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GURPS Traveller Interstellar Wars Counters

4/25/2006 - Steve Jackson Games has released a set of counters for their GURPS Traveller Intersetllar Wars supplement for FREE as a download from their e23 store.  These counters have silhouettes from the Interstellar War era ships on 10 pages of counters of ships, missiles, gravity hexes, worlds, small bodies, and disabled markers in a 1.2MB pdf file. 

These counters can be printed on regular paper then mounted on cardboard or printed directly on cardstock.  

 

Aliensurfer Announces Starship Design Competition

9/27/2005 - An update on the status of the contest from Aliensurfer:

Ok, we have chosen the winners!  Before I name them, the choices were made on two considerations,

1/ Did we like the look of it
2/ Is it a practical design at the moment regards what we can do?

There were some designs we liked that we cannot do at the moment but we may well use them at a later date. If so we will contact the person(s) in question.

So, the winning designs for the first ten models to be sculpted are;

Todd Boyce : Reconnaissance Cruiser and Fast Frigate designs
Andre Khoo : Victorious Class Battleship
Howard Shirley : Retronian Dreadnought
Stephen Thomson : Gladius Strike Carrier
Ken Wang : Five designs in a PDF called 'Ships' – no names!
Travis Watson : BLS Firestar

For the sharp eyed amongst you that totals up to eleven – However, one of Ken's designs (possibly 2 of them actually!) has two versions – so we decided we'd try and do both as it could be sold as one kit with 2 options.

I'd like to thank everyone who sent in designs, messages and offer's of help. I hope this becomes a long term venture, and one where we can continue to make ships that YOU want :-)

Regards
Alien

Some of the designs can be seen HERE.  A full web page with more info is in the works.

 

3/29/2005 - This was originally posted on The Miniatures Page by Aliensurfer and is repeated here with permission:

Here's the deal:

As a bit of fun and to start the ball rolling on what we hope will become an ongoing line of starship mini's, we have decided to host a competition here at TMP. We want you to design a starship, and send us the designs. We will then (to start with) pick the ten designs that appeal to us the most, and attempt to make them and then mold them. The pieces will be cast in resin or pewter (depending on the complexity of the design). The ten TMP'ers whose designs we use will then receive a set of all ten models as their prize - and when we come to sell the range, the credits. We cannot offer royalties as

     * This is a small home run idea to see if it's viable to bring out a range, and
     * all profits (if any) are going back into funding more models

Hopefully, none of the designs will be beyond us... but I cannot promise, OK? <grin>

When you send the designs, can they be either hand-drawn or made into a PDF (as I do not have access to Autocad or similar packages). I will also need to know the dimensions of the model you are aiming at - i.e., two inches long, half an inch wide and a quarter of an inch tall. It would help if these measurements are on the design. Please show the design from as many angles as possible! Also, I only have an A4 printer, so no A3 pages please.

The competition will run from now until the end of May, so you should have plenty of time. Then we will start to build them, etc., etc. I will try and take photos of each stage and put them on the web, and I will keep in touch via email with the ten 'winners'.

So, to sum it all up:

Send your designs in with measurements, either hand-drawn or scanned and sent in the post, or via email. For those wishing to post, please email me for a postal address. The email address to send them to is scottmiddleton_uk@yahoo.com - please mark the email "Starship Design Competition" and include contact details.

 

Ravenstar Studios and Jackill's to Collaborate on Technical Reports and Miniatures

11/30/2004 - From Chris Lynch of Ravenstar Studios:

"I have found over the years a lot of people have used my models and Jackill's Data sheets for Starship wargaming . Although My mini line will not be released until 2005 , I thought I would drop this note for the Trek and Sci-fi lovers. Best to you all. 

Christopher Lynch of Ravenstar Studios and Eric Kristiansen of Jackill's.com have agreed on a collaboration between our two companies. Ravenstar Studios will build Models of Jackill's designs and Jackill's will create Technical readout Data Sheets for Ravenstar designs. Eric and Myself have long wish to do this and finally have made the move. We will start with Federation designs. The first release from Ravenstar Studios will be Jackill's Recon Cruiser " Explorer Class" . Jackill's first release will be Ravenstar's Douglass Long range Scout. Release dates have yet to be set , but keep an eye out for updates. Please check Jackill's designs at http://www.jackill.com/ and of course www.Ravenstarstudios.com"

Chris has confirmed that the starship miniatures will be done in 1/3900 scale, the same as the old FASA Star Trek miniatures and very close to the 1/3788 scale of the Star Fleet Battles miniatures originally available from Task Force Games and now available from Amarillo Design Bureau.  Chris also mentions that all the starship model kits you see you currently see on his site will be made into 1/3900 scale miniatures.

