Hi, no need to apologise, it can be difficult to put a lot of information in a post and I would rather have too much than tool little info! And thanks for the links, those were very helpful, I've spend some time reading so my reply it a little late.
Some things I figured out so far about GearKrieg (GK) stats and how well they translate to some PzC stats:
Cost (points): even for stock PzC units determining cost is difficult, there seems to be no real formula. The 'Threat Values' sometimes seem a bit odd/inconsistent to me when compared to PzC's more 'realistic' values (M3 Grant higher than M4 Sherman?). A good starting point would be to multiply the Threat Value with 7 to get a rough PzC cost, and work from there. Adjusting units on the more extreme ends of the cost spectrum can be difficult, maybe try to take a 'typical' medium walker to get a better comparison.
Fuel: Good news, the GK 'Deployment Range' of the units can be roughly translated in the PzC fuel stat by dividing it with 2.4 (again, roughly). So a deployment range of 65km would give a basic PzC fuel of 27. I usually adjust fuel up and down from this baseline to represent very reliable or unreliable vehicles.
Movement: the GK movement costs of the walkers through terrain are higher than those of infantry but lower than other vehicles. So perhaps a different PzC movement type (or a custom one) would be appropiate, or their move might need some reduction. Right now they seem relatively fast through poor terrain in PzC, for example they are now able to walk two swamp hexes where a regular infantry can only do one.
Some quick comments:
Initiative will be tricky, as it does not just represent range but it very important for combat result (although less so in poor terrain).
When in walker mode, they can stand to about 2 to 3m tall. This gives them a height/view advantage when in combat/supporting infantry. (Sort of stated as an advantage in the books quite a few times)
They seem a lot taller to me? The wheeled version seem to be around 2m already, I'm not sure how well the models are scaled, but a Maus tank is more than 3.5m tall and it is being dwarfed in the pictures? It doesn't really matter much but I'm trying to get an idea of their size/weight proportions.
In various story descriptions, walkers were described as being quite nimble in combat and able to melee with infantry with punches, kicks and stomping.
Melee attacks will be tricky to model, with a high CD (Close defense perhaps), a higher SA (Soft Attack) in cobination with low Ini or perhaps a trait or something.
1. The Loki Ausf. A was armed with twin MG 38s.
So rifle-calibre, 7.92mm, for comparison purposes. The MG34 (I assume '38' is a typo?) was a common machinegun on tanks, and other GK guns seem comparable as well, so stats for those will be little problem.
The walker sized grenades were probably the size of a 1.2L soft drink bottle, they never really did explain what they look like but it could be held and thrown by the walker arms.
Thanks for the explanation, I found a description in the rulebook that they are spring- or gas propelled (so very short range), and the size you gave means I have a fairly good impression on how to compare it with existing weapons. BTW, it seems a bit strange to me that GK seems to take little advantage of the many experimental (but actually existing) weapons that were developed, especially with their well researched background in some other fields (like how they use Konrad Zuse in the backstory).
I was trying to reflect the advantage of the walker mode's extra mobility and height over the vehicle mode (take cover, use grenades, etc). In walker mode, they are more mobile so they can reposition their body easier (where the MGs are) and the MGs are on a limited traverse gun turret.
OK, that makes sense. Taller vehicles make for better firing platforms (but are also better targets), so I wasn't sure how you determined the GD values for them. Gun turrets with very limited firing arcs will be a bit tricky to model, but the easiest is to just give them a slightly lower Ini or attack values. I noticed some of these turrets are actually remote-controlled with sights/computers, which is interesting because a couple of such systems were actually used in combat during WW2 (for example on the B-29 and Me 410).
My current goal at the moment is to come up with workable stats/system to use for these walkers.
1. How to properly point them.
2. How to properly classify them (I'm torn between making their primaries in their variant role(Recon, AA, AT, etc) with the switch secondary as infantry or Making their primary as infantry and the switch into the variant role)
3. How to assign them stats properly to reflect their strengths and weaknesses.
4. I also decided not to follow the Gear Krieg world blindly for the sake of gaming fun. (fuel/ammo/etc)
1: Difficult to come up with concrete figures, it will require some tweaking after testing. It's best to first focus on the combat stats I think.
2: Depends on which model walker is being portrayed, I guess. It would make sense to have a common basic class for their primary mode (infantry?), but the switchables can be in other classes to model their armament fit/role better perhaps.
3: Doable I think, the tricky part will be to balance them to the existing units, so some baseline values might have to be settled on first.
4: Always a good idea, the gaming scale seems very different, and you don't have to handicap yourself.
I have done a few test run with the Loki Aust A and B. My impression so far is not bad, they fill the recon role nicely and are able to perform in close/urban terrain in the walker mode. I might lower their ammo more to force them to supply more often as I found the combination of speed and ability to attack cities by themselves without having to wait for infantry to be fairly powerful. I think also due to them having hard armor, they take less damage from defending infantry even with their low GD.
You can always adjust the existing PzC units as well, in essence tweak the whole unit roster so the walkers will fit in better. It's a lot more work but it might be easier than trying to mesh the walkers into the existing system. The balance will be thrown off by including these types of new units anyway, so it could give better results in the long term if everything gets a little tweak.
My overall goal is to create a complete mod for this game which would comprise of
1. Adding all the cannon walkers/supertanks/adv. planes in
2. Adjusting the year availability as the superscience portion accelerated the development of all the stuff that came out.
3. using the switch mode more for the regular stuff like AA ground mode, etc.
4. create a proper campaign for this mod.
1: You'll need unit icons of course, but some members here are pumping out new units at a stunning rate, and there are already 'What if?' planes and other units available. I even saw an E10 recently.
2: Easy.
3: Some modders have already done this, and a lot of switchable units are already available.
4: There is good info floating around how to do this, it will depend how well you get along with the scenario editor, of course.
Don't expect too much too fast as I only started to learn how to mod this game like a week ago. I would appreciate any feedback and suggestions as you can assume I know nothing
Excellent. So you haven't picked up any bad habits yet.
I have a love for pulp action, steampunk and superscience stuff (Crimson Skies was another tactical boardgame I loved) and PzC seems quite suitable for modding this in.
Your mod sounds a bit like a cross between PzC and the upcoming WH40k game (which is being made by the same devs). It's certainly different!
