Heavy Gear Blitz! - 62nd Century Robitgames - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Heavy Gear Blitz! - 62nd Century Robitgames

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Welcome to the Heavy Gear Blitz thread, OP layout ~~a tribute to~~ shamelessly cribbed from the WH40K thread. I've recently been getting into Heavy Gear (and have a starter box on order), but couldn't find many useful resources or discussion online - so, having more :spergin:

than sense, I decided to fix that. This OP and the few following posts are intended to contain a lot of information on the game, so if you think smashy tabletop robots interest you, have a look!

What exactly is Heavy Gear?

Heavy Gear is a tabletop miniature war- and roleplaying game setting. Around since 1995, at first the game was pretty much a Battletech knockoff ~~(I�m under the impression that the initial devs were a bunch of people who got shafted when FASA lost their rights to Battletech)~~, but it has since grown an identity of its own.

What�s the setting like?

The Cliff Notes version as follows: By the 62nd century, humanity has spread itself across a handful of colonial worlds. Most of these colonial worlds, however, are less-than-ideal for human life and civilization. Hundreds of years ago, the megacorporations that had come to rule Earth deigned the colonial �experiments� unprofitable and shut off the Tannhauser Gates, the hypergate network that formed the backbone of travel and communication between Earth and her various colonies. Cut off from Earth and eachother, most of these colonies withered away over the centuries, but a handful survived - one among them Terra Nova, a resource-rich if harshly-habitable planet climate-wise somewhat halfway between Earth and Mars (and the primary focus of the setting).

The surviving colonies each developed into their own direction, and Terra Nova ended up splitting into two major factions, North and South, each based on one of the planet�s habitable polar areas, warring over the uninhabitable but resource-rich areas near the planet�s equator (and conveniently leaving a setup conductive for wargaming). The two factions fought on and off for centuries until Earth reunited itself under a single banner, reactivated the hypergate network, and sent off a warfleet to bring the remaining colonies - who had since become independent, and mostly not too fond of the Earth that had abandoned them for profit - back to heel. While the first invasion of Terra Nova was repelled, the CEF and its allies are now gearing up (ha!) for a second go. Now, Terra Nova is being fought over by both the North, South, the Earth Colonial Expeditionary Forces, and a handful of other factions trying to gain from the conflict.

The stars of the settings are the titular Heavy Gears, multi-meter tall, bipedal humanoid war machines developed by the Terra Novan colonists. While the first Gears were essentially the equivalent of a forklift with a couple of guns bolted on, �modern� gears are nimble, flexible units that straddle the line between �tank� and �ridiculously heavy infantry�, particularly at home among difficult terrain conventional vehicles cannot operate in. Predictably, while Gears are a Terra Novan development, the other factions also have their equivalents.

What kind of games are there?

The gameline includes a number of different games, up to and including a handful of computer games (one of which was even subtitled �62nd Century Combat�, a not-so-subtle riff on MechWarrior 2: 31st Century Combat), a collectible card game, and multiple tabletop rulesets - the original �vanilla� Heavy Gear (complex, Battletech-esque systems), Heavy Gear: Arena (gladiator-style combat, with players managing a team of duelist-pilots and their equipment over seasons of fights), Heavy Gear RPG (exactly what it says on the tin) and Heavy Gear: Blitz. Blitz essentially takes the vanilla Heavy Gear game and streamlines and speeds up the gameplay to make for shorter, faster-paced, fun matches without the usual bevy of bookkeping you see on 90s-style games (looking at you, Battletech). This thread is mostly focused on Blitz as it is the ruleset I am the most (read, at all) familiar with, but talk about the other gamelines is certainly not unencouraged.

How anime is this game?

Not very, to be honest. While the unit designs and book art are rather �anime inspired�, the usual weaboo bullshit and cheesecake art are thankfully absent. (Incidentally, the dev team is based in Montreal, Canada.) Tech-wise while it�s �FTL gates and giant robots� said giant robots are mostly armed with mostly-conventional autocannons, rocket launchers, grenades and such; Gundam-style ray guns, force shields and beam swords don�t exist, unless you count a few laser cannon and particle beam-type weapons, mostly limited to the more advanced invader factions. Hell, the drat things are even powered by a generator pack linked to a ruggedized internal combustion engine - a highly advanced IC engine, granted, but it�s still fueled with dead dinosaurs (or honestly anything halfway liquid and combustible).

Who makes this stuff, anyhow?

Dream Pod 9. Visit their site here.

So, is it all just mechs - sorry, gears? Can I make a combined arms tank-and-infantry force and win?

While most factions are focused on Gears, they also usually have access to a healthy smattering of non-Gear units - cars, striders, tanks, hovertanks and -craft, the occasional small helicopter-type flier, and plain infantry. Artillery and air assets are typically represented more abstractly as air strikes and artillery bombardments you can purchase for points. Most of the time these are intended to be used to support the more generalist Gears in specialized roles (like taking a couple of cheap scout cars to spot for your indirect fire) but you don�t necessarily have to build your list around Gears. Tanks in particular are actually really loving deadly and best not engaged directly - contrary to the genre (and realistically enough) a tank can and will pack far superior firepower and armor to a walker of similar-ish size and cost. A Gear�s advantage is in its mobility in harsh terrain and tight confines, but out in the open? Frontal assaults against tanks tend to not end well.

What�s the scale?

I want to say that HG minis are built at 1:144 or around 12mm scale - your average trooper Gear is about the size of a Space Marine miniature. Dropzone Commander terrain seems to fit the scale pretty nicely (even if 12mm Gears may seem a bit inflated next to them), along with various approximately-proper-size model railroad buildings and the like.

No, you dipshit, the scale of the game. How many models and how much detail?

Blitz is a squad-scale game balanced for around 10 models and two or less hours of play for an �average� 100-point game. Of course this varies with your particular faction and force composition, but you should expect things to stay in about that ballpark. Rules-wise individual models don�t have many things to keep track of - arguably not quite as simple as Warhammer models, but it�s far from Battletech either. HG Arena and RPG of course put more focus on individual units/models on the table, while I�m under the impression that the original Heavy Gear game is considerably more �crunchy�.

How much of a pain in the rear end are the rules?

Blitz rules are based on a fairly simple �attacker and defender roll a bunch of d6es, hope for high numbers� resolution mechanic. It has its own quirks (and honestly the rulebook could be more intuitively organized) but it�s considerably less complicated and table-heavy than the original Battletech game and should be fairly easy to pick up - I�ve so far played a couple of demo games and enjoyed it. You need some d6es and likely want to find/make yourself a bunch of tokens to keep track of damage and model status (and the rulebook does come with a printable token sheet). Also, the turn system works with squad-based alternate activations (along with reaction fire and such) so both players are going to be relatively engaged at all times regardless of which one is actively moving at the time.

