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2025/04/17 19:59:06
Subject: Archon Studios N&R - D&L Porthaven GF ends 17 April? Starcraft tabletop game announced
I don't really have a use for the ship, but couldn't resist (always been a big pirate fan)
Tempted to add a ghost ship in the pledge manager then go hunting for some rules for ship to ship fighting between the two, that invloves the crew. I'm sure I looked at a wargame of that nature a few years back but can't remember the name.
it's the quiet ones you have to look out for. Their the ones that change the world, the loud ones just take the credit for it.
2025/04/17 20:20:16
Subject: Archon Studios N&R - D&L Porthaven GF ends 17 April? Starcraft tabletop game announced
Tamereth wrote: I don't really have a use for the ship, but couldn't resist (always been a big pirate fan)
Tempted to add a ghost ship in the pledge manager then go hunting for some rules for ship to ship fighting between the two, that invloves the crew. I'm sure I looked at a wargame of that nature a few years back but can't remember the name.
Blood & Plunder?
The old meta is dead and the new meta struggles to be born. Now is the time of munchkins.
2025/04/18 09:49:21
Subject: Archon Studios N&R - D&L Porthaven GF ends 17 April? Starcraft tabletop game announced
Tamereth wrote: I don't really have a use for the ship, but couldn't resist (always been a big pirate fan)
Tempted to add a ghost ship in the pledge manager then go hunting for some rules for ship to ship fighting between the two, that invloves the crew. I'm sure I looked at a wargame of that nature a few years back but can't remember the name.
Blood & Plunder?
Thats the one.
it's the quiet ones you have to look out for. Their the ones that change the world, the loud ones just take the credit for it.
2025/06/20 10:20:59
Subject: Re:Archon Studios N&R - D&L Porthaven GF ends 17 April? Starcraft tabletop game announced
Someone in the comments said that retailers already received Cave stuff at the same or better price (per sprue) than the campaign?
I'm not up for crunching the numbers (especially since Archon repackages retail boxes), so didn't see it from the MM sale.
EDIT: Northstar Games. Some rooms at £23.00. I think the Stronghold and Tavern are at a good price, as they contain other sets.
Trees pack looks MSRP, but trees and rocks are my most-used terrain for generic fantasy games.
https://www.northstarfigures.com/list.php?cat=695&man=303&page=2
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2025/06/20 17:41:01
Someone in the comments said that retailers already received Cave stuff at the same or better price (per sprue) than the campaign?
I'm not up for crunching the numbers (especially since Archon repackages retail boxes), so didn't see it from the MM sale.
I think there are cases where by Add-ons (such as figure packs or legacy items) were cheaper from discounters than from Archon during the Campaign. However I believe that is due to Archon having to maintain relations with the retailers. For example, why would I as a retailer carry a product if I know that every 6-12 months customers are going to be able to buy product cheaper than RRP directly from the manufacturer. I've not seen anyone claim that they can get the Caves stuff itself cheaper than the kickstarter (also not seen any of the sets released for retail yet).
2025/06/27 13:37:13
Subject: Archon Studios N&R - D&L Porthaven GF ends 17 April? Starcraft tabletop game announced
Why should I, as a backer give them money a year in advance so they can give me half the amount that retail gets for nearly the same price?
And no I don’t count stretch goals, because one needs to look at the prices from day 1 of the campaign.
MM is free shipping as well. These are listed in Canada too with free shipping and around $120CAD.
2025/06/27 16:19:49
Subject: Archon Studios N&R - D&L Porthaven GF ends 17 April? Starcraft tabletop game announced
Why should I, as a backer give them money a year in advance so they can give me half the amount that retail gets for nearly the same price?
And no I don’t count stretch goals, because one needs to look at the prices from day 1 of the campaign.
MM is free shipping as well. These are listed in Canada too with free shipping and around $120CAD.
I'm also a little perturbed that these have made it to retail and I don't have my pledge, yet...
She/Her
"There are no problems that cannot be solved with cannons." - Chief Engineer Boris Krauss of Nuln
LatheBiosas wrote:I have such a difficult time hitting my opponents... setting them on fire seems so much simpler.
