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 DaveC wrote:
Maybe not then it's gone negative for yesterday and today so far. I've dropped out myself it's a combination of 1 KS on to go 2 more coming up fast so funds are tight and when I looked at $305 for 17 miniatures I just couldn't justify it nice and all as those miniatures are that $305 will go alot further elsewhere.

My other issue is with the game play the video has shown me that it's just not something I'd be into, Noxius died very easily at the start and the rest just seemed to be a case of pushing people around until you can knock them in a pit. I now that's an over simplification but that's what I'm seeing from watching the video so it made decision to drop out easier. I'm sure others will love the game play and I'm not having a go at the game mechanics it's just not for me and I wish them the best of luck with the remainder of the KS and going forward.

I understand where you're coming from. While I think the video does a good job showing some of the core mechanics of the game, I don't think it shows how they all work together as a complete package quite as well. For example, if the Noxious example were happening in a real game, his player has the ability to React once Viatrix activates, which could allow him to change his position, be it by moving or getting an assist from someone else. That would certainly improve his survivability and give him the chance to counter later on.

I also think the game is exactly what RRG has said it would be all along: fast-paced skirmish-style gladiator combat. That also means the gameplay will have a little more showmanship and cinematic action than other more "real-life" combat games.

Just my two cents.

I feel your pain Dave - I'm wavering on the edge of backing out of this one as well, but certainly picking it up later on down the line at retail...

I want to stay in, but other Kickstarters and 'real life finances' are competing for the dollars that would go to this one.

I tell you, the complete lack of updates and stretch goals for what seems like a week have killed this KS.

After putting up the Ultima package and new add-on titan, they got a ton of new money. But, then didn't continue to have new goals. That's bad KS management. And not a good sign for a company that has yet to produce anything at all.

I'm still going to be in, but my excitement for the project has taken a nosedive the last few days.

 Gomez wrote:
Huzzah! The long-awaited gameplay video has been posted!

Am I a Latin nerd or just anal when I winced every time he mispronounced Viatrix's named(supposed to be wi-a-trix, with a W sound, not a V sound).

Also, I ended up backing out do to lack of finances this month.

I studied a lot of Latin too...

And you've got to know that the "V" as "W" just isn't going to fly in terms of 'cool factor' (try saying "Veni, Vidi, Vici" with that "W" sound!).

The 'hard C' is another pronunciation that escapes most modern attempts.

Anyway...

...I'm still in on this one - just not sure ultimately for how much!

 drazz wrote:
I tell you, the complete lack of updates and stretch goals for what seems like a week have killed this KS.

Totally agree. They had some amazing momentum going last weekend and then had no goals, no updates, nada... which drove all that momentum to a grinding halt. Getting it back looks like it will be a challenge too, which is unfortunate IMO, as I think it's a great product.

 drazz wrote:
After putting up the Ultima package and new add-on titan, they got a ton of new money. But, then didn't continue to have new goals. That's bad KS management. And not a good sign for a company that has yet to produce anything at all.

I'm still going to be in, but my excitement for the project has taken a nosedive the last few days.

I don't see it as bad management but more as reaching the end of their resources and being victims of their own success. Remember, RRG is not an established professional game company that can devote a variety of financial and human resources to the project before it launches - they are three dudes who decided to develop and launch a game of their own, with absolutely no idea how well it would be received. They tapped their own finances to get the initial art and sculpts going and then hit Kickstarter to drum up some support.

I think they've more or less said that they thought they had more than enough art and stretch goals planned for the full run of the KS campaign, and that when they got more support than they planned on they were sort of up the creek - they didn't want to commission more artwork and sculpts than they could pay for initially (or plan to pay for, considering the KS campaign would also be bringing in some cash) and subsequently had to quickly commission the next phase and then wait for it to start getting finished by their artists before they could know what the next goal offerings would be.

