by pomomojo
In the end there's probably far too much weight being put onto this issue by both sides. I'm sure most of the people complaining about combat abstraction have played and enjoyed games just as abstract. On the other hand, I think defending the abstraction so vehemently is hardly worth it, since the more important issue is the gameplay. If Ewoks fighting Star Destroyers makes the game better then so be it. I'm certain that it makes the game run smoother, but as someone who is willing to wade through clunky rules in the name of a more complex and deeper experience I'm not yet convinced it makes the game better and am eager to hear from the early adopters whether the streamlined gameplay is actually deep and rewarding.Currently, the least thematic part of the gameplay - the edge battles - is the part that seems like the best design decision. A simple bluffing mini-game could be used with just about any theme. There's nothing about it that connects to Star Wars. It's about as generic as you can get. But I see the value in it since it puts a premium on card management and allows you to cycle through cards faster, which is important given the deck-building restrictions.
On the other hand, the thing that seems most thematic - the asymmetrical win conditions - is currently the part of the game I find least appealing. Although I think there are problems with this idea of representing the spread of the dark side, I can accept that from the point of view of the original trilogy it at least evokes a Star Wars atmosphere. It's hard to easily put this same mechanism into Warhammer or AGoT. Yet, right now it strikes me as a blunt measure for keeping games short and sweet in order to better appeal to more casual gamers. I don't see how this mechanism will make the game deeper and more fun for serious gamers. In fact, it seems like it will unnecessarily restrict future design options and the possibility of mirror matches.
Or maybe a shorter way to state all this: I play and enjoy average games that are rich in theme, and I play and enjoy great games with a great deal of abstraction. My first impression is that this game is an average game with a great deal of abstraction. It needs to go one way or the other for me. Either go as far as you can go to immerse me in theme or produce a deep system and slap a Star Wars theme on it. Either way is fine. Just don't sell me the game based on the theme and then expect me to supply the entire narrative on my own.