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Thread: Crimson Skies Adaptation to Wings of War

  1. #1

    Default Crimson Skies Adaptation to Wings of War

    I started a conversion of the Crimson Skies planes to Wings of Glory WW1 stats. I haven't worked on this in awhile but wanted to see what others thought of it. Our local gaming group tried it and had a lot of fun. I uploaded this to the Yahoo Group but haven't had much feedback. What do you guys thing? I'll post the actual rules in the second post. I aplogize for the formatting but I can't get the tables to look nice. I can PM you the actual file if you like.

    Doug
    Last edited by mrdugsir; 02-18-2012 at 19:22.

  2. #2

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    Crimson Skies/Wings of Glory Conversion

    Crimson Skies takes place in an alternate history in which the U.S. United States has collapsed into a number of independent nation-states following the Wall Street Crash of 1929. Air travel, including the airplane and zeppelin, have become the most popular mode of transportation in North America. Air militias patrol the skies against air pirates and privateers from other nations-states. The setting brought me to this game and the original PC game cemented it in place.

    These rules are an attempt to re-create the fun in a simple, easy to play manner. Most everything you need is available via Wings of Glory Box Sets and Booster Packs. I collected all the Wings of Glory information from my personal collection and the Wings of Glory Yahoo Group Files Section. The Crimson Skies planes can still be found online in metal (Ral Partha) or plastic (Wizkids). The Crimson Skies information comes from the FASA Crimson Skies Box Set and all 14 planes have been converted.

    Crimson Skies/Wings of Glory Conversions
    Starting with the “Aircraft of North America” booklet I collected all the plane information. I compiled all the data and adapted it as shown in Figure 1. Primarily I changed the plane speeds to better suit the descriptions of each plane’s characteristics and enable me to match them to Wings of Glory maneuver decks.

    Figure 1. – Raw Plane Stats.

    (stat) (stat) (stat) (stat) (1000 ft) (mph) (ft/sec)
    Plane--Max Spd--Max "G"--Max Accel--Armor--Ceiling--Max Spd--Max Accel
    Bloodhawk----5 ---4 ---2 ---150 ---22 ---300 ---66
    Valiant--------5 ---4 ---2 ---130 ---18 ---300 ---66
    Devastator----4 ---3 ---3 ---220 ---20 --->250 ---98
    Coyote--------4 ---2 ---2 ---240 ---21--- >250--- 66
    Defender------3 ---4 ---1 ---140 ---18 ---<250 ---33
    Kestral--------3 ---2 ---3 ---250 ---25 ---<250--- 98
    Fury-----------3 ---3 ---2 ---220 ---18 ---<250 ---66
    Raven---------3 ---3 ---1 ---280 ---21--- <250 ---33
    Peacemaker---3 ---2 ---3---280--- 26 ---<250--- 98
    Brigand-------3 ---2--- 2 ---200 ---18 ---<250 ---66
    Avenger------3 ---2 ---1---200--- 18 ---<250 ---33
    Warhawk----2--- 3 ---1 ---340--- 37 ---<200 ---33
    Firebrand----2 ---2 ---1 ---330--- 37 ---<250 ---33
    Vampire------2 ---2 ---1 ---420 ---25 ---<200----33



    Wings of Glory maneuver decks can be sorted into 5 different speeds from N to XA. These are further broken up by maneuverability and special plane abilities. The “Max Speed” stat/mph were used to rank each plane and determine their deck speed. The “Max G” stat and stated plane characteristics were used to place each plane into a Wings of Glory maneuver deck as seen below. The “Max Acceleration” stat was used to determine how fast each plane can climb. Each plane stat was divided by 3 to give its actual climb rate. The armor stat was simplified by dividing each planes stat by 10. Each planes ceiling is left as noted in the books. This is compiled along with each planes damage output in Figure 4.

    Crimson Skies uses 5 calibers of bullets from 30 to 70. The smaller calibers are more accurate, fly farther but have less punch. The larger calibers are inaccurate, have short working ranges, have a higher chance of jamming but pack a wallop. The attack ranges were increased to include a short, medium and long range. Short range is half a stick, medium is a whole stick and long is a stick and a half. To simplify matters guns of the same caliber were paired where applicable and given a damage value at each range to reflect abilities. This is shown in Figure 2.

