The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I've heard for a long time that Heavy Gear is supposed to be the best science fiction games out there. It's said to be packed with an intricate and superbly designed game world and history, detailing a world filled with compelling characters who draw you in like a black hole. Does it actually pull it off? No, not really. There are some really nice elements, but on the whole Heavy Gear doesn't get anywhere near living up to its reputation.

games with MPD

My first problem with the game is the fact that it tries to be too many things. Within the 237-pages basic book, Dream Pod 9 crammed both role playing and tactical rules into the same volume. I don't want tactical rules, otherwise I would have bought a miniatures game. Granted, I do understand that some people like them, but miniatures are almost always boring and uninteresting as far as I'm concerned. The space that another game would have open to more setting information (which is the real important stuff in an RPG book - rules are cheap as water and usually less tasty) is eaten up by tactical and miniature rules. Beyond even that, if I did want a miniatures game, I would at least expect some miniatures with it, which is something that the book cannot provide. Dream Pod 9 would have done better had they done the same thing that Holistic Design did with Fading Suns and release the RPG and then the miniatures later (Fading Suns has Noble Armada). In the end, all the tactical rules did for me was occupy space.

The book opens up with a nice little color section giving an interstellar map, a system map and a world map for Terra Nova, the Heavy Gear setting. While it is very nice and pretty, the world map could be clearer and the interstellar map is never really explained. The FTL drive is mentioned in passing, but it not detailed, and the symbols on the map are not explained. That is followed by the Introduction, which holds the standard bit of fiction (which is okay, but not too memorable) and a primer for the game. Unfortunately, that primer is nearly stand-alone in some cases. It's not an "overview," it's all there is in the book, at least for the history section, which gives 2 pages to go through more than 4000 years of history. The history is also my biggest (and really only) gripe with the setting. Some things are odd and neat, like the ice age in 2400, but other things are just out of left field and unexplained, leaving them to seem alone and stupid, like Earth's withdrawal from the colonies. Perhaps if there had been more information given, some of the inconsistencies (like why the colonies would need constant Earth support after more than 1000 years of operation) could have been easily ironed out. Unfortunately, they weren't and they remain a glaring stain on the game.

The next two chapters (totaling less than 30 pages in all) are the full extent of the setting information in the book. The writers do a damn fine job of setting up an arid world with nations that are believable enough, and they are good enough to toss out characters and historic figures to provide the detail that lends some appearance of verisimilitude. The only drawback here is the length. At about 25 pages, there is only enough information to get me interested about what else there is. It is, by far, no where near enough to build a detailed campaign off of. Looking at games like Blue Planet and Delta Green which are filled to their multi-hundred page brims with setting information, which makes them worth their relatively high prices.

After a brief summary of the basic mechanics of the Silhouette system (the one Dream Pod 9 also uses for Tribe 8 and Jovian Chronicles) the next 50 pages are all about characters. After reading this (and the next 30 or so pages for the role playing rules, I am reminded of all the things I love about the system, and all the things I hate about it. The die mechanic is beautiful, being of the "handfuls of dice" variety but not getting to obscene, but the selection of some of the attributes (Armed and Unarmed Damage are ludicrous Attributes) and some of the inconsistencies of the system (most attributes average to 0, Stamina averages to 25) really make me think that the Silhouette system needs a serious overhaul and revision.

Then there is about 40 pages for the tactical rules, relying on hex paper and miniatures. I've already voiced my opinion on their inclusion at all, so I won't belabor the issue. My unfamiliarity with the type of games in general, however, limits my ability to make an informed opinion of it. Taking my opinion on them with a grain of salt, they seem okay. It looks like they cover the bases like elevation, movement, combat, ranged weaponry and whatnot. I'm not sure about the balance between rules and play speed, but it seems adequate.

Chapter eight, the campaigning chapter, has some interesting ideas, both for the different kinds of games in Heavy Gear and on how to integrate the role playing and tactical games. Surprisingly enough, the "random mission" and "random plot twist" tables were actually both useful and interesting, going beyond simple random encounters and providing nice side-stories to spice up a longer campaign. Most of the chapter is taken up by the tactical side of the game, sadly, but they, again, seem to work well. They also seem to provide some kind of context to war game within, which is a good thing in my mind.

