Switch Theme:

Car Wars 6th Edition coming and the original back in print  [RSS] Share on facebook Share on Twitter Submit to Reddit
»
Author Message
Advert


Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you:
  • No adverts like this in the forums anymore.
  • Times and dates in your local timezone.
  • Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance.
  • Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely.
  • Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net.
If you are already a member then feel free to login now.




Made in in
[MOD]
Otiose in a Niche






Hyderabad, India

Full interview is here:
http://www.tribality.com/2016/08/10/gencon-2016-steve-jackson-games-car-wars-6th-edition/

Highlights:

The game features twelve different factions: six wasteland factions and six arena factions. Each faction represents a gang, corporation, outlaw group, or other organization within the Car Wars world.

There are three points of entry into the Car Wars game: The two-player Wastelands Starter, the two-player Arenas Starter, and the four-player Car Wars game. A player may buy any one of those and start playing immediately, and buying all three allows up to eight to play at once.

From wheels to machineguns, Car Wars sixth edition is a new game. Everything from combat to maneuvering to vehicle design was designed to get players into combat within moments of sitting down at the table. The driving goal behind the overall creative process is best summed up with three words: Cars. With. Guns.
Car Wars sixth edition features plastic car miniatures at HO scale. Miniatures are included in the three games as well as in faction-specific expansion sets. At the moment, it looks like one faction pack – loaded with three plastic miniatures, several new game cards, and whatever tokens are required to use the cars in combat – will cost players $19.95. That’s a lot of new options at a low price!

James Lowder, established author and editor with decades of experience in and out of the game industry, is at work on the first anthology of new stories set in the Car Wars sixth edition world. It is 2117, and this book tells a dozen tales, each centered on a different faction. Additionally, the anthology will include twelve new game cards so that players can incorporate bits of the stories into their game sessions.

We are taking both the Car Wars anthology and the new game to Kickstarter, and the two projects will connect. The fiction project is first, and backers of the Car Wars anthology project who also back the game on Kickstarter will receive special bonus cards when they receive their rewards.

Additionally, we will offer special retailer reward levels for both projects. We will release information through our retailer newsletter once the projects launch on Kickstarter.”


So HO scale is 18.7mm or 1/87 (don't ask me, I didn't invent it) but there will be a lot of terrain around from train models.

They also put the original 80s version back in shops if you're interested.

http://www.sjgames.com/car-wars/



Love the 80s color scheme, and die cut counters! Everyone loves die cut counters!

EDIT-revised title

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/08/26 10:34:11


 
   
Made in gb
Noise Marine Terminator with Sonic Blaster





Melbourne

As I never got my original 80s copy back from a mate.....shut up and take my money!

Ex-Mantic Rules Committees: Kings of War, Warpath
"The Emperor is obviously not a dictator, he's a couch."
Starbuck: "Why can't we use the starboard launch bays?"
Engineer: "Because it's a gift shop!" 
   
Made in us
Incorporating Wet-Blending






Looks like quite a few HO scale cars out there, although Hot Wheels / Matchbox isn't one of them..

https://www.google.com/search?q=ho+scale+cars&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=993&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiVk4rMxtTOAhVE9GMKHZMkCwYQsAQIJw#imgrc=_

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/11/t/189557.aspx

Crimson Scales and Wildspire Miniatures thread on Reaper! : https://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/103935-wildspire-miniatures-thread/ 
   
Made in us
Stealthy Warhound Titan Princeps







Ah, high school. Can you ever go back?
   
Made in us
Inspiring SDF-1 Bridge Officer





Mississippi

Yeeeeeess. This sounds good; slightly smaller than Hot Wheels cars, but better than the old counter system.

I've been trying to do some work to make an "X-Wing" version of Car Wars, but this may do all the work for me.

It never ends well 
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

 kestral wrote:
Ah, high school. Can you ever go back?


