"Because in either game, life or (40k), the margin for error is so small. I mean... one half a step too late or too early and you don't quite make it. One half second too slow too fast, you don't quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They are in every break of the game, every minute, every second. On this team, we fight for that inch. On this team, we tear ourselves and everyone else around us to pieces for that inch. We claw with our fingernails for that inch. Because we know when we add up all those inches, that's gonna make the fucking difference between winning and losing! Between living and dying! I'll tell you this - in any fight, its the guy whose willing to die who's gonna win that inch. And I know if I'm going to have any life anymore, it's because I'm still willing to fight and die for that inch. Because that's what living is! The 6 inches in front of your face..."
- Tony D'Amato (played by Al Pacino), Any Given Sunday (edit mine)
Al Pacino, is there anything you can't do? 40k, like life (and football) -- is a game of inches. Six inches, in fact. Other games -- for example Warhammer Fantasy, Epic, Hordes or any number of other games -- use a system where different units have varying movement rates. Second Ed did it. Guard had a "speed" (WTF!?!) value of I believe 4 inches, Space Marines were 5, Eldar were 6 (cause we get everything) etc etc. I know, who cares.
The point is 40k has decided not to do that. I have a lot of love for 40k. 40k is the only game I've ever heard of where when something doesn't make sense the word from on high is 'So what? Shut up and eat some pretzels. Have you seen our new plastic something-or-other?'
I'm developing a hypotheses: tactical games are defined by their limitations. As posited by the lead designer, Privateer Press' Warmachine is a game of "resource management" and Hordes is a game of "risk management". Whatever that means. Besides the sheer manual dexterity required, Starcraft and other RTS are games of resources and time pressure. Sim City and Civilization are games of exponential growth; and Chess -- refined over the course of centuries -- is a game of infinite possibility confined to a very small space.
40k, on the other hand -- now on its fourth iteration, not including its roots as a past-time amongst bored twenty-something treadheads rolling dice along with their model kits -- is a game of six inch intervals. Ignoring flamer templates and with the single exceptions of fleet and difficult terrain rolls (which I will get to) every single measurement in the game is a multiple of six inches. I know, 'duh'.
Two other important limitations that add tactical depth are that the game is only six turns long, as well as the fact that space is limited on the board giving an even higher priority to concentration of firepower. This latter is a consequence of the fact that 40k comes somewhere between a skirmishing game between infantry units and a full scale battle with armoured support. I wouldn't say this really comes up in say Hordes. In Hordes you tend to have enough room to manouver freely; facing and back strikes are very important. 40k tends to be a game of in your face fire-fight.
40k uses a telescopic scale. Close assault and fire fight is 12". A large melee between say 20 combatants (including close combat weapons and small arms fire) is say six inches in diameter. A tank can drive 12" in the time it takes an infantry man to trot 6". A large caliber machine gun fires 24 or 36". Artillery and armour piercing personnel weapons fire 48". After that, electromagnetic rail guns and large caliber, armour piercing ordnance and artillery rule the table-top with extraordinarily long ranges.
A typical deployment is 24". In 4th edition, it is defined such that deployment is greater than 24". This seperates the two armies by 4 6" blocks (on the inside). In order for the two armies to come in contact they have to reach across 4+1 blocks. This is different from other games, where various movement rates and weapons ranges are completely analog and typically divided up in one inch intervals. This commonly seperates armies by 5 blocks at the beginning of the game. Infiltrate of >18" (or any other 18" deployment) separates armies by 4 blocks.
Space Marines
Space Marines are the consummate masters of close quarter fighting. Of course they have to get big guns to go with it, right? I'm using the "combat squads" equipment where Space Marines are armed with both a Bolter and a Bolt Pistol (letting them get a shot off when they charge).
Space Marine Assault Squad
within 12" (1/2 intervals): 4 attacks (2 + 1 + Bolt Pistol) + assault special
within 18" (3 intervals): 4 attacks (2 + 1 + Bolt Pistol) + assault special
within 24" (4 intervals) 1 attack + special
outside 24" (5+ intervals): flying someplace
Space Marine Combat (Tactical) Squad
within 12" (1/2 intervals): 3 attacks (1 + 1 + Bolt Pistol) + assault special
within 18" (3 intervals): 2 attacks + special or stand and shoot 1 attack + plasma? + heavy?
within 24" (4 intervals) 1 attack + plasma? + heavy?
outside 24" (5+ intervals): heavy?
Chaos Marine Squad w/ Bolt Pistols/Space Marine Assault Squad no Jump Packs/etc
within 12" (1/2 intervals): 4 attacks (2 + 1 + Bolt Pistol) + assault special
within 18" (3 intervals): 1 attack + special or stand and shoot plasma? + heavy?
within 24" (4 intervals) plasma? + heavy?
outside 24" (5+ intervals): heavy?
Firefight 4TW. Assault squads look great until you realize that you're paying 1.5 times the points for each model. They're a support unit to tie up units and deliver characters. I once had a "True Grit" Space Marine army that I may as well have just played as Space Wolves. 18" away, rape face (I preferred melta weapons over plasma) and then counterattack. *wipes tear* My brother plays it now (with less lascannons and more power fists), yay for me.
There is some small resolution within the 6 inch intervals. If your enemy is charging across the battle-field at you, then deploying 4 or 5 inches back from the line can give you an extra turn as they are slowed down by difficult terrain or lousy fleet rolls (which give a movement of > 6" placing the unit in the next six inch block).
I know this sounds obvious, but what I'm trying to say is that -- despite the fact 40k is very much a skirmishing game -- there is a certain discrete granularity that is introduced. Moving and shooting within the limitation of these 6 inch intervals adds a layer of tactical depth and complexity that would otherwise be missing.
Why not .... (don't forget the Bolters are twin linked)
I use/used Space Marine Bikes as a reserve unit for an assaulting army.
Space Marine Bikes w/ Heavy Bolter
within 12" (1/2 intervals): 4 attacks (1 + 1 + Bolters) + assault special + Heavy Bolter
within 18" (3 intervals): 4 attacks (1 + 1 + Bolters) + assault special + Heavy Bolter
within 24" (4 intervals) 2 attacks + special + Heavy Bolter
within 36" (5/6 intervals): 1 attack + Heavy Bolter
within 48" (7/8 intervals): Heavy Bolter
Chaos Marine Bikes
Plasma guns are bike mounted but I wouldn't bother with them anyway, they would just blow up. Course I would only use plasma in a stand and shoot las/plas squad. Meltaguns belong in assault squads.
within 12" (1/2 intervals): 5 attacks (2 + 1 + Bolters) + special
within 18" (3 intervals): 5 attacks (2 + 1 + Bolters) + special
within 24" (4 intervals) 2 attacks + special
within 36" (5/6 intervals): 1 attack + plasma?
outside 36" (7+ intervals): no heavy
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