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The scenic artwork looks awesome, and sufficiently sci-fi

Can we see more of those types of images?

Please, please, please release a paper copy of the novels. Some of us just can't read ebooks as if they were real books.. And I really want to buy and read your novels.


Also, plastic miniatures are an interest of mine, so thank you for them.

 warboss wrote:
Will there be conversion rules to make up your own units/factions for use with other (nameless company) models?

That is not in the cards for the time being (and likely ever), but let me explain why.

There have been many, many games published over the years that have attempted to be systems that can accommodate any types of models by building your own units. While I find these game systems to be incredibly admirable, they never ultimately succeed for a couple of major reasons:


1) Many players tend to fall in love with the particular genre/universe of the game they're playing. The more well thought out that universe is, the more engaged players can become in it. Once you start introducing rules to allow players to build any type of unit from any other game, all of a sudden the focus of that game's universe becomes instantly muddled. Players walking by no longer see a game of Maelstrom's Edge, they see guys playing some game using models from a bunch of different manufacturers that may or may not be consistent in any way, shape or form.

Not to say that is bad at all, I'm very glad those systems exist in the world, but that is not what we're trying to accomplish. We're really proud and excited about the universe we've started to create and look forward to making it so rich and full of awesome models that you'll want to play with our minis.


2) Often when you make a system that can be used to build nearly any type of unit, it falls into a situation where it feels like the old 'jack of all trades, master of none', where the game plays *well enough* but is not focused enough to truly deliver an awesome experience. We are not trying to make this a trojan horse to take over 40k or something crazy like that. We are 100% focused on making the best damn 20-30 model sic-fi game there is, because it seemed to us that nobody out there has really been making that game for years and years now.

I am ridiculously excited for this. The universe sounds amazing and the minis look great! So glad you went for injection moulded plastic. Only thing I am worried about is having to wait for cool aliens! Plus everyone I have asked loves the look of the Karists, so I expect a lot of Karist vs Karist games in the months after release. I will definitely be there for the kickstarter though.

Are we looking at unit based special rules or universal special rules? Unit customization? If there is one thing I love in 40k, it's that.

Can you give us any hints here on dakka about some alien races? I know you want to focus on those who will come out first, but that's going to be my main draw in the long run.

 yakface wrote:
We are 100% focused on making the best damn 20-30 model sic-fi game there is, because it seemed to us that nobody out there has really been making that game for years and years now.

Hopefully this will take off and you can look at making the best damn starship combat game somewhere down the line...

Wow. I am impressed and intrigued. I look forward to seeing how this unfolds in the future.

I noticed the bases but they were part of my confusion. You said the leader's placement was what determined facing for being flanked and all, but why does each individual grunt need such a base then? I'm sure you've got it all figured out, I'm just being a bit dense Mostly because it really *is* a neat concept that I'd like to see work.

 GrimDork wrote:
I noticed the bases but they were part of my confusion. You said the leader's placement was what determined facing for being flanked and all, but why does each individual grunt need such a base then? I'm sure you've got it all figured out, I'm just being a bit dense Mostly because it really *is* a neat concept that I'd like to see work.

In-game promotions? Ease of only needing one type of base?

Yeah, I assume both of those are possible, maybe if the leader dies you have to pick a new one. And the latter certainly makes sense. I just wanted to pick the developer's brain since he was around and answering questions

 GrimDork wrote:
I noticed the bases but they were part of my confusion. You said the leader's placement was what determined facing for being flanked and all, but why does each individual grunt need such a base then? I'm sure you've got it all figured out, I'm just being a bit dense Mostly because it really *is* a neat concept that I'd like to see work.

Yeah, once you go down the route to make that type of base, you're kind of all in (that's how HIPs works)! And besides, it is unlikely, but possible to lose your squad leader before the other models in the unit, in which case another model does have to take over, so having the notched base on all your guys makes this possible.

Plus it is recommended that models are always turned to face the same direction of the squad leader to make it 100% clear which direction the squad is facing, so having the notches on every base helps in this regard as well (and if you screw up and some guys aren't facing the same way, the squad leader's facing always takes precedence anyway).

Really liking the artwork and the look of the Karists.
And those mechs in the artwork.

Looking forward to handing over the money!

Funny enough I've been trying to develop a 20 to 30 model skirmish game with a suppression mechanic here on Dakka since I joined in 2011. First with 40k, now with 28mm WW2.

IMO this game is set up for absolute success. Its almost as if you buys listened to what people were asking for and made business out of it...

I agree with the notion that ME should stick with ME figures. Rulesets that have a concurrent model line always seem to succeed over those who do not.

Though I'm not too keen on the Empirians, im confident that as the game gathers momentum the models will get better and better (Keeping in mind we have yet to even see all models currently available).

