-Loki- wrote:
Sounds a lot like Malifaux, just swapping drawing a hand for drawing Engine cards and deciding the entire lists activation order in advance but unknown to the other player.

 Alpharius wrote:
I thought Malifaux was 'diceless'?

Twisted isn't, is it?

I'm...confused?

 spiralingcadaver wrote:

 -Loki- wrote:
looking at the market rate[...] the price is absurd. But people have found worth int it since two people have taken it, so more power to them.

My old home town's gotten known for $5 toast, and in new york there's a trend of $10-ish for a cup of soup broth... separating idiots from their money just frustrates me, not because of the idiots losing their money, but those taking it exploiting their idiocy...

 jah-joshua wrote:
should all artists have to take day jobs to survive, because art should be cheap???

 spiralingcadaver wrote:

 jah-joshua wrote:
should all artists have to take day jobs to survive, because art should be cheap???

I'm about the last person you'd hear that from, I just find those prices completely unreasonable.

 Alpharius wrote:
Interesting!

Is the 4th Faction the mercenary one?

Update #18

Feb 24 2016
Twisted Terrain - A closer look at The Old Corner Shop!

At Demented Games we realised early on in development that interesting Terrain would help enhance the gameplay of Twisted a great deal.

We set out to find just the right people to help us an we were lucky enough to be able to partner with the awesome guys at CNC Workshop to produce some absolutely stunning laser cut MDF buildings that will really make your Twisted table stand out!

In this update we'll take a closer look at the structure we call “The Old Corner Shop”. Please bear in mind this is a painted example of the first test cut we did so some improvements to certain areas have been made since this version!

The Old Corner Shop shown in these images also uses the optional add on Roof Tiles. See our Add-ons section of the main page for more details.

Front View


Here you can see a pretty much dead on front shot of the Shop. Gretel and the Urkin are having some kind of disagreement (apparently about Cake) whilst those inside keep an eye on proceedings from above!

The wee Steampunk camera is a simply stunning use of laser cut card and shows of the kind of cunning devil that Craig from CNC workshop is – such detail and finesse from a flat sheet of card! The Old Corner Shop is quite a large building – something you may not have picked up well from the renders we have shown previously and it is brimming with Art Nouveau style sweeping shapes and obscure steampunk devices (what DOES that machine on the wall do exactly!).

The Alley Balcony



You can see as we turn the building that a small balcony is attached by a doorway in the side of the Shop. This will comfortably hold a miniature, even a couple of them! This structure need not be glued in place – it will stay put on its own and this is useful as The Old Corner Shop has been designed in such as way that more than one of them can be butted up to form a larger building or the archway can be popped between two of them.



The door's height also matches that of the Walkways we have designed! We are aiming to keep some consistency in the dimensions of our terrain so Walkways always meet doors and buildings will fit together in a cohesive table where stuff just works!

You will also note that the Urkin has made a rather risky climb and now perches high up on a ledge, awaiting the opportunity to dive down and do 'orrible things to a passer by! Although The Old Cake Shop doesn't have a useable interior it has plenty of levels and perches for your Characters to get around on, fight from and, if you are unlucky, fall off!

The "Other" Side



This is the plainer side of the building. There are some really cool little details here but this side is fairly simple. We hope to be able to offer you some sheets of Steampunk and Twisted style details that you can use to personalise this kind of flat area should you wish. Some posters or other details would also make this wall come to life! Craig's excellent weathered paint effect does a cracking job though and we think it looks just fine as it is!



Here's a view that shows the roof. You can have your Characters clamber up there and fire down on their foes! The chimney isn't locked into any particular position so you can move it about, change it for a different one or even leave it off if you fancy!

That's it for now. More pics and details to come soon!

For more information on the other awesome creations of CNC Workshop check out their website: https://www.miniaturescenery.com/index.asp you can also find them on Facebook!

Update #19

Feb 25 2016
Concept Development - The Guardians of Set



With the Egyptian Expansion getting close to unlocking we thought you might appreciate a bit more of a detailed look at the work that went into the development of the foot soldiers of the Faction – the Guardians of Set.

The first stage in the development of a Character in Twisted starts with an idea of what we want to achieve. I the case of the Guardians of Set we wanted basic troops to fill a Company that kept the character and feel of Ancient Egypt yet could be rooted in our alternate 19th Century world.

