Big announcement. . . when, Matt????

msprange said:
We seem to have a lot of Englist Lit studetns here :)

Guys, as I said on the SST mailing list, what we want to do is not just tell you what we are up to, but actually _show_ you.

You see, I could let on what is going on, you would nod and think 'hmm, yes, nice idea,' and that would be fine.

But give me a week, maybe ten days or so, and I will be able to actually show you some seriously cool stuff that will have you bouncing off the walls :)

Just a little more patience.

Okay, here in the pacific it is officially ten days later and in the UK the clock ticked over on the date 2 hours ago. He looks around at the expectant crowd, eyes the drawn faces starved for information. The recalcitrant Ozzie feels he must take matters into his own hands, leaps upon the nearest soapbox and starts the cry urging those around him to join in!!!!

WE WANNA KNOW, WE WANNA KNOW, WE WANNA KNOW

Mongoose Towers shakes with the deafening chant and the sound of thousands of feet stomping in time with the chant
 
Yells to all!!!

I just popped in to see if the "BIG" announcement had been made yet... evidently not.

I took some time off today to go to my FLGS to get the Tech Marine and Servitors box, along with a Rhino to transport them. It was sad. The only SST stuff was one boxed set in the "50% OFF!" rack. All the rest has been e-Bayed.

I also looked at the pre-painted minis for D&D. If MGP takes SST in that direction, then I just...shudder.

Taco says "Taco good girl!" and "Cookie!" to all my buds here! Every so often she says "That's my own p*ss" but I think she's getting bored with it. (Thank God!) Her latest is "strawberry." Not just once, but maybe 50 times a day. That, and "Step up...Step up...STEP UP...STEP UP...SCREECH" when she wants out.

Jeez! I'd name the Marine chapter I'm working on "the Parrots" if it didn't sound so lame. :lol:

Regards to All!
 
Hey Scipio, long time no see, I thought you might of been eaten by some seriel killer tuna who drugged you, dragged you back to its watery lair, had copious amounts of kinky ritual sex with you then tuned into Sunday lunch!!!

WE WANNA KNOW WE WANNA KNOW WE WANNA KNOW...
 
knuckles said:
Okay, here in the pacific it is officially ten days later and in the UK the clock ticked over on the date 2 hours ago. He looks around at the expectant crowd, eyes the drawn faces starved for information. The recalcitrant Ozzie feels he must take matters into his own hands, leaps upon the nearest soapbox and starts the cry urging those around him to join in!!!!

And aparantly this monday is some sort of holiday on the UK. Darned holidays getting in the way :lol:
 
Well Matthew does post at weekends and in the early hours so he could post today, but it more likely he will do so from work. So we have to be patient a little longer.
 
ScipioAmericanus said:
I took some time off today to go to my FLGS to get the Tech Marine and Servitors box, along with a Rhino to transport them.

40K
new4_puking.gif
 
ScipioAmericanus said:
Yells to all!!!

I just popped in to see if the "BIG" announcement had been made yet... evidently not.

I took some time off today to go to my FLGS to get the Tech Marine and Servitors box, along with a Rhino to transport them. It was sad. The only SST stuff was one boxed set in the "50% OFF!" rack. All the rest has been e-Bayed.

Similar situation at my FLGS. Except that he's got a full rack of SST stuff but he tells me it's been sitting there since he got it in. None of it is selling. People only want to play Warmachine/Hordes, Axis & Allies, or the last remnants of the clicky games.
 
Lieutenant Rasczak said:
Lack of promotion, seriously - if the FLGS owner can't be arsed the vast majority of his customers won't be.

Yeah, the product cant sell itself, if its sat there collecting dust.
 
AND HERE'S YOUR ANSWER!

Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:57 pm Post subject: Starship Troopers Evolution

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There has been a lot of speculation about the future of the Starship Troopers miniatures game. I am happy to report that we can now let you in on what we have been planning!

Throughout the life of Starship Troopers, there have been some things that we have been very, very proud of. The design of the Exosuits, for example, and the sheer presence of the Plasma Bug. We have also been very pleased with the core rules, which have proved remarkably versatile as well as providing players with an immersive experience.

There have also been some things that we have not been too happy with. The Skinnies, for example, have an incoherent overall feel, which is not what we intended for that army, and there are individual models that were simply not good enough for the modern market.

So, we felt it was time for a slight change in direction. There are a great many fans of the Starship Troopers game, and we believed we had a du ty to them to produce the very best in miniatures gaming.

