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Zond wrote:
I love cyberpunk. I probably won't back but I'll pick it up when it hits the EU. Customs kills all my dreams.

Its the £8 Royal Mail admin charge that I detest.

The Aetherium miniatures look very nice indeed! I also think the gameplay concept is really interesting. Games like these are sort of pushing against some of the traditional boundaries in table top gaming, which I think is great!

Edit: Quick question: I saw your update about the Rhommox faction this morning, which looks really cool. How many factions is Anvil 8 planning for Aetherium?

@ weeble1000

Hi there. When we originally started working on Aetherium, we planned on building up to 8 different factions. We quickly realized that was way to much for us to accomplish in the beginning. We then decided to focus on only 2 factions and to really flesh them out. This allowed us to make sure these 2 were as good as they could be when they finally got released. As you may have read on the KS, we have 3 other factions in the works; House Ikaru, RezX, and the Rhommox. We have started to expand ideas for 2 more factions beyond that. Faction #8 has only been explored in the simplest of ideas at this point. Our goal is to release new factions with an entire range of models and rules ready to go, and then also release new things for any other factions that are already around. In this way we hope to expand the universe of Aetherium, and keep it fresh for a long time to come.

LordBorak13 wrote:
@ weeble1000

Hi there. When we originally started working on Aetherium, we planned on building up to 8 different factions. We quickly realized that was way to much for us to accomplish in the beginning. We then decided to focus on only 2 factions and to really flesh them out. This allowed us to make sure these 2 were as good as they could be when they finally got released. As you may have read on the KS, we have 3 other factions in the works; House Ikaru, RezX, and the Rhommox. We have started to expand ideas for 2 more factions beyond that. Faction #8 has only been explored in the simplest of ideas at this point. Our goal is to release new factions with an entire range of models and rules ready to go, and then also release new things for any other factions that are already around. In this way we hope to expand the universe of Aetherium, and keep it fresh for a long time to come.

How differently do the factions play in the game?

Also, I noticed that you expect swift fulfillment of the Kickstarter. What sort of release schedule do you anticipate post fulfillment, and how do you pan on releasing products? That is, will factions come in box sets with new schema tiles, rules, and models, or do you pan to release those sorts of components separately? It seems like Aetherium is set up to be a well supported game post-Kickstarter, but I'd like to know more about how you anticipate that support playing out in terms of products.

For example, if you like the models, you can pledge on the KS and use add ons to get the models. Is that just a Kickstarter thing or do you plan to make the models purchasable separately in regular retail release?

@weeble1000

Hi there weeble, let me answer your questions as best I can.

We do plan on selling everything separately post KS, much in the same way that things are currently offered as add ons. Every unit we make will absolutely be available as a separate purchase (think blister packs like other minis games). Each unit will also come with its relevant cards, which will have all the rules for it (much in the same way as privateer press does with hordes and warmachine). We are also considering box sets, which might be things like entire faction boxes, or smaller faction starter sets. We haven't decided precisely on that yet, but its something we are looking into. Our goal is to make things simple for the player. We don't like the idea of certain models only being available in certain boxes, and we know that many people may just want to collect and paint certain models, so we are planning on making that as simple as possible. As the range gets larger, we may periodically release new books with rules in them as well. Some people really like this idea (think codexes or faction books), but we want to see what people want or would expect before we commit to anything. We are also looking into releasing PDF updates as well, but again nothing is set in stone yet. But as far as being able to use new units, players will always have the option of just purchasing the individual models with their rules, and not be required to purchase anything beyond that. We also plan on releasing more tiles sets as time goes on. Our goal is to have at least one 'themed' tile set for each faction. We currently have that with the riot streets and axiom temple fortress as the double sided tiles in the core game.

After the KS is fulfilled, we plan on continuing development of new factions, and new units for existing factions. First and foremost will be the Ikaru. While several sculpts have been completed, they are just beginning to enter playtesting, so we hope by the time the KS is fulfilled, we will be able to release their full faction: rules and models. As time goes on, we wish to continue to expand the universe and grow the community. We plan on doing this by continuing to work on and release new factions, rules, models, scenarios, and whatever else our player base is interested in. After the KS, initially all of our products will be available through our webstore. We are currently reaching our to distributors and retail locations, as we do hope to to have our game available in local hobby stores. However, our first priority is to our KS backers, so at the earliest, these sorts of things wont happen until the end of the year.

To answer your questions about faction play style: We have strived from the beginning to give each faction its own flavor, in aesthetic, fluff, and play style. The Nanomei tend to be a bit more chaotic in the game. Nothing as random as lets say Orcs in warhammer, but they have a few things that can't be completely controlled. However, a player can plan around what can happen, and a good preparation can easily tip the balance to Nanomei. They also don't have alot of ways to reduce or ignore damage. Alot of their safeguards can shift damage around, or take more damage to harm the attacking model. Generally, the Nanomei can dish it out, but are a bit fragile on the receiving end of things.

Axiom, on the other hand, is more of a control type faction. Alot of their units have ways to reduce damage. Many of their programs don't dish out tons of damage, but many of their units can shift themselves or their opponents around the board. This includes shifting the enemy off of the tiles into the quantum noise, which will always cause damage, and sometimes even outright delete the target program. Because of this, it usually more than makes up for their lack of damage output. Several Axiom programs, with Lady Mastrona being the best example, are very good support pieces that can drastically change the dynamic of your forces. When used in conjunction with one another, Axiom players can really push the limits of some of their programs.

We want every faction to have its own flavor and play style, much like other minis games. With that in mind, we are always looking to hear people's feedback and reactions. We are also going to start posting some unit entries on the KS, along with a more in depth break down of their rules, abilities, and uses. Keep in mind we have 2 other factions in the works right now, and our goal from the start has always been 8 fully developed factions for the game, with plenty of programs to give players alot of choices when creating their own collective.

I hope this sheds some light for you. Again, if you have any other questions, keep them coming!

Alright, I'm in for a Naomi Upload. I'm excited to see the finished product!

7 hours to go!

Still waiting on miniature material to be confirmed.

Zond wrote:
Still waiting on miniature material to be confirmed.

My guess is that Anvil 8 will wind up going with resin, and if that's the case it doesn't take too much imagination to come up with a short list of possible suppliers as there are few contract resin casting services in the US.

The product looks good so far, and the Anvil 8 guys seem to be very concerned about product quality. These days, picking a casting service is more about restocks and turnaround time than about quality. Most contract casting services in the US do a very good job, and the responses about the promo models and prototypes have been very positive, meaning Anvil 8 has good, clean masters. That is, I don't think you'd have to worry about whether the digital sculpt will turn into a decent miniature.

@Zond Hi there again. We have decided to go with resin as the material for our models. Unfortunately, plastic injection molding is far too expensive for a new company like ourselves, and pewter is too unpredictable in price due to the whims of the economy, so resin is going to work best for us right now. While we still finalizing things with manufacturers, we have narrowed our list down quite a bit, and are working out a few last things to get the best fit for us. We would very much like to work with plastic in the future, but for the foreseeable future, resin is what we will be using.

@weeble Hello my friend, and thanks you for all your interest and support. We can't wait to get the game in everyones hands!

Also, thank you to everyone on this forum for all the questions and welcoming atmosphere. I have never really used forums before this, and you have all made one of my first experiences a good one! Thanks to everyone who has supported us through the KS and all our social media. We will continue to keep a presence here on dakka dakka for the immediate future, so please keep the questions coming. We hope to have our own forums on our official website soon, but for now we'll be here.

Thanks for posting here, and congrats on the great campaign! Looking forward to getting my "cyber hounds" =)