We settled on the idea of Bedouin workers from Carter's archaeological dig, twisted by the influence of the uncovered node of The Engine. These workers now worship the Avatar of Set and have taken to wearing masks that indicate their fealty to this dark and dangerous being.

Once we have the idea down Peter does a quick sketch (or a series of them) so we have a visual guide and can better define what we want to the concept artist. This makes the process much smoother as the artist already has a starting point from which to work.



We also source reference pics – these are usually fairly general but each one will contain elements we like and wish to see translated into the Characters. On top of that we will provide a written brief that gives the artist an idea of how the miniatures are intended to play in the game and some key points we want to see in the drawings.



From this point we await the first pass of sketches. In this case we decided to focus on the heads initially as the Set like masks would really define the character of these miniatures.

The talented Nicolas Amoroso was given the job to design the Guardians of Set and his first sketch, whilst really cool, had strayed a little into the monstrous! We had initially told him that some Guardians would be humans in masks and some would have been warped into Set like beasts so although he had followed our instructions he'd gone just a whisker too far.



Although this direction was a bit off it was very useful in that it defined to us that masks were a better way to proceed. We redirected Nicolas and his next sketch was perfect! Just what we wanted!



Having absolutely nailed the heads Nicolas proceeded to explore some variations in weaponry and pose. Here's an example of one of the sheets of sketches we were sent.



The feel of the Guardians is really starting to take shape here! We are starting to get the poses down and you can really begin to see what the miniatures might look like. There is already the mix of static and very dynamic poses that we went with in the end. We felt mixing the two really gave the group as a whole lots of character and it allowed us to explore some interesting design options.

The Bows didn't make it past this stage. We'd firmed up how we wanted the Guardians to run in a game of Twisted and we had decided to use two base profiles for them, one more Close Combat oriented and one focusing on Ranged Combat. It's a similar pattern to the Urkin but each kind of Guardian is a better all-rounder than the small demented lads!

From these base sketches we selected 6 for development further and they then go through several stages that better define the exact look we want, each sketch building on the last.

Here are two of the final concepts for the Guardians of Set. You will note that one includes the Hound of Set – an awesome little add-on that Nicolas came up with that has now become its very own miniature! This is an example of the concept artist being creative and coming up with absolutely brilliant ideas that we can then run with.





That's it for this update. More to come as the campaign progresses!

We hope this short update gave you a better idea on how we go about developing Characters and Concepts for Twisted! It is an absolute pleasure to be showing these off to everyone and, with your fantastic support, we can go on producing many more lovely miniatures for you!

Update #20

Feb 25 2016
Twisted in Figure Painter Magazine!

The excellent folk at Figure Painter Magazine have done a company profile on Demented Games in Issue 34!



It includes a brand new sneak peek at the WIP sculpt of Set! - never before seen (apart from by us of course)!

We love Figure Painter Magazine - it is a fantastic resource for painters, gamers and hobbyists alike!

Check out the latest issue here:
http://www.figurepaintermagazine.co.uk/

Grab all the back issues if you haven't seen them - it's absolutely the best value you will find!

Update #21

Feb 26 2016
Friday night news!

Hello to all our wonderful backers!

I know I've said this lots but thank you so much for your support! Sebastian and I and really proud and humbled that you all like our project enough to invest your hard earned money into it!

Today has been a very cool day on the Twisted front with brand new concept art coming in from Owen Aurelio! Owen is working on one of the two "hidden" Characters for the Egyptian Expansion and I will be able to tell (and show) you lots more about that tomorrow!. This new art is being developed as a direct result of your support so, in as much as this is our project, it is now officially yours as well!

He is also working on art for our next Stretch Goal so that is something to look forward to as well!

I have a big weekend! Updates to write, video shoots for Dungeon Fodder and demo games at Gatekeeper Games here in Melbourne on Sunday (from 5pm to whenever we finish!)

Here are some links!

Dungeon Fodder (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr2yKfOyDqcW8zMSzT0db5Q)

Gatekeeper games (http://www.gatekeepergames.com/)

If any of our Melbourne backers want to call by and say hi I'd be more than happy to shake your hand and run you through a game of Twisted!

