So wait, given the 2:1 ratio of size classes, wouldn't that put a single quad as a good match against 8 raptors? That...seems overkill, but also marvelous...
It's not. But if a quad *were* to connect with a light mecha, there wouldn't be anything left to betray that it was there. The saving grace of the lights is that they are really fast, hence hard to hit. Last game, I had a lucky shot which pretty much immobilized a heavy mecha, so my lights go to hitting it from behind... with machine guns. Sure, it was a waste of sensor pods, but gosh was it fun.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh and from the playtest, the Osprey A and C are particularly good mecha, but so is the Wolverine. To my taste, anyway.
Man, you're really going at it. The rules too? It makes sense, because you don't want people to just buy for the shinies, like some other "purely minis kickstarters" have done. *cough* Raging Heroes
The digital version will remain free for backers, all the core game mechanics will be exactly the same but it might not have all the same pretty pictures that the book does. Plus the books give something physical for people to take to the store or read by the flames of desolation when technology fails us.
Depending on how the part is positioned in the molds it'd be possible to make about half of the slots molded into the design but it can cause difficulties with the lifespan of the molds and potential trap points for bubbles. I may be able to make small imprints that can at least be used as a center point guide.
Certain parts like the arm weapons the connection point doubles as a vent or entrance for the resin so there's no realistic way they can have pre-made slots. I've racked my brains and I just can't figure out a correct way to implement the slots. The up side if that the resin is very easy to work with and both 3mm and 5mm bits for making slots are very easy to come by.
Forar wrote: It's a situation where some of us have to laugh, otherwise we'd cry.
Discussing 'the rules' (as we understand them and one dude has cobbled together along with a love of Battletech) in the RRT thread is... it's painful, guys.
Don't worry others feel this pain too. I have been fighting an, apparently already lost, battle against the LOS rules for some time. Though I would say the RRT facebook page has had more painful rules "discussions" (well, discussions period).
@Paulson- Flipped through the rules. If I am understanding correctly, then I like the way cover is treated. Instead of modifiers or "saves"; it just is the first thing to be blown up. That is real cool.
Yes that's the basics of how cover works. Everything is largely handled by true line of sight. If a part is obscured, the object blocking the line of sight is hit instead and almost all cover in the game is destructible if you do enough damage. Sometimes the best way to establish line of sight is to blast the crap out of the buildings in the way, plus destroying cities during the game is a lot of fun.
When higher strength missiles are let loose it typically turns good chunks of the board into a open killing field.
paulson games wrote: Yes that's the basics of how cover works. Everything is largely handled by true line of sight. If a part is obscured, the object blocking the line of sight is hit instead and almost all cover in the game is destructible if you do enough damage. Sometimes the best way to establish line of sight is to blast the crap out of the buildings in the way.
Now that is TLOS I can get behind: "Can you see me mech behind this building?" "Not really. So let me blast the heck out of it until I can."; Who needs 25% obscured when you can just shoot that 25% away first.
I have to give the rules a better read through than the quick scan I gave between classes.
I just wanted to chime in to say I had a good look at a number of these models at Adepticon and they had a really good scale to them. The casting on the freebie model was first rate, very sharp and bubble free as well. I'm glad this is going so well because it will be an exciting one to watch!
paulson games wrote: I may be able to make small imprints that can at least be used as a center point guide.
I'll double my pledge if you work out how to do this.
And it'd convince me to do 15mm.
I might not double but I think this is a great idea on the 6mm. Even a dip for where to start the drill is perfect honestly. I can drill myself, getting the hold in the right spot without slippage is the major issue
paulson games wrote: I may be able to make small imprints that can at least be used as a center point guide.
I'll double my pledge if you work out how to do this.
And it'd convince me to do 15mm.
I might not double but I think this is a great idea on the 6mm. Even a dip for where to start the drill is perfect honestly. I can drill myself, getting the hold in the right spot without slippage is the major issue
Agreed, if not holes for the magnets, at least imprints to guide the center point where you should drill would be fantastic.
Edit: Well, I just kind of grilled paulson in the comments about shipping . Hopefully, I wasn't too harsh. Just wanted to really dig down on why the already completed models will need to be held until the stretch models (heavies, etc) are completed, particularly in 6mm which will be being cast out-of-house in metal.
I got some good responses and the moral of the story is, there will be only a single wave. This does adjust what I will be using mine for, but I can plan around that. I appreciate knowing now instead of later, at least!
A little less intensity would be admirable, it's not like I'm not like I'm answering questions pretty much every hour or that we have 12 full days left to address that....
Snap firing answering is bad as I need to be consistent in my approach. A backer funded early wave may have been an option but I needed to do a bit of research. Now it's no long an option as I'm not going to reverse my comment.
paulson games wrote: A backer funded early wave may have been an option but I needed to do a bit of research. Now it's no long an option as I'm not going to reverse my comment.
That's an odd stance to take... people are being very agreeable and if you say "I was wrong, it turns out that it is an option!" then I'm sure we'd all love you for it. Also, part of the benefit of being a small campaign is being able to be flexible- those words aren't written in stone and adding a benefit to backers is never ever met with a negative reaction (I can give many campaigns for examples of this!).
I'd also like to say, don't see fire where there is none... I'm a fan, asking a question, nothing more . I'd love to see the stuff that is done shipped earlier, of course! You can't ignore the fact that folks also have to plan their hobbying schedule around approximated delivery times... people give tons of slack to tons of small campaigns on this (and I do myself, many many times now) but saying "I can't offer split shipping because I said I wouldn't in an off-the-cuff comment" doesn't make any sense at all!
There are also some new tiers out now, including the Assault Force and a Fire Team, neither of which are messing around, as both contain a Heavy (the latter lacks Lights entirely, for those who wanted a tier that didn't bother with them).
I assume the 12k barrier being broached with get the unlocks noted when PG has time to fire up photoshop and whatnot, presumably I'm just noticing some of the changes going into place perhaps as they're happening?
Looking forward to seeing that 13k mark broken, as we're only about $550 from it happening, if this is proving to be a taste of things to come.
I'd also like to say, given that I was simply asking a question about shipping, I find your reaction a little puzzling... maybe it was just a miscommunication?
Interaction with backers is part of the nature of Kickstarter, and people are going to have questions and suggestions! I was asking because you were very clear that it would be all shipped at once when everything was completed- you didn't say you were still considering it and would clarify further into the campaign (which I would have been happy to wait for an answer on!). I gave examples of the way some other campaigns have approached similar situations not to berate you, but to give you an idea of how you might be able to do something similar.
I appreciate your considering the possibility of shipping waves... and I'd appreciate it even more if you didn't read any bad intent behind my question regarding shipping- it is simply a question, asking if items that are done really have to be held till everything else is... nothing more! I certainly didn't mean it as "intense", and I'm not sure where you got that reading of it. If I'm asking it, it probably means there are a number of others who were wondering about it, too.
Part of what I love about Kickstarter is campaign creators who take on backer feedback... feedback is usually given because people care about a campaign, and not the reverse! And that is the case with mine here (or at least, I would like to think so, and think my backer history can point to that ).
Again, cheers for considering it! If you can't swing it, no worries, but I was really just asking and giving examples as something for you to consider... I don't know how it ended up getting taken as a negative but I did not mean it that way at all, and neither I nor anyone else would hold you to a comment (or even the update you had already made, which prompted my questions) if you were able to work out shipping waves after all.
The issues becomes that flip flopping on stuff becomes a focal point for anyone dissatisfied later on. "Oh you said that... but now offer this" are types of situations I'm trying to avoid.
Even if it might be in favor of the backers I want to make sure my commitments are as accurate as possible. Backers don't need to worry about being sued over loose words, project managers have to take what they agree to into very careful consideration. Not that I'd expect anybody to sink to that level of BS on this KS but it has happened on other projects. There's already one case of a guy being driven into bankruptcy over a single $60 ipad stand offered on KS, all because the world is full of donkey-caves.