So how does it actually play?

It�s fairly fast-paced while remaining tactical - and I think it�s pretty fun, too. Units activate one Combat Group or �squad� at a time, so one player moves a handful of models, then the other gets to go, and so on and so on. You get gears dashing cover-to-cover between buildings, skating at breakneck speeds on roads, maneuvering to keep in optimal weapon range, circling around opponents to give their support targeting data, giving one another cover fire, setting up fire points, using ECM/ECCM to help their buddies in various ways and occasionally beating the hell out of eachother with melee weapons. A reaction fire system keeps both players �in the game� at all times, sort of like Infinity, but a single big unit with a heavy weapon in a good position doesn�t quite become the murder machine a dug-in MG nest can be in Infinity. There�s a lot of potential for all sorts of interesting tactics that aren�t just �rush at them screaming� and the ability to mix and match your models in various combat groups can make for pretty varying army builds.

So.. is it a shooting or fighting game?

The game is �realistically� very much focused on ranged combat, but many units do come with a backup close combat weapon Just In Case, ranging from simple chain weapons to vibroblades, grappling hooks and giant fuckoff axes. Some factions focus on melee more than others (Peace River gears in particular tend to come with a sword-and-board combination in addition to their ranged weapons) but unless you�ve specifically somehow built a gimmick force, you should always end up with a healthy amount of dakka.

Can I customize my mechs?

Not in Blitz, no. Blitz units tend to have two to four variants per chassis, each with slightly different loadouts, roles, point costs and maybe special rules, but you have to pick between previously-established stock variants - you can�t flat-out make your own. (The old Heavy Gear game did have unit design rules, though, up to and including randomized design quirks and/or flaws for prototype units). I imagine Arena and the RPG let you kit your ride with a little more detail, too.

What�s the difference between a mech and a gear, anyhow?

Without getting into inter-universe slapfights, HG Gears are noticeably smaller, lighter and more nimble - your average trooper gear is about four and a half meters tall and weighs six-ish tons, as opposed to Battletech�s nine-ten meters and fifty tons for a medium Mech. Battletech �mechs are closer equivalent to �striders� in Heavy Gear universe, big fat heavy only-vaguely-humanoid walking warmachines that tend to attract a lot of attention and draw even more firepower - superheavy Gears, if you will.

What are the models like?

Personally I think most of the sculpts look pretty good - as long as you enjoy the aesthetic. They have a nice amount of detail for 12mm scale models and have a pretty distinct style of their own. (In my personal opinion, they certainly beat the old Battletech lines hands down - I love Battletech but clinging to sculpts drat near as old as I am is not doing them any favors!). Older Heavy Gear models are multipart pewter and pewter/resin models but a recent Kickstarter project funded them a series of plastic injection molds for a number of their miniatures- as of the writing of this post said molds have just hit final approval, and plastic models will likely be available in a few months. It�s worth noting that the old core Heavy Gear rulebook also came with a sheet of paper stand basic North and South gears you could print/copy out and glue to a bunch of pennies to get little �try this at home� games in.

How much will this cost me?

The �living rulebook� beta pdf is available for free on DriveThroughRPG here. Besides the rules, it comes with several reference sheets, sheets of tokens and even terrain templates you can print out yourself if you like. If you prefer a dead-tree version of the rulebook, one will be available later - they're currently nailing down the new rules for the new edition, and the living rulebook is still in a kind of a flux.

The metal and resin miniatures for gears cost from fifteen to thirty dollars apop depending on their size and complexity, with slightly cheaper (about twenty dollars for two gears) two-packs available for various �common� units. Some of the more iconic and common gears are available as even cheaper four-packs with extra bits like command upgrades included. Larger units like striders go up to about fifty dollars per. Starter packs for various armies are also available that come with 16-ish models each for about 130 dollars - less than ten dollars a model plus swag. I'd put it in the same ballpark as X-Wing - if you know exactly what models and such you want, you can get by with maybe 100-200 dollars for a 100-point force, less if the things you want are conveniently included in pre-existing packs.

It is again worth noting that the new plastic models will include a new big all-plastic multi-faction starter box and likely be both cheaper and easier to assemble than the current models, so it may be worth holding back on big purchases until we know for more certain. I myself estimate the price of the plastic minis will be from ten to fifteen dollars each (and more for the big ones) but don�t quote me on that.

There�s a starter box?

The Kickstarter I mentioned earlier included a new big �War for Terra Nova� starter box - there�s two sets, a smaller �basic� one that comes with small North and South forces and a larger �core� box with North, South, CEF and Caprican forces. There are also existing army starter boxes or big �strike force� boxes of the older metal/resin models that typically end up with a nice discount for the number of models in there.

Wait, this was Kickstarted? How do I know it won't flop?

To clarify, the Kickstarter was to give the dev team enough money to create new steel-plate plastic injection molds to sell units on plastic sprues similar to GW kits. The game itself already exists and is playable right now, as long as you don't mind older resin/pewter minis.

Where can I get this stuff?

Heavy Gear is kind of niche. If your friendly local gamestore doesn�t stock it, Dream Pod 9 runs an online store here.

How popular is this game?

I have no idea! I�m under the impression that Heavy Gear in its various iterations is pretty much a niche hobby in an already niche hobby. One of the purposes of this thread is to try and raise interest from mecha-loving goons - with the new starter box on the horizon, it�ll be a good time to get into the game.

Drake_263 fucked around with this message at 20:25 on May 4, 2016

# ? Apr 28, 2016 09:45

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 2, 2024 21:40

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

So what are the different factions like?

There are a multitude of different factions in Heavy Gear: Blitz (and further subfactions among each faction, to boot, allowing for slight specializations and the occasional allied unit from a different faction), but the variety of them can be mostly split between two lines: Terra Novan factions versus Earth and her Reclaimed Colonies (Not that this by no means means everybody gets along all the time - the Terra Novans have a long history of infighting and power-mongering between the various leagues, while most of the colonies aren't exactly happy about being reconquered by Earth and their purple clone soldiers..) Terra Novan factions tend towards more traditional equipment with slight variances for various faction doctrines, while Earth and colonial armies each seem to have A Gimmick of their own for more distinct playstyles.

