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 Pacific wrote:
Absolutely fantastic !

Love the imagery and miniatures shown so far, can't wait to see further updates.

 Trondheim wrote:
Looks too much like Infinity or some other bland skirmis game, so wont be pleding anything. But none the less, well done to the developers whom has sunken time into this

Infinity is 8-12 miniatures, this is 20-30. As well as that, this is squad level movement and action, and sounds quite different in terms of both concept and execution.

Meh I suppose it all depends on how you look at it

@Theo, I asked that back on page 1 or 2, no response

 GrimDork wrote:
So will this game have a set of Mod Cubes designed for it?

 Theophony wrote:
Will there be any MODcube tokens for this game

Sorry for the delayed reply, GrimDork!

There is a lot of interest in making a set of ModCubes compatible with MEdge! I actually showed legoburner a prototype at Last year's AdeptiCon

Nothing is finalized yet, but I'll be sending yakface a few production sample ModCubes to bring to Salute in two weeks and have ready to show if anyone wants to see it there, and we are hoping a collaboration can happen . More details to come if and when things get finalized!

Cool beans, I figured you guys may be working together at some point

First off, congratulations on getting as far as you have and good luck with your game. I'm definitely coming for a look at Salute. It looks like you've put a great amount of effort in to produce a cohesive background, game, models and novels.

But the Eperian contractor does not look good. He looks like a bad Quake 2 skin. I think you might have to work on him and his buddies before the kickstarter.

What about that Firefly idea?

 Darnok wrote:
How about that Firefly idea?

I can't imagine jokey/not other IP models are high on the list...

 pretre wrote:

 Darnok wrote:
How about that Firefly idea?

I can't imagine jokey/not other IP models are high on the list...

especially considering Dakka's (sensible) stance on avoiding lawyers by not allowing discussion of IP sensitive stuff like recasting

I'm pretty sure Darnok was just being jokey, what with the winky face and all.

Ooooo, this looks sexy.

I think I might back the KS.

Didn't think of this till they brought up the modcube idea, but have you given any thought to working with 3rd party bits makers like Victoria Lamb, Mad Robot, Max Mini, or Kromlech?

A lot of their stuff is already compatible as is, but it would be cool to see 3rd party companies making bits for subfactions in a certain group.

I realize this probably won't happen because of legal shenanigans, but it would be awesome to see. I know Ill be mixing stuff in for my Karelians regardless because I just love kitbashing.

Edit:

Also, I kind of like the Kareluans. The pants make sense. I work outside a lot with chaps and stuff like that, and they tend to be very bulky and look a lot like that. Since these guys are essentially a schmuck like me with a gun, it makes sense that the military chaps over their pants would look baggy and bulky. The shoulders look a bit too bulky because of the armor, but I think part of it is the paint job. I actually prefer them to the religious guys, who I just don't really care for.

Here are responses to questions from page 5, thanks all!

bbb wrote:How will the rules be available? Only in the starter set? Expensive hardcover? Cheap travel-sized paperback?

Starter set will have an A5 book and we'll also have digital for sure. Hardcover is planned but timescale is not pinned down for that one as it is tied to logistical volumes.

bbb wrote:
How will rules for armies be released? To start, will everything be in the main rulebook? Will there be a "codex" for each army? If each army gets a "codex" is there an idea of how many years will be between revised versions? OR will new rules/units be released via combined books like with Malifaux or WarmaHordes?

We'll cover that nearer the time, but when a new unit comes out the rules will be included and there will not be multi-year gaps between revised versions. We've designed a unique army building system which allows us to refresh or tweak the meta without need for expensive book purchases from gamers. It is better to think of releases as units rather than armies because the function and flexible range of each unit is quite dramatic, so a force built around one type of unit would play massively differently compared to a force built around a different type of unit. Much more so than 40k and other games.

bbb wrote:
If I have to spend $100ish on rules before I can play the game then I'm less interested in playing. I've spent a few hundred dollars on Malifaux, Infinity and Warmachine because I don't have to sink tons of money into rules (that will eventually be obsolete anyway).

While we are charging for the rules, we do want them to be as widely read as possible so will be certainly pricing things very competitively on that front. I was put off flames of war because of the constant reissuing of expensive books - it really broke my interest in building FoW armies, and spending over a thousand bucks to keep up with the latest rules for 40k is also insane. Our rules will be accessible for sure.

bbb wrote:
Any plans for official tournaments or game days?

It is a route we want to go down, but there are a lot of variables and things to deal with first, so there wont be anything on that front for quite a long time yet.

bbb wrote:
Will games be played over normal generic sci-fi terrain, or are there any specific kinds of terrain that will be needed? What % of the battlefield should be covered with terrain for a normal game?