I understand that KS is exciting and people get intense about it, but at the same time not every question can be answered immediately especially when there are very direct stabs at aspects/details I can't answer at the drop of a hat. The shipping questions are very sensitive as the pricing point is absolutely crucial, on a small project doing it right lends to the success but if I mishandle the pricing options it can easily turn the entire kickstarter into a loss. (especially since my average past customer base is about 65% international)
It's not stuff I expect anyone else to take into consideration, but if I don't answer in detail immediately maybe it's best to chill for a bit?
But I was talking about (as I clarified) backers paying for their own shipping...
I also asked based on your update that already said you would only consider a single shipping wave. I just wanted to offer up examples of how you might be able to split it based on other campaigns I've been a part of... Dreamforge is a good example, where backers could themselves pay for split shipping. I can't imagine if it'd all been held till a single shipping wave! In the long run, this really helps as some fulfillment can happen even while other things are still WIP.
I really think you're misreading my comments as "intense" when I am just making a suggestion based on something you already said in an update... again, I appreciate your considering if you are able to do something in regard to shipping waves based on models that are already completed, and those that are yet to be started. If you're worried about being sued because you say you'll try to do earlier shipping on already completed model orders and are not able to... I think you might be thinking of a backer that is not, well, me or most of us here, and maybe reading into my comments things that truly aren't there!
I understand not wanting to commit to things, of course... but I'm trying to help you here... not anything else . Sorry if there was a misunderstanding or the way I phrased something that led you to think otherwise.
Also, sent you a PM, hope that clears up any misunderstanding
Curious about the shipping as well. Having an option to pay for shipping ahead of the mass wave would be fantastic. The short delivery time on this project was what caused me to pledge, extending that further is less desirable and may make me wait until these figures hit retail.
I genuinely appreciate the notification about the extended delivery time ahead of the campaign closing. Wish more campaigns did that.
Exactly, DarkTraveler! I knew there were others wondering the same thing
And I feel exactly the same way- I appreciate the advance notice about the delay, but at the same time, if there's some way for those pledging for already completed models to get them around the original timeframe ("wave 1") that'd be very Very much appreciated. Nothing more, nothing less! It's just that I backed these models for use for a project in the early fall, so the timeframe does affect what I'd use them for.
Yeah, if the production side can be sorted out, then giving the option would probably be beneficial. Ship out pledges when all the units for that pledge are completed, and if someone wants to split pledges, charge them actual shipping for the extra shipment.
I know you said that didn't fit how you did production, but if that can be worked around, nobody will be annoyed at you providing more options for the campaign.
The problem with early shipping (even if it is feasible, and funded voluntary by the backer) is that some other backers may get cheesed off
either just from a 'I've not got mine, why has he got his' perspective (which you even see during normal shipping of a big KS) despite it being stupid
or from a 'I backed before him so I should get priority' perspective (not taking into account when stuff is actually finished)
both could end up souring the comments and potentially end up giving Paulson grief on forums even if he does everything right so he certainly has to give it a lot of thought about risk versus reward
I agree, it definitely requires some thought. However, I would again point to Dreamforge and the waves that things were split up into- everyone knew the full-size Crusader and infantry were done, so they were the first wave. It was well understood that the Mortis wouldn't ship until wave 2, and that unless a backer paid extra for split shipping, they'd have their entire order held until wave 2 shipped.
However, I am just happy that Paulson will be looking into this (I hadn't realized that he would be based on the wording of the update). If the answer is "No", that is fine, I just thought it was worth asking about. Now that he is looking into it I won't bring it up again... but I do think it's evident that others were wondering the same thing, I just expressed it!
The main reason for my asking now was in light of if the campaign had a very strong last week and unlocked the Quads. That would signifcantly shift the fulfillment dates, and so doing a partial fulfillment in the late summer / early fall and a final fulfillment at the end of the year or early 2015 seemed like something worth considering. If it can't be done, it can't be done! But logistically, it's something to look at and consider. Especially because long waits tend to kill the momentum of new games, even in big campaigns, so getting the things that were done out earlier makes sense in that light. You run the risk of dissatisfied backers either way, but from what I've seen the best way to have satisfied backers is good communication... so looking into it and then clearly explaining why it's not possible ("It would disrupt the workflow too much, even if backers paid for their own shipping") would be totally fine.
Even at the extrended date 6-8 months is hardly a long wait for KS product to arrive, even a 12 months delivery time is lightning fast compared to a lot of KS projects. I love his stuff and this isn't to knock Dreamforge at all but what's their stretch in between waves? All of Mark's production and distribution is handled by WGF so all of his time can be devoted to the design process, where I'm split doing all aspects of my company myself (3d/production/distrbution). It's hardly an even or fair comparison as our businesses and offered products are completely different animals.
I also don't think it'll be much of an issue for the game momentum, if they want to play in the meantime the rules will available online as well as printable card stock proxies
I actually agree with regardes to the timeline posted for the heavies, which would make this all kind of moot . I guess I was just thinking ahead to if the quads unlocked, as I wasn't sure what kind of herculean design effort they might require. But I guess we can cross that bridge when we get there
paulson games wrote: Even at the extrended date 6-8 months is hardly a long wait for KS product to arrive, even a 12 months delivery time is lightning fast compared to a lot of KS projects.
Getting kicked in the nuts is better than being shot with a gun, but given the choice I'd rather avoid both events.
I think I am going to bail on this. If wave shipping becomes a thing I'll reconsider, but a small campaign that looked to provide quick results now looks like it will turn into every other Kickstarter out there with uncertain fulfillment dates.
Congrats to Paulson Games for having a campaign blossom in such a positive way. You don't need my money and I don't need the hassle of dealing with more Kickstarter delays so good luck to everyone involved!
Well, you should definitely only back projects your certain you want to, but saying "it's turning into every other KS with uncertain fulfillment dates" is unfair.
Many KS's get themselves into trouble promising to triple the product line and double what they're sending to backers, somehow without ever noticing that these expansions might take a bit more time.
PG notifying us that the expansion of his product line will take more time should be something to be applauded.
Not to say you should stick it out despite reservations, I just think associating good business practices in the same breath as the bad ones so many companies exhibit does PG's transparency to the backers a serious disservice.
Quick question, are the 4K/5K and 15K stretch goals applicable to the micro armor size?
Also, it might be a good idea to list the 13K goal right up there after 12K, I think at a glance folks might think there's nothing unlocking until 15K, when there is in fact a heavy mech coming at 13K!! (The mech unlocks are listed at the bottom of the page, unlike the other unlocks, so it might not be clear that there is one coming very soon)
Forar wrote: Well, you should definitely only back projects your certain you want to, but saying "it's turning into every other KS with uncertain fulfillment dates" is unfair.
Many KS's get themselves into trouble promising to triple the product line and double what they're sending to backers, somehow without ever noticing that these expansions might take a bit more time.
PG notifying us that the expansion of his product line will take more time should be something to be applauded.
Not to say you should stick it out despite reservations, I just think associating good business practices in the same breath as the bad ones so many companies exhibit does PG's transparency to the backers a serious disservice.
I was waiting for this.
Look, it is my money. I signed on to the campaign because it had a short fulfillment window.
That window now became:
The current delivery estimate is now October-November.
*This may need to be extended further depending on how high funding climbs and if quads are unlocked.
That is rather uncertain in my book.
This isn't a campaign that will miss my $50, and my pulled pledge in no way threatens to derail the campaign. PG's honesty about the increased fulfillment period is great and should be applauded. I did just that. Twice even. But I am now responding to the changing dynamic of the campaign and it is one I no longer want to be a part of. So I reject outright your claim that this is a disservice to PG. If anything it is saving me as a potential customer because PG didn't piss me off with an over-extended Kickstarter (as other companies have done).
As I said, I'm not saying you should stick around. A moved delivery date might change RiTides participation as well. Read my post again, I specifically stated that if you didn't feel this was the project for you, then you shouldn't back it. Don't give me your "it's my money" indignation, I never said otherwise.
But this is something the KS community should embrace.
Not this bullgak about delivering twice as much stuff in the same time.
Palladium Books, I'm looking at you.
Creators should be honest with their backers. Would you rather he have just left it at August and watched the updates roll in as the months went by, nothing a slipping delivery target?
