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Sold!

He looks good!

But once again using the RiTides Kickstarter Campaign Analysis Metric, it looks as if people are so offended by him that they're dropping their pledges. It is either that, or people are so sick of Ogres that they're reducing their commitments because of them.

Mallax would probably really get that total moving!

 OrlandotheTechnicoloured wrote:
Gaahn WIP since Rob is going to be busy at the UK games expo tomorrow (and over the weekend)

Thanks for posting this, Orlando! He's kind of cute

Alph, unfortunately I think you're beating a rather solo drum about the Mallax . Kind of hope they make it in at some point due to your obvious enthusiasm for them, but I'm really not a fan of the sculpt we've seen for them either (like Marley posted last page).

My problem with the current Mallax guy is he doesn't seem very sloth- like.



Apologies for my paintjob, but the picture in the background is of some prehistoric early ursid or something that my kid felt the sculpt was closer to than an actual ground sloth.

(I do like it though, and normally I'd vote for them, but it's far more fun watching Alpharius fight the good fight on his own.)

Wait, that is intended to be a ground sloth instead of a werewolf? How does one tell?

@Alph: One could use them to play Darklands, but have you read the rule book? I tried... I really did. It was ~60 pages before I knew what the turn sequence looked like, and then I gave up. I don't know if the game is good or not, but that game needs an editor so hard. I say that not as someone who needs every game to have 4 pages of rules max; RiTides can attest that my house is filled with rule books and the like. I REALLY like rule books! Darklands though, that is less a rule book and more a stream of consciousness novel written in Microsoft Project.

It really depends, there's a variety of extinct ground sloths, and an even wider variety of illustrations, then you factor in the artistic license for the human/bipedal influence.

I agree I'd have gone for a pointier muzzled, arguably more sloth-y vibe though. The Mallox is a much better take IMO.

The exposed teeth and the way the fur goes around the muzzle are what I feel give it more of a canine look.

But yeah, there's so many types of sloths and such a wide artistic license on it, it's hard to make it exact.

But then there's the Mallox, which I think is way more closer to what a battle sloth should look like...

 Wehrkind wrote:
Wait, that is intended to be a ground sloth instead of a werewolf? How does one tell?

Fomor don't need no stinking Weres, that's how one tells!

@Alph: One could use them to play Darklands, but have you read the rule book? I tried... I really did. It was ~60 pages before I knew what the turn sequence looked like, and then I gave up. I don't know if the game is good or not, but that game needs an editor so hard. I say that not as someone who needs every game to have 4 pages of rules max; RiTides can attest that my house is filled with rule books and the like. I REALLY like rule books! Darklands though, that is less a rule book and more a stream of consciousness novel written in Microsoft Project.

I'm finding it tough going too, just reading a couple of pages at a time. Going to keep going though, as a) I've got a bunch of models and I want to use them and b) I think there's an interesting game in there, it just feels like the glossary has been put at the front. I find most rulebooks have an element of giving you information before or after you need it though, it just seems a tad excessive in Darklands' case.

 RiTides wrote:


Alph, unfortunately I think you're beating a rather solo drum about the Mallax . Kind of hope they make it in at some point due to your obvious enthusiasm for them, but I'm really not a fan of the sculpt we've seen for them either (like Marley posted last page).

Ha!

Not at all - using the Patent Pending RiTides Kickstarter Campaign Backer Temperature Algorithm, the Mallax finished a solid second in the backer poll - so, clearly many people want them too.

I'm hoping that the latest Gaanh/Wallax dynamic takes place here - only in reverse.

The Mallax artwork looks great - I hope the unit matches it exactly.

The latest Wallax artwork CLEARLY influenced/took over the sculpt for Gaanh - and he now doesn't look like his artwork much at all. And that's OK, as he'll match his unit well, even if he's lost a lot of his 'individuality'.

And yeah, Wehrind, the Darklands rulebook is dense - it aims to cover everything in DETAIL, so as to never ever need to have a FAQ issued, maybe?

Some true QS rules will help, but as this game was probably going to end up - and possibly stay - a niche in a niche, I don't know what the eventual plan there is.

 Alpharius wrote:


And yeah, Wehrind, the Darklands rulebook is dense - it aims to cover everything in DETAIL, so as to never ever need to have a FAQ issued, maybe?

Some true QS rules will help, but as this game was probably going to end up - and possibly stay - a niche in a niche, I don't know what the eventual plan there is.

For me it isn't the detail, but the horrendous organization that is the issue. Count how many times the phrase "models of type W, X, Y and Z do not get ___ tokens" in the early sections on... well the 20 pages talking how when a unit becomes some state it gets a token that says it is that state. No detail on what that state does, mind you. That info is somewhere else. We just need a few pages explaining that units in a state get a token stating that they are in that state. They could have cut 100 pages out of the 358 odd pages of rules very, very easily.

When you have 300+ pages of rules that are not intermixed with giant photos and fluff descriptions of units or the world, something is wrong. The book has 11 pages of world fluff, and some pages that are just pictures, but still over 330 pages of dense, poorly organized rules text.

That's not even getting into the fact that many of the rules seem redundant or otherwise extraneous. I will assume they are all valuable until I digest the rules and get games in, but honestly that isn't looking likely.

 Azreal13 wrote:

 Wehrkind wrote:
Wait, that is intended to be a ground sloth instead of a werewolf? How does one tell?

Fomor don't need no stinking Weres, that's how one tells!

Why not? They've stolen models from the Albainn, Ysians, and Brythonaid, are you getting picky now? It's why I like the Conand range aesthetically, they have a unifying theme ("sea monsters") while Balor feels too kitchen-sinky. Monster-men from the frozen north, goatmen for some reason, humans who want to kill all humans, sea monsters, constructs and renegades from half the other factions.