All normal terrain. Each faction has some objectives which are best represented with terrain or models, but we'll have cardboard versions of them in the box for those who dont want to make their own. A variety of terrain increases tactical options (and fun), but pretty much everything you'd expect from other games will work well. The more terrain the better as cover is a very big thing in avoiding suppression. A fairly open battlefield still works but you lose a huge amount of tactical flexibility so you'll want to get some terrain on there.

bbb wrote:
Will starter sets have two different armies in them or be monofaction?

There will only be one starter set and it will contain both factions. Managing a single large box keeps costs down enough that we get more logistical and sales flexibility compared to having multiple starter boxes.

bbb wrote:
Will EVERYTHING be HIPS, or will there be metal/resin models as well?

Only HIPS. There will be no resin and metal in the first year of release, and provided we hit the volumes we need, we'll avoid resin and metal forever. Our entire production, packing and distribution chain is geared around HIPS exclusively. We are very much of the opinion of go big or go home, so we didn’t want to do this project if we couldn’t go all out on plastic from the start. This also gives us a major advantage in that our production process is almost entirely automated, so we can expand to fill any volume without delays, so if we do meet with big numbers, it wont have much of a knock on impact like it would if we suddenly had to cast up and QC 10x more models than planned.

bbb wrote:
Will there be a regular source of information for the game (blog/webzine/magazine)?

The maelstrom's edge website, facebook page, twitter feed and mailing list will all provide frequent updates. We do not have plans for a blog or zine at this time because the success of those depends on community driven content which we wont have until post-launch. Hiring a team to create content for them to the level of quality that we would demand would not deliver a good ROI at this stage.

bbb wrote:
Will you have a community outreach team (Outriders/Press Gangers/Henchmen)?

Not initially, but we are still pre-kickstarter. That is something to be reviewed later in the year.

Krinsath wrote:
How long of a campaign are you guys looking to run? That'd really help with planning out monies.

End of April to start of June so that we cover 2 pay days for most people. Going over 30 days is a bit of a no-no, but we are confident with Dakka's traffic numbers and proper pacing that we can get away with it.

partisan_nick wrote:I echo wath many others have said: Plastics are bloody great! I really likte the Karist models! I do not like the the Eprian. They look to squat and GW. Huge metal shoulderpads but no other armour? Not even helmets? The cyborg (?) modifications ad interest to the models but not enough to win me over. Actually, removing the pads and adding helmets would be enough to make me interested. On the other hand I could cut down the pads and change the helmets myself, since I have a feeling that they will be a part of my sweet-spot pledge anyway! :-)

The heads and arms are distinct parts, so are trivial to swap out with other scale compatible parts, the arms having a flat join too. It is funny hearing the proportional comments about the Epirians because they are actually a touch closer to real human scale than the Karists and I personally thought that people might be making those comments about the Karists rather than the Epirians. If the 3D sculpts for them are overlaid on a properly proportioned human model, they fit more than the Karists, but close up photography does change the perception of proportions a touch which is why we are very eager for people to see them in person as they do look great and are my personal favourite of the infantry models.

All of our models are designed to look good as a faction together, so while there are elements which might look a bit non-standard on the individual models, once you see how they relate to the shapes of the robots that will be fighting alongside the Epirians it will all click into place and the whole force looks highly unified and awesome.

Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote:I wonder what the price will be for these miniatures? I hope they don't do what GW did with the dire avengers.

The final price is dependent on the initial volumes we hit with Kickstarter. Full on plastic development is incredibly expensive and time consuming, but delivers very good economies of scale once certain volumes are hit. We'll certainly be pricing competitively. A direct apples-for-apples comparison with other manufacturers does not really work as there are almost none who are operating at the level of detail we are, with our latest models utilising multiple slide core tooling and milling detail which is much crisper than the vast majority of other ranges.

 legoburner wrote:
It is funny hearing the proportional comments about the Epirians because they are actually a touch closer to real human scale than the Karists and I personally thought that people might be making those comments about the Karists rather than the Epirians. If the 3D sculpts for them are overlaid on a properly proportioned human model, they fit more than the Karists, but close up photography does change the perception of proportions a touch which is why we are very eager for people to see them in person as they do look great and are my personal favourite of the infantry models.

Seeing them in person isn't a practical option for most people. If a screenshot of the 3D sculpts overlaid on a properly proportioned human model would show that the poor proportions are just an illusion caused by the photography, then posting that screenshot is a good idea.

 AlexHolker wrote:

 legoburner wrote:
It is funny hearing the proportional comments about the Epirians because they are actually a touch closer to real human scale than the Karists and I personally thought that people might be making those comments about the Karists rather than the Epirians. If the 3D sculpts for them are overlaid on a properly proportioned human model, they fit more than the Karists, but close up photography does change the perception of proportions a touch which is why we are very eager for people to see them in person as they do look great and are my personal favourite of the infantry models.