Having got past all that I thought you might like to see the very first piece of art that was done for Twisted!



This was done the day after our initial meeting when we decided that the creation of Twisted was to be our goal. I flew home from Sydney, bought a brand new sketch pad and got to work!

This sketch is the very first iteration of Feygin. You can see that although he went through some changes, in essence, the miniature we ended up creating was very much in keeping with the first drawing that was ever done for Twisted!

This sketch, and many more like it, will feature in the electronic art book that comes in the Pledges of Launcelot level and above! We have created lots of really brilliant stuff (if we do say so ourselves) and we can't wait to show you just how much effort and work has gone into getting Twisted into the fantastic position we are in now!

Again - thank you all so much!

You have made it all worthwhile!

Cheers
Peter

Update #22

Feb 26 2016
Character Design Focus - Indie



As the Egyptian Expansion is so close we have started work on the concept art for the two missing Characters from that set. Your incredible support is allowing all of this new work to happen!

This material is literally only days old! The newest sketches are shown here hours after that have been submitted for our review! We will keep posting updates on Indie as the concept art develops – you will be able to track along with us and see a Twisted Character come to life!

First up we have begun to develop Indie into her final form with the help of our most excellent artist Owen Aurelio. She's a rough and tumble Character, full of energy with a quick wit and a certain rugged charm, yet more than able to take care of herself should push come to shove!

First up here is my initial sketch. This is what the silhouette in the Stretch Goal is based on. This was only a very quick drawing so please excuse the slightly funky anatomy!



As we closed on the Stretch Goal I briefed Owen quickly on what we wanted. Owen has been working on Twisted now for over 2 years so he knows what we like and it was a really loose brief! His first sketches show the pose that the miniature is likely to end up in. None of this is final yet – the pose might evolve but this is the starting point and we are pretty happy with it.



From here we being to develop the details. You can see how Owen has taken the rough draft and pushed the Egyptian feel to be closer to the rest of the range. He has changed her coat slightly to be more like the character that inspired her. You can also see a canopic jar illustrated that will hand at her waist (along with the iconic satchel which has yet to be added).



There is a reason most of the Characters in our Egyptian Range carry canopic jars! The Engine node that Carter discovered was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians and they placed hundreds of mummies and canopic jars around to to be blessed by its power in the afterlife.

The canopic jars and mummies became infused with the power of The Engine and have developed a kind of sentience and a close link to The Engine. They now have the ability to bond with a host, melding the personality of that host with that of the ancient Egyptian the jar represents. The eternal life they were promised has become a reality!

I hope you enjoyed this update. As Owen submits more art I'll keep showing it off. This way you can see exactly the process we go through to bring you the fantastic Twisted range of miniatures.

Cheers
Pete

Update #23

Feb 27 2016
Rules Update - Combat in Twisted!



The Urkin peered over the railing of the staircase. Below him, in the dank square, stood the armoured form of Launcelot. He motioned to his companion who slipped through the railings and dropped to the wet cobblestones below.

Both lads knew this would be a challenge that could result in a short and bloody end for them but if they could manage to take down the knight then wouldn’t Bill be pleased!

Quietly they prepared their weapons, such as they were, and positioned themselves to attack!

This update is designed to show you some of the combat mechanics of Twisted and give you a much better idea of how the game plays. We’ll cover movement to some extent, Ranged Combat and Close Combat. You will also see how the Eye of The Engine cards interact with the Characters during the turn.

We start with two Urkin facing off against Launcelot. This is a most uneven fight with the Urkin being 25 points in total against Launcelot’s 49 points. If they can manage to beat him (and in Twisted it is always a possibility) it would be a marvellous effort indeed!

The skirmish starts with the Urkin holding Priority and the Favour of The Engine (see the previous updates). The Favour of The Engine allows them to draw two Eye of The Engine cards and choose which to keep. They draw Leaden Feet which would slow Launcelot down and Might of The Engine that makes one of them stronger. They decide to keep Might of The Engine as the range at which the fight is occurring means that slowing Launcelot down won’t help too much and they are really keen to kill him if they can!



Launcelot draws It’s not your time which can heal him. As he doesn’t have Favour of The Engine he only gets to draw the one card. Luckily for him it may prove handy!

