What Armorcast and Players Need.
*This near rant is outright but it has points. Any look alike names are purely an accident.
Other gaming companies deliver their product. This usually consists of some plastic toy soldgers and a tank or two. These figures come with some interesting background material. But the battlefields are largely left up to the individual players, and it has been that way for a long time. What an Imperial city looked like from one game club to the next was largely up to the players.
Recently a gaming company released plastic terrain to go with their primary fantasy and sci-fi ranges. If you ask me this was a wise move, it ensures a degree of consistency with their product and how the game is played.
Armorcast has the power to set that standard. Many game companies still only sell the miniatures. I would like to propose that players need the following.
If we go to a miniatures company to buy the armies, we are not going to go to you for the terrain. We come to Armorcast for a Battlefield. To build an altar to sacrifice our armies upon!
Miniature companies spend a great time telling us how to get the most out of their products, you should do the same.
Players Need…
1. To see your terrain in action. (Make 2 galleries. One of official Armorcast boards that show how you use your product. Another of homemade boards focused on your product. Show us what an “Armorcast” board can look like.)
2. How to use your product. (Show us how to get the most out of washes and different ways to paint your product.)
3. Bring us to the battle! (Use shop boards to illustrate how a board can be as cool or cooler than an army! Give us things to fight through, over and on. Real objectives like fleeing civilians and nice looking bunkers.)
4. Offer Deals. (Group the Cathedral and other terrain bits into mega deals. These Terrain Sets could have a common theme. Much like the concept of an army deal. 1Armydeal = 1,000pt Army. 1Terrainset = 6'x4' Board w/ City)
Another problem that I have is that current ranges across the board (pun intended) are focused on sci-fi gothic. There is more out there. Some of the nicest painted miniatures are homeless. IE- nothing fits its background. These games are being played on Gothic Ruins because they don’t have a choice.
Look to the miniatures for inspiration. (yea, its bias to scifi.)
* Hab Blocks for the Gangs of MeltaCity 3.
* Tou Settlements.
* A Steambot factory for a Blue Victorian County.
* A cool bulky sci-fi fighter plane to strife battlefields.
* Drop-pods. (DW has not copyrighted the word.)
* A Steam punk upgrade kit for midevil housing.
* Something loosely based on a Dune book.
* Cheap easy to cast Sci-fi APC’s and light tanks.
* Some Gothic Horror or a Victorian Airship.
* Clicks games have no home….
Also, please buy some old 2000BC magazine and look at the crazy shit that ol’ Fr1day used to be put through.
It seems like a lot of companies are making hills and craters. This is too bad because I would rather see a product that I would be proud to display or something really unique that breaks past it all. Terrain peices should be as cool as peices in an army.
Wally.
armorcast.com
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