What Supplements Do You Want?

[shotgun-toting chipmunk]

Starship Troopers: War of the Species is meant to be a much more in depth version of the game with a much deeper background than ever before. We already had indications of support in S&P, and we know the main rulebook is intended to contain full army lists. So my question to all of you is this: What Game supplements would you like to see beyond the initial book?

Do you want campaign books with detailed events and scenarios allowing you to reenact the Interstellar War thus far? How about a supplement detailing notable Mobile Infantry units? Individual Army books? A new Painting Guide?

In other words, what products outside of Signs and Portents articles would you be interested in?

 

[lt.harper]

Me personaly like a book about the coultuer and goverment about the spices. Plus specks on there tech and weapons.

Game wise id like campain books with special units like the roughnecks, and ones for that particuler campain.

 

[Iain McGhee]

I'd like to see general campaign rules in the main rulebook, but more detailed supplements like SST:TMG's Klendathu book would be a nice addition. Don't know if I'd bother with MI unit guides (best left to S+P perhaps) as they seem to be pretty generic, unlike WH40k Marines (for example) with their unique unit types. The Roughnecks are an obvious exception and should get at least an S+P update if they're not in the new book. I'd hope that the lists in the new rulebook mean that seperate army books aren't needed.

 

[MI_trooper]

for campaigns i think it would be cool to explore every palanet that the roughneck chronecles did , even earth, but not necessarily have it based on the roughnecks perspective but just a random MI army out on the planet fighting a bunch of bugs and holding outposts and capturing key bugs, you could even have it split in sections for each race to have its own campaign in the book lik have humans on the first few pages, bugs the next, and any others last, and maybe background special info in the back. but i do think sst universe should expand with more planets imagined by people.

 

[lt.harper]

Oh,brain storm, why not a campain book that covers the roud to victory. You know, the roughneck sireas to klandacuth. But lav out earth sence well... you know (cancilled)

 

[Hiromoon]

How about:

1> Campaign books (Klendathu, Missions against the Skinnies, Forth Space Incursions) that have unique units for each Campaign

2> Background books (United Citizens Federation, Arachnid Empire, The Skinnie Hegemony, etc) that introduces new units.

3> Special Situation Rulebooks (Zero-G environments, Hostile Environments, etc).

 

[Goldwyrm]

Here's a few ideas that would get my money:

1) Alien Mercenaries: Uncommon Races in the War of the Species

This would include unique units of aliens that differ from the original army lists. This could include future test concept races done up as fringe mercenaries for the Skinnies, Forth, Coven, or even Humans. The new but rare species archetypes could be written up as individual spies, scouts, assassins, and psychics, or in larger numbers as pirates, raiders, and full mercenary squads.

2) Technology and Equipment of the Federation

This would include civilian vehicles, police vehicles, non-Mobile Infantry weapons and equipment. I'm thinking high tech stuff scientists, explorers, colonists, engineers, and rebels might use. This background information with game stats would be great for scenarios.

3) SICON Hostile Environment Survival Guide

This would be a guide to hostile flora, fauna, and weather conditions of various worlds. It would include rules for adding these into a game placed on those types of hostile environments. Examples would include carnivorous plants, acid rain, metal eating grubs, dust storms, entangling undergrowth, explosive gem clusters, etc.

 

[Goldwyrm]

Hiromoon and I had the same #3 and I wasn't even looking :lol:

 

[Iain McGhee]

Enviromental hazards are an inspired idea . Might be something that could be added to a campaign supplement for a specific planet (or particular scenarios) rather than get it's own book. If there are campaign rules in the main book they could even add chances for ACTA-style unusual phenomenon in certain areas (if they use the BF:EVO type campaign model).

 

[Makoto]

1. Campaign books - Klendathu was the best I've read so far, so You "just" have to keep up to that one

2. Situation books - environments, gravities, "neutral" forces (local wildlife/natives etc)

As for the special units, am not too keen on this idea - after all, they're supposed to be special, not "all-available". I mean, we all know how did the battles fought by the Roughnecks (both book and movie ones) went, so why re-create them time and time again?
However, an addon containing means of customising one's army a bit (think in the lines of Imperial Guard doctrine system for MI/Skinnies or Tyranid mutation upgrades for the bugs) would be a good idea to allow everyone to tailor his/her army to be as "special" as wanted to

 

[Paladin]

Advanced Rules
These items would be “optional” content to expand the depth your games
-Terrain effects
-environmental aspects – low/no gravity; weather; breathable atmospheres; underwater combat
-civilians in combat
-expanded close quarters combat rules
-expanded air-to-air combat
-possible space combat since other space-faring factions are entering the mix.

The SST Planetary Guide
-a potentially huge book about the various planets in the galaxy. History, culture, technology, terrain, animals, etc.
-Possibly a mini campaign per planet.

Arms & Equipment
-expanded fluff and diagrams of the misc equipment used by all factions.
-limited amounts of new gear per faction. Not necessarily combat gear

Heroes & Legends
-Special Forces type units for all factions, not a super skinny book like the roughnecks/pathfinders. Something with meat near 80-100 pages.