Shouldn't we applaud creators actually planning ahead and recognizing that an expanded product line will probably take longer than the very core releases?
Yup. I think its awesome that Paulson is totally up front.
I also totally get what DT was saying. For him, part of the draw was the quick nature of delivery. That is no longer a draw. Strikes me as a really sane approach, and one I wish I'd taken in previous projects.
What would you like me do for Paulson Games Forar?
I already thanked the company for revealing this change in the schedule. It just so happens to be exactly the kind of change that I wasn't interested in so unfortunately I am taking my money with me and walking. That doesn't change the fact that what PG did was a good thing and I am certain the lack of bad PR that would normally come with delays will be avoided as backers now have plenty of opportunity to weigh their options before the campaign ends. Plus, this set a precedent. People can now point to this campaign and say, "See? That is how schedule changes should be handled."
All good things in my opinion. I don't understand where your concern lies.
Yep, I agree that it's great that Paulson was upfront, and it's much better to manage those expectations now! To be clear, I am staying in the campaign no matter what
But it's better to be clear about it now and only have folks onboard who are willing to wait. As DarkTraveler says, this transparency on Paulson's part actually keeps DarkTraveler from being unhappy with the campaign and preserves him as a later potential customer.
I would have dropped RRT in a heartbeat if they'd been honest in their campaign and be much happier for it. Definitely applaud PG on his communication.
I like the new pledge tiers, but I am disturbed by the lack of quads in them. I am right on the cusp of upping my pledge, bu I want my Tiger and Kodiak!
Also, I'm OK with one shipping wave in Autumn, FWIW.
Unfortunately there's no way to meet the wants of every backer as there's no universal standard. If it's not the shipping, then it's the price or stretch goal freebies involved. Best I can do is say how I intend to proceed with stuff, if it cost me a couple backer there's not much I can do to prevent that. Hopefully the changes I make will make it possible to attract other new backers who have interests more in line with what I can deliver on.
Probably better for us to move to a new line of discussion, imo, and leave that behind
Edit: What about those quads?
I posted a question in the comments about the stretch goals: Am I right in thinking that the 4k, 5k, and 15k are for 15mm scale pledges? The others all specify a scale but these don't, so I think they're 15mm-only but just wanted to check!
I think most of us are, if i'm reading correctly (correct me if i'm wrong RiTides) RT is wanting the lighter stuff early for use in another project too, which is fair enough but I can see why Paulson isn't in a rush to change to wave format for a vocal minority (I think only 2-3 have expressed interest in it?)
paulson games wrote: Unfortunately there's no way to meet the wants of every backer as there's no universal standard. If it's not the shipping, then it's the price or stretch goal freebies involved. Best I can do is say how I intend to proceed with stuff, if it cost me a couple backer there's not much I can do to prevent that. Hopefully the changes I make will make it possible to attract other new backers who have interests more in line with what I can deliver on.
I was curious if you might add a combat patrol level two player tier- something like 2 mediums, four lights, rulebooks, and dice? I'll probably still move my Combat Patrol up to the Total Carnage, but a lower-priced two-player starter might help things along(I know I'd immediately jump up to it at the very least).
DT- Appreciate your leaving it there (and Forar editing, too) as I think the point was made all around.
doc- Yeah, that's why I was asking, but I understand that since Paulson is doing everything himself, it's just not feasible. No big deal for me, I'll adjust my plans accordingly.
And Paulson answered my above question in the comments, those are indeed 15mm stretch goals, which makes sense! They are in fact color coded with a hex blue or a hex green background (green is 15mm related) although it's a little hard to make out, I totally didn't notice that before
Given that most of the stretch goals so far are extra content for free provided to your backers I have to wonder how much these freebies will eat into your budget and possibly your profit margin? I just think it's a bit odd that you are promising more stuff meaning better value to your customers the more customers you have, is it possible that you'll reach some sort of critical mass whereby the more customers you get the less money you have to finish the project?
Automatically Appended Next Post: I still want a Tiger QUAD Mecha for my Neo-Block guys. when will we unlock those bad boys?
Not to speak for PG, but in general it's referred to as "the economy of scale", where making X 'widgets' costs $Y, but making 2X widgets only costs 1.5Y, or some variation thereof.
A great example of this was a friend of mine who got some calendars made for her business.
She could get 300 calendars made for one price, or 1000 made for an extra $3. Once the primary costs of designing and laying out the product were covered, the actual cost per unit was literally fractions of a penny.
Obviously making molds and procuring resin and pewter and whatnot all have costs, but the more backers are in, and the more of each thing he's making, the less each item costs individually as a fraction of that entire process.
And while he clearly wants to at least remain neutral (if not have a little cushioning, because there are always unforeseen costs that creep up), with this as an expansion of his product line to the wider public, it's not just about getting money back from the campaign, but being able to go forth and sell to the interwebs in general, where the cost per unit hopefully continues to plummet until the mold has to be repaired or replaced.
Edit: as for the quads, assuming he follows the same pattern, once we hit 13k and unlock our first heavy, presumably we'll get info on the next ones in the line. He's said a few times that the whole line would unlock around 30k, so hopefully we're nearing the half way mark. And while funding has slowed (but we've made up some of what was lost), I'm hoping the final days are solid all around, and optimistic about the whole thing.
There won't be too many more future freebies, future stretch goals are going to largely be unlockable items. The printed items get cheaper for me by like 20%-30% if I can get them in bulk, same with the magnets. The resin weapon packs don't have a huge cost for me to make it's more of a time trade off of personal time. If I paid somebody to do the casting for me it'd cost more but I can trade some of my personal time to fulfill the weapon pack stretch goals without incurring too much additional cost. However I still need to watch costs carefully, I won't make all sorts of bank on this, I'll make a small amount but the goal is to get all costs of the models mastering paid for and cover molding costs.
After the KS is where I'll hopefully make up on profit, if the game line is established via the kickstarter then it removes start up costs from later items and those that sell are all in the black.
Yeah, make sure you're able to do the project in the black, and keep it up in the longterm future. Doing everything to make a bigger campaign can often create too many issues for a small company.
Have you considered whether there's a fulfillment level where it makes sense to have someone else do the casting?
Maybe somewhere past the 30k mark where some of that funding would be more likely to not be earmarked for something specific already?
And that's good with me, PG. Thanks for the heads up, but I think most of us seem to be on the same page that this isn't going to be one of those campaigns where you start doubling model counts or anything. And that's totally cool by me. Whether I just go in for a couple mechs or give in and snag a handful per faction, it's nice to see a realistic and reasonable creator at the helm, rather than some 'stars in their eyes, a song in their hearts, and no frakking idea what they're doing' project like SOME we know of. >.>
Nice, bit of a surge here in the evening, gained a backer and down to $136 from ticking over the 13k mark, with Heavies starting to come online officially.
Edit: and then Eldarain pushes us over 13k by a hefty margin! Heavies are here, ladies and gentlemen!
I love the look of your mecha Jon. I started down the path of 15mm this last year, and your stuff would make great additions to the ever growing forces of 15mm sci-fi that grace my lead/resin pile.
If I can find a way to finance a buy in before the KS ends, I will try to pick up something from it to help you out.
Oh, maybe you have answered this somewhere else, but do you intend to add any other types of units to the game? Infantry, smaller vehicles etc? Or will the mecha be the only focus of the game for the foreseeable future?
I think there will be rules for other units, but the focus for models this year is on mecha (with the idea being that there are plenty of providers for 15mm tanks/infantry to use, but not mechs that match this style).
ski2060 wrote: Arrggg...! I would love to get in on this KS.
I love the look of your mecha Jon. I started down the path of 15mm this last year, and your stuff would make great additions to the ever growing forces of 15mm sci-fi that grace my lead/resin pile.
If I can find a way to finance a buy in before the KS ends, I will try to pick up something from it to help you out.
Oh, maybe you have answered this somewhere else, but do you intend to add any other types of units to the game? Infantry, smaller vehicles etc? Or will the mecha be the only focus of the game for the foreseeable future?
Yeah, the mecha right now are the stars of the show. So they're priority one. But maybe farther down the line we'll get some other things to mix and match.