The Urkin sort their Activation Cards (see previous update - The Turn Structure of Twisted), deciding that the Shooter should go first. Launcelot is likely to want to get into Close Combat as quickly as he can and firing into Close Combat is tricky so the Shooter wants to get his shots in first!

The Urkin loads a round into his ramshackle gun and takes aim. He has two Actions and has decided to use both of them in shooting at the heavily armoured knight.

Combat in Twisted is resolved by an Opposed Roll between the foes. Each rolls a 20 sided dice and adds the relevant Attack and Defence modifiers (see the "A Look at a Character Card from Twisted" Update). The highest number is successful - remember in the case of a tie the player with the Favour of The Engine will be considered the winner!

The Urkin’s first shot is shown below:



Taken by surprise Launcelot fails to dodge quickly enough and the shot hits home but is deflected by the his heavy armour. In a panic, and wondering if his gun is powerful enough, the Urkin quickly loads again and fires once more...



This time the shot misses, whether Launcelot was fast enough to avoid the whizzing bullet or whether, in his panic the Urkin simply missed is unknown!

Launcelot now Activates and Charges the Urkin Slasher in front of him He will deal with the somewhat annoying attentions of the Shooter later. He moves into contact and brings his long, lethal blade to bear...

Charging, which is a double move Action, gives Launcelot +1 to hit and damage for this round of Close Combat but causes his Defence to be at -1 until the Maintenance Phase of the turn. A Charge move must be a straight line - you can't run (which is a normal pair of move actions that can include corners) and engage in Close Combat.

Knowing that his chances are slim the Urkin decides to Tempt Fate and is lucky enough to draw “Body of Iron”. This increases his armour by +3 for this round of Combat and will certainly help him survive! Additionally this card has a green Eyecon on it so the Urkin keep the Favour of The Engine for the moment.



The Urkin tried, as best he could, to defend himself but the skill of the knight proved too great and the blade bit deeply, even with the aid of The Engine the Urkin very nearly ends up in the Wounded state.

When a Character is Twisted reaches the wounds marked in red on their card they become Wounded and all their statistics, with the exception of Armour, drop by 2 until they are either healed or taken out of action.

Causing at least 1 wound to a foe also gains Launcelot 1 priority counter which will go towards determining who will act first next turn.

In addition Launcelot’s sword is extremely sharp and can cause Characters he wounds to begin to Bleed. This means that they lose 2 more wounds in the Maintenance Phase of each turn. The check to avoid this is a Finesse Check at 10 plus the damage dealt.

The Urkin Rolls a 15 plus his Finesse of 3 for a total of 18, passes the check and is alright although quite seriously bloodied.

Having survived the Urkin then has his options limited. He can either stay and fight or try and Disengage. He decides to stay and try to hurt Launcelot, bringing his heavy axe down hard!

The Eye of The Engine card - The Engine's Might is played on the Slasher as he Activates. This increases his Strength by 3 for the remainder of the turn!



Remarkably he lands a blow and manages to find a weak spot in Launcelot’s steel coat, wounding the knight! This gives him 1 Priority counter too and ends the Activation Phase.

Launcelot still holds the "It's Not Your Time" Eye of The Engine card but as that card can only be played when you Activate he is unable to heal himself.

In the Maintenance Phase both Companies add up their Priority Counters to see who will have Priority the next turn. In this case each Company has 1 counter, as this is a draw it is resolved in the favour of the Urkin who hold the Favour of The Engine.

All Eye of The Engine Cards return to the deck and a new turn begins with drawing fresh ones!



The Urkin again draw two as they still hold the Favour of The Engine. This time they keep Deadly Destiny which turns all hits for one Activating Character into Critical Hits! Fantastic against the heavily armoured knight.

Launcelot draws The Eye is Elsewhere - a very handy card indeed as it cancels your opponent's Eye of The Engine card and changes the Favour of The Engine to you!

A Critical hit is normally a roll of 20 on the 20 sided dice when attacking. Your opponent cannot Defend against the hit and their Armour is halved against the damage done. In Close Combat these hits also have the possibility to stun your foe!

Again the Shooter Activates first. The Slasher is stuck in Close Combat so the Shooter needs to go first so he can engage before Launcelot kills the Slasher! He Could shoot into combat but it’s at -4 if he wants to avoid any chance of hitting his ally!

