Picket Duty 2.0

BanzaiCat · May 27, 2014, 05:27:26 PM

Ah, okay, that makes sense. I didn't read through the damage sections entirely, figuring it would make sense once I played.

Seems funny that the player is something of a 'spirit' guiding the ship...I would think a player is more the Captain, and if the Captain token gets killed, that would be the end of the game/campaign with a Japanese victory. Can't imagine a real-world DD skipper getting his ship shot out from under him and being rewarded with a new one...not once, but upwards of eight or more times.

Nefaro · May 27, 2014, 07:02:46 PM

Yeah. But I think you have to re-pick the crew skill ratings when you get a new ship, so you're essentially switching to a different ship and Captain IIRC. The built-up crew experience is also nixed, of course.

Besides, a single DD wasn't constantly on station the whole time. I believe they switched them out fairly regularly too. I ended up taking specific damage that sent me back to port once or twice in my last session, and ended up advancing the calendar to the end of the short campaign while still under repairs.

PanzersEast · May 28, 2014, 10:45:46 AM

Quote from: Nefaro on May 27, 2014, 07:02:46 PM
Yeah. But I think you have to re-pick the crew skill ratings when you get a new ship, so you're essentially switching to a different ship and Captain IIRC. The built-up crew experience is also nixed, of course.

Besides, a single DD wasn't constantly on station the whole time. I believe they switched them out fairly regularly too. I ended up taking specific damage that sent me back to port once or twice in my last session, and ended up advancing the calendar to the end of the short campaign while still under repairs.

Yea, but the USS Beale for example and others were on station during the Okinawa campaign... however with Picket Duty it is a -historical with constant Kamikaze attacks.... so I think I will start a long campaign and see how long I can remain on station and participate in the campaign with just the one DD.

I wish they would expand your role as the DD where you were escorting ships, providing fire support, anti-submarine etc.... that would make for a exciting campaign.

PE

BanzaiCat · May 28, 2014, 04:37:03 PM

I had assumed the game would have some kind of allowance for crew survival and experience gain. I thought I saw a rule somewhere that mentioned a +1 bonus to hit that alluded to experience but I can't recall where that was.

And if your ship sinks, I guess that's that as far as crew is concerned, which kinda blows. I liked in B17 that had allowances for bailing out and surviving to the next mission. Granted of course B17 covered a year or more of time whereas PD is much shorter, but still, playing the Long Campaign, there's not much of an 'emotional' tie to the crew beyond naming them on the Ship's Log. Would have been nice to have additional rules for surviving a sinking ship and possibly continuing to the next tin can.

And as you said, PE, this game has potential to be much bigger by allowing the DDs to do more, in different missions...maybe even start early in the war, have short campaigns, or even one long, grand, war-spanning campaign, with crew experience and survivability part of the fun.

Nefaro · May 28, 2014, 08:17:00 PM

There was an (optional?) rule in the original rulebook about gun crew experience. Something like 5 kills = +1 bonus. With so many gun mounts, it would probably take awhile before any of them made it. My kills were often spread out a bit between different mounts, although the 5" guns certainly had some steady rates (the ones using the director).

BanzaiCat · July 13, 2014, 10:45:30 AM

Edit: I am losing my mind.

Nefaro · July 13, 2014, 04:36:20 PM

Problems?

I didn't think Picket Duty was terribly difficult, compared to something like B-29 anyway. The original rules needed a few clarifications but I was able to get on even then. The revised rules fixed that didn't they?

BanzaiCat · July 14, 2014, 06:31:10 AM

I couldn't find the chart that showed the weapon mount firing arcs. The 1.0 rules said they're on the map (of course that's inaccurate), and the 2.0 rules just said to refer to it, but didn't say it was a separate sheet. I was flipping and flipping and flipping through the Charts and Tables 2.0 book but could not find anything except what was near the end; it was driving me crazy.

Finally I found the chart; I had put it under some other stuff.

I only played one round with four Kamikazes coming in; I still have it set up and plan on trying some more here this week I hope.

Nefaro · July 22, 2014, 10:12:58 AM

Getting ready to play this, are we?

BanzaiCat · July 22, 2014, 01:28:58 PM

Been playing it. Wrote a review for it. :P

Nefaro · July 23, 2014, 07:01:31 AM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on July 22, 2014, 01:28:58 PM
Been playing it. Wrote a review for it. :P

Oh? I just saw the pic on the front page, but no review.

BanzaiCat · July 23, 2014, 07:37:45 AM

I don't think it's going to hit publication until next month.

bayonetbrant · July 23, 2014, 08:32:37 AM

Quote from: Nefaro on July 23, 2014, 07:01:31 AM
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on July 22, 2014, 01:28:58 PM
Been playing it. Wrote a review for it. :P

Oh? I just saw the pic on the front page, but no review.

That was just a Tuesday Screenshot - the review is coming in a few weeks. We've got other articles stacked up before it in the queue :)

Nefaro · July 23, 2014, 10:04:26 AM

You guys are keeping busy. :)