There are a bunch of 15mm things out there to use in the meantime. So that's a plus.
Yeah, not to overdo the point, but he mentioned a few days back that this campaign is for mechs alone, but that one for other stuff could happen later, perhaps next year.
Hmm, I guess that's one of the downsides of this 'openness' of this whole crowdfunding thing. Users already get to see what will come out way before it's even produced. Not that strange since the users have also become the investors. Only downside is that things often take time, and with stuff often go so fast, waiting becomes even more frustrating.
RH binned a complete production run because they felt the ball and socket connector was too tight. Rather than just sand the master slightly and roll with it.
I am looking at the kickstarter page and i don't see a Blackfrost light mech. Should there be 1 there? Can I do a light,medium, heavy Blackfrost pledge?
Alpharius:
Rules: Tomorrows War , Gruntz, Critical Mass Games, Stargrunt II, Mechawar/Horizon Wars. Those are just a few of the 15mm rule sets out there.
I have both Tomorrows war and Gruntz. TW is not a points based game, it is usually based on scenarios and can be used for very off balance games.
Gruntz is a rule set that allows you to use any miniature you own on the battlefield. It has the base rules for multiple types of units, and has stat builders that let you put together any models points and field on the table.
Infantry/Vehicles:
Khurasan Miniatures
Rebel Miniatures
Ground Zero Games
Critical Mass Games
ACP Games
Ravenstar Miniatures
Those are a few that will give you a ton of options. Probably Dozens of lines of infantry and vehicles in 15mm scale to choose from.
Still settling over 15K (at 14.9K at the moment) but yes, nearly there! And out of stretch goals, which is great. I'd like to see where the Neo-Bloc heavy will unlock (16K, since the prior heavy unlocked at 13K?).
Also, we were actually over 15k for a while there, but it looks like we lost a backer and around $60 of their cash, but that's how 'the slump' is in KS campaigns. It'll waffle for the next week'ish and then hopefully the last few days will be amazing.
That, and Kicktraq says we're up almost a grand today, so we're still plugging along at a pretty good pace, given that there are just under 10 more to go.
In fairness once the new 6mm tiers are up there will likely be an influx. I'm currently sat at the Mini me tier till I see whats what and I doubt i'm the only one.
Ah, that's how it often is with KS's. PG is known around here, so there's probably a bigger bump than there might've been under other circumstances, then there's the waffling middle, though steady progress is still being made.
The real question will be just how solid the final crush is. Sometimes it's just a continuation of the middle, but due to the "remind me when there's 48 hours left" feature of KS, the last two days are (in my experience) a significant spike in funds as people who glanced at the project in the early days and then promptly ignored it check back in, see all the stuff we've unlocked, and have 2 days or less to determine if they're going to pledge and for how much. The 'ticking clock' element often snags a good chunk of change for the creator.
I mean, you probably know this, just laying it out there because we've had some people comment about it being their first Kickstarter, and newer backers often get a bit fidgety when the middle days/weeks aren't as productive as the initial ones.
Edit: not sure when it went up, but the Blackwolf has been marked for 18k, so we're only 3k off from that, or hopefully 3-4 days if we maintain around the 750-1k/day rate. That'd leave 6 days in the campaign, so if we can snag the Wendigo by the time the 48 hour emails go out, all those eyes looking at the campaign will have the Lights, Mediums and Heavies to drool over.
There's also a new 17k stretch goal for alternate Hardcover book covers that's a "KS and Convention" exclusive! OH NOES! PG is falling to the dark side!!
I kid, I kid, that's about as unobtrusive a KS/Con exclusive as you can have.
It went up a bit ago. I was hoping for 3k for each for the heavies and then probably closer to 5.5k for each quad since he said it was around 30k to get everything already posted. No worries though. Just hoping we get those quads so I can throw more money at him. Honestly I was hoping for everything, light to quad for all factions (minus the light for the Canadians since there isn't one currently).
Personally, I hope the quads aren't quite reached, because I know those will be quite complex to produce, as well as expensive. Maybe they can be their own campaign, as well as another faction?
I fell we're lucky enough to have reached as far as we are likely to go. Anything else is really just icing on the cake and it should help Paulson Games, I feel, not add to the load.
The quads are difficult as they are huge signature pieces for the game, but they are going to be really pricey to have printed and will require a significant amount of additional 3d time compared to the other mecha. I certainly want to do them but it's mixed with a slight bit of anticipation as they are going to be a size very few companies offer pieces in. They will be a pretty awesome piece but the will be a lot of work to create he initial models for.
I do have a target for them which isn't going to be low as they are the final carrots, and I don't want to offer them at too low of a funding goal considering the amount of work involved with them. I'm very happy with how the KS has progressed so even if funding were to freeze where it currently is I'd still be incredibly happy.
Even though I'm unsure whether or not I'll even be getting any, I do hope for consistencies sake and to open up the Black Frost a little, that we at least get the next two Heavies. 8 mechs broken down between 2 lights, 3 mediums and 3 heavies seems like a good spread for variety.
BobtheInquisitor wrote: I'm pretty much using WGF 15mm WW2 figures for infantry and Proxie Models' 15mm tanks and artillery for tanks and artillery.
Huh?
Links, please!
WGF has plastic 15mm Germans and Americans on sale right now. I'm just using WGF's WW2 Germans for Imperial Guard-alikes because I love plastic and I'm lazy. At the 15mm scale, I don't feel they need any conversion to look like a Sci-Fi force--just walkers!
Huh, I find it odd that people would be fluctuating that much on a small campaign like this, but maybe they were counting on quads and are adjusting for the fact that they might not make it in?
I agree that just unlocking all 3 heavies would be great for this, and make the fulfillment timeline reasonable. If you do a separate kickstarter just for quads at the end of the year / after this fulfills, I'll likely be in it
Well if the quads don't unlock then I'm pretty much done for the campaign. I'll add in the two additional heavies in anticipation and a few weapon packs and just set the remind for 48 hours to see if anything changes
Oh, it happens all the time. People have second thoughts, get cold feet, have a large expense pop up (car trouble, discover they need to move in the near future, medical expense, etc) and simply can't justify the cash.
Granted, it's obviously more common in larger campaigns (more people), but that also hides it (more people filling in the holes faster than they open).
Wyrd's RPG campaign early last year was (I think) 45 days long, and in the middle there were days it was losing several backers and thousands of dollars in a clump (as in, significantly more people were leaving than were those replacing them). It got... ugly.
Yeah, but that was also due to the way Wyrd ran that campaign, iirc! Hopefully this ticks up slowly the next few days, and gets those last two heavies unlocked, and call it a wrap
It's kind of weird getting individual updates on the status of the pledges, it's good to see somebody adjusting the totals sometimes upping the amount or cancelling them entering in a new pledge. But when people cancel a pledge completely with no return it does make me a wonder a bit why and if there was something that could have been fixed or addressed. It's only been a few backers, so I don't let it bug me too much as we're still climbing but if I saw lot of pledges withdrawing at once I'd want to know what was causing all the drops.
I'd bet honestly part of it is that it looks extremely unlikely that we'll see the quads in this. Which is fine but the Quad is what is being shown at the top of the KS and on the covers of rulebooks and such which might make it a bit of a downer looking at it and realizing it's not to likely.
Also part of it, not meaning any offense, might be the technical issues that seem to have plagued you regarding the actual layout of the kickstarter. Or the lack of knowing other stuff is there to be unlocked but the goal to get there is unclear. Or it could have been expecting the heavies to be 3-4k for the unlock and getting 5k. Lots of reasons, all of them valid to an individual. I would take it lightly unless people start bailing like crazy.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Or not getting the large micro armor pledges up *Hint*Hint*
It could be a timeline issue, as well (the original dates slipping due to later unlocks). All sorts of reasons, but like Hulk says, I wouldn't worry too much atm.
I do think having some assurance about whether it's possible NorAm could have a heavy while the other faction didn't, for example, might help, though.
Something that I've been a bit unclear on (and it might be due to my own personal thickness here); when we choose a mech, do we also pick its configuration?
