Age of Dogfights: WWII

Update #34
over 1 year ago – Sat, Jul 01, 2023 at 02:27:06 PM

Our work on finishing the rules continues. In the previous period, we emphasized that in addition to objective reasons, there have also been some other circumstances of personal nature that slowed down our work. Now we have changed the approach, and we can say that we have become more efficient thanks to these changes. You should be able to see this in the coming period, as we will publish concrete content more often in our updates. According to the current estimate, the start of deliveries of this game could be at the end of Q3.

In this Update, we publish several pages from the instructions related to Air-to-Surface Actions, and next week, the plan is to publish the text for a several scenarios.

Note that the following text is yet to be proofread.

Actions on surface targets
over 1 year ago – Wed, May 31, 2023 at 05:58:58 AM

In Age of Dogfights: WWI, the representations of actions against targets on land or water are quite modest, as in reality, the main battles were fought on the ground, and the planes had their separate fights in the sky. The ability of aircraft to influence ground battles was very modest for a number of reasons: the limited ordnance load capacity, the limited accuracy, the high vulnerability of aircraft to anti-aircraft fire, and also the fact that flying was largely dependent on weather conditions.

In AoD:WWI, there are a total of 12 markers for ground targets: rectangles (each covering 6 points on the board) marked with the letters A, B and C, as well as silhouettes of vessels (each covering 3 points on the board), also marked with the letters A, B and C. The rules for zone bombing are extremely simple - it is enough for the plane to fly over a target (marked by a rectangular zone or a silhouette of a ship) and it is considered that the bombing has been carried out. There is no exact moment (nor a corresponding point on the board) that indicates the bomb drop-off. Also, there are no criteria for distinguishing hard from soft targets, however, in some scenarios, there are descriptive recommendations, such as: "the target is destroyed if 2 (out of 3) bombers successfully drop bombs..." and the like. The rules for torpedoing are a little more precise, as they state the altitude of the aircraft and the direction relative to the target needed in order to carry out an action successfully.

When designing Age of Dogfights: WWII, from the beginning, our intention was to include many more aircraft characteristics compared to AoD:WWI. Also, from the start, we announced much more exact rules for flying (various restrictions, primarily when performing turns), we introduced a new type of tilt, and introduced much more complex situations and positions during air battles. All those changes are completely justified, because the planes and their capabilities were much more complex compared to the WWI period (please note that those more complex rules in AoD:WWII do not have to be applied if you want the game to have the same level of complexity as AoD:WWI).

Originally, we did not intend to significantly improve the rules for the effect on surface targets, however, in the meantime we realized the rule updates were necessary. The additional rules bring much more realism and provide incredible opportunities to come up with a wide variety of scenarios. Also, the new rules require new game elements, and we have already described some of them (terrain markers, in the Update #30).

Another novelty are the markers for surface targets - in this game, there are a total of 74,in different forms:

1) Rectangular zones of action covering 6 points on the board. They have different marks in form of a geometric shape (square, triangle or circle).

2) Silhouettes of vessels in 3 different sizes, covering 3, 4, or 5 points.

3) Point targets in the form of hexes that cover one point on the board.

4) Hexagonal rings that cover a total of 7 points, and have a dual purpose: they indicate the AA action zone (6 outer points) and the AA gun itself, which is in the middle and represents the target that the planes can act on.

5) Corner markers that have two roles: they can represent the boundaries of some zones that need to be bombed or photographed, and they can also represent point targets with one significant difference compared to hexagonal markers - there can be a different hardness of the target if attacked from different directions. For example, tanks aren’t protected the same from the front and from the rear.

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In the following text, we present several introductory paragraphs from the rules, but please note that this is not the final text and that it’s missing accompanying images and examples:

Actions on ground targets

During WWII, aviation had a very important, almost decisive influence on all battles fought on land or sea. The fact that the winners of land and sea battles almost always (with very rare exceptions) had supremacy in the air, which enabled them to make maximum use of the potential of attack and bomber aviation, supports that claim. Unlike WWI, when aircraft had rather limited capabilities to engage land/sea targets, during WWII, ordnance and tactics were brought to near perfection.

