SCN - Delta V

All Trademarks and copyrights belong to their respective owners; when used without permission; no challenge to ownership is intended.

The mention of or reference to any companies or products in this site is not a challenge to the trademarks or copyrights concerned.

From Ad Astra Games

"Delta Vee". The spacer's slang for change in velocity, and the fundamental limit on whether or not they're coming home.

From the Delta V homepage:

"Are you tired of space combat games that are nothing more than World War II Fighter Combat with a coat of paint? Do you feel that space combat has more to offer than the tired old Submarine Strike model?

Would you like to see what real space combat looks like?

Come make the paradigm shift to DV, where space is harsh, the decisions are critical, and there's more to victory than having the biggest guns.

DV is a fully realized Newtonian boardgame played on a hex map with displacement factored in, and the most realistic data available for spaceborn lasers, particle beams, kinetic weapons and nuclear warhead."

2/19/2003 - Here are some excerpts from today's Ad Astra Press Release:

Delta V (the pre-release version of Attack Vector) is now officially out of print. I have a handful of extra rulebooks I'm selling for $10 each for people who want a copy for a reference.

Sierra Madre Games' Rocket Flight has 3 copies left in inventory. If you want a copy of Rocket Flight, get the order in quick. I am still donating $2 from each sale to the Space Access Society while they last.

Slated for a GenCon release this year will be Attack Vector: Tactical. AV:T is the tactical space combat engine of ship to ship combat with playable, accurate and fun 3-D spaceship combat in the rich setting of the Ten Worlds.

Coming out for Christmas will be Attack Vector: Fleets. This is a vector movement game that handles large scale fleet actions, where each ship is represented by a large die cut hexagonal counter and a business card sized damage track. It is also set in the Ten Worlds universe, and the ships from AT:T will be mapped to AV:F.

In future development, Ad Astra Games plans on re-releasing an improved version of Rocket Flight, including delta V maps for the interesting systems for the Ten Worlds, allowing the use of this game as the operational movement component for either of the Attack Vector line of games, or to play the game with a different solar system for greater replay value. Phil Eklund has delivered the maps, and is gathering info for more rocket engines. We hope to reduce the card count and improve the production quality of the artwork on this re- issue.

We also have a "grand operational" game for the Ten Worlds universe in the works, which, while a standalone game on its own using fog of war similar to Columbia's block games, will link up with the Rocket Flight re-issue to allow people to play complete operational campaigns in the Ten Worlds. It will be possible, using the extra maps for Rocket Flight in addition to this game, for players to build fleets, move them between stars, move fleets in system, and break out either Attack Vector: Tactical or Attack Vector: Fleets to fight out the combat actions.

Finally, we intend to release mechanics neutral roleplaying sourcebooks set in the Ten Worlds. We are currently soliciting opinions for which game engines people would like to see supported. Each sourcebook is slated to be 48-64 pages, with a color insert showing an icosohedral overlay map of the planet in question.

In support of these products, Ad Astra Games will sell a periodical journal, tentatively called Astrographica, which will be presented (fictionally) as the successor to the National Geographic magazine. It will typically have some fiction set in the universe, a couple of new ships for both of the AV game lines, condensed newswire services covering historical development of the Ten Worlds timeline, (similar to the JTAS newswire for Traveller) and a "National Geographic" style article giving a first person account of a trip through an interesting spot in the Ten Worlds setting.

10/12/2002 - DV will be changing names. Ken has talked with distributors and because DV has a non-English character and since Fantasy Flight has a game Delta V (pronounced 'Delta five'), a name change is in order. The new name is.....Attack Vector, but this will be the 'line' name with DV probably be retitled Attack Vector: Starship Command and a vector tiles game in development becoming Attack Vector: Fleet Command. 'Attack Vector' was the name of a web game by Mike DeSanto who has give permission for Ad Astra to use the name. Expect changes to the Ad Astra website towards the end of the month.

7/23/2002 - The Delta V pre-release version is getting some good reviews from the comments I see floating around, plus one was posted on RPG.net. Catch a Delta V demo at GenCon or DragonCon if you can make it and see if the 3D movement is as slick as they say.

7/16/2002 - I got a note from Ken:

DV was released at Origins and will be demo'd and for sale at GenCon and DragonCon, as well as through mail order.

The web site is back up at http://www.adastragames.com

This is a "blind test" version; only 100 copies were printed. The aim is to get the game into the hands of playtesters so that I can get the final round of fine tuning done while I develop more ships.

Rulebook is $20, 96 pages Complete game is $35, includes the rulebook, a 12 page ship book, 4 thrust decks, 4 color laminated play aids, and a sheet of 11 HoloCube miniatures. Extra sheets of minis are $3 per A set of 2 laminated play aids and thrust decks are $7 to go with.

For purchasers in Canada, contact me directly as I have a Canadian distributor.

6/16/2002 - Ken is changing hosts for the Ad Astra website so it will be down for a while, plus info about a DV Origins Release:

DV is the revolutionary new space combat game that accomplishes something long thought impossible. It combines fast, furious space combat action with scientific rigor and rich tactical depth.

