Octopus Overlords

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Sat Jan 28, 2023 1:06 pm Yeah, I get that. I am struggling because when I think of "D&D", I'm thinking of mainly AD&D and some 2E. I get that people are still playing those rules, but in trying to not be a grognard and adopt the latest set I'm honestly not feeling the love. We took an unscheduled break from 5E and the longer I'm away from it, the less enamored I am with it. I wanted it to feel like AD&D and initially it did, but the more WoTC products I purchased the clearer it's become that it's really just a shell. If it works for others, terrific, but I no longer think it adequately recaptures what I recall loving about AD&D so much.

I'm conflicted. D&D 5e pretty much hits the "sweet spot" for me in terms of D&D complexity. My high school and college days were all 2E and I absolutely love the crunchy depth of those memories. Even though I never got to play them, I poured over the Psionics guide for hours as a kid. The Monster Folio (which I still own) was a thing of absolute beauty and I miss the depth and richness of the monster descriptions. Settings like Planescape and Dark Sun were so unique and different, and even more derivative stuff like Al-Qadim had its own flair.

BUT... I never want to play that level of math crunch again. All those damn tables. Calculating THAC0, which made no sense. SAVING THROW CHARTS. I'm just too old and pressed for time.

My 5e experience is largely based on the DM and the story building. The better the writer, the more freedom they give, the more fun I have. It tends to be improv hour and story time more than anything.

That said, I've move hard away from D&D. It isn't emergent enough for the slowness and fiddliness of the system. Playing something like Powered by the Apocalypse (my favorites are the Root RPG, based on the board game, and Monster of the Week), you get enough tactical fun while basically getting a hilarious and fun story (my group in Root found a resistance cell in a duck-owned bar known for its qwackers leading them to exploded a barrel of oil in a cat fort by parkouring up a wall and throwing a flaming ax at the barrel). Right now I am super excited to try Forbidden Lands, which has all the feel or Ravenloft hits Dark Sun (or, as I intend to tell my players, imagine if Krynn had a meth addiction), but all the ease of play of an old school random hexcrawl.

Patherfinder never did it for me. I like the video games, but it just feels very... generic. And the crunch is too... crunchy.

FWIW, D&D was at it's crunchiest with D&D 3.5. Pathfinder was D&D 3.5 with just as much crunch. Pathfinder 2e is nothing like that, or like the video games. It's about in line with 5e, but flows better. That said, it still isn't a rules-light game like Powered by the Apocalypse or FATE.

A good middle ground would be Savage Worlds. Torg Eternity is also a variant of the Savage Worlds rules.

Some others I've heard about that lean more toward the middle/light crunch would be Shadow of the Demon Lord... and I can't remember the other two. I'll have to dig up the names.

Been watching the drama with interest the last few weeks, re: D&D. I even had my son short Hasbro for his business class stock market sim. It's down, but not by as much as I expected.

Anyway, I've played a few different TTRPG's over the years, but my heart has always belonged to (A)D&D. The situation with WOTC makes me sad. But then again, D&D almost died in TSR's hands, so maybe we'll see something in the future.

I get that there are plenty of other, even better, TTRPG's out there, but I'm not actually interested in TTRPGs. Just D&D for some reason. It imprinted on me at an early age, and the nostalgia is unbelievably powerful. Even pathfinder, basically a fork of D&D, holds little interest for me.

I absolutely support all the creators out there, and completely agree with moving away from D&D. It makes me a bit sad that D&D content is going to slow down, AND that I won't be following everyone to another TTRPG. Ah well. I was doing more reading and following than playing anyway.

Too-small game boxes.

I've got several games where this has become an issue. Maybe the developer was lazy and designed a box that didn't take unpacked components into account. Maybe I added a couple of expansions and they no longer fit. Maybe sleeving/organizing made it too big for the box. Or maybe I made accessories for the game and can't fit everything in the box.