Seeing them in person isn't a practical option for most people. If a screenshot of the 3D sculpts overlaid on a properly proportioned human model would show that the poor proportions are just an illusion caused by the photography, then posting that screenshot is a good idea.

I don't think the combat harem pants help matters much.

 Accolade wrote:
I'm pretty sure Darnok was just being jokey, what with the winky face and all.

The smiley was due to my previous question being not yet answered. I'm serious about this.

I think a setting like the ME one could incorporate a group of characters based on "Firefly". In my opinion it would fit perfectly. And I don't see an IP issue at all: make the models/background "inspired by" the series, and not a 1-to-1 copy, and I can's see anybody complaining. You'd catch a lot of fans though.

 AlexHolker wrote:

Seeing them in person isn't a practical option for most people. If a screenshot of the 3D sculpts overlaid on a properly proportioned human model would show that the poor proportions are just an illusion caused by the photography, then posting that screenshot is a good idea.

3D renders are incredibly misleading as there are so many different options for distorting the view with regards to proportional scaling modes that it would be a complete misrepresentation to show them. Showing a 3D render which appropriately scales the model would heavily distort the human reference and defeat the point entirely.

We appreciate that a sizeable percentage of people will not get a chance to see this in person before the kickstarter, and because of that we are planning on posting plenty of good scale reference pictures of the models as well as pictures of the models on a range of tabletop environments which should make it a lot easier to get a good mental picture of the quality and proportions models as time goes on.

I'm just immensely excited about this project. As far as the ability to put faith in a Kickstarter goes, I think one run by Dakka itself is about as reliable as you can get, and I think that adds a lot to the potential of the game, given the reputation Dakka holds.

Lego, if you've already answered this feel free to ignore, but what inspired you, yakface et all to create your own game? With Kickstarters, there are a growing number of 28mm-scale games all vying for what 40k has- ubiquity and popularity amongst gamers. How do you all see this game fitting in that group?

 Darnok wrote:

 Accolade wrote:
I'm pretty sure Darnok was just being jokey, what with the winky face and all.

The smiley was due to my previous question being not yet answered. I'm serious about this.

I think a setting like the ME one could incorporate a group of characters based on "Firefly". In my opinion it would fit perfectly. And I don't see an IP issue at all: make the models/background "inspired by" the series, and not a 1-to-1 copy, and I can's see anybody complaining. You'd catch a lot of fans though.

Firefly was a big influence for us when designing the setting, as well as other iconic SF universes like the Battlestar Galactica remake, Star Wars, Blade Runner, Mass Effect and Cowboy Bebop. But our goal was always to create a new universe that took inspiration from such masterpieces without feeling derivative of any one in particular. There will definitely be room in our universe for the kind of characters and story that Firefly did so well, but we hope that we can create some characters of our own (such as Epirian Sheriff Kyle Wynn and Karist priestess Zafah Eridra in the novels) that you will love just as much, rather than borrowing someone else's creation!

 Darnok wrote:

I think a setting like the ME one could incorporate a group of characters based on "Firefly". In my opinion it would fit perfectly. And I don't see an IP issue at all: make the models/background "inspired by" the series, and not a 1-to-1 copy, and I can's see anybody complaining. You'd catch a lot of fans though.

And also drive some away.

A lot of people are extremely, violently opposed to pop-culture 'inspired' miniatures thrown into an unrelated setting. Subtle references are all well and good, but outright grabbing something from one setting and throwing it into another... not so much. As good a fit as it may seem on the surface, for those people it breaks the continuity, and while the actual legal issues behind it are quite grey, some see it as little better than counterfeiting unless it's done with a specific arrangement with the original IP holder.


I can certainly see Firefly as a fertile ground for conversions and custom armies... but I wouldn't expect to see anything in the official release.

Hopefully I'll get chance to see this (and you guys! ) at Salute!

darrkespur wrote:

 Darnok wrote:

 Accolade wrote:
I'm pretty sure Darnok was just being jokey, what with the winky face and all.

The smiley was due to my previous question being not yet answered. I'm serious about this.

I think a setting like the ME one could incorporate a group of characters based on "Firefly". In my opinion it would fit perfectly. And I don't see an IP issue at all: make the models/background "inspired by" the series, and not a 1-to-1 copy, and I can's see anybody complaining. You'd catch a lot of fans though.

Firefly was a big influence for us when designing the setting, as well as other iconic SF universes like the Battlestar Galactica remake, Star Wars, Blade Runner and Cowboy Bebop. But our goal was always to create a new universe that took inspiration from such masterpieces without feeling derivative of any one in particular. There will definitely be room in our universe for the kind of characters and story that Firefly did so well, but we hope that we can create some characters of our own (such as Epirian Sheriff Kyle Wynn and Karist priestess Zafah Eridra in the novels) that you will love just as much, rather than borrowing someone else's creation!