* DV offers complete tactical control. You are in command of a 60,000 ton Leviathan of the void, not an abstract agglomeration of numerical data.
* Fast, fluid and highly accurate Newtonian movement rules. Turns take 10 to 15 minutes, a typical game runs 6 to 12 turns.
* Weapons based off of real physical models. Use the uncanny accuracy of lasers and particle beams, the kinetic sledgehammers of coilgun shells, or unleash the titanic fury of multimegaton nuclear blasts.
* A fast-playing 3-D movement system, allowing combat to break the plane of the map, and giving you unprecedented maneuver control and tactical options.
* An evocative damage allocation system that lets you, the player, paint a picture in your mind of the carnage wrought by 24th century warfare.
* A Java based play-by-internet game server, allowing you to play with opponents from around the world. Available for PC, Mac and Linux, a complimentary one month subscription is included with the
game.

* A richly detailed universe, where the planetography is done with as much rigor as the spaceship combat game is, and the politics lend scope and meaning to the wars wracking the Human Sphere.

HELP US MAKE THIS GAME EVEN BETTER!
This is a special pre-release version for blind-testing and generating feedback; while a complete game, page layouts are spartan, and we've foregone the cost of a color cover in order to cut costs on a limited print run.

Your feedback and comments are very important to us as we gear up for the final production run of the game, early next year. So important, we'll even give you a discount on the final product for buying this
one!

COUPON TEXT:
This coupon can be redeemed for 10% off the retail price of the final version of Delta V: The Future At War, if ordered directly from Ad Astra Games and accompanied by 3 playtest reports.

PRICE LIST:

DV: Core Rulebook (black and white, black and white cardstock cover, 96 page rulebook, 12 page fleet book): $19.95

DV: Play Aid Pack (4 full color laminated ship control consoles, 4 perforated thrust decks, 11 full color HoloCube Miniatures): $19.95

DV: Complete Game Bundle: (Both of the above): $34.95

DV: Set of 11 HoloCube Miniatures: $3.95

Orders taken via PayPal; please include 3.90 for shipping and handling. If you are attending ORIGINS or GENCON, please put ORIGINS DELIVERY for free shipping.

3/4/2002 - Here is the latest update on DV from Ken:

Ad Astra Games now has downloadable miniatures available for free on their web site. What's a downloadable mini? It's artwork you print out on cardstock in color and assemble into a box. The first place I saw them was Renegade Legion: Interceptor. They are, of course, usable with any hard sf space combat game.

A short list of what's changed in DV since December:

1) A greatly streamlined sequence of play. 2-D play is now running about 10 minutes per turn with 8 people playing, and scales up fairly will to multiple players.

2) Thermodynamics. DV ships now obey the laws of thermodynamics.

3) Loss of force fields. Removing them simplified the game tremendously.

4) Optional 3-D movement rules. Fully realized vector movement in 3-D.

Yes, you saw right. 3-D movement. Initial playtests have gone extremely well. There's a learning curve to adjust to, but for zoom-and-zap play, it's possible to play a fully 3-D engagement with vector mechanics at about 15-20 minutes per turn, with about 4 ships per side. It dramatically alters the tactics of the game.

Of course, this broke ballistic weapons. For the fourth or fifth time. Re-fixing ballistic weapons is the project for the draft after this one.

I've signed up to run 18 demos of DV at Origins, and 9 at GenCon. Look for the black DV banners at both shows, say hi, and come sit down for fast furious carnage in a hard science fiction universe. I'm looking at selling pre-release books at Origins and GenCon -- full 11x17" layouts, but no color, and printed, effectively, on a laser printer.

9/26/2001 - A post convention update from Ken:

At Origins, I had 16 people play DV. At GenCon, I had 31, including one person who did absolutely nothing else on Saturday.

    Since GenCon, I've been focusing on fixing the problems that showed up at the summer conventions, and have managed to greatly simplify the Sequence of Play to answer many of the questions I was asked. In the process, I was able to fix a lingering physics glitch with point defense. The new result, in addition to being more scientifically accurate, plays faster as well.
    I'm currently working with AoG on getting miniatures fabricated in the same scale as their Fleet Action run.
    I also have T shirts for sale -- the Relativistic Rock T shirt has been a run-away best seller so far. I still have a few of the DV classic shirts available.

6/28/2001 - The latest update from Ken:

Low res photos of the test sculpts for DV are up on the web site, as well as some PDF pamphlets and a promotional poster. I should have minis for GenCon without much difficulty.

I'll be demoing the game at least twice at Origins, and four times at GenCon, with the afternoon GenCon session slated for people who've played the game or read the game before.

I will have a second batch of shirts to get me through the convention season; pre-orders are available now.

5/1/2001 - The DV website is back up (it was down for a while) and has been redesigned. Also the DV T-shirts are now available for purchase and funds raised via sales of the T-shirts go into paying the sculptor for the miniatures. Speaking of miniatures, take a look at the first 4 minis due out later this year in the PDF file that is the Miniatures Proof Artwork.