As he Activates the Deadly Destiny card is played on him. Launcelot’s player immediately counters by playing The Eye is Elsewhere. The cancels out Deadly Destiny and switches the Favour of The Engine to Launcelot!

He moves down the stairs and attacks Launcelot from the rear! Having done this Launcelot is now Outnumbered as there are more Urkin in the fight than he has allies. He is also Flanked as the Urkin are directly opposite one another. In addition the Shooter gains an extra +1 to hit for this round of Combat only for attacking from the back!



The Shooter tries his best but at the last moment loses his grip on his knife and the blade slides off the knight’s back!

The two rolls ended up a draw - as Launcelot has just received the Favour of The Engine the draw is resolved in as a win for him so the Urkin misses!

Taking a firm grip on his blade and ignoring the Urkin Shooter again, Launcelot attacks the bloodied Slasher.



The Urkin throws up a feeble defence and the knight’s razor sharp blade sends the foul creature slumping to the cobblestones with a groan. This gains Launcelot 3 Priority Counters for taking a foe out of action!

Launcelot has a Special Ability called Determined. When he takes an opponent out of action he may immediately make an extra attack against an adjacent foe.

Turning around Launcelot draws back his sword and attacks the Shooter...



It’s a Critical hit and the Shooter is despatched in one quick (and rather messy) strike! The battle is over with Launcelot a touch battered but now in possession of an impressive 6 Priority Counters!

He’d be in a great position to go first next turn if any foes still survived!

Launcelot sheathed his sword and regarded the small corpses arrayed at his feet. As his mind cleared from the influence of The Engine he had a pang of regret. These were no more than children. They deserved a better death than this - no he thought - they deserved a better life...

He turned and walked away. More determined than ever to find Bill Psyches and put an end to his particularly foetid form of evil.

I hope this gave you a good idea of how Combat works in Twisted! If you have any questions please feel free to ask them below!

The next rules update will cover Alchemancy - the magic system of Twisted!

Cheers
Pete

Update #24

Feb 27 2016
Monkey Magic!

A slight change to the Monkey King Stretch Goal



Hi all!

We have had LOTS of you fine Backers wanting to ensure you get a copy of the Resin Monkey King. We expected him to be popular but not quite this popular - so a huge thank you!

To help alleviate this problem we have decided, after much deliberation, to remove the limitation of 250 copies and make him purely a Kickstarter Exclusive!
He will be sold in Resin only through the Kickstarter. We will produce to order and then no more resins will be made.

He will be available later as a general release in metal however.

Cheers
Pete & Sebastian

Update #25

Feb 28 2016

Bases and Busyness!


Hi all!

I picked up a set from of the laser cut bases from Craig at CNC Workshop the other day and finally got around to taking a decent photo!

Here they are in all their glory!



Don't they look fantastic painted up! I'm a big fan of the depth he has managed to work into them and they will look fantastic with a mini on top! Look at the way he has cunningly cut the cobblestones so they look uneven and natural - I tell you the man is a genius!

Here is a link to their site again:

https://www.miniaturescenery.com/index.asp

If you haven't checked it out yet I encourage you to do so!

On a separate note I spent this evening out at Gatekeeper Games running Demo games of Twisted! I was blown away by the positive reactions to both the miniatures and the rules and it was fantastic to be able to meet some of our Backers in person!

Here's a quick shot I took of the demo table. You can see #42 Carver Lane, The Old Corner Shop and the two Walkway kits being used alongside the terrain I hand built for Cancon (a local Aussie convention 2 years ago).



The play mat is the normal 3' x 3' area for Twisted but I didn't fill it as I was only running a small, short game to show off the mechanics.

Hope you all have had as good a weekend as I have had!

Cheers
Pete

Update #26

Feb 29 2016

Twisted Tales - The Beginning

Hi Everyone!

I thought you might like to read one of the backstories we have developed in support of Twisted. These short tales serve to illustrate the personality of our Characters and go towards building a more immersive experience for our players and collectors!

Read on and experience the rich world we are creating for you!



“This is...it?”

Bill Psyches glanced at Feygin menacingly, hefting his cudgel with the implicit menace of a painful reproach.