The rest of the book (about 50 pages) is the Field Guide which is filled with vehicle rules and military technology. Aside from the fact that the game is set in the 62nd century and the technology seems drastically low-tech, the chapter is interesting enough (and has a few odd head-scratchers, like why the mecha have internal combustion engines). The explanation of the Gears (the mecha) is interesting, but the lack of a detailed look at the neural-net controls is a glaring omission. I really hope that they aren't supposed to be driven simply by the joysticks in the cockpit. And the idea that the machines are cheaper than something like tanks or planes just strikes me as absurd. I'd like to see a mecha game that acknowledges the huge cost involved in military machines. The vehicle rules are interesting and versatile with the system of Perks and Flaws, but I didn't find anything resembling a satisfactory explanation of really how to use them when designing a vehicle.

The book rounds out with a nice little index and some character and vehicle sheets. And that's it.

not what it seems to be, but looking good

Even if the content in Heavy Gear wasn't what I had been hoping for, it looked nice all the while. In general, I like the layout and design of the book. Combined with the art and good writing, it gives it a very nice, professional feel, even if there is almost no distinction between chapters.

And did I mention the art? Heavy Gear is an anime game, I don't care who tries to deny it (one of the characters had green hear in the text). Not that this is a bad thing, quite the opposite. The unique pseudo-anime style of the art, as well as the detail given to the technology in it, makes for some really nice pieces that work really well with the book. With a few minor problems, Dream Pod 9 certainly knows how to put a book together.

