Saturday, August 27, 2005

Gen Con

So here begins my pester everyone for non-commital answers to the convention attending question session:

So, who's going to GenCon SoCal this year? Nov 17th (thursday) through Nov 20th (sunday). Rooms are $89 a night (cheap!), I don't know how much registration is. Anyway, I'll reserve the room again if people will show up. I know it's early, but it's best to get on this crap right away, me thinks. Also, the True Dungeon tickets go on sale Sept 18th I think, I can get a group together if anyone is interested. So here it stands as far as I know:

Eric - In
Denis - Probably in.
Jon, Rudy, Mike, Aaron, Johnny, Art - ???

Any and all non-commital answers are welcomed and encouraged! Committed answers are even better. Do it!
Plastic Wargame Thingie

I think the vanilla rules are pretty much finished enough for alpha v1.0, and they are ready to be beaten, broken, and ridiculed. So that is what I intend to do with Denis sometime this weekend, maybe even Ryan if he feels cool enough to hang.

To clarify, in it's current state, it is a plastic card game version of DBA or Warhammer, not a robot or WWII game. So on that note, anyone have any ideas of worlds, names, units, races, anything fantasy related that they would want to add to the mix of ideas? Fluff anyone? Jon?

I definately want to add some classic D&D character names to the game somehow. I mean, there needs to be a burning-hugging monk unit, Fared's Fighting Legion, Auber's Press Gang, Paul's "Guilty!" Crusaders, Ro's Underhanded Cheaters, Brother Simon's Band, The Rainbow squad, and Koryn's Truthsayers.

Good times.

Friday, August 26, 2005

You want whale sperm with that?


Ok, I don't have much to add at the moment. So, in lieu of that, I give you a film strip of screen shots from a test-model I was working on in various states while I've been learning XSI modelling tools. (Yes, that is just the base coat.. LOL)


HAVING TO TYPE TARGET=DISPLAY IS A FUGGING RETARDED NUISANCE.

There, now it's my ugly mug at the top of the banner.

BTW. I demand that Ryan's snorkel pic be reinstated. Or else.. flibby.


Late,

~O.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Wargame AD1407

would the pieces be representing whole armies or individual characters? And when you say buildable, would it be sticking different armaments and armor on the pieces or the base, or actually sticking flat figurines and makeshift cannons on a base for infantry and cannonadiers? or could put together a unit of germans and russian infantry with some mg 42 gunners.

I think it can be marketed as a Collectible, constructable war game where one can mix and match units for different stats and abilities. The audience would probably have to appeal to the young collectible cardgamer versus the hardcore mini-T wargamer. I don't know.

Based on my friends space game, the initial investment in a collectible card game is around 50 to 60 thousand dollars, if you find willing starving artists, and a cheap print shop. This doesn't include marketing costs, but that will be mostly time investment rather than monetary. Priced at 20 dollars a starter and 10 dollars a booster, you'll have to sell an equivalent of 3000 starters or 6000 boosters, to break even. (lookup third world games) Their starter pack was selling at $60 in the haydays, and only had to sell 1000 starter kits to break even. I don't think they made like bandits but I think it sold enough that they shortly followed with a few more series, and a few other card games.

Terrain will be sort of a crapshoot though, and also choosing an appealing theme to go with the gaming mechanism. I don't think there would be a problem with copyright infringement. Card stock based games are prevalent, car wars had makeshift card pieces, and so did a lot of other games back in the wargaming days.

just a quick thought,
johnny
Yeah, that's about the gist of it..

As I recall, I think those particular miniatures were already semi-painted or something when I took them out of the misc. box of miniatures that I bought from Eric, and my very first attempt at painting anything, ever, kind of didn't work out so well. Didn't know about priming, shading, highlights.. nada. They wound up getting re-primered and painted anew and look fairly good to this day (can you believe I still have my entire dwarven army?). I knew they sucked, but I didn't really need the constant crotch kicking reminders, no. *shrug*

Life goes on.. =)
Sweet, Sweet, Shakeycakes

Art had painted up a not so manly dwarven squad as his first painted squad of minitures ever. JP just decided he was going to go into dick mode and ride Art about it like he was a dirty TJ whore. Started asking him, "That's just the base coat right?". He was ruthless about it. I mean weeks passed and it was still a topic on his mind. Unfortunately, by then some of the other nameless action team members jumped on the "Just the basecoat" bandwagon. I do believe that JP or Elzar coined the name for the squad, "The Rainbow Squad". As always JP was both relentless and funny as hell.