In this game, the rules show different modes of action of aviation on surface targets:

- Strafing - shooting at targets from machine guns and cannons

- Rocket attacks - acting with unguided rockets

- Torpedoing - targeting ships with guided torpedoes

- Bombing - dropping bombs from different heights, that includes several different tactical procedures (from horizontal flight or diving)

Markings of targets and their durability

Surface targets can be very different: troops, various vehicles, vessels, fortifications, cities, etc. In game, markers made out of transparent plastic of various colors are used to mark them. The durability of the objectives is not predetermined, as it is determined by the mission brief, or in scenarios, or even in an agreement between the players before the start of the game. The targets are divided into:

- Point Targets (individual tanks, cannons, vehicles, bunkers, small objects, houses, command posts, small vessels, etc.), marked with rectangular plastic markers that cover only one point on the board. Such targets are primarily attacked by strafing. The durability values for some of the point targets are as follows:

- tanks (light, medium, heavy, super heavy): 10 - 20 - 30 - 40;

- armored vehicles: 10 to 15;

- artillery positions (guns): 5 to 15;

- bunkers: 20 to 50;

- trucks and other non-armored vehicles: 4 to 6;

- troops in the open (manpower): 2;

- troops in the trenches: 4 to 10;

- houses and other buildings: 8 to 15;

- small vessels: 4 to 15;

- Ship targets: larger vessels (ships and submarines) are marked with plastic markers of a characteristic shape. Their durability values can be from 20 (smaller civilian ships) to 300 (battleships).

- Task Zones represent larger targets (positions of larger units, port facilities, factory complexes, city neighborhoods, etc.) that are marked with rectangular plastic markers that cover 6 points on the board. The durability value ranges from 2 (manpower) to 500 (bunkers for submarines and the like).

- Large target areas (cities, industrial plants, ports, etc.) are bordered with corner markers (area limiters). In these cases, the durability of the target is usually not important, but in some scenarios, a value can be assigned.

All these plastic markers can be used for other purposes as well (depending on the scenario): to mark places to scout or to drop paratroopers, to place naval mines, etc.

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In the next update, we will publish finished pages from the rulebook.

On this occasion, we remind bakers that in February, on our secondary Kickstarter profile Forsage Light Games, we had a campaign for our old game Carom Mini Golf. The aim was to provide some work in production for our workshop and some income, while we, the authors, did not need to spend any time on it, because we are fully committed to completing the rules for AoD:WWII. The CMG campaign had a modest success on Kickstarter, so the components are already being mass-produced, and the games will be delivered during the month of June (2023), which is well ahead of schedule: CMG production update. 

Since we have to find a way to further employ our capacities, we decided to launch a campaign for the reprint of our most successful game, Tank Chess, on our main Kickstarter profile. The campaign will be led by our colleague Stefan this time, while the author duo continues to focus on AoD:WWII. As always, we have prepared interesting gifts for backers who pledge in the first 48 hours and, of course, for our returning backers. More details HERE.

Update #32
over 1 year ago – Tue, May 02, 2023 at 01:36:05 PM

In this update we show a few more pages that are completely finished (except proofreading and some details). The previous pages can be seen here.

As you can see, the game AoD:WW2 is more realistic and complex than the game from which it originates, AoD:WW1. During play, several parameters need to be monitored, all of which affect the pace of the game. But, many of those novelties that we introduced into the game are optional rules, so that "ease" of playing the game is maintained even when playing with many aircraft at once, which was especially highlighted as the quality of the AoD:WW1 game. Thus, the MCMD principle will be fully respected.

We assume that some bakers will want to further increase complexity of the game as "house rules" by, for example, specifying different maximum speeds at different altitudes for all aircraft types, which adds more realism to the game (aircraft with turbocharged engines did not lose power at high altitudes, unlike those with non-turbocharged engines...). We also assume that many backers will want to play games with simpler rules, e.g. ignoring the rule to limit consecutive turns at higher speeds and the like. In both cases (adding or reducing complexity), it is only important that players agree on the changed rules.

As can be seen from the images above, all aircraft can shortly exceed their service ceiling (rule 3.3.4. Dynamic Ceiling). For aircraft types with service ceiling of L13, there is no altitude stand marked L14 in the set. That's why we decided to include 2 pieces of spacers marked "L+1" in the kit that solve that problem. They can also be used in other cases - for example: if an aircraft climbs from a height of L5 to L6 and stays tilted up, the token can remain attached to L5 stand but temporarily raised by a spacer (thus representing altitude L6). In this way, the need for frequent changing of stands during the game is reduced.

