Buy early and often on this one...

Key Encounters: The Volcanic Shrine combines the writing and imagination of fan favorite Monte Cook with SkeletonKey Games' best selling miniatures-scale tiles to bring a detailed encounter to your table top. Inside this PDF you will find a thrilling encounter written my Monte Cook, 20 miniatures-scale tiles based on designs by Monte Cook, and a full page encounter map of the Volcanic Shrine.

 

Counter Culture Revolution
(or these are not your father's counters)

With Pinnacle's impending release of Fields of Honor: WWII we have an opportunity to change the way we game. As of today - I am uncertain what the product packaging will be - will the FoH: WWII rules be bundled with the Terrain and Figure/Army packs? or will the Terrain and Figure/Army packs be sold separately as well?

Either way this is a step in the right direction - full color, full sized counters that represent the actual vehicles used during the war. Based on the preview images on Pinnacle's website and the Forge website - I am impressed. I am relatively new to historical miniatures gaming - and I have spent a few dollars on 15mm minis and have slowly started to assemble and paint them. What I really want to do is play...

What really interests me is the Terrain and Figure/Army flats. This is the best alternative to the WWII AH CMG that is on the market now. By purchasing, printing, and then mounting these "flats" I can be up and playing the WWII miniatures game of choice. Obviously Fields of Honor: wwII is the game of choice from Pinnacle, but I can see myself using these "flats" with other rules that appeal to me. The overall portability of this product also appeals to me - in one or two plastic organizer boxes I can bring along an army or two and it has always been easier to clean up counters than minis at the end of a game. It has close to the visual appeal of playing with minis - without the hassle of dragging 100 pounds of minis around. Will these replace miniatures for me - no - but they will get used anytime we want to play a game that uses units we either do not own or units we have not assembled or painted, as well as, for the situation where I have limited time and resources. I also like the "need more - print more" flexibility of this product. No more substitutions, no more waiting a week or two for me to finish a unit, no more hoping to get that Tiger in the box, or shopping on eBay for one. It might be fun to mount these on a magnetic material - that way you could game on any surface - wall or table.

Highlight - Fields of Honor: WWII Terrain and Figure/Army packs

-Easy to prepare
-Visually appealing
-Portable
-Not necessarily a replacement - an alternative
-Need more - print more!

I have purchased quite a few rulesets and have found a few that are interesting. The Fields of Honor: WWII rules intrigue me - I was fortunate enough to have been sent a limited preview of the rules. The production values are high - like any of the other books/PDFs that Pinnacle has published in the past. Easily as nice or nicer than the rulebook that comes with the AH CMG minis game. The layout is clean and easy to read (and prints well in B&W or color), the rules appear to organized in a format that is both easy to read and easy to use. The rules are broken into several sections; Basic Training, Elite Operations, and Rules Appendices. Basic Training covers the basic game rules, Elite Operations covers advanced rules, Appendix A is the various Unit Abilities, and Appendix B is the Freak Events table that is used when one of the Fortune and Calamity "Wild Cards" comes up during a turn.

The game uses command cards to determine how the game turn unfolds - read as initiative system.

A standard game turn in FoH: WWII consists of the following steps:

Activation
Movement
Attacks
Stand Down
Victory

I am not familiar with previous editions of Fields of Honor - so I do not know how these rules compare. From my limited preview the rules look like they may be fun to try and hopefully enjoyable enough to play on a regular basis.

Highlight - Fields of Honor: WWII Rules

-Visually appealing
-Print nicely in black and white and color
-Nicely organized

Go here for more details:
http://www.peginc.com/Games/Other/Fields%20of%20Honor/FieldsofHonor.htm

And go here for discussion of FoH: WWII:
http://www.peginc.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=27

Next Post Regarding Mongoose Publishing a WWII Land Based Miniature Game

Mongoose Publishing Forum Index -> What Should Mongoose Publish Next? -> ww2 rpg

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9684&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=wwii&start=15

msprange
Site Admin
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Posts: 2720

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:12 am Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is an interesting one. We are actually looking at a WWII project at the moment, though it is not an RPG. However, if everything pans out (and it could be a few months yet), it will blow any existing WWII game out of the water
_________________
Matthew Sprange



This Post is a Bit of a Stretch (It has been edited down - follow the link for the original post)...