Which is to say, do all of them come as A's and the extra weapon packs let us pick B's and C's? Or do we simply pick whatever we liked, so if I were to grab a Micro Armor Support Squad (2 6mm Mediums) I could snag a Lynx B, an Osprey C, and use the stretch goal unlocked free weapon pack on an A for one of them?
Just curious if the A's are the defaults, or there is no default and all choices are made later? The need to unlock the other configurations made me think it might be the former, but with most of them available now, I'm curious if it's the latter, at least for those available with all options (which might not hold up if we just get to the Quads at the end, for example)?
The pledge tiers are a bit effed up but that's largely due to trying to manage both scales in the KS. I'll have the two micro armor ones going up later today and I think that will be the last of them as it's already overly complicated, but there's not much I can do about it at this point as I can't modify any of the tiers that have backers on them. (which is pretty much all of them save the painted tier)
Oh, another aspect to keep in mind is other products and kickstarters. Even during a short run like this one, other campaigns will start, or the deal will sweeten to the point a person has to choose between $ for this or $ for another campaign that caught their eye, or a new release at a store, or a sale that has popped up, etc.
Just to add to the other list given earlier of possible reasons for changes or dropping. It's very common to see the matter discussed in comments. "Oh, I was in for $200 in Campaign X, but think I might have to drop to $50 or even pull out entirely because Campaign Y just launched, and Campaign Z just broke a couple of stretch goals in their last hours and I've gotta get me some of that!"
Creature caster just opened up so maybe a couple pledgers switched to that. (We dropped almost $400 from last night) No worries as it was only two backers, I'm sure others will come in to replace those pledges.
You pick the mecha load out you want. When the question form releases after the KS closes you'll pick the mecha type you want and what configuration of weapons you want it to come with.
The Mecha Front webstore is offline for the duration of the KS, but the WIP rules are available for people who want to take a look at them. Please keep in mind that these are still a very early version and are a couple months old at this point. I've made a large number of revisions since then as I'm currently working on the 1.5 version, but the 1.4 rules should give you an idea of how the basic game play and mechanics work.
6mm weapon packs are also up. They're a good deal for medium or heavy weapons, but not quite as good for light (since they're all $4... meaning the light weapons pack is the same cost in 6mm and 15mm! Although the others are cheaper than their 15mm counterparts).
The scale is off a bit, I made the cut outs early last year before I'd dialed in the sizes for all the models. (The models are quite a bit larger). They should work ok for play testing, but they aren't a perfect match in terms of actual heights.
Okay, good. I thought they were a bit weedy. If it's not too much trouble, could you give (more or less) precise heights on the eight models in those documents? I can't quite find any of that on the KS page. (aside from comparison pics which are fine, but not terribly precise to gauge size from!)
Current models; the Raptor is 65mm, the Goshawk is 70mm, Lynx is 80mm.
Osprey should be around 83mm, Cougar 80mm, Wolverine 90mm, Blackwolf 92mm, Wendigo 95mm. Quads I don't remember the height offhand as they've grown several times.
I would say it'd be better (from a gameplay and price standpoint) not to go above a 120mm base in size... I mean, that's already going to be a Much larger footprint than any of the other mechs. It shouldn't be so large that it becomes unusable in any practical sense! 120mm is massive but generally accepted due to Privateer Press clearing the path for them
Yeah, me too. I know they hare the poster boys of destruction and all things good in Mecha Front, but the amount of work they need to become a reality is just too much for me to bear. And if they don,t make it in, maybe we can get DarkTraveler back into the campaign.
Jon, this is going to seem like a silly question. But indulge me as being a Canadian. AFTER you have installed a proper hood in your basement, would someone pledging strictly for mecha that you have designs for, or say the Osprey on top, get their stuff as soon as it is available, or would you keep it to a single big happy trip to your local Post Office?
Finally got a good read through of the rules. A very solid rules set with some interesting initiative mechanics using cards and pilot skill.
I'm in for 15mm as soon as some funds free up this week.
I was going to do 6mm, but all my friends wanted 15mm as soon as they saw giant stompy robots. It's probably for the best too since we tend to play combined arms. 15mm infantry, tanks, and terrain are easier to find.
Mathieu: Everything will go out at roughly the same time, even if it's stuff that's finished sooner then the heavier mecha. Doing one batch keeps everything simpler and doesn't jam up my workflow. Smaller order may go out a few days ahead of the bigger stuff simply because they are quicker to process, but it'd only be a matter of a few days difference.
Just posted an update the larger micro armor tiers are up and they should be the last of the tiers as that side bar is really cluttered, hopefully it's no too confusing but such is the price of offering 2 scales.
To reduce confusion you could do up a simple infographic explaining what it all is.
Seperate it into 3 strips say:
one for the 15mm stuff, explaining what each of those are and how they work,
one for the 6mm stuff, explaining what each of those are and how they work,
then one for mixed / other and what those are and how they work.
Can't wait to get my hands on that sexy Wolverine...
I understand about the shipping. Just make sure you clear the day. I heard you need to fill out everything in front of the clerk for international orders?
As long as it's under a certain weight (I believe 4 pounds) the international shipping form is pretty easy (and doesn't have to be done at the post office, just FYI Mathieu). I've done this wayyyy too many times (although probably not as much as paulson has!)
Each units of 5 infantry is mounted on a single base , I've been using on a 60mm base, (although a 40mm would work just as well). APCs and VTOLs use a 60mm base.
(there's two units of infantry per squad, so two bases per squad)
Round bases for infantry? Okay. Hmm, would 40x30mm rectangular bases cause issues/undue advantages in somewhat casual play? It's what my CMG stuff was supplied with and it seems not to be *too* far off from the 40mm you mention - also, it's a lot less bulky when stored!
On infantry the base sizes aren't really a priority so long as everything remains in a group. Infantry always act as a squad and never run around individually. For 6mm infantry I'd likely use a 25mm or 30mm base simply as it's a little bit less fiddly, 6mm mecha and vehicles will be on a 40mm base as a default. I have a ton of 30mm plastic bases from proxie miniatures so those will probably be what I use as my default. Not really particular on what the base sizes are so long as the mecha and other vehicles have a standardized set. As long as you are in agreement with your opponent feel free to use any bases you want.
Okay that makes sense. Don't know if you do much 6mm gaming though, but 40mm bases on vehicles EAT them in terms of space usually. I have some based on 20mm two pence coins and they fit nicely with a bit of room to spare. Just a heads up!
Well done! Seems like it may stay a bit flat then tick up at the end, same thing just happened with the Impact Kickstarter. As long as at least the other heavy is unlocked (preferably both) it should be fine from a playability standpoint.
doc1234 wrote: Okay that makes sense. Don't know if you do much 6mm gaming though, but 40mm bases on vehicles EAT them in terms of space usually. I have some based on 20mm two pence coins and they fit nicely with a bit of room to spare. Just a heads up!
I think the key to getting more dollars and keeping more dollars is having three factions "fully buyable" in this KS. I'm not including the quads in that category but Wendigo and especially the Blackwolf are essential. I think the Blackwolf is reasonably within reach considering a last day bump. I hope the Wendigo is/will be, too.
Not sure what your link has to do with it, but that does sound fairly interestng. What are the faction allegiances anyway? Is it mostly a free-for-all, or what? Neo-Bloc vs NorAm obviously, but how does Blackfrost fit in?
It's just a thing talking about what would happen if a giant portal showed up on the bottom of the ocean and started draining out all the water (see: Pacific Rim) and how little the impact would be due to the simply staggering amount of water on the planet.
And while he's going over that, apparently the Netherlands become a rampaging force claiming territory across the planet.
Yeah. The current efforts are aimed at funding the next 2 Heavy mechs (the light and medium mechs are good to go). The quads are past the Heavies, and will take some pretty significant funding levels to achieve.