Disclaimer: Note that I haven�t actually played with all (or even most) of these factions, so this is based on what I�ve figured out while reading the rulebook. Some of this might be terribly, terribly wrong - if anyone has more actual experience and sees a mistake, please correct me!

quote:

Terra Nova - The North (The Confederated Northern City-States)

The northern habitable polar zone of Terra Nova is a rugged land of soaring mountains, wide plains, and fertile valleys - essentially imagine a cross between Norway and the Scottish Highlands. The Northeners who have made their home here are a rugged people who have divided themselves into multiple city-states - these states are largely independent and self-governing, loosely overseen by a Council made of each city-state�s leaders. These various citystates often engage in political maneuvering and such rivalry, but will readily unite against external threats. The North is also home to the Revisitionist Church, and many of the city-state leaders are staunch believers. Their aesthetic tends to prefer rugged, heavily armored, geometric shapes, and their distinctively �blocky� Gears are downright iconic. Northern units tend to be named after big mammalian Earth animals - Panther, Cheetah, Grizzly, Mammoth..

In-game, the North are perhaps the most conventional of the Terra Novan armies. Their units are rugged, but highly specialized - most models and units are designed for a particular role on the battlefield, with little secondary equipment. Their forces are often built around a combined arms doctrine - a core of general-purpose combat Gears, one of their few truly flexible types of units, supported by more specialized designs and heavy guns from tanks or striders. They tend to prefer hard-hitting, short-ranged, high-value low-rate-of-fire weapons, and even their fire support units tend to be equipped with relatively short-range weapons (even if their more modern support units can and often do carry guided missiles for longer-range indirect fire).

+One of the most supported factions
+Simple, straightforwards playstyle
+Sturdy units
+Punchy guns

-Individual units are inflexible
-Army of specialists can suffer from rock-paper-scissors syndrome
-Short-range weapons can lead to early losses

quote:

Terra Nova - The South (Allied Southern Territories)

Counterpart to the North�s soaring mountains and deep valleys, the southern habitable zone is more moist and flat - warm and humid, covered in vast lakes and thick, deep jungles. Where the various Northern city-states are nominally united under a shared council, the various Southern territories are arranged in a group of vassal-states firmly under the thumb of the Southern Republic and its bloated corrupt bureaucracy, peace brutally enforced by their military police. Many Southern Gear designs have direct counterparts in the North, although their more rounded composite armor gives them a more streamlined look and supposedly allows them to maintain equivalent protection while reducing weight and bulk. Their naming scheme is based around reptilian Earth animals, with a particular like for various snakes.

On the tabletop, southern models provide a distinct counterpoint to their Northern opponents - where Northern units and models are highly specialized, Southern equipment and units are expressly designed to perform (if not admirably, then at least well) in a variety of roles and tasks. Even their supposedly specialized designs often have a convenient secondary function that can be used to patch for weaknesses and provide vital redundancy to the main force. They tend to prefer more medium-range high-rate-of-fire lower-value weapons which may make up for lack of individual stopping power with sheer weight of fire.

+Another of the most supported factions
+Also fairly simple to play with
+Highly flexible
+A preference for chainguns and similar weapons makes them particularly efficient against evasive targets or large groups of weaker enemies

-Though flexible, their units may have trouble performing in more specialized roles
-Multi-shot weapons may have trouble against more heavily armored units

quote:

Terra Nova - Peace River

A �minor� Terra Novan faction, Peace River was a settlement based in the resource-rich equatorial Badlands. Armored to withstand anything short of an orbital strike, Peace River gained its wealth by the virtue of becoming the greatest weapon and equipment manufacturer on Terra Nova - selling freely to both North and South while maintaining an army capable of defending itself against badlander incursions, careful to maintain independence and not take a stand with either polar force. Paradoxically, both sides� reliance on trade with Peace River helped to if not bring the two sides closer together, then at least to smooth things over a little between the warring factions.

This changed when agents of the terran Colonial Expeditionary Force incited a terrorist cell within Peace River - and provided them with a powerful antimatter device. The resulting explosion annihilated the vast majority of Peace River�s civilian population and, predictably, further destabilized North-South relations, softening them up for the eventual CEF invasion of Terra Nova as each blamed the other for the unprovoked attack upon a profitable trading partner. Peace River�s industrial capacity, however, escaped majorly unharmed - and with a major chip on their shoulder for the coming war effort, once the CEF revealed themselves. Their Gears and vehicles tend to be sturdy but utilitarian in look - perhaps a little bit �generic� while avoiding the Northern fondness for harsh angles, with names like Warrior, Hussar, Crusader and Cataphract.

On the tabletop, Peace River units and equipment appear middling at best when compared to North or South forces - the vast majority of PR units appear solid if not unimpressive contributors. However, this lack of �amazing� comes packaged with a considerable discount in points - while individual Peace River gears and other units may not have that �wow� factor, quantity can well have a quality of all its own. Many Peace River gears also carry additional melee weapons and shields in addition to their more conventional ranged weapons.

+Their units are cheap
+Cheap means there�s a lot of them
+Many of their larger designs carry giant fuckoff melee weapons

-Those melee weapons are useless unless you can actually get stuck in
-Individual units tend to be unimpressive when compared to other Terra Novan forces
-Low unit cost also means you need to fork over more actual money for your force
-Not as well supported as the other Terra Novan forces

quote:

Terra Nova - NuCoal (The New Coalition)

Originally born as a trade agreement between groups of competing city-states in the harsh Badlands, the NuCoal hardened itself into a defensive agreement against external forces - initially against the North and South, and more presently, against the invading CEF forces. In fact, Port Arthur, NuCoal�s capital city, was invaded and captured by CEF forces during the initial invasion, but eventually reclaimed - along with a handful of disenfranchised CEF GREL legionnaires and their equipment. Their equipment tends to be sleek and streamlined, very scifistic and aerodynamic, with French names - Lanceur, Chasseur, Cuirassier, Chevalier.

On the tabletop, the NuCoal are the Terra Novan �speedster� faction - they have a marked preference for more lightly armored but blisteringly fast designs. Many of their models have hover-equipped secondary drive systems and can move about half as fast as the other factions� equivalent designs on even ground, making them for a powerful if a little fragile force to face in smoother areas. Hilariously, they also have access to cheap-as-chips tribal �Sandriders� who have eschewed high technology to tame various reptilian Terra Novan desert beasts.

