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wilycoyote wrote:

Talking of playmats is it me or is the T junction on the existing map off centre? If it is it will be hard to match up any extras we get.

I think the mat is like Deadzone - 8x8 3" squares - hence why the road is off centre as it is a line of squares itself. Does make lining up two tricky! (If playing with two I'd offset one by 3" to get a nice straight road, not bothered by an asymmetric battlefield).

I'm struggling to see what I'd spend $125 credit on right now. I don't want an army of either faction, happy to keep it a boardgame, and the scenery unveiled so far is unconvincing. It's only the mat, street furniture and (potential) civvies I'm sold on so far.

They just put up an awesome new update. Should drive some pledges.

Latest update is full of great info, including:

At 6:00pm BST/ 1:00pm EDT / 10:00am PDT on Friday 11th October, we’re going to be making the new BLOODSHED ON THE BATTLEFIELD pledge level available for this weekend only!

BLOODSHED ON THE BATTLEFIELD includes one copy of the Mars Attacks – The Miniatures Game, currently including 13 Martian Grunts, 9 US Soldiers, Ashley, Eva, Buddy, Brandi, Joe, General Tor as well as a Rulebook, standard Mat, Card Counters and 54 Card Deck, PLUS $325 worth of Core Add-ons of your choice, PLUS all applicable goals and stretch add-ons, for just $300!

That's right - you get more than your actual pledge in Core Add-ons (which are already discounted from the MSRP) AND the base game, plus all the boxed set upgrades! This will be the only time in the campaign where you get more credit than the amount you pledge!

This special level, celebrating New York Comic Con, will only be available until midnight Sunday 13th October (PDT) – once we hit that time they’re out, so you’ve got one chance! If we sell out before that time, we’ll open up a fresh batch so you can get involved before the clock runs down - but only until Sunday evening!

What else is coming:

- Martian with Freeze Ray (upgrade to boxed game)
- Set of Martian Marines
- Deke, Crazed Survivalist (upgrade to boxed game)
- Martian Dredd – Pledge Booster (so a poster or something?)
- US Trooper with Rocket Launcher (upgrade to boxed game)
- Set of Stealth Martians
- Anti-Saucer Truck
- Giant Robots
- Giant Bugs
- Martian with Shrink Ray (?)
- sheep-riding Martians???

I like the robot -- looks retro without being quite as silly as the original:

pretyt sure Dredd will be a miniature if they want to get people buying.

Gah update! Holy balls!

I was going to do the math to see what kind of better deal you'd get with the BotB pledge level, but my brain got too much sun today and is no good for mathing...

I agree that the robot looks very nice.

I played around with the math a bit. Still too tired to be sure, but it seems that BotB gives the same % increase of value for your dollar as IA. The interesting part to me was breaking it all down to component pieces and compare it that way. As it stands now, if you break down the MA box game into the add-ons you'd have to buy to make it, you get something like $100-$110. And there will be more free upgrades to it before we are done. So my feeble maths seemed to suggest that BotB is a better deal for you if you really really just want the most credit for your dollar, for specific purchases not inline with the boxgame x2. And getting IAx2 (especially with EB levels) is the better pledge for raw value (if you want 2x of what comes in the boxed game).

It's not quite cut-and-dried, I think. $150 pledge gets you $200 worth of stuff ($75 game + $125 credit), so two of those gets you $400 worth, with $250 in credit.

BotB also gets you $400 worth ($75 game + $325 credit).

The advantage of the former is that, as upgrades for the boxed game are unlocked, you get 2 of each - in Deadzone, this added up to a LOT. The advantage of the latter is no duplicates!

Then there's factoring in the early birds - if I spent $300 with my $140 early bird, I'd be effectively getting $270 credit, making that extra boxed game + stretch upgrades 'cost' $55. It is doing my head in!

Yeah, my napkin math may be a tad off or not quite right. I think the TLDR of it is that BotB is going to be the go-to for people wanting to max out credit for saucers robots etc, and IAx2 will be increasingly superior in terms of overall value.

Bioptic makes a good point. The double box set could turn into a much better deal as we get more minis in the main box. The new pledge level might not be a better deal as this KS evolves.

But if you're like me and only have a measured interest in the game itself but want a ton of scenery add ons, the $300 level is very very very tempting.

@judgedoug, that's pretty much the nail on the head. I'm gonna probably get BotB "just in case" and then either back down to a single IA (may lose my early bird, but the chance is worth it), or possibly double it instead.

I won't be going for it, but I'm glad they're doing it. It's already garnering a ton of interest and should really drive the pledge total.

I had promised/threatened myself to not go over the base 'sweet spot' pledge for this one... But I'm gonna change my pledge level just to be safe. So far bones has only got me interested in the core set and maybe the expansion, so I may not be overextending too much

Is anyone else as excited as I am for the US soldiers? They would be fan-frikkin perfect for zombie games.

~Tim?

In short, go for the $300 pledge if you want to pledge big on this even if you are sitting on a $140 early bird to double up.

