Defence Mechs can get 50% off the PDF edition of Horizon Wars: Infinite Dark with this code until 28th June 2021:
https://www.wargamevault.com/browse.php?discount=9a43d0a5f4
2021-05-28 08:05:55 +0000 UTC View PostThis article is one I'm hoping to offer to Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy magazine as a quid pro quo for some advertising space. If they bite (and, thus far, I've had a nibble) then I'll pass it on to them for publication in a few months' time. If not, it'll appear on TTGUK in due course.
In recent years, we’ve seen a small growth in rules sets offering players the option of wargaming in the tail-end of the 20th Century or the first half of the 21st. Spectre O...
2021-05-26 08:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post...ish.
It is (almost literally) 99% perfect. The borders around the text on the back of the book are too narrow to my eyes, but they're not wrong.
So what I'm going to do is release the POD straightaway, along with the PDF. But I'm also going to update the POD files, re-submit them and get a new test copy with narrower borders.
I'm telling you guys this because I know some of you just love to get the POD version. So you can go ahead and order the POD version. No wo...
2021-05-25 11:20:06 +0000 UTC View PostWhen a microenterprise wants to create something new, how do they do it? In the modern age, crowdfunding has become a core part of the business plan of any small creative business, and in the tabletop industry, Kickstarter is the colossus.
I use this episode to try to take apart the alternative options, look at what kinds of businesses are going to want to use what kind of approach and, ultimately, try to decide whether Kickstarter is right for Precinct Omega.
I thought you guys might like to see the new art for our Miniature Wargames advert that will be published in June.
I'm going to need to update my website to add a link to Wargame Vault for Infinite Dark!
2021-05-20 10:11:36 +0000 UTC View PostCampaign play is one of those things that every wargamer says they want but only a tiny number ever actually use, and I’ve always thought that was a huge shame. But having run wargaming clubs and organized events for both tournament and narrative play in the past, I understand both where the desire for campaign play comes from and why it so often fails to live up to its hype.
We all love a good story. It’s practically part of what makes us human. And a campaign is a chance to not ju...
2021-05-19 08:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostMore general content I've written for Tabletop Games UK. The site owner, there, is going through some personal challenges right now, which has put a stop to most new content, so this stuff may not see the light of day beyond this Patreon, or I may find another miniatures blogging site to write for.
What ho, chaps and chapettes! The glorious 19th Century has brought forth technological marvels hitherto undreamt-of, but also advanced the cause of mysticism and the powers of the s...
2021-05-18 08:35:57 +0000 UTC View PostMy files were approved today and the proof copy has been ordered. Current lead times are 2-3 weeks, but they often do better than that. So I'm cautiously optimistic that we'll see the POD edition at the same time as or very shortly after the PDF release... assuming that the POD edition comes back with everything looking right (of which there is zero guarantee).
2021-05-17 13:21:25 +0000 UTC View PostAnother unscripted ramble through my brain, as I talk about my personal experience of CQB (spoiler: none) and how my understanding of it is informed by my studies and training. I have a bit of a go at mostly Warhammer 40,000 but also Infinity the Game for how they handle CQB, and obviously talk about how my games do it better (YMMV).
But seriously, I articulate four take-aways for anyone wanting to write CQB into a miniatures wargame which I think are important and whi...
2021-05-14 11:01:02 +0000 UTC View PostYour deadline for submitting an entry for the Battle Report of the Month is the end of Sunday 16th May. So if you've not played a mission yet, this weekend is going to be your best opportunity to get some dice rolling.
To enter, all you have to do is play a Horizon Wars: Zero Dark or Horizon Wars: Infinite Dark mission and write it up (or record a video). The best write-up each month will win a prize. The prize might be a signed, print version of the rules (if...
2021-05-14 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
I know you guys already saw the art, but I thought you might like to see the cover design.
2021-05-13 08:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
My latest Livestream is no up on YouTube as an Unlisted video.
After a lot of interest in my urban scatter terrain, made from old Jenga sets, I thought I'd do a focus on how I made and painted them.
Other than my usual "can you actually hear me?" panic, I thought it went quite well.
2021-05-12 15:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post‘The thing with space, see, well, the thing with space… the real thing with space… the thing most people don’t really appreciate until they actually get there… Space, you see, it’s big.
'Now, you probably think “Oh, sure, I get that - it’s basically infinite, right? Of course it’s big. That’s why we call it the Infinite Dark.” But no, you’re not getting it. Do you swim? Have you ever swum in the sea? Have you ever done that thing where you swim along...
2021-05-12 08:00:03 +0000 UTC View PostThis is another article I've written for Tabletop Games UK, which I'm releasing early to patrons for your consumption. I'm currently trying to sort out some access issues with TTGUK, but this should be public in a week or so.
There is a certain inevitability about the path that independent miniatures wargames follow, and anyone interested in commercial wargames and wargaming should have at least a vague awareness of what that path looks like and what different challenges and sp...
2021-05-11 08:25:27 +0000 UTC View PostA short episode, this week, because I'm taking it a bit easy. Back to normal service next week. But as (a) I'm taking it easy, and (b) it's 12 months since I started this series of weekly podcasting, I thought it would be a good opportunity to review the stats of the last 12 months and talk about my hopes and plans for the next year.
There's still news, though, with new releases from:
2021-05-08 11:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
Well, I think it's pretty awesome.