+Another collection of low-cost models
+Cheap gears and fast movement speeds on many of them favor an �in your face� playstyle
+Many of their gears and tanks have jump jets or plain hover
+Motherfucking DINOSAUR RIDERS

-Lower armor and more fragile hulls (on most their gears) equate to considerably less durable units
-Also kind of expensive real money-wise to go with the swarm route
-Maybe not as well supported as the �big� TN factions

quote:

Terra Nova -Leagueless

Not all Terra Novan settlers live in the big city-states. The harsh but resource-rich Badlands are home to hundreds of smaller settlements eking out a living in the shadows of the big factions - some are little more than organized collections of raiders armed with cast-off and captured weapons, others mostly-peaceful settlements with a handful of ancient but well-loved Gears for defense.

Models-wise, the Leagueless have no collection of their own - instead, their forces can combine models from North, South, Peace RIver and NuCoal lists (with certain limitations). This can make for quite varied army compositions and characterful forces, to say the least.

+Can combine stuff from the other Terra Nova factions
+Wide selection of models makes for varied tactics
+Lots of potential for character and interesting conversions
+Can even mix models from different forces in the same unit

-No access to advanced weapons or certain specialized units, limited access to striders
-Though a wide variety of models and units are available, you�re generally limited to one of a given kind of a model unless it�s an extremely common model (basic trooper, really)
-Likely unsuitable for a beginning player

quote:

Terra Nova - Black Talons

A secret project rather than a faction, the Black Talon group was formed in the aftermath of the Peace River terrorist attack. Key minds from both polar confederations realized that neither side had much to gain from the destruction of Peace River - and as the attack was investigated more thoroughly, select elements from both North and South came together to form the beginnings of what would become the Black Talon project. A secret force consisting of elite units from both sides, the Black Talons are armed with cutting-edge upgrades of �regular� Terra Novan Gears and essentially function as special ops against the Earth invasion forces - it is, in fact, largely thanks to the Black Talon project that the initial CEF attack on Terra Nova was thwarted, cutting off supply lines and sabotaging attack forces in order to buy Terra Nova time to defend itself. Generally the Black Talons are seen as a symbol of Terra Novan unity, striking from the shadows against Earth where it can do the most damage.

On the tabletop, the Black Talons are an elite force - all their pilots have veteran abilities that put them above most other pilots, and that�s before factioning in that their Gears and other vehicles are either advanced, tuned-up and upgraded �Dark� versions of more common Terra Novan units or designed ground-up for Black Talon use.

+Veteran pilots and advanced units make for very powerful individual models
+A �special ops� force that can theoretically take on multiple times its own number and come up on top, with the right tactics
+Low model count makes collecting the army relatively cheap - you can often make a viable small force from the �leftovers� of other factions
+You get to play frikking green berets IN SPACE

-Low model count also makes the individual models more expensive point-wise
-With fewer models on the field, the loss of an individual model hurts you a lot more
-90% of the time you�re likely outnumbered, the other 10% likely outgunned by something way bigger than your Gears
-Despite cherrypicking from other TN factions, your actual models available are fairly limited
-Can be a challenging army to play with, largely for the previous reasons

quote:

Earth - Colonial Expeditionary Force

Centuries ago, various Earth corporations colonized various worlds before abandoning them as unprofitable. While the colonies were left to fend for themselves, Earth waited, various factions warring among themselves and advancing in technology, content to remain in the cradle of human civilization.. for a time.

After centuries of ruthless exploitation and warfare, the biosphere of Earth was left devastated, her natural resources nearly expended. It was here that a fresh-to-global-power New Earth Commonwealth (NEC) thought back to those colonies abandoned centuries ago - while Earth was nearly bled dry, those new worlds would certainly still be nearly untapped, right? All those resources and territories - resources and territories the colonies technically owed Earth, afterall, without Earth to create them, the Colonies would not exist in the first place.

And so, troops were collected and warships created to form the greatest single battle force in human history to reclaim these lost colonies.. For the good of all mankind, of course. Their forces are a vast utilitarian legion of faceless acronyms and serial numbers - evocative names are for the childish, and their GREL clone troopers have little imagination in the first place..

On the tabletop actual, the �classic� CEF army is actually a distinctive inversion from the most other factions in Heavy Gear - where everyone else tends to build their army around Gears seasoned to taste with other units for support, the CEF preferred doctrine is a modified blitzkrieg-style heavy combined arms build revolving around fast, hard-hitting hovertanks supported by expendable GREL (Genetically Recombined Experimental Legionnaire) super-soldier infantry units and FLAIL (Front Line Advanced Infantry Legionnaire) powered armor units. Their gear-equivalent Combat Frames are, aside from a few tougher command models, lightly armored, fast-moving hover-equipped deathtraps (piloted by GRELs and rigged to self-destruct when disabled) intended more to support the main hovertank spearhead and fill specialist niches rather than straight-out brawling. They also seem to have a distinct preference for high-power, long-range laser and particle weaponry, as opposed to the more conventional Terra Novan kinetic weapons.

+One of the more �sci-fi� factions
+Probably one of the most supported factions, too
+Highly distinctive blitzkrieg playstyle
+Fast-moving, hard-hitting units provide huge potential for alpha strikes
+One of the few factions with access to powered armor
+Low model count makes collecting easier (and cheaper)
+It can be fun to play the Bad Guy
+THE faction to play if you like big tanks
+Your Heavy Hover Tank is basically a Baneblade on PCP
+Hovertanks are Really loving Tough

-The rest of your stuff.. isn�t
-Most your stuff is also pretty expensive, making that fragility hurt even more
-Very reliant on that first push - if you initial spearhead fails, you�re gonna have a Bad Time
-Relatively low model variety can make many CEF forces pretty same-y
-Bad guys can be fun but these guys are pretty much just assholes to be honest

quote:

Caprice

The first of Earth�s colonies, Caprice is a drat-near-inhospitable world. Colonized for its mineral wealth, Caprice has little to no breathable atmosphere or arable land - the planet is essentially a massive ball of mineral-rich rock, covered in jagged mountain ranges and deep canyons. The vast majority of the planet�s population is focused in a massive corporation-held city spanning the length of the Cat�s Eye Trench, where the air is marginally thicker. From here the Capricans made forays into the mineral-rich mountain ranges and dug vast mining tunnels with the aid of their robotic Mounts - at least until the CEF came. Though the Caprican people had long learned to modify their miner Mounts into war machines, that didn�t help much when the CEF parked a battlecruiser in orbit above the Cat�s Eye Trench and issued a simple ultimatum; submit or die. The corporations running Caprica surrendered - but a resistance movement sprung up practically overnight among the Caprican people, and the corporations themselves have little love for CEF. Many walk a fine line between profiting from officially providing aid, materiel and fighters for the CEF while conveniently �losing� aged but still very much useful equipment and weaponry to surprisingly organized �insurgent activity�. The scorpion-like silhouette of most their quadropedal arachnoid Mounts is immediately recognizable, and most of them are named after Biblical cities and locations - Ammon, Moab, Bashan, Kadesh.