I've never backed a kick starter so this will be my first. Considering that many of us have given money to Dakka at some time or another merely out of love of the website, I'm fairly confident that there will be plenty of monies coming toward ME.

Very excited to support this in every way that I can.

Wasn't expecting this at all. Thought I had missed an Aprul Fools joke

This looks excellent and seems to fill a void that I've been looking for for a while now, aka a 20-30 model per side skirmish game.

I like the look of the mercs although I'm curious why you used the chaps. It looks like they wear a basic set of coveralls or something then put on the chaps and vest/armor separately. Care to explain the purpose of it?

Also, what kind of forces are we going to see in the starter box? Enough to make a full "army" for the game or enough to play say 10 per side (say roughly 1/3rd the normal game size)

Finally, how modular are these starter box unit sprues going to be? The best starter boxes are flexible and allow for a lot of applications of their units, while still providing the meat and potato options should you want more. I felt dropzone commader did a good job of this as everyone I ever talked to said "just buy a starter or two and you're golden". Same with bolt Action's assault on Normandy set, where they just threw in regular sprues of Germans and US GI's which could make NCO'S, LT's, riflemen, machine gunners, snipers, anti tank soldiers, and even observers or medics with clever conversion. A good starter set can make or break a game for a lot of people so I'm interested to see what it has.

I'll be waiting eagerly for the kickstarter, even though I swore I'd never back another, I think Ill let you guys be an exception.

Barzam mentioned this to me tonight.

Color me interested.

Very cool to see a project like this come together.

Thank you for giving me something to look forward to kickstarting!

Thanks again for all the kind words!

Lots of great questions so here are those from page 3...

gigasnail wrote:looks sharp. can we see some sprues?

Thanks! We will be happy to show some sprues fairly soon, most likely on Tuesday. We have to pace ourselves on the reveals because plastic model development is an extremely slow and complex process, so if we put out images of everything right off the bat, we'd have little to show between now and the delivery of the kickstarter. As such we are releasing pictures of models, sprues, artwork, colour schemes, etc according to a detailed schedule. Naturally there will be a lot shown at the start of the kickstarter so that everyone is armed with the most accurate information about the project possible.

warboss wrote:
May I suggest a pledge level (assuming you didn't think of this already) that includes dakka DCM membership along with the game?

DCM status is a gift that people give Dakka rather than a perk we provide to users, so we have a long standing policy of never presenting it as something that is merely purchased. On top of that, we really are legally distinct entities, so taking money in to Spiral Arm Studios then giving rewards via Dakka would mean some jumping through accounting hoops.

bbb wrote:What will the Kickstarter "sweet spot" be in terms of pledging to get the most bang for your buck?

Will this have a full retail release or be geared towards internet sales?

Will rules be available for free online?

It is highly likely that the sweet spot will be $110, though we'll have a lot of options above and below that to fit whatever amount people are comfortable spending. We wont show what that package entails until right before the kickstarter though so that we can finalise artwork and give a really great first impression. On the whole we'll probably be a bit cagey on prices and details before the kickstarter so that we dont have to back track on things as the final projections are calculated with the last few quotes we are waiting on.

We have complete intention for this to be a full on retail release.

The full ruleset will not be available for free online because it has cost us a lot of time and money to develop. We will provide a basic introduction to the rules when the kickstarter launches so that everyone can get a good handle on how the game will play, but the large amount of cost benefit analysis we've done on other rulesets has shown that it simply works out better for the health of the game for them not to be free online. On Dakka we focus entirely on providing everything for free with as little advertising as possible so it is a bit against our nature having to put a price tag on such things, but we'll be sure to make the rules easily available at a very competitive price point.

Will there be EB/limited pledge levels?

And questions up to my last post - thanks again!

Alfndrate wrote:The scenic artwork looks awesome, and sufficiently sci-fi

Can we see more of those types of images?

We have a massive library of artwork now, but again we must tease to the point of making you all ravenous as it is costly and time consuming to produce, so we have to balance it carefully. There will be lots of little bits of teasers such as the covers of the novels, and full artwork will be revealed at a fairly steady pace, especially throughout the time the kickstarter is active (May basically).

BobtheInquisitor wrote:Please, please, please release a paper copy of the novels. Some of us just can't read ebooks as if they were real books.. And I really want to buy and read your novels.

We are doing a first limited print run but will only be selling them in person at Salute in London. The intention is to go to a full print run but to get decent distribution that requires partnering with a large publishing company, and getting a good deal with good promotion for such requires us to have a bit of weight behind us first, so a full print run wont be until later in the year at the earliest once we have the gamer numbers to back us up.