I feel the same way. I played a lot of Car Wars back in the day. Part of me is wary of the changes they look to be making. The other part realizes that there is almost no way the old style of game would work in today’s market. I’d spent a large portion of the week tweaking car designs, and then play all weekend. Not sure if kids these days are up for that. I know I’m not.

I backed the OGRE kickstarter out of SJG nostalgia. But that at least is a game that can be slapped down and played quickly. As much as I’d love to revisit the halcyon days of my youth, I think I’m going to let Car Wars pass me by. I don’t know if a quick and streamlined game would connect to my high school memories.

   
Made in fi
Calculating Commissar







 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

So HO scale is 18.7mm or 1/87 (don't ask me, I didn't invent it) but there will be a lot of terrain around from train models.


1:87, in case anyone was wondering. Classic European model railroad scale, you should be able to find literally thousands of different cars in the scale, as well as enough terrain to model whole continents.

The supply does not get to make the demands. 
   
Made in us
Omnipotent Lord of Change





Albany, NY

I've been wanting to play this thing for the last 20 years. Hopefully my body is finally ready

- Salvage

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/08/25 13:33:53


KOW BATREPS: BLOODFIRE
INSTAGRAM: @boss_salvage 
   
Made in us
Pragmatic Primus Commanding Cult Forces






Southeastern PA, USA

 Nevelon wrote:
 kestral wrote:
Ah, high school. Can you ever go back?


I feel the same way. I played a lot of Car Wars back in the day. Part of me is wary of the changes they look to be making. The other part realizes that there is almost no way the old style of game would work in today’s market. I’d spent a large portion of the week tweaking car designs, and then play all weekend. Not sure if kids these days are up for that. I know I’m not.

I backed the OGRE kickstarter out of SJG nostalgia. But that at least is a game that can be slapped down and played quickly. As much as I’d love to revisit the halcyon days of my youth, I think I’m going to let Car Wars pass me by. I don’t know if a quick and streamlined game would connect to my high school memories.


Yeah. I dunno about this.

I get that people today have the attention span of a fething fruit fly. But personally I feel like the tinkering that went on with building your car in the original game was one of the real hooks, and part of what made it feel...automotive.

They had tons of pre-built designs back in the day, but IME most people ignored those in favor of building crazy concepts and extreme builds around specific strategies. Lots of gamers today are still attracted to that kind of thing, and I think they'd need to capture that on some level for this to stick. If they even want it to stick, since it's a KS. *shrug*

Now gameplay, on the other hand, had loads of room for cleanup and simplification. I doubt anyone other than the biggest diehards will be bothered by changes there as long as the system is good.

My AT Gallery
My World Eaters Showcase
View my Genestealer Cult! Article - Gallery - Blog
Best Appearance - GW Baltimore GT 2008, Colonial GT 2012

DQ:70+S++++G+M++++B++I+Pw40k90#+D++A+++/fWD66R++T(Ot)DM+++

 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





Runnin up on ya.



My teenage years have come calling!

Bam, purchased the classic set. Now I just need an Uncle Albert's Catalog from Hell for all the construction stuff.

Edit:

Bam! They had that too!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/08/25 14:52:04


Six mistakes mankind keeps making century after century: Believing that personal gain is made by crushing others; Worrying about things that cannot be changed or corrected; Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it; Refusing to set aside trivial preferences; Neglecting development and refinement of the mind; Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do 
   
Made in us
Blood-Drenched Death Company Marine





York, NE

I'll be all over this.

I still have my original Uncle Albert's Auto and Gunnery Shop Catalog From Hell and tons of other CW stuff in a box waiting.



Something is happening on the 24th, we sent you a poster.
 
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





CL VI Store in at the Cyber Center of Excellence

I got the first couple years of Autoduel Quarterly in the mail...

I feel old.

Every time a terrorist dies a Paratrooper gets his wings. 
   
Made in us
The Marine Standing Behind Marneus Calgar





Upstate, New York

 CptJake wrote:
I got the first couple years of Autoduel Quarterly in the mail...

