After a long term development hiatus brought on be Real Life&tm;, we are happy to announce the impending release of a new edition of Victory by Any Means, the strategic game of exploration, expansion, and conquest.
This new edition integrates years of quality of life enhancements aimed as speeding up play and giving players more control over their empires.
We are in the process of putting the finishing touches on the rules as we perform a final wave of playtesting, and players can expect to see the game released either in late 2024 or early 2025, depending on how long it takes to finish up that final playtesting.
Here is a quick overview of some of the major changes coming to VBAM3:
- Star types and planet types integrated into the core rules
- There are two new system attributes (Intel, Fortifications) added to the game. Intel is used to perform covert missions, while Fortifications are used to protect a system against orbital bombardment.
- Reworked Intel system that turns Intel points into a system attribute and makes mission outcomes easier to predict
- Streamlined movement rules which allow for faster strategic movement and more focus on upgrading jump lanes
- Diplomacy is now better integrated into the rules, and has been changed so that signing treaties is hard but breaking them is easier. The diplomatic cooldown rules from With a Purpose are now a common feature of diplomacy.
- Space combat is reworked to remove squadrons and focus on single task forces. The order of operations and fighter missions have changed to allow for a better overall combat experience.
- Orbital bombardment has some new options and complications, including the possibility of a system experiencing planetary devastation and losing Carrying Capacity and RAW from heavy bombardment.
- Out of Supply Levels have been eliminated in favor of an easier to track Supply Attrition system.
- Tech Advancement has been overhauled to give players control over what their empires research during the game.
- Addition of several rules originally intended for the Federation Admiral game that was never released
However, perhaps the biggest change for VBAM3 is the introduction of an integrated setting for VBAM called “The Harbinger War”. This setting expands upon the alien empires from previous editions and provides greater context for what the VBAM rules represent, giving players a better sense of how the rules can be used to replicate elements of their own favorite science fiction settings.
Look forward to more news about the game as we get closer to the release date!