Lorindor

News from SDCC: Jamie Sullivan, the artist that made the retro style box art, mentioned in passing that there will be a line of retro style boxed toys that apparently will include Destroids. At around 17:20 :

 

 

I don't like the fact that these look (from this pic) like statues with movable arms and nothing more... but as someone who read the Sentinels books at a very impressionable age and still appreciates those storylines because of it, I'll probably buy them if they're at a reasonable price (I think Breetai is $30).

As someone who doesn't really like action figures of humanoid/organic characters due to how the joints often look like an eye-sore, I wish they were statues. But they still look very promising, so will definitely buy them if they are released. We're not really spoiled with Sentinels toys, nor Regess/Refless figures.

 

Not sure who these licensees think is going to buy these board and card games though.  There aren't exactly a lot of Robotech fans left, and they're pretty well-scattered... which was one of the bigger problems for RRT.  They can't exactly depend on the old RPG's saving grace of fans buying it as a reference work, and board games for licensed properties tend to be kind of a for-fans-only thing in my experience.

Well, I know Force of Arms sold pretty well. Enough to release an expansion and Crisis Point at least, with more still planned. SMG have released two games and have even more on the way. So I would say it sells enough. Besides, the risks involved are not really that high in this industry. 

Miniature-based wargames is something entirely different though, since is requires many expensive molds. Kids Logic seems to focus on less molds and the minis will probably be better products than the RRT minis (mainly because they will not need as much assembly). Since they are a Hong Kong-based company, they also have an more international perspective that PB never had. The US market might not be big enough, but there are plenty of Robotech fans in China, South America, Europe and Australia.

And I wouldn't say that licensed boardgames are necessarily just for fans. For example the Battlestar Galactica boardgame is probably more popular with general boardgamers than Battlestar Galactica fans. A good game is a good game.

 

That said, since it was free, I did take a look at the Strange Machine Games Robotech: the Macross Saga RPG open beta a while back.  I know it's only in beta, and I honestly doubt that Strange Machine will get more than one book out of it, but I was completely unprepared for it to be at least as embarrassingly bad as Palladium's first effort back in the eighties.  Zero utility for converting the game to a Macross setting, IMO.

Well, I've already written a couple of thousend words on the sequel, but if it comes out of course depends if the first one sells enough. 

As for the criticism of the system that you have, tell SMG. They listen to feedback. But making it possible to convert the game to the Macross setting isn't really their main goal, I can tell you.

 

Honestly, I don’t know much about that industry.  But I do know you and a lot whole lot of other people collectively gave PB so much support over the years, and over a million dollars just in the last decade, despite their flaws, got burned, and now hoping people are willing to do it again for other companies that might do it better.

True. I was a RRT backer. I also realized that it's different to back a crowdfunding project and to preorder a product, so I was patient for a long time. Now it's pretty clear, though, what an incompetent company PB is. I don't hold any loyalty to any company, I just like Robotech.

The main difference here, though, is that there are not any crowdfunding for these new products. You can thus wait for reviews so that you don't buy a pig in a poke and still don't miss out. Like almost any other product.

 

With a little bit of judicious houserule-ing and streamlining, Palladium's system is eminently workable... it's just bloated from decades of skill list expansions and unclear verbiage.

That's of course subjective. We have a different RPG tradition in my country, so that affects my opinion. I just want more from my RPG experience than endless, micro-managed battles. Or go through endless skill lists...

 

Strange Machine's system, however, is a train wreck severe enough that I found a few new bosons in the wreckage.

You realize that you are reviewing a work in progress? 

 

It rubs me the wrong way that this is essentially jumping ship from one long term investment project once helmed by experts in the RPG/ war game/miniature industries that didn’t work out to a whole bunch of them at the same time and hoping against hope that some of them will pan out.

I'm not sure how PB could be considered experts in RPG making. They made one game system in the '90s and have milked that format since. I personally consider their system utterly outdated and unplayable. I only used their books as tech manuals, and even for that they were inadequate. They are also clearly not experts in wargame making - in that case they would have been able to actually make a complete wargame.

 

Again with the crowdfunding, I see...  

Harmony Gold's okay with this?