I feel old.


I picked ADQ up at the FLGS. I’ve still got a shelf full of stuff, dating back to pocket boxes.

   
Made in us
Slaanesh Chosen Marine Riding a Fiend



Maine

I was always a sucker for things like Twisted Metal, Interstate 76 and Vigilente 8...having those things on the table? Here's a blank check...
   
Made in us
Fixture of Dakka





CL VI Store in at the Cyber Center of Excellence

I wonder how the car scale will fit with the really great stuff put out for Devil's Run.

Every time a terrorist dies a Paratrooper gets his wings. 
   
Made in us
Lead-Footed Trukkboy Driver



Olympia, WA

I have no idea where my actual Car Wars stuff is, but I was going through a box a couple months ago that had all the travel guides they put out for GURPS Car Wars, so I'm set for background material.

Was "Drive Aggressively" the tagline for Car Wars in the UK? In the US it was "Drive Offensively".

If I Had a Rocket Launcher, I'd Make Somebody Pay 
   
Made in us
Gargantuan Gargant





New Bedford, MA USA

It needs redesigned game mechanics, but I've always loved the concept.

   
Made in in
[MOD]
Otiose in a Niche






Hyderabad, India

ecurtz wrote:

Was "Drive Aggressively" the tagline for Car Wars in the UK? In the US it was "Drive Offensively".


I think you're right, I was going off of memory from 198X.

 
   
Made in se
Bonkers Buggy Driver with Rockets





Stockholm, Sweden

Whoa, car wars! Used to play that A LOT back in junior high, around '92-'93. We built a big arena and cars in wood shop class, the teacher had no clue of what we were doing.

I remember the turning mechanics with the angles and sliding and skidding, that was awesome. Would be great fun to play it again.

Oguhmek paints Orks (and Necrons): 'Ere we go!
 
   
Made in us
Inspiring SDF-1 Bridge Officer





Mississippi

I won't miss the car design phase of the game. Our group lost interest in the game as, one friend put it "Two hours of car design for five seconds of (in-game) game time".

Long time ago, I put a lot of work into an (MS Access) database to help with building cars. The amount of options was overwhelming and frankly, a drag on the game. Being able to simply plop a few cars down and fight will be a welcome change. A little bit of customization to a mostly preset base, would to me, be the best configuration of this game.

It never ends well 
   
Made in jp
[MOD]
Anti-piracy Officer






Somewhere in south-central England.

I played tons of Car Wars at university, I enjoyed both building the cars and the game-play. I've still goy my pocket game box and Boat Wars too.

I realise that not everyone likes the more complex and involved kind of game. That said, I also played tons of Blue Max, which is a cleverly simplified WW1 dogfighting game. I suppose something about a game grabs me and I don't care if it's simple or complicated to play.

Given that I was satisfied with the original Car Wars, I suspect the revised version may not appeal, but I will reserve judgement until I get a chance to read the rules.

I'm writing a load of fiction. My latest story starts here... This is the index of all the stories...

We're not very big on official rules. Rules lead to people looking for loopholes. What's here is about it. 
   
Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User



Bellevue, WA USA

I have never heard of "Drive Aggressively" being used as the Car Wars tagline in the U.K. Can anyone provide additional information on this subject?

The Car Wars tagline, "Drive Offensively," was mentioned in the short story, "Why Johnny Can't Speed," a story that was printed in the anthology book, "With Friends Like These . . . " written by Alan Dean Foster (first printed in November 1978 by Del Rey).

I read about an effort to create a motion picture of "Why Johnny Can't Speed" several years ago, but the project was canceled.

My Web site has an archived copy of Burning Rubber, a gamer-created Interstate '76 tabletop RPG. The game was created over 15 years ago.

SWAT HQ Salvage Yard - Burning Rubber: An Interstate '76 RPG Tabletop
http://www.seanet.com/~owenmp/burning-rubber/index.html

There was also an effort to create an Interstate '76 motion picture, but the project was also canceled.

