Octopus Overlords

Isgrimnur wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2020 4:14 pm So they're looking at, from the available levels currently, ~$60 for 6 sq ft, or $10/tile.

You can get hard plastic garage flooring for ~$3-4 sq ft.

Tack on some ersatz legs, and you'd still come out ahead.

The problem is those floor tiles are generally sold in cases of 24. So it'd have to be a group buy. And I'm not sure about them staying rigid when they're not on the FLOOR. If you need to put hard surface underneath, then add legs, things look a bit too complicated.

Adding legs generally is not a problem to a hard surface. A small "shelf" or two, and glue some L-shaped plastic to act as guides to the underside to hold them in place. But it won't be collapsible like this KS thing.

I deconstructed my parents' garage floor that had those. They remained relatively sturdy while I popped apart a few thousand of them.

If I don't get a lot happier with how they're running this, I'll be looking into something like that. I am very mechanically inept, though, and haven't got the foggiest idea about how I'd even go about attaching legs, and it is likely that I don't have to tools to do it.

I've got several very simple wood projects in mind that could solve other problems right now, but I haven't got the tools to build them (not even a saw), and doubt they'd be sturdy as I have no idea how to attach A to B.

I'm starting to get more uncomfortable with The Level Up. They're being asked for information and demonstrations: How does it stand up to being bumped? How much weight does it hold? Will it survive someone smacking a leg? Can it be picked up and moved with a game on it without collapsing?

Their answers feel evasive ("We're not going to bump our expensive prototype"), and their solution is to offer a video of a D&D play session with it in use, when what people asked for is a simple demonstration. Nobody wants to study a four-hour video to see if it gets bumped.

AWS260 wrote: Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:22 pm

AWS260 wrote: Fri Jan 10, 2020 12:15 pm Glorantha: The Gods War reprint.

I've always been interested in this one, but not quite enough to pull the trigger. Nothing in the new Kickstarter has changed my opinion, especially with the late 2021 delivery date.

I keep coming back to The Gods War, and I'm achingly close to backing it after all. I love the weirdness of the Glorantha setting. I don't own a fighty dudes-on-a-map game (Inis doesn't count). The price is actually cheaper than the original kickstarter. And the long production timeline is a plus, because I can pretend that I'll somehow have shelf space by then.

The most likely scenario is that some night this week, I'll have a couple of beers, and that will impair my judgement enough to take the plunge.

This was an accurate prediction.

Did you go with the 700 dollar option or the 1750 dollar one?

hepcat wrote: Mon Feb 03, 2020 11:11 am Did you go with the 700 dollar option or the 1750 dollar one?

I have committed both my corporeal form and my soul to Sandy Petersen for all eternity. Pledging at this level gets me four exclusive miniatures not available at retail.

The Level Up campaign has done a great job of listening to people and rectifying their mistakes. They've addressed most of the concerns, and just released an update that lets you customize the size of the table by adding edge and center pieces to the core set, and have upgraded the bag and (soon) given clips for free. They've also avoided the temptation to include stretch goals that would have increased manufacturing complexity and time, despite multiple people asking for them (magnetized surfaces, ruber surfaces, underside lighting.) And they've brought their addon prices down to be comparable with what was already offered. It's a lot of steps in the right direction, and it is a lot of pitfalls avoided.

Still, it is a first campaign for them (although I understand they've been collaborators on others), so you pays your money and you takes your chances.

My copy of Aeon's End: New Age is still in shrink, but hey, look, another standalone expansion!

I'm too deep into this franchise to stop now. Outta my way!

Received an email from Awaken Realms regarding the EtherFields KS. Apparently they are still tweaking the game play, adding components and polishing some of the game pieces which all equates to a 3-4 month delay in shipping.

hepcat wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2020 2:55 pm I'm too deep into this franchise to stop now. Outta my way!

I backed it. Gotta catch em all.

Tao wrote: Tue Feb 04, 2020 3:41 pm Received an email from Awaken Realms regarding the EtherFields KS. Apparently they are still tweaking the game play, adding components and polishing some of the game pieces which all equates to a 3-4 month delay in shipping.

Disappointing, but at least Awaken Realms has a track record of completing their games and getting them to backers. I can live with that amount of delay.

I'm continuously surprised at how lucky I've been with kickstarters. There's only one that never delivered (Capes and Villains) and a couple that took some time to complete (Myth and Shadows of Brimstone). Everything else either shipped on time, or within a year at most.

Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

"A new isometric single-player RPG set in the Pathfinder universe – an indirect sequel to Pathfinder: Kingmaker."

Did no one see the Return to Dark Tower? They asked for 850K and received 4M.

It's costly...and changes the Tower's function...but I'm a sucker for atmosphere and nostalgia.

Buatha wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2020 11:49 am Did no one see the Return to Dark Tower? They asked for 850K and received 4M.

It's costly...and changes the Tower's function...but I'm a sucker for atmosphere and nostalgia.

I just couldn't pull the trigger. Even though this is one of the first big board games I ever owned. My father and uncles spent a Christmas day playing that game, after I got it for Christmas.

