I’ve been working on ways here and there to increase the realism of Wings of War while keeping in the uncomplicated spirit of the rules. With thanks to Kaiser for the inspiration his own set of advanced rules gave me, I present here the rules we’ve been trying out to increase realism regarding shooting.
(1) Ammo points
* Weapons receive “ammo points” to indicate the number of bursts they can fire. These points can easily be kept track of by using the “movement point” disks provided with the rules set.
* All guns receive 12 ammo points.
* Most aircraft in the game are belt fed, and so the 12 points of ammo can be used continuously without reloading. However, when all ammo has been used, the gun cannot be reloaded.
* Lewis guns and other similar weapons are allotted four drums, each with three ammo points. After a drum is empty or partially empty, it can be reloaded with a full drum (if any remain). Partially empty drums cannot be reused after being removed from the gun.
* Easily available information on the Internet (such as Wikipedia) should indicate whether a particular aircraft historically used drums or belt-fed ammunition.
(2) Weapon bursts
* A weapon can fire either a normal burst or a long burst.
* If the weapon fires a normal burst, one damage card is given to the opponent to indicate damage, as per standard rules, and one ammo point is used up for that weapon.
* If a weapon fires a long burst, two damage cards are provided to the opponent, and two ammo points are used up for that weapon.
* If an attack is at close range, an additional damage card is given to the opponent, but at no ammo cost to the attacker.
* As per standard rules, the attacker’s weapon is jammed if any of the damage cards he gives to his opponent indicates a jam result.
* If an attacker fires a long burst, however, he draws an additional card from the weapon’s appropriate damage deck. If the additional card indicates a jam result, then the weapon is jammed. The card is otherwise ignored and is returned to a random point in the appropriate damage draw deck.
(3) Unjamming
* Weapons are no longer automatically unjammed after three phases, but instead a pilot (or observer) must attempt to unjam their weapon at the end of each phase.
* A pilot can attempt to unjam a weapon if the aircraft has flown a non-steep straight that phase. An observer can attempt to unjam a weapon if the aircraft has flown a non-steep maneuver of any type that phase. (An Immelmann is considered a steep maneuver.)
* To unjam a weapon, draw a card from the weapon’s appropriate damage deck. If the drawn card is a “zero”, the weapon is unjammed. The card is otherwise ignored and is returned to a random spot in its draw deck.
* A weapon remains jammed until it is unjammed as per the above rule.
* A pilot faced with a jammed weapon may change his planned maneuvers in a limited way to reflect his desire to focus on the problem. To reflect this, at the beginning of a phase before any movement cards are revealed, a pilot with a jammed weapon may choose to play a non-steep straight card during the upcoming movement phase play (which simulates him removing his hands from the controls while he tries to remove the stuck cartridge), and consequently shift all of his unplayed maneuver cards one space to the right. The card furthest to the right (which has been moved off the planning field) is returned to the maneuver deck and not played during the current turn.
(4) Reloading
* A pilot can reload his weapon after performing two non-steep straight maneuvers in a row. There must not be a break between the two maneuvers.
* An observer can reload his weapon after the aircraft performs two non-steep maneuvers of any type in a row. There must not be a break between the two maneuvers.
We’ve been testing these rules, and we believe they add an interesting (and more realistic) aspect to the game. I’ll be looking forward to hearing what you think!
See you in the skies!
-- Eris
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