    Figure 2. – Gun Damage

    Caliber Short Medium Long
    30x2 -----B----- B -----B
    40x2----- A -----A----- B
    50x2 -----AB ---AB
    60x2 -----AA ---BB
    70x2 -----AAC

    Each Crimson Skies plane has a standard armament of weapons. Figure 3 shows each planes standard load-out and the damage output for the 3 ranges. Most planes have paired weapons but those with single weaponry were adjusted as needed. Rear turret’s only have short and medium ranges and can only fire at targets level or above the players unless otherwise noted. Figure 4 has a compilation of all the above data for each plane.


    Figure 3. – Plane Armaments and Damage Output.

    Plane -------Forward Mount--Short--Medium--Long--Rear Turret
    Bloodhawk --30x2, 40x2---------AB------ AB ------BB----0
    Valiant-------30x6---------------BBB----- BBB------ BBB----0
    Devastator---40x4---------------AA------ AA------ BB----0
    Coyote-------40x4, 70x2--------AAAAC---- AA------ BB----0
    Defender-- -30x4, 50x2---------ABBB -----ABBB---- BB----0
    Kestral-------30x2, 40x2, 60x3--AAAAB ----ABBBB---- BB---- 30x2
    Fury----------30x2, 40x2, 70x1--AABC-----AB------ BB ----0
    Raven--------40x4, 50x2-------AAAB -----AAAB---- BB----0
    Peacemaker--60x4------------AAAA -----BBBB ----n/a----0
    Brigand-------50x4---- --------AABBB---- AABBB----B ---- 30x2*
    Avenger------30x2, 60x2------AAB------BBB----- B ----0
    Warhawk----60x4-------------AAAA -----BBBB ----n/a----0
    Firebrand----50x2, 70x2-------AAABC---- AB------ n/a ----0
    Vampire------40x2, 60x2, 70x2--AAAAAC----ABB ----- B----0

    *Can fire at targets above, level and below the plane.


    Figure 4 – Final Plane Values

    Plane ---Ceiling--Climb--Man Deck--Armor--Short--Medium--Long
    Bloodhawk---22----2-------N-----15---AB-------AB--------BB
    Valiant-------18----2-------N-----13---BBB------BBB-------BBB
    Devastator---20-----1-----F-----22---AA-------AA-------BB
    Coyote--------21-----2-----B----24---AAAAC--AA-------BB
    Defender-----18-----3-----D+*--14---ABBB----ABBB-----BB
    Kestral--------25-----1-----J-----25---AAAAB---AABBB----BB
    Fury----------18------2-----I-----22---AABC-----AB--------BB
    Raven--------21-----3-----I -----28--AAAB-----AAAB-----BB
    Peacemaker--26-----1-----J-----28---AAAA-----AABB -----n/a
    Brigand-------18-----2-----D**--20---AABBB---AABBB-----B
    Avenger------18-----3-----J------20---AAB------ABB -------B
    Warhawk-----37-----3-----P-----34---AAAA-----BBBB------n/a
    Firebrand-----37-----3-----G-----33---AAABC---AB---------n/a
    Vampire------25 -----3-----G----42---AAAAAAC--AAB------B
    *Add 2 90o left turns to the maneuver decks
    **Subtract both big side slip left and right from the maneuver decks.


    Gameplay Changes
    Standard Wings of Glory rules are used with the following changes.
    1. Maneuver cards are picked and placed as per the Dawn of War rules. Players pick a second card at the start of each turn for their next turn’s move.
    2. Planes may perform a Split “S” instead of an Immelman by first playing a stall card, then playing an Immelman card, the playing a straight card. This drops the plane a level in altitude at the end of the maneuver.
    3. Power dives of 2 levels can be performed by first playing a dive card (drops 1 level) on the first turn and finally playing a straight card (drops 1 level)on the next. This allows planes to quickly reduce altitude as needed.
    a. An optional rule is to allow the plane to face any direction at the end of the power dive.
    4. Planes may perform a “Zoom” by playing a dive and long card at the same time. Line up both cards before moving the plane. The plane drops ˝ a level for performing this maneuver.
    5. The Raven can use Nitro boost once per game which lasts for 2 turns. For each turn line up two maneuver cards before moving the plane. Only straight or broad left/right maneuvers may be played.
    6. Gun ranges are now Short (half a stick), Medium (full stick), and Long (stick and half).


