Rules

This page is still a work-in-progress!

Until the game has been released, this page only serves as a general overview of the mechanics. Things may be changed or rebalanced once all the stats have been finalized.

This page outlines the additional rules specific to the inter-mission portion of the campaign setting, namely those governing the “space mercenaries” narrative framing device. Feel free to interpret, modify, or ignore certain rules if they get in the way of your enjoyment of the game. Unless otherwise stated, the rules governing combat are the same as those found in the core Snap Ships Tactics rulebook.

Buyout Price

New players have the buyout price of their penal contract set at 1,000,000 Credits (cR). Any debts incurred by a player over the course of a campaign (i.e. borrowing credits for repairs, ammunition, or upgrades) are added to the price of their buyout. For every mission flown where the player's buyout price exceeds 1,000,000 cR, 25% of the difference is added to the buyout price upon the mission's completion as interest.

Example: If a player's buyout price is 1,002,000 cR at the start of a mission, it increases to 1,002,500 cR at the end of the mission (25% of 2,000 = 500 cR, added to the 2,000 cR overage = 2,500 cR). If they fail to pay off the 2,500 cR overage before flying their next mission, the interest compounds to a total of 1,003,125 cR (25% of 2,500 = 625 cR, added to the 2,500 cR overage = 3,125 cR).

Callsign

New players can choose (or be assigned) a callsign to uniquely identify them during the game. A pilot's callsign is like a nickname, traditionally bestowed by the other members of their squadron or training cohort, and it's considered bad form for a pilot to try and give one to themselves. A callsign is often playfully derogatory (riffing on a pilot's name, personality traits, or a past exploit in their career) or will have an embarrassing origin (e.g. something stupid that they did), with the conventional wisdom being, “the more you complain about it, the more likely it'll stick.” Callsigns can (and do) change over the course of a pilot's career.

The following is a list of ideas for possible “starter” callsigns that a new pilot might be saddled with until they earn some respect:

Blaze
Burnout
Cherry
Choke
Crashdown
Ditcher
Fireball
Flinch
Freakshow
Fumble
Glitch
Haze
Jinx
Nosedive
Nugget
Pup
Queazy
Rook
Scratch
Skidmark
Smudge
Swerve
Tailspin
Turkey
Whiplash

Ship Selection

New players all start with the preset SV-51 “Lance”, and 5,000 cR to immediately spend on weapons, ammunition, and upgrades. A player whose ship is destroyed during a mission must buy a new ship before the start of the next mission (see Spending Credits). Players can also unlock access to other ship types as they earn more credits and score more kills.

Kill Credits

In addition to the credits earned for successfully completing mission objectives, players can earn additional credits for each enemy craft they destroy. How much each enemy craft is worth is determined by the Point Cost shown on the ship's AI card multiplied by 1,500.

Even if multiple players engage an enemy craft, only the player whose attack resulted in the craft's destruction is credited with getting the kill.

\({Kill_{cR}} = {Point Cost} \times {1500}\)
Example: = 4,500 cR

Spending Credits

Players can spend credits in five different areas. Of the options below, only Ammunition and Upgrades may be purchased with a player’s starting credits. Unspent credits are banked for later.

Repairs
Ammunition
Upgrades
Ships
Buyout

Repairs

At the end of a mission, if a player's ship has any damaged parts, they must pay to have them repaired before the next mission begins. The cost in credits (per part) is determined by the Repair Cost listed on the part card (both Power and Heat cubes) multiplied by 1,000. Parts with no listed Repair Cost are assumed to cost 1,000 cR to repair.

\({Repair_{cR}} = {Repair Cost} \times {1000}\)
Example: = 2,000 cR

Ammunition

Before starting a mission, players must purchase ammunition for any unlocked weapons that they wish to use. Weapons for which ammunition has not been purchased cannot be equipped to a ship. Alternatively, weapons for which ammunition has been purchased, but which were not fired during a mission, are considered to still be fully-loaded for the next mission.

For the sake of simplicity, a purchase of ammunition represents a full loadout for one mission (i.e. players don't need to buy each individual bullet or missile, and can pay a flat rate to fire as many as needed during that mission). The cost in credits (per weapon) is determined by the most expensive Activation Cost listed on the part card (both Power and Heat cubes) multiplied by 500.

