Mr. Speaker of the Void, Vice Tyrant, plebeian members of the group, distinguished citizens and even you too John, every year, by custom, we meet here to consider the state of the Disorderlies. This year, we gather in this virtual chamber both to look back at the year that was - and to look forward to the year ahead.
The state of the Disorderlies is, as ever, chaotic, but this year past I think we have been more fractured than ever. The gaming habits of the Disorderlies is breaking out more and more into individual games with less and less crossover. We have a 40k group, a Warhammer group, a Warmachine-Hordes group, a Confrontation group, and a Clicky group - with receding crossover from group to group. I do not know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it is a thing that impacts the scheduling of events heavily, and certainly my wallet even more heavily.
2006 was certainly a year of change. First and foremost was the destruction of the Gaming Mecca that Was and the transformation into the Gaming Mecca that Is. While I had long-pondered a remodeling of Gaming Mecca, the flood of June 2006 forced my hand. Weeks and months of demolition and construction have resulted in the improved Gaming Mecca - still not 100% where I want to be, but clearly an improvement with the new floor, much improved lighting and a lot more organized overall. There is still room to improve, of course, and I would love help in the Gaming Terrain organization and improvement. More on that in another message.
Let's review my stated goals of 2006 and how we failed at them (spectacularly, in a word):
"1. Increased participation in local tournies. The name Disorderlies should be feared and reviled far and wide. Those jokers at Games Comics and Stuff in Glen Burnie shall feel our wrath. The Arena in Eldersburg? A roadbump for us. And so forth."
Wow. This hurts to read. I think I personally did...two tournies all year? Hardly the stuff of legends. And I don't think the name Disorderlies has gotten any play at all. So, good job!
"2. Fresh blood! An influx of good gamers will help us all improve."
We tried the new people route and got one person who thought that bathing was once-a-year-tops. This pretty much ruined it for all other possible entrants.
"3. Painting! I'm the worst offender for this - but the Disorderles WILL be having regular painting/assembling gatherings, where instead of playing and goofing off, we'll be painting/assembling and goofing off."
ALSO abject failure! Three for Three!
In honor of this, I'm not making ANY goals for 2007, beyond the further embarrassment of my goals for 2006. We can DO IT!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Thursday, January 04, 2007
AT-43: Operation Damocles
So Rackham has infected me again. DAMN YOU KHAN!!!!!!... uh RACKHAM!!!!!! Got my AT-43 box set delivered to my house late last night, really just enough time for me to open it up, inspect miniatures and glance through the rules.
Miniatures: Most of you have probably heard the Tyrant bitching about the miniatures in his set, Nucleus Cannon broken off the Wraith and one of the UNA troopers missing his upper half. Luckily I had no such problems with my box set. Everything was in good order until I picked up the Wraith and fiddled with it a bit. I’d read on forums that some parts moved on the figs so of course I had to test this out on my own figs. One little test and the Wraith was in two pieces. The upper half and the legs were now separate. Inspecting the joint there appears to be no damage to the plastic only an issue with too little adhesive, particularly in combination with twisting it. No problem a spot of glue and he’ll be in good working order again.
Overall I’m impressed with sculpt quality and paint jobs. Personally I’m more interested in a solid sculpt underneath the paint and decent starting point on the paint jobs. The UNA troopers essentially have three colors on them with a wash and a touch of dry brushing. (plus a few small details like green lenses on the night vision goggles) I am flat out impressed by the Fire Toad. This could be due to my complete inability to paint a mech but the paint lines are clean with decent details. I’ll probably alter the strider with bit more free hand detail but I don’t feel like I have to.
The Therian Storm Golems look like a solid base coat then washed in red. Honestly these look to be on par with most table top quality paint jobs I see at Dream Wizards. The Wraith strider looks to have a similar painting quality. Chances are I’ll be completely re-working the Therians into a new paint scheme they are workable as is but I feel they could be much more developed.
