Fleet File Vol 5 review and Gaming in three-dimensional space

  Fleet File Vol 5 review

 Another fairly standard Fleet File volume if not for the fact that it contains one of the weirdest/ugliest/confusing ships in the FPA fleet, the Triglav.

 Theodoricus (Goldenlowe version): The flagship of admiral Thurneysen. Interestingly with the Goldenlowe crest, it is noteworthy because the last time this ship was seen in the animated series was before Reinhard's ascension to the throne so with the old Goldenlowe crest. 

This is due to the fact that admiral Thurneysen fell out of favour after his blunder during the battle of Vermillion.

 

Grand Canal  + 2x Alliance cruiser, three copies of the standard alliance cruiser with the Grand Canal only being distinguished by the numbers on the side of its prow.

 

Salamander: Goldenbaun and Goldenlowe version: Admiral's Wahlen's flagship in both versions. I believe this is the only imperial ship equipped with a pair of claws on its lower part presumably to anchor the ship during landing operations.

Probably the ship is best known for leading the imperial assault on Terra.

The design is similar to other imperial flagships with similar antennas at the back but the more curved prow design gives it a more (in my opinion) elegant line.

Cu Chulainn: one of the many ships that took part in the alliance invasion of imperial space and was tragically destroyed in the campaign. The ship was admiral's Lefebvre flasghip and displays the typical alliance midsection. The ship was constructed to be more lightweight and maneuverable than similar class Ajax models. A smaller armament component is also visible by observing the model's side design.

Valendown:Admiral Wagenseil's flagship. No Goldenlowe model exists as it was presumably completed after the dynasty fell. The design is innovative compared to other empire ships and is one of the prototypes for upgrading the standard imperial flagship with the advancements of some of the newer ships.

Triglav:

Admiral  Attemborough's flagship is quite different than all other FPA ships with more in common with the carrier design than with other ships.

This also was a prototype intended as the new design for more powerful alliance battleships.

I still do not know if this ship is really ugly or quite interesting. The way two of the front prows just down and separately from the main axis makes it look like it is flying backwards with where the engine currently is there should be the actual prow of the ship.

The side and top panels are very detailed and contrast well with the smooth domed character of the top of the main battleship body.

In the end I do appreciate the design of the ship if not for just giving a bit more variety to the FPA roster

Some considerations on 3D wargaming

One of the initial questions i posed myself when I started thinking about what system would best fit the LOGH battles is how many dimensions would the fighting take place in.

The obvious answer would be 3D since we are in space where every direction is equal and there is not up and down. Several battles in the series also do take advantage of the three-dimensionality of space (notable at the battle of Amristar). 

Even then though, throughout the series there is, in both narrative and animation choices, a sensation of up and down; for example the ships are all arranged with their top side pointing towards the top of the screen.

This feels more like a 2D+1 space compared to a fully 3D one. A 2D+1 space is how I would describe aviation fighting here on earth. The space in which planes move is fully 3D yet each dimension is not equal. Moving vertically is much different than north or west and there is a reference point for  what is up and what is down.

True space warfare instead would develop in an environment where all 3 axes are much the same, only differences would come from the location of planets. This type of warfare would be very confusing and disorientating both at small scale and large tactical scale and would heavily rely on the use of AI and algorithms to navigate the decision space and arrange the ships in the most efficient formations.

Once I understood that the LOGH space is 2D+1 I considered how I would be able to represent that in the rules. Some dogfighting ww2 or ww1 games use telescopic sticks to represent the elevation of the planes but that would be far too complicated to implement. I could have counters next to the  units showing their elevation relative to each other but that would add a lot of clutter to the board. I could construct a transparent tiered game board and move the ships through it but that would be very cumbersome to carry.

One idea that I did seriously think about (and might still implement) would be to have separate boards for different sections of the battle and then a master diagram showing how these boards are arranged between each other, even at 90 degree angles. This way there would be some strategic thinking in 3D  allowing for more oblique and unique stratagems without over complicating the whole thing. The diagram below tries to explain how this would work.

Ultimately trying to implement anything apart from a basic level of 3D rules would mean adding a lot of extra complication for very little benefit given the fact that LOGH battles can be perfectly understood and simulated on a 2D space.