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 http://www.ninjamagic.com
With Hostile Intent
is a table-top starship combat game where
players using fleets of starships, ranging
from a few vessels to large squadrons,
battle each other using strategy and
tactics.
The game uses an
inertia/vector based movement system and
is hexless - meaning ship placement and
movement is not constrained to a location
on a hex map or other specific playing
surface. Movement and orientation are kept
track of in three dimensions using a
simple and intuitive (math-less) method of
dealing with line of sight, along with
easily understood indicators on the ship
control sheets. Range determination is
performed simply by measuring distance
with a tape measure and checking a chart,
to take into account altitude.
While the game will
provide its own exciting universe, from
the ground up it is being designed with
the intent that others can adapt it to
their favorite universe with relative
ease. Having this foundation will also
give the game and its setting the ability
to grow without the system falling apart
or failing in some regard.
The goal is for the game
to be fun to play, first and foremost.
11/2/2007
- With Hostile Intent is
still in development and hopes are for it
to possibly show up later this year.
Additional miniatures have been released
for a second faction within this game's
background.
5/26/2006
- From Todd Boyce:
I have an introductory
version of the With Hostile Intent rules,
as well as some other material and
information, now publicly available in a
free online magazine called "The
Great Machine." Issue 19 has the
materials and can be found here:
http://planetside.firenebula.com/greatmachine/
This is a Babylon
5 Wars related, unofficial
fan-produced publication, so much of what
is in there is related to that game
system. Having a lot of ties to that
community, B5W has had a bit
of influence in my game design too so fans
of that type of game are my general target
audience.
This introductory
version (in a very informal format)
represents about 80% of the most common
rules (current rules that is) and should
provide a very good feel as to how the
game works and plays.
Todd
will also be at the Origins
convention and may have some of the
miniatures available for sale, though some
of the ships will not be available due to
molding problems.
5/10/2006
- An now the latest update from Todd:
Things are gradually
falling into place, albeit at a much
slower and frustrating pace. Working
ten-to-eleven-hour days and six-day weeks
for the last five months at my day job,
while greatly helping to support this
endeavor, has been the bane of my
existence for getting things done in a
timely manner. As of this week I'm going
back onto a sane schedule, though, and
development will be picking up speed once
again.
 Despite
those difficulties, I have on order the
first batch of miniatures that I intend to
sell, two more miniatures at the
prototyper's (the computer models
pictured, the Tipaka Battleship and Tak
Kuta Corvette), and I'll try to get Steve
Tyler started modeling the next set of
designs this coming week. The four Kikoku
ships being cast (the painted miniatures
pictured) are the Kito Kapak Carrier,
Kotaku Battlecruiser, Tiko Destroyer, and
Kapuki Frigate.
 They
will be sold in "fleet box"
sets, though the quantity of each of the
ships in each set is TBD as well as the
price. I'm open to hearing suggestions
regarding quantities. Tentatively I was
thinking 1 x Carrier, 2 x Cruisers, 2 x
Destroyers and 4 x Frigates.
Development on the With
Hostile Intent starship combat
game is ongoing, but is not expected to be
completed and published until the end of
this year, or possibly first quarter next
year. However, a few WHI
playtest events are planned for KublaCon
in a few weeks.
I am also planning to
attend both Origins and Gen Con Indy,
where I might be selling the minis. While
there, I'll try to find a place to set up
and run some demos for those interested in
giving it a try, as I missed the deadlines
for setting up anything official.
11/30/2005
- Just received from Todd Boyce of Ninja
Magic:
Miniatures and
accessories coming soon
I've received some
sample castings from Jeff Valent Studios
and so far I am extremely pleased with how
the first miniatures and accessories for
my upcoming game "With Hostile
Intent" have turned out. Despite a
short deadline, Jeff really came through
for me by getting them in my hands just
before GenCon SoCal so I could use them in
an event I ran on Saturday. I didn't have
much time to get them painted for the
convention so the paintjobs might seem a
bit sloppy under photographic scrutiny.
The first two
miniatures are a part of the Kikoku fleet;
a Kotaku class cruiser and Tiko class
destroyer - the Kikoku being a vaguely
crab-like species and one of the main
playable ones in the game. These will soon
be followed by a battleship, carrier,
frigate, corvette and fighters to round
out the fleet for the first release. The
carrier and frigate are in Jeff's hands
now.