Yeah I passed as well. I don't have the nostalgia for it as I never owned it as a kid, even though I think the tower is super impressive and I'm sure it will be a cool game.

I can really only handle one big KS at a time, and currently I'm waiting on Middara which should be sometime the first half of this year.

Yes, I asked some co-workers and everyone thought I was talking about the Stephen King books I turn 49 tomorrow, so that's not shocking given that I'm usually a decade older than my colleagues.

I used to carry the Tower to school and we'd play a bastardized version without a board. I'm not sure yet about the new Tower (it seems like a randomized dice tower), but the application uses bluetooth to connect to the it and offers some more depth to battles and such.

I pulled the trigger since it appeals to my geeky, technical side.

Let me know when they put up the deluxe kickstarter for Pass Out. Complete with miniatures and a book full of world history.

My parents own a copy of that game - I've seen it in a storage bin in the basement!

So did mine. I used to lug it to AA meetings when I got older.

Buatha wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2020 12:51 pm Yes, I asked some co-workers and everyone thought I was talking about the Stephen King books I turn 49 tomorrow, so that's not shocking given that I'm usually a decade older than my colleagues.

I used to carry the Tower to school and we'd play a bastardized version without a board. I'm not sure yet about the new Tower (it seems like a randomized dice tower), but the application uses bluetooth to connect to the it and offers some more depth to battles and such.

I pulled the trigger since it appeals to my geeky, technical side.

My wife and I really like playing 2nd edition Mansions of Madness and the app/board fusion seems like it would scratch the same itch, which is why I backed.

Mansions of Madness 2nd edition is in my top 5 board games of all time. Maybe top 2.

In other news, I was having second thoughts about Apex...but forgot to cancel my pledge. Just got the "we're done, time to bill" email a few minutes ago. Oh well, I hope it IS as good as folks around here were saying.

Isgrimnur wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2020 4:14 pm So they're looking at, from the available levels currently, ~$60 for 6 sq ft, or $10/tile.

You can get hard plastic garage flooring for ~$3-4 sq ft.

Tack on some ersatz legs, and you'd still come out ahead.

I did some research into this. I spoke with a distributor, gave him all the details, and his opinion was that it wouldn't work. He told me the brand that locked the tightest, and even sent me a pair of tile for free to test. They do lock together well, but when I put them on 'legs' and put weight near the join, the immediately bent downward at about a 15-degree angle. The bits that hold the tiles together are not designed to keep them close together, but not straight, as the intended purpose involves them sitting flat on a hard surface for support.

It was a really good idea, but it just doesn't quite work.

Blackhawk wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 12:37 pm I did some research into this. I spoke with a distributor, gave him all the details, and his opinion was that it wouldn't work. He told me the brand that locked the tightest, and even sent me a pair of tile for free to test. They do lock together well, but when I put them on 'legs' and put weight near the join, the immediately bent downward at about a 15-degree angle. The bits that hold the tiles together are not designed to keep them close together, but not straight, as the intended purpose involves them sitting flat on a hard surface for support.

It was a really good idea, but it just doesn't quite work.

On the other hand, what you're dealing with, miniatures and paper and such, won't weigh much if anything.

But personally, how hard it is to bring out small rack like a small monitor stand, and a poster board? You can even use glue and some other stuff to help you lock the monitor stand in place when you play and just keep the board around. It'd have to be customized for the gaming table ANYWAY. Yes, it is very cool and very niche, but it's not worth the price they are charging, IMHO, of course. I don't play those kind of games.

Kasey Chang wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 9:58 pmOn the other hand, what you're dealing with, miniatures and paper and such, won't weigh much if anything.

Go ahead and ask me how I know you don't play board, miniature or role-playing games.

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:03 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 9:58 pmOn the other hand, what you're dealing with, miniatures and paper and such, won't weigh much if anything.

Go ahead and ask me how I know you don't play board, miniature or role-playing games.

Okay, depends on HOW BIG and how heavy the miniatures you're talking about. I'd imagine the larger ones made full of metal can weigh a bit more.

Kasey Chang wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:08 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 10:03 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 9:58 pmOn the other hand, what you're dealing with, miniatures and paper and such, won't weigh much if anything.

Go ahead and ask me how I know you don't play board, miniature or role-playing games.

Okay, depends on HOW BIG and how heavy the miniatures you're talking about. I'd imagine the larger ones made full of metal can weigh a bit more.

YellowKing wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2020 12:29 pm Yeah I passed as well. I don't have the nostalgia for it as I never owned it as a kid, even though I think the tower is super impressive and I'm sure it will be a cool game.

I can really only handle one big KS at a time, and currently I'm waiting on Middara which should be sometime the first half of this year.

I debated it, but I just couldn't get over the app. I am not a huge fan of the app in Mansions of Madness 2nd Ed. and I think it is a very well done app and game. There just wasn't enough in the new Dark Tower to pull me in.

I did, however, back Arena: The Contest and its new expansion. I couldn't justify the costs of the dragons, though. I am also seriously contemplating the new Kanban EV KS too (and the metal cars are pretty sweet).

