If 15+ years of gaming, I've never rage-quit a game....

I've never actually rage-quit a game before. Okay, that's not entirely true. I've never actually rage-quit a WARGAME before. But, it finally happened today - I'm now a former Heavy Gear player. So what's the problem?




 I'm tired of the delays. I'm tired of the non-communication about the delays. I'm tired of saying things in their forums like "gee, we all hate the Cobra MP, what could we do to make it better?" and then being told in a roundabout way that it can't be done because this is the way it's always been done and change is bad. I'm tired of, after personally approaching the DP9 staff to help promote the game at my local cons (and getting a reply about "how much they needed an army of guys like me"), being blown off for months now. I'm tired of entering their Golden Gear painting contest, after putting in lots of hard work in my (limited) free time, and having to wait...and wait....and wait some more for the results, whilst multiple other "contests" have been finalized and awarded on Facebook (simply for clicking a fucking button). I'm tired of having threads locked because someone feels they've gone "too far" into DP9's "business strategy" (which seems to be having the most expensive, least updated boutique product in an already niche market). But, most of all, I'm tired of the attitude of certain posters on their forum (who themselves also express frustration or misgivings) that, because I'm simply "too critical" or because I actually say the things they won't, that I'm the bad guy. Or that I just don't "understand" (in those mocking, wink-wink tones) small business. Or that, again, this is the way it's always been done, so god forbid we change it! I've posted (and had a conversation with a member of the staff) multiple ideas on how to eliminate problems, solve issues, and grow the brand. So, it's not as if I've ever said "This sucks" and left it at that. But all it's ever gotten me is a bunch of posts about how wrong I am, or how every issue is insurmountable, or how I'm a "jerk" for expressing an opposing viewpoint.

Now, I've stopped playing games before - 40K being the most prominent - but that was always because I grew uninterested in where the system was going. I've never actually quit a system simply because I grew so frustrated with a company's business practice (especially in regards to the treatment of its customer base) and the added intransigence by the majority of their community to even appreciate that the issues they face are the result of the company's blatant mismanagement combined with its refusal to advance solutions. When you have the playtesting coordinator passing the buck and blaming his (unpaid) playtesters for all the problems of a recent release in a public forum, its not only unprofessional; it also speaks volumes about how the company itself views its player base. You're not a customer; you're a piggy bank. They'll break you to get more cash.

So, I'm done with Heavy GEar. Good luck to all the players who still play and critique the heck out of it. I, for one, will no longer be among them.

Now, who wants to buy some unused Heavy Gear miniatures?

Den Mother - 'KADA Special'

Finished my final entry for this year's Golden Gear contest over at Dream Pod 9. This Gear is a conversion representing modifications done to the stock Den Mother chassis, notably the addition of a Cobra head, Grizzly body, and Heavy Autocannon-mounted underslung mortar. I went for a bright red scheme that had been dulled by the sun. The base is entirely scratchbuilt.

CD-based Rock Outcroppings

In an attempt to use up the excess foamboard I had before another house move, I decided to try my hand at some more CD-based terrain with all the small off-cuts I had left. Initially, I'd only intended to make some desert-style outcroppings - almost like mesas - but had enough left over for some larger slate-type outcroppings.

The mesas are primarily intended for smaller scale games like Heavy Gear and FOW but could work for 25mm games like Legends of the Old West.

 

The slate outcroppings are primarily intended for larger scale games, since I worked natural-looking steps into each for figures to climb up and down on. These will work really well for the Necromunda tournament at Adepticon this year.

They can also work with smaller scale figures in a pinch.

Golden Gear Duelist Entry

Finished! Here's my entry for Dream Pod 9's 2012 Golden Gear contest - a Dingo Arena Duelist Gear.

Heavy Gear Duelist PIP

A quick little post to show everyone my painted Dingo Duelist miniature for Heavy Gear Arena. It still needs decals, washes, and a finished base.

Heavy Gear Basilisk Duelist

This mini was an experiment in using zenithal priming and VERY thin paint to achieve a nice subtle shading effect. I think, for my first time using this technique it came out fairly well however, in the future, this may be much more useful for bright, bold color hues. The royal blue here is a little on the dark side to really make the effect "pop".