This game is not crowdfunded. SolarFlare is just using pledge manager for preorders. The game is currently in active production.

 

Palladium's kickstarter promised a LOT and delivered very little.

I don't know what it has to do with the games listed here since the only relationship between the companies is both are licensees of Harmony Gold. 

Yeah, I know, I was a backer. And yeah, they don't have anything to do with Palladium (thankfully). SMG's game will actually be modern and playable. And I've only heard good things about Savage Worlds (but I don't really know any details).

 

I thought these games only became possible because Palladium screwed up so bad that they lost the license around the same time as they were first announced.

Well, the board games are and have always been on a seperate license. So they are unrelated. SMG's first game was announced on SDCC 2017 (or earlier), meaning at least in July 2017. Palladium announced the loss of their license on February 28, 2018, and it took affect some time in April or May. Of course, HG probably knew that they would need to find a new RPG/wargame maker earlier than that, but they would of course not be able to breach a contract.

 

Too many people from the Palladium days got royally screwed for this.

What do you mean?

I should post here as well:

The 1-on-1 strategic card game Robotech: Crisis Point, based on Robotech: The Masters Saga, is now up for preorder. You either play as the Army of the Southern Cross or the Robotech Masters and fight over different locations from the show with a plethora of different mecha and characters. Fans (like me) have been heavily involved in the creation of the game, so it's really by the fans, for the fans.

When preordering directly from SolarFlare Games, you also get some bonus stuff: a preorder-exclusive standard poker card deck with Robotech illustrations, a mini-expansion for SFG's previous Robotech game and an exclusive cover variant of one of Titan's Robotech comic issues. All for just $30 plus shipping (and the shipping is discounted $5 for all orders). And (something I like) EU friendly international shipping. I think it's a very sweet deal. 

To preorder and read more information, go here: https://bravefrontier.pledgemanager.com/projects/robotech-crisis-point/participate/

 

However, I am worried about the SMG version, as I've read their using the McKinney novels as primary reference material (and I imagine the Savage Worlds version will be the same or very similar fluff as well). 

I'm not involved in the Savage World version, so I cannot speak for that, but no, the McKinney novels are not the primary source for SMG's RPG. But they are liberal and are cherry-picking stuff from different sources (including older ones) and tries new spins on some things. This RPG is primarily meant to be fun to play. It doesn't set out to be the super-detailed tech manuals that the Palladium 2E tried to be and many things established in that RPG will be changed (but then again, it never was canon to begin with). I can assure you though that there won't be any thinking caps, Shapings or chanting children in the RPG.

As far as I know, no one has posted a thread (or in any other thread that I’ve seen) on the recent surge of Robotech tabletop games. I’m sure there are people here that would be interested though, so let me start this combined thread. People with Robotech and HG phobia may look elsewhere.

Five different companies have recently released or are planning to release Robotech board games, RPGs or wargames based on Robotech. That’s a lot!

 

SolarFlare Games

First out was SolarFlare Games which released their 1-on-1 strategic card game Robotech: Force of Arms last summer. Based on The Macross Saga, the players need to strategically place cards around a 3x3 grid of cards, which are read almost as a coordinate system. The attack and defend values of two cards placed at the edge of the grid are added onto the card placed where lines from them intercept in the middle of the grid. The cards are also placed face-down, which adds a guessing element to the game. Very strategic and I liked it a lot during my playthroughs.

More information: http://solarflaregames.com/robotech-force-arms/

SolarFlare is also planning to release a follow-up to FoA based on The Masters Saga. The game is called Robotech: Crisis Point and is similar to FoA, but the biggest difference is that the grid is now 4x4 (which opens up more strategic possibilities) and the inner grid is built up differently. The game is now available for preorder with an expected release in June. As a bonus if you preorder directly from SolarFlare, you get a preorder-exclusive standard deck of cards featuring artwork from both FoA and CP, as well as a mini-expansion to FoA (called Grand Cannon) and a free comic book. All this for 30 USD plus shipping, which is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me.

