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 Manchu wrote:
I’d be interested to hear more on your perspective here.

I think one of the elements of horror about the original story was the irony of Britain, being the foremost imperial power on Earth at the time, becoming itself the target of extraterrestrial imperialism.

The horror for Americans in 1938 may have been a violation of the sense of security provided by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans — the unthinkable prospect of a land war persecuted by a foreign power within the 48 states.

Not quite sure what the compelling theme of an interplanetary invasion of Germany might be other than the association of Germany with military technology (like you say, wehraboo).

I think seeing the obviously scientific/technological superiority of the Martians would be the emotional hook. Germany (and the german speaking world in general) had become the vanguard of physics and kept it until about the 1930s (for some reason ). Germany also had advantages in chemistry, both academic and industrial. They'd also been on a heater, or at least Prussia was, beating Demark, Austria, and France in only a few years. I think while they didn't see themselves as invincible, they did see themselves as the growing power.

It's not as engaging as the imperialism critiqued, which was very much intentional on Wells part, but it's there.

But they were a continental power with various enemies on their doorstep, and war on their home soil was something that they knew well, whereas the British and the Americans largely did not.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Americans and Brits being pdf content is even worse.

If they are moving into the STL market then I'd expect a fairly fast turnover of new models and they can't just survive on one human faction.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Americans and Brits being pdf content is even worse.

it is odd. Abby N could of just included 4 armies in the first book, and, if they chose to, revamped the UK and American armies with their own stl range later.

they either want to add in the rules in another book we have to buy down the road, or they are going to ignore the two original armies long-term.
That would be very strange and unsatisfying.

 Manchu wrote:

chaos0xomega wrote:
but the decision to go in with the Germans as the human faction for the re-release when the original was heavily focused on the American theater, and most martian invasion fiction involves either the UK (the original War of the Worlds) or the US (the famed radio broadcast that had the Martians make landfall in Grovers Mill, New Jersey) has rubbed us the wrong way. It comes across somewhat Kaiserboo/Wehraboo-ish, as well as not generally fitting the theme

I’d be interested to hear more on your perspective here.

I think one of the elements of horror about the original story was the irony of Britain, being the foremost imperial power on Earth at the time, becoming itself the target of extraterrestrial imperialism.

The horror for Americans in 1938 may have been a violation of the sense of security provided by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans — the unthinkable prospect of a land war persecuted by a foreign power within the 48 states.

Not quite sure what the compelling theme of an interplanetary invasion of Germany might be other than the association of Germany with military technology (like you say, wehraboo).

Prior to WWI "Invasion" pop culture was a pretty popular topic in all combatant countries, not just Britain. However, most were far less ambitious and interesting than the War of the Worlds take.

In other news, I have an American and Martian force for the original game. I still wish I had gotten my hands on some more lobotrons/Drones and Heavy Infantry/APCs for to finish off those forces. If they re-designed/re-released some of those I would have been pretty interested.

chaos0xomega wrote:
But they were a continental power with various enemies on their doorstep, and war on their home soil was something that they knew well, whereas the British and the Americans largely did not.

Prussia had a pretty good track record for keeping wars offensive, but yes, an invasion of Germany was very much a real fear.

But the German's hadn't fought a technologically superiors foe since, what, the romans? Even when their enemies had better gear, the Germans usually had better doctrine.

So here's my question. Who is going to consider buying this? Who's likely in, who's on the fence, and are there any "hard no's" among us for whatever reason? The thread here has been positive in a way that some of my local friends are not -- they have not forgotten losing money on the 1st Kickstarter, and have carried over that disdain to the re-release.
I see it as a new company and separate the two But the expectations are low and the cynicism high locally. It's like the "under new management" sign at a bad sandwich restaurant. Not all are gonna give it a chance. I for one am excited to see what the KS entails and will follow it closely. I"ll need at least a tentative opponent though, to buy in.

 Shrapnelsmile wrote:
So here's my question. Who is going to consider buying this? Who's likely in, who's on the fence, and are there any "hard no's" among us for whatever reason? The thread here has been positive in a way that some of my local friends are not -- they have not forgotten losing money on the 1st Kickstarter, and have carried over that disdain to the re-release.
I see it as a new company and separate the two But the expectations are low and the cynicism high locally. It's like the "under new management" sign at a bad sandwich restaurant. Not all are gonna give it a chance. I for one am excited to see what the KS entails and will follow it closely. I"ll need at least a tentative opponent though, to buy in.

On the fence, I saw the game after it had fallen, and always thought it looked interesting, but I'll have to wait and see more about what's going on before diving in.

Will almost certainly skip, too many other small scale games on the horizon.

A lot depends on the price and their plans going forward.

The Martian models tempt me even if I am concerned about the tentacles printing.

The concept of the game tempted me way back and I thought it had some unique and bold approaches to an older style of designs and it worked. I'm not sure if that will translate forward into a modern 3D printed game. I wonder if some of the nostalgic feel for the older style of design (even for 15mm) worked at that scale and that renders and 3D printing might just be too modern a feel and not tickle that same fancy for many.


I didn't get involved with the first game so I've got no negative connections to the prior game nor experience.


Price is a big one in if I jump in now or sit on the fence and wait.

 Shrapnelsmile wrote:
So here's my question. Who is going to consider buying this? Who's likely in, who's on the fence, and are there any "hard no's" among us for whatever reason? The thread here has been positive in a way that some of my local friends are not -- they have not forgotten losing money on the 1st Kickstarter, and have carried over that disdain to the re-release.
I see it as a new company and separate the two But the expectations are low and the cynicism high locally. It's like the "under new management" sign at a bad sandwich restaurant. Not all are gonna give it a chance. I for one am excited to see what the KS entails and will follow it closely. I"ll need at least a tentative opponent though, to buy in.

