RPG v FPS v ASL

[kcdusk]

Role Playing Game, First Person shooter (computer game) or Advanced Squad Leader (military tactical board game). Whats your preference, and why?

RPG
I love me some RPG. Cant do it in person, but the internet nowadays, gee whiz, its easy to get into a play by post game. The out of game discussions can get a bit long winded, but you don't need to follow all of it to contribute and enjoy a game. And games can fall apart if there's a few disruptive players who disagree with "the world", equipment or house rules or getting their own way. Having said that, i like the rules, house rules, story telling and die rolling.

FPS
My son just got Call of Duty 4 and we've been playing Blackout. Wowsers, I'm stunned! Ive been playing it more than him! I've never got into PC games but decided to spend some time with him on line. Now i'm playing Blackout without him! I've consistently been finishing top 15 and have got 3 x third positions. But, he's better and killing people than me. I'm a survivor. I can land in an unpopulated spot, get some basic gear and meds, skulk around, stay in front of the zone and reliably get to 10 or better without firing a shot. DOnt think this isn't fun, hearing people nearby, having cars and trucks almost drive over you, lurking in a house you can hear someone running through .... and not being discovered. I'm hooked. We've just started having him do the drop landing and gear up, then have me skulk through to top 15, then because he's good at shooting he can go for the win (none yet. Doh!).

ASL
Advanced squad leader. This might be my favourite. No arguing over if the distance is 38ms or 42ms and if its medium or long range? A harder rule set so less interpretation and argument from players. Playing on VASSAL means you can play against a real player live or by post. And you can still get your books out and figure out range, caliber, modifictions, die roll, and understand what your chances were to hit or kill and how close you came. I like this last point, sometimes in FPS it feels like you've been cheated (how did he see me? How did he him me first time? in the head?). I like in ASL you can know if the odds were in your favour or not, whereas in FPS it happens so quick and its hard to know if you gacked a die roll or he played well.

I think ASL is the best balance between a story (what was the chance of hitting or killing, what was the die roll - that tells a story) and game mechanics.

My preference is
1. ASL
2. FPS
3. RPG

And that order surprises me.

[Legbreaker]

I've never been much for FPS myself - I prefer a more strategic setting where I'm not relying on reaction time. Plan, execute, review, adjust, plan again and execute...
Absolutely no experience with ASL whatsoever. The closest I've come is probably glancing at a book cover 20 years ago.

[WallShadow]

Ahem.
Did I miss "Miniatures Wargame" somewhere in the melee?

[Cdnwolf]

Originally Posted by kcdusk

ASL
Advanced squad leader. This might be my favourite. No arguing over if the distance is 38ms or 42ms and if its medium or long range? A harder rule set so less interpretation and argument from players. Playing on VASSAL means you can play against a real player live or by post. And you can still get your books out and figure out range, caliber, modifictions, die roll, and understand what your chances were to hit or kill and how close you came. I like this last point, sometimes in FPS it feels like you've been cheated (how did he see me? How did he him me first time? in the head?). I like in ASL you can know if the odds were in your favour or not, whereas in FPS it happens so quick and its hard to know if you gacked a die roll or he played well.

I think ASL is the best balance between a story (what was the chance of hitting or killing, what was the die roll - that tells a story) and game mechanics.

My preference is
1. ASL
2. FPS
3. RPG

And that order surprises me.

Big ASL player myself and with VASL you no longer have to play FTF but online in real time vs opponents from around the world. Now are you old school ASL, new school or ASL Starter kit fanatic. All have very active and helpful facebook pages.

[kcdusk]

Originally Posted by Cdnwolf

Big ASL player myself and with VASL you no longer have to play FTF but online in real time vs opponents from around the world. Now are you old school ASL, new school or ASL Starter kit fanatic. All have very active and helpful facebook pages.

I'm oooooold school. I still use my original ASL rule book from 1985/86. She is pretty tattered and i have been thinking of getting the new rule book for the rule clarifications and larger print.

1985 was a great year, i reckon i bought ASL and T2K in the same visit to the city.

[ChalkLine]

Roleplaying games with Computer Games coming a distant second

[unkated]

RPGs first for me.