More information: http://solarflaregames.com/robotech-crisis-point/

Preorder here: https://bravefrontier.pledgemanager.com/projects/robotech-crisis-point/participate/

SolarFlare is also planning on releasing a cooperative card game for up to six players based on The New Generation called Robotech: Invid Invasion later this year.

More information: http://solarflaregames.com/robotech-invid-invasion/

They are also planning a deck builder game and a cardboard standee-based wargame (leaving miniatures to other companies), but there's not much information on them yet.

 

Kids Logic Games

Kids Logic are already making Robotech statues, but their sister company Kidslogic Games have the license to make a 6 mm scale miniature-based wargame (currently unnamed). There has been only a few previewed pictures of early sculpts so far, but those look pretty good (but I’m not so fond of some of the details that they have added to some of the mecha though). Unlike previous attempts (which we don’t have to mention), the minis will come as just one piece (or possibly a few). You can get more information if you join the Kids Logic Game Community on Facebook.

 

Strange Machine Games

SMG is another board game producer and they have made two Robotech board games: Attack on SDF-1 and Ace Pilot. I have sadly not played these games yet since my order is delayed, but especially Attack on SDF-1 looks impressive and Ace Pilot seems like a quite innovative game. They have also announced the plan to release another game similar to Ace Pilot based on The New Generation called Cyclone Run.

More information: https://strangemachinegames.com/robotech-board-games/

SMG also has the Robotech RPG license and are planning to release the first book with the main rules and setting for The Macross Saga later this year. After that, a book that covers the other two parts of the main series is in a planning stage. This RPG differs from previous RPGs by having a completely different rule system and it focuses on a more narrative and cinematic experience.

More information: https://strangemachinegames.com/robotech-the-macross-saga-role-playing-game/

A beta of the rules can be found on SMG's forums: http://forums.strangemachinegames.com/forums/

 

Battlefield Press

Battlefield Press is also making a Robotech RPG based on the Savage World system, together with SMG.

More information: https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/42291/robotech-gets-savage-worlds-treatment

 

Escape Velocity Games

Escape Velocity Games is, together with SMG, also releasing a cooperative game called Robotech: Brace for Impact. Information on this game is quite sparse right now, but it should be released soon.

More information: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/240006/robotech-brace-impact

 

(Full disclosure: I’m friends with the runner of SolarFlare Games and I’ve helped him with Crisis Point and Invid Invasion. I’m also a fan contributor to SMG’s RPG. I don’t get paid for any of this.)

I got a reply on my PM to MAAS Toys. HG hasn't approved their Kickstarter plan and MAAS are waiting for more information from HG. I think they want to wait with going public with information until they know something for certain.

I want to remind people that Meptoys is a new independant one-man-show AND these small action figures are clearly meant to be retro style. They are not meant to be of the same quality as KitzConcept's offerings. With that in mind, I think they are way better than Toynami's recent retro-style action figures. And Meptoys are actually doing The Masters Saga stuff, which Toynami has never even thought to do.

By the way, I got a reply to my PM to MAAS Toys on Facebook. HG has indeed not approved their Kickstarter plan and MAAS are waiting for more information from HG. The line is clearly not abandoned. 

On 11/21/2018 at 3:30 PM, Mechapilot77 said:

does anyone have conclusive evidence that yamato folded because its pricing strategy for macross items?  i mean they made a lot of stuff other than macross too.  also, why do i get the feeling it had something to do with financial technicalities/legalities etc. rather than actual profit/loss from operations etc.  Did I read that somewhere years ago or am i making that up in my head?  anyway, it'd be nice to know once and for all.  lol.

No, no one would have conclusive evidence of that, it's just speculation. Since the main income source of Yamato (and Arcadia) is likely from selling those creepy dolls, the reason Yamato folded could just as well have been due to fluctuations in the doll sales. They way Yamato transitioned into Arcadia was a bit strange as well. I've heard people speculate it was some kind of elaborate tax evasion or something like that. But yeah, no one really knows and we shouldn't take speculations as facts.

14 hours ago, beatsing said:

Does anyone know when the vf-4 transformation was designed?  I was a wee kid when I watched flashback but I don’t remember it showing battroid or gerwalk mode.   I think it was just a flyby the bridge of the sdf.  I thought it was just a jet back then.  