 

Official Honor Harrington Universe Games in the Works from Ad Astra Games LLC.

5/10/2004 - Ken Burnside of Ad Astra Games announces:

"Ad Astra Games LLC and Echo Valley Productions have reached an agreement in principle to produce a line of games based on the New York Times bestselling Honor Harrington series.

The first game in the line will be Saganami Island Tactical Simulator, an adaptation of the groundbreaking Attack Vector: Tactical game engine to the Honorverse.

We expect to be shipping it in 2005, boxed game, price TBD."

 

Mongoose Publishing Mentions Advanced Space Combat Box for Their Babylon 5 RPG - Due Later in 2004

4/26/2004 - News about the new Babylon 5 space game and miniatures from Mongoose Publishing has been moved to the A Call To Arms page.


Gaming Solutions Incorporated Selling Former AoG Products Including Babylon 5 Wars, Fleet Action, GROPOS and Turning Point

1/23/2004 - From Casey at Gaming Solutions Inc:

Gaming Solutions Incorporated is pleased to offer a variety of products from the defunct Agents of Gaming.

Currently, a variety of Babylon 5 Wars rules and miniatures are available off of our website, with more B5 Wars and Fleet Action miniatures to follow in the coming weeks. We soon will also offer the GROPOS rules and miniatures that are still existent.  (Since the termination of the Babylon 5 license, and the closing of Agents of Gaming, all materials relating to this universe and game lines are somewhat limited and cannot be restocked once current supplies are exhausted. Get it while you can.)

Also available is the Turning Point game line, both miniatures and rules. Sometimes referred to as Fleet Action 2, this game did not see wide release before AoG had to close their doors. We have available all materials officially released for Turning Point.  Of special note is the availability of two minis that did not make commercial release: the European Union Curiasser-class Cruisers and Garde-class Destroyers. This universe is independent from that of Babylon 5, and will be continuously available.  (UPDATE 2/6/2004 - it seems that those new minis were actually mislabeled existing ships per Bruce Graw posting on B5Wars.net)

Gaming Solutions Inc. concentrates on wargames set in a variety of eras and backgrounds. Have a look in our online catalog at www.GamingSolutionsInc.com

 

Blood and Space available from RPG Objects

4/28/2003 - RPG Objects has released Blood and Space:

"A comprehensive starship adventure sourcebook designed to supplement or extend any of the popular d20 space based role-playing games. Blood and Space contains extensive rules for starship construction, combat, and crews as well as new classes, feats, and skills for space based adventures."

Blood and Space is available both as a downloadable ebook or in the traditional printed format.

 

Mongoose Publishing will release a Babylon 5 RPG in May 2003

The long rumored announcement was finally made on February 21st in the EN World forum: http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41788 

"Mongoose Publishing is proud to announce the acquisition of the licence to produce the all new Babylon 5 roleplaying game from Warner Brothers Inc.
This is a project we are all very excited about here at Mongoose, for we are all great fans of the television series and its many spin-offs – without a doubt, Babylon 5 is the greatest science fiction epic yet created. In many ways, the television series seems almost designed for roleplaying scenarios and campaigns, and we are putting all our efforts into ensuring the new game lives up to the milestone set by the licence.
The Babylon 5 roleplaying game will be available in the latter part of May 2003 and, like other Mongoose Publishing games, will be heavily supported with material guaranteed to delight any serious fan of the show."

Here are some additional quotes from this discussion and others, thanks to Jeff Black for compiling most of them:

"Rules for Starfuries, Raiders and Minbari warcruisers are already in place (and the Minbari are _deadly_!)."

"Yes, I have heard the rumours that the company who acquired the B5 RPG licence paid massive amounts of money to end the B5 Wars licence. Not true. In fact, the news came as much as a surprise to us - I had already partitioned off a section of the rulebook to, potentially, serve as a conversion mechanism between B5 Wars and the spaceship combat system we have in the RPG, so players could use whichever they preferred. I personally view it as a great shame, as Mongoose and Agents of Gaming could perhaps have done great things together but some things are not to be. For our part, we believe AoG set a standard of fidelity to source material that must be matched if the Babylon 5 RPG is to be worthy of the name. We appreciate the chance to pick up the flag and carry it further onwards. We have also been in communication with the chaps behind AoG and are very proud to have Bruce Graw writing a few of the forthcoming B5 supplements."