This is a DP9 Southern Basilisk Gear used by an independent Arena dueling team, the only conversions here are a plasticard buckler and scratchbuilt staff. 

Primed in Armory Black with zenithal effects in Armory White. The base blue is straight Badger Royal Blue, accents in (old, old, OLD) GW Hawk Turquoise and VMC Ghost Gray, with lights in GW Blood Red and VMC Bright Yellow. Steel parts are painted in (IIRC) Reaper Steel Grey.

The base, buckler, and staff are weathered using oils. Decals are from the DP9 Arena sheet, old GW Imperial Guard sheet, and misc. model kit sheets.

Tutorial: Simple and Effective Camo Netting

Well, the weather lately is conspiring against my desire to seal and complete some minis, so I thought I'd post a tutorial on how I make simple camo netting for my 15mm minis. Note, to all you button counters, that this is meant to reflect the "rope-style" camouflage nets in use during WWII and not the post-war/modern style of netting with colored strips woven in. Here's the effect we're trying to achieve:

Materials:

• Non-sterile gauze bandage (Note: you want to buy the "thin" single-layer brand, not the type that is puffy or padded - see pics below. One roll will go a long, LONG way.)
• Diluted white glue
• Ink wash/tea bags/coffee grounds (to tint the gauze)
• Clump foliage (and/or static grass, flocking, etc.)
• Fully painted and sealed miniatures
• Scissors (to cut the gauze)
• Toothpick/needle/thin brush handle (to retrieve the gauze from the glue mix and mold to the mini)

Step 1: Cut a large section of gauze from the roll and let it sit in your dye medium for at least a day. Diluted ink washes work well but the color can be much too intense. Instead, I recommend using a natural brownish dye like used tea bags. The gauze pictured below was dyed in such a way and, while it takes longer to dye the gauze, the effect is much more subtle and varied.

Step 2: Cut a squarish piece of gauze off the dyed section. Don't go too large - there were very few camo nets made that could cover the entire vehicle and, even if they were, such nets were impractical for a fighting vehicle.

You'll notice in the picture above that the edges are slightly frayed and there are spots of net missing - this is intentional. You can remove the outer rows from the gauze after cutting for a frayed edge appearance. Holes and missing spots can be removed with an X-acto blade. I recommend doing this BEFORE placing the net on your mini, so as not to damage it.

Step 3: Dip the entire gauze piece in the glue mix and remove it. Before placing it on the miniature, make sure to wipe off any excess glue. The piece should be damp, not soaking wet.

Step 4: Place the piece where you want the netting to be. It's more realistic to drape the netting over the side of a vehicle or over certain high protrusions, rather than plopping it directly centered.

Step 5: Now, using your toothpick/handle/fingers, gently push the netting over the contours of the vehicle. Remember to "drape" the net over extreme protrusions and dips in the mini. Let the net dry.

Folded nets - Step 1: Cut an exact square piece of gauze. Fray the edges as desired. It's best not to put holes in this, or you'll have trouble folding it.

Folded nets - Step 2: Dip the square in the glue. Remove any excess glue and place upon a flat surface. Fold the square in half, then fold in half again (so it's 1/4 its original size). Place the folded net on the mini.

Folded nets - Step 3: Drape the net appropriately. You may fold back certain parts as desired. Allow net to dry.

Rolled Nets - Step 1: Cut a rectangular piece of gauze. Don't make it too long. Fray the edges and make holes, as desired.

Rolled Nets - Step 2: Dip the gauze in the glue, remove any excess glue, and place on a level surface. Beginning at one end, roll the net upon itself.

You may also roll the net between your thumb and fingers for a hastily rolled look.

Rolled nets - Step 3: Place the rolled net upon the mini and drape as necessary. Allow the net to dry.

Barrel Shrouds - Step 1: Cut a long rectangular piece of gauze about 2x the diameter of the barrel it will cover. Fray the edges and make holes as desired.

Note: In reality, only long protruding gun barrels received camo netting regularly, since they were the most noticeable feature on the battlefield. It was rare for shorter barrels to be shrouded since A) they did not really "stick out" on the battlefield and B) it was impractical to swing the gun with a large net draped over a small barrel.