Has anyone ever come up with a good, simple solution to this problem? Obviously I can recut some Amazon boxes, or get some flimsy shirt boxes, but it looks awful and/or doesn't store well. I've looked for empty game boxes online, but most of the things I've seen are only sold in bulk. I've looked at the possibility of hand-making the boxes, but the guides I've seen assume you have access to expensive, high-end materials and tools ("It's easy! You just need to take your bandsaw and... then print the side pieces on your 3d printer, and have this other part printed at an office supply store!")

I've seen solutions where people put lifts in the base box and are able to raise the lid by an inch or something small - seen here. I am pretty sure you could do it with a box cutter, a cutting mat and a steady hand (assuming you have those). But that also requires destroying other boxes - which you might be doing or have done as part of trying to manage a collection.

For some games I've re-boxed them using GMT 3" plain white boxes, but that solution is terrible because you then lose all box art on the back for the lower box. No one sees that but it really bothers me.

Organizing and re configuring box contents to try and get the most out of storage is definitely something I spend far too much time doing - but it's necessary for me.

I am looking for a game.

I like thematic games (parts and mechanics tied to the game's theme rather than abstract 'cubes represent power' or generic counters.) I like miniatures (or something similar.) I like games that either have solo design (actual rules for solo play) or are solo friendly (generally cooperative games where you can take on multiple roles.) Seriously, I am as happy multi-handing a coop game as I am playing a pure solo game. I have many games that have those qualities. I have dungeon crawlers, sci-fi dungeon crawlers, RPGs, combat games, you name it.

What I don't have is any games like that in certain genres. And that's why I'm sitting here typing this.

I grew up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s with all of the action entertainment of those times. I grew up with GI Joe, the A-Team, Predator, Die Hard, Escape from New York, and a vast swathe of action cop films. And yet I don't have a single game that has that feel. Action heroes, special military units, and cops abounded. They didn't care about ballistics, body armor, or any of that pesky counting ammo. And that's not even touching on the westerns that were still popular.

I'm not looking for a war game (Pulp Alley could certainly replicate much of this), nor am I looking for a huge, expensive FFG-style game with 200 miniatures that costs more than a congressman. And I don't want thick, complex rules. I want something that's quick to learn doesn't require elaborate notes to play.

What might I be looking for?

Street Masters... although you'll likely have to get a used copy at this point.

I thought that was more of a Street Fighter style thing.

Yes, but it does have a very 80s action movie feel to it. I was initially going to recommend Brook City (the second game that came out after Street Masters and using the same mechanics), but it's out of print and insanely priced.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Mar 01, 2023 10:31 pm Yes, but it does have a very 80s action movie feel to it. I was initially going to recommend Brook City (the second game that came out after Street Masters and using the same mechanics), but it's out of print and insanely priced.

Luckily I've got a copy, but I heard that it was an awful game to actually play. Maybe I should dig it out of the bottom of the back of the top of the closet and blow the dust off.

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Mar 01, 2023 10:31 pm Yes, but it does have a very 80s action movie feel to it. I was initially going to recommend Brook City (the second game that came out after Street Masters and using the same mechanics), but it's out of print and insanely priced.

I have Brook City and all the expansions, but it has only hit the table once. Great game, and I need to get it out and play it more.

If you're looking for that theme, it might deliver enough of an experience that you don't mind how unwieldy it can get. It's one of those games that (for me) I don't understand why it's a gigantic board. Also, I don't know if you have just the base game or random expansions, but The Sixth Cycle (their version of Se7en) is apparently the pinnacle of the the game's design.

I was given the base game and one of the expansions... hang on... searching... browsing... Keys to the Kingdom.

That's the Street Masters crossover expansion - where characters from that game come blasting into Brook City.

I still think Street Masters can provide that 80s movie feel - especially with some of the locations and characters. Yes, it's very much like playing a B-movie with a martial arts theme but it is absolutely filled with 80s references.

I should probably bust out Brook City myself...

It is kinda weird that they have this and these and these but it's for an RPG and not a tabletop skirmish game.