On the table, Caprice is once more a very distinctive force - not least because of their unit design. Rules-wise, the spiderlike design of their Mounts means that Caprican units essentially have a full 360 degree �front arc� - this means they effectively cannot be flanked or surprised. All mounts are also equipped with powerful hydraulically-driven climbing pitons on their legs - this allows a skilled pilot to move their Mount up across a sheer wall or even across a cavern ceiling with the same speed and grace they�d have on even floor. These climbing pitons also can make for a surprisingly nasty close-combat weapon in a pinch. This makes Capricans exceptionally nasty foes in rough terrain, particularly in heavily-built areas where they can put that three-dimensional movement to maximum benefit. On the flipside, many of their units are fairly expensive and relatively weakly armored when compared with more traditional Gears.

+A highly mobile force, masters of tightly-built areas
+Climbing ability allows Mounts to make attacks from unexpected directions
+Hosts of special rules make them a complete pain in the rear end to remove once dug in
+Low Profile allows Mounts can go �hull down� to fire over low cover while remaining relatively safe from return fire
+Brawler and Spike Guns make Mounts surprisingly effective in melee
+Autopilot and 360 degree light turret coverage allow for frankly absurd return fire, when on standby/overwatch
+Visually very distinctive
+Typically low model count makes collecting cheaper
+You can play corporate troops or plucky rebels (or corporate troops that are actually plucky rebels), take your pick
+Motherfucking SPIDERBOTS

-Most specialized units (read, mounts that are not the Acco) are very expensive in points
-Most Mounts are also fairly fragile for their cost
-Low armor and lack of SMS secondary movement systems can make them very vulnerable out in the open
-You live and die by cover, essentially
-Relatively low model variety can again make collecting �unexciting�
-Practically zero non-Mount units

quote:

Utopia

Originally a verdant, fertile, beautiful world, Utopia was devastated by irony. As the colony fractioned into factions and fell into infighting, unrestrained use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons devastated Utopia�s biophere. The colonists �solved� the issue by building vast underground Deep Cities, enormous vaults where people lived in relative peace and comfort while topside, war ruled - originally fought by humans, but long since given over to swarms of semiautonomous combat drones, each generation more advanced than the last. The expanding CEF found the planet a radioactive cinder where �war� and �science� had become one and the same - and the Utopians had become very, very good at both. Originally intent on conquest, the CEF was forced to ally with the Utopians once the sheer level of their technological advancement became apparent - and while the Utopians themselves had little interest in Earth�s drive to conquer, they welcomed new opportunities to test their newest creations under combat conditions. Their Armiger �automaton control suits� are few in number but extremely advanced, almost alien in design with their smooth rounded outer forms - and where you can find an Armiger, you can certainly find a dozen or so of their N-KIDU combat drones.

On the tabletop, the Utopians play up the �drone swarm� trope to a T. Their special rules prevent you from fielding many of their Armigers - which are fast and hard-hitting, but fairly fragile - but you don�t really want utopian armies for their Armigers. You want them for their cheap N-KIDU drones, and lots and lots of them. Certainly other factions have access to little drones as special equipment, but Utopian drones function as combat units in their own right - and while an individual drone is little than a thinly armored alloy can with a gun bolted on, you can easily fit dozens of the drat things in an army list. When every single one of said drones is equipped with an autocannon or a rocket launcher, supported by a couple of larger and more powerful models, well...

+Another particularly sci-fi army
+Favors a �swarm tactic� playstyle, with a few Armiger models supported and protected by swarms of semiautonomous N-KIDU drones and Golem power suits
+Units of pure N-KIDU can be quite large
+Armigers tend to be quite fast, and the one that isn�t is surprisingly tough
+N-KIDU drones are extremely point efficient for the firepower they carry, and can easily overwhelm targets with sheer volume of fire
+N-KIDU are also very much disposable, allowing you to sacrifice them to protect your Armigers and to create distractions
+Armigers favor powerful laser and particle weapons
+Also have access to Golem powered infantry armor

-Armigers are pretty expensive points-wise
-Individual N-KIDU are extremely fragile
-Massed N-KIU, meanwhile, are extremely vulnerable to rapid-fire and area-of-effect weapons
-Your Golems and Armigers aren�t the toughest things out there, either
-Large model count can be a chore to paint and expensive to collect, even if individual N-KIDU are small
-A fairly limited range of models doesn�t help, either
-No access to big combat units like tanks or striders

quote:

Eden

Once an idyllic resort planet, the isolation imposed by Earth�s shutting down of the FTL network caused the society upon the planet to devolve into a feudal state. Where individual resort owners had been like kings in the past, their descendants became actual kings, vying for power and prestige among one another. Edenites are mostly a peaceful people, though, and their �wars� ended up fought in ritualistic arena fights and competitions, with nobles leading groups of champions clad in Golem powered armor as if the knights of yore, with the results often transmitted across the entirety of the planet. Life was actually good - until the CEF arrived.

Edenian scientists had been experimenting with the Tannhauser Gate that had once provided FTL access to the system. The CEF opening the gate from the other side while the Edenian scientists were fiddling around with it at their end resulted in a cataclysmic energy reaction that vaporized at least one CEF capital ship and devastated Eden�s biosphere. This.. was to set the tune for the rest of the two factions� interactions. Eden�s military, mostly geared around parades and ritualistic gladiator combat, was no match for the CEF�s war machine, and quickly surrendered.

On the tabletop, Eden are very limited in force composition - they really only have three units available to them, and one is a command variant of another. All these three units are Golems, roughly equivalent to Utopian golems - moderately fast and about equal to most light gears, cheap but lightly armed. Interestingly enough, all three Golem types are also equipped with parasails and jet packs that allow them to be deployed via airdrop. Frankly, Eden are not intended to be played solo - they�re more at home when allied with a different faction, providing cheap and cheerful chaff units to back bigger, more expensive models with.

+Golem models are cheap and fairly cost-efficient armament-wise
+Potential for airdrop deployment can shake things up nicely
+You get to play KNIGHTS IN POWERED ARMOR
+Nice way of adding cheap support units to various other armies

-Golems have a hard time maintaining parity with larger units
-Cheap individual models means you get to build and paint a lot of them
-Very, very low model variety
-No access of their own to non-Golem units
-Not really recommended as a solo army

Drake_263 fucked around with this message at 10:29 on May 5, 2016

# ? Apr 28, 2016 09:46

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

This post reserved for rule/gameplay FAQs and how-tos!