Seattle Washington Autoduel Team Headquarters (SWAT HQ)
http:/www.seanet.com/~owenmp/swathome.html

Twitter - Car Combat Central
https://twitter.com/carcombat
@carcombat 
   
Made in us
Incorporating Wet-Blending






fyi, the SJG website has the original Cardboard Heroes: Car Wars in electronic format for $5.



http://www.warehouse23.com/products/cardboard-heroes-set-18-car-warriors

Crimson Scales and Wildspire Miniatures thread on Reaper! : https://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/103935-wildspire-miniatures-thread/ 
   
Made in us
Veteran Knight Baron in a Crusader




Oakland, CA

Looking forward to the new edition.

From what information we have thus far, it sounds like the design goals are solid.

The (non - collectable) card based car design sounds like it will make that element of the game simple, though hopefully not simplistic. Products will come with pre-made sets of cards, but you can mix and match the cards yourself to make new designs.

The dice pool mechanic also sounds like it will foster speedy play.
   
Made in us
Gargantuan Gargant





New Bedford, MA USA

Any word on the Anthology Kickstarter ? The video said it was slated for November, and we are half way through November.

The $20 price point for the two smaller starter sets, and the 3 car Faction Expansion sets is awesome. That's basically impulse buy range. I wouldn't feel guilty dropping $20 a week on the game if it's good, getting new rules and models each time, until I basically had them all.

HO scale was another brilliant move. Different than matchbox sized and a world of Model Railroad terrain and people available for people that want to have detailed gaming tables.

https://boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/43804/vroom-taking-car-wars-playtest-set-spin

I sat down with Scott Haring yesterday to give the latest draft of the Car Wars game a shot. Scott has been working on the sixth edition rules for over a year now. I've already played the game a few times now, this time I wanted to publicly share a handful of my thoughts on the session.

NOTE: All of the components shown in the photos are Scott's very rough test pieces. Also, this is not a detailed, and complete overview of the current playtest set. This is a quick overview to give you an idea of where things are headed.

tl;dr - Faster and focused more on speed and destruction than on physics and math. Yay!!!




Components

For the session, Scott and I each started with identical game components. We each had a nine-card deck for setting our speed each round. We each had a second deck of vehicle component cards. We each had a record sheet. And we each had a car counter.

Shared components during the game were the dice and the new maneuvering tool . . . more on those later.




Speed Cards

Numbered zero to six, plus a minus one and minus two, these cards were used at the start of each turn to declare our speed that round. Basic vehicles may accelerate or decelerate by one each round; special vehicle component cards can modify that amount.

I started at a 6 (the fastest possible speed in the basic game) . . . but I was soon traveling in reverse.




Vehicle Component Cards

In the older editions of Car Wars, vehicle design was an exercise in mathiness as we calculated weight, space, cost, and did our best to cram everything into a car that we loved.

Yesterday, during the sixth edition playtest, all I had to care about was a single number: Ten. Each of the vehicle component cards has a number in the lower left corner and as long as all of my cards totaled ten then I was ready to go. Now some sessions will use a different number -- say "20" as one example -- but for our game, Scott and I were each limited to ten.




Armor, engines, tires, and other stock components.

Part of what made vehicle design so quick was that each car automatically started with some basic -- and vital! -- components. Scott and I each had the same baseline vehicle with 30 points of armor, basic tires, a driver and gunner, and an engine. We could modify those basics with the vehicle component cards -- Scott, for example, increased his armor total to 45 -- but every modification counted toward the target number of 10.

Starting with the basic shell of the vehicle reminded me a lot of an old Autoduel Quarterly article and of the original card-driven vehicle design system we tested during the fifth edition playtests. Scott improved on that older work, and the result left me happy with the ease and speed of the system.

Within five minutes, we were each ready for combat.