    Optional Ammo Rules
    Crimson Skies uses specialty ammunition in the FASA game. These include Armor Piercing, Dum-Dum and Incendiary. Armor Piercing rounds are used for penetrating armor and have high penetration but low damage potential. Dum-Dum rounds are used for destroying unarmored areas of the plane. They have low armor penetration but high damage potential. Incendiary rounds ignite due to friction from the air after fired. They have low penetration and initial damage but they have a greater chance of catching the plane on fire or exploding.
    Each paired set of guns can only fire 1 type of ammo which must be declared and recorded at the start of the game. These modify the normal Wings of Glory critical rules when drawn for damage. Some crits are ignored by certain ammos and some are magnified. I’m still working on adding these to the rules

    Optional Torpedo/Rocket/Bomb Rules
    The FASA Crimson Skies game uses aerial torpedoes, rockets and bombs which hang off of hardpoints under the planes. These slow the planes down and lower their maneuverability until launched. Each plane is supposed to have a max of 8 hardpoints according to the Box Set Rules. I’m still researching how to add these to the existing maneuver decks so the use of them is optional. All the armaments are non-guided unless indicated and must be lined up with the target. Not all armaments used in the FASA game are listed below.
    • Aerial Torpedo’s – These are large zeppelin busting bombs that can only be launched when the plane is straight and level. To launch one, the pilot must fly straight for 2 turns and not change altitude. After launch the torpedo flies straight 1 stick a turn until either 4 turns have passed or the torpedo reaches a target. Damage is “CCC” within medium range (1 stick)

    • High Explosive Rockets – These rockets are best at hitting unarmored areas of the plane with a hope of setting it on fire. The rocket flies 1 stick a turn for 3 turns or until hitting a target. Upon impact the rocket does “AAA” Incendiary damage

    • Armor Piercing Rockets – These rockets are best at penetrating armored areas of the plane. The rocket flies 1 stick a turn for 3 turns or until hitting a target. Upon impact the rocket does “AAA” Armor Piercing damage.

    • Flare/Sonic Rockets – These rockets are best at disorienting the pilot. The rocket flies 1 stick a turn for 2 turns. At the end of 2 turns the rocket explodes causing 2 pilot hits within short range (1/2 stick)

    • Beeper Rockets – These rockets are zero damage rockets and only used to “Tag” a particular plane. The rocket flies 1 stick a turn for 3 turns or until hitting a target. On a successful hit the rockets start emitting a homing beacon.

    • Seeker Rockets – These rockets are used to home in on the beeper rockets. The rocket is guided to the target plane by the homing beacon. It flies for 3 turns and can make moderate turns and changes in altitude. This rocket can only be avoided by extreme maneuvers by the target plane. The rocket will explode on impact or within short range (1/2 stick) causing “AAA” DumDum damage.

    • Bombs – Pilots must fly straight and level for 2 turns before releasing a bomb. On the next turn the bomb moves 1 straight and loses 1 level. On each turn after that it fall 1 extra level a turn until it hits a target. On impact it does “CCCC” within short range (1/2 stick) and “CC” damage within medium range (1 stick).
    Last edited by mrdugsir; 02-19-2012 at 18:36.

  3. #3

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    Hi Doug, we have some members that have been working on this as well. A search will put you on the right track for CS conversion info.

  4. #4

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    I did a search and didn't really find anything. I'll keep looking.

  5. #5

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    Doug, get in touch with csadn with this thread.

  6. #6

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    Or, I could come here.

    It's an interesting interpretation, and distinctly different in most respects from what I came up with. Right now, I'm on the wrong computer for uploading what I have; but I should be able to have something up in a few hours.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by mrdugsir View Post
    I started a conversion of the Crimson Skies planes to Wings of Glory WW1 stats. I haven't worked on this in awhile but wanted to see what others thought of it. Our local gaming group tried it and had a lot of fun. I uploaded this to the Yahoo Group but haven't had much feedback. What do you guys thing? I'll post the actual rules in the second post. I aplogize for the formatting but I can't get the tables to look nice. I can PM you the actual file if you like.

    Doug
    Can you send me the file? I'd love to give my CS minis some table time!

    Al Griego

  8. #8

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    You probably won't get an answer; his last activity was 3 and a half years ago.
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  9. #9

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    Miniature Market have these Crimson Skies planes on clearance at $1.50 per pack but they only have The Red Skull Legion. https://www.miniaturemarket.com/wzk5305.html

    Click image for larger version. 

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  10. #10

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    Bought a pack of each a while back from miniature market. I have one of each pack except the Black Swans. Hard to find those. they planes are nice. The mounting isn't the best. A couple of mine of separated from the base. Maybe that is a sign I need to mount them to a WOG base!



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