XaiJu
lastswordminiatures
lastswordminiatures

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Units with scenic approach


Well guys.


When we started developing the Vampires, I asked you if you wanted a classic approach or a more adventurous one including scenes in the units.

The classic approach won and that's the way we are working on the first Vampire unit.

But after asking you the question I realized that we had never shown you units designed as scenes. Now you have two examples.

As I told you at the time, this approach for us implies more work. It's not just designing figures and then putting them together. We have to think of them as a whole so that it works and tells a story.

It is true that it makes the units more limited, in the cavalry it doesn't make sense to repeat the three knights that jump the tree. And the spearmen command group is too flashy to place in two units without kitbashing. 

Its best virtue is its weakness. And I would like to know what you think about it.

The approach of the Patreon right now is to generate much wider ranges for armies than usual. We have no problem making 2 or 3 versions of the same troop types, if we can make the units really unique. It is a long term project.

The only army we have some problems with are the lizards. It is very difficult to theme them to make different versions. But I'm sure that even in them you can help us with ideas. 

The goal is to make the units as they have never been made before, but still be useful in most of the games.

We also have other kinds of projects that we could do.  A team of engineers repairing a cannon. A group of soldiers around the campfire and their tents. Dioramas of generals planning battles or supervising prisoners... 

These have no direct use in the game other than as objective markers. But I think they can give a unique flavor to the armies. 

Of that type of pieces we could design 1 per year for each army. 

What you decide will have a lot of weight in how we plan the calendar from now on. I am very interested in the result of the voting, but above all your opinions.

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Bueno, chicos.

Cuando empezamos a desarrollar los Vampiros, os pregunté si queríais un enfoque clásico o uno más aventurero incluyendo escenas en las unidades.

El enfoque clásico ganó y así es como estamos trabajando en la primera unidad de Vampiros.

Pero después de haceros la pregunta me di cuenta de que nunca os habíamos mostrado unidades diseñadas como escenas. Ahora tenéis dos ejemplos.

Como os dije en su momento, este enfoque para nosotros implica más trabajo. No se trata sólo de diseñar figuras y luego juntarlas. Tenemos que pensar en ellas como un todo para que funcione y cuente una historia.

Es cierto que hace que las unidades sean más limitadas, en la caballería no tiene sentido repetir los tres caballeros que saltan el árbol. Y el grupo de mando de lanceros es demasiado llamativo para colocarlo en dos unidades sin versionar. 

Su mejor virtud es su debilidad. Y me gustaría saber qué opináis al respecto.

El planteamiento del Patreon ahora mismo es generar gamas de ejército mucho más amplios de lo habitual. No tenemos problema en hacer 2 o 3 versiones de los mismos tipos de tropas, si conseguimos que las unidades sean realmente únicas. Es un proyecto a largo plazo.

El único ejército con el que tenemos algunos problemas son los lagartos. Es muy difícil tematizarlos para hacer diferentes versiones. Pero estoy seguro de que incluso en ellos nos podéis ayudar con ideas. 

El objetivo es hacer las unidades como nunca se han hecho antes, pero que sigan siendo útiles en la mayoría de los juegos.

También tenemos otro tipo de proyectos que podríamos hacer.  Un equipo de ingenieros reparando un cañón. Un grupo de soldados alrededor de la hoguera y sus tiendas. Dioramas de generales planeando batallas o supervisando prisioneros... 

No tienen ninguna utilidad directa en el juego más que como marcadores de objetivos. Pero creo que pueden dar un sabor único a los ejércitos. 

De ese tipo de piezas podríamos planetar 1 por año para cada ejército. 

Lo que decidáis tendrá mucho peso en cómo planifiquemos el calendario a partir de ahora. Me interesa mucho el resultado de las votaciones, pero sobre todo vuestras opiniones.

Comments

The scenes are neat, but only usable once in an army. I do agree they are cool as filler and or objectives. They are of limited use army building. I am talking from a 9th Age perspective. Having the table hold a turn counting dice or marker would make it of use outside of just scenic too. As far as bases with scenes go I tend not to print the bases anyway so I have no opinion on that. Finally, Lizardmen. You could always do some in an Egyptian theme to represent them from other lands. They suit the Aztec look, so I am sure Egyptian styles would also work. Could really turn the system on its head and make Lizardmen wearing furs and such with feathers and scales from a northern climate.

Jon Letham

Well said! My thoughts exactly. I love the scenes as they add so much character, but it would look weird when repeated in one army on the table. Options for both scenes and traditional style configurations would be best!

David

When I read your text i get the feeling that you guys love designing the unique units. Go for it, you should have fun while you work. If unique and scenic units make happy, that will improve the quality of everything you do and keep you guys in the game longer. So, my vote goes to unique and scenic. :)

Alexander

We are speaking cool unit fillers here 😊👍

Claes Jakobsen

The "scenes" are cool and I would use them as unit fillers but would prefer to have options for traditional style battle units and be able to created a ranked unit from the kit. If everyone's elven phalanx has the boys gathered around a table like they're at the local pub, then it's not that unique. Also, if two units of elven phalanx were in my army, I wouldn't want both units to have the same diorama. But I'm speaking from a gaming perspective. As it is, it's a beautiful piece.

Hexed

These two kits are quite open. The thing that really limits us are usually 2 specific elements -Beard and hair, that if you make it modular it looks much worse than if it is sculpted directly. -Cloaks, that if you make them in separate piece it never looks natural. The lion guard that you paint, is much more limited than this unit by these two points.

Last Sword Miniatures

I really appreciate the fact that you are trying to create army models that are distinct from each other.

DustlessOrphan

They are viable in any of them. You can use fillers without any problem in any row, and the diorama would be the filler. If it is also in the first row, as in these two examples, you will rarely remove it. In my playing days I won several national tournaments and Armys on Parede with this system. It is more complex for a game like AOS with individual minis. But we'll try to make sure you have a way to use them.

Last Sword Miniatures

We're not really inventing anything new. We are bringing concepts from historical games into fantasy. We could make units with officers on horseback giving orders from the back row, units being shot at, with some dead or falling soldiers, troops marching with their knapsacks... The possibilities are really endless. I think Kow was born with this spirit but they have not known how to materialize it.

Last Sword Miniatures

I would avoid having only 'one right way' to use your minis, though. Part of the fun of this hobby is customizing and creativity. You talked fondly of setting up these dioramas yourself in the old days. Something that wouldn't be possible if the kits were too locked in place.

Jefferson Thacker

The scenic units are especially viable in Kings of War, where scenic diorama basing is regularly performed, and helps improve your army's paint score rubric at most tournaments. (Kings of War doesn't remove models to track wounds, instead using dice, so fixed diorama bases are convenient for play.)

Charles Feduke

You're doing great. As long as the scenic options don't keep me from also having rank and file to fill out other units / singles, its fine and a nice change of pace.

Jefferson Thacker

The models with both scenic storytelling and without are awesome. The scenic ones are of limited use but they will add so much character to the army.

Asen Tsvetkov

Los caballeros hay intenciones de hacer la menos 5 o 6 ordenes espaciadas en el tiempo. No se si lo necesitaras XD

Last Sword Miniatures

A mi me encanta tener varias unidades del mismo tipo, aunque no sean conversionadas, pero si con colores diferentes (los caballeros tocará repetir caballos de los que no saltan). Pero he votado que si, ya que también ese punto de vista significa mismas unidades que vuelven a salir y una gran posibilidad para cambios de heráldica, armas, cascos... todo. Mucho ánimo!!!!

Javier


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