In the end their KS campaign has obviously suffered, and they've (hopefully) learned a thing or two about communicating with the weird hybrid customer/investor/audience of Kickstarter. But I don't necessarily see it as a sign that they don't know what they're doing - just that they're doing what they can as they can.

At any rate, here's hoping the KS ends with a bang.

 drazz wrote:
After putting up the Ultima package and new add-on titan, they got a ton of new money. But, then didn't continue to have new goals. That's bad KS management. And not a good sign for a company that has yet to produce anything at all.

On the contrary. For a project that hinges it's success on high quality items, rushing out concepts in response to people showering them with money is a sure fire way to lose credibility.

They were asking for 20k and got over five times that. They had a very clear stretch goal path up until the 100k mark. There's a limit to what can be done in response to the amount of money pledged and AR did as much as anyone could expect them to do.

 His Master's Voice wrote:

 drazz wrote:
After putting up the Ultima package and new add-on titan, they got a ton of new money. But, then didn't continue to have new goals. That's bad KS management. And not a good sign for a company that has yet to produce anything at all.

On the contrary. For a project that hinges it's success on high quality items, rushing out concepts in response to people showering them with money is a sure fire way to lose credibility.

They were asking for 20k and got over five times that. They had a very clear stretch goal path up until the 100k mark. There's a limit to what can be done in response to the amount of money pledged and AR did as much as anyone could expect them to do.

I completely agree with this. Also, RRG has been communicative about the fact that we hit the end of the pre-planned stuff and that they are working on more.

The sculpt previews have all been pretty good, and there are more to come.

I suppose they could whip up more gladiator bio pieces, but everything else need time to maintain their set level of quality.

~Eric

 Alpharius wrote:
I studied a lot of Latin too...

And you've got to know that the "V" as "W" just isn't going to fly in terms of 'cool factor' (try saying "Veni, Vidi, Vici" with that "W" sound!).

The 'hard C' is another pronunciation that escapes most modern attempts.

It's mostly an ingraining of 4 years of Roman Latin in school.

Also, personally, I think Weni, Widi, Wici sounds cooler than the V pronunciation(again, probably cause I've actually heard it that way more).

Of course, some people are also used to hearing/using V's and hard C's not just cause that's how English does it, but because of Medieval/Church Latin being pronounced that way.

 Alpharius wrote:
I studied a lot of Latin too...

And you've got to know that the "V" as "W" just isn't going to fly in terms of 'cool factor' (try saying "Veni, Vidi, Vici" with that "W" sound!).

The 'hard C' is another pronunciation that escapes most modern attempts.

Anyway...

...I'm still in on this one - just not sure ultimately for how much!

The hard-C thing isn't so bad, but the V-as-W thing just makes you sound like you've got a Jonafun Woss-style lisp

What I'm saying about back KS management is two things:

First, most successful KS far outpace their "original goal." Five times or more of that goal is very common. So, its a balancing act to figure out what attainable goal to set and how to have additional material that will last well beyond that goal. To me, it seems like the RRG guys were not prepared in that way. And that's sad.

Second, even as a base game, there seemed an unevenness to it. The highest initial pledge was for 10 models, and they had, what, 14 options? And the factions are not even close to even in numbers. That's a poor way to start a game concept.

I still love the game idea. Its open to a lot of the things that I enjoy as a game--skirmish style, options for multiple players, non-linear damage. I just think they caused their own investment cap.

Even if they have 'capped' their potential I don't think that's a necessarily a bad thing,

Nothing new gets rushed out just to 'add a new stretch goal' which could either result in balance issues forever, or a rules rewrite

(look at the grief some are giving sedition wars for not having perfect airtight rules that cannot be power gamed)

It also means there is a (slim) chance they might hit their release target without having to farm stuff out to 2nd string sculptors

 drazz wrote:
So, its a balancing act to figure out what attainable goal to set and how to have additional material that will last well beyond that goal.

I'd say it's a guessing game more than anything. And one where you essentially cannot guess right.

 drazz wrote:
Second, even as a base game, there seemed an unevenness to it.