Alright fine. I'm pulling out Street Masters this weekend. I've been too long from its shores.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:35 pm I am looking for a game.

I like thematic games (parts and mechanics tied to the game's theme rather than abstract 'cubes represent power' or generic counters.) I like miniatures (or something similar.) I like games that either have solo design (actual rules for solo play) or are solo friendly (generally cooperative games where you can take on multiple roles.) Seriously, I am as happy multi-handing a coop game as I am playing a pure solo game. I have many games that have those qualities. I have dungeon crawlers, sci-fi dungeon crawlers, RPGs, combat games, you name it.

What I don't have is any games like that in certain genres. And that's why I'm sitting here typing this.

I grew up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s with all of the action entertainment of those times. I grew up with GI Joe, the A-Team, Predator, Die Hard, Escape from New York, and a vast swathe of action cop films. And yet I don't have a single game that has that feel. Action heroes, special military units, and cops abounded. They didn't care about ballistics, body armor, or any of that pesky counting ammo. And that's not even touching on the westerns that were still popular.

I'm not looking for a war game (Pulp Alley could certainly replicate much of this), nor am I looking for a huge, expensive FFG-style game with 200 miniatures that costs more than a congressman. And I don't want thick, complex rules. I want something that's quick to learn doesn't require elaborate notes to play.

What might I be looking for?

You are (possibly) looking for…

Star Trek Alliance Dominion War and the now shipping Star Trek Alliance Dominion War Part II with Klingon and Cardassian ships! Each game is standalone or if you have both you can play a grand campaign starting from the first box and even bring your Federation ships into part 2 along with any upgrades you may have earned. The rule set isn’t overly complicated and it’s TRUE SOLO meaning it has a fleshed out AI controlling your enemies that I found to be challenging and “made” some really good tactical decisions to my detriment. The miniatures are already painted and look good so no wasted time painting, just go play.

Watch some YouTube videos on the first game and there’s now some videos showing the upcoming game. I felt like I was fighting in the Dominion War thanks to the missions and AI. You can play co-op so if someone else is interested you can both take on the Dominion. Hope this fits the bill. I really liked the first game and excited that the next installment is showing up next week! Qapla!

First game ST Alliance video


ST Alliance Pt2 the newest game



Edit: The games are not standalone. Sorry about that bit of miscommunication

Completely different theme, so no (I want cool guys with guns, dammit! )

On the other hand, I dearly love Star Trek, and have incredibly few Trek games. The only ones that are even remotely soloable are Five Year Mission and the Castle Panic clone (which, to be honest, I never really loved.) The only others I own are TNG Fluxx and Catan. A quick glance (sans any reading or watching at this point) at this reminds me of X-Wing, which I liked in theory, but was never able to find opponents for (just like D&D Attack Wing and Gaslands.) And DS9 was my favorite Trek, so the idea of taking Klingons and Cardies up against the Dominion has significant appeal. Thanks for adding this to my wish list!

(Now, to go see how much it's selling for...)

I took a chance in enticing you thinking “It’s like guys with guns…but instead it’s ships with guns!” But it was the desire for something thematic and solo which made me think of it.

Oh it’s also around $35 bucks before shipping which was kind of refreshing after buying and backing all sorts of big box games approaching or exceeding $100. I’m also over the hundreds of minis sort of games.

Edit: Oh wow on Amazon the first game is $29 bucks! The second one on Amazon is overpriced so I’d buy that from Miniature Market (out of stock currently but they’ll get more) or some other board game store.

Yeah, it looks like something that I might well enjoy.

