We heard from quite a few Car Wars fans out there about the summer tournaments, and it was good to get that kind of response. It was decided that since GenCon draws so many more people than Origins, that we're going to switch the Duelling Championships, our premier event, to Milwaukee. But we didn't want to leave Origins out, especially since it's growing rapidly back into the strong force it once was, so we're going to run the World Racing Championships there. We've also listened to your opinions on how the actual events will be structured, and those changes are reflected in the much more open nature of both events. Here's everything you need to know:
The 2047 AADA World Racing Championships will be held at Origins '97, July 17-20 in Columbus, OH. The 2047 AADA World Duelling Championships will be held at GenCon '97, August 7-10 in Milwaukee, WI. The same basic tournament rules apply:
Rule 1: The 2047 World Championships will be an open tournament. Entrants need not be AADA members.
Rule 2: Rules in the latest printing of the Car Wars Compendium, Second Edition, any official errata published since its publication, and Uncle Albert's Catalog From Hell shall be in effect. Rules and errata with a later date of publication shall take precedence over earlier rulings. All applicable rules from AADA tournament guidelines published in Autoduel Quarterly will also be in effect. No rules or errata published after this issue of Pyramid shall be in effect.
Rule 3: Vehicle designs for the final round must be turned in by 10 a.m. the day of the event directly to the event referee or at the Steve Jackson Games booth. You may submit up to three designs per event for the referee to check; please indicate the order of preference. No exceptions!
Rule 4: Any car found to be illegal may be altered by the referee to make it legal. If the referee determines that none of the submitted designs can be made legal, a substitute car will be issued.
Rule 5: Foul language, harassment of another player, coaching by a non-player or any other non-sportsmanlike activity (as determined by the referee or a representative of Steve Jackson Games) are grounds for disqualification. There are no appeals.
Rule 6: Have fun!
Both events will be run in two rounds. All participants must earn advancement from the first round to the finals. Nobody gets a seeding advantage in the first round or a bye to the second not Club Champions, not Regional Champions, not defending World Champions, nobody.
In all rounds, a vehicle may have a maximum of two characters driver and gunner. No passengers are allowed. Characters should be built on 50 points, with a maximum of 30 points in any one skill. Reflex rolls will be set at 4 for all characters. Personal equipment available to crew members shall be limited to one suit of Body Armor, of any legal type, and one Personal Fire Extinguisher (PFE) only. No exceptions. No hand-held weapons or other personal equipment will be allowed.
The first-round events will be Division 20 events using pre-designed vehicles.
The finals will be Division 50 events. As mentioned above, vehicle designs have to be dropped off with the referee or at the SJ Games booth before 10:00 a.m. the day of the final.
The Duelling Championships will emphasize combat: while some combination of checkpoints and/or other goals may be used to score points, kills will be the most important factor.
The Racing Championships, on the other hand, will emphasize speed and driving ability. The following additional rules, based on suggestions by the folks at NOVA , will apply:
Now's the time to be holding those Club Championships! While Club Champions do not get any advantage at the World Championships, we will send them a prize of some sort. Prizes at the World Championships are yet to be determined, but they're sure to make the carnage worthwhile.
See you this summer!
Michael Hayden sends us this report from the front lines of sunny Southern California:
This year's Southern California AADA winter tournament was held at OrcCon 20 in Los Angeles, over the President's Day weekend.
As usual, the folks at Strategicon put on a fine show. With registration running smoothly and wrist bands replacing name badges, over a thousand people were in attendance over the four days. The guests of honor were Larry Elmore and Steve Jackson.
However to every silver lining there is a dark cloud. Event preregistration totaled one person, with only three people signing up at the time of the event (what, no NOMADS?).
With that, the scheduled two-round elimination was dropped in favor of a single-round point-based event. The points were awarded as follows: +2 for a mobility kill, +2 for a firepower kill, +5 for a full kill and -3 points if you die.
Combat took place in Midville using all six map panels. The vehicles started at speeds between 50 and 60 mph with a minimum 6² free zone between contestants.
Things got off to a fast start with Eric and Mike exchanging shots near the corner of Sixth and Beech. Mike's burst was ineffective but Eric managed to set Mike on fire. Combat between the two was broken when Mike proceeded down Beech, while Eric continued on Sixth toward Elm.
Eric and Tom then mixed it up at the corner of Fifth and Elm with Tom getting his front tire burned off while trying to line up for a ram. The resulting loss of control put Tom into a burning roll which ended in the lawyer's offices on the corner. Full kill for Eric.
While this was going on, Mike was crossing Fifth at Beech. Andreas was traveling down Fifth at 75 mph, lining up to T-Bone Mike. With Mike's Oil Jet pumping out a stream of slicks, Mike managed to do a series of drifts that just kept Andreas from being able to make contact. As Andreas passed behind, Mike's gunner let loose with a burst from the VMG that took off Andreas' front tire. The resulting loss of control put Andreas into a burning roll, made even more dangerous given Andreas had a gas engine and no fire extinguisher! Andreas continued to roll down Fifth street, past Eric and Tom, until he came to a stop on his right side in the intersection of Fifth and Oak. Although he lost all four tires, top, bottom and the armor on one side, Andreas survived . . . until the car exploded from the fire reaching the gas tank (just like on TV!). Full kill for Mike, and a -3 penalty for Andreas.
Eric sped down Elm turning on to Fourth, while Mike turned onto Third from Beech. Shots were taken at Eric, but were ineffective because of range. With his greater acceleration, Eric pulled farther and farther from Mike each turn. With all four of his tires almost burned entirely away, Mike stopped his vehicle and quit combat. Second full kill for Eric.
Final tally, Eric two kills, 10 points; Mike one kill, 5 points; Tom no kills, 0 points; Andreas no kills, died -3 points.
It was an exciting event with all of the participants giving it their all. As for the next time at Gamex 12, in May, we are planning a $10,000 open area fight,with cycles, trikes and cars welcome.
Until next time, this is Mike Hayden, saying "Drive Offensively."