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Aetherverse 2nd Ed - 1.07 Update (Cover/Terrain) Released - Game is COMPLETE  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
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Version 1.05 of Aetherverse 2nd Edition is now available for download. This update does not add anything particularly new, but rather makes a number of changes to the rules based on playtester feedback that should positively affect gameplay. The specific changes to the rules are listed in the 1.05 change log.

In addition, I have uploaded the first draft of the Magic and Mutation Update! These are still subject to pretty heavy change, of course, but there is quite a bit of new stuff in these draft rules. The Magic and Mutation update is scheduled for full release on the first Wednesday of September.

As always, feedback on these releases is welcome here or at the TiSpork site!

Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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Just plugged the Magic/Mutation update into the main rules doc. That brought the actual "rules" text over 70 pages (anything that's not fluff or army lists).

Approx. counts:
-Rules of Gameplay: 20 pgs
-Game setup, missions, etc: 8 pgs
-Army Design System Rules: 12 pgs
-Unit, weapon, vehicle traits/special rules: 20 pgs
-Schools of Magic/Minor Magic Abilities: 11 pgs

The total page count of the rulebook is now up to 117 pages.

Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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Ooof. Just finished a bit of a marathon of army designing for the new lists going into the 1.06 update (well, new as in newly designed using 2nd edition rules; all of them are revamped versions of those in the 1E rulebook):

-A race of earth elementals (featuring both the Elemental magic ability which is unique amongst the others and the summoning system),
-The Royal Republic of Egypt, a pharoahs-of-the-future nation that I designed before ever watching Stargate
-Mentuemhut's Legion, the forces of an arch lich that keeps popping up in the deserts of Egypt's world, featuring the undead trait (and the new Unstable rule) to the nth degree
-Helionox Swarm, a fearsome hive minded alien species whose bodies are their weapons and who seem to have a knack for stowing away on dimension-jumping ships, spreading them into countless alternate dimensions
-The TransVerseCo Resource Acquisition Team, a mercenary army supported by expensive drones and AI-driven Assassins tasked with seeking out strange new alternate Earths and "preparing the population for proper assimilation into the TVC umbrella and allowing for maximum leverage of synergistic best practices and human resource organization".

With that I'll see if I can come up with a couple of other ones (though I'm limited in my art resources for the free book for now, so they'd have to be armies without visual add-ons). I'll also talk to a couple of players about starting up on an unofficial set of conversion lists for various games now that all of the expected army design options are in place (or will be, once 1.06 releases).

Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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The latest update to the free Aetherverse 2nd Edition Rulebook has been released. Version 1.06, the Magic and Mutation update, can be downloaded here. This update adds rules for magic (or technology sufficiently advanced as to be indistinguishable from the same), a new Army Characteristic supporting the creation of entirely organic armies (such as alien species that grow their weapons from their bodies) and a number of new unit and weapon traits and vehicle upgrades.

This update essentially completes all of the planned rules sections for the initial release of Aetherverse 2nd Edition. The next planned update is a revision of the Cover and Terrain rules, followed by another balance pass.

The change log for v1.06 is as follows:
Aetherverse 2nd Edition v1.06 wrote:Additions:
-Schools of Magic system added
-Minor Magic abilities added
-Several new characteristics, traits, and upgrades have been added

Changes:
-Number of hits Blast weapons cause is now limited to the number of models in the target unit. Multiple weapons are each limited to this number (individually, not cumulatively).
-Excess wounds from non-ordinance blast weapons will now “overflow” to nearby units (enemy or friendly). Artillery weapons do not get this rule because they already hit more than one unit.
-Mob trait cannot be taken by unit with Phalanx trait
-Reserve: Standard is no longer a purchasable trait. Instead, any unit may be deployed into reserves by default and enters play using this method. The other forms of Reserves are unchanged and may still be purchased. A unit that has purchased a specific form of Reserves may either enter play using their chosen method or by standard reserves (walking on from their table edge).
-Additional wording in the Unit Coherency rules intended to prevent units from becoming “interlaced”, where two units are effectively occupying the same battlefield area to gain defensive line of sight advantages.
-Players may agree to ignore the Matter/Anti-Matter rule if they are playing armies from within a specific setting.
-Hits that equal (but do not exceed) a vehicle’s armor value have a 50% chance of still reducing its armor by 1. I thought this was already in the rulebook (as it is the intent) but it wasn’t present in the damage table. It has now been added.

Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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With today's release of v1.06, I'm launching a short contest on both Facebook and Twitter:

If you'd like to help design an army to appear in the Aetherverse rulebook, do one (or both!) of the following:
-Retweet this tweet, or
-Share this Facebook post.

At the end of the day on Friday 22 August, I'll pick one person from each feed. These two winners will get to create an army using the Aetherverse Army Design System, which I'll then include in the next version of the rulebook (due out in October). Simple as that!

In addition to this, I'd appreciate any sort of sharing with bloggers and news sites that you might know about (other than Dakka, of course!) as with the game being "Feature Complete", it's time to start putting the word out about the great rules system. Thanks, Dakka!

Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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(Crossposted from the TiSpork Website.)

With the release of the 1.06 “Magic and Mutation” update, Aetherverse 2nd Edition is essentially “feature complete”. This means that all of the major portions of the rules are in place, and that there are not any plans to add additional sections at this time. There will still be changes here and there as we continue to balance the rules and work on the best ways to represent some rules (for instance, an overhaul of the Cover/Terrain system is coming in the 1.07 update) but there won’t be any large additions to the Alpha Release (or the “core rules” as an RPG company might term the book). What is in the future for Aetherverse, then? Let’s take a look.

As mentioned, the first thing is that we’ll be looking through the rules to fix any outstanding issues. The Cover/Terrain system that was initially put into place was largely a placeholder, as the effects of those table features was kind of reliant on what the rest of the rules contained. With the major features finished, the terrain rules can be worked on with a full understanding of what is needed and what’s not necessary. I’ll also be taking a second look at all of the unit traits (and weapon/armor/etc.) with a critical eye on their points values. I want to make sure that there’s a consistent curve across the board regarding what you get for your points, so that very few traits are strictly better or worse than any other on a cost-to-benefit basis.

Beyond tuning the core rules, there are some additions that I’m planning to begin work on. The first is something that I’ve received a number of requests for: a revision of the Narrative Campaign System that was created for the first edition. This modification of the core rules uses the base Aetherverse rules to create a small-scale skirmish-level version of the game with far fewer models than normal. With far fewer models, games are faster and more detailed, and as players can more easily play games beyond the first, units have the ability to gain experience and get bonus abilities beyond what they originally start with. This essentially turns the core rules into a form of role-playing game, where your units become even more characterful than they are in the Alpha Release, and over time base units can become quite elite and powerful.

The second planned modification is to create conversions for using the rules with smaller scaled models. The Alpha Release was designed solely with 25-30mm scale models in mind, but the rules are easily adaptable for use with 15mm or even 10mm/6mm miniatures. At these scales, armies can be enormous, with entire squadrons of tanks rolling across the table and artillery actually being represented with models.

The third thing in the works isn’t a rules modification at all, but rather a player aid. I’m beginning work with a software developer to create a free army building application for Aetherverse. Instead of needing to spend time in a spreadsheet or with paper and a calculator, you’ll be able to create armies entirely from scratch with only a few clicks of a mouse. There’s no current timeframe for this (as we’re just now talking about design specs) but it is something that is definitely is on the way. We’re planning for the application to be similar in function to Army Builder or Battlescribe, though the flexibility of the army creation system unfortunately prevented the use of either of those programs. Hence the need to create our own!

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I'm from the future. The future of space

I've been enjoying the updates as well as the articles you have been posting here and on Titanium Spork Gaming.

I've given the game three test runs so far and I think I have figured out what I don't like about it.

Units attacking units. It speeds things up a lot, but I find it makes the models seem less important. Like i could just replace a squad with a stand of smaller scale miniatures and keep their strength on a roster or a card (sleeved to make dry erase an option). It's probably that I've been playing too much Warmachine/Hordes, but I now strongly prefer models fighting models rather than units fighting units.

Lethality even with tough and heavily armoured targets. Using the weapon strengths and armor+con values in the example lists as a guide line, I find everything dies way faster than you'd expect. Power armour is not reliable protection from small arms fire, for example. While I don't like 40k's armour save, I'm finding the integration of armour into the "to wound" roll to make it feel like armour doesn't matter.