\({Ammunition_{cR}} = {Activation Cost} \times {500}\)
Example: = 1,000 cR

Upgrades

Upgrades refers to cockpits, thrusters, wings, weapons, and other equipment for the player's ship. Spending credits on upgrades means the player secures access to that equipment for the rest of the game. All upgrades unlocked by a player are available to them when preparing their ship for a mission. Players can own more upgrades than there are part slots on their chosen ship's chassis, and choose which to equip for each mission. If a player wants to field multiple copies of an upgrade, they must buy multiple copies. The cost in credits (per part) is determined by the most expensive Activation Cost listed on the part card (both Power and Heat cubes) multiplied by 2,000. Passive upgrades (or anything without an Activation Cost) cost 1,000 cR.

\({Upgrade_{cR}} = {Activation Cost} \times {2000}\)
Example: = 8,000 cR

Ships

Players can unlock access to new ships upon meeting certain criteria. Once unlocked, a new ship must be purchased before it can be flown on any missions, and newly-purchased ships come as the preset model, but do not include weapons (which must be purchased separately).

Any upgrades and equipment that come with a preset ship are not considered owned by the player (i.e. a part that came preset with a player's old ship must be purchased separately before it can be equipped to their new ship). Any time a player wants to change back to a ship they previously unlocked, they must pay again (Representing rent paid for the hangar space). The cost in credits (per ship) is determined by the Point Cost listed on the chassis card multiplied by 2,500.

Reminder: A player whose ship is destroyed during a mission must purchase a new ship before embarking on the next mission.

\({Ship_{cR}} = {Point Cost} \times {2500}\)
Example: = 10,000 cR

Tier One

Unlocked by default.

SV-51 "Lance" Scout

Unlocked after first mission.

SAC-30 "Lance" Attack Craft

Tier Two

Unlocked upon making Ace (5+ enemy kills) using any Tier One craft.

Tier Three

Unlocked upon making Ace (5+ enemy kills) using any Tier Two craft.

Buyout

At any time between missions, a player's penal contract can either be paid off in full, or in installments of 10,000 cR.

Desertion

At any time during a mission, if a player's ship fully crosses a board edge that is not an approved retreat option, they are suspected of attempting to desert and their ship is detonated remotely. Upon return to Alcatraz, they must buy a new ship before embarking on the next mission.

Sentence Duration

In the absence of any mechanic to meaningfully track the passage of time, players wishing to simply serve out their sentence instead of buying their way out may consider it served after flying 1,000 missions.

A.I. Wingman

Solo players who find the campaigns too difficult may opt to play with an A.I.-controlled wingman. Choose any preset ship with the appropriate AI cards to fight alongside.

Enemy Resolve

An optional mechanic to add more complexity and nuance to combat encounters, Enemy Resolve tracks each enemy pilot's level of bravery, determining the damage threshold at which they will attempt to flee. A fleeing enemy will no longer attack, but can still be attacked and destroyed by player ships.

Levels

Resolve Level	Damage Threshold
Cowardly	Hull < 50% of its starting value
Average	Hull < 35% of its starting value
Brave	Hull < 25% of its starting value
Foolhardy	None (Enemy will fight to the death)

Reputation

Whether or not to kill fleeing enemies is a choice left entirely up to each individual player and will affect the Reputation they receive.

I eventually want to find a way to integrate this choice into gameplay somehow, so that a player's Reputation will have an effect on the mission.

Knight	At least 10 more Spares than Kills
Soldier	The same number of Spares to Kills (+/- 9)
Mercenary	At least 10 more Kills than Spares

Hardcore Mode

Players looking for a more challenging, “realistic”, or otherwise more punishing experience can choose to also apply the following optional rules to their game:

Consumable Ammunition

These rules will be formalized once the game is released and all weapon cards can be analyzed in detail.
Instead of buying an entire mission's worth of ammunition for a flat rate, players must account for each individual missile or cartridge fired. Purchased ammunition is persistent between missions.

MK16 Autocannon – Each loadout purchase consists of 1,000 rounds (players can make multiple purchases, up to a maximum of 2,000 rounds per gun), and each burst expends 50 rounds.
XR70 Missile Pod – Each missile pod equipped to the ship can carry a maximum of 16 missiles, for a total of 4 launches per pod.

Fuel

Prior to each mission, players must purchase fuel. The cost of fuel is determined by the Point Cost shown on the ship's AI card multiplied by 500.

\({Fuel_{cR}} = {Point Cost} \times {500}\)
Example: = 2,000 cR

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