OtherDuel: Basic 'Wares
There are six types of Basic 'Wares:
- OffensiveWares (OffWares): 'Wares designed to directly damage and destroy the other Antagonist(s).
- DefensiveWares (DefWares): 'Wares designed to protect against OffWares (and some other 'Wares).
- MovementWares (MoveWares): 'Wares that move your Antagonist, both offensively and defensively.
- KnowledgeWares (KnowWares): 'Wares used to identify the location of the other Anatagonist(s)' Wares, to make it easier to damage and destroy them.
- SubterfugeWares (SubWares): 'Wares to indirectly damage and otherwise affect the other Antagonist(s), to, well, to make it easier to destroy them.
- CommandWares (ComWares): 'Wares that operate all the other 'Wares so they can be used to bring about the destruction of the other Antagonist(s).
Strictly speaking, all that is required is ComWares and OffWares, and you can just sit tight and shoot like crazy, and hope to kill the opponent before they kill you. In practice, almost all Antagonists also have DefWares for survival, and MoveWares for both surviving and moving into position. KnowWares and SubWares are a bit more subtle, and it is quite possible to design a perfectly lethal Antagonist without them.
Mass, Density, Volume and Cost
All 'Wares have a given Mass (M). Many do not have a specified Volume (V), however. Instead, these 'Wares are given a Density (D), which is of course Mass divided by Volume (D=M/V). The Density chosen is completely up to the designer, with a few restrictions:
- The volume has to be a positive integer; no fractions. And, no 'Ware may have a Volume less than 1.
- Since all Modules have 10 Volumes available, no 'Wares may have a Volume more than 10. In practical terms, usually 8 or 9 is about as big as you can make a given 'Ware and still use it.
- The smaller a given 'Ware is made, the higher the corresponding Cost (C).
Cost is Mass times Density (C = M*D). This in turn is of course Mass squared over Volume:
C = M*D = M*(M/V) = M*M/V
(All fractional Costs are rounded up.)
What this means, of course, is that you can cram any 'Wares you like into as little as one Volume, if you're willing to pay for it. But Costs have to be finite; a given game is almost always limitless, except for Cost.
Example
In designing an Antagonist, you want to put in a "main gun" OffWare with a Mass of 30. It's base Cost is
C = M*M/V = 30*30/V = 900/V,
meaning it would have Cost of 900 to cram it into one Volume. More likely, you'd ease up to 2 (C = 450), 3 (C = 300), 4 (C = 225), or more Volumes.
You might even be able to fit in two, at 4V each, for a total Cost of 450 (225*2). Or, you could fit in a single, larger OffWare, with a Mass of 60 into the same 8 Volumes, you'd end up paying the same 60*60/8 = 450 At that point, other considerations come into play as to whether you're better off with two Mass-30 OffWares, or a single Mass-60 OffWare, particular to the OffWares in question, and in how you intend to use your Antagonist.
Many "vehicle-construction" games have separate limitations on space, weight, and cost. Weight is traditionally used to determine speed, relative to engine size, allowing for small and nimble lightly armed and armored vehicles, or slow but fully loaded. In OtherDuel, weight is not a separated consideration, and there is no "total weight" of the Antagonists. In fact, even large Antagonists can be capable of moving very rapidly. (There is an optional rule called Bigger is Slower, however).
Locked Volume 'Wares
There is, of course, exception to the D = M/V rule. Some 'Wares are Locked Volume (LV) 'Wares, which have a fixed Volume, and while the Cost still follows the rule C = M*D, the Density is instead usually a paramater of the number of uses. Ammo is often LV, and by buying multiple Densities, more than one shot is available, that can be used up. Some DefWares are LV, and the Density represents the "strength" of the defense.
