Summer Hiatus

It will be likely be a month or two until I resume posting; I'm moving across the country this week and will be tied up for a while settling in at the other end. Hope to have some exciting new material when I return!

CAV 2.M Electronics Revision Sample Data Cards

Fairly quick update this week, just wanted to share sample versions of a few data cards highlighting the new electronics abilities shared in my last post.

CAV 2.M Electronic Warfare Revision

Following discussion with a couple of CAV players with experience in real-world electronic warfare, I've elected to attempt a more drastic rewrite of the electronics rules for CAV 2.M. The existing system has three main problems. The first is that generally speaking, if both sides are fielding electronics support models they simply cancel each other out until one is eliminated. The second, and most problematic from a gameplay perspective, is that electronics support operates in a small radius around the ESM model. This promotes huddled formations which block line of sight to the supporting model, making it very difficult to attack. The third issue is that the game mechanics for defensive electronic warfare don't correlate well with known technologies. While CAV is a science fiction setting, it is generally preferable in science fiction and fantasy to retain some connections to reality; this makes readers or players more willing to accept it when you do wave your hands and say "magic" or "science".

Pathfinder Item: Cloak of Gliding

This idea came to me while working on a freelance assignment but didn't quite fit the theme of the project, and came a bit close to referencing a certain well-known superhero, so I'm sharing it here instead. Enjoy!

Vil's Game Improvements: Total War Shogun 2 Partial Release

I've released the initial portions of VGI: Shogun 2 on TWC and Nexus (pending approval). There's not much more to say about it not already covered here or in the release descriptions. It's been rearranged slightly since my last post on the subject; the Technology module was broadened in scope and renamed Campaign, Ancillaries has been completed, and two new minor components (Starter Armies and Difficulty) were added. There is also now a Base file containing common assets and patches for some issues in the vanilla game that I came across in the course of my work.

Future plans are focused on the major AI and Battles components; I also intend to continue balancing and expanding the Campaign module, with specific changes in mind for diplomacy and general economics.

Vil's Indarys Featured in Morrowind Modding Showcase

Vil's Indarys was recently featured in the community-made mod review series Morrowind Modding Showcase. Check it out--my mod shows up at 2:36!

Other People's Games

Little to share from the projects I'm working on at the moment, so I wanted to take a quick moment to plug some games that I think deserve some attention.

OpenMW
Not strictly a game, OpenMW is a community-driven open source implementation of the Morrowind game engine and construction set. Their intention is not to merely recreate the game engine, but to improve upon it, incorporating greater flexibility, addressing hardcoded bugs in the original game, taking advantage of modern graphics capabilities, and more. It's a truly impressive undertaking and they are drawing quite close to version 1.0, which will be as capable of running Morrowind as the original .exe. I'm particularly excited to see what new features they will be able to implement, and the release of OpenMW 1.0 and beyond may provide the impetus for me to return to my half-finished VGI Morrowind project.

Kings of War
I learned of Kings of War during their second edition Kickstarter last fall. A fantasy mass-combat wargame by Mantic Games, Kings of War is essentially a streamlined version of Warhammer Fantasy, but one with numerous advantages. The rules are elegantly minimalistic, featuring everything necessary to capture the feel of large armies clashing while still allowing games to be played in an hour or two rather than a full afternoon. This approach extends to army design as well, with the vast majority of units utilizing the same common pool of special abilities. Each army still retains a distinct identity thanks to its unit design, but is more approachable and balanced thanks to the common elements. Public testing of the game's second edition, featuring several major improvements, is currently underway, and I'm looking forward to repurposing my WHFB High Elves once it's released.

Full Thrust
Full Thrust has been around for a while and I'll admit I've never had the chance to try the rules out, but it's definitely the first place I'll go when I'm looking for a space wargame. The rules are relatively generic, allowing easy adaptation to various settings, and strike a good balance of detail and ease of play. Of particular interest to me is its fan-driven compilation/expansion/consolidation project, Full Thrust Project Continuum (previously Cross Dimensions), which combines and cleans up the rules spread across the original official rulebooks in much a similar vein as the CAV 2.M project. This is definitely a game I would be happy to jump into if I could find an opponent or two, as I quite like the model line.

CAV 2 Mystery Models Part 4

Last but not least, the new Adon and Malvernis models. This will probably be the last CAV content for a while; I need some time to collect playtest results, not to mention the other projects I'm working on.

CAV 2 Mystery Models Part 3

Templar are up next. As with Ritterlich, the majority of these models are associated with a UCOR new in CAV 2 (Viper in this case), calling for a fairly large degree of new background material.