If you are a regular visitor to our forums, you may have seen comments regarding a new wave of technologies in the production of miniatures. This was always part of our long-term planning, but as we moved towards the production of the Essential Updates 2007 book (which was to include new units, revised cover rules and the Rebel Colony army list, among many other things), it became apparent that we could also move forward with the changes in the miniatures themselves. This timing meant that these two projects could be combined into something little short of fantastic. . .

STARSHIP TROOPERS IN 2006
For the rest of this year, we are not going to be producing any substantial releases for the Starship Troopers miniatures game. Existing models will continue to be produced, and we will be making available much of the new information that was to appear in Essential Updates 2007, freely, within Signs & Portent s. This will include many things, from small rules tweaks to entire new army lists.

AND IN 2007. . .
In January next year, we will be releasing a new miniatures game called Battlefield Evolution. Set 5-10 years from the present time, you will be able to command real-world units of soldiers and vehicles in pitched battle, using the very latest in weapons technology. There will be four armies from the very start, and the game will use a modified version of the existing Starship Troopers rules. We have been playtesting these rules for some time now, and they are very slick in function – the term bullet-proof has been used to describe them.

What will make Battlefield Evolution different from other miniatures games that are on sale now is that the models will not simply be pre-painted. They will be pre-painted to a level better than 90% of gamers can produce themselves – and that is no idle boast, as you can see from these pictures.



These two tanks, the Challenger 2 and the Abrams M1A2 are pre-production designs (the finals will be far, far more detailed), but the paintwork is to the standard you will be able to expect. Over the next few weeks, we will be previewing the final designs of the first armoured vehicles in the range, along with the infantry that march alongside them.

Added to this, we are aiming to price these extremely well-produced models for no more than the equivalent unpainted metal miniatures prices. I’ll rephrase that – what you pay for unpainted metal miniatures today will buy you expert-level pre-painted miniatures early next year.

STARSHIP TROOPERS EVOLUTION
We will be making more announcements with regards to Battlefield Evolution very soon. However, fans of Starship Troopers will be wondering where we are going for their game.

With a release date set for April next year, we will be relea sing eight box sets for Starship Troopers – the Mobile Infantry Light Armour Squad, the Mobile Infantry Grizzly Exosuit Squad, Arachnid Warrior Bug Swarm (we are aiming to squeeze 12 bugs in this!), Tanker Bug, Skinnie Raiders, Skinnie Soldiers, Forth Fenos Fighting Machines and Forth Fenirs Command Fighting Machines.

Some models, those that we believe are of exemplary quality in design, are being used as the prototypes for the new range – these are the ones we can preview here, the Exosuits, Light Armour MI and Warrior Bugs. All others in the list above are in the process of being redesigned.

A funny story here. The factory producing these models played a little trick on us. The first batch of Warrior Bugs that came back to us included three models – two they had produced, and the original they had worked on, painted by our expert in-house painter, Adrian Walters.

We could not tell the difference. In fact, not even Adrian could tell the difference between h is work and theirs!








Note: This is not a collectible game! Every box set will be labelled with it’s contents, and will feature a plastic window so you can see exactly what you are getting! In addition to this, the type of plastic used will be of wargaming quality – don’t expect to see guns that bend or models that feel like a child’s toy.

Each box set will contain a streamlined version of the rules , allowing people to start playing the moment they pick up the models – and this will not be a watered down ‘pint-size’ game, but one you can run serious tournaments with. The full-size rulebook, priced at $24.95 and available 2-3 months after the first box sets, will not contain radically different rules, but rather lean more towards new options and methods of play – for those who want the full Starship Troopers experience!

After the first eight box sets have been released, we will produce one box set every month thereafter for each army, meaning you will never have to wait long for something new and interesting to come along for your force. The models themselves will be based on existing designs where we feel we have excelled ourselves (such as with the Exosuits) and will be changed where we feel we can do a lot better, such as with some of the Skinnies.

So, why should you feel this is a good thing?