Definitely not impossible, if nothing else you should checkmark the "remind me" star on the campaign and check in during the final days. Hopefully, like many other campaigns, the last few days will be good and spicy in terms of backer and funding numbers, and who knows what might happen then.
well I have upped my pledge to its final level after sitting down and doing some maths with my shopping list to $258 using the £130 pledge then adding: a mini dex, dice pack, 15mm faction deck, light Mecha X3, light weapon Pack X2 and medium weapon pack X2... that should keep me going until you finish the quads Paulson.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Should I add another $50 in the hopes that we unlock the quads? (20 for lights, 30 for mediums, 40 for heavies if the trend continues $50 should cover the quad Mecha)
thinking about it I can update my pledge using the questionnaire after the campaign is over but that will mean I haven't helped toward the quads......
Forar wrote: Yeah. The current efforts are aimed at funding the next 2 Heavy mechs (the light and medium mechs are good to go). The quads are past the Heavies, and will take some pretty significant funding levels to achieve.
Definitely not impossible, if nothing else you should checkmark the "remind me" star on the campaign and check in during the final days. Hopefully, like many other campaigns, the last few days will be good and spicy in terms of backer and funding numbers, and who knows what might happen then.
I really hope we hit the 18K mark, or I might need to change my pledge at the last moment. I'm in for the $200 6mm package, but that is kind of reliant on being able to get a heavy of each faction.
Yup, a second Heavy is what i'm waiting for. If they don't it'll just mean bumping up two of the Combat patrols and making do fiddling with addons, but eh.
I've noticed this before in campaigns and sometimes it can be a bit of a "chicken and egg" situation. People are hesitant to pledge until an option is unlocked, but it's not unlocked till they pledge!
I am not meaning to make this comparison too often, but Mark from Dreamforge did end up unlocking / moving down some stretches to this end. I think it can sometimes result in a higher end total, but it is a risk on the part of the creator to hope that by unlocking something, the pledges will take the total to where it really needed to be, anyway.
True, and while I will normally encourage people waiting for specific SG's to unlock to just pledge and HELP them get unlocked, in this case a lot of the tier levels are tied to the SG (Heavies at least). As much as I love the currently unlocked heavy, I don't need two in the two player set.
Yup. Usually I wait until the end, but in this case, I upped my pledge preemptively, trying to help the project get to the 18k mark. I'm really liking the look of the models and the rules, and I'm accumulating a bunch of Dropzone terrain (and figures), and from the pics the Mecha front figures seem to work really well with the DZC terrain.
I think a lot of people are re-adjusting their pledges as a lot of the notices have shown them altering totals, some higher, some lower which is mostly using the new 6mm pledge tiers. I suspect it will even out before we enter the final 48 hours. It's very unlikely I'll alter any of the unlock pricing at this stage as I need to raise a set amount before those can be available otherwise I may end up taking a hit by tryingt to produce them before the funding reaches the required level. Particuarly since the 6mm stuff is largely being supported by the 15mm models, they account for about 20% of the pledges but take up slightly more half the project costs.
Of course our mechs have the wooden clog option and are windmill powered, the crew will not do much because they are always high on weed! and use a orange cameo paint!
I wonder if it's some sort of hypnotic suggestion but the only part I remember from Disneyland's "It's a Small World" ride are the Dutch kids with the windmills and their clogs.
I suspect it's secret subliminal mental imprinting to prepare us for a total world domination bid by the Netherlands.
Maybe. Depends on how good those last few days are.
Seeing the backer funding pledged in the first few days, it's not impossible, but I'm not expecting it either.
Mostly hoping for 1 or 2 more heavies. Anything more would be gravy. And I'm not even sure I'll be getting many heavies myself, just be nice to see the line expand significantly across the campaign.
"Camo, Karen? Really? You do realize this thing shows up on Radar from a continent away and has a heat signature that can be seen with the naked eye, right?"
Yeah, there's been a bit of a stall, but that just makes me all the more grateful that he went for a short 2.5 week or so campaign.
Imagine if this had to drag out over another 2 weeks or more?
Getting the mediums unlocked and a heavy is a start, I too remain hopefully for another heavy or two in the final days, but this seems like an excellent start for a reasonably scaled campaign. No promising the moon and stars, no BS (that we're aware of... yet.... ;-) ), glad to see a member of the community doing well.
Original funding goal was $3,000 and we're currently 5 times that amount. So even if there's not a drop of additional funding I'll consider that a success. Like most kickstarters things tend to stall out in the middle and will pick up some more movement in the last two days.
Wedigo will unlock at 22-23k depending on how the backing goes.
Agreed that it's done VERY well regardless, but seeing as the Wendigo may not be seen let alone the Blackfrost light, it's a shame :I would have very much liked them as one of the two starter forces XD ah well c'est la vie, the NeoBloc light will just have to grow on me
paulson games wrote: Original funding goal was $3,000 and we're currently 5 times that amount. So even if there's not a drop of additional funding I'll consider that a success. Like most kickstarters things tend to stall out in the middle and will pick up some more movement in the last two days.
Wedigo will unlock at 22-23k depending on how the backing goes.
Since IMO that's unlikely to hit (not being negative, just trying to be realistic) can you give a preliminary non-binding ETA on when you'd be able to have the Wendigo and/or the rest of the Heavies done?
I'm guessing December at the earliest, but I figured I'd ask. No offense taken if you tell me to shove it.
Yeah, that's the issue here, which makes more unlocks a double-edged sword. I'm hoping for you guys' sake that at least the other main faction heavy unlocks (Neo-Bloc) and the Blackfrost heavy would be ideal. But, I would really like to not have another Kickstarter which doesn't deliver in the calendar year I paid for it in!
I'm just pledging for some light mechs but the more you guys unlock the longer it will take to get my stuff . So, I'm torn, but I am rooting for you to get those heavies.
I'm not saying I want the KS delivery pushed back. At all.
I just really only want one faction (for now) and love the Blackfrost aesthetic. But fielding a bunch of Mediums for a faction that likes heavier mechs is ... unsatisfying. Just trying to look forward to a timeline when I'd be able to complete my force.
Ideally we can make it to some Blackfrost unlocks. I'll still be happy with unlocking everything for the other factions except the Quads if we fall short.
It seems to me like, at least for the moment, it makes sense for the Blackfrost to not have a light or a Quad.
They are a merc group being backed by a very large company. Wealthy, yes, but not a government. They also don't seem to be in an expansion phase, just defending their current holdings and not directly in conflict with other powers (Neo-Bloc seems to be doing a dandy job of distracting Nor-Am). This makes the need for a light recon mecha a lower priority.
Being backed by a company, not a government seems to imply that they wouldnt' have the resources or R&D budget to support/design their own Quad; and the power of a Quad makes it unlikely that a government would be supplying these to external sources (other than black market).
I'm in the party that even if they had a light, i'd still use Hunter-Killer style VTOLs for blackfrost. I just agree having 70% of a two player set being NorAm and then 2 or 3 blackfrost mediums is a little sad :I
paulson games wrote: I wonder if it's some sort of hypnotic suggestion but the only part I remember from Disneyland's "It's a Small World" ride are the Dutch kids with the windmills and their clogs.
I suspect it's secret subliminal mental imprinting to prepare us for a total world domination bid by the Netherlands.
When i buy the retail version, i am sure to make a red light district squad.
What you think we put in our weed we sell to those foreigners, Dutch MK ultra!
I'm sure I've missed it somewhere in the thread. Has there been any talk of what the Mecha will be going for at retail after the kickstarter is finished?
I'd like to get some of these, but it's a bit rough on the timing right now. Since the KS is financed by a good amount, I know they will be eventually coming out.
Will there be much of a difference in price/value getting in on the kickstarter for a couple of mecha, versus just waiting until later for them.
The 15mm mecha are individually priced at $5 less then the normal retail versions will be, so roughly 15-20% off. IN addition to the discounted models, some of the package deals/pledge tiers save you an additional $15-$60 depending on the level and rewards like books & weapon packs etc.
Really sad to see that the quads most likely won't make it. That's what I really like the look of. And what I want the most of. If we don't hit quads I'll have to pull out. I'm really really sad about this.
Griffen127 I understand your frustration about not recieving your quad mecha right away but if you plan to collect this game I assume your not going to have the quad as the only mecha in your garage. so if you continue your current funding you will recieve your pledge reward and have a couple of months to practice whilst waiting on the Quad to be released.
There will be an option to upgrade the books, will have it posted shortly.