The original request was for a theme that I grew up with - playing with GI Joe, playing Army with my friends, watching action films and series (especially the A-Team), reading godawful Mack Bolan/Able Team/action pulps, etc. It was almost always the real world (although sometimes with a twist - see Predator), and it was always guys with guns (with a bit of comic book exaggeration.) For a while it was a popular theme, but lately it's been tough to really find anything that uses it. It was replaced with 'realistic' depictions or grimdark action. For video games, the original Jagged Alliance hit that spot in a way that not much else has. There are other tabletop games that use the theme - again, Pulp Alley can if you set it up that way, as does the GI Joe card game.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:10 pm Completely different theme, so no (I want cool guys with guns, dammit! )

On the other hand, I dearly love Star Trek, and have incredibly few Trek games. The only ones that are even remotely soloable are Five Year Mission and the Castle Panic clone (which, to be honest, I never really loved.) The only others I own are TNG Fluxx and Catan. A quick glance (sans any reading or watching at this point) at this reminds me of X-Wing, which I liked in theory, but was never able to find opponents for (just like D&D Attack Wing and Gaslands.) And DS9 was my favorite Trek, so the idea of taking Klingons and Cardies up against the Dominion has significant appeal. Thanks for adding this to my wish list!

(Now, to go see how much it's selling for...)

I corrected my post but unfortunately you need to buy the first game first. But at least on Amazon anyway it’s available…for now.

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:13 pm Edit: Oh wow on Amazon the first game is $29 bucks!

While I went and watched a couple of videos (apparently it's a spin off of Star Trek: Attack Wing), it jumped to $43.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:34 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:13 pm Edit: Oh wow on Amazon the first game is $29 bucks!

While I went and watched a couple of videos (apparently it's a spin off of Star Trek: Attack Wing), it jumped to $43.

They have no honor! (said in my best Worf voice)

I’ve got dozens of ships for Star Trek Attack Wing, and I jumped on the Dominion War box when it came out, even though I already had all the ships it came with. But I still haven’t played the Dominion box, dagnabit.

Edit: and my preorder is in for part deux. Looks like part trois is coming in late May.

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:39 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:34 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:13 pm Edit: Oh wow on Amazon the first game is $29 bucks!

While I went and watched a couple of videos (apparently it's a spin off of Star Trek: Attack Wing), it jumped to $43.

They have no honor! (said in my best Worf voice)

Klingon retailers do not raise prices!

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 10:48 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:39 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:34 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:13 pm Edit: Oh wow on Amazon the first game is $29 bucks!

While I went and watched a couple of videos (apparently it's a spin off of Star Trek: Attack Wing), it jumped to $43.

They have no honor! (said in my best Worf voice)

Klingon retailers do not raise prices!

Linking to it is a bit wonky but when I searched on Amazon I saw it for $29.99. Ahhh, but the Prime version does jump in price. Strange.

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 11:01 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 10:48 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:39 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:34 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:13 pm Edit: Oh wow on Amazon the first game is $29 bucks!

While I went and watched a couple of videos (apparently it's a spin off of Star Trek: Attack Wing), it jumped to $43.

They have no honor! (said in my best Worf voice)

Klingon retailers do not raise prices!

Linking to it is a bit wonky but when I searched on Amazon I saw it for $29.99. Ahhh, but the Prime version does jump in price. Strange.

I saw that earlier. They're concealing the real price by hiding the shipping costs in the fine print. It's an old Romulan trick, as seen in the Season 8 episode, Dark Patterns.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 11:07 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 11:01 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 10:48 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:39 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:34 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:13 pm Edit: Oh wow on Amazon the first game is $29 bucks!

While I went and watched a couple of videos (apparently it's a spin off of Star Trek: Attack Wing), it jumped to $43.

They have no honor! (said in my best Worf voice)

Klingon retailers do not raise prices!

Linking to it is a bit wonky but when I searched on Amazon I saw it for $29.99. Ahhh, but the Prime version does jump in price. Strange.

I saw that earlier. They're concealing the real price by hiding the shipping costs in the fine print. It's an old Romulan trick, as seen in the Season 8 episode, Dark Patterns.

How very….Ferengi.

Rule of Acquisition 78: Show a low price, then hit them with hidden charges.

Okay, rules read and my Star Trek Ascendancy star map is sprawled across my table for a solo game of Star Trek Alliance.

hepcat wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 4:01 pm Okay, rules read and my Star Trek Ascendancy star map is sprawled across my table for a solo game of Star Trek Alliance.