Barrel shrouds - Step 2: Dip the piece of gauze in the glue and remove any excess glue. Place the net on the barrel, with one side further off than the other (see pic below).

Barrel shrouds - Step 3: Using the longer end, "wrap" the net loosely around the barrel. This is tricky and it may take a couple of tries to get "just right".

In the end, it should look like the net is hanging from the barrel - the top should be flush with the barrel's contours, while the bottom drapes down loosely. See the pic below.

Final Step: When the netting is dry, dip clump foliage in the glue, remove excess glue, and then place upon the netting. Add as little or as much as you desired. You may also add clumps of static grass or flocking or even small-scale plastic "branches".

Once placed, DO NOT TOUCH the foliage and allow to dry thoroughly.

You can see some completed minis I've done which use camo nets here and here.

FREE Heavy Gear Ruleset!!

Those crazy guys over at Dream Pod 9 have done it again - they're offering totally 100% FREE PDF copies of the Heavy Gear Locked & Loaded Rulebook and Field Manual on DriveThru RPG!

Tutorial: Getting Started In Heavy Gear

I've recently come across a lot of gamers who are interested in transitioning their Sci-Fi gaming from "that which shall not be named" to DP9's Heavy Gear. I also see a lot of gamers who simply don't know where to start. I was there too and ended up buying a lot of Gears and other bitz that I never ended up using.

I should state that it's not Dream Pod 9's fault that the process can sometimes be a bit confusing but rather, as any gamer will attest, we're rather like magpies with new shiny things. Additionally, there's both a lot of generic units/weaponry and also many customization options within the HG universe. Coming from a background in which nearly all armies/factions have access to the same type of unit/weaponry, this can be rather confusing.

This tutorial will hopefully answer the most basic questions for the new HG gamer while providing a framework to getting started as efficiently as possible.

1) WHAT IS HEAVY GEAR AND THE WORLD OF TERRA NOVA?

NO! Not this Terra Nova:

The HG universe is described as follows (from Wikipedia):

"Heavy Gear is set on a distant, fictional planet called Terra Nova around 4,000 Earth Standard Years from now (AD 6132). Terra Nova was once the pride of the United Earth Government's colonies. However, an economic collapse forced the UEG government to abandon Terra Nova and all its other colonies centuries before the period depicted in the game setting, leaving Terra Nova in a dark age. Eventually, City-states rose from the ashes and either through treaties or tyranny, united to form national unions called Leagues. These Leagues would in turn ally (again either peacefully or forcibly) to form the superpower blocs that dominated the temperate southern and northern hemispheres of the planet."

Because of Terra Nova's unique geography, climate, and lack of economic support from Earth; warfare has become dominated by giant, manned robots known as "Gears" (hence the title). Being a bipedal walker, the Gear combines the mobility of an infantryman with the firepower of an armored vehicle. However, Gears do have their drawbacks and infantry, armored vehicles, artillery, and airstrikes are still a part of the fighting on Terra Nova.

I should mention that the above background is just a snippet in terms of fluff and background. HG has been around in some form or another for over 15 years and the fluff is comparable to any other major game universe in miniature games today. If you're really interested in the background and learning more about the HG universe, hunt down the Heavy Gear RPG books, which can generally be found on Ebay for a couple bucks.

2) WHAT'S WITH THE SCALE!?

Yes, Heavy Gear is scaled at 12mm. At first, this may seem to be an odd choice, especially with the current market being dominated by 15mm and 25/28mm. However, it should be noted that this scale has two practical reasons.

First, even if the scale were brought up 3mm to 15mm, large vehicles and Striders (essentially enormous Gears that are more like walking fortresses) would be simply too big. At current scale, these minis can easily average 3" tall or more, which means an increase to 15mm would make them about 5" tall. Currently, even most "average" Trooper Gears like the Hunter stand around 28mm tall, making them almost 2" at 15mm.

Conversely, bringing the scale down to 6mm (as with another popular mecha game - Battletech), would reduce the size of most "average" Trooper Gears to around 10mm. At this size, the minis would lose most (if not all) of their current level of detail.

