Quirkworthy

Reflexively, I like this. I want to get one and find some clever gaming use for it. Unfortunately, having seen many vac-formed bits of terrain over the years, I can’t say I’ve ever been really impressed. OK, on occasion, and not without their uses, but never top flight.The detail just isn’t there.

What am I talking about? This:

It’s on Kickstarter at the moment, and it’s doing reasonably well. Seems like a sound version. I’m not sure how the price compares to anything comparable as I haven’t looked, and I’m not trying to sell you one either. It’s really just the catalyst for a thought:

What practical gaming use could I put it to?

What do you think? So far, all the ideas I’ve had sound great initially, then I quickly spot the flaws.

Terrain and models all need more detail than this process can offer, unless you need a bunch of planets for a space game. Asteroids, maybe. But these aren’t exactly hard to do anyway. You could do very simple buildings for a futuristic city. Again, maybe. Still not really convinced.

Pieces for a board game mock-up? Perhaps. But these days people are looking for quality sculpts rather than Mousetrap. Can’t see much mileage there either.

You could use it to make box inserts for packaging. Yeah, you could, but I’m not really expecting to need to do that. Certainly not often enough to warrant this amount of toy soldier money going on a vac-form machine.

I may well think of something wonderful as soon as I’ve clicked the button to publish. Didn’t get much sleep last night so I’m not at my most shiny today. Maybe it will come to me after lunch.

But can you help me out here? What do you think about gaming uses for vac-forming? What would you use it for if it sat on your desk?

Just got a packet from Prodos with some UniCast samples in.

Interesting for a few reasons. Firstly, these look like production casts from their current line, all boxed and shrink-wrapped. Presumably that means volume is not an issue. Secondly, it would appear that I’ve not had specially selected review samples – these really are production casts. Always the best thing to check. Finally, as these are already out, you can see this new material/technique for yourself if you feel inclined.

I’ve not got the time to go through the details this morning (that’ll be tomorrow), but I’ve had a peek in the boxes, and on first impression it looks like Prodos have got themselves a very clever trick 🙂

That’s what retailers tend not to be doing.

Most gamers don’t realise how tiny the real world margins are for game stores, so the breakdown this chap from Black Diamond Games in the US has kindly shared is really helpful in explaining a bit of what goes on behind the scenes.

Thought you might be interested 🙂

Inspired by something entirely different, I had one of those good ideas that requires a lot of rummaging about the net, and a quick purchase on eBay.

More for the lead mountain 🙂

And it’s still in the shrink 🙂

You may not have heard of Prodos Games. If you have, and especially if you backed their Aliens vs Predators game, you may well have strong opinions about them. Now I’ve had a few conversations with them behind the scenes, and am inclined to think that while they’ve made some mistakes, they aren’t quite the monsters some would have them be.

Either way, what I’m interested in here is the other string they have to their bows: as a miniature production facility for hire.

I’ve talked with several companies that have had their miniatures manufactured by Prodos, and they seem to do a pretty good job. Among others, the Age of Tyrants team are using them to do their big little tanks, and the beautiful White Dragon 15mm SF stuff (above) was all cast by Prodos. And that’s gorgeous.

As this helpful graphic explains, miniature production is not an inexpensive undertaking. Prices do vary between companies, but the following gives a reasonable overview of non-metal options. Click the pic for a bigger version.

It’s part of an announcement of a new process that Prodos are calling UniCast, and which is quite exciting – assuming, of course, that it lives up to the hype.

Pretty though.

I thought that the Gears miniature on the left of the following pic was nice and crisp in the detail when I saw it in person, and this photo makes him look a bit ropey compared to the UniCast one. So that’s interesting.

One saving that isn’t explicit from the table is the cost of assembly. Many modern board games use miniatures that are made in more than one part, and which must be assembled before use. Some sell these figures to the customer like this, but if you don’t want to do that you’ve got a choice: compromise the model or pay someone to pre-assemble them. Apparently UniCast is a more flexible process that will allow you to cut the master into fewer parts: allowing nicer single-piece models and reducing assembly costs. For a customer the lower costs mean more toys in the box, or lower cost to start with. For the manufacturer it means more production options and the chance to sell cooler models, thus attracting more sales. For the aspiring game designer/producer, it means that the entry cost is lower and your dream that much easier to attain. For someone that just wants a few models of their own design, this makes plastic a viable option to metal. The minimum order (and reorder) quantities are particularly interesting to aspiring designers.

Of course, the proof of the pudding remains to be seen. But it’s a very interesting development for everyone in the gaming business, whether you make the things or simply play with them 🙂

Been away; back now 🙂

Just returned from a flying visit to Paris for work. Didn’t see much of the city itself, though I did manage to sneak out and meet up with my old friend Leonidas from Ravage. He’s up to all sorts of interesting things these days, having stepped back from the day-to-day running of the magazine. The big thing he’s doing is a new edition of a game called Mythic Battles, and I have to say that it’s looking rather splendid. As the designer Benoit was also there, I persuaded them to give me a quick demo game, and was duly slaughtered by a combination of my overenthusiastic boldness, and Benoit’s far superior skill. As usual, being trounced was an excellent teacher, and I learned some important lessons about the game. It was fun too.

Mythic Battles is an interesting mix of styles of play, fought out with miniatures over a board. And they’re lovely miniatures (have a look at their Facebook page). Leo generously gave me a box of various samples to show you guys, and I’ll be going through that when I’ve unpacked my bag.

You know the classic wargame terrain: corners of ruined walls? Well I always think they look more like wargames terrain than real ruins, which was why I found this clip from Strike Back particularly amusing. Ignore the heroics for a moment, concentrate on the random bit of scenery plonked down in the middle of nowhere – as seen on oh-so-many gaming tables the world over 🙂