I have a $140 EB, doubling that would give $400 worh of stuff, for $280 instead of the $300 for $400 deal that the new pledge level offers.

*However*

$75 of that value would be tied up in a second copy of the boxed game which isn't a good use of the add-on money compared to say, 3 flying saucers and the attack from space set.

It's a perfect pledge level for the big spender crowd. I'm sticking to my $140 EB and not going beyond that for this one (kinda miffed that I have to pick the not-useful mat and cards to get the KS exclusive mini, it takes choice away and I hope they won't release more KS exclusive attached to bundles than I can afford).

 Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:
Is anyone else as excited as I am for the US soldiers? They would be fan-frikkin perfect for zombie games.

~Tim?

I like them. Someone over on the KS comments talked about painting them black and gray to look more like a SWAT team. I thought that was a great idea.

Yeah, the $75 dollar game is somewhere around $100-$110 in value atm, due only to go up. But you've got to want what comes in the box, like every piece of it, otherwise BotB has a shiny $75 additional credit compared to double IA.

I'm about 5x more excited for the soldiers now that a KS backer suggested that he was going to paint them up like an SG1 team. Now i need extras. FUDGE. Can you just imagine the shenanigans you're new SG team can get into? Gating onto a world under attack by aliens they've never encountered, gating onto a planet that's been declared a deadzone! Damn him for making me want more soldiers!

This game is screaming tabletop with a bunch of buildings from Plasticville, and a base 4X4 with green railroad grass, or a styro board painted green.


mmmmmm............

How would those Pegasus saucers stack up to these figures?

 highlord tamburlaine wrote:

 Thatguyoverthere wrote:
I haven't pledged yet, but it's really tempting.

Am I the only one thinking about using all the pledge credit for duplicates of the U.S. Army Soldiers, then starting a kick-ass Imperial Guard Army?

The thought did cross my mind. A bunch of modern looking soldiers has all kinds of potential. Probably more so than Cold War era figures like the original cards.
In other news my 50th anniversary book has languished on the opposite end of the United States for the past week and I am getting quite tired of not seeing its shipping status get updated. Send my book already dammit!

Not to be a downer, but there are much better modern soldiers out there from places like Empress and Eureka - in metal rather than boardgame plastic, that also don't have that "almost-green-army-man" posing to them. And cheaper, to boot.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 GrimDork wrote:
I definitely considered the modern soldiers as not-guardsmen. Would need to find them some modern, properly scaled, tanks though. They would look silly with GW tanks since a lot of those seem to be world war tanks etc. Which scale is it that sort of fits 28mm again? 1/45-1/48 or something?

Reposting some stuff I posted yesterday inside the Mantic forum, about possible Corporation tanks - clearly these will be appropriate for moderns as well.

If you're after some nice, and very reasonably-priced tanks (or planes, or choppers) NOW (instead of in 2 years time) there's these:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Academy-Plastic-Model-Kit-1-48-British-Main-Battle-Tank-Challenger-13007-/281055295243?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item417033770b
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Academy-Plastic-Model-Kit-1-48-Israeli-Main-Battle-Tank-Merkava-13005-/271143492191?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item3f21695a5f
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Academy-Plastic-Model-Kit-1-48-US-Army-Main-Battle-Tank-M60-A1-13009-/271151062120?pt=Model_Kit_US&hash=item3f21dcdc68

http://stores.ebay.com.au/cameramate2010/Academy-/_i.html?_nkw=1%2F48&rt=nc&_fsub=604646819&_sid=990295329&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1513&_pgn=2
http://stores.ebay.com.au/cameramate2010/Academy-/_i.html?_nkw=1%2F48&rt=nc&_fsub=604646819&_sid=990295329&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14.l1513&_pgn=3

The quality is good. I've picked up three Challengers to use in various sci-fi games for less than the price of one Leman Russ tank at US rates, or slighly over half the price of a Russ in AU$ terms.

I'm late to the game and not particularly enthusiastic about digging through all the KS comments, so: when they say a 2'x2' paper mat, do they really mean paper, or is it cardstock like the DB pitch?

Also, are the ruins stackable, or are all buildings in Greenville one story?

Not sure about the mat, but buildings in Greenville do seem to be one story. They mentioned that they haven't and probably won't make rules for multiple levels and that's reflected in the scenery.

 judgedoug wrote:
But if you're like me and only have a measured interest in the game itself but want a ton of scenery add ons, the $300 level is very very very tempting.

Interesting. I might pick one of these up and then decide later on whether to stay in or not, since I'm pretty much just looking at the red brick buildings and such. Of course, $300 is about $150 more than I'm interested in spending at best, so there's that, as well as not having anything really interesting besides the red brick walls. Then again, picking one up "just in case" in the meantime can't hurt either with 30 days left on the clock...

I wonder if they might consider adding in the DeadZone scenery into this as well? That sort of thing would work well for "rust belt", "industry" and "just out of town" America...





Imagine what you could do combining the two!

I believe/hope that if the totals get high enough there will be additional "city-zones" in a kind of mirror of DZ's battle-zones. So, likely, intact buildings and such. Those may have more than one story.

Thanks for posting the links to those tanks. I think these KS campaigns are going to tap me out, but I may have to try kit or two when (if) things calm down.

Where is the information on the paintjobs on the figures.

I'm interested in seeing some paint lists and scales of the figures compared to some others.

I have a gak load of zombies that are itching for a taste of martian flesh.


FYI- those Topps cards pay for themselves later on. Just put them away and forget about them for awhile.

 GrimDork wrote:
Yeah, the $75 dollar game is somewhere around $100-$110 in value atm, due only to go up. But you've got to want what comes in the box, like every piece of it, otherwise BotB has a shiny $75 additional credit compared to double IA.

I'm about 5x more excited for the soldiers now that a KS backer suggested that he was going to paint them up like an SG1 team. Now i need extras. FUDGE. Can you just imagine the shenanigans you're new SG team can get into? Gating onto a world under attack by aliens they've never encountered, gating onto a planet that's been declared a deadzone! Damn him for making me want more soldiers!

There is already so much stuff in the box and only more going to go into it buying two makes more sense to me as it doubles the scenery and mat which is always going to be useful for larger games. When you factor in selling on the extra rule book/dice/cards you can't help but end up ahead.

For $25 out of the IA's $150, even not counting the rule book/mat/dice/cards you are getting $91.50 worth of stuff that will be useful for larger games or reusing the minis for other systems, in other words saving $66.50 over buying the minis separately.

Miniatures
Martian Grunts $15.00 1.5 $22.50
US Soldiers $15.00 1 $15.00
- General Zar $8.00 1 $8.00
- Senator Charles 'Buck' Spencer $8.00 1 $8.00
- Xiuhcoatl $8.00 1 $8.00

Scenery
Ruined Scenery Standard Pack $25.00 1 $25.00
Urban Accessories Set $5.00 1 $5.00

Note I've included a few of the character minis because you get at least four characters in the main set currently. I have also included 1.5 sets of Grunts as you get 13 in the main set not the 9 that the separate pack has.
$116.50
Compare that to the BotB set, you get one free game and $25 of credit free, that's $91.50 + $25 = $116.50 of free stuff, with two sets you get two sets for $25 of credit so ($91.50 * 2) - ($25 * 2) = $133 of free stuff.

Okay, I threw in $20. Either I'll get the scenery kit or a saucer. We'll see. Really I just did it to up the backer count and make sure I get something and the emails. Everything else I'll be putting with Tamburlaine's order.

Tamburlaine might be going up to the new pledge level, and don't you dare even think you're getting to spend all my credits!

 squall018 wrote:
Bioptic makes a good point. The double box set could turn into a much better deal as we get more minis in the main box. The new pledge level might not be a better deal as this KS evolves.

It really depends on whether extra basic grunts will be useful or not. The "freebies" are all unique characters so far, so I assume you can't field multiples anyway.

That new pledge level has really thrown me now. Was originally considering 3 x $140 early bird pledges with a little extra on too for non core addons on the basis that this would give me a decent amount of scenery, basic units and any free stretch goals however the new level is very tempting. Would be handy to know how much use additional basic squads will be. Potentially may get one of the new pledge levels and 1 early bird IA as a compromise (using 2 accounts).

Would be quite interested if they did add some of the less futuristic Deadzone scenery in as I didn't pledge for that campaign in the end.

 Some_Call_Me_Tim? wrote:
Is anyone else as excited as I am for the US soldiers? They would be fan-frikkin perfect for zombie games.

~Tim?

Not really, the gear/weapons are wrong and the poses are mediocre. These will be okay for a board game, or to let my daughter play with/paint. Between Empress and Eureka I can get (actually have) much, MUCH nicer US troops in better gear/weapons choices. I saw the 'Paint 'em Black' for SWAT suggestion, and again, there are a lot nicer SWAT figs out there. These are okay, fit the cartoonish theme of the game, but they sure do not excite me at all.

Now, if they can churn out a decent plastic M-ATV or accurate Stryker ICV in plastic I'll be pretty happy.

 lord_blackfang wrote:

 squall018 wrote:
Bioptic makes a good point. The double box set could turn into a much better deal as we get more minis in the main box. The new pledge level might not be a better deal as this KS evolves.

It really depends on whether extra basic grunts will be useful or not. The "freebies" are all unique characters so far, so I assume you can't field multiples anyway.

Right - the stuff from the designer suggests yes (you're supposed to be throwing around tons of fodder troops to die in droves), but I keep hearing "scenario-based" and "we'll include additional scenarios that use these characters/3 flying saucers". These may be scalable, but it sounds like they're focusing less on point-buy basic skirmish.

If I'm honest, though, I'm actually quite tempted to have at least a set of basic characters/troops that I leave unpainted for actual boardgame use! My paintjobs are hardly worldbeating, but I spend enough time on them that I don't want them to be tossed in a heap in a box. This way, I might actually have a skirmish-eque accessible boardgame that fits in one box and can be tossed in a rucksack without an attendant large miniatures case....