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Hi all,
Xenomorph Games (thats me by the way) have just posted images of their upcoming "Colonist Hab Unit" a pre-printed card and foamcore scenery kit. It should be available within the next few days after Ive given the web designer a kick.
http://xenomorphgames.wordpress.com/2012/11/16/its-here-at-last/
Any questions or comments will be answered as soon as Im able!

and now you can buy them at http://www.xenomorphgames.co.uk

404 for me.

Maybe he wanted to post this link.

Interesting! These definitely look like they could be a viable alternative to HDF - sitting somewhere between that and print-your-own paper folding terrain.

The real clincher is going to be the price, if they are reasonable and I can imagine these being very popular!

Woops, my bad. Thanks Minx.

Er does that violate something? If not it's surely a painful amount of idea theft?




Sarissa's System Infinity...

I was also inspired by other things including

You can't steal ideas. The buildings in Aliens (1986) are similar to this. It's a nice generic SF design.

The materials sound realistic and my only reservation about selling is that a lot of people might prefer polystyrene kits rather than foamcore board and so on.

I mean you will never make your fortune with them but you should sell some, and Good Luck with the project.

Was going to say, first thing I thought of when I saw the Sarissa buildings was Aliens/Mass effect.

AFAIK, Warmill was the first to produce such hab units, before Sarissa's System:

Any plans to produce these (or other products) for 15mm?

 Kroothawk wrote:
AFAIK, Warmill was the first to produce such hab units, before Sarissa's System:

...And really, owning the idea to hexagonal shapes in buildings like that? Gah
It's actually a much *needed* shape in laser cut mdf/hdf/whatev terrain because, since you can't etch details into the side of a piece, 90 degree corners can look quite dull.
Now of course there's ways around that; to a degree. But really, shapes like these are often the way to go with affordable laser-cut terrain.

...And you want affordable laser-cut terrain because the alternatives are plastic and resin terrain which will either take so much money in start-up costs you'd have only 3-4 different sets on the market, all of those still with limited modularity, or they'd be screamingly expensive.

...so, yeah. That idea is so much inspired by the technical limitations that it's basically just a structural element not even considered to be "creative" input (and therefore almost impossible to copyright, simply put )

edit: well anyone who likes the foamcard model, have fun; but this'd have to be pretty cheap to even remotely interest me. I don't think this can ever quite compete with the print-n-build alternatives already available, simply because of what it'll probably cost (not much diff. with laser-cut mdf terrain, which has actual texture, making it much nicer and is much much more durable than foam as well). Still, to each his own.

Is there a price?

Yeah. Those kinds of buildings are so generic sci-fi it's just not theft.
And I like it actually.

I like it, if it's cheaper than Sarissa's I could get some.

It probably is, due to the material and 'do it yourself' nature of some of it.

Is it as good as Sarissa's or Warmill's?

Not sure...

Thanks for the interest guys. 15mm scale is a definate possibility. I have considered it both for this and other possible future products. Id like to see how this goes first.

As to price £14.99 plus p&p

I just wanted to talk about my design process as many people have commented on the similarity to Sarissa's products. I wanted to make buildings similar to those found in Mass Effect 3 (quite fancy running some games in that environment) Ive been a wargamer and roleplayer for many years so have a good idea about what I want from a building. It has to be big. Big enough to be an actual, useful building. It has to provide useful cover inside and outside as well as being tall enough to house some of the larger figures. Customisable so that I can have a few of them without them all looking the same. It also has to be robust and easy enough for almost anyone to put together.

With these things in mind I started to design using my skills - 8 years making computer games natually led me to design it digitally with the finished result being printed onto card. Ive used various papercraft scenery and models so was aware of the issues with those.

There were several physical restrictions to take into consideration as well. The building had to be modular, stackable, 3" tall and no component could be bigger than an A4 sheet. This more than anything else has led to the proportions of the building. It's as big as I could make it with those restrictions.

I think it looks great on the table. It fits well with other scenery. Its USEFUL. It's reasonably priced and doesnt take too long to put together. But I'm biased, 'cos I made it. It took AGES to iron out all the kinks too.

KRakarth,

I'll definitely watch for 15mm products.

So, correct me if I'm wrong, but the difference between your building and a generic cardstock structure is that your layout is designed to incorporate foamcore...so I'm guessing the printout "wraps" around the foamcore, preventing exposed edges, etc? Question. Would you be open to just selling the printouts and allow us to source our own foamcore?

BTW, what part does the artboard play?

The difference between this and a "normal" card building.

World Works Games (love their stuff btw) recommend you use 110 lb cardstock.That equates to approx 160 gsm.

You correctly surmise that some of the foamcore is wrapped by the 200gsm card this creates a laminate with considerable strength (the instructions on the blog need changing to reflect this as there was a change in process after I made them).

The 300gsm artboard is used for the majority of the building, either laminated with the foamcore, wrapped around foamcore supports, or laminated with itself to form parts which are approx 1mm in thickness.

So that the difference, normal card building 160gsm, possibly foamcore for the base.
my building foamcore wrapped in 200 gsm card, foamcore supported 300gsm structures and 600gsm parts.

Selling just the printed parts wouldnt really make that much difference to the price or the postage costs and Id like to keep it as a kit where no other materials are needed. Its a kit after all.

Store Now open
http://www.xenomorphgames.co.uk