Kasey Chang wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 9:58 pm

Blackhawk wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 12:37 pm I did some research into this. I spoke with a distributor, gave him all the details, and his opinion was that it wouldn't work. He told me the brand that locked the tightest, and even sent me a pair of tile for free to test. They do lock together well, but when I put them on 'legs' and put weight near the join, the immediately bent downward at about a 15-degree angle. The bits that hold the tiles together are not designed to keep them close together, but not straight, as the intended purpose involves them sitting flat on a hard surface for support.

It was a really good idea, but it just doesn't quite work.

On the other hand, what you're dealing with, miniatures and paper and such, won't weigh much if anything.

But personally, how hard it is to bring out small rack like a small monitor stand, and a poster board? You can even use glue and some other stuff to help you lock the monitor stand in place when you play and just keep the board around. It'd have to be customized for the gaming table ANYWAY. Yes, it is very cool and very niche, but it's not worth the price they are charging, IMHO, of course. I don't play those kind of games.

Even if it was all the lightest resin miniatures and I wasn't using terrain, the surface would still have to support mats and/or maps, which means it would need to support writing and erasing with wet erase, which these do not. And when you've got a hundred dollars worth of miniatures and 80 hours worth of painting sitting on it, you don't want a piece of poster board holding it all up. The item needs to function as a secondary table. The price, compared to all the other, similar options on the market is pretty low, especially given how much it would be used (I run a tabletop RPG every two weeks for six hours per session, and board game in between.) This isn't a decorative frill, this would be a very handy utility item central to a primary hobby for me, my family, and my friends.

So no particle board either. You need genuine plywood.

May as well get a genuine monitor riser or similar mini table instead.

Or put 4 short legs on the IKEA EKBY ALEX shelf, even has drawners.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/ekby-alex- ... -20192828/

EDIT: Or turn a normal table into a gaming table...

https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/150917 ... 200-or-how

Ok, well, option #2 is a completely different deal with a different purpose. The Ikea idea would be too thick, too narrow (you'd need two), and just one already costs as much as the Level Up The idea isn't to make the table taller, or to have a surface just for gaming, it is to give yourself a high surface to put the board or map on while still having the lower surface to use for books/cards/papers/drinks. It increases the usable surface of your table by probably 30% or more while still keeping everything within reach, and putting the moving parts where they won't get bumped all the time.

Here is my gaming table:
As you can see, people are having to put their sheets, dice, pencils, and so forth on top of the map just to have room to write. With the Level Up, that stuff could all fit on the lower table, partially underneath, while the map itself is elevated above it.

What I'd really like to do is switch out the dining table with the large topper (the removable upper surface in this picture) with my coffee table and the topper to make the papers and such easily reachable for people sitting on my squashed, short couch while elevating the map high enough that it is easy to reach from above without having to bend double. We used to play with it on the coffee table, but it always destroyed my back bending over to move miniatures around.

I guess one of those rakes/pushers they used to use back in WW2 tables wouldn't work for you, huh?

Kasey Chang wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:25 am I guess one of those rakes/pushers they used to use back in WW2 tables wouldn't work for you, huh?

I do use a craps stick from time to time...

Just saw this on the SU&SD news: The Artefact.

In the classic dungeon crawl, you follow the lives of adventurers as they overcome challenges to gain prestige and, most importantly, magical treasures. But what were those treasures doing before the adventurers came along? How many aeons have passed, in silent darkness, since they were last used?

The Artefact shifts the focus to the perspective of a single magical item, and its history as it passes through the hands of many different keepers. You’ll feel the weight of time as the item is lost or abandoned again and again, the dust & decay piling around it until it’s found again by someone new.

It's a great way to spend an hour or two; sketching, world-building and storytelling in your own company. It's also a fantastic way to generate really unique items for tabletop games like D&D, with detailed histories far more vivid than any you'd typically find in a compendium.

MonkeyFinger wrote: Wed Feb 05, 2020 9:44 am Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

"A new isometric single-player RPG set in the Pathfinder universe – an indirect sequel to Pathfinder: Kingmaker."

I pledged at the $40 level and decided to try and actually finish Kingmaker and the DLC's.

Wrath of the Righteous is one of the several Pathfinder adventure paths. I hope they create games based off of some of the other adventure paths. It would be cool playing RIse of the Runelords or Curse of the Crimson Throne.

Rise of the Runelords is fun, although I don't know if it would make a game stand out from the crowd. My vote would be Skull & Shackles.

My D-Day Dice: 2nd Edition box o' stuff arrived yesterday, including the resurrected by Word Forge Games Airborne in Your Pocket game that I pledged for WAY back when from someone else. Seeing issues in the KS comments about people missing components or even the base game, need to go back over my pledge and check everything, it would seem.

Well, this was a pleasant surprise. I got an email from Ulisses International about Myth. They took over the game and all its rights some time ago. They wanted to let me know they were shipping out the rest of the components from my Myth 2nd edition upgrade set soon and wanted to make sure I needed them still. I honestly thought that was a done deal, but I hung onto the game because the minis are great and there is SOMETHING in the game I find interesting.

I'll have to fire it back up after I get the upgrade stuff and try it again.