Kid_Kyoto wrote:"Don't be a dick" and "This is a family wargame" are good rules of thumb.
I think from one of the AMAs that they had planned to put a higher price on the retail offering but made a mistake (although if that's the case i wonder if now the initial retail stuff has gone out they'll increase it to where they planned to be)
also remember that retail purchasers won't get the stretch goal (& super stretch goals if you went for one of the higher pledges) although i appreciate they may not have been a big draw
2025/06/27 23:39:46
Subject: Re:Archon Studios N&R - D&L Porthaven GF ends 17 April? Starcraft tabletop game announced
> Why should I, as a backer give them money a year in advance so they can give me half the amount that retail gets for nearly the same price?
Yeah, that happens with crowdfunding, and I've been doing that with boardgames. I figure the only benefit of crowdfunding is that you don't know if you'll find it on sale later, aka. FOMO.
BTW, GameNerdz has Gloomhaven's Buttons and Bugs at $20, and Bardsung base at $45. Bardsung's not a must-have, but the base game alone has plenty of blissfully grindy content.
EDIT: Recess Games is selling Zombicide: White Death at a good price, I think. Except, of course, I dropped $120+ on a Wiz Kids sale today. The OLGS's have done a *very* good job on eroding my interest in crowdfunding! I also hear there's a tariff going on, but if it is, I'm not seeing it retail -- yet.
Thanks for the find! Post any more you see!
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2025/07/04 20:16:05
Prometheum5 wrote: How could these be at retail already? They *just* posted an update this week how the Prisma-cast pledges were still manufacturing...
The only Prisma cast caves I can see available are the Deep Mines. I suspect they are manufacturing all of one type before moving on to another, as it would cost time to keep switching up what the machines are painting.
However @Archon, seeing Deep mines both available before I get my pledge, and as has been pointed out, a much cheaper price (unless you only wanted half the retail box) does bite. I'm convinced I've gotten value on my pledge as a whole, but seeing things cheaper at (Full) retail than they were as add-ons certainly would make me question the value of add-ons going forward.
For instance, for anyone looking at the just opened pledge manager for Porthaven, the cost of half a retail set of Deep Mines is over £50. For £79 from Archons own website you can get them now and with twice the amount.
2025/08/01 15:28:25
Subject: Re:Archon Studios N&R - D&L Porthaven GF ends 17 April? Starcraft tabletop game announced
I’m copying my feedback from the GF comments. I also included a shot of what I mean by blurry and missing the details here.
If anyone wants anymore pictures, ask and I’ll include them.
I received my pledge today, and it appears it’s all here. The prepainted stuff is somewhat messy in the details, and looks much like a fairly precise, quick airbrush paint job. Some of it looks blurry, and much of the detail is that way - very blurry, and some details have been completely missed by the colour they are supposed to be.
It’s not the best there is, and it’s definitely passable. While it saves me the time of painting it, it does not in any way, resemble what is shown in the Update page we have here. The details on those images are far more crisp, clean, and clearly digital renders and not actual product.
Like I said, it’s passable, and not what we have been shown. It saves me about 150 hours of painting, so I can accept it as it is.
Some parts appear as though some of the paint has rubbed off while in the boxes. These are usually sharp corners, tips of the stalagmites, and edges of rocks that appear chipped or scuffed.
Not a huge deal but definitely worth noting. I would surmise that these were not quite fully dry when packed.
However, if I had been shown the missed details, blurry finish on some parts, and much of it appearing as clearly a rushed airbrush job, it’s not likely I would have paid the price that I did.
While I’m not really disappointed in what I received, I’m not super happy about it either. Overall, it’s good. But not great, and doesn’t match what we were initially shown. It’s a very acceptable B tier.
The length of shipping time should also be CLEARLY stated at the beginning of these campaigns. Backers should know that it can take almost a half a year to receive their pledges from the time that shipping begins.
And they should also be informed that retail might be getting their products first. Transparently stating these facts is how you prepare your backers for the future. This by far was the most frustrating aspect of this campaign.
This is a common complaint I'm seeing with Prismacast they're doing. If you hop into one of the FB groups it seams like half the product is misaligned or out of focus. The spraying/painting machine is probably not getting aligned and set at the proper distance for many of these or they let them go too long between cleaning.
