puree wrote:
I don't get the issue with stretch goals, they might not make sense for some things, but for other things they make sense. what is wrong with stating if we get enough incoming we will add in Xtra which wouldn't otherwise be viable?

I certainly find the description of them being somehow dishonest to be very bizarre - how is the use of stretch goals dishonest? I've yet to feell anyone ripped me off, or was dishonest about stretch goals. I go into something and it states the stretch goals, or stuff gets added in later which is just freebies for me, can't see where the dishonesty lies.

DISCLAIMER: The game is still in development, and we are conducting playtesting both internally and externally, so some details might be different in the final version!
Today we’re looking at some of the key decisions that we made early on in the process.

A D8 With Destiny
We wanted to make sure EPIC WARPATH felt right at home among the wider Mantic family of sci-fi games.
To that end, EPIC WARPATH uses 8-sided dice (D8s) and Command Dice, just like Firefight and Deadzone. D8s are used for things like shooting and combat, and a player’s Command Dice are a currency they can use during their turns to activate special orders and buy re-rolls.

We love D8’s: there’s something special about them. They just feel and roll differently to a D6 (if you know, you know!) – and crucially allow us a wider range of unit stat possibilities to play with. This means we can make units feel very different without needing extra layers of tests/characteristics to give that granularity.


Imperial Entanglements
The next consideration was the unit of measurement. Sometimes in games at this small scale, it’s very tempting for us to follow our metric instincts and default to centimetres. However, inches are familiar to all wargamers, and we know that we have a big (and fast-growing) fanbase in the US – we want to make sure everyone feels right at home with this game!


A Scale Of A Tale
This is an important one. We played around with lots of different options, making a small-scale t-pose of an enforcer and printing it at different sizes. We were looking for the size that gave us the perfect mix of HUGE battles, but still gave well-defined details that were a realistic and cool painting project for real hobbyists (not just those with superhuman eyesight) and didn’t involve breaking out a microscope!

The scale that did this best was 12mm tall to the top of the head. Our existing Deadzone/Firefight Enforcer models are roughly 36mm to the top of the head, giving us a height reduction to 33% as our ballpark for sculptors to use. For the vehicles, we found that we could play with the scale a little and still have things ‘look right’ on the tabletop, which will let us pack some extra units onto your hard plastic frames!
Speaking of those, we have a very cool plan for our frames, which we’ll talk more about in future…


Get The Base-ics Right
Another important decision! We felt from the very beginning that, as a sci-fi game, having round bases was a necessity. This lines up with the other games in the WARPATH Universe, and keeps the look and feel very distinct from fantasy rank-and-flank gaming.
With the size of the models establish, we designed a special base that would take four Infantry models on one side (e.g. Enforcer Operatives) and two Heavy Infantry on the other (e.g. Plague 2a Leapers). We can’t wait to start sharing some of the models with you in the near future – but for now here are some teasing silhouettes…

We originally started our testing with vehicles on their own bases, but felt it wasn’t adding much. Players are free to base their vehicles if they wish of course, but we think it looks better without and isn’t really necessary. Unless of course your vehicle is a flier – yes, we’re going to have fliers in EPIC WARPATH!


Sizing Up The Situation
Early on in development, we played around a lot with table size a lot to find out what felt right. We made-up test armies, deploying them out on the table in realistic unit ratios (infantry, bikes, walkers, tanks etc) to quickly get an idea of the space they had to operate on the table.
We were delighted to find in playtesting that the game is pretty flexible, and there’s no point having an awkward table size just for the sake of it! We’ve played demo games with smaller forces on 4’ x 4’ tables (120cm x 120cm) and typical games on the traditional 6’ x 4’ (180cm x 120m), with both giving a smooth and exciting game experience.


Let’s Have A Nice Clean Fight
What are we talking about? We’re talking about table clutter…all the stuff on your battlefield that isn’t miniatures or terrain!
While a few important markers may persist, it’s important that most markers used in play are regularly cleared down so that you can ‘read the battlefield’ well at the end of every round.
So what did we choose to keep in play? Only the important stuff that will inform your next turn’s decisions! We’re talking about uncleared Pin markers, and any larger units (think super-heavy tanks…!) that might have Resilience markers. These represent advanced shields or damage-absorbing abilities that haven’t been used or knocked out yet.
In a nutshell, if you need to know about it to avoid ‘gotcha’ moments, it’s marked at the end of the round. If you don’t, it’s gone. We think we got the balance right, and will keep testing to make sure!