The Game: Operation Damocles is not a whole game. It is an introductory set that provides a starter force for two armies and introduces players to the game mechanics. The intro rule book provides very little fluff. Only that the humans are fighting back against the would be Therian conquers. Indicating two human factions are fighting back as well as other alien races chiming in, beginning with an assault on a mostly inactive Therian planet sized factory ship. The game rules section does not really lay out all the rules for how to play the game. All of the combat rules are described in 2 of the 6 scenarios included with the game. There are no point values included in the game and really the only way to play it right now is with Rackham supported scenarios. So in Operation Damocles you can really play 4 games (the first two really giving you a learning curve. The website has another two scenarios and supposedly Cry Havoc has some more, pretty limited game play out of the box and this is actually my biggest gripe for the game. I have not had a chance to actually try out the game play but it looks more streamlined than confrontation. Should even be suitable to Mass combat and not strictly skirmish
Final thoughts: AT-43 has got some potential. The miniatures show a lot promise, despite being pre-painted. (Yeah I’m a paint purist what’s your point? I don’t care if you don’t want to repaint them) I’m not overjoyed with the playability of the box set only but I think AT-43 has got a chance to offer up some fun games. Price point is kind a steep upfront I managed to get it for $60 through CCG Armory (+10 for more rapid shipping) And that price point for these figures I’m not disappointed as I’m considering both a Therian and UNA force. Should you get it? Well that depend son a couple factors. Are you interested in a UNA and/or a Therian Force for AT-43? If you want both it’s not a bad initial buy to start trying it out and getting the figs in hand (Although there are at least two Disorderlies with the box set now if you want try it out) If you want to wait for the Soviet style force or the aliens you should definitely wait for the main rule book to come out and those figures to start coming out. No reason to buy AT-43 Operation Damocles
Miniatures: Most of you have probably heard the Tyrant bitching about the miniatures in his set, Nucleus Cannon broken off the Wraith and one of the UNA troopers missing his upper half. Luckily I had no such problems with my box set. Everything was in good order until I picked up the Wraith and fiddled with it a bit. I’d read on forums that some parts moved on the figs so of course I had to test this out on my own figs. One little test and the Wraith was in two pieces. The upper half and the legs were now separate. Inspecting the joint there appears to be no damage to the plastic only an issue with too little adhesive, particularly in combination with twisting it. No problem a spot of glue and he’ll be in good working order again.
Overall I’m impressed with sculpt quality and paint jobs. Personally I’m more interested in a solid sculpt underneath the paint and decent starting point on the paint jobs. The UNA troopers essentially have three colors on them with a wash and a touch of dry brushing. (plus a few small details like green lenses on the night vision goggles) I am flat out impressed by the Fire Toad. This could be due to my complete inability to paint a mech but the paint lines are clean with decent details. I’ll probably alter the strider with bit more free hand detail but I don’t feel like I have to.
The Therian Storm Golems look like a solid base coat then washed in red. Honestly these look to be on par with most table top quality paint jobs I see at Dream Wizards. The Wraith strider looks to have a similar painting quality. Chances are I’ll be completely re-working the Therians into a new paint scheme they are workable as is but I feel they could be much more developed.
The Game: Operation Damocles is not a whole game. It is an introductory set that provides a starter force for two armies and introduces players to the game mechanics. The intro rule book provides very little fluff. Only that the humans are fighting back against the would be Therian conquers. Indicating two human factions are fighting back as well as other alien races chiming in, beginning with an assault on a mostly inactive Therian planet sized factory ship. The game rules section does not really lay out all the rules for how to play the game. All of the combat rules are described in 2 of the 6 scenarios included with the game. There are no point values included in the game and really the only way to play it right now is with Rackham supported scenarios. So in Operation Damocles you can really play 4 games (the first two really giving you a learning curve. The website has another two scenarios and supposedly Cry Havoc has some more, pretty limited game play out of the box and this is actually my biggest gripe for the game. I have not had a chance to actually try out the game play but it looks more streamlined than confrontation. Should even be suitable to Mass combat and not strictly skirmish
Final thoughts: AT-43 has got some potential. The miniatures show a lot promise, despite being pre-painted. (Yeah I’m a paint purist what’s your point? I don’t care if you don’t want to repaint them) I’m not overjoyed with the playability of the box set only but I think AT-43 has got a chance to offer up some fun games. Price point is kind a steep upfront I managed to get it for $60 through CCG Armory (+10 for more rapid shipping) And that price point for these figures I’m not disappointed as I’m considering both a Therian and UNA force. Should you get it? Well that depend son a couple factors. Are you interested in a UNA and/or a Therian Force for AT-43? If you want both it’s not a bad initial buy to start trying it out and getting the figs in hand (Although there are at least two Disorderlies with the box set now if you want try it out) If you want to wait for the Soviet style force or the aliens you should definitely wait for the main rule book to come out and those figures to start coming out. No reason to buy AT-43 Operation Damocles
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