I’m refamiliarizing myself with the rules and have ships on my playmat full of stars ready to go. Good luck Captain Hepcat!

3 turns in and I don’t think I’m doing very well. This is brutal. And it’s only the first mission.

The AI is fantastic though. I’m going to see if it’s been applied to basic Attack Wing since I have a ton of stuff for that.

hepcat wrote: ↑Sat Mar 04, 2023 11:33 pm 3 turns in and I don’t think I’m doing very well. This is brutal. And it’s only the first mission.

The AI is fantastic though. I’m going to see if it’s been applied to basic Attack Wing since I have a ton of stuff for that.

The AI is quite awesome. It plays really well and I’m still surprised by many of the maneuvers it pulls off.

On BGG, under the Files for this game, there are a ton of great community made campaigns, scenarios and AIs. Someone even made a 156 page campaign extension. I also saw a scenario for the Battle of Wolf 359, complete with AI cards for Borg cubes...which I just happen to have quite a few of from my time with ST Attack Wing.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:34 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:13 pm Edit: Oh wow on Amazon the first game is $29 bucks!

While I went and watched a couple of videos (apparently it's a spin off of Star Trek: Attack Wing), it jumped to $43.

It bounced around and I finally picked it up at $30. It showed up yesterday, although my gaming space is temporarily taken up with an avian boarder, so I can't really spend a lot of time with it yet. My only (minor) disappointment is that it doesn't include a Defiant class ship. The setting screams for a Defiant class! Of course you can buy the Attack Wing USS Defiant, which only runs about $75 now.

I'm actually tempted to get the ISS Defiant (the mirror universe version) and just repaint it.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Mar 11, 2023 1:57 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:34 pm

$iljanus wrote: ↑Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:13 pm Edit: Oh wow on Amazon the first game is $29 bucks!

While I went and watched a couple of videos (apparently it's a spin off of Star Trek: Attack Wing), it jumped to $43.

It bounced around and I finally picked it up at $30. It showed up yesterday, although my gaming space is temporarily taken up with an avian boarder, so I can't really spend a lot of time with it yet. My only (minor) disappointment is that it doesn't include a Defiant class ship. The setting screams for a Defiant class! Of course you can buy the Attack Wing USS Defiant, which only runs about $75 now.

I'm actually tempted to get the ISS Defiant (the mirror universe version) and just repaint it.

I hope I didn’t lead you astray and you like the game. Also the Klingon ships in the Alliance Pt 2 expansion are really fun to fly and it’s also worth getting. It arrived last week and I’m having fun pulling off some aggressive maneuvers for the glory of the Empire!

My expansion should be here tomorrow. I’ve got a ton of Klingon ships, so I’ll, going to try and substitute in some different ships.

Speaking of Miniature Market (mentioned above) - I purchased a few TCG Items (Pokemon for the kiddo, a couple of Commander Decks for me) about two weeks ago during their Pokemon day sale. As of today, that order is still in the Virtual Order Queue. I've ordered from them for years and this is about the longest I have waited, not just for the order to arrive but for the order to ship. I have heard how bad they have been getting about this, but it is disappointing to see it first hand. Nothing serious, of course (although the Pokemon cards are for a birthday present at the end of April), but still two weeks is a long time for a store to sit on an order.

I hear that MM is also fulfilling Masters of the Universe for CMON (but I haven't seen that confirmed anywhere). Currently, that also has been "in shipping" for several weeks but hasn't really progressed much (beyond reaching a few retailers, causing all sorts of complaints in the KS comments). The new fulfillment landscape is pretty rocky with Funagain imploding.

MM has been going downhill ever since Asmodee bought them a year and a half or so ago, and they've nose-dived in the last six months since Asmodee started converting them to be an in-house (and for-hire) KS distributor. After my last few orders took weeks to ship with unanswered emails, I've been avoiding them.