“Yes, Bill my darling, this is the device — the Engine Node, if you will.” The decrepit pickpocket crept back a pace, just beyond Bill’s reach. “The book I pilfered says it ‘as great power. Imagine what we could do with such power, Bill... just imagine it!”

Behind Feygin, Oliver, Dodger and the lads chattered excitedly, keen to explore the uncharted tunnels down which their old teacher had lead them. Beside them Nancy, thoughtful as ever, kept a careful eye on Oliver. The lad was delicate, without the stomach for Feygin’s shady endeavours, let alone the more visceral work in which Bill delighted.

“But ’ow does it work, you old fool?”

Feygin’s small manipulator arms twitched nervously. The mechanical harness had been very handy: the arms were stronger, faster than his own, responding deftly to his slightest thought. He was almost the skilful cutpurse he’d been in his youth. When he’d found the strange harness and the tome he somehow knew his life would never be the same. And now he hoped desperately that he’d read the instructions properly and that the change would be for the better.

“It’s this knob ‘ere, Bill!” Feygin indicated a large filigreed dial surrounded by intricate markings. “I’m sure it’s just a matter of getting a good ‘ead of steam up an’ ‘aving a fiddle.”

“If this don’t work, Feygin, I’ll be givin’ you a bloody good fiddle.” Bill moved closer to the Node, peering suspiciously at its arcane markings. At a nod from Feygin, Dodger moved to the boiler and shut the furnace door. He released the main valve and a steady rising note emanated from the assembly. The room started rattling as pipes and valves began opening and closing. With a hiss and a sputter, a small green light blinked to life on what Feygin took to be the main control panel. The old man approached the machine and, for a chilling moment, had the feeling the contraption was... watching him.

“It’s just a machine,” he told himself, but he couldn’t shake the uneasy sense of silent vigilance. With a hand that shook a little more than the pickpocket was accustomed to, Feygin reached for the dial he hoped was the control. “Gawd — let me be right”, he thought. “Bill will ‘ave me ‘ide if I’m wrong.”

But before he could touch the control his mechanical arms of the harness took on a life of their own, turning dials and pushing buttons faster than Feygin could follow. The chamber filled with an indescribable noise as the Node seemed to grow and fill the room, and yet simultaneously — somehow — remain precisely the size it had started. Feygin staggered back, diving behind a brickwork bastion as rays streamed from hidden portals around the chamber, great slashes of piercing light cutting through the shadows.



Abruptly silence and darkness returned to the room, broken only by a sputtering lantern Dodger had dropped in the chaos. Feygin tentatively emerged from his hiding place, stepping over his fallen lads to recover the lamp. He held it up and surveyed the room, the narrow yellow beam falling on a familiar face — that of young Oliver.

“Yer alive, me boy! Thank ‘eavens!” Feygin exclaimed. But the words died in his mouth as his relief turned to horror. What had once been Oliver — meek, delicate Oliver — reared itself up on two huge arms, roaring an inhuman cry. The mild young boy had been transfigured, transformed, into… Ollyver, a misshapen terror which now stormed towards Feygin with murderous rage!

The old man stumbled backwards, madly scrambling over the wet stone. He noticed, almost idly, that one of his manipulator arms waved a hitherto unknown knife at the thundering Ollyver, almost of its own volition. But Feygin had no time to muse over whence the knife had come, as the berserk monstrosity leaped, smashing aside stone and iron pipework in its fury.

Just as he closed his eyes, expecting a swift, bloody demise, there came a great shout. A monstrous cudgel crashed into Ollyver’s chest, knocking him into the far wall. “’e’s not dying ‘less I kill ‘im!” hissed Bill, his voice lower, even more diabolical, than it had been before. He stalked across the chamber in two great strides of what appeared to be metal, hoofed legs. Bill had been dangerous before: now he looked like an incarnation of the devil himself.

Feygin knew something had gone wrong. Terribly wrong.

All around Feygin the lads were recovering from the blast. But they were different, somehow... twisted. “Nancy,” Feygin thought. “Nancy’ll know what to do.” His old eyes found her form slowly rising from a darkened recess. A metallic tentacle made a chilling sound as it rasped in a gentle, almost loving, caress across a fallen lad’s face...but only cold emanated from the shadows. Feygin’s eyes widened in fear as her sinister new form was revealed by the lantern’s light.

