have a few ideas for changing that dynamic, though!

[SWSF Hoppus]

The snowy days here I've been remembering the winters in 1998/1999 when I was simming like mad and hunkered down on snow days posting and scheming...

[SWSF Eidolon]

I think Hoth spawned my love of winter.  Has always been my favorite season.  I walked my dog twice yesterday during the moderate snow shower we had here.  I cant wait to sit on a bucket and pull fish thru the ice.

[Ramano]

I can remember a few specific battles and ships but i cant be sure which come from which uni at this point. I remember chasing down someones SSD in an RSFC pretty well. And getting my ass kicked by Dem when i had that droid control ship. Blowing up a WSSD with an MC-80. But as far as specific numbers id have to look at the stat books again.