CAV 2 Mystery Models Part 2

Round 2! This week we have the Ritterlich and the Terrans. I realized after posting last week that the six Mil-Net kitbash models were actually released with one-page descriptions and I had simply misplaced the articles. As these articles were originally hosted on Mil-Net which remains offline, I will include descriptions of these models based on the official background in these posts.

CAV 2 Mystery Models Part 1

One unfortunate side effect of the limited support for CAV 2 was the lack of any further Journals of Recognition providing background and descriptions of models newly added to the game. This left over two dozen models with no more description than their in-game data card. At best, some were hinted at in the original Journals of Recognition or given a few lines in a Mil-Net article. Over the next few weeks, I intend to provide a brief description of each of these models, starting with those belonging to the Rach faction. These descriptions will form the basis of a Journal of Recognition-style document which I will release alongside the final CAV 2.M rules.

As a side note, it's probably obvious by now that I've given up on the schedule I mentioned at the start of the year. For now, I'm going to stick with 'most Thursdays' since that seems to be working so far.

CAV 2.M Beta Release

This morning, I released the CAV 2.M Beta on the Reaper Miniatures forum. Post duplicated below.

Inspired by the CAV Kickstarter, over the past couple of months I have frequently alluded to and shared portions of my attempt to improve upon the CAV 2 rules as they were left following the Rage Chronicles ’08 public beta. Utilizing an early draft of rules changes proposed by Mil-Net and drawing heavily on old forum discussions of known problems and possible solutions, I have overhauled several portions of the rules and expanded others. This project has now reached the point where there is little more I can do without feedback on the numerous changes, and so I would like to present to you the CAV 2.M Beta.

CAV 2.M Beta [zip]

The download consists of an errata document, in the style of Rage Chronicles ’08, and data cards for all models with the exception of the War for Sale army lists and those with the Unique SA from Shards. I would be happy to provide any of the excluded cards if there is demand for them, and they will of course be included in the final release. My intention following the testing is to produce a full rulebook incorporating the changes and improving on the layout and presentation.

Please post any feedback in the Reaper thread or in the comments; actual playtest results/battle reports would be most valuable, but all input is welcome! Thoughts on the assignment of abilities and point values would also be helpful, given the abundance of new SAs and the increased relevance of EXP, TC, and EDV values. Due to the sheer number of models I had to work through, the data cards could probably do with some refinement, and improving balance and internal consistency will be a major focus leading up to the final version.

Throughout this project, I have relied heavily on several members of the Mil-Net community. My thanks to all of you for providing the groundwork for this project, and especially for the assistance in developing the new point calculator. The M designation is in honor of Mil-Net and all they've done for the CAV community.

CAV 2.M UCOR Specialties

One major component of the CAV universe is the UCORs (United Corporate Organized Republics): massive semi-autonomous corporations chartered by one of the six major galactic governments. Prior to the UCOR War and the subsequent Second Galaxy War, the majority of UCORs operated fully independently of their parent government, selling equipment to all buyers and exercising political autonomy. This autonomy most notably included military operations, often by proxy through mercenary units, to control valuable star systems and conduct raids on their competition. Such behavior inevitably lead to an escalation of conflict, and with the Galaxy War reignited many UCORs have found themselves under far stricter scrutiny.

Pathfinder Item: Cuirass of Distortion

The voters and judges have spoken and the 32 contestants of RPG Superstar 2015 have been announced. Unfortunately, while my item made it past the mid-voting cull that eliminated nearly half of the less popular entries, it wasn't strong enough to make it all the way. This result is about what I expected; given the competition I was up against and the short turnaround which fell at a poor time for me, I felt my item was solid but lacked the "mojo" of a top 32 entry. That said, it was good practice and there's always next year. You can see my entry, the cuirass of distortion, below the cut, plus a few comments on feedback I've received.

CAV 2.M New Models

With the success of the CAV Kickstarter, a variety of new models will be added to the CAV line in the coming year. The CAV line also now includes the models from Rogue Legion, Talon Games' abortive mecha game. While not all of these new models fit the established aesthetic of CAV, some are an excellent fit and I have elected to introduce them into CAV 2.M. I remain open to adding more, particularly any that even out the faction-unique model lists; the ones discussed here are simply those I was most comfortable with matching to the existing factions.

Below, I present a picture of each model (metal version for those already in production, digital model for planned additions) with a brief in-game description. These may differ significantly from those provided for the CAV:SO versions due to the divergent timelines and differences in the rulesets.