Mongoose Publishing Forum Index -> Mongoose General Discussion -> Mongoose in 2006 (and a bit on the Industry in General)

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=11698&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

msprange
Site Admin
Joined: 18 Aug 2003
Posts: 2720

Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2005 9:12 pm Post subject: Mongoose in 2006 (and a bit on the Industry in General)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MINIATURES GAMES
Lots. But you’ll have to wait for news on these if you are interested. However, I think there is a seismic shift coming in the miniatures market and Mongoose plans to be there. . .

I think I have waffled enough now – as I said, all opinions are my own and from the point of view of Mongoose only. Someone from across the street is likely to have a very different opinion. Which is cool, and as it should be.

If you have any questions, fire away – I’ll answer what I can. . .
_________________
Matthew Sprange

Over the last month I have been following forum posts from two game companies; Great White Games (Pinnacle Entertainment Group) and Mongoose Press. It appears that both companies have World War II land based miniatures games in the works.

The Great White Games WWII game appears be based on their Fields of Honor ruleset - which they co-published with Chameleon Eclectic Entertainment in 1994. It also looks to be miniature based game without using miniatures. Check out the link to the Forge site if you are curious as to how a game can be miniature based without using miniatures. I will venture a guess that the artwork found over on the Forge site looks to be along the lines of the other "Flats" that GWG/PEG have released in the past. I think this product is rather exciting as it allows the folks that do not have the budget to buy hundreds of dollars worth of minis the opportunity to play using nice looking counters. My hope is that these can be printed in whatever scale you prefer; 20mm, 15mm, 10mm, etc. From email conversations with Shane Hensley and Simon Lucas, their WWII game should be out in the very near future.

It is uncertain how much effort Mongoose Publishing has put into their WWII game, based on this singular forum post. If the quality of the work they put into Starship Troopers reflects the quality that might be invested into a pre-painted miniature based WWII game, the WWII miniature gaming industry might be in for a few surprises.


My first reference is a posting both companies made over on the RPG.net forums in a discussion about AEG's (Alderac Entertainment Group) recent restructuring:

AEG in Trouble - RPGnet Forums - Post #86 & Post #92
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?t=224236


#86 10-19-2005, 12:20 AM
PEGShane
Registered User Join Date: May 2002
Location: VA
Posts: 99

Re: AEG in Trouble

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Matt Sprange said: Interesting - I have a feeling (call it a hunch, whatever ) that historical wargaming is going to become a bigger fish over the next couple of years. WWII will be the first to get a boost (it is already starting).

I agree completely. We had a prepainted WW2 game all set to launch when we partnered up with Old Glory about 2 years ago. Then the regular historical minis market took a hit and OG got cold feet. It was a shame--I think it would have been a huge hit. You'll see a *version* of it this Tuesday from us on our site (sorry for the plug -- www.peginc.com). It's under our "Fields of Honor" brand.

As for AEG, they'll be fine in the long term. Most of us go through ups and downs, especially in this industry. They have some great products and are currently figuring out how best to proceed given current market conditions.

If you're a fan, just keep buying their stuff and wish them well when their forums go back up.

Shane Hensley
Pinnacle



#92 10-19-2005, 01:57 AM
Mongoose_Matt
Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 552

Re: AEG in Trouble

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by tomas
I tend to agree, though I think that whatever form it takes will not be the hex-map and cardboard pieces of my youth.



I think you are right - miniatures will be the way to go, perhaps even pre-painted. . .

We have found a _stunning_ range of pre-painted WWII tanks that we are trying to build a wargame for. These models are seriously good, to the extent that you begin thinking 'well, i cannot paint better than that myself. . .'.
__________________
Matthew Sprange
Mongoose Publishing

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com



My second reference is a posting on the Great White Games forums in a discussion about Shane's post over on the RPG.net forums:

Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group :: View topic - Prepainted WW2 game?
http://www.peginc.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7630


Loungingbear
Novice
Joined: 30 Apr 2005
Posts: 41
Location: Memphis, TN
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 2:02 pm Post subject: Prepainted WW2 game?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shane posted on rpg.net's forum on Oct 19:
"We had a prepainted WW2 game all set to launch when we partnered up with Old Glory about 2 years ago. Then the regular historical minis market took a hit and OG got cold feet. It was a shame--I think it would have been a huge hit. You'll see a *version* of it this Tuesday from us on our site (sorry for the plug--www.peginc.com). It's under our "Fields of Honor" brand."