“Nancy....!”

Update #27

Feb 29 2016

Tinker Unlocked!

Tinkerbelle Unlocked


Hi to all our illustrious backers!

Tinker is now officially unlocked. We know we aren't exactly there but we are so close and you guys have all been really patient and supportive so we thought we would just give you all this little freebie a whisker early as a small token of our appreciation!

Now the push to that Egyptian Expansion and beyond! You guys have all been awesome so far - continue to spread the word as much as you can so we can bring you more wonderful stuff from the world of Twisted!

Cheers
- Sebastian and Pete

Update #28

Mar 1 2016

Twisted Terrain - The Twisted Staircase & Walkway





Hi all!

Here is today's update and we'll focus on the Twisted Walkways.

These fantastic MDF kits make some extremely characterful walkways to add to your table when playing Twisted! Remember Characters in Twisted can jump, climb and fall so the more levels and interesting areas your table has the more options the game opens up!

You can also leap into Close Combat if you are above a foe! This gives you an added bonus for the first round of fighting but if you fail to land safely you may end up in a very precarious position indeed - lying prone at your opponent's feet!



Here's a shot of the two of the kits together. As you cans see the steps have been designed so a miniature's base can hook between them if the basing is relatively flat. There is around 1-2mm play in the gap.

If you prefer more impressive basing then simply use the stair steppers we have designed to support your miniatures on the appropriate step.



The Walkway



The Walkway is a fairly good size piece at 150mm long and 80mm to the deck of the upper layer. To the top of the sunshade (which doubles as handy cover to ranged attacks from above) it is around 160mm. The deck of the Walkway is 45mm wide so a miniature on a 40mm base will fit comfortably along it.

What we like most about this piece is the way Craig from CNC Workshop has linked it to the other buildings in our range with the intricate Art Nouveau curves combined with the more traditional Steampunk motifs.

The Steps



The Steps are a lovely add-on for the Walkways and really add an extra element of interest to your games. We've already seen some wonderful fights occur in and around these at the demo days we have run recently! They match the dimensions of the Walkway precisely and also can be butted up against our other terrain where Craig has cleverly kept the key dimensions the same so everything matches perfectly!

You can build the steps with the lower flight facing, left, right or straight ahead to add even more variety to your board. Once again the Staircase also features the same unique design as the rest of the buildings in Twisted.

Remember these are available in the Terrain Pack add-ons or as part of Pledge Levels Ollyver, Tesla, Nouveau and The Engine.

To see more of CNC Workshop's excellent products check out their website:

https://www.miniaturescenery.com/

We are working away on more cool Terrain options so keep an eye out for more updates to come!

- Sebastian and Peter

 Piston Honda wrote:
Have the rules changed a lot from the beta rules a year ago?

Update #29

Mar 2 2016
Concept Development - The Avatar of Set



Hi all,

As we close in on the Egyptian Expansion we thought you might like to see how the deadly and impressive Avatar of Set was developed.

This update will give you a better idea of the kind of process we go through to develop the Characters and Miniatures that go to making up the world of Twisted!

As per usual we begin with an idea. We wanted Set to be large and imposing – a true beast of a miniature, full of threat and intensity.

Peter first did a quick sketch just for firm up some of our ideas and help guide the concept artists. In the initial version Set is quite metallic and hard edged with a huge sentient canopic jar forming his torso.



After pondering this for a while we decided that the basic direction was good and we passed it on firstly to Owen Aurelio who did a slew of development sketches that helped us to design the Faction as a whole and give us a basis of forms and ideas on which to work.



Included in these first batch of drawings was Owen's idea of the Avatar. It was super cool!



We particularly liked the leg treatment on his right leg and there were some beautiful shapes in the concept. It was around this point, as we began to close on the Kickstarter that we needed to get a move on with the work on the Egyptians so they were very nearly all concepted for the campaign. We still didn't quite make two of them but, as you know Indigo Ford is well underway and nearing completion and Horace is up next!

In light of the pace needed we decided to leave Owen on the side of the Faction that represented Carter and his associates and pass off the Guardians of Set and Set himself to Nicholas Amoroso. This seemed a natural split as the two sides of the Faction would end up with slightly different feels yet be close enough, and share a common ancestry, so they gelled as a group.