Homogenous units. The system only handles units of uniform constitution and armor. I know this is a result of units firing on units and the difficulty of handing different armour and defensive equipment in such a system, but I have friends with 40k armies that have units with mixed units and it can be a deal breaker for getting them to try the game when i can't properly represent their miniatures and how they think of their army as fighting.

I do get though, that these issues are things that run contrary to the design goals of Aetherverse, so I'm not suggesting making any changes to accommodate my desires, just letting you know where things aren't working out for me and the people I've been trying to convince to dust off their 40k models that have been shelved for lack of a good rules set.

Balance in pick up games? Two people, each with their own goals for the game, design half a board game on their own without knowing the layout of the board and hope it all works out. Good luck with that. The faster you can find like minded individuals who want the same things from the game as you, the better. 
   
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Thanks for the continued commentary, FW, it's appreciated!

-Warmachine is really a different scale of game from Aetherverse. While models attacking individually works well for WM, AV's model count is just enough higher that it would really bog things down. It might not seem like much if you're playing with lower model count armies, but take a look at some of the armies I added in the 1.06 update (especially the magic-based Terrans and the organic-based Helionox): these armies both have cheapish 20-strong units... I would really rather not have to deal with the possiblities of multiples of those units splitting their fire across several targets.

-I suspect that the lethality might be partially related to army construction with players not used to the 0-10 range. I would build Space Marine Power Armour with an AV of 7 or even 8 (on top of a CON of 5 or 6). As such, they're going to be rocking a to-wound target of 12-14, which means someone with a DAM 4 weapon is going to only cause a wound on an 8+

-The homogeneous unit bit is pretty much the way that the game is designed, and it's a design choice that I'm aware will be an issue for the more rigidly-minded. To be perfectly honest, though, the sorts of players that would turn down a new system simply because of that kind of difference aren't going to be very keen on trying the game to begin with so it really isn't worth the time and effort to try and make them happy.

The thing is, though, none of the 40K armies that use mixed units (or at least the ones that I can think of) really have that as a defining feature of the character of their army. Black Templars might mix in neophytes, but that's just an army list feature. Their character is that of the hyper-aggressive Crusading army, charging and burning and purging. Lots of Tau units have drones, but the character of the army is about the high-tech battlesuits and the firepower. I really doubt that a Black Templar player runs their army because they get to mix in scouts, or that a Tau player wouldn't have picked up the army if there weren't drones mixed into squads. Those armies were chosen because of the overall look and feel, and I'd suggest that Aetherverse does a better job of representing that than their native system can EVER do.

EDIT:
That all said, I'm certainly open to the possibility of adding the capability at some point for units to mix in extra models with differing stats. The main point is that I would want it to be something presented as an exception, or as something that has its own specific rules spelled out (so something like a specific army characteristic or unit trait). Something like a "Squires" unit trait that lets the Additional Models that can be added to a unit wear different armor in addition to carrying different weapons. It'll just require a lot of time and thinking to make it work and to work out all the bugs, which is why it's not something that I wanted in the core rules. Now that the game's feature complete, I'll be having more time to start working on special tweaks and exceptions to make other options possible going forward... it'll just be at a much slower pace because each new feature like that is going to require a lot of fitting into the existing system.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/08/26 19:43:37


Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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I have completed the first draft of the Cover and Terrain overhaul. There were less huge changes than I expected; the "overhaul" mostly consists of additional definitions and clarifications rather than a complete revamp of the system. Still, this update should fully flesh out the rules and assist in making tactical gameplay easier to figure out with fewer assumptions and guesses needing to be made by the player!

The draft rules may be downloaded here.

Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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I'm from the future. The future of space

I think I'm just looking for a lower model count game where I can represent each miniature as what I want it to be rather than as unit members/wound counters. Giving Aetherverse a few goes was fun and people obviously like high model count games for the 40k universe even if I don't.

The next thing we might try is a 10-20 or so models per side game where we construct every model as a personality. We'll probably play with the activation system a bit to make it so there are not 40 dice in a cup. We'll also probably be more liberal with extra wound points and use higher numbers for armour.