Would you accept ATS rather than ASL (or similar low-tactical level boardgame)? I have no interest in starting an ATS vs ASL vs LnL or anything else argument, but I have my preferences. I like a tactical level (Lieutenant's or Captain's or Major's problem) game.

FPSs for me rank last; I have never been great at hand-eye coordination. My son plays Battlefield & Medal of Honor & Call of Duty. Too many buttons on the controller for me to use effectively. These (from my point of view) tend to suffer from a lack of ability to coordinate/cooperate, and in some cases the goals seem... pointless (die/respawn/die/respawn). Yes, I know, the play's the thing, and the rewards are the speed at which one unlocks new toys.

I do like World of Tanks - but the controls are simpler: one hand drives, the other points and shoots. It does suffer from the goal issue above, but at least in a given fight, a destroyed tank stays destroyed (usually).

Uncle Ted

[Cdnwolf]

Originally Posted by unkated

I do like World of Tanks - but the controls are simpler: one hand drives, the other points and shoots. It does suffer from the goal issue above, but at least in a given fight, a destroyed tank stays destroyed (usually).

Uncle Ted

Bet you play skycancer in WOT lol. Got my IS 7 and now grinding the JadgTiger towards JgPz E100 so I can camp and one shot you all.

[Targan]

I would play tabletop RPGs all day every day if I could. I lean heavily towards gritty and realistic. I'm currently running a campaign in the Harn setting using HarnMaster Gold. In recent years I've also run a D&D 5e campaign for my wife and some friends, and in the (sometimes long) stretches between HarnMaster sessions, I also run a Palladium Games Heroes Unlimited campaign with some of the same players. It's totally off the wall and players can drop in and out as their schedules allow.

I play a fair bit of first person shooters, but not much in the way of competitive online stuff anymore. I can't devote enough time to keep up my skills to compete with all the kids and dwells-in-their-mother's-basement neckbeards that play 16 hours a day. My PC is still pretty powerful, I play games on high settings in 4K resolution. Fallout 4, Skyrim, that sort of thing. I'm PCMR all the way. I'm not into consoles. You could say I'm inconsolable.

Never played ASL. I've played other wargames in the past, none seriously. I wouldn't mind getting into them, but I've only got so much free time.

RPG
FPS
ASL

[Adm.Lee]

For me:
1. hex & counter wargames
1. RPGs

8. FPS

It's much easier to find players for tabletop RPGs, especially D&D or similar. Military ones like T2k, or even sci-fi, are much harder to recruit for.
FPS, or nearly any computer game, seem to require much more time than I'd like to give them, or money that I don't want to spend on a machine. I play Civilization about once a week, and little else.

I prefer operational or strategic level games to tactical ones like ASL, but I'll play them now and again. (I guess I'd rather be a general than a captain?) My brother and I played old Squad Leader, all 4 boxes, then bought ASL when it came out. We decided to stick with the old rules, rather than learn everything anew. I believe my brother sold the barely-used rulebook when I went to college, but we kept the Polish/minor Allies box, so we could use the counters & scenarios with the old rules. I remember when I interviewed for an ROTC scholarship and mentioned that I liked wargames, that was the one system they asked me about.

Some years ago, I joined a boardgaming club, and started hanging out with the wargaming clique. I found that I could play a game or two of ASL per year, and not have to commit to buying stuff or reading the "new" rules. Tactics is tactics, I could play the game and let the other guy work the rulebook.

Fast-forward a few years, and my new boss is both a packrat and a scavenger, and our job is sometimes cleaning up messy houses or estates. He hands me a Post Office box, saying, "Here, I think you play these games, right?" It's full of ASL, the 1986 rulebook, most of the late-80s modules, tons of counters, and only one scenario(!). So, I have it again. It even included some guy's Army enlistment papers from 1992 (I shredded those, 'cause there's some SSNs on them), I think I know where they came from.

I've sorted the counters, but my current regular wargaming group prefers big operational-level games like OCS, and so I haven't played ASL in about 10 years. It's still a great system.

[swaghauler]

I mostly play FPS games in the truck because I can access them easier than other types of games. Insurgency is my favorite FPS but I like Red October 2 and Steel Beasts too. I'm also into Squad and Ground Branch (currently in Alpha design).

RPGs come next because I like the personal story-telling aspect of them.

ASL comes last as I prefer more "theater" in my combats.