Faction Books
-18-24 months into the game redo the faction specific books with lots more fluff/background on the factions/units/weapons/planets/culture/non-combat items etc.
-compile all updates and S&P releases into a printed format.
-Mini campaign per faction.

 

[Shinkansen]

Starship Troopers: War of the Species is meant to be a much more in depth version of the game with a much deeper background than ever before. We already had indications of support in S&P, and we know the main rulebook is intended to contain full army lists. So my question to all of you is this: What Game supplements would you like to see beyond the initial book?

Do you want campaign books with detailed events and scenarios allowing you to reenact the Interstellar War thus far? How about a supplement detailing notable Mobile Infantry units? Individual Army books? A new Painting Guide?

In other words, what products outside of Signs and Portents articles would you be interested in?

This is most funny. I don't want to be asked about supplements I want to see pics showing the new miniature range and I want to hear how expensive the new miniatures will be. Everything else is not of any interest. Without miniatures no tabletop. A very pure but simple rule.

 

[Lieutenant Rasczak]

This is most funny. I don't want to be asked about supplements I want to see pics showing the new miniature range and I want to hear how expensive the new miniatures will be. Everything else is not of any interest. Without miniatures no tabletop. A very pure but simple rule.

If you don't want to be asked, why bother replying - other than to be unpleasant.

6gT Chipmunk was merely 'waxing lyrical' because he is excited, there was no need to 'take the wind out of his sails' in such a manner - now was there.

 

[nanite]

I want all the MI units in one place, not four separate books.

I would really like it if the writing device of everything being from SICON's perspective was dropped. It feels like an easy shortcut, and I think it contributed to the Arachnid and Skinnie book being thin (no pun intended) on background.

 

[Hiromoon]

Well, then it'd be even shorter books because the Skinnies and Arachnids would put it in their own languages, wouldn't they? From a fluff standpoint at least.

So, for Arachnids it'd be a mixture of scents, body motion, and sounds, while the Skinnies would have this strange alien script you couldn't make heads or tails of without a key....

 

[Mage]

nuts to source books campaigns and all that stuff. Do it like warmachine, a complete all in one suppliment book every year for everyone. Problem solved.

 

[Hiromoon]

Then don't release any miniatures on time, and when they finally get out to the stores have the next big book out on the shelves? Sounds like an excellent plan, Mage.

 

[pasuuli]

This is probably a stupid question, but is there a fleet book?

Agh, sorry, this is the miniatures wargaming forum! My bad...

 

[nanite]

Well, then it'd be even shorter books because the Skinnies and Arachnids would put it in their own languages, wouldn't they? From a fluff standpoint at least.

So, for Arachnids it'd be a mixture of scents, body motion, and sounds, while the Skinnies would have this strange alien script you couldn't make heads or tails of without a key....

You know what I mean, and you don't need to be obnoxious.

Then don't release any miniatures on time, and when they finally get out to the stores have the next big book out on the shelves? Sounds like an excellent plan, Mage.

Because Mongoose is the model of on time delivery and fulfilled promises? I agree with Mage, and I thought Sprange mentioned one book a year being in the offing?

 

[MaxSteiner]

I'd really like to see a campaign/setting book with all the alien fauna and flora you can shake a stick at, might as well throw in the mercenary races too, I like the sound of them .
Throw in an Arachnid mutation upgrade sheet, updates on how the war of the Species is progressing (Been reading alot of Battletech recently and the method used by them for their scenario books would work really well)and sneak peaks of things we might see in the future and everybody's happy.
Maybe have some kind of competition to get fans to write a couple of articles/races for inclusion (Like the crab people) to raise interest, and honestly I dont see where you can go wrong.

Throughout all the books, I'd like to see more fluff and more consistant artwork. Take a page from Rifts and have awesome artwork, fleshed out with fluff vaguely linked to it.
I agree with Nanite that having it all from a Sicon perspecitve gets old pretty quick, a couple of storys told from the skinnies point of view, rebel colonists or even races not activly engaged in the war of the species all seem an obvious way of breaking up the monotany (And despite what Hiro seemed to be saying, its entirly possible to write from an aliens perspective without using their fictional language, Im not sure how anyone could even make that claim to be honest...).

A decent page count is also a must as well, things like Armybooks are normally the worst perpetrators (the Arachnid army book is easily one of the worst gaming purchases I've made), if its the choice between putting out a book where its an actual struggle to meet the minimum page count and not putting out anything... well sometimes tough choices have to be made.

Given all that, and the past releases, I've gotta say Im in favour of one big book a year, even if around 40% of it is reprinting unit stats from S&P.
Im not sure if Mongoose made much money off the army books (Or the nasty splitting the MI into 4 or 5 books...) but given the price even a pamphlet sized book ends up going for these days a single £25 book is alot more tempting (Even when it ends up going for sale in the US for $30), it'll get more use in the long run, and big pretty books with lots of pictures and fun content do ALOT more for a system than five 40 page ones.