# ? Apr 28, 2016 09:46

Der Waffle Mous: Nov 27, 2009; In the grim future, there is only commerce.

I don't know how much of this was kept in the new rules but I really, really liked the idea behind how army construction worked.

First each faction had its own sub-factions that changed around your allowed units and had their own unique stuff, then you chose your army's level of experience, which dictated your access to certain units, but also how well you had to do in a game.

So you could make an elite team of super specialized veteran squads but they'd need to accomplish near all of your mission objectives to beat a green garrison force who's barely holding on one of theirs.

# ? Apr 28, 2016 17:37

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Der Waffle Mous posted:

I don't know how much of this was kept in the new rules but I really, really liked the idea behind how army construction worked.

First each faction had its own sub-factions that changed around your allowed units and had their own unique stuff, then you chose your army's level of experience, which dictated your access to certain units, but also how well you had to do in a game.

So you could make an elite team of super specialized veteran squads but they'd need to accomplish near all of your mission objectives to beat a green garrison force who's barely holding on one of theirs.

I've seen mentions of something called an 'escalation level' or 'escalation value' that sounds something like that system - but if it was a thing in earlier editions, it's not in the newest Blitz book. It sounds like an interesting take on army construction, but also kind of a pain in the rear end to balance.

That said, it feels to me it got sort of rolled into the subfactions list - many factions have, besides the 'core list', subfactions with varying levels of competency, morale and such. The South is a good example of this - the Southern Republican Army sublist is an elite professional army group that gets the best training and such, while the poor bastards in the MILICIA tend to be conscripted from fuckups and the dregs of the society - they're noticeably cheaper per model, but can never be veterans, and so on. Some sub-lists also have access to a limited amount of allied models from other armies.

It's also worth noting that from what I hear, subfactions previous editions were considerably more limited in what models you were allowed/forced to take along - while in the new book, I haven't really seen many 'mandatory' picks of units. The CEF in particular was described as difficult to build lists for - with all the restrictions, many 'legal' CEF lists ended up very similar to one another.

Drake_263 fucked around with this message at 23:16 on Apr 28, 2016

# ? Apr 28, 2016 21:31

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

A new backer message for the Kickstarter just went out. Mostly it was talking about how backers can now add existing resin-metal models to their backer rewards and get it all in a single package, but the important bit was this:

quote:

Please get your special orders in as soon as possible, so we can get them cast-up and put aside for quick packing of the Backer Reward Packages. You have until Monday morning May 16th, 2016!

I'm not quite sure how the production process works but I hope that means they'll start shipping the first plastic kits on May 16th.

# ? May 3, 2016 09:10

Pussy Cartel: Jun 26, 2011; Lipstick Apathy

Oh sweet, a Heavy Gear thread. I'd been hoping to see one come up. Been a fan of the game since the older, more complicated edition back in the late 90s. Can't wait to finally get my Kickstarter order.

Incidentally, Heavy Gear's original devs had nothing to do with Battletech; they put out Heavy Gear years before the FASA shutdown. They actually used to make settings for Mekton and Cyberpunk, and finally decided to make their own mech game with its own system.

# ? May 3, 2016 20:44

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

Very nice OP, though I'd love to see each faction ought to have a smiley or something, like :catholic:

for North and :wotwot:

for South.

I happen to have a print copy of Locked & Loaded from 2009 and some older non-Blitz supplementary books. Aside from miniatures, what would this Kickstarter box get me in terms of rulesets and supplementary things that I wouldn't have otherwise?

I remember messing around with the game a little back then too, with someone who owned minis already. How many squads/cadres am I looking at for a typical game with a maximum play time of half a day at most?

# ? May 3, 2016 22:00

PuttyKnife: Jan 2, 2006; Despair brings the puttyknife down.

Many years ago I interviewed these guys for an old gaming site called Gaming Outpost. They were maybe the nicest people I have ever spoken too though it was also the first time I encountered the stereotypical Canadian accent so it was difficult for my 20 year old self to not laugh.

# ? May 4, 2016 01:15

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Pussy Cartel posted:

Oh sweet, a Heavy Gear thread. I'd been hoping to see one come up. Been a fan of the game since the older, more complicated edition back in the late 90s. Can't wait to finally get my Kickstarter order.

Incidentally, Heavy Gear's original devs had nothing to do with Battletech; they put out Heavy Gear years before the FASA shutdown. They actually used to make settings for Mekton and Cyberpunk, and finally decided to make their own mech game with its own system.

Oooh, I see! I must've been thinking of the computer game, then - I seem to recall a lot of Heavy Gear 1 devs used to be on the MechWarrior 2 team before the IP moved over. Might be mistaken, though.

PuttyKnife posted:

Many years ago I interviewed these guys for an old gaming site called Gaming Outpost. They were maybe the nicest people I have ever spoken too though it was also the first time I encountered the stereotypical Canadian accent so it was difficult for my 20 year old self to not laugh.

Always nice to see game devs that aren't shoulderdeep up their own aft ends. Makes me happy that I decided to support them!

Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:

Very nice OP, though I'd love to see each faction ought to have a smiley or something, like for North and for South.

I happen to have a print copy of Locked & Loaded from 2009 and some older non-Blitz supplementary books. Aside from miniatures, what would this Kickstarter box get me in terms of rulesets and supplementary things that I wouldn't have otherwise?

I remember messing around with the game a little back then too, with someone who owned minis already. How many squads/cadres am I looking at for a typical game with a maximum play time of half a day at most?

Now why didn't I think of that? :catholic:

- North,

- South,

- Utopia.. I'm up for suggestions!

First off, the basic/core starter set miniatures are the newly cut plastic sprues instead of the old resin/plastic minis. I haven't seen the old minis 'live' before but I'm under the impression that they're a little more 'sharp' and detailed than the old sprues, plus the sprues involved come with a whole bunch of weapon options for WYSIWYG purposes.

Aside from that, I believe this is the current up-to-date list of the contents you'd get in the bigger, more expensive Core set. Aside from the quickstart rulebook, it's pretty much pure miniatures, plus possibly some cardboard tokens and dice. There is also a cheaper 16-miniature 'Basic Starter' set box that, I believe, comes with 8 geads for the North and the South - 4 Hunters and Jaguars plus 4 Jagers and Black Mambas.

According to the current edition of the living rulebook, the 'average' game of Blitz is designed around 100 TV points, most gears costing from 6 to 15 TV apop, and will take about two hours to finish. The provided 100 TV North example army list has 11 gears in it, divided into 4 combat groups. Personally from what I've seen of the system, it looks like it should scale up and down fairly neatly, at least to a point - a say 50 TV little skirmish should be interesting to try as a quick pickup game, but I doubt I'd be trying a 300 TV battle anytime soon!