Balance in pick up games? Two people, each with their own goals for the game, design half a board game on their own without knowing the layout of the board and hope it all works out. Good luck with that. The faster you can find like minded individuals who want the same things from the game as you, the better. 
   
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Thanks to a TON of feedback and discussion, I think that I'm going to be making the following rules change in v1.07.

The melee combat to-wound roll will be changed to d10 plus the attacking unit’s melee weapon DAM or its STR. A unit may choose to strike as if its initiative were zero; if doing so it adds STR and DAM to the to-wound roll. The to-wound TN remains the same (target’s CON+Armor). This change essentially equalizes Melee and Ranged damage, which is a change that I should have made upon writing the 2nd edition (the first edition didn't have fully customizable melee weapons, only a select few options, making it necessary to add STR; this is no longer needed in the rules).

I've been convinced that this change, along with the prior change of the to-hit TN, will bring close combat lethality into line with that of ranged combat and allow units with even a little bit of combat skill to hang around for a turn or two (which is about the target for the game).

Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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Due to a major change that I am making to the melee combat system, I am planning to release Aetherverse v1.07 - the Cover and Terrain Revision Update this Sunday, 1 September 2013. This is over a month ahead of schedule, and I'm putting it out this early for the following reasons:

  • I would like the aforementioned combat change to be published as soon as possible so that people who are actively playing/playtesting the game may begin providing feedback on the change as soon as possible, and

  • The Cover rules were finished and I didn't feel as if there was a reason to put out a minor update with just the combat changes when they were ready to go out as well.


  • The changelog for this release is available at the website (and it explains the melee combat change that has provoked the early release). I expect the update to go live approximately 10am Sunday morning, Pacific Time.

    Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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    Aetherverse v1.07, the Cover and Terrain Revision Update, is now available for download. This update improves the cover and terrain rules, adding additional detail and information to better support the use of various types of terrain on your battlefields. The update also features a change to the melee combat rules, intended to increase the survivability of troops in close combat, based on player and playtesting feedback.

    The Change Log for the new update can be viewed here. This update is actually one month ahead of schedule (it was originally planned for an October release) but the desire to get the melee combat change out to players overrode the wish to keep the releases somewhat spread out.

    With this update, Aetherverse 2nd Edition is essentially complete. There are no more planned updates or revisions at this time, though I expect that there will still be monthly updates as we tweak rules and add new traits to the game. The plan going forward is to organize some additional playtesting, start getting the word out about the game, and begin the long drive towards beginning the Kickstarter!

    Rokugnar Eldar (6500) - Wolves of Excess (2000) - Marines Diagnostica (2200)
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    A new update, via the Tispork site:

    Titanium Spork Gaming wrote:With the completion of update 1.07, I have essentially finished the game. One of the things that helped me wrap up the game (when I had nothing but an outline and an apparently daunting task ahead of myself) was to set a schedule for my work. By setting a set date by which I needed to complete each segment of the rules, and posting it publicly, I gave myself the motivation needed to get the work on the game done. While I ended up getting it done a couple of months ahead of schedule, having the public “due date” available gave me a clear marker by which I could guide and plan my work.

    As we move into the second stage of the Aetherverse lifecycle, I think it’s time for me to do the same with all of the various parts that I need to work on. This time, though, since there is no set end date for this work, It’ll be a weekly schedule, containing things that I feel are important to help push forward the overall awareness of the game. A few times a week, I’ll be posting new army lists, new blog posts, or new demo features for the game. This schedule won’t be as rigid as that for the game’s feature updates, and I will occasionally take weeks off due to real-world stuff, but I will be doing my best to adhere to goal of having new content on a set schedule. In doing so, players (and potential players) will know to check the site on those days for new material to support the game in some manner.

    For now, we’re going to set a Tuesday-Thursday* schedule for new site content that will begin next week (1 October for the first post). The new content will vary, including new army lists (including conversion lists for armies from other games where possible due to legalities), fully game-ready demo armies, a continuation of the blog posts that I have started, demonstrations of various game elements (such as the army design system, which needs to have its demo rewritten) and battle reports. I’m open to other suggestions as to what sort of content that people would find useful, as well, and I’ll even be open to posting content created by other authors.

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