* With the instant accessibility to the game, due to both the rules and the high standard of pre-painted models, you will suddenly find you have a lot more opponents in your area.
* Four armies from the very start will ensure your local gaming club has enough choice for every gamer, and the release of a new unit every month thereafter will keep your opponents guessing! New armies (such as the dreaded Coven) will start appearing towards the end of 2007.
* Your comments on the existing rules have been collated and refined into an extremely slick set of mechanics that will provide everything you have been looking for with no ambiguity.
* All the Starship Troopers models you have in your collection thus far, without exception, will be fully compatible with the new wave of releases and, in many cases, veterans will have access to units far earlier than newcomers. The new models will be to the same scale as the existing models which mean you can add more units to your forces and have them fit in perfectly.
* As far as the rules are concerned, if you wish to stick with the existing rulebook rather than buy another, we will support you, releasing the relevant information on new units and armies for no cost. At all.
* That said, the new rules will be posted on our web site for free download, allowing you to review them before making an informed decision about which you will use. We hope you will join us with the new wave, but we will not force you.
* Roughly 90% of you will have access to great looking models at a price that has not been possible up to now. These will be models that you would be proud to have on display on your shelf.
* The remaining 10% will have the option of either adding further detail and highlights to the models, or simply repainting them entirely – the price of each set means you are not losing out by paying for the painting process.
* The existing models will still be available to you via your local hobby store or by mail order. While we expect the demand for these t o drop away once people see the new models available, stores and distributors will always be able to stock any of the existing Starship Troopers miniatures for those of you who want to buy the traditional metal and plastic figures.
* The design process for these models has been well and truly hammered out, meaning there is no barrier to the release of certain models that have, up to now, encountered certain difficulties. When you see, for example, the TAC Fighter, Skyhook and Sprite Skimmer Bikes on the release schedule, you can be sure that will be the month they appear in the shops.
* If you really fancy a very strange game, Starship Troopers will be fully compatible with Battlefield Evolution so yes, your US Marines could find themselves facing a horde of Warrior Bugs – though we do not recommend it for the sane!

In short, we can sum up 2007 for Starship Troopers as;

Better game. Better models. Same great system.
_________________
Matthew Sprange
Mongoose Publishing
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com

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punkrabbitt said:
Pre-painted SST?

Where's that vomit smiley?

If you want to try my suggestion of an "anti-nausea" pill, you need to look at the quality of the new models. If what Matthew says pans out, these will rival and maybe exceed the best of what many of us can do. Take a look in the main info thread about SST Evolution. With the cost staying close to current pricing, you can still over paint them. But you might not want to, and I'm saying this as someone who has done professional work over the years. Sorry if this looks like a self ego boost, but here are a few things I've done for folks other than Mongoose...

This cover art is a photo of a model sculpted by Sam Lewis for the old FASA game company. I was engaged to custom-cast these 1/48 scale monsters that had over 50 parts to be used as advertising and in the game rules. Even though I didn't sculpt this model, there was considerable work to make these models cast out. I have been used to sculpt masters for other companies. For example, I made a prototype Car Wars arena for Steve Jackson Games (about 14 years back) as well as was one of only two sculptors for the first series of ships for Star Fleet Battles about 20 yrs. ago (!). Here are the three models that I made for my personal collection to prove that I had done the Omni-mech models, heh. Btw, these are not the ones sold by Armorcast. They are a smaller 1/72 scale (puny little models, they are, lol)-- (no, they're not really).

BTECH1.JPG


BTECH2.JPG


These are several of over a hundred 1/1200 scratch-built ships for a set of personal rules I made a long time ago. I also made up over 200 in the 1/2400 scale as well.
DARELL_PHILLIPS_SHIPS.JPG


Here is a custom set of hand-made ships I did for another space game system called Attack Vector: Tactical. These will no doubt be retired when they have their CAD-generated output made into pewter next year, but they are about the only ship miniatures the author has for his own game. His rules were so unique he won the Origins award for best miniatures game before he had official minis (heh).

AVTSHIPS-2.jpg


Well, I better step down from my self-constructed dais before you need more of those vomit smilies :roll: ...

If Matthew makes me eat my words of praise for the new models, I'll get him, somehow (get a helicopter and throw eggs down at his home, something). <<- helicopter for a quick escape.
 
Lorcan Nagle said:
I LOVED the photos in that edition of the Battletech compendium, just had to say that.

Yeah, it was rare to find color inside a wargame book back then. The Ogre rulebook was another (around 1992 iirc) that had color photos all through the inside. Most other products were black on white, and it really was impressive.
 
Aman said:
AND HERE'S YOUR ANSWER!

Um... what?

The new SST models will be pre-painted?

Stop the clock, I'm out.

I love the stuff MP puts out and I'm all in favor of them doing whatever needs to be done to pay the bills, but that's about it for me.

You can say these models are better than any gamer could paint (which I find rather insulting) but ignore the fact some of us are in this hobby for the dorky toy soldiers.

Best of luck to MP in the future...

--Chris
www.chrisvalera.com
 
Chris Valera, you posted exactly that response in the 'Is SST dead?' thread. I understand you don't like the decision, but there's no need to make the same post verbatim.
 
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