"The main rulebook actually uses a converted Dragonstar system as a basis for its space combat. However, you know us - we just can't leave anything alone So, Starfuries can pivot in space, Vorlons have adaptive armour, the Minbari are _frightening_ and there are all sorts of other bits and pieces that have made this feel very different to the DS you all know and love. However, I have been considering an advanced space combat game - it is not a priority as, at its core, this is not what a B5 RPG should be about, but it is on the cards. . ."

"At this time, we have little wish to get into miniatures, I am afraid. However, if you have your own miniatures collection (be it 28mm station personnel or spacecraft), they _are_ supported by the main rules."

"It is my feeling that B5 Wars is way too complex for an RPG. Also, supporting a game system that is no longer on sale is problematic at best. However, if fans want to put together their own conversion system, we'll certainly consider putting the best ideas on our web site. And you never know where they may lead. . ."

GeoHex Closing on February 14th

3/8/2003 - Will Thompson of Monday Knight Productions makes the following announcement:

Greetings to all of you who have purchased, contacted or know about Geo-Hex and Monday Knight Productions. Some things have transpired here in Portland OR that might be of interest to you. 

1) After 17 years in business Geo-Hex has closed its doors. 

2) Monday Knight Productions has acquired several lines of products previously made by Geo-Hex including the game mats and foam terrain lines. 

3) We have taken over the distribution net previously started by Geo-Hex. We have increased the number of products handled through the site. 

The one most important thing you might like to know, is that MKP has a new website. www.mondayknight.com 

For more information please go the site. There is more information their if you are interested.

MKP also produces the Galactic Knights line of starship miniatures.

 

2/5/2003 - The Miniatures Page reports the following news item.

Will Thompson of Monday Knight Productions writes:

Please note the following changes here in Portland:

1.) Monday Knight Productions is now on its own, including a new address:  4100 NE 104th Ave, Vancouver WA 98682.

2.) Geo-Hex is closing as of Feb. 14th.

3.) Monday Knight Productions has purchased the rights to making Mats from Geo-Hex. We also are arranging to go back into production on some of the old Geo-Hex terrain lines. This will take some time but everything moving with the new productions.

 

Jackill's Starfleet Reference Manuals

2/7/2002 - Finally some news on the classic series of Starfleet Reference Manuals from Jackill (http://www.jackill.com/) was recently posted on 1/20/2002:

Jackill's is still alive, I just had to take some time off and finish my education (Masters in Electrical Engineering) and with a new wife, new job and a new house I have just not had the time I need to finish the books.
A new book Starfleet Reference Manual Classic is being reworked to match the new series information. It will cover ships from the Classic Enterprise Era.
Starfleet Reference Manuals Vol 1-3 are being enlarged to cover more ships.
I am taking submissions from people for designs to be included in my books, if you feel like you have a good design email a sample with contact information to
ekristia@ttacs.ttu.edu
I will provide more information about my books as it is available.

 

Star Trek Gaming License

4/28/2003 - Decipher has released the Starship Sourcebook for their Star Trek RPG. It is a 208 page hardcover reference book in full color.  Over 40 classes of starships are included.  Each ship gets at least a full page with statistics, mission, background, top, side, and front views along with a photo.  A good portion of the book devoted to expanding on the starship design and combat rules from the Narrator's Guide.

Also just to note, Engage! is still mentioned as a future project in Decipher's message boards and is currently on the back burner with no current plans to release it soon.

 

3/19/2001 - Decipher announces in a news release dated March 16th that they have hired 7 former Last Unicorn Games employees to form their RPG and miniatures gaming development team.  Miniatures games are consistantly mentioned in the release so there is hope for a new Star Trek space combat game in the future.

Matthew Colville, former LUG employee and designer of Red Alert! confirms that he is now working for
Deciper
in a message on the Red Alert! Yahoo mailing list.  He also mentions that he is currently working on the RPG but eventually will be working on the mini game.  In addition Deciper is interested in Disk games but they need more production info first.

 

8/14/2000 - Announced at GenCon, Decipher gets the Star Trek license.  What this means, is really not known yet until all parties involved give a statement.  Notice how it specifically mentions "miniatures, miniature games and customizable disk strategy games" so Engage! and Red Alert! are definately involved.  Here is the announcement from Decipher's website (http://www.decipher.com/newsflash/2000/08/081200newsreleaseA.html)


Decipher's Star TrekTM Universe Expands To Include Role Playing, Miniatures, And More

          Decipher Inc. of Norfolk, Virginia, maker of the acclaimed Star Trek[TM] customizable card game, announced today that it has signed an agreement with Viacom Consumer Products, the licensing division of Paramount Pictures, to expand Decipher's Star Trek license to include role playing games, miniatures, miniature games and customizable disk strategy games.