Zatsuku wrote:Can you give us any hints here on dakka about some alien races? I know you want to focus on those who will come out first, but that's going to be my main draw in the long run.

We'll be showing the first alien models within the next week or so - those who fight alongside the Karists, but beyond that we'll be focusing on our initial two factions simply because there is so much to cover with them.

MrMoustaffa wrote:Wasn't expecting this at all. Thought I had missed an April Fools joke

I like the look of the mercs although I'm curious why you used the chaps. It looks like they wear a basic set of coveralls or something then put on the chaps and vest/armor separately. Care to explain the purpose of it?

Also, what kind of forces are we going to see in the starter box? Enough to make a full "army" for the game or enough to play say 10 per side (say roughly 1/3rd the normal game size)

Finally, how modular are these starter box unit sprues going to be? The best starter boxes are flexible and allow for a lot of applications of their units, while still providing the meat and potato options should you want more. I felt dropzone commader did a good job of this as everyone I ever talked to said "just buy a starter or two and you're golden". Same with bolt Action's assault on Normandy set, where they just threw in regular sprues of Germans and US GI's which could make NCO'S, LT's, riflemen, machine gunners, snipers, anti tank soldiers, and even observers or medics with clever conversion. A good starter set can make or break a game for a lot of people so I'm interested to see what it has.

We were very tempted to reveal it on April 1st, but alas the timing was not quite perfect with regards to having everything completely locked down and ready to present.

I'll let a fiction guy chime in on the chaps, but they do operate largely on partially/barely terraformed worlds which means lots of desert, sand, etc which benefits from additional protection from the elements. One funny thing on the chaps was that the initial sculpt for them did not put any fabric texture on the buttocks, so when we 3D print tested them, they had perfectly smooth buttocks. Change request number 1 was to add some creases to the clothing there!

The starter box will make a good game. The final content is dependent on just how our margins work out once we get into stretch goal territory. The most conservative measure gives it about 2/3rd the size of a 'normal' game, but still more than enough for a solid game.

I'm glad you asked about the modularity. I suspect that these will be the amongst most modular models you've ever seen in a starter set. We are using the same sprues in the starter set as the individual unit boxes, so you'll have a huge array of choices right out of the box. The Karist Troopers alone have 4 weapon options, The Tempests have 2 weapon options and the Epirians have 3 weapon options. To keep things logistically simple, it works out best for us if people just want to buy multiple copies of the starter set, so we are trying to make the value of that starter set absolutely exceptional.

Will there be EB/limited pledge levels?

Nope, it is not fair to our fans across multiple timezones and we will deliver the best possible value to everyone rather than the lucky few that jump in quickly. We are not expecting to have much trouble hitting the target and building buzz which is the main reason people use EB and limited pledges.

Thanks!

A Kindle release of the Rulebook would great. Hopefully that is in the plans.

You guys are sneaky

Glad to hear there will be no EB/limited pledges!

Added to the upcoming KS thread. Will be watching with interest!

Are you guys planning on releasing heroes? I was always a huge fan of herohammer!

Any chance your working on campaign rules?

More models to paint!

So, there is no print on demand option for the books, like Mantic has for Bloodstone of Cerillion?

I guess I will just have to wait for the paperbacks. Would have been neat if they were included in the sweet spot pledge.

A final decision on Print on Demand has not been made just yet, but it would not be this side of the kickstarter. Bug me after Salute (25th April) and if there are any spare physical copies left we might be able to ship one of each out to you as we test out one of our shipping channel options.

Awesome!

What about fufilment to the U.S.? Do you have a U.S. based distribution channel or are U.S. Backers going to be clobbered with shipping and import fees?

We have a US and a UK distribution channel lined up so there will be no customs delays or import fees for anyone in the USA or Europe and UK. Australia and Canada will be explored if the volume is there, but it is much more likely that we'll need to ship to them from the US and UK as well.

 legoburner wrote:
A final decision on Print on Demand has not been made just yet, but it would not be this side of the kickstarter. Bug me after Salute (25th April) and if there are any spare physical copies left we might be able to ship one of each out to you as we test out one of our shipping channel options.

Thanks! Consider yourself bugged!

I wish you all the best of luck. I recently played a game of Bolt Action, and it was extremely satisfying to play a game where the rules were easy to understand and mechanically sound. A game set in a deep, sci-fi universe that involves a few squads, a giant robot or two, and a hero might be exactly what people are looking for today.

I'm so in. 'Nuff said.

Wow. You guys have just managed to entice me towards something other than 40K. I've never had time, or inclination to look at other games because it is the models that I am interested in as I don't get chance to play games. Your Karists have definitely grabbed my attention and I will be awaiting the KS with hopefully some money to pledge.