 December 21, 2010 - 1:05pm | Years ago, I found a Japanese site called Watermark that specializes in giant robot (mecha) themed counter-and-hex wargaming (but lost the link for years do to some fluke). This site seem to make their own rules, counters, and even show some turn-by-turn plays. With the rules sets featured there, they have at least 8 Anime, including Legend of Galactic Heroes! For folks that don't know, LoGH is an epic anime with fleets of ships numbering in the hundreds - if not thousands - and big space battles (and then there is the personal melodrama of a bunch of characters, but who cares about that? ;) )! From what I can make-out, the rules are not that complex and quite light given the hobby (as most counter-and-hex sets have thick rulebooks with folding cheat-sheets!). The only problem is that its all in Japanese, so unless you can read it, you'll have to past the link on a Google search and press [Translate] when you see it on the search result, and then deal with all the weird "engrish" (I tried using Bablefish, but results are unreadable regardless of what language you know). Thus far, I was only able to translate (the "engrish" of course, and even still, I'm still lost on some of the details) the Macross and Dougram rules, as I already have the counters printed-out. Even if you're not a fan of counter-and-hex wargaming, you can still find a ton for do-it-yourself counters (under MS-DOT-MATRIX) for spaceships, giant robots, and military vehicles, so you can use them in your own games. I hope someone appreciates the find - ENJOY! |
 December 21, 2010 - 1:14pm | That was an incredible anime....I think I still have it lying about the house.....somewhere. You can't argue with the invincibly ignorant. - William F. Buckley |
 December 21, 2010 - 4:51pm | When you speak of LoGH you are speaking of the most epic anime few fans have even seen. But it's fan base is slowly growing now thanks to fansubs and the internet. I got some PVC ships from it, including Admiral Mittermeyer's flagship Beowulf. Wouldn't mind have the Brunnhilde however. I believe some of the other counters on the site you linked were to AT Votoms. Wish I could read it to play those games. In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
 December 21, 2010 - 9:28pm | Now, if only they'd release an English-language DVD set. " 'Beware the Beast, Man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport, for lust, for greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death." |
December 22, 2010 - 5:33am | No no no no, subtitled is the way to go. You get the original feel, inflections, and just general believability in the actors voices. Dubs usually end up sounding like Dragonball Z (Cartoon Network version) and everyone sounds like they're dubbing foreign porn. You can't argue with the invincibly ignorant. - William F. Buckley |
December 22, 2010 - 9:48am | No no no no, subtitled is the way to go. You get the original feel, inflections, and just general believability in the actors voices. Dubs usually end up sounding like Dragonball Z (Cartoon Network version) and everyone sounds like they're dubbing foreign porn. Depends. The Gundam SEED dubs, the Trigun dub, and the Cowboy Bebop dub are all very well done. OTOH, subtitled is about the only way I'll watch Nausciaa of the Valley Of Wind. (Inyuasha is just no good in any language, IMHO) That said, I don't think a professionally-dubbed LOGH would take too much away from the story, and will probably beat some of the fandubs of the series that I've seen on the net. " 'Beware the Beast, Man, for he is the Devil's pawn. Alone among God's primates, he kills for sport, for lust, for greed. Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother's land. Let him not breed in great numbers, for he will make a desert of his home and yours. Shun him; drive him back into his jungle lair, for he is the harbinger of death." |
December 22, 2010 - 2:15pm | Oh goody, sub vs dub debate - I seen these go in for ever! I find it a matter of taste, as some shows work better in subs, while some others are improved by dubbing. If anyone can't tell, the comment about the "personal melodrama" was sarcastic, as the show is rich in characters and sub-plots - a great show if you like deep drama and hard sci-fi. Its a largely underrated show, as most people would see the title and assume its about DC-styled superheroes or some sort of sentai "power ranger" team, or just pass it over because its "just another big-eyed anime" or "a stupid kid's cartoon". But then again, all the best things in life are underrated or grossly misunderstood. |
December 22, 2010 - 4:27pm | That's because most of those were dubbed by Bandai, and they always get the best. Funimation has been doing good work as well. Good thing those are currently the two best anime companies in North America. Inuyasha is licensed by Viz which does crap work IMNSHO. And to quote Bittenfield "Charge! The Goddess of Victory is waving her underwear in our faces!" In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
 December 22, 2010 - 7:02pm | And to quote Bittenfield "Charge! The Goddess of Victory is waving her underwear in our faces!" You had me at "waving underware in our faces" Now I have to track it down and watch it. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
December 23, 2010 - 6:17pm | By the way, the rules used in Watermark have a number of minor differences, but they are mostly the same at the core. The initiative roll also determines how many units can be activated in a turn. In some games you could have a unit move & shoot when activated, while others have a unit move or shoot per initiative point spent on it (up to the allowance - ??? [power operation] - of the unit). The movement rules are quite typical for a game of its type (spend so many Movement Points to enter a hex; spend 1 point to make a 60 degree turn, stacking limit - usually 3 units). Combat requires units to compare Attack Power and Defense into a ratio (round up in favor of defender), so an Attack:8 vs Defense:3 would come out as (8:3 -> 2:1) 2. This is the target number (roll equal or less) needed to eliminate the target - 6 is always a miss. Most of the games also introduces more specialized rules, like melee combat, missiles fire, suppressive fire, transforming units, and so on. Some rules are more complex then others, but at least the LoGH rules are the easiest to work with. Its funny how a half a dozen units on the table dont look like much, but they represent THOUSANDS of large ships! And even with all the units on the table, it don't seen right without a bloodless stand-off with Lt. Commander Justy "Pocko-Pocko" Tylor (now that was a great show in subs!).  |