Drake_263 fucked around with this message at 20:09 on May 4, 2016

# ? May 4, 2016 20:02

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

- North

- South

- Peace River
:yoshi:

- NuCoal

- Leagueless
:ninja:

- Black Talons
:gifttank:

- CEF

- Caprice

- Utopia

- Eden

Here you go!

# ? May 4, 2016 23:41

Pussy Cartel: Jun 26, 2011; Lipstick Apathy

Drake_263 posted:

Oooh, I see! I must've been thinking of the computer game, then - I seem to recall a lot of Heavy Gear 1 devs used to be on the MechWarrior 2 team before the IP moved over. Might be mistaken, though.

Ohhh, yeah, the Heavy Gear PC games were made by the same crews that did Mechwarrior 2. Activision lost the Battletech license to Microsoft and needed something to replace it.

Sidesaddle Cavalry posted:

- North
- South
- Peace River
- NuCoal
- Leagueless
- Black Talons
- CEF
- Caprice
- Utopia
- Eden

Here you go!

The UMF is pretty :wotwot:

, and the Humanist Alliance is totally :science:

Pussy Cartel fucked around with this message at 05:05 on May 5, 2016

# ? May 5, 2016 05:02

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

I think

describes perfectly a society that nuked its own planet and proceeded to develop radiation-proof semi-AI drones to just keep on fighting while the rest of the world LARPed Fallout.

For actual content, the recent KS status update added a bunch of photos from the plastic test pops.

quote:

As mentioned in our previous update the mold manufacturer made the final fixes Molds this week. Then emailed us photos of the front and back of the plastic part sprues for the Grizzly, Cheetah, Ferret/3 Drones, Kodiak, Spitting Cobra, Iguana, and King Cobra Gears. We made a combined photo (see below), click on the image to see a larger version with more detail. There is still a bit of dimpling visible on the sides of the Grizzly and Kodiak lower legs, but we have been informed that when the plastic injection machines are properly adjusted for temperature and injection pressure the dimpling in those areas should go away.

A few previous updates also had images of the test sprues:

CEF (The new medium hovertank plus a bunch of Frames, one of which also comes with three FLAILs:

Hunter, Jager, Jaguar and Black Mamba:

And some 'test pops' from Caprice. (These were first test pops and they're aware of some dimpling/shrinkage issues that will be fixed for the final product):

I'm glad I'm finally getting some of my WH40K modeling projects finished and out of the way because WANT. :getin:

Edit: added those smilies, with a little twist of my own - there seriously needs to be a Sonic smily

Drake_263 fucked around with this message at 10:38 on May 5, 2016

# ? May 5, 2016 09:09

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

Pussy Cartel posted:

The UMF is pretty , and the Humanist Alliance is totally

Yeah the individual states for North and South are actually kinda diverse, especially with the Humanists getting out from under the AST and the Eastern Sun Emirates having anyways been all over the place depending on the emirate.

I thought about using :squawk:

for one of the GREL-using factions since it's purple.

Sidesaddle Cavalry fucked around with this message at 12:25 on May 5, 2016

# ? May 5, 2016 12:15

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

I didn't want to go into a complete analysis on the various subfactions to boot, but I do like how they add diversity in both fluff and playstyle. Makes each of the factions make less of this huge faceless monolithic entity.

# ? May 5, 2016 14:30

Panzeh: Nov 27, 2006; "..The high ground"

If people played this i would troll people by using tanks and infantry only.

# ? May 5, 2016 14:32

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Panzeh posted:

If people played this i would troll people by using tanks and infantry only.

CEF player spotted!

# ? May 5, 2016 15:06

Shart Carbuncle: Aug 4, 2004; Star Trek:
The Motion Picture

I don't really know anything about the tabletop games, but the zero g space levels in Heavy Gear 2 were awesome in multiplayer.

# ? May 5, 2016 18:25

piL: Sep 20, 2007; (__|\\\\); Taco Defender

Is Heavy Gear the same rules as Gear Krieg? Gear Krieg is one of my 5 dollar bin triumphs, I need to dig it out my grandmother's basement.

# ? May 5, 2016 19:43

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

I haven't looked into Gear Krieg but I would imagine that the systems are, if not identical, then very similar to one another.

Edit: I took a quick look at the downloadable Gear Krieg quick start instructions and it looks like GK uses a system similar to the older Heavy Gear rules. Same core system, but Blitz is a little more simplified and streamlined.

Edit edit: I think I spent more time in HG2 multiplayer trying to find ramps to do sick SMS boost-jumps off of rather than shooting at robbits.

Drake_263 fucked around with this message at 20:03 on May 5, 2016

# ? May 5, 2016 19:47

Sidesaddle Cavalry: Mar 15, 2013; Oh Boy Desert Map

Drake_263 posted:

CEF player spotted!

I like the other factions' tanks too. They own hard if they aren't rushed down asap.

# ? May 5, 2016 20:04

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Hot diggity. I love giant robots but that makes my inner gearhead salivate.

# ? May 5, 2016 20:37

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

More pictures - the final test pop models for the CEF are looking pretty good:

I've mostly done 28mm but that looks like a lot of detail for 12mm! Love the adorable little FLAILs with the ginormous guns (for them) strapped on their backs.

quote:

We received the final plastic pops for all the molds at our office this Monday. We spotted 4 small problems and have asked that the mold manufacturer make those final fixes this week and then the molds will be approved and shipped.

Getting there!

# ? May 12, 2016 09:10

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Another bunch of final test pops, this time for the Northern army:

I think I'm honestly the most excited for Caprice minis out of the whole batch, but these guys don't look bad. In a NO WIND SHALL ESCAPE THE EMPEROR'S FINEST sort of a way.

# ? May 20, 2016 15:41

Der Waffle Mous: Nov 27, 2009; In the grim future, there is only commerce.

I love the one with the butt wheel.

# ? May 20, 2016 15:46

DerekSmartymans: Feb 14, 2005; The
Copacetic
Ascetic

Der Waffle Mous posted:

I love the one with the butt wheel.

They have pills for that nowadays...:-)

# ? May 21, 2016 01:16

raverrn: Apr 5, 2005; Unidentified spacecraft inbound from delta line.

All Silpheed squadrons scramble now!

No Tigers? For shame!

# ? May 21, 2016 05:14

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Der Waffle Mous posted:

I love the one with the butt wheel.