That I agree with. I don't particularly care, due to my interest in the models exclusively, but I see how it could be an issue for people looking forward to a new skirmish rules set.

Watching the game play I am a bit disappointed. It appears to be a game of shoving people into open wholes one after another rather then violent combat. They desperately need a Leonidas and Ash model for added pit pranks

You could just not have pits in you terrain set up too.

Or avoid pits.

Or have models support each other.

There are options!

 Red Corsair wrote:
Watching the game play I am a bit disappointed. It appears to be a game of shoving people into open wholes one after another rather then violent combat. They desperately need a Leonidas and Ash model for added pit pranks

Yeah, I want to know how much terrain hazards are going to mess with the game... it's fine if thats just a weird setup or doesn't show the whole picture, but that was a rather odd demo... mostly getting killed by hazards isn't too exciting.

Anyone know somewhere where they've been good about responding to Q&A? I'm right on the fence getting into this or not, and I'd like to be clearer, what I'm getting in to...

your best bet is to use the KS contact me button

 spiralingcadaver wrote:

Yeah, I want to know how much terrain hazards are going to mess with the game... it's fine if thats just a weird setup or doesn't show the whole picture, but that was a rather odd demo... mostly getting killed by hazards isn't too exciting.

Anyone know somewhere where they've been good about responding to Q&A? I'm right on the fence getting into this or not, and I'd like to be clearer, what I'm getting in to...

Yeah, I tend to agree with the first part of this, SC. While I immensely enjoyed seeing the game in action, I think you're right about there being too much "pushing around" featured in it. However I think they were trying to highlight how the core mechanics were different from other skirmish games, and focused on those areas more - for example, in a "real" game you could use your reactions to maneuver around the pit and stay away from instant death or have a teammate move in for an assist.

I also want to point out that you can engineer your own arena and include as many/few hazards as you like. Speaking personally, I'll be making a foam based arena so I can feature several actual pits, but those will all have "covers" that will blend into the arena floor so I can play with or without them.

That was my point. I don't want to flame bait anyone, I am truly excited about the models and concept but the demo seemed like it was too convoluted. "Now I will clear my units and with a Laural I can trigger special tactics...." WTF seriously, I just want awesome figs in a violent setting where I can throw dice and watch neat things happen while I share a sixer with my mates. I don't play board games to think that much, I play other table top games for grand strategy. Just my worthless opinion though, the KS is worth it for the models and art alone so I am still a fan, just a shame that all these games like KoD have to over inflate the game play. When they did demo how one model killed another I was just unimpressed by how anti climactic the combat was. All 6 sided dice and simple attack minus defense and armor... not very new or thrilling to me.

Damn, I'm still undecided on whether or not I should back this. Game play looks... OK; I'm interested in trying it out, but if it was just the game I'd definitely wait until it hits the streets so I can check out some reviews first. But the models... all of the sculpts we've seen are so bloody beautiful. Five days to decide...

I think I wrote so already in this thread, but the game play video made me think again that this game would probably do so much more better if played on a hexagon map rather than using free measurements. Fiddling around down in the arena with 1" pushes with those models with their extended-reach poses just seems like it will be a bit cumbersome. And if being pushed into terrain and hazards is such a big deal, it seems there will be a lot of corner cases where it's not clear if a model should be pushed into that pit or not. It would be very easy to design rules that are completely unambiguous in all situations if using a grid instead.

Arena Rex are running a "Gladiator Face" photograph competition on Facebook. Go along and vote for your favorite image. The winner will have a miniature for the game made of them plus every figure they produce until March 2013. This is probably one of the only chances were you can choose what a miniature in your up and coming collection would look like. I would clearly like you to vote for me. But go along anyway and cast your vote for your favorite gladiator face.
Heng Dai.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
https://www.facebook.com/arenarexgame

That is the link. It ends on Saturday so get your vote in quick.
Heng Dai

New update...



My take:

1.) Hermes looks like a badass you do NOT want to mess with.