The extremely talented
Steve Tyler modeled these miniatures and
has been great to work with. More examples
of his work can be found here: http://www.scifi-meshes.com/coolhand/
Also being cast are
small missile and torpedo counters (usable
in a variety of games, not just WHI) and
lastly, magnetic flight stand adapters!
These adapters will not
only add convenient and instantaneous
placement on and removal from flight
stands for easy transport and storage (and
a tight enough grip to hold a miniature
upside down - even when jiggled), but in a
different configuration they can be used
as stackable posts to indicate altitude or
simply put miniatures at different levels
so they can be moved into close proximity
without the miniatures crowding or bumping
into each other.
These products will
hopefully be for sale within the next
month or two.
6/24/2005
- Todd Boyce of Ninja Magic has mad
the following announcement:
WHI
playtest with Cold Navy ships at Origins
Ninja Magic, in
cooperation with Xtreme Hobby, will
be running playtest demos of "With
Hostile Intent" at Origins.
These demos will showcase converted ship
designs and miniatures from the Cold
Navy miniature line.
The demos will be
informally set up wherever there's room in
the open gaming area so if you're
interested in trying something new, look
for Cold Navy miniatures on the
table or a guy wearing a black Ninja
Magic/With Hostile Intent t-shirt.
I plan to be there in the afternoon on
Thursday and Friday and in the morning on
Saturday.
5/3/2005
- News from Todd Boyce:
Though
the upcoming 3D starship combat game
"With Hostile Intent"
will still be in development for some time
to come, the miniature line that will go
with the game is in production.
The
first miniature has been sculpted by Jason
McDermott and is on the way to me right
now. After a final inspection it will be
shipped off to Jeff Valent Studios
for production casting.
This
miniature is about 2 inches long.
As
for when the miniature(s) will be
available for purchase, I can't really
give an estimate. There are a lot of
things I need to get in place before that
can happen.
3/29/2005
- Todd Boyce announces the following
information about a game in the works, With
Hostile Intent.
With
Hostile Intent is the working title of the
game. It is in the initial playtesting
stage which I hope to open up to a more public audience sometime
in the next several months - when I get
the next revision of the rules done.
WHI
is a 3d starship combat game. The rules
are simple, gameplay is fast, and the
system is very flexible - if you can believe such a thing
about a 3d game. I know many others before
me have made that claim with dubious results and that is one
of the reasons why I said to myself
"There has got to be an easier way to do this." Well, this is
what I've come up with and so far I'm very
pleased with the results.
Since
the universe is still in development,
initial playtesting of the system is being
done using conversions to Babylon 5 and
Star Trek. However, here is a sneak peek
at some concept artwork I've made:
Here's a little bit of information about
the game:
The game will be as open ended as possible
to allow players to create their own ships
and races, or their favorite genre - though at this point it's
unlikely I'll have a formal ship
construction system.
Ships
are free-floating on a table top (though
playing on top of a square grid map for
visual reference is recommended).
The
game uses phased movement (3 phases per
game turn) based on an initiative die
roll.
Ships
have inertia with facing independent of
direction of travel.
 Range
is measured by checking a chart using
horizontal (measured by tape measure) and
vertical distance (measured by written altitude difference)
as reference.
The
game uses d6's primarily for damage, d10's
for various status checks and defense, and
d20's for mostly attacks, initiative and damage hit
locations.
Many
of the game rules are based on commonly
used mechanics and are therefore quick for
new players familiar with other games to pick up.
Game tests so far indicate two players
will be able to operate 6-8 ships each
(plus fighters) for an afternoon's enjoyment. That's 12-16 ships
on the board played in 4-8 hours
(depending on the skill and speed of the
players).
3d
line of sight is handled using a simple
and quick visual technique - no math
involved! Conceptually it might be a little tough to grasp at first
however - which is why I'm really focusing
on making sure the rules are easily read
with lots of examples.
I'm hoping the game will be published by
this time next year or at the very latest
by next year's Gen Con.
I will have a website set up for further
news and development but right now I just
have a placeholder at http://www.ninjamagic.com.
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From
From
From
From
9/18/2006
- The release of Interstellar
Warfare is still a month away in
October but the first supplement, Reinforcements,
is set for a November 2006 release.
It will feature additional new and
existing ship panels, and ship system
cards allowing for larger and more varied
fleets to be created, as well as new
installation panels to fortify your
territory.
