Fireteam Andromeda - First Edition!

So, this little gem arrived in the mail today.

And thus it won't be long before I can finally launch Fireteam Andromeda to an unsuspecting world. I'm hoping for a late November, early December release - once the company, Two Knights Publishing, has been formalized and all that.

But mostly? I just wanted to share the grand feeling of getting something published for the very first time. Which, incidentally means that I've removed the free playtest download version of Fireteam Andromeda from the blog.

In the coming weeks I'll start writing the Fireteam Andromeda: Operations Manual which will detail all sorts of missions, scenarios, campaigns and what not to take the game to its next level. Following that there's bound to be a book about the various alien races in the Terminus Nebula and other new ideas for armylists, setting material and what. In short; stay tuned!

Fireteam Andromeda Updated to Ver 2.3

So, here we are then! Just in time for a big playtest - not only tomorrow but also throughout the entire weekend when I'm attending a small, private wargaming-get-together - I present to you, dear internet, a final beta-edition of Fireteam Andromeda!

With a "Final Beta" then I simply mean to say that, from this stage on, there's not going to be anything added to the game as such. Any new ideas that might crop up are instead archived and will be used in supplements or similar. The only thing that might change are some of the point costs, depending on various re-calculations and the inclusion of various examples, pictures and a whole lot more!

If you're interested in giving it a whirl then I strongly suggest that you right-click on this here link and choose "Save As..." in order to get the newest version of Fireteam Andromeda. And if your are so inclined, then click here in the same manner to get a totally revamped version of the Quick Reference Sheet.

And that's all for now - if you have any comments, questions or praise, then don't hesitate to e-mail me.

Fireteam Andromeda - Playtest #2

Just some quick snapshots from last night playtest. It was a good game, but unfortunately the newly revised point-system left too much to be desired, and I need to fix it once more. The Imperial Forces took a sound thrashing against an equally costed, all-round Colonial Army - which essentially means that the point system is broken... again! 

So, back to the drawing board, out comes the calculators and it is time to go number-crunching. Apart from that the, rules are still working just great; very little is needed to be adjusted in the core rules, which is a great relief - the issues that cropped up during play was minor things overall, except that the armor save for infantry now gains a boost from 4+ to 3+; which should increase their survivability a lot. 

Electronic Warfare, however, was a resounding success - while expensive, it definately gives you a whole new set of tactical possibilities! Better get some improved electronic shielding for your forces!

Fireteam Andromeda - Version 2.1

So, after having slaved away at the desktop for a good number of days, burning the midnight oil and keeping everything going by coffee alone; I've finally... erh... finalized a new, and improved, version of Fireteam Andromeda!

For those interested; head on over to the download page and give it a look. As always, comments, critique and  praise is more than welcome!

So, what has changed?
Well, to put it simply, then there's a whole bunch of changes, but not a lot in the way of overhauls. The following list should state the major changes (not including some editing, spell-checking, word-rearranging and other such trivial, yet important, updates):

• Introducing Super Heavy Weapon Teams for all those with a hankering for big Anti-Tank guns and Howitzers crewed by Infantry. 
• New Force Organization Charts. These now reflect more of an actual platoon structure than before, allowing players to customize their forces even more - includes the option for using two or more platoons as well, in a single game. 
• Changed all Support, Light and Heavy Weapons so that they now have greater detail, more flexibility and are still customizable.
• Added rules for Electronic Warfare; allowing for new tactics to be employed. 
• Changed the point systems a bit, making it a whole lot easier to construct a force than before (no odd points!)
• Tightening up of the various Upgrades and Traits available to all units. 

In short; a rather massive update. Tomorrow it is time for another playtest here at Terminus Central, and hopefully the rules have evolved into a much more stable version so that I can post up a small battle-report for all of the readers out there. 

In other news, I've just received confirmation that the Imperial forces are getting some much needed reinforcements from 15mm.co.uk in the form of some Retained Knight and Muster Troops. Also, the Imperial Expedition Force is almost completely painted, and will probably feature in a blog-post in the near future. 

Till then; cheers, and happy gaming!

Fireteam Andromeda - What is it all about?

As you may have guessed from the constant posts about it, here and other forums across the web, then I'm currently working on a (final) version of Fireteam Andromeda which is intended to be published at the end of this year.

Fireteam Andromeda is a dedicated set of rules for 15mm science fiction games, aimed at roughly a reinforced platoon per side, give or take. It has been designed as a quick game, light on the granularity, but heavy on the tactical side.

Colonial Forces on the move.

To promote this tactical gameplay, the game incorporates a very special Command & Control system. The system represents the overall motivation of the troops as well as the commanders overall ability to formulate tactical plans on the go. As troops are fired upon and take casualties, the commander will find that it becomes harder and harder to keep track of everything and needs to prioritize his actions.

Each turn, a player receives a number of Command Points equal to the number of deployed and confident units currently at his disposal. The player, taking the role of a platoon commander, then assigns a number of these points to his units in order to activate them. Each unit that receives such a point then becomes active.

However, players are limited to the number of units that they can activate during their Order phase depending on their Commanders Leadership. Typically, a force may activate two to three units per Order phase, after which it then becomes the opponents turn to activate their units. The players then alternate in Ordering and Activating their units until they run out of Command Points and the turn thus ends.

But that is not all! Command Points can also be used to boost the effectiveness of your units as well as perform various defensive maneuvers, greatly increasing your tactical options, and much more. But once you've run out, then you've run out - and a clever Commander will keep at least two Command Points in reserve; just in case.

Imperial Forces hunkering down.

Fireteam Andromeda was also designed as a very light wargame. From the ground up, it was designed around a couple of easy to remember core mechanics, which gives a quick and satisfying gameplay experience; almost no charts and very few modifiers to remember in the heat of battle.

All units share three characteristics; Skill, Experience and Armor. Skill is used to determine the units chance to hit, Experience determines the units motivation and training and Armor, well, represents their overall Armor rating. What makes each unit distinctive, however, is the ability to design your own troops!

Fireteam Andromeda is intended to be a generic science fiction game, which allows for players to design their own troops, using some very broadly defined unit entries (grunts are, after all is said and done, still grunts) that can be customized to represent almost any miniatures out there on the market today. Customizing your units is a breeze - and includes point values to allow for pick-up-and-play games.

"In the pipe, five-by-five"

However, although it is generic, the book itself will include a small introduction to the Terminus Nebula setting, as well as a more detailed overview of the Employment War within that setting; a war in a heavily balkanized area of space, known as the Terminus Nebula, were major powers of the universe, as well as would-be dictators, despots and freedom fighters, are fighting a bushwar - of which most armies consists entirely of Mercenary Units.

Fireteam Andromeda is intended to become a fully developed game that includes pre-made army lists, templates, explanation, setting material and basic scenarios for quick games. For now, the game is being playtested and corrected here and there - the core mechanics are finalized and all that really needs to be added are explanations, graphics and some adjustment of point values, weapon effects and other minor details.

To give Fireteam Andromeda a go, then simply go to the download page and download your own copy of the rules - everything you need to get started is included in the PDF. Cheers, and thanks for your time!