          Under the terms of the agreement, Decipher's exclusive rights will begin January 1, 2001 for the United States and Canada, and July 1, 2001 worldwide. Some of the additional product category rights will be subject to the expiration of existing agreements.

          In making the announcement, Decipher Chairman and CEO Warren Holland said, "We are very proud that Viacom Consumer Products chose to grant Decipher the rights to these additional categories. We have a wealth of talent, image resources, and passion for Star Trek. The plan is to bring our state-of-the-art computer graphics systems and innovative game designs to bear on the creative opportunities afforded by these new categories. We look forward to building upon the successful relationship we have had with Viacom Consumer Products and the Star Trek franchise since 1992."

          "Based on the synergies between these product categories, we are certain that this is a great strategic move for our business and for the fans of Star Trek," said Terri Helton, Senior Vice President of Viacom Consumer Products. "We feel that Decipher's commitment and enthusiasm for Star Trek will be essential components for their success in the new expanded product mix."

          As is the case for Decipher's pre-existing rights to customizable card games and digital versions of the card games, the company will be allowed to develop and market these new games based on all current live-action properties in the Star Trek universe. This includes Star Trek[TM] the original series, Star Trek: The Next Generation[TM], Star Trek: Deep Space Nine[TM], Star Trek: Voyager[TM], and all nine motion pictures.
     contact: Jonathan Quesenberry

     Public Relations Manager

     August 12, 2000

 

6/5/2000 - Wizards of the Coast signed a letter of intent to acquire Last Unicorn Games. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed and the deal is expected to close by June 30. Read the full press release hereLast Unicorn Games space combat games include Red Alert! which should be released any day now and Engage! which is still a ways off.

 

 

Capital Ship Supplement For Alternity

11/2/2000 - The Warships sourcebook for Alternity is now available for free as a pdf file.  2.3 megs and 112 pages  Download it from here.

 

3/24/2000 - It was announced earlier this month that Wizards of the Coast will discontinue producing supplements for Alternity (WotC's announcement).  They do say that, "One of the products originally scheduled for release, Warships, will instead be made available to you as a free download on the website."

When Warships is available online, I'll let you know.

 

2/10/2000 - While digging through WotC's Star Wars message board, I found the following tidbit about a supplement for their Alternity Sci-Fi RPG:

This was posted on the Alternity list back sometime in 1999:

Yes, we have plans for a supplement detailing capital ship combat, construction, and game play. I can't say too much more than that, other than to point out that it won't be available until late next year.

 

A couple of brief hints:

* The firepower scale has been extended drastically, so that most of the existing ships in Alternity are classified as Small Craft. Over that, there's Light, Medium, Heavy, and Super-heavy ship. Normal firepower-toughness rules for downgrading damage apply, so a fighter with lasers (Small Craft firepower) just isn't going to scratch the paint of a battleship (Heavy toughness). In addition, we're instituting a rule for upgrading damage, so the fighter doesn't like it much at all on those rare

occasions when a battleship's main gun scores a hit.

* Some of the weapons from the GMG have been assigned higher firepowers than they previously possessed. The nuke, for example, is now a weapon of Heavy firepower. It's also been assigned an area of effect of 10/20/40 kilometers. Due to upgrading, nukes can actually kill weren now. In fact, they'll do so within 20 kilometers of ground zero, and stand an excellent chance of doing so out to 40 kilometers away.

* Fighters (and other small ships) can hurt battleships, usually with "expendable" weapons such as missiles or bombs. In other words, a fighter with a couple of nuclear missiles poses a threat to a battleship, but once those are gone, its lasers just won't do the trick.

* Ships have been assigned target size modifiers, and all weapons have had their accuracies adjusted. A fighter has a target size modifier of +3 steps, so it's hard to hit...but most fighter weapons have a -3 step accuracy bonus, so in a fighter-on-fighter confrontation it's balanced. A battleship has a target modifier of -3 steps, and its weapons usually have a +3 step accuracy penalty. Therefore, battleships shooting at battleships balance out. But a battleship using a battleship gun to shoot at a fighter attacks with a +6 step penalty. That's why ships carry secondary and tertiary batteries for fighter and missile defense.

* A fighter has 10 hull points; a destroyer, about 150; a cruiser, about 400; a battleship, about 1500; a dreadnought, 2500; and a fortress ship, 10,000 or more. Durability tracks slide in scale as ships get bigger, so a fortress ship doesn't really have 10,000 mortal points.