crushing defeat

Or at least great disappointment. I was hoping for a game world that rivaled any other with its complexity and ingenuity. Something that was consistent and plausible and truly well done. When I didn't get that, I hoped for a sourcebook on mecha instead, something I could use for inspiration in other games, like Fading Suns, but the mecha rules in Heavy Gear, while I'm sure they are functional, are neither innovative or ingenious. They are nothing remarkable. So I'm left with a good looking book that can't decide if it's a war game or a role playing game, and the setting suffers because of it. Without the time, space or energy to devote to fixing the problems with the setting, or to even give us more setting, Heavy Gear ends up being fool's gold more than a valued treasure. It is simply not worth Dream Pod 9's exorbitant prices.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Heavy Gear Second Edition
Author: Philippe A. Boulle, Jean Carrieres, Elie Charest, Guy-Francis Vella, Marc A. Vezina Category: game Company/Publisher: Dream Pod 9 Line: Heavy Gear Cost: $29.95 Page count: 237 ISBN: 1-896776-32-9 SKU: DP9-101 Capsule Review by Derek Guder on 02/21/00. Genre tags: Science_fiction Far_Future Anime Espionage	I've heard for a long time that *Heavy Gear* is supposed to be the best science fiction games out there. It's said to be packed with an intricate and superbly designed game world and history, detailing a world filled with compelling characters who draw you in like a black hole. Does it actually pull it off? No, not really. There are some really nice elements, but on the whole *Heavy Gear* doesn't get anywhere near living up to its reputation. games with MPD My first problem with the game is the fact that it tries to be too many things. Within the 237-pages basic book, Dream Pod 9 crammed both role playing and tactical rules into the same volume. I don't want tactical rules, otherwise I would have bought a miniatures game. Granted, I do understand that some people like them, but miniatures are almost always boring and uninteresting as far as I'm concerned. The space that another game would have open to more setting information (which is the real important stuff in an RPG book - rules are cheap as water and usually less tasty) is eaten up by tactical and miniature rules. Beyond even that, if I did want a miniatures game, I would at least expect some miniatures with it, which is something that the book cannot provide. Dream Pod 9 would have done better had they done the same thing that Holistic Design did with Fading Suns and release the RPG and then the miniatures later (*Fading Suns* has *Noble Armada). In the end, all the tactical rules did for me was occupy space. The book opens up with a nice little color section giving an interstellar map, a system map and a world map for Terra Nova, the Heavy Gear* setting. While it is very nice and pretty, the world map could be clearer and the interstellar map is never really explained. The FTL drive is mentioned in passing, but it not detailed, and the symbols on the map are not explained. That is followed by the Introduction, which holds the standard bit of fiction (which is okay, but not too memorable) and a primer for the game. Unfortunately, that primer is nearly stand-alone in some cases. It's not an "overview," it's all there is in the book, at least for the history section, which gives 2 pages to go through more than 4000 years of history. The history is also my biggest (and really only) gripe with the setting. Some things are odd and neat, like the ice age in 2400, but other things are just out of left field and unexplained, leaving them to seem alone and stupid, like Earth's withdrawal from the colonies. Perhaps if there had been more information given, some of the inconsistencies (like why the colonies would need constant Earth support after more than 1000 years of operation) could have been easily ironed out. Unfortunately, they weren't and they remain a glaring stain on the game. The next two chapters (totaling less than 30 pages in all) are the full extent of the setting information in the book. The writers do a damn fine job of setting up an arid world with nations that are believable enough, and they are good enough to toss out characters and historic figures to provide the detail that lends some appearance of verisimilitude. The only drawback here is the length. At about 25 pages, there is only enough information to get me interested about what else there is. It is, by far, no where near enough to build a detailed campaign off of. Looking at games like *Blue Planet* and Delta Green which are filled to their multi-hundred page brims with setting information, which makes them worth their relatively high prices. After a brief summary of the basic mechanics of the Silhouette system (the one Dream Pod 9 also uses for *Tribe 8* and *Jovian Chronicles) the next 50 pages are all about characters. After reading this (and the next 30 or so pages for the role playing rules, I am reminded of all the things I love about the system, and all the things I hate about it. The die mechanic is beautiful, being of the "handfuls of dice" variety but not getting to obscene, but the selection of some of the attributes (Armed and Unarmed Damage are ludicrous* Attributes) and some of the inconsistencies of the system (most attributes average to 0, Stamina averages to 25) really make me think that the Silhouette system needs a serious overhaul and revision. Then there is about 40 pages for the tactical rules, relying on hex paper and miniatures. I've already voiced my opinion on their inclusion at all, so I won't belabor the issue. My unfamiliarity with the type of games in general, however, limits my ability to make an informed opinion of it. Taking my opinion on them with a grain of salt, they seem okay. It looks like they cover the bases like elevation, movement, combat, ranged weaponry and whatnot. I'm not sure about the balance between rules and play speed, but it seems adequate. Chapter eight, the campaigning chapter, has some interesting ideas, both for the different kinds of games in *Heavy Gear* and on how to integrate the role playing and tactical games. Surprisingly enough, the "random mission" and "random plot twist" tables were actually both useful and interesting, going beyond simple random encounters and providing nice side-stories to spice up a longer campaign. Most of the chapter is taken up by the tactical side of the game, sadly, but they, again, seem to work well. They also seem to provide some kind of context to war game within, which is a good thing in my mind. The rest of the book (about 50 pages) is the Field Guide which is filled with vehicle rules and military technology. Aside from the fact that the game is set in the 62nd century and the technology seems drastically low-tech, the chapter is interesting enough (and has a few odd head-scratchers, like why the mecha have internal combustion engines). The explanation of the Gears (the mecha) is interesting, but the lack of a detailed look at the neural-net controls is a glaring omission. I really hope that they aren't supposed to be driven simply by the joysticks in the cockpit. And the idea that the machines are cheaper than something like tanks or planes just strikes me as absurd. I'd like to see a mecha game that acknowledges the huge cost involved in military machines. The vehicle rules are interesting and versatile with the system of Perks and Flaws, but I didn't find anything resembling a satisfactory explanation of really how to use them when designing a vehicle. The book rounds out with a nice little index and some character and vehicle sheets. And that's it. not what it seems to be, but looking good Even if the content in *Heavy Gear* wasn't what I had been hoping for, it looked nice all the while. In general, I like the layout and design of the book. Combined with the art and good writing, it gives it a very nice, professional feel, even if there is almost no distinction between chapters. And did I mention the art? *Heavy Gear* is an anime game, I don't care who tries to deny it (one of the characters had green hear in the text). Not that this is a bad thing, quite the opposite. The unique pseudo-anime style of the art, as well as the detail given to the technology in it, makes for some really nice pieces that work really well with the book. With a few minor problems, Dream Pod 9 certainly knows how to put a book together. crushing defeat Or at least great disappointment. I was hoping for a game world that rivaled any other with its complexity and ingenuity. Something that was consistent and plausible and truly well done. When I didn't get that, I hoped for a sourcebook on mecha instead, something I could use for inspiration in other games, like *Fading Suns, but the mecha rules in Heavy Gear, while I'm sure they are functional, are neither innovative or ingenious. They are nothing remarkable. So I'm left with a good looking book that can't decide if it's a war game or a role playing game, and the setting suffers because of it. Without the time, space or energy to devote to fixing the problems with the setting, or to even give us more* setting, *Heavy Gear* ends up being fool's gold more than a valued treasure. It is simply not worth Dream Pod 9's exorbitant prices. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 2 (Sparse)

Heavy Gear Second Edition

games with MPD

not what it seems to be, but looking good

crushing defeat