Some Basics

* Dice. There are two different types of dice in the Car Wars sixth edition game, basic play dice and special collision dice. The basic dice are for initiative, combat, control rolls, and just about anything else you'll ever want to do. When attacking you roll and hope for "hits" while your opponent rolls and hopes for "shields." When maneuvering you do not want to roll "skids" or else you will, as Scott put it, be the "proud owner of an out of control token."

I don't think Scott knows the meaning of the word proud.

The collision dice only come into play when you ram something -- which I did -- and are rolled together. One determines distance your car moves from the point of impact while the other shows your car's orientation after a collision. Extremely simple, and highly effective when my speed six car slammed head-on into Scott's speed five car.




* Maneuvery tooly thingy. Hey, we're working on the name! This was used both for straight movement and turns. The protractery edgy end of the maneuvery tooly thingy (yeah, words is tough when writing at 3 am) shows a number between 1 and 6. When making a turn check which number the arrow is pointing at and then roll that many dice.

NOTE: Rolling six dice + two more dice for going fast is bad. Don't do what I did.

Some of the vehicle component cards can help here -- a spoiler, for example, allows you to ignore one "skid" result -- and I suggest you take some of those gadgets if you plan to twist and turn and spin all across the event.




Some Specifics

Our entire playtest session was one hour for two cars, with close to 30 minutes of our hour spent discussing the game and expected component costs. Actual play, including vehicle design, was in the 35 to 40 minute range . . . just slightly longer than our target. Fortunately, the actual play didn't feel like it was taking more than half an hour. So perceptions aligned neatly with our goal, even if the reality of time didn't match our goal. We'll work on that.

During this session, Scott and I were testing his rough component mix for the two-player introductory game. This rendition of the game, if it happens as currently conceived, would be an inexpensive introduction to Car Wars; everything is looking like the deeper box that supports four players (and have a lot more vehicle design options) will require a price point higher than our $25 to $30 goal.

So we adapt. And Scott's doing an excellent job of adapting . . . especially considering his very first draft of the new edition led us to a $100 game. Not quite the target price.

What's Next?

More playtesting. Scott is taking the feedback from yesterday's game and making minor tweaks to his playtest set. Next week we're scheduled for two sessions -- with more players -- and I can see we're close to shifting our playtesting efforts from internal testing to public testing at stores and conventions.

Will we run Car Wars playtests at Gen Con? Doubtful. I hope to have a set with me for private tests with select distributors and retailers, but things aren't quite at the point we're ready to open everything to a public playtest in the booth.

That doesn't mean I won't be convinced that I should run a playtest or two in an undisclosed location for special friends, but don't expect to see the game in our booth.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/16 04:59:04


   
Made in gb
Bryan Ansell





Birmingham, UK

Siku have a range of 1:87 cars and are available on the Amazon UK site.

Plenty more manufacturers out there.
   
Made in us
Fresh-Faced New User





They just announced a delay until esrly 2017. Playtesting was positive but game time was 90-120min, and they're hoping to tweak it down 60min.
   
Made in us
Inspiring SDF-1 Bridge Officer





Mississippi

Well, that will give my funds some time to recoup.

Glad they are really putting some effort into playtesting, though.

It never ends well 
   
Made in us
Is 'Eavy Metal Calling?





Affton, MO. USA

Never got into car wars,but now feeling the need to build all the cars from twisted metal video game and scale sized maps .

LOL, Theo your mind is an amazing place, never change.-camkierhi 9/19/13
I cant believe theo is right.. damn. -comradepanda 9/26/13
None of the strange ideas we had about you involved your sexual orientation..........-Monkeytroll 12/10/13

I'd put you on ignore for that comment, if I could...Alpharius 2/11/14 
   
Made in us
Gargantuan Gargant





New Bedford, MA USA

I'm a bit excited about modeling an HO scale post apocalyptic race track.

   
 
Forum Index » News & Rumors
Go to: