Author Topic: Ask us anything!  (Read 246 times)

CGReynolds

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Ask us anything!
« on: April 03, 2018, 10:20:32 pm »
Hi guys,

Chris Reynolds here, the creator and developer of AD. If you have any questions about the game, please let me know here and I'll answer them as soon as I get on here.

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timiel

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2018, 08:50:52 am »
Hello i just saw the new social stretch goals list and i have a question,
If we hit the pledge stretch goalet for the squirrel plus the social stretch goal we will have 2 free squirrels if yes i just want to be in november
even more (:
« Last Edit: April 12, 2018, 08:53:21 am by timiel »

CGReynolds

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2018, 11:10:10 am »
Hello i just saw the new social stretch goals list and i have a question,
If we hit the pledge stretch goalet for the squirrel plus the social stretch goal we will have 2 free squirrels if yes i just want to be in november
even more (:

That's absolutely correct. If we hit 7.5K in funding and have 125 backers, there will be two free Squirrels added to every pledge of Digipath and above. Also, if we hit all the social goals there's another GBP8 added in free credit, so you can select another tank at the end of the campaign.

timiel

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2018, 06:35:56 pm »
Thanks for the awnser, then i just have to do some advertising for this game on every discord server i have

Rentner65

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2019, 10:24:37 pm »
Q: Will all future units follow the current name "scheme" (Animals)? Or will only Tanks be named after animals while Walkers or Aircraft will be named after something else (e.g. Gods, Colors, etc.)

Q: Once Aircraft or other unit types have been released, are there plans for Production and Logistic units of that type? Like a flying Resource Transport or a flying factory? Or will there be different types of Mobile factories?

Q: In one of the Kickstarter updates Beaver and Polecat have been mentioned as units. Will these be the next to be released?

Q: AD is my first 15mm game so I don't have a comparison: Are the drones smaller than a usually 15mm tank would be?

Q: As commander-on-foot can happen, couldn't there be any Infantry sized drones? So the commander has a model and also as a troop type?

Q: You have mentioned faction packs as future expansions: Are these meant to have faction specific Order cards as well to further flesh out the factions or will it be "just" Commanders?

Q: Will there be different kinds of Extractors? Of course this can already be handled by different color schemes (Blue Extractor produces better/double ressources etc.)



I understand if you cannot answer all of these questions :-). I really like this game. Hopefully it will sell well enough so that a lot more stuff will get released!


Josh Percy

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #5 on: April 24, 2019, 12:49:23 am »
Hey Rentner, I can’t give you answers to everything there but I do have a few snippets of intel for you from the inside. As a playtester I’ve seen some fun stuff in the works but I can’t speak on behalf of Chris or the developer for what comes next or what creative decisions are made.

Q: Are the drones smaller than normal 15mm scale tanks?
A: Yes! Given that they don’t need the space to hold crew, they have a much smaller profile than a manned vehicle.
Q: Are there plans for “infantry” drones in the works.
A: From discussions I’ve had, that doesn’t look like the case. When walkers come out, think more like a spider tank than a terminator for the direction they’re headed.
Q: Will faction packs include faction specific order cards?
A: Unless something crazy happens in the near future, yes. Each faction has specific order cards that really bring out their individual flavour and they are looking awesome so far.

Rentner65

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #6 on: April 24, 2019, 09:11:38 pm »
Hi Josh!
Thanks for your answers!

Looking forward to the Walkers (and Aircraft and Hovercraft) and the faction Specific Order cards!

I understand the decision regarding "Infantry" but I still feel there should be some... especially as AD transports this C&C feeling for me. Infantry was a huge part of C&C.
But that's nothing that can't be house ruled. As the tanks are smaller than in other 15mm games (as you confirmed), maybe I'll try some 10mm Infantry models for a test.
« Last Edit: April 25, 2019, 05:22:43 pm by Rentner65 »

CGReynolds

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2019, 02:33:20 am »
Hey Rentner, thanks for the questions!

Q: Will all future units follow the current name "scheme" (Animals)? Or will only Tanks be named after animals while Walkers or Aircraft will be named after something else (e.g. Gods, Colors, etc.)

A: There's a naming schema for each type of unit. Tanks are generally terrestrial vertebrates, with some degree of link between the name and the unit (albeit often tenuous). Command units have a mythological creature naming schema, aircraft will have birds, walkers will have insects/arachnids, buildings will have geological formations and hovercraft will have weather names.


Q: Once Aircraft or other unit types have been released, are there plans for Production and Logistic units of that type? Like a flying Resource Transport or a flying factory? Or will there be different types of Mobile factories?

A: There are plans for full suites of units, including command, transport, support and combat units. There are plans for different types of mobile (and immobile) production units. In the far distant future, there are plans for super-heavy units and war-scale games. However, our focus at the moment is on building the community and establishing ourselves. Once we have a player base and the game is a commercial success, then we can look to adding to our fleets of drones.


Q: In one of the Kickstarter updates Beaver and Polecat have been mentioned as units. Will these be the next to be released?

A: I'm still not sure where the name 'Polecat' came from. I think one of the guys from Beasts of War came along and misnamed the Jackal and the Publisher's staff got a little confused. It actually doesn't exist.
The Beaver, on the other hand, is designed as a repair/construction unit. It is planned for release with our buildings.



Q: AD is my first 15mm game so I don't have a comparison: Are the drones smaller than a usually 15mm tank would be?

A: Glad to be your first! If you compare our drones to something like a Panzer III model, you'll find the drone smaller than even that little tank. As Josh indicated above, the drones shrink the internal size required considerably. The other thing going for our drones is that they assume that successful Low Energy Nuclear Reactor (LENR) technology is available, and thus they are powered by multi-Gigawatt-range reactors about the size of a domestic dishwasher.


Q: As commander-on-foot can happen, couldn't there be any Infantry sized drones? So the commander has a model and also as a troop type?

A: We had considered small swarms of infantry-like drones in the early stages of development. The tricky thing is that they would break the game somewhat, and the weapons and armour they carry wouldn't hold against the larger weapons and sturdier armour of the full-sized drone tanks, etc. Sure, a small spider drone could kill an unarmoured human easily enough, but they wouldn't have so much hope of holding out against that same human in a command vehicle, especially when that human is a Digipath!


Q: You have mentioned faction packs as future expansions: Are these meant to have faction specific Order cards as well to further flesh out the factions or will it be "just" Commanders?

A: We are planning a few expansions in the near term, all of which will require more playtesting before we can release them into the wild. The faction packs are intended to come with four new commanders, at least two different faction-specific orders, variant vehicles that trade one stat or trait for another, and possibly even decal sheets and COF miniatures for that faction.


Q: Will there be different kinds of Extractors? Of course this can already be handled by different color schemes (Blue Extractor produces better/double ressources etc.)

A: At this stage there are no plans for different kinds of Extractors. However, in the Missions expansion (working title), there are a range of different things that might end up in the middle of the table in place of an extractor: a comms tower, a relic of mankind's golden age, or even a park of abandoned vehicles, ripe for the stealing.

Rentner65

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2019, 06:37:13 pm »
Wow! Thanks for answering everything!
First however: Sorry Josh, I mixed up your last and first name and called you Percy. My apologies! I have edited my previous post to hide this shame :-)

I really like that unit types follow a specific naming convention - feels more in order! :-)

Boy, I really hope that the game will be successful so we'll see the Super-Heavy units / War scale games. I'm a father of two with a sometimes not so healthy wife so my time is limited but what I can do to promote the game I'll do (with and without the use of a wallet :-))!
My father and brothers were big C&C fans so I plan to play the game with them. As their english is a little limited I'll plan to prepare a (non professional) german translation for them - at least for the rules. If you are interested in that I can send you a copy once I'm done.

Polecat was mention in Kickstarter Update No.18 (I have attached a screenshot). Jackal is also in this list... so maybe the Polecat is a secret unit even you are not aware of :-). Beaver for a construction unit seems fitting though!

Thanks for the explanation regarding the size of the drones!
Regarding the Infantry Drones I was just also thinking that this would open up a possibility for a Machine gun type of weapon that's good vs. Infantry.
I'm looking forward to the faction packs, decal sheets and COF sound awesome even though I'll probably print my own GDI and NOD decals for now.
I also think the "Mission Expansion" is a good idea... it (again) reminds me of C&C where you had all this extra neutral stuff that you could capture.

Q: As you have mentioned buildings (Command Bunkers...), another question: Are Turrets also planned? I assume Command Bunkers would have several upgrade options for weapons/Shields/Comms etc. so a turret would be just a weapon without the Commander in them? Could be used for specific "Defend" Missions as well or as neutral locations to capture/use...

Q: How long have you been working on this game? How many people are playtesting/working on this in total?

Q: Energy/Plasma as Firepower type is meant to be like a Flamethrower type of weapon as well, right?

Q: I saw an Order card "Stealth Mode" in one of the youtube videos. Currently the only Stealth units are the Vampire and the Viper. I have both models but don't own this Order card. Will it be in a future release or was Stealth originally a Hardcoded trait and now the card has been integrated in the normal trait already? Just curious because I like Stealth units and if the card exists would like to own it for (potential) extra Stealth :-).


 


CGReynolds

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2019, 09:41:18 pm »
I'm glad you're liking everything so far! I'm a father with two young kids (4 and 6 years old), so I know all too well how limited time can be. Feel free to point people towards the youtube explainer videos (although there have been a couple of small tweaks to the rules so if the rulebook differs, go with the rulebook), the Facebook group, here, etc. Most people who have played wargames pick up 90% of how to play within the first couple of turns. And this is a game that usually hooks people through gameplay (in my experience), so simply running demonstration games for new players is one of the best ways to get them into the game.

Yes, that Polecat was an error on the list that the publisher had. I think it's turning into an in-joke now!

For buildings, there's a limited set of buildings planned. At this stage the list is quite minimal: a command bunker, a production unit and a set of pod bunkers that use the Aggregate (3) trait from the main rulebook. These bunkers come with basic protection, comms and sensors, but then you can choose to put any of the hardpoints available into the bunkers. So you could use them as turrets, or as a comms repeater, or as a sensor post.

However, there's also what are called Support Structures being playtested for inclusion in the missions expansion. These are small structures that don't take up any slots, but can provide limited support. There's a sensor post, a repair drone post, a comms repeater (with sensor interference for defence), minefields and fire traps. In various missions players can build, place or activate these structures during the game to aid their chances of victory.

I've been working on this game for about four and a half years now, I think. 80% of the rules were developed in the first six months, but the playtesting wasn't very intensive at that point in time as my kids took up a lot of it. Over the following 12 months, the remainder of the rules were hammered out, and now only minor refinements are being made. These days if I need to adjust the game, I just come up with new orders cards to allow players to do different things with their units. An example of that is a card I'm working on called Deploy Stabilisers. This allows a unit to suddenly count as having not moved this turn, so it allows you to do things like move an Elephant forward, use Deploy Stabilisers and then use Indirect Fire. Once I'm happy with how it's working, I have to figure out how best to release it, and then we're good to go.

Energy/Plasma is indeed intended as a high-intensity flamethrower. Hydrogen pellets are energised to a fusion state by lasers in the reaction chamber, then contained in a magnetic bottle until ready to be fired at the enemy. Then they're ejected in thin streams, hit the open air and burn the living daylights out of what they land on. The effect on target it mostly thermal, hence they have a similar effect to that of a laser.

Stealth Mode should come with two copies with each Viper. If you didn't get them, please get in touch with Word Forge Games for replacements (wordforgegames@gmail.com). It can be useful in certain circumstances, but by far Stealth is best used as a stacking ability: move fast into cover and with Stealth you're -3 to be hit. If they don't have a lock on you or you haven't fired, that means they can't hit you at all (barring some cards like Precision Fire).

Rentner65

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2019, 05:27:32 pm »
Thanks again for all the answers!

Regarding the missing/incorrect cards (e.g. Stealth Mode): Is there a list somewhere where I can check what card is supposed to come with what Model?
Reconstructing my current purchases I think the following:

Armadillo - Angled Reflectors
Bear - Divert Power
Centaur - Tactical Analysis
Cheetah - Barrage
Cougar - mine came with Barrage (with Cheetah at the bottom), Word Forge Games said this was correct.
Crocoldile - ? (don't own the unit yet)
Elephant - Blindfire
Jackal - Guided Missiles
Meercat - Jamming
Porcupine - Area Defense
Racoon - Countermeasures
Rhino - HV Shot
Viper - ?,  I own 3 Vipers and have no Order card with Viper at the bottom... should be Stealth Mode as you confirmed
Squirrel - ?
Vampire - Disrupt
Wolf - Plasma Blast
Wombat - Prepared Build

My kids are 5 (daughter) and 3 (son)... my son loves to play with the Tank models already :-). He lines them up and switches the turrets around  ;D. Still have to interest my daughter - she played Blood Bowl with my once though.

Special Thanks for the Plasma explanation... do you have something like that for all other types as well?
4,5h years is a long time I think (not having any idea what an average amount of working on a game would be :)). As said before I hope it pays off! The Order cards examples sound interesting as well!

CGReynolds

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2019, 09:30:00 pm »
If you're interested, the product descriptions for each unit have the card they come with listed in the text at the bottom. You just have to click on the unit in the Word Forge Games store to see that description. So for the Crocodile, you'll find the details about the unit and the card it comes with here: https://www.wordforgegames.com/armoured-digital-shop/veteran-pledge-283-294-297-298-299-301-302-303-detail.

I should point out too that there was an error with one of the orders cards. The HV Shot card is listed as 'Hardpoints' at the bottom but should say 'Rhino'. You'll find an FAQ and Errata link on the message boards here: https://armoureddigital.createaforum.com/faq-and-errata/the-armoured-digital-living-faq-and-errata/. We'll keep updating that as we go, so if you find something that doesn't look quite right, please let us know and I'll update the Errata. Same goes for anything that seems unclear, I can add an FAQ response to that to keep it all official.


Rentner65

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #12 on: April 27, 2019, 12:23:46 am »
Thanks - that helps!
When I first ordered I did read about the units but apparently forgot about the cards when the stuff arrived.
It makes me worry though that with 2 orders of Vipers and Cougars (they added "Barrage" and said it would be correct) I have never received the correct cards - last time I have also received a Crocodile Unit card with my replacement cards for the Cougars.
That time it hadn't mattered (and I therefore did not complain about it) as I already had extra Cougar cards from the first shipment where they had sent me Cheetahs instead of Cougars.
Not sure how deep/close your connection with Word Forge Games is but maybe some QC on their side would be good. Having to send out replacements can get expensive I believe. The contact I was in touch with (Jamie Cross) was really nice though!

I'll think of more questions  ;D

Rentner65

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Re: Ask us anything!
« Reply #13 on: May 03, 2019, 06:40:57 pm »
Q & A from the Discord:

Q: So no plans a la: "Firepower type XY can't shoot at Aircraft at all!" Everyone will be able to shoot  with a penalty unless  unit has AA

A:The penalty means that it will be nearly impossible to hit a well-piloted aircraft. An aircraft with no other modifiers in place is only hit on a 6. If it moves but does not fire, you can't hit it at all.
So then you need to look to other means. Precision fire, guided missiles with a sensor lock, AA vehicles, etc.
The plan is that when aircraft are released, there will be AA ground vehicles in all flavours released along with them.
Plus, some aircraft will specialise in hunting other aircraft, while others will be ground attack.
And of course, aircraft are mighty fragile when you do hit them.