The Quads are still possible to unlock, but we have a ways to go before they are available. I'd love to unlock them now, but doing so without the proper funding would put the campaign into the red as they are going to be very costly models to produce. There's a target I need to hit in order to make them available, if we don't hit it they will need to wait for a later kickstarter not much I can do about that.
Because the pledge bar is a complete mess Here's a map for the Micro Armor Pledge Tiers:
We can add funds after the kickstarter ends right? Just wanna confirm again. Had to drop my pledge but still wanna get stuff so I'd go back in for a small pledge since I'll have the money again to go decently big here in the next two weeks.
Yes you'll be able to add to the pledges in the manager stage, however funds raised after the last day of the KS won't count towards unlocking any new stretch goals or funding level unlocks.
Ok, might have found some funding. So... I'm interested in the Blackfrost stuff (gotta play the money grubbing mercs/corp).
Any idea what level the BF Heavy will unlock at? Or is it a case at this point of it coming out later in retail.
I'm looking at the 2x Medium pledge, but may be able to scrape enough to pick up a heavy, or maybe 2 lights and 2 mediums.
Trying to figure out what the best course for me will be. Some stuff to use for myself (in Mechafront and otehr 15mm games), or get enough to start the game demoing with 2 factions.
Decisions, Decisions...
Edit: I see no Faction deck for the Blackfrost mecha. Is this something you plan on introducing at a later date, or are the cards only going to be included with each individual model?
Edit: hell, we're $218 (over 3/4 of the way) to 17k! Which unlocks the alternate covers for the hardcover rulesbooks, and even better, puts us a mere 1k away from the 6mm and 15mm Blackwolf Heavy mech!
Hopefully we can make that happen in the next 21 hours or so. Not an easy task necessarily, but it'd sure be nice to go into the last 48 with 2 heavies available and a third on the docket.
Sadly I've had to trim my pledge a little (back down to a Micro Support for now), as I'll have some unexpected expenses looming for the next month or two, but I'll be cheering the campaign on all the same!
Well, I think I've successfully found funding for my own pledge, but my budget is probably limited to $100-$120 US. I am more interested in the BlackFrost mecha, but there is only one available right now, and I'd like to get the most bang for my buck.
I'm considering pledging for the Support squad level, and getting 2 Cougars plus either a Mini-Dex or softback rulebook.. But that would leave me with no OpFor to game against.
Also, Blackfrost doesn't have a Card Deck at this time either.. so I don't know what configurations they're capable of really.
So.. Suggestions on a 15mm loadout of mecha centered on BlackFrost that would allow me to introduce people to the game?
Can you take allies in games.. say Nor-Am/Blackfrost against Neo-Bloc ?
I have 15mm infantry and vehicles I could proxy in to use for either side. I guess I could take 2 Cougars, and get 2 Neo-Bloc lights +mini-dex. then add some infantry and such to even out sides for demo games.
I really hope we maintain this new surge. Having everything short of the Quads unlocked for the 2 more developed factions will bode well for the last few days.
doc1234 wrote: Why are there two seperate blackfrost decks? And when does the BF light come in if thats still a thing?
2 different scales, same as the other decks.
BF light is still hiding, not sure if it'll be offered or not. It won't happen until after the heavy is unlocked.
We're now closing on 18k, the best way to get the Blackfrost heavy is to put in your pledges as though it were unlocked which will help boost the funding level. It if looks like it'll fall short you can always pull the pledge before close. Everyone sitting out on the side until it unlocks makes it less likely to happen, there could be 2-3k of pledges waiting on the BF mecha which could fund the goal but if they stay out of the pool it's a lot harder to get there.
Busy day, funding climbed almost $2,500 in less then 18 hours New stretch goals and the Blackwolf is now unlocked, now we're headed towards unlocking the Wendigo.
Sorry, I have another question that I don't think I've seen answered.
Will the unlocked stretch goal light weapon packs be of any use to someone that is only pledging for medium or heavy mechs?
I thought I saw that you were thinking of a hardpoint system that would allow mecha to use weapons of a size class smaller than their weight class. Is that still something in the game, or was it phased out in the rules for the current multiple configurations?
If so, do you have any plans for people that are only pledging for mediums and heavies to trade in their weapon packs for others?
If I am reading tiers correctly, anything above the light mecha tier gets stretch goal light weapon packs (2 or 3 so far). If I only pledge for mediums and a heavy, will those still be included?
The unlocked light weapon stretch goals apply to the medium level tier. In the construction rules you can raise or lower your weapon's weight class by one rank so light weapons can be used on medium class mecha. By dropping to a lighter class you get a pair of linked weapons rather then a single light weapon. If you only get medium class mecha you can always use the free stretch goal light weapon packs as conversion fodder.
Yeah, from what I understand with Kickstarter, when someone adjusts their pledge, the system basically zeroes out the original one until the new one is verified. It usually only takes a few moments to happen, but for that period of time, it can seem like a major dip if that person has contributed significantly.
Or some people might be rethinking things in the final hours. Shouldn't be a problem, those 48 hour remaining emails go out in around 7 hours, by my count, which will hopefully get some more people to look back/finally give into their impulses for awesome mechs.
So, just to be clear - the difference between 2x Micro Armor Assault Force and the Micro Armor Carnage is basically the 20 dice (Carnage), and a soft-dex and mini-dex (Carnage) vs 2x mini-dex' (Assault Force). Is there any other difference I'm missing?
So, just to be clear - the difference between 2x Micro Armor Assault Force and the Micro Armor Carnage is basically the 20 dice (Carnage), and a soft-dex and mini-dex (Carnage) vs 2x mini-dex' (Assault Force). Is there any other difference I'm missing?
i think the amount of SGs you get is different? Pretty much just that i think though.
Necros, I don't think realistically quads can make it in. The real hope is for the Wendigo to unlock. I think Paulson had said 22-23K, but I'm hoping it's on the low end there (22K?) as it could inspire a bit of last minute pledging.
The total looks good though and I'm stoked the Neo-Bloc heavy unlocked (or basically, not sure if it's done fluctuating). Getting the Wendigo in would mean everything is in except the Quads, which honestly deserve their own campaign later on
So, just to be clear - the difference between 2x Micro Armor Assault Force and the Micro Armor Carnage is basically the 20 dice (Carnage), and a soft-dex and mini-dex (Carnage) vs 2x mini-dex' (Assault Force). Is there any other difference I'm missing?
i think the amount of SGs you get is different? Pretty much just that i think though.
I don't think so. The Micro Carnage level says 4x of each unlocked micro stretch goal, and the Micro Assault Force level says 2x of each unlocked stretch goal, so 2 of those should net 4x of each unlocked stretch goal.
So, just to be clear - the difference between 2x Micro Armor Assault Force and the Micro Armor Carnage is basically the 20 dice (Carnage), and a soft-dex and mini-dex (Carnage) vs 2x mini-dex' (Assault Force). Is there any other difference I'm missing?
i think the amount of SGs you get is different? Pretty much just that i think though.
I don't think so. The Micro Carnage level says 4x of each unlocked micro stretch goal, and the Micro Assault Force level says 2x of each unlocked stretch goal, so 2 of those should net 4x of each unlocked stretch goal.
May just be the dice and rulebook upgrade then. Huh.
I wish we could hit 40k and have 3 full factions including quads. But I'd still be pretty happy at 33k. Don't think it's going to happen needing 15k (so basically doubling the total) in the next 48 hours but crazier stuff has happened.
Good lord i'm curious how big those quads are now. Can't remember the last time I saw ANYTHING in microarmour at $50! Then again, even the heavies seem like they'll be fairly large, I forsee the quads having a good bit of weight to them in metal.
Had I posted them up 3-4 days ago people would have complained that they'd be impossible to reach, but yesterday's jump shows that it's entirely possible. A large part of Ks is successful staging, if you dump everything out upfront it doesn't convey the same tension and excitement and there's not as strong of a sense of satisfaction when goals are reached.
Beyond the BF stuff I still have another 4 designs I can use which I'll reveal if it looks like we're getting close to $40k.
The quads in microarmor scale are going to take up a 90mm base, they are pretty huge.