That's probably enough for now. You guys can see the direction we're heading with this stuff. We'll tell you more when we can!

          Rich Baker

          Creative Director, Alternity

          Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

 


Wizards of the Coast and Star Wars

11/2/2000 - In a recent online chat, WotC Star Wars brand manager Lisa Stevens mentions a space combat miniatures game:

          "SWRPGDatabase: Has Space Combat been incorporated into the main Star Wars rulebook? If so, can you throw us a bone and tell us anything about it?

          Lisa Stevens: Yes, there will be ship-to-ship combat in the core rulebook. It won't be a tactical kind of thing...We will save that for a miniatures game down the line. Instead, it will be more cinematic to capture the storytelling feel of roleplaying."

 

2/3/2000 - WotC wants Star Wars fans to help shape their new Star Wars RPG so they have a
questionnaire
up to get input on how the game should be designed (press release).  In looking through the
questionnaire
, the last question is "The base game should cover starship combat."

Hmmmmm what do you think?

 

12/9/99 - Wizards of the Coast gets the Star Wars Game License.  The following was posted on both the official Star Wars website (http://www.starwars.com/episode-i/news/1999/49/news4a.html) and WotC's website (http://www.wizards.com/roleplaying/pressrelease.asp?19991208a)


WIZARDS OF THE COAST ACQUIRES STAR WARS ROLEPLAYING GAME LICENSE

December 9, 1999 (Renton, Wash.)--Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc., has been granted the exclusive worldwide license to publish roleplaying games, miniatures table-top games and accessories based on Star Wars®, the Star Wars expanded universe and the three Star Wars prequels.


"It has always been a dream of ours to create roleplaying games and accessories based on the classic Star Wars tales. We are delighted to join forces with such a team," said Lisa Stevens, Wizards of the Coast® brand manager for Star Wars game products.


"The Star Wars saga has long been a great foundation for roleplaying, and we are very proud to be partnered with the people who are renowned for the best roleplaying products in the world," said Howard Roffman, president of Lucas Licensing Ltd.

The first Wizards of the Coast Star Wars game product will be released in fall 2000.

It mentions "miniatures table-top games and accessories" so we can hope that we get a game with Star Destroyers and maybe even some miniatures.  GenCon 2000 might be interesting.

 

 

Golf Tee Spaceships

1/14/2000 - Pyramid magazine from Steve Jackson Games has an article on Golf Tee Spaceships written by Fred Wolke, "They're dirt cheap, plentiful, and make great starship miniatures. Don't believe us? Check this out."  You have to be a Pyramid subscriber to see the full article but the sample available to everyone has some nice pics.

 


Atlantis Games

Atlantis Games, the publishers of the recently published Tactical Strike, are working on a 3D starship combat game with the working title Tactical Fleet.  So far both vector and cinematic styles of movement seem to be supported and players will be allowed to design ships how they want them.  Hopes are that in a few months a shareware version will be available.  Also, while still known as Enigma Miniatures, they asked for gamers feedback on rec.games.miniatures.misc about what they wanted in starship miniatures; what size, styles, number of ships in a fleet, etc.  So we may even see some miniatures along with the game.

 

2/20/2000 - The Miniatures Page reports that Atlantis Games is out of business (TMP article).  The last communication from Atlantis was in early November 1999 and nothing has been heard since.

 


Faultline Sudios

Faultline Sudios mentions a game in the works called SFA: Tactical OPS with the description "Ship to ship combat set in a VERY well known Movie/TV universe."    Hmmmm, what could this be?

 

 

One Small Step

12/23/99 - OSS has a new website under construction at http://ossgames.com/.  Check under their BBS for the playtest kit for Cold Space.  A direct link to the kit is:

                    http://ossgames.com/PlaytestFiles/CSPT-Kit.zip 

Please note that some of the files are in Post Script format and you will have to find a way of printing them.

 

One Small Step's old webpage had the following information on games of interest:

          SFT: The New Era

Star Force Terra was published by 3W and became the property of OSS after the demise of that company. We are currently working on a design update, and a complete revamping of the artwork. This time that art will be fully rendered 3D computer generated graphics. In addition, the playing cards will be full sized. Look for this release in the not too distant future.

          Cold Space Miniatures Rules

Cold Space rules are in the very early stages of design evaluation. If you'd like to get involved in the design of a science fiction space combat miniatures game, this might be for you. Currently the basic rules are generic enough to use almost any miniatures. We are working on a universe of characters, races, and ship designs, but for now we want a solid system.