Second, 12mm conforms to about 1/150 scale, N-Gauge in model railroading. This means there are lots of nice terrain and building kits available at reasonable prices. For example, the Japanese kit makers Tomy and GreenMax produce some excellent, detailed N-scale buildings with large footprints for under $15-20 each.

The 12mm scale seems to be a compromise between level of detail, miniature size to ground-scale, and overall table size through both small and large battles.

3) WHAT ARMY SHOULD I PLAY?

The current 'armies' available in the main Locked and Loaded rulebook are:

• The Northern Polar League (CNCS): One of the two major powers on Terra Nova, this is a league made up of several city-states who have formed an alliance of equals. The North is also dominated by the dogma of the Revisionist Church. This 'army' is further sub-divided into factions based on each city-state, which all have different strengths and weaknesses. Overall, Northern weaponry is fairly robust, with access to a wide range of weaponry, and their forces are well-led with good morale. An additional supplement Drop Bears Dive focuses on the Drop Bears regiment consisting of some unique air-droppable Gears and paratroop units.
• The Southern Polar League (AST): The second major power on Terra Nova, this league is an 'alliance' of city-states dominated and controlled by the powerful Southern Republic faction. As with the North, this 'army' is further sub-divided into factions based on city-state, which all have different strengths and weaknesses. Southern weaponry ranges from high-tech to old-and-busted. Their forces also range from the highly-motivated, ruthless SRA to the conscripted prisoners of the MILCIA.
• Peace River: This faction is both an independent city-state and the 'independent' corporation Paxton Arms. Peace River is located in the Badlands - the arid, sparsely-populated equatorial region of Terra Nova. Geographically and economically situated between the two polar leagues, Peace River has emerged as a protection force for the residents of the Badlands and a check against each league's aggression. This 'army' is characterized by high-tech Gears, with good access to various weaponry but lacking the more specialized units of the leagues.
• Port Arthur Korps (PAK): Formed after the failed invasion attempt by Earth, these are the remnants of those CEF forces which were stranded on Terra Nova. This 'army' is characterized by the genetically-engineered GREL soldiers and their access to highly-mobile armored hover vehicles, as well as their use of both Southern and Northern Gears in a support role.
• Leagueless: A 'dust-bin' force to represent anything from mercenaries, to bandits, to minor city-state forces like the KADA (the 'army' of duelists formed to defend the city-state featured in Heavy Gear: Arena). Leagueless have access to many common Gears and vehicles used by the North, South, and Peace River factions with an OK access to weaponry. There are also options to make a Leagueless faction broken-down and damaged or (fairly) well-supplied and led.

The supplement Return to Cat's Eye features the following:

• Colonial Expeditionary Force (CEF): Formed to bring the wayward interstellar colonies back under the control of the Earth government, the CEF had almost successfully invaded Terra Nova, if not for the last-minute intervention of 'neutral' Peace River'. They still maintain a presence in the Terra Nova system. The CEF does not use Gears; preferring instead to rely on its highly mobile Hover Tank forces, genetically-engineered GREL soldiers, and occasionally bipedal Frames.
• The Black Talons: Formed in response to the CEF invasion, the Black Talons are a Special Operations force of the allied Terra Novan forces. They are characterized by upgraded versions of Terra Novan Gears, equipped with stealth technology and a wide variety of weaponry.
• Caprice: A planet conquered by the CEF, Caprician forces can represent the guerilla Liberati freedom fighters or the corporate interests who support both sides in an attempt to garner favor with the winning side. Caprice is a mountainous world and, as such, has developed the multi-legged Gear design known as a Mount.

The supplement Terra Nova Gambit features add'l CEF lists as well as their Utopian Colonial allies. Utopia is another world successfully conquered by the CEF. Utopian forces rely on drone-like N-KIDU units and their part-Gear/part-Hovertank Armiger control units.

Perfect Storm, the latest supplement, features the forces of NuCoal, an upcoming alliance of city-states, with Port Arthur at its core. The New Coalition features a ton of new Gear and vehicle designs, as well as rules for fielding special Gear pilots (like Aces or Duelists) for most factions.

So there are a LOT of options, which leads us to...