And there you have it. Coincidently, Art was on one other occasion tormented through his minitures. The oft forgotten "Flamming Asshole" miniture that my father and artist friend Robert modified. Drunk and disordly, they came home at 11pm on a Saturday, beat me and Art with a shoe while we were sleeping on the "Couches of Death", declaring that, "If I have to be up, you have to be up" and proceeded to paint an "Eye of Sauron" asshole on one of Art's elven minitures.

These two evenets left Art forever scarred. That is why he likes the Raiders. To hide his pain and feminine tendancies under a thick vaneer of manly Silver and Black. Well at least that makes a better story than, "My father I used to watch Raiders games. We even went to some".

D>M>

Monday, August 22, 2005

Oh Fuck.

I can't really type right now, laughing too hard... that was so... funny.

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Pete Yorn and Ryan Adams Are Talented. Also, Dreamy.

That thing Art said about the base coat -- I know I've heard it before and I have a feeling it's an asshole JP story -- remind me about that one again?

Well, Enron was kind enough to accompany to the game store and assist me in buying brushes and paints to the tune of fifty clams. Yikes. I am painting the Cygnar Charger as my first model. Here is a handy side-by-side comparison.

As painted by the pros.

As painted by me.

But I have to say it's fun! Don't really expect to get very good in 40 minutes of painting after all.

In other news, the Sharks-Kings game sounds like a good plan. It can be the unofficial birthday celebration for all three of us. A little belated in Aaron's case. But, better than nothing!
Interesting Idear Eric - Did you guys see this game? Infinite Armies:
www.btrc.net/html/iarmies.html

Sounds interesting - its a program that lets you make yer own units with diff pictures/stats/etc, then you print them as cards. Dunno how that relates to your idea, but it is a different take on things for you to check out. Saw it on our site - the cool gaming sidebar thingy awhile back.
Idea #1,407

What about a wargame that uses the buildable plastic pieces a-la Pirates of the Spanish Main, the ease of play of DBA (or Mighty Armies, a simplified version of DBA used by Mongoose Publishing), the collectibility of CCG's or Pirates of the Spanish Main, and the effectively low cost of a CCG to play (vs a true miniatures wargame).

I'm thinking each two cards could make one unit. One card would have the stats and rules, as well as the base, which has most of the rules present, and the other card has the punch out pieces that make the unit 3D:

---
| |
| |----> Front face, top down view
| |
| |
---

Kinda like that, where each piece looks like the unit from either the front, side or rear, and then maybe sticking another piece in the middle to fill out the look:

-----
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
-----

Like that. You know, different armies with random assortments in booster packs, and maybe an army specific started pack with the rules, and other necessary counters and rulers or something.

As long as it is not a copyrighted method of making a game, which I'm not sure it is because before PotSM, there were those foam Z-Toys cards (remember those from past cons? Dinosaurs vs. cars vs. fighter planes?), I think it could be neat, quick play, inexpensive little wargame.

Thoughts? Flames? Reasons why this idea sucks and would never work?
Is This True?

"The Sept. 18 (Sharks) exhibition home opener, for example, is turning into a rare hockey doubleheader between the Sharks and Los Angeles; teams have enough players in training camp at that point to fill two lineups, so there will be games at 2 and 5 p.m."

If this can be confirmed Aaron, I'll fly up and we should go! The 20th greatest Kings fan, Jon, should come along too! That is SO much hockey! Not to mention the first pre-season game which means there will be lots of scrubs and lots of bruisers trying to play tough and make spot on the roster = droppin' them gloves!

Do it!

Sunday, August 21, 2005

So, is that like, just the base coat?


Heh.. I have nothing to say except that I like gumbo.

And, get me some damed sounds, Rude-meister.

=)

Late,

Cap'n O.
Flibi-Jibit

Elzar: The mini looks cool. How long did it take to get the hang of the airbrish? Do you still use a brush for details and dry-brushing? I always wanted to try air-brushes, but the cost and learning curve always seemed too prohibitive.

Jorn: You are up early for a drunk dialer.

Rude: I have wanted to see that series. My mother has been raving about it for over a year about "Cocksucker this and Cocksucker that." I dont get HBO either. Boooo... Fargin suspensive. Too bad. They put out some good series.

D>M>
Damn Eric. That looks awesome. How many coats did you use for the base coat and highlight? Nice-looking base, too.

I remember that exchange Rudy. It was really shocking and unpleasant. My favorite dialogue was all the business between the "Celestial" and the saloon owner about the cocksuckers who stole the opium.

Wine for dinner... cupcakes for breakfast.