Armed & Dangerous
To minimise book-keeping and avoid unnecessary tokens, EPIC WARPATH has no Wounds or Health Points on the unit profile. Yes, now you’re intrigued!

We’re dealing with lethal, large engagements in this game: if a unit is successfully damaged then it’s removed. This keeps things fast, clean – and emphasises the danger of the battlefield. Leave a unit exposed, out of cover, in enemy range, and/or unsupported and they’re at serious risk – just as it should be when massed firepower is being traded back and forth.


Coming Next
In the next article, I’ll run through the structure of the game. Don’t forget to sign up to the EPIC WARPATH campaign page just below to get your reminder when the campaign goes live!

SU-152 wrote:
They can of course call the game as they want, and create minis as they want, but they've got a nerve calling it EPIC Warpath when the scale is closer to Flames of war than to traditional Epic (heck, doble the size of classic 6mm).

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Alright. None of those things are my favourite way of doing things but they're all good enough ways of doing things (Mantic in a nutshell)

SU-152 wrote:
They can of course call the game as they want, and create minis as they want, but they've got a nerve calling it EPIC Warpath when the scale is closer to Flames of war than to traditional Epic (heck, doble the size of classic 6mm).

 Gimgamgoo wrote:

SU-152 wrote:
They can of course call the game as they want, and create minis as they want, but they've got a nerve calling it EPIC Warpath when the scale is closer to Flames of war than to traditional Epic (heck, doble the size of classic 6mm).

I'm fairly sure most dictionaries don't define the word Epic as having anything to do with 6mm scale.
Used once by a niche plastic toy soldier company in the 1990's?

Most youth these days would relate the word epic to the pc game platform and fortnite.

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Of course it's a coincidence. If Epic meant small scale, Legions Imperialis would be called Epic, right?

 .Mikes. wrote:
Wapity Wapity Wapity

 pancakeonions wrote:
I've seen some previews of the Epic GW game, and what I'd love to see is that the Epic Warpath sprues are designed so that the only joins are on the tiny figures bases... So we can paint them on sprue. Those suckers will be annoying to paint on bases...!

Mantic Games


We're looking for our next set of playtesters for EPIC WARPATH!

https://tinyurl.com/3yry6efh

If you're an experienced wargamer who can provide insightful feedback, and can attend our next playtest session at Mantic HQ on January 27th (10am-4pm, lunch provided), please drop us an email expressing your interest to playtestfeedback@manticgames.com
We look forward to hearing from you!

As discussed previously, our Enforcer Operative models are about 12mm to the top of the head, so about 11m to the eye. A ‘normal’ human would be about 10mm to the eye. So while there is some variation, EPIC WARPATH can be treated as being 10-12mm scale for purposes of modelling and terrain.

We’ve opted for small integrated bases on infantry, walkers and bikes, so that they can “plug” into their larger group bases. As a couple of examples, four Enforcer Operatives (Infantry) would plug into a base to from a small group, or two Plague Bursters (Heavy Infantry) would plug into a base to form a pair. Infantry and Heavy Infantry like this typically have six bases in a Unit and so in our examples, that would be 24 Operatives or 12 Bursters.

Wouldn’t it be easy if we could just simply reduce all the existing sculpts to 33% of the size…but in miniatures design things are never that simple! Bodies, weapons and scaling proportions that work at 28mm often are not a good fit for the epic-scale genre. Some things will simply become too thin or even fall apart. Not only that, but many models need to be redesigned to work as single-piece casts for injection moulding (where those sculpts are destined for hard plastic).

So in a nutshell, that means we are re-sculpting everything for EPIC WARPATH, with proportions and considerations appropriate to the scale and manufacturing materials. We will cram in as much detail as we can of course, but at the size they are we have to get the balance just right!