Understood. I see where you're coming from, it is just not what I wanted to hear...


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 insaniak wrote:

 Darnok wrote:

I think a setting like the ME one could incorporate a group of characters based on "Firefly". In my opinion it would fit perfectly. And I don't see an IP issue at all: make the models/background "inspired by" the series, and not a 1-to-1 copy, and I can's see anybody complaining. You'd catch a lot of fans though.

And also drive some away.

A lot of people are extremely, violently opposed to pop-culture 'inspired' miniatures thrown into an unrelated setting. Subtle references are all well and good, but outright grabbing something from one setting and throwing it into another... not so much. As good a fit as it may seem on the surface, for those people it breaks the continuity, and while the actual legal issues behind it are quite grey, some see it as little better than counterfeiting unless it's done with a specific arrangement with the original IP holder.


I can certainly see Firefly as a fertile ground for conversions and custom armies... but I wouldn't expect to see anything in the official release.

Again: not my opinion, but I understand the reasoning. In the end I think it is safer to have a common ground for everybody, with the players doing "their thing" if they want to.

I hope the models allow for easy conversions.

Thanks so much to the team for all their great answers and openness!

It's unlikely that I'll buy this myself, but I think it'll be a success for three reasons:

1) Unlike a certain, well known company, they're talking to people and taking feedback. In the long run, this customer input and engagement will build up a loyal following.

2) It looks professional and some of those miniatures look first class. I've seen a lot of half-ass efforts over the years, but this definitely falls into the looks good category.

3) The rules. I have no idea how good Yakface is at writing a ruleset, but if he's as good as they say he is, then that could tip the balance. In earlier posts, people were comparing this to Gates of Antares, but if this is a better ruleset, then that may be enough to win the day.

Only time will tell.

Nicely done guys. I will certainly be coming to see you at Salute to have a closer look at the figures. The universe so far sounds pretty cool. Are you planning on making it a living, breathing universe that changes over time?

This also explains Lego's trip to the plastics factory a couple of years back too

 endtransmission wrote:
Nicely done guys. I will certainly be coming to see you at Salute to have a closer look at the figures. The universe so far sounds pretty cool. Are you planning on making it a living, breathing universe that changes over time?

That's certainly the aim. The novels tie directly into the planet of Zycanthus, which is where the first box set is also based. The nature of the Maelstrom means that the universe will naturally change as worlds are destroyed and cybel tunnel routes between systems are cut off. We hope if the game is a success that we can continue to expand the fiction and game in parallel to explore more of the Spiral Arm and evolve the setting, although we are also keen not to let anyone's models and armies become obsolete by any such changes - we want to keep everyone's army current within the meta as much as possible.

 Darnok wrote:

 Accolade wrote:
I'm pretty sure Darnok was just being jokey, what with the winky face and all.

The smiley was due to my previous question being not yet answered. I'm serious about this.

I think a setting like the ME one could incorporate a group of characters based on "Firefly". In my opinion it would fit perfectly. And I don't see an IP issue at all: make the models/background "inspired by" the series, and not a 1-to-1 copy, and I can's see anybody complaining. You'd catch a lot of fans though.

That's a *really* specific want/need!

Let this universe grow with its own cast and characters

 Accolade wrote:
Lego, if you've already answered this feel free to ignore, but what inspired you, yakface et all to create your own game? With Kickstarters, there are a growing number of 28mm-scale games all vying for what 40k has- ubiquity and popularity amongst gamers. How do you all see this game fitting in that group?

First off, when we started this project, there was no Kickstarter (let that sink in a moment!). Second, it seems like so many of us just don't have the time or inclination to paint up 80-150 models anymore and certainly while an 'army' scale 28mm game is amazing to see and play, there is also plenty of room for the type of game that 40k really cut its teeth on being (20-30 models per side) and Warmachine nicely caters to in the Fantasy/Steampunk realm. But for whatever reason, there have been painfully few sci-fi games of any note trying to tackle that specific need (and pretty much none before Kickstarter, which is when we embarked on this).

If you want to hear more beyond that, I'll be on the upcoming D6 Generation podcast episode talking about the game. The Lost Chapter (which they do charge money for) in particular is exactly the discussion of how the project all got started and such.

Are we going to see anything bizarre or lovecraftian emerge from the other side of the Maelstroms Edge?

@Yakface

you probably want to re-pin the D6G back on the top of the discussion board before then... it seems to have fallen off

This looks very exciting, a 20 - 30 miniature game sounds great for ease of entry (especially if buying two armies), but maintaining some level of tactical combat.

Can you shed any more light on the rule set objectives? Is this aimed to provide platoon level combat with a modern spin (suppression, fire superiority, maneuver) or is it more stylized?

Will the units interact directly with terrain, placement matters, or is the terrain interaction abstracted. (With the small scale and facing models, I hope that interaction with terrain is not abstracted...)