The 15mm ones won't even fit on a base as the largest bases I can get re 120mm and they are going to likely need a 160-180mm footprint.
doc1234 wrote: Good lord i'm curious how big those quads are now. Can't remember the last time I saw ANYTHING in microarmour at $50! Then again, even the heavies seem like they'll be fairly large, I forsee the quads having a good bit of weight to them in metal.
Here's a shot of the NorAm quad with other minis for scale:
I was gonna say at that price point they are still fine as that's not much more than Warlords were from GW when they were doing Epic and it's going to be much, much larger.
When I was modeling the first light mecha the scale crept up a bit, the prints were a good 10-15% larger then the paper cardstock proxies, but that was good as they came out huge and awesome. But as a result all the other mecha had to be pushed up in scale a bit too.
The 15mms quad were originally going to fit on a 120mm base but now they are another 15% or so larger and no longer fit. They are likely going to be one of the largest production models available for anything in 15mm, or even most 28mm lines as they will be a bigger then Privateer's colossals. They'll still be smaller then FW's titans, but Titan's are like 3-4 times the price.
When they go to retail the 15mm quads will likely be $150, the 6mm versions will likely be $65-$70
Nah, its a Japanese force, and its almost all Lights. The Hikari is a transformable mech, goes from flyer to walker; and the Golg is a walker with a rounded body. Both feature larger then average amounts of missiles in their Loadouts.
I hear Jon is already 98% done with their designs.
Nah, its a Japanese force, and its almost all Lights. The Hikari is a transformable mech, goes from flyer to walker; and the Golg is a walker with a rounded body. Both feature larger then average amounts of missiles in their Loadouts.
I hear Jon is already 98% done with their designs.
And they're going to be molded, cast, and shipped before GenCon. Rumors are that they are completely seamless.
I hear Jon is already 98% done with their designs.
lol if we're using the PB standard then I'm 180% finished
The designs are for scout versions of the NorAm and Neo-Bloc lights and mediums. Currently they are just in the rough sketch stage and don't even have a basic 3d framework in place same with the BF light and Quad which is why they are the last ones to be shown as they aren't even close to worked on yet.
All the other Mecha are at least roughed out in 3d, but still need a ton of work to be done. It's going to be a couple very busy months before I have the medium and heavy models print ready.
okay the average pledge amount is approximately $135 so to get 33K we need to find around 100 more backers... spread the word peeps thats not a huge number....
- 20 for dice
- 20 for faction decks
- 10 for the mini-rules
- 20 for the standard rules
- 35 for 5 L-weapon packs
- 40 for 4 M-weapon packs
That leaves you 195 USD for twelve 15mm miniatures, or 16.25 USD each.
And that's before considering magnet costs, considering how many magnets comes with this.
It really is a great deal. I couldn't help but move up to it. Now I've got visions of a third faction dancing in my head...
mullet_steve wrote: okay the average pledge amount is approximately $135 so to get 33K we need to find around 100 more backers... spread the word peeps thats not a huge number....
I think if we can get those on Facebook to share his latest post we could get a nice boost here at the end.
https://www.facebook.com/MechaFront
Yeah, I'm in the same situation- this is a darn tight month. Like a few people had posted earlier, I had to dial my pledge back, but am still hoping I might be able to bring it back up in the pledge manager.
Very hopeful for a strong finish to unlock that Wendigo!
Yep, that's what I'm looking forward to.
If we get it that will cement my pledge at
2x Cougar, 1x Wendigo, 1x BF Faction Deck, and 1x Mini-Dex.
Maybe a Limited hardback if I can find an additional $20 floating around somewhere.
That kinda kills any kind of OpFor for me to use until after the KS delivers and I can get a few things in retail, or convince anyone I game against to buy into it.
Automatically Appended Next Post: @ Zond: Go for it! i believe Jon said he would like to do some kind of campaign/advancement system at some point in the future.
Maybe a Scenario book with new units and avancement system, where your initial units all start as Regulars and work their way up to Aces.
You could start off with a minimal point cost mecha, and use advancement points to buy into new armament or chassis for your pilots.
Saying that, what're the plans stat wise? Will the Blackfrost be any more "elite" than the two others forces considering they lack any recon mecha elements?
It's not currently in the playtest rules but each force will have a faction benefit. Blackfrost will have a reduced cost for experienced pilots if their force build is structured with the med & heavies only build.
The quads are going to be solid casts, I'm not set up to do rotocasting for hollow parts.
doc1234 wrote: Saying that, what're the plans stat wise? Will the Blackfrost be any more "elite" than the two others forces considering they lack any recon mecha elements?
IIRC you can already tell they are more elite if you look at their weapon options. They usually get more/"better" weapons in the same slots.
Actually- They seem pretty even now that I look at them again. Guess I recalled incorrectly.
Back over 19K! Unfortunately without my help, but it did it anyway
The longer lead time combined with not quite getting to the quads leaves this at a point where it's hard for me to commit to it... But wishing you guys all the best here in the final push for the last heavy mecha.
- 20 for dice
- 20 for faction decks
- 10 for the mini-rules
- 20 for the standard rules
- 35 for 5 L-weapon packs
- 40 for 4 M-weapon packs
That leaves you 195 USD for twelve 15mm miniatures, or 16.25 USD each.
And that's before considering magnet costs, considering how many magnets comes with this.
alright alright no need to break my arm I already upped my pledge to $340 plus shipping, jeez...
but it's going to be a long time till I can afford a pair of quads like I want
Gah!!! I realized yesterday as I went to pledge that my wallet was gone. Found it, but my credit cards aren't there :( this makes me one sad panda, as I finally convinced the wife that it was worth going in at the 340 mark, but I won't get a replacement card number for a week or two.
So two questions: If we pledge 1 dollar can we up that to 340 when the sheets are sent out (which will obviously not affect the total as far as unlocking goes, but I can't help that at this point)
and the second: if we pledge at the 340 lvl, but are wanting NorAm and Blackfrost, is there any way to replace 3 of the lights with 2 mediums? (thinking of Blackfrost with that question obviously).
It's my understanding that Amazon takes roughly 2 weeks to collect the funds before handing them over to the creator, in order to give backers time to fix any issues that might have arisen, to help with such situations.
Ahh well, if we don't hit the Wendigo, I'll still be getting one at some point later.
Counting down the days.. 5 more payments on my vehicle, then I'll have extra money each month for stuff like this.
Jon, Any chance on Unit or Army packages once your stuff goes to retail?
If we hit the Wendigo I'll be picking it up along with 2 of the Mediums, a deck, and a rulebook.
No OpFor for my force, but I'll just proxy in some of my other mecha from other games if needs be.
Come on September! Daddy needs more money for games!
Oh hey, after you've poured all your cash into 15mm smashy shooty robits, take a breather for a month and then take a look at this one that just popped up today
NTRabbit wrote: Oh hey, after you've poured all your cash into 15mm smashy shooty robits, take a breather for a month and then take a look at this one that just popped up today
Abraxus wrote: Gah!!! I realized yesterday as I went to pledge that my wallet was gone. Found it, but my credit cards aren't there :( this makes me one sad panda, as I finally convinced the wife that it was worth going in at the 340 mark, but I won't get a replacement card number for a week or two.
So two questions: If we pledge 1 dollar can we up that to 340 when the sheets are sent out (which will obviously not affect the total as far as unlocking goes, but I can't help that at this point)
and the second: if we pledge at the 340 lvl, but are wanting NorAm and Blackfrost, is there any way to replace 3 of the lights with 2 mediums? (thinking of Blackfrost with that question obviously).
You should be able to adjust stuff with the pledge manager, I don't have an exact date for it yet I estimate it'll probably go out 2-3 weeks after the KS closes.
I'm not going to do any swapping of reward items as it gets really complicated to keep track of. I've already had a lot of people asking through PMs and with several hundred standard packages I'm already going to have a difficult time keeping things organized let alone if I start letting everyone modify the pledge tier contents. It's not that I don't want to help with that, it's just going to open up a huge can of worms if I do.
(I really mean that)
Nice one.
Now I'm sad....
