Intermediate Solo Rule Development Discussions for October - December Campaign
As we play the first solo campaign, folks will experiment with more advanced rules than the basic set. This thread is reserved for those discussions, as they will lead to the next level of solo rules. Please post any non-basic rule discussions here. Thank you.
I will play July through September's scenarios with the basic rules for the AARs and basic rule feedback, and as time allows, with more advanced rules, posting those thoughts and questions here.
Additional AI movement rules
As discussed in the recent AAR of the Treasure Island scenario, the current AI - while doing an admirable job to maneuver for battle - is not very good at reaching a fixed point on the map. I've experimented a bit, and I think the below rules might make a good starting point for setting an alternative system for this kind of sailing.
Basically, the player determines whether the AI ship is maneuvering for battle (use the original rules) or is trying to reach a fixed spot (use the following ones instead).
AI movement towards a fixed spot on the map
1. If target spot is dead ahead and ship is not taken aback, use 5|. Repeat until target is reached. Else...
2. Determine the letter code for the ship's situation (use attitude reference as normal).
- First letter = quadrant of target spot as seen from AI ship
- Second letter = quadrant from which wind strikes AI ship
3. Roll a die
- If target spot is within a ruler of AI ship, add +1. If within half-ruler, +2.
- If AI ship is taken aback, add +3.
4. Lookup AI ship's movement card in table below.
- If AI ship's deck lacks the indicated card, use the tightest turn available in the same direction.
5. If AI ship is taken aback, handle it normally, replacing the maneuver with the matching red card. Use 1 hourglass on first turn, 2 hourglass on subsequent ones.
6. If AI ship would end up within half-ruler of map edge or obstacle, handle as per battle-movement rules, except touching these is necessary to reach target spot.
AI movement table for fixed destination
Code:
Target Wind 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+
A A 5| 5\ 5\ 4 3 2 1 0
A B 5| 5\ 4 4 3 3 2 1
A C 5| 5\ 5\ 4 4 3 2 1
A D 5| 5\ 5\ 4 4 3 2 1
B A 5| 5/ 6 6 7 7 8 9
B B 5| 5/ 5/ 6 7 8 9 10
B C 5| 5/ 5/ 6 6 7 8 9
B D 5| 5/ 5/ 6 6 7 8 9
C any -------------0---------------
D any ------------10---------------
I've tested this a couple of times, both with the wind being favourable and blowing from the target. As you'd expect tacking towards the target in the latter case is a laborious process, I think as it should be. Having variable maneuvers when heading towards the target makes for some unpredictability, though if course it's not 100% efficient. But the spread is lower than for battle maneuvers and the AI will only do tight turns when closing in.
When headed away from the target doing anything but the tightest possible turn doesn't seem to make much sense. I looked at turning through the wind and around it, but the former does seem to be almost always the better option.
The +3 when taken aback rule is there to make sure the AI doesn't use a 5 maneuver in that case, as that would have the ship drifting backwards for a turn.
Let me know what you think, and if you can give this a try, so much the better!