Update #31
almost 2 years ago – Mon, Apr 03, 2023 at 02:06:22 PM

In the past period, we resolved important doubts related to some maneuvers and the interaction of Air-Ground and Ground-Air operations, and graphical examples are in work.

In this update, we publish several pages that are completely finished, and we'll publish the next pages in the following update.

Update 30
almost 2 years ago – Thu, Mar 02, 2023 at 07:50:20 AM

In the previous period, we made progress in the finalization of this project. We are advancing with the authors’ work on completing the rules at a variable pace. Sometimes we are extremely satisfied with the progress made in a single day, but sometimes we are stuck in place for several days. Compared to the previous game (AoD:WWI), this game is more demanding to play, as there are many more parameters to monitor during the game. The reasons for this are historical, since planes and tactics were much more complex compared to WWI. In addition, we, the authors, want the game to get a higher level of realism, but also to keep the simplicity of playing. Therefore, we want to fully comply with the principle of MCMD: Minimum Complexity, Maximum Diversity.

Your patience has really been tremendous, and we feel we have your support to complete the game in the best way possible, and we are extremely grateful for that. Nevertheless, we feel the pressure; in addition to the fact that we are late with the project, the surrounding situation is worrying us. The conditions for doing business are getting more difficult, so we are anxiously following all developments, especially regarding the prices of materials on the market. Fortunately, we have already completed the physical production of the vast majority of components. In the past period, all the control panels have been finished.

There was a some free space on one of the sheets left, which we used to insert an additional control panel. In that space, we put the control panel for 3 Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-10 planes, so 3 more black tokens will be included in the set, as well as the corresponding stickers with those planes. It will be a Kickstarter exclusive, as our symbolic reward for your patience. By the way, that type of aircraft is represented in the Additional Aircraft: German Fighters add-on (with designations 178, 179, 180, and 181).

In addition to the control panel, we also printed the terrain markers. That component was not announced at all during the campaign; that's something that we, the authors, decided to add to the set. It is an entire B3 sheet of high-quality laminated cardboard, printed in full color.

When we had already decided to show the effects of air-surface operations in much more detail in the game, the need to add something like that to the set became apparent. Bombardment from low altitudes and strafing effects cannot be shown the way they should be if the configuration of the terrain is not taken into account. Many targets are located between or in the mountains, so there are only certain directions that allow an attack. This drastically increases the variety and realism of the scenarios and the entire game in general.

Thus, the terrain markers represent hills and mountains. Yellow dots (hexes) show parts of the terrain that are above the altitude level LL, so that aircraft that fly at the lowest altitude (stand LL) cannot fly over them. The orange hexes represent the points on the board that are at an altitude of about 1000 meters. The red hexes represent points on the ground that are at an altitude of about 2000 meters, so the planes on stands LL, L1 and L2 cannot fly over them.

In the Update 28, we announced a soon launch of a Kickstarter campaign that would feature two games we created a long time ago - Water Polo and Mini Golf. We set up a new profile on Kickstarter under the name Forsage Light Games, as the main Forsage Games profile has become recognizable in the past years for more complex, usually battle themed games. In the future, the new profile will feature campaigns for simpler games for children, educational games, family games, etc. We hope that this project will be successful and that it will help employ our production resources for the next few months, which would also help us, the authors, to have the peace of mind, to be able to fully commit to the AoD:WWII rules. We invested only several working days for this new project, and everything else related to the campaign and the realization of this project was handed to Stefan, the newest member of our team. In order to minimize the involvement of the authors, we decided not to offer Water Polo at this point, but only Mini Golf.

The game Mini Golf was created in 2010, it had a version in 2017, and compared to that version, we've added some components (vertical obstacles), and the design was changed. The new version of the game is called Carom Mini Golf. The Kickstarter campaign starts today, March 2 at 18:00 CET.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2078586680/carom-mini-golf

Your support as a backer or promoter on social networks would be extremely important to us. Our team, as always, wants to reward its loyal backers (loyalty gift), and in this case, for all of you who support this project, the gift would be a set of 3 Hawker Typhoon Mk I Aplanes for the AoD:WWII game (control panel, tokens and stickers). That aircraft type is part of the Additional Aircraft: British Fighters add-on. If you have any other suggestion for that gift aircraft, it would certainly add to the gift value as a real tailored exclusive, so feel free to participate.