2021-05-07 15:17:01 +0000 UTC View PostDeep breath in. Deep breath out.
The manuscript is off to the proof-reader for final checks, but otherwise the book is done. I'm still waiting for the cover art from David, but the preview sketches look awesome!
Weighing in at 98 pages long, this is the largest publication I've made so far and, I think, the best looking.
I'm very, very pleased with the design outcome. Without doubt, there will be issues and errors and things I need to clarify here and there. But the...
2021-05-06 11:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
I'm loving how David's work is taking shape, here. We're getting a real sense of a mash-up between Hornblower, Star Trek, Honor Harrington and Warhammer 40k.
In the last day, I've also finalized the narrative of the fiction in the rulebook, which is a whole set-up for the three supplements coming down the track. It's great to feel all these disparate ideas coalescing into something coherent.
The text itself is just about to head into proof-reading.
2021-05-05 15:55:33 +0000 UTC View Post
With Horizon Wars: Infinite Dark on the cusp of its end-of-May release date, I thought I'd give you guys a few previews of some content, starting with the tokens pages. I've added a downloadable PDF for anyone who wants to print them out. Scaling to your choice of counter size is going to be a bit hit-and-miss, I acknowledge and I'm kinda hoping some enterprising soul out there w...
2021-05-05 11:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostThis is an advance post that will appear on the Precinct Omega Blog on 12th May 2021.
To find out more about the vessels in Horizon Wars: Infinite Dark, you can read the last two blogs, talking about basics and 2021-05-05 08:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Last year, I shared with you the rules for Dzedai Warriors in Horizon Wars: Zero Dark. This year, possibly inspired by the Disney+ subscription I no longer have but which I enjoyed very much while it lasted, I bring you rules for Dogg Hunters.
First, though, an extra upgrade choice for your Dzedai:
To help de-conflict what the different games are in the Horizon Wars family, I thought I'd talk about it in last week's livestream.
Took me a while to sort this out.
As ever, you can join the livestream any Friday between 2pm and 3pm UK time on the Precinct Omega Facebook page. I am actively looking to livestream somewhere other than FB - probably Twitch but maybe YouTube - in due course but, right now, this is the path of least effort.
2021-05-03 09:56:01 +0000 UTC View PostAgain, in line with the request from patrons that they get a one-stop-shop for my online content on the Patreon, here are the first four parts of my Infinite Dark design blog.
Obviously, very little here should surprise patrons, but if you've not already sampled the beta edition, you can get it here.
Horizon Wars: I...
2021-05-02 08:00:02 +0000 UTC View PostOperation Kurgan will be conducted in the full glare of media attention. Mars has a complicated relationship with its media. On the one hand, they are respected and mostly trusted. On the other, they are seen almost as a shadow government that influences policy and public opinion. Consequently, their mission on Earth has attracted a lot of attention.
As a result, despite being of highest secrecy, Operation Kurgan - the Martian attempt to track down the Skylords, find out what t...
2021-05-01 11:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostA feature of Operation Kurgan will be an increased focus on taking targets alive, representing the fact that the Martian forces are under far more public scrutiny than their Venusian counterparts in Operation Nemesis.
Generally speaking, you can assume that a captured bogey who is removed from the table in the normal rules for exiting the table is going to be worth +1 XP to the hero removing them. But it's more fun to use the rules in missions designed for the...
2021-05-01 11:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostThe monthly compendium is a way for new patrons to find easy links to the most popular and significant content in the Patreon. This compendium contains all of the content available to Defence Mech patrons. Because this is the first month, really, that I've started doing tier-specific rewards in a meaningful way, you'll not find anything here that isn't available to everyone, but as of next month, this will start to change.
Free Rules!
Most people are here for tabl...
2021-05-01 08:00:05 +0000 UTC View PostI met up with Alex Handley of Aotrs Shipyard to discuss his work designing an enormous range of spaceship miniatures as 3D sculpts, and his experience of getting them to retail through third-party printing services.
2021-04-30 11:01:01 +0000 UTC View PostI was recently asked if I would begin to add to the Patreon content I create for other outlets, like my own blog at Precinct Omega and Tabletop Games UK. I'm quite happy to do so, but there is a lot of it, most of it has very little to do with Precinct Omega, and I don't want to overwhelm my patrons with notifications. So if this is too much, do log in and check your notification settings if you don't want an email from the Patreon every day or multiple times a day. And ...
2021-04-29 10:39:29 +0000 UTC View Post
As promised (and requested), here's last week's Livestream video. This brings you up to date with the current livestreams. From now on, I'll be posting the previous week's livestream here every Wednesday. They'll then be made public on YouTube the following Wednesday.
In this video, I'm painting a Primaris Space Marine. The audio is a bit rocky, because I used the mic on the camera and I'm, like, on top of the camera. For future hobby videos, I'll use my radio mic instead. 2021-04-28 08:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
In response to several requests, now, I'm going to start posting the unedited footage from my Friday livestreams: first, here, and then the following Friday, I'll make them public on YouTube. But to kick off, I'll start with a double from the last two weeks.
If you want to join the Livestream, right now it's every Friday at 2pm UK time at the Precinct Omega Facebook page. In this episode, I talk about the Horizon Wars setting: Fluff, lore, backstory, whatever you call ...
2021-04-26 14:38:40 +0000 UTC View Post