Nicholas set to work (see what we did there...) and came back with a sheet of pose ideas. By this stage the Guardians had been designed and it seemed only natural that Set should take cues from them so he looked like the figure they worshiped!



After choosing a pose and a few more development sketches we ended up with this stunning piece of concept art!



The final concept was just what we wanted – full of details and looking really glorious and imposing. The canopic jar from the very first sketch survived, albeit moved to his back, and the melding together of a Steampunk aesthetic with a real ancient Egyptian feel is just fantastic! The reference to the pose you often see Pharaohs in with the crook and flail was Nicholas' idea and we loved it!

Having settled on a concept it was now time to find a suitably talented sculptor to handle one of the cornerstone pieces in the Egyptian range. Valentin Zac, one of the world's finest sculptors, was available and we jumped at the opportunity to get him on the job!

Below you can see two of his work in progress shots and we are sure that you will agree this is going to be a superb addition to the Twisted range!




He has captured the pose beautifully and the musculature on the smaller arms is simply stunning! From the front you can see what a grand piece this will be on the table or simply painted up and placed in your cabinet!

In case you didn't see this in Figure Painter Magazine it was featured in Issue 24 along with a Company Profile on Demented Games that you might find interesting reading!



Check it out by following the link below:

http://www.figurepaintermagazine.co.uk/

- Sebastian and Pete

Update #30

Mar 2 2016
Terrain Housekeeping

Requested Images

Hi all,

We have had a couple of particular images requested recently.

Jean-Paul wanted to see the Ultimate Terrain Pack on a 3' x 3' board. You can see it below. The terrain is probably a little sparse for a really good game. Ideally you should aim to cover about half the available table area in terrain with some different levels if you can. If you add a some bits and pieces of scatter terrain along with some smaller buildings in to this mix you will be able to have a more than satisfying game though!



Of course other configurations of layout are possible using Ultimate Terrain Pack as the two Old Corner Shops and the Archway could be used separately from one another and the steps and walkways could be separated.



Craig at CNC is currently working on some smaller buildings that will be fantastic table fillers and cheaper than either of the current options. I will add images of those when we have them!

Speaking of Craig's work here is the latest creation! It's a set of fencing that can be used to block routes across the table and makes excellent cover for your Characters! Also attached to it you can see one of the WIP signs we are doing. The intention is to do a sheet full of signs and we are tossing up whether to engrave the names on them or offer a downloadable sheet of signs you can print out and glue on yourselves.



Neither of these have been test cut yet so I don't have a definite price on them yet but as soon as I have more info it will be given to you!

Much earlier in the campaign we had a request for a shot of #42 Carver Lane "au natural" - sorry - I can't remember who asked. I dug about my archives and could only find one that was the current version. You'll have to excuse my shady photoshop work (and the mess!)



It actually looks kind of cool without paint I think :-)

Hope that helps!

Cheers
Pete

Update #31

Mar 2 2016
The Egyptians Unlock!

Thank You!

With your support both the Egyptian Sets have now unlocked and they are available for selection as the "Faction Box" sets in the main Pledge levels.

These fantastic sets form the basis of the third Faction for Twisted. The Egyptians - an interesting mix of Characters someseeking knowledge and some seeking power!

Please be aware though that there is lots of sculpting work to happen with these sets yet so they, in all likelihood, won't ship with the main Pledges. We will work on them as quickly as we can but if you want to get playing fast you'll need to choose a Dickensians or Servants of The Engine set as they are both just about ready to go into production.




We can't express enough how appreciative we are of your support! This is amazing and, as the name suggests, this has given the world of Twisted a real Kickstart!

We have so many plans for the future of Twisted and you all have assured that these ideas, and many more, will come to fruition. We are amazed and humbled by your generosity and kind backing.

Along with the Egyptian sets becoming Faction Boxes this has also allowed us to release the Egyptians as Resin Add-on minis. These are the highest quality we can produce and are a wonderful canvas for painters and collectors alike.

You can now add these to your Pledges. As we said earlier please bear in mind these will probably form a second wave delivery as much of the sculpting is yet to be done.



Again - thank you for your amazing support!

- Sebastian & Peter