 Alpharius wrote:

And yeah, Wehrind, the Darklands rulebook is dense - it aims to cover everything in DETAIL, so as to never ever need to have a FAQ issued, maybe?

Some true QS rules will help, but as this game was probably going to end up - and possibly stay - a niche in a niche, I don't know what the eventual plan there is.

You can have precise rules without having the rulebook being quite so bone-dry and technical. See: Malifaux, Warmachine, Infinity. Even if I stop bouncing off the walls of text and get an idea of how the rules work, I can't for the life of me imagine selling this game to a novice once they actually ask for a demo. I don't seriously see myself playing this until a quickstart or light version of the rules come out.

As I've said previously, the "plan" (as arse end up as it may be) is to have 4 page (or maybe 8 page) Very Quick Start rules in each starter host, when they're released to the public; just to get you started.

There'll be a longer version in the double-starter-host, possibly even an A5 short version of the rule book.

The rule book itself is designed to be a technical manual, not an exercise in fluffy prose; it does state this on page 6. The QR codes are there to enable you to play videos that show you how to play (we're working on the videos now, it's not helped that the videographer's developed an illness). The first one should be up next week.

The reason it's ended up this way is because I can't do quick versions of full rules without the full rules being there; I'd just end up changing something, and negating the short version.

Darklands is a cracking game, at least I think it is, and I would put it up against any wargame out there for enjoyment and the feel of battle. If you want to play, you'll play. If you don't want to play, you won't.

Trust me though, once you play a battle for the first time, you'll enjoy it enough to go further.

Cheers
Rob

Well, I'm in - but I'll look forward to the Quick Start Version that will be coming down the road...later!

It won't be long for that, the first starter hosts will be released next month.

Cheers
Rob

There's no denying that the ruleset has huge potential, and something with the amount of stuff that the book is trying to cover is inevitably going to carry a fairly steep learning curve.

There's loads of little touches I like though, like being able to pick up and throw elements of terrain, or cold blooded models fighting better when the weather is warmer!

I'm continuing to plough on through, even if it isn't the lightest read!



Automatically Appended Next Post:
Ooh, and I keep meaning to mention the quality of the metals! I've started assembling my little host over the last week, no there's a game to be played, and they've been a joy (in the main - little arms, sausage fingers and superglue are not a marriage made in heaven!)

Every bit as well cast as the resins, and much more reassuringly solid in the "long and thin" department.

I think a 3-4way tie with less than half the winner's votes isn't really a slam dunk for the mallax, unfortunately... especially as new concepts often get a lot of traction. I do hope they unlock eventually, though!

I'd also love to see more thorough reviews on the rulebook from those of you who have read it in detail, when you get time

Mierce Miniatures wrote:
As I've said previously, the "plan" (as arse end up as it may be) is to have 4 page (or maybe 8 page) Very Quick Start rules in each starter host, when they're released to the public; just to get you started.

There'll be a longer version in the double-starter-host, possibly even an A5 short version of the rule book.

Will the QS rules be available outside of starter hosts?

 RiTides wrote:
I think a 3-4way tie with less than half the winner's votes isn't really a slam dunk for the mallax, unfortunately...

No gak!

And since you seem to not be getting it, that's the joke!

Because, claiming that the 'majority' of people in the campaign 'clearly' wanted the Ograx when in reality only 10 out of 36 people who actually voted (out of the 152 backers at that time) wanted them...means that I can make ridiculous claims about the Mallax being the second most popular choice!

Sheesh!

Anyway...

...odd to see this campaign stalling now, especially with the release of mini-Cthulhu Uuroch, but maybe this is the calm before the final storm - we've got 4 days to go, hopefully this really takes off in the next couple of days.

One always needs to beware the clam before the storm. Truly, he is the most mischievous of mollusks!

Ah, typo-based humor - I love it!

Well, anyway, he does have a scallop shell shield...

Anyone having problems contacting Mierce? I've had shipments in "packing" for over a month and no reply to an inquiry email from yesterday.

They're all at the UK games Expo Friday-Sunday,

and have been snowed under with prep work earlier in the week so they won't have had a chance to look at it yet

Ok. On April 19 I paid for an additional shipping item to get everything shipped to me, and on April 20 they said
"Excellent, thanks mate! We've got the metals too so they'll ship next week at the latest."
but now it's June and nothing has arrived (and again, everything still says "packing" on the site).
But other people are reporting having received stuff, so...

Seems like a mistake - and also I know I've had my emails get caught in Rob's spam filter at times, so maybe send him a note via Kickstarter too.

I know that at least one of the deliveries of metals was short so it could be that they thought they had them to send but when they started parcelling them up they found they didn't have enough and are waiting for more stock

(but as Alpharius says a message via KS next week isn't going to hurt)

Yeah, I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt, I've been a customer since the first Kickstarter. This is the first time I've had an actual weird packing/shipping/etc occurrence.

I received something shipped in April, I think that was just their huge surge and yours might've gotten lost in the shuffle. They normally reply really quickly so well worth checking!

Just 33 hours left in the current campaign! Looks like this one will stay manageable, but that's probably a good thing since it's a back-to-back campaign. The total between the two is great

I need that squid face.

At least we've finally cleared £20K - that took a while!

Probably because the Ogres and Mini-Cthulhu Uuroch failed to excite/weren't as popular as initially perceived, but oh well, live and learn!

Comments section notes that new tokens will be previewed today, though I don't think that will necessarily light a fire under this one either, but, 'keeping it manageable' might be a good thing here, even though June 2017 IS a ways off!