4) WHAT SHOULD I BUY? - INITIAL PURCHASES

If you're sure of which army you'd like to run, the Starter Army boxed sets are a great place to begin for the most common factions and army lists. These will generally provide you with one Core unit, one support unit (usually an Auxillary choice, described below), and the main rulebook. In the case of forces featured in a supplement, either the supplement is included or an appendix is added to the Locked and Loaded rulebook. Another nice feature is that the forces provided are more than adequate to play a standard game of Heavy Gear: Blitz! right out of the box.

If you'd like to play either North, South, or even Leagueless and are unsure of which choice to make, the Two-Player Starter set is a good place to start and I've reviewed it previously here. From either set, you can expand your collection with unit boxes, unit blisters, or 2-Gear blister packs.

If you are totally unsure about what force you'd like to play, I recommend skipping to the next step.

5) ARMY LISTS AND GEAR GARAGE

Probably Dream Pod 9's best-kept secret is the army builder program known as "Gear Garage", available here and on the DP9 forums. A simple interface allows you to select any of the available HG forces and build detailed army lists. As I mentioned above, if you're confused or unsure of where to start, this program is a god-send!

Another great resource is a thread on the DP9 forum started by Gambit listing good "starter" 800TV armies for new players and a detailed listing of what purchases need to be made for these lists.

TV stands for Threat Value, simply another word for the points value of an army. 500-800 total TV is generally a fairly good-sized army and seems to be the "norm" among veteran players. Skirmishes can be fought between 250-500TV and large-scale battles involving multiple units are generally in the 1000TV+ range.

Unit type requirement is governed by the Priority Level (PL) of the mission. For example, a PL2 mission (described in the HG rulebook as a standard meeting engagement) requires the inclusion of at least 2 Core unit choices (usually a General Purpose Gear unit or Infantry unit), and the choice to include up to 3 Auxillary choices, 2 Specialist, and 1 Elite units. Unit type differs between armies and also within an armies' sub-factions.

The Priority Level also dictates how many units can be upgraded to Veteran Status. Making a unit Veterans generally allows their skills to increase, gives them access to more Gear types, and allows them to equip special weaponry.

As an example, the typical G.P. (General Purpose) Gear unit for most Terra Novan forces consists of between 4-5 individual Gear minis, with various weapon options, and is a Core unit type costing an average of 200TV.

6) THE BARE MINIMUM TO PLAY

There are no size or point cost limits - either minimum or maximum - to play Heavy Gear:Blitz! and the game scales well from a small skirmish up to large battles. So, here's the very least you'll need to play a game:

1. The Locked and Loaded rulebook and Field Manual update addendum - anywhere from $20 for the PDFs to about $70 for the large-format full-color books
2. 1 Core unit (generally an Infantry squad blister or G.P. Squad box) - $20-30
3. D6 dice
4. Rule
5. A 3x3 table

Well, that's about it. I hope you found this tutorial helpful!

Dream Pod 9 Swag!!!

This past week has NOT been a good week. So, when I got home on Friday, I was pleasantly surprised to get my prizes from winning DP9's Golden Gear contest.

A very cool little trophy, a nice certificate, 3 packs of Fighting Piranha decals (Southern, NuCoal, and Arena Sponsors), and a Southern Fire Support Squad (which is what I chose with my $50 credit). This helped make the week a lot more bearable.

Big thanks to Robert at DP9 for his great communication throughout the process and the staff at Dream Pod 9 and Fighting Piranha!

Saying Farewell to 2011 With A Bang!

 Another year older and a new one's just begun...so let's ring it in with some Heavy Gear Arena Duelists!

I managed to pick up a Northern Dingo and decided to convert him into a duelist. I removed the parachute packs on its torso, constructed new armored skirts for the upper legs, and added a crash bar to the V-engine. It's armed with a Snub Cannon and Heavy Spike Gun for some intense close combat action! This is arguably one of my favorite Gears as it seems right out of the Front Mission video games...

Next up is a Basilisk. I added a giant fighting staff made from copper tubing and a buckler to the right arm. Also, I sanded down its Light Rocket Pod to change it to a Medium Rocket Pod.

Last, an unbased Copperhead. The only conversion here was mounting the Light Rocket Pod vertically on the right shoulder and adding a Spike Gun to the right forearm.

Now on to painting in 2012!