Any chance of a little more news on this? Or maybe even some screenshots!!!
_________________
...and I'm all out of bubblegum.



Iron Guardian
Novice
Joined: 25 May 2004
Posts: 84
Location: Fairport, NY
Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2005 4:03 pm Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For a second, I thought the title of this thread might be referring to WOTC's Axis & Allies Minis game. Wonder if the minis might still be usable for GWG's game too?

For the Weird Wars WWII game, they should be highly useful
_________________
Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women! - Conan aka Arnold the Govenator



PEGShane
Site Admin
Joined: 13 May 2003
Posts: 476
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:56 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Howdy,

No, the actual prepainted minis will never happen since they were based off Old Glory's molds and we're no longer partnered up.

There are several companies looking at lines of prepainted WW2 minis from Asia and trying to figure out what to do with them. We looked and it just didnt' work out for us, but I know others are still deep in talks. A&A set some of these back, but since it wound up being a board game with prepainted minis more than a minis game, I think the door is still open.

Now, what *we* have I think will be truly welcomed by certain kinds of folks, but I'd rather not say more until it's out. We're doing final edits on it now, and it'll be out as a PDF product within a couple weeks. If things go well, we have *many* follow-ups planned, covering many different eras. But we'll see what the reaction is... We like to do things differently around here, and usually they succeed, but sometimes they don't.

Shane


My third and final reference is found over on The Forge's website - specifically their portfolio page (lower right corner - second from the bottom) - where you can find a picture of a German Panther tank, a German Halftrack, and a US Sherman tank:

http://www.theforge.pl/index.php?lang=us&pageset=new&page=portfolio

Ponder this...

At one time "Good Sense" was common - hence the term "Common Sense".

These days as "Good Sense" is becoming more and more uncommon - perhaps a new phrase should be used - "Uncommon Sense"?

Ciao!
Art

Since last I posted, I have continued to pick up more FoW minis. I am primarily focusing on mid to late war Germans.

So far I have picked up figs from Battlefront/FoW, Peter Pig, and Resistant Roosters. All of them are of excellent quality.

I also purchased all of the FoW books - if nothing else the pictures within the books are unbelievably inspiring to look at when working on your own figs.

I am also working on a project with Ed from SKG that is somewhat related to FoW...to be referred to as Project W.

Also bought a bunch of terrain pieces from Mike Parker of Battlefield Accessories (great guy by the way - buy early - buy often). You can find his stuff here:

http://members.optusnet.com.au/carolynparker/mmmain.htm

I hope to be taking some pics of my figs, Mike's terrain pieces, and Project W soon.

I just started to get into Flames of War...

Bought a Tiger 1E, a Tiger II, and a Sherman II from the Battlefront/FoW line. Was curious if anyone else had experience with the Peter Pig minis, the Old Glory minis, the Quick Castings minis, or the QRF minis? If so - please let me know what your thoughts are...

Looks like I will order some Sugarcraft palm trees over the weekend - looking forward to recreating some Afrika Corp stuff.

Well it has been seven - eight months since I last posted...

Weird how life can get away from you like that.

I have been the SKG webmaster for almost a year now and I have seen some pretty damn cool products get released. I have also been brought into the fold as a proofreader for not only SKG products (or Bourelle Arts products), but also several other joint projects. This continues to be a great experience and I look forward to performing these roles for some time.

I am hoping that within the next 3-4 months I will have my own brand and first product completed.

Signing off for now...

Here are several Spyware Removal Tool Links…

Bazooka Adware and Spyware Scanner
http://www.kephyr.com/

Spybot - Search & Destroy
http://www.safer-networking.org/

Ad-aware Standard Edition
http://www.lavasoft.de/

Neowin Guide to Removing Spyware
http://www.neowin.net/articles.php?action=more&id=81

I would have much rather paid $12.99 a pack for the rest of the minis in GoL (minus the "Giant" figure) and then paid $9.99 a pack for a single randominzed "Giant" figure.

On an average it has taken me around 48 boosters for set completion (this includes the spare rares and uncommons I get simply for trade bait).

At this price point I am looking @ spending ~$1000.00 (retail) to complete a subset and have the quantity of subset figs I would like? (OK - not that I am going to pay retail cost...)

WTF?

I also think this is going to jack up prices on the secondary market for individual figs as well.

Not the best planning on WotC's part in my humble opinion...
Art