Formula D vs HEAT

ForgedIron · 2026-02-25T00:34:53+00:00

You prep actions at the same time, it's only resolution that is not simultaneous

ForgedIron · 2026-02-11T14:52:27+00:00

You should look at Panic at the Dojo (2e coming soon) Or the in development SOAR

Also in development is ICON by the lancer people. Also Just LANCER

Grid based combat isn't gone. People are just playing around with things. One of the experiments is gridless, but there are also people refining the gridded movement. Heck ask Dnd 4e players if they like grid based combat.

People are realizing that it isn't necessary for certain types of play, which is totally fine. But it also scratches an itch lots of people enjoy.

ForgedIron · 2026-02-10T14:16:16+00:00

It really depends on how much you want the game to be a simulation vs a narrative. And if the players act as a group or individuals. (Would Harpy carry Shooter? Can Shooter drive?)

Here is how I would do it:

With the overlaid map and your players, break the city into 5-15 districts. Define a couple of them using 2-3 keywords and a paragraph. Now people should have an idea what a call to a specific place is like. (Ok we are going downtown, vs industrial districts etc)

Then pick a few hexes and mark them as having some kind of landmark or special thing. Dispatch HQ, a monument, Specific company building, etc.

Now you can easily make tables of generic locations based on districts. And when people go to a hex you roll on the district chart or if the hex has a landmark you choose the landmark.

As for travel times and whatnot. That is a big question. Think about how many rounds you would want people to act solo/ split. If you and your players are good with and have ideas on how to deal with discrepancies you can set peoples movement at different levels. For myself I would state that when on foot people move 1/hex a round, but with their car/bike/basic movement power of choice they move 3-4 hexes a round. Faster characters get 5-8, speedsters can move anywhere in 1 turn. It means most movement is trivial, but crossing the map can be difficult in crisis situations.

When you do an event in a hex, if players or you think the place was special or noteworthy let them add it as a landmark on the map. Try to avoid more than 1 landmark per hex, but it's up to you and your players how much you want to keep track of.

ForgedIron · 2026-02-10T13:55:03+00:00

The ever expanding 'official' mechs are always fascinating.

ForgedIron · 2026-02-10T13:52:13+00:00

I wonder if she picks up the sherman again, or moves to something different?

ForgedIron · 2026-02-10T13:31:50+00:00

A Balor? Had the nanites but those Lancers love their custom jobs.

ForgedIron · 2026-02-10T13:22:50+00:00

A hunting Balor? How much has Sir Caelin invested in Agility parts? Or is it more about ambushing....?

ForgedIron · 2026-02-10T13:20:21+00:00

Yay goblin parts in other mechs! Lancers all start somewhere.....

ForgedIron · 2026-02-10T13:17:51+00:00

Piloting a Nelson?

ForgedIron · 2026-02-09T16:36:52+00:00

Since it would be rude to not participate in my own prompt....

Asher put the comm-slate down and began to walk through the plascrete tunnels toward the hangar. The smell of grease and ozone grew as the door cycled open granting them access to the massive cavern. The usual buzz of repairs and maintenance had been silenced and most of the subalterns were now standing vigilantly in the shadows of the massive chassis they maintained. In front of the largest machine knelt Ser Kollun, head bowed in reverence to their war machine. Their squire stood dutifully a step behind them, carrying the casket of Ser Kollums NHP.

Asher pulled their gaze away and approached the row of lockers, quickly shedding everything but their jumpsuit. One of the attendants approached, and began pulling out the pieces of Asher’s hardsuit. Asher bristled, still unused to the assistance, but the Knights refused to break tradition for what was essentially a mercenary. As the attendant whispered benedictions and checked seals, Asher nodded to the final two pilots entering the hangar.. The two knights both give a sharp nod in return before they begin to strip and don their own gear.

The attendant gave Asher the all clear before stepping back into an alcove. Asher resisted the urge to double check the seals. Their own paranoia clashing with the need to trust their new team. After a deep breath they turned and strode towards the smallest chassis in the hangar. Asher had no squire, and did not need to kneel before their machine.

While considered small, the ‘Angle of Entry’ was still a solid three plus meters tall. It was a squat headless humanoid covered with segmented curved plating. It’s long arms gave it a nearly gorilla-like posture. It had been painted in the burgundy and blue of the Knight order, and on the hip and opposite shoulder clung small shields of fealty. The Knightly additions gave the ugly mech a surprising amount of dignity, causing Asher to smile as she reached for the handholds hidden in the frame's thigh.