The base cave set (the new one) though tends to look pretty good from what I've seen which it's done right. Like better then I could probably paint it myself without a lot of time.
Also there's a lot of the mines where they showed gold paint that they ended up just doing a gray instead which has a lot of people upset.
I think Arcon needs to refine the process more as, again, some actually looks really good, but there's a higher misspaint rate then the product should have. And they're not really doing QC on them either.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2025/08/02 21:44:21
Unpainted Deep Mines on sale has more content than the add-on price in the Caves campaign, both at $50. However, I heard that Archon made a mistake with retailers and undersold. The campaign subtheme had four sprues (two sprues make a bridge) while the retail looks to have six?? That said, you can't have enough Deep Mines! I bought the prepaint and it's fine as generic caves, except for the bridges, which have gold piles.
I also believe the Stronghold is a good bundle. Archon repackages the sprues so it's annoying to compare different packaging.
Appreciate the video, Thargrim. Interesting stuff.
I kind of wish they weren't doing this in 32mm / Primaris-scale, but it does look interesting. Where is StarCraft these days as a property? Is it still going strong after all these years? I wonder how strong the nostalgia pull for old StarCraft 1 players like me will be.
The fact that they're doing sci-fi scenery for the game as well is pretty exiting, and I do like the translucent components and effects they're adding to the figures. I'm cutting back on miniature spending this year, but I guess I'll see where my finances are - and what all this will cost in our brave new tariffed world - when the pre-order goes up later this year. If they nail translating the gameplay to tabletop as well as making good models, that'd be a powerful combination. My wife used to love playing Zerg, so if they do this right I might finally be able to get her to play a tabletop game!
They really should release a music CD of StarCraft 1 tunes to play in the background during the game (unless that already exists.)
Dakkadakka: Bringing wargamers together, one smile at a time.™
Talking Banana wrote: Where is StarCraft these days as a property? Is it still going strong after all these years? I wonder how strong the nostalgia pull for old StarCraft 1 players like me will be.
It's not doing great. It's still around and still has a dedicated group of fans, but that number seems to shrink every year. Now even some of the dedicated YouTubers are branching their content away from SC because it's not sustainable.
How much it will motivate fans to invest is hard to say, but I definitely plan to buy in for at least Terrain and Zerg.
Talking Banana wrote: They really should release a music CD of StarCraft 1 tunes to play in the background during the game (unless that already exists.)
Well, they're video games and have soundtracks so...
Actually they're even officially available on Spotify.
This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2025/08/17 14:25:38
My understanding is the main problem Starcraft has is that its not as profitable as WoW. So when the beancounters choose to invest WoW wins hands down.
Which results in Starcraft not getting much attention in the form of new expansions and games. Furthermore its an RTS so monetizing is basically more limited as people aren't "as" crazed for new skins and such - which the game already has a bunch of.
The other issue is the part of Starcraft that does get attention is the multiplayer which kind of discourages lots of new games being made and encourages a single game evolved with balance updates.
You can bet interest in the game would spike if they did Starcraft 3 or a big expansion pack with new units; new maps; new campaign and all.
They almost looked like they were going to do that with a bunch of "Nova" like campaigns and then abandoned the idea. I'm guessing it just didn't sell as well as people hoped and they canned further ideas of exploring that. Which is a shame as its a great way to deepen the lore and give the game fresh content.
Back in the day I played the SC1 campaign every couple of years because it was awesome. SC2 didn't catch me as much but was okay, too.
I'll probably buy any Zerg from SC1 they release and see which of the SC2 units I like. Ruleswize I'm not that interested because we already have too many games, but these will serve as OPR Alien Hive just fine and compliment my collection of GF9 and Prodos/Archon Aliens, doesn't matter they're a bit large.
Somebody check my math. (: The crowdfunding add-on size is the following, which is the same size as the retail for the Goblin and Spider-Web.
* 4x long floors
* 8x curved corners
* 4x short walls
The prepainted sold out Deep Mines are $85, but have twice the stuff as crowdfunding, which was $69.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2025/11/05 19:52:40