 

The newer vf31 and vf25 designs seem similar in the cockpit transformation.  The zero su looks very similar (although I don’t know the transformation) of the vf-4.  

The VF-4 actually has two very different battroid modes and transformations. The more common modern version has a slight anachronistic feel since it was probably finished long after the fighter mode was designed. You can read a short history here:

http://www.collectiondx.com/blog/vf5ss/brief_history_vf4039s_design

(It could also be noted that the VF-X-4 experimental fighter received another transformation in Robotech (there renamed YF-4). All in all, the VF-4 family of designs has one of the most interesting real-world design histories in my opinion.) 

25 minutes ago, Sanity is Optional said:

I'm not sure being lighthearted was Reconguista's problem. Having watched it, I'd go more with the absolute mess that the plot and characters were, and heavy reliance on support material to explain WTF was going on.

Yeah, I've never heard a complaint over the lightheartedness of G Reco. (Is it really THAT lighthearted even?) That the show's a hot mess, on the other hand, is a very common complaint.

2 hours ago, borgified said:

Is it possible to get the complete Farie Squardron eventually as the Orange trim variant is missing so far (unless I'm missing a few more that I don't know if). 

The yellow-trimmed "Faerie Squadron" was such an obscure and strange choice by Evolution Toys. I rather see a proper green-trimmed CF VF-2SS or the other more prominent color variants.

I think it's more likely that the announced new series was always intended to be a Delta sequel, but it has now for whatever reason been turned into a movie instead. The very short time between Delta and the announced project says to me that they wanted to reuse as much production assets as possible.

I hope I'm wrong though and that we will get a new series as well.

7 hours ago, Mazinger said:

Question, have there ever been any other Mospeada works created besides the original series and Live Love Alive?  I'm talking non-RT stuff.  Was there no related manga ever published?

I've only seen an animanga (a comic using stills from the anime) and unofficial doujinshi manga.

The Prototype Cyclone doesn't look much like a Cyclone, but it is an intriguing design. I've always wondered how its alternative mode would look like.

An Armored VF-1J in premium finish or with missile effect parts would make me replace my current one. I actually think it's strange that Arcadia did not include the missile effect parts the first time around and a premium version should have them.

13 hours ago, kajnrig said:

Shoji Kawamori did a bunch of the Armored Core designs (I think... some in the AC3-ish Playstation 2 era, then most of the mecha for 4 and For Answer), so it's not a stretch of the imagination. I got a serious AC vibe, especially hearkening back to the White Glint for some of the designs. The heads also to be iterations on one of the archetypes he likes to stick to - the oblong oval or triangular head with either a clear colored visor (VF-25F) or a "compound eye" series of light-up eyes (White Glint, Aaliyah), and sometimes there's a horn sticking forward or back.

Up until the name reveal at the end, I thought that this was a new Armored Core game and was thinking "I dig this, but some fans will absolutely hate the change in art style". I was not surprised when I saw Kawamori's name, the mecha designs are very recognizable as his current style. Gameplay-wise it looks very much like Armored Core 4 Answer (with the fast action, ability to fly and the giant bosses).

I thought he was perfectly good as Han. Likeness, no, but got the quirks and facial movements good enough.

I think part of the stalling is a TLJ effect. I really didn't have much enthusiasm for Star Wars after that wreck of a movie. Deep inside I'm still a fan of the franchise, so I gave Solo a chance this time (and I don't regret it). But I can't blame others for not giving those second chances. It's a shame really, Solo deserves better.

1 hour ago, Big s said:

I like the Fett and all, but a prequel story will probably be just as disappointing as the Vader prequel. How about a side story that has brand new characters that don’t have anything to do with the main story at all. The Starwars universe is vast enough to give us something new. 

 Or maybe an in between story to fill in the gaps between new and old.

We will get new characters and stories with Rian Johnson's future trilogy. Stories set in-between the original trilogy and the sequel trilogy will be told in the new animated series called Resistance. So we will get all that. 

I hope this movie will expand on Boba's story in the Clone Wars (which was cut short). It could also work as a follow-up to Solo, including some of the characters in that movie.