A skip for me. I enthusiastically bought the original starter and a couple boxes of extras, but was never able to get anyone in my area to be willing to play the game due to its asymmetry.

 Polonius wrote:

chaos0xomega wrote:
But they were a continental power with various enemies on their doorstep, and war on their home soil was something that they knew well, whereas the British and the Americans largely did not.

Prussia had a pretty good track record for keeping wars offensive, but yes, an invasion of Germany was very much a real fear.

Prussia, sure, but there were many more Germans that weren't Prussian than there were Prussians. If you were a Hanoverian, Saxon, or Bavarian, etc. those Prussians were the ones invading *you* and fighting a war on your territory.

But the German's hadn't fought a technologically superiors foe since, what, the romans? Even when their enemies had better gear, the Germans usually had better doctrine.

I'd argue that this wasn't necessarily true of the Napoleonic era.

Fairly good news from David Pierce, admin of the Facebook Group:

"This is a solid confirmation. There WILL be a free PDF download made available which will bring the UK and US forces into 2nd Edition. Please note though this PDF will be a stopgap until the US and UK forces are re-released as they have not been as thoroughly play tested as the Germans. There will be adjustments needed I am sure"

It is good to know they wil be focusing on those two forces in the future, and adjustments for play testing are rarely a bad thing.

Well that sounds like a best case scenario to me. Free rules now, polished rules later.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Well that sounds like a best case scenario to me. Free rules now, polished rules later.

Agreed. It is certainly more foresight and care than many companies conduct on the matter.

Here's their close up of the German vehicles and armor.

I dislike the armored cars -- they look like toys to me, and the window color may be part of that.

The boxy tracked transports are pretty Rad IMO, and I like the others more too with a better pic.

A bit more -- German artillery types.

I like these quite a bit, but may not always base them with the barriers (esp. the wood logs).

im fine with the wood logs and sandbags, they are appropriate field fortifications, IMO. The brick walls on the other hand feel a bit forced.

chaos0xomega wrote:
im fine with the wood logs and sandbags, they are appropriate field fortifications, IMO. The brick walls on the other hand feel a bit forced.

Naw brick makes a lot of sense too if you consider that this is the age of trench warfare. Whilst a new front or heavily attacked might use logs or sandbags; a well entrenched fortification could easily use bricks. Heck perhaps its the remains of buildings scrounged up from a ruin nearby that they've repurposed.

Those brick fortifications are too neatly assembled for it to really be a field fortification, or for that matter a ruin. Brick was not a commonly used building material for fortifications because it was generally found to be absolute gak as a material in this purpose during the American civil war, as rifled artillery penetrated it easily and other modern artillery and even small arms progressively degraded it too rapidly to last against sustained attack.

Also, Germany in 1914 wasn't particularly known for its use of brick as a construction material in general. The "Roman Brick" used in many brick structures in Europe at the time was generally longer and narrower, etc. so this would not be representative of the materials that would actually be commonly available.

Yes, I am reaching deep to justify my position in the face of your disagreement.

Maybe its Martian brick tech?

Martians use Heat Rays, is brick better at absorbing heat?

 Easy E wrote:
Martians use Heat Rays, is brick better at absorbing heat?

Well, it is one of the two major components typically in older style ovens (along with clay depending on the size and type).

chaos0xomega wrote:Those brick fortifications are too neatly assembled for it to really be a field fortification, or for that matter a ruin. Brick was not a commonly used building material for fortifications because it was generally found to be absolute gak as a material in this purpose during the American civil war, as rifled artillery penetrated it easily and other modern artillery and even small arms progressively degraded it too rapidly to last against sustained attack.

Also, Germany in 1914 wasn't particularly known for its use of brick as a construction material in general. The "Roman Brick" used in many brick structures in Europe at the time was generally longer and narrower, etc. so this would not be representative of the materials that would actually be commonly available.

Yes, I am reaching deep to justify my position in the face of your disagreement.

warboss wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
Martians use Heat Rays, is brick better at absorbing heat?

Well, it is one of the two major components typically in older style ovens (along with clay depending on the size and type).

I am enjoying this debate more than I should. Put me on Team Brick for its ability to absorb Martian Heat Rays.

It's a war against aliens who have a big tech advantage - you've got to adapt your battleplan.

Now the real question is why are they using wooden logs against martian heat rays. Of course this being a wargame we have to be open to the possibility of civil war within a faction too. So perhaps the bricks are for the martians; the logs are for when its your own side having a bit of a tiff with you and the sandbags are generic and work for if you're stuck in the middle between both

Logs are good against the shock cannisters, but none of those help with Green Gas or Black Dust.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/abbynormal/return-of-the-tripods#:~:text=Embed-,All%20or%20nothing.,with%20backers%20to%20fund%20projects.

It is live

Kind of surprised they didn't have STL tiers and the price on the STL tier is very steep for a single purchase. Surprised they didn't do a few optional extras as £100 per side is a lot. Then again they are clearly aiming for a more physical market

Pretty optimistic, especially when the historical models like A7V can be had in STL for free or cheap elsewhere.

Ex-Petersen Games isn't exactly filling me with confidence.

Running Kickstarters, yes. What about fulfilling them?

Yeah, I think their ask is too rich for my blood, I'll pass. Would've done $30 for the PDF rulebook only, and $100 for both German and Martian stl sets. Anything more than that and I just can't justify the expense for a game I probably won't ever actually play - and even if I did play it it probably would not be frequent enough for that level of expenditure to be worthwhile.