2.) Aemelia looks like she'll be fun to play/annoying to play against due to her shifty movement shenanigans. I have to admit, I originally had zero interest in her but her damage tree and Intercept ability are making me reconsider.

3.) Very interested to see what Mago's spotlight is like. He's the only one of the Morituri that appeals to me visually.

4.) Is it just me or does Urien have a bad case of crazy eyes?

5.) Proximo = RRG's take on a chimera (and a nod to the infamous battle giraffe, I suppose). Like all of the other fantastical Titans, I'll not be getting him up front.

Proximo could be better but hey, more monsters so yay.

Hermes was a model I was looking at but am probably going to get now that I have seen his stats, Aemelia I liked the look of but now that I have seen her rules I am definitely getting her.

The whole update!

Urien Unlocked + Model spotlight V
Update #33 · Apr 17, 2013 · 8 comments
Urien is now available in the field of Mars!

We also have the next model spotlight for you. Hermes and Aemilia both bring incredible versatility to the table in very different ways.

To make this update even bigger, we have the next stretch goal for you! Meet Proximo:

Wild and exotic creatures are often sought after for the arena, and none are wilder or more exotic than Proximo. It can take years of pursuit to finally ensnare one of these elusive beasts in the forests of Gallo-Rome, but the prestige gained by bringing one to the arena ensures that ventures to procure them are always underway. Their strange barks and even stranger appearance transfix crowds, and their panoply of natural weaponry means that only the most skilled and adaptable can stand against them.

Loving the new beastie!

It's like the Questing Beast from the Arthurian Mythos in Deities & Demigods.

I thought the models were amazing, but the gameplay video queered the deal for me - way, way too complicated IMO.

I'm the opposite - the gameplay video sealed the deal for me!

Update time!

Proximal Clause
Update #34 · Apr 18, 2013 · 9 comments


Proximo is now available in the Field of Titans!

Paypal is also now available through our website! Note: any pledges through Kickstarter will be charged through Amazon Payments. They cannot charge through PayPal. The PayPal option is an entirely separate process from Kickstarter, and is just meant to be an alternative route to supporting Arena Rex for those who have issues with the payment system. The Paypal option will be available through May 2nd, 2013 for alternative backers.

In addition, we have added our final pledge level:

Plege $685 or more

“Crassus” - One of every Arena Rex miniature unlocked through the Kickstarter campaign, with stat cards, resin activation tokens, and 4”x 6” art cards. 20 favor dice, playtest PDFs, 2 rulebooks, and 10 of each faction die. 1 arena mat and 4 columns. Estimated Delivery Dec. 2013. Add $20 to ship outside the US.

We're also going to add a clarification here; if you have a friend who doesn't want to sign up for Kickstarter or PayPal, you can pledge for multiple pledge levels, but only two of them (total). They do not have to be the same level, and you don’t need to add additional shipping for the second pledge (though they will be shipped all together to the same address).

The next stretch goal should be ready tomorrow. We think you will be very pleased.

 Alpharius wrote:
I'm the opposite - the gameplay video sealed the deal for me!

Same here. I think the video showed the game will be fast and tactical, with a few key mechanics to keep track of that will more or less determine how the game plays out. RRG has said they wanted to emulate chess somewhat with the uncluttered ruleset and ability to activate any individual piece in any given turn (allowing you to "zoom in" on one part of the action, so to speak) and I think it shows well in their gameplay.

Talk of it being "too complicated" or "too fiddly" seem strange to me - other tabletop miniatures games keep track of facing, provide variable bonuses for attacks based on elevation and charge distance, ask players to cross reference charts in the rulebook for weapon jams and critical hits, and include rules for individual miniatures being prone, camouflaged, panicked, or injured. The level of complexity shown in the rules previews and gameplay video for Arena Rex are WAY streamlined in comparison.

I think it's more that it is different, new is always more complicated than old

I do wish WolfStark would keep this thread updated!