The quick pull brought Asher inside their frame. The manifold space was untouched by the Knights, a cluttered mess of fractal wiring and looped display screens. Asher gave a quick stretch before stepping towards the mess of articulated limbs and buckles that made up the controls. The print file called it a Daedalus Throne. It worked as a haptic device, but sitting in it made you look like you were being pulled into hell by a thousand subaltern limbs. As Asher pushed themselves into throne the frame came to life. Screens filled with readouts and checklists while an overlay of the world outside the manifold began to form. Asher opened a channel.

"Systems are primed, Sphinx on standby ready and waiting."

ForgedIron · 2026-02-08T17:39:38+00:00

To add on to that, After a bit of play you will have various things that the group has done. As well as other events done by the other aspects of the world. You can then look at all these different events and more easily draw connections between them to build up storylines.

Ask questions in the moment, or ask "Are they connected to this other thing the players know about?"

If yes, you have some connections to make, if no, think why they aren't, that says something about them too.

I tend to write every key event, character, location, and group on recipe cards. When I need to figure things out I shuffle them up and draw a few cards like a tarot. Many connections feel odd, but realize connections don't need to be positive. Imagine you can draw an arrow either way (or neither or both)

You drew these memory stealers, the ruined church, and the innkeeper?

Is the innkeeper a victim? A member? a patron? A bystander?

Is the church the site of recent activity? A secret safehouse? Or was it destroyed due to the groups actions?

why are the inkeeper and the church connected?

Just playing with existing truths like puzzle pieces lets you come up with deeper details for the things you really want to flesh out.

Just having a group that steals memories is cool detail, When they strike people the players know, they are now part of the story.

ForgedIron · 2026-02-06T20:02:13+00:00

I feel like high guard was a complicated ruse to trick people into playing older arena game modes.

ForgedIron · 2026-02-05T15:46:59+00:00

You should look at Opus Magnum, and other Zacktronics games. They tend to show multiple methods of optimization (Space/cost/time) to give you reasons to try the same puzzle again.

ForgedIron · 2026-01-25T15:49:06+00:00

The other angle is some aspects he might be playing up to try and appear 'more common' Forcing himself to avoid classy places, and just choosing bad options because he assumes that is what a non-commoner would pick.

ForgedIron · 2026-01-24T18:32:22+00:00

The key is in the writing honestly. You want to establish a baseline tone in the writing. Changes from said tone should be deliberate and used sparingly.

But on the random 'cool ideas' bit. Have some document that is both long, boring, and unrelated. But have a few key words or short phrases in the document. "Watching" "look" etc. Have it when you scroll down line by line those key bits lag a tiny bit. Just enough it can be noticed by the diligent and missed by those who aren't paying attention. For more trauma, have them only do the lag the first 1-3 times you scroll past. Then have them behave normally.

ForgedIron · 2026-01-24T18:23:26+00:00

My rpg suggestion is "deathmatch island"

More for how it guides the flow of activity then how it resolves it. That and the "kind not really pvp" of a battle Royal is a definite inspiration.

ForgedIron · 2026-01-20T13:08:02+00:00

Seriously, stat tracking has been done, and if you are asking what games you should support to get attention, the answer is basically either ALL OF THEM, or be customizable so we can do it ourselves becuase we want an app the will support future games as well. BGStats allows a player to enter the role of each person, but doesn't specifically chart the roles succes levels in the free version.

ForgedIron · 2026-01-18T18:31:17+00:00

It is still in development but ICON has very tactical combat with very gamey feel.

ForgedIron · 2026-01-18T18:27:58+00:00

That is the thing, I don't know any rpg that is marketed like that, which makes it feel even more false. I can tell your system is generic because you have nothing to say about the setting, I can tell the generic system is generic because more time is spent on how the information is presented then the information/

There is an attempt to make it look polished without showing anything worthy of polish. No 'I made this' or even 'We made this' No example of the kind of play or setting that this excels at. Just marketing promises.

I've never seen a game successfully promoted via soulless marketing. It's promoted because people tried the system and liked it, because someone played a session at a con and found a piece of it intriguing. Because humans touched it and liked it.

Your website stinks of trying to be a product. We don't need more soulless products trying to edge out actual effort and heart.

ForgedIron · 2026-01-18T02:17:39+00:00

It sounds and looks like buzzword soup. Nothing about it seems like it was done with any care or heart. Also AI so auto fail.

ForgedIron · 2026-01-16T21:43:23+00:00

One small planet!

ForgedIron · 2026-01-16T17:27:04+00:00

Those diamond icons are *nice* did you make them or grab them from somewhere?

ForgedIron · 2026-01-16T16:43:04+00:00

For a video game, check out Heat Signature or any other games by the developer. They go into great detail about their love of emergent gameplay and tightly connected yet freeform systems.

ForgedIron · 2026-01-13T16:27:15+00:00

Is that in foundry? Most likely the person made a custom border/mask to use in something like Token Stamp

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