You think that thing is ridiculous, NuCoal has the Jerboa which is.. essentially the same thing, but streamlined and with a thruster pack welded to the rear end end of it:

# ? May 21, 2016 11:41

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Another email update, this time with Southern test pops!

quote:

Also, an update on the Steel Injection Molds, the mold manufacturer boxed and loaded then in to a truck this week for loading on a container ship this Monday, they should arrive in the USA the 2nd week in June.

Drake_263 fucked around with this message at 22:11 on May 21, 2016

# ? May 21, 2016 22:06

signalnoise: Mar 7, 2008; i was told my old av was distracting

I would love to play this game, but no one plays it. As far as I've seen around here anyway. I've considered buying some to play Heavy Gear Arena, but the rules for that don't seem very well fleshed out. Can you write up some Arena poo poo?

# ? May 22, 2016 02:24

S.J.: May 19, 2008; Just who the hell do you think we are?

Thought about getting into this a minute ago, but didn't have the money at the time. Are these new plastics very much cheaper?

# ? May 22, 2016 05:31

LaSquida: Nov 1, 2012; Just keep on walkin'.

I got the starter box last edition, but the models mostly met a sad end due to a tragedy in our parking lot. I love the setting and the look of the models, but I'm also in an area with little appetite for minis games that aren't 40k, sadly.

# ? May 22, 2016 06:27

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

signalnoise posted:

I would love to play this game, but no one plays it. As far as I've seen around here anyway. I've considered buying some to play Heavy Gear Arena, but the rules for that don't seem very well fleshed out. Can you write up some Arena poo poo?

I haven't really looked at Arena yet, but I can always check it out!

S.J. posted:

Thought about getting into this a minute ago, but didn't have the money at the time. Are these new plastics very much cheaper?

The plastic minis aren't out yet and a definitive price for them hasn't been announced that I'm aware of, but I'm under the impression the new multipart plastics will be somewhat cheaper than their resin/pewter counterparts. The 'basic set' with sixteen North/South gears was a $80 Kickstarter reward, so it'll likely be retailed for about that ballpark.

LeSquide posted:

I got the starter box last edition, but the models mostly met a sad end due to a tragedy in our parking lot. I love the setting and the look of the models, but I'm also in an area with little appetite for minis games that aren't 40k, sadly.

Oofow, that's like every hobbyist's nightmare. That said, I know the feeling! It's a Stockholm Syndrome of a kind, everyone bitches about 40K yet everyone keeps playing it...

# ? May 22, 2016 07:11

signalnoise: Mar 7, 2008; i was told my old av was distracting

My understanding of Heavy Gear Arena, having skimmed the rulebook, is essentially that you take Blitz models plus a weapons/customization bitz sprue or two and make a WYSIWYG masterpiece or 3, then pit them against someone else's heavily customized thingies in a big octagon with ramps and poo poo in it. It was pretty neat looking when I read over it, but there are sadly not many mechs that have had rules written up for it compared to what is in Blitz. I think it would fare better if there was a more direct way to convert one to the other.

# ? May 22, 2016 07:39

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Pretty much what I expected it to be, then. It does look amusing and I have the whole core starter set coming up so I might have a handful of minis 'left over' once I figure out lists for them - I might have to try it out!

# ? May 22, 2016 07:57

LewdMonocle: Mar 8, 2007

Ive been following DP9 for years, finally the rules aren't hot garbage.

This guy did a bat rep with the new rules here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Uq-OIbYVjs

Its almost an hour long. To summarize most models moved once or twice to position into cover (kinda) and then stood still shooting at each other. Kinda boring. I hope thats just because they dont know the rules 100% or the scenario (kill dudes) is one dimensional.

# ? Jun 3, 2016 14:00

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

LewdMonocle posted:

Ive been following DP9 for years, finally the rules aren't hot garbage.

This guy did a bat rep with the new rules here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Uq-OIbYVjs

Its almost an hour long. To summarize most models moved once or twice to position into cover (kinda) and then stood still shooting at each other. Kinda boring. I hope thats just because they dont know the rules 100% or the scenario (kill dudes) is one dimensional.

Little bit of column A, little bit of column B. Also looks like they both only had the shooty/stompy kind of Gears (asie from the Northern scout cars and the recon squad). Including something a little bit more mobile to flank the other guy's position would've made things a lot more interesting, I think.

Also, the recent kickstarter upgrades added a little bit more mini porn:

Caprice final test pops:

And painted FLAIL squads.

Those squad-based heavy weapons still look hilariously overcompensating on the little bastards.

# ? Jun 4, 2016 08:53

S.J.: May 19, 2008; Just who the hell do you think we are?

Seeing those plastics really makes me want to get them. Ugh.

# ? Jun 4, 2016 17:12

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

I have the whole big starter set ordered in (plus an extra pair of standard Mounts and an extra Ammon because ooh) and I cannot wait to get my grubby fingers on them!

# ? Jun 4, 2016 20:00

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 2, 2024 21:40

Drake_263: Mar 31, 2010

Kickstarter update! Painted CEF final test pop minis:

http://dreampod9.s3.amazonaws.com/PaintedBattleframesandHovertanksWeb.jpg

This appears to be the entirety of the starter CEF army:

2x MHT-95 Medium Hover Tank (TV 24 x2)
2x F6-16 Trooper Frame (TV 8-10 x2)
2x F2-21 Heavy Trooper Frame (TV 10-12 x2)
2x F2-19 Support Frame (TV 13-15 x2)
1x F2-25 Recon Frame (TV 14-16)
2x FLAIL Squad (TV 6-8 x2)

Depending on the specific loadouts you choose for each model you'll get 136-154 points before optional upgrades like optional mobility upgrades (most CEF frames can pay a little extra for jetpacks and the option to be deployed via airdrop), command models, commander upgrades, extra grenades and the like. That's actually pretty good value for a starter army, seeing how your average game is 100 TV - right from the get-go you get a solid starter force with some varied units and enough points to switch things around and try different builds, or expand towards bigger games.

quote:

Great News to announce, the plastic injection molds arrived in the USA this week at the Port of Los Angeles. They are now being forwarded to our plastics manufacturer in Indianapolis and should arrive there on June 17th. Plastics production will begin the following week, and should take about 2 weeks. Then all the boxes and boxes of plastic sprues will be shipped to us here in Montreal, Canada and we'll start packing and shipping Backer Reward Packages in July.

Drake_263 fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Jun 11, 2016

# ? Jun 11, 2016 16:12

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Traditional Games > Heavy Gear Blitz! - 62nd Century Robitgames

«‹›2 »