Back in November I attended a special open day for pledgers of Prodos Games’ Aliens vs. Predator – Miniature Game Kickstarter campaign. The game mechanics weren’t fully developed and only a small number of models were on show at the time but I had a blast!
“In the boardgame versions of the game, I witnessed Predators being downed by Aliens on all sides of him so the swarm mechanic doesn’t leave the Aliens underpowered. Aliens also demonstrated nice defensive abilities that were supposed to emulate their agile nature by being able to completely ignore hits if certain numbers were rolled.”
You can read more of my impressions and a gallery of photos from the day in my preview article. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the game! As well as that I have also updated my review of Dark Horse’s Aliens vs. Predator Omnibus Volume 1. You can also see these and other articles in the articles section of the website.
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/l/t1.0-9/1902981_1391552301124886_5545383641590032399_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-9/1902059_1391552311124885_1025302003910948201_n.jpg
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/t1.0-9/1016921_1391552327791550_3325774800429311118_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-9/10252002_1391552367791546_6106610250980151240_n.jpg
Another few pictures in here. I'll keep looking for more.
And thanks.
You must be stoked for the win.
And wear your DS9 with pride.....if it were a hat or you could use it as a has, I spose.....or maybe not
As for Attack Wing, here are couple of pictures of the grand-prize and the prize ships from the campaign:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t31.0-8/1965479_10151995205906583_766096071476780010_o.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/t31.0-8/1403763_10151995205886583_9038679178806419632_o.jpg
http://gmortschaotica.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/salute-2014-with-prodos-games.html
Managed to find some better pictures.
Fantastic work, very impressive.
Congrats. Not familiar with the game myself but from what I googled I'm interested
New picks from salute (Not mine; I'm in NZ
http://imgur.com/a/9lKGI
http://s1013.photobucket.com/user/2d6games/library/avp
Everyone on the KS page that went said excellent quality and the crusher was a stand out piece.....glad I got 2
For what it's worth - I won first place at this event and placed first over the 6 month campaign. I'm now the proud owner of the grand-prize DS9.
Call me crazy, sure. But these critters are gonna look kick-ass on the resin terrain and the 2 sets on BS terrain coming
All I want now is a SC Motion Tracker and that 1:2 aliens busts coming out at the end of the year hehee.
the idea is that I can turn up at any point and just host games.
And here I was fretting about finding £200. Don't think I would ever give a small company 840 odd quid on faith that their game is good, especially when they only have 1 other title and that's still barely available.
Gimmie another year and I may be heading your way (To the UK), depends on how the cash flow stems from here.
Pledges
2 X Get to the chopper
2 X ( A Royal Guard x1(1) KS P Berserker(2) AVP Game (Box)(1) Facehuggers x9(1) )
2 X A Warrior x5, 2 X M Sentry guns x2, 1 X A Eggs (Obj. Marker) x4
1 X You want a Piece of me you ugly...
1 X ( A Facehuggers x5(1) A Royal Guard x1(1) KS P Berserker(2) Hardback Rulebook(1) )
1 X A Warrior x5, 1 X M Sentry guns x2, 1 X A Eggs (Obj. Marker) x4
1 X Looking good there boss
1 X ( A Facehuggers x5(5) A Royal Guard x1(1) KS P Berserker(1) )
1 X A Warrior x5, 1 X A Predalien x1, 1 X A Eggs (Obj. Marker) x4
Add ons
4 X Marines dice x3
4 X M Sergeant x1
3 X M Colonial Marines x5 (Board Game)
0 X M Sentry guns x2
6 X M Power Loader x1
1 X Half synthetic (Obj. Marker) x4
5 X Weyland-Yutani Commandos
2 X Alien dice x3
0 X A Facehuggers x5
2 X A Infant x5
2 X A Stalkers x5
3 X A Warrior x5
0 X A Royal Guard x1
2 X A Eggs (Obj. Marker) x4
1 X A Predalien x1
2 X A Crusher x1
2 X A Queen x1
1 X Predator dice x3
1 X P Spear (Obj. Marker) x4
0 X P Predators x3
2 X P Female Predator x1
1 X P Predator Hellhounds x2
1 X P Cloaked Pred x1 (Ranged)
1 X P Young Blood x3
0 X AVP Game (Box)
0 X Hardback Rulebook
0 X Set Of Terrain
1 X Predator ship (Extra tiles)
3 X Extra bits (3heads, 4 guns)
1 X Resin Terrain Set
1 X P Cloaked Pred x1 (Disc)
1 X P Cloaked Pred x1 (Spear)
1 X Lieutenant Linn Kurosawa
1 X Major Dutch Schaefer
1 X P Cloaked Female Predator x1
2 X P Cloaked Berserker x1
5 X M Colonial Marines x5 (Add-on)
1 X P Cloaked Young Blood x3
Sorry been a while since I was on last, Yeah I'm in Christchurch, Just upped my pledge to 2 x Get to the Chopper 1 x You wanna piece of me, and 1 x Looking good their Boss. I'm having fun with the possibilities and just picked up this beut for the bases. http://zinge.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=130&product_id=399 I'm pretty excited almost a month to go gents.
I'm comfortable sticking with amazing. It's the terrain I've always wanted.
If we're comparing it to Citadel stuff, I'd say it's closest to (although smaller than) their Realm of Battle set, which is outrageously expensive too. The one thing I hope they change if they release it at retail, is getting it done in plastic instead of resin.
Ended up with:
1x AVP: The Hunt Begins Boxed Game
1x Wargame Rulebook
1x USCM Dice (x3)
1x Alien Dice (x3)
1x Predator Dice (x3)
1x Alien Queen
2x Facehuggers (x5)
2x Infant Warriors (x5, inc. in Box Set)
1x Stalker Aliens (x5, inc. in Box Set)
2x Warrior Aliens (x5)
2x Alien Royal Guard
1x PredAlien
1x Alien Crusher
1x Alien Eggs (x4)
1x Damaged Synthetic (x4)
1x Predator Trophy (x4)
1x Colonial Marines (x5, inc. in Box Set)
1x Colonial Marines (x5, Add-on variant)
1x Power Loader
2x USCM Sgt.
1x Weyland-Yutani Commandos (x5)
1x Sentry Guns (x2)
1x Female Predator
1x Predator Hellhounds (x2)
1x Box Set Predators (x3, inc. in Box Set)
1x Predator Youngbloods (x3)
3x Berserker Predator (x3)
1x Cloaked Predator A
1x Cloaked Predator B
1x Cloaked Predator C
1x Cloaked Berserker Predator
1x Cloaked Female Predator
1x Cloaked Predator Youngbloods (x3)
1x Predator Ship Tiles Add-on
1x Customization Pack
1x Linn Kurosawa
1x Major Dutch Schaefer
Looking forward to painting them, although it will be a daunting task. Going to make an effort, as the line expands, to continue with a one-of-each policy regarding minis.
Homebrew stuff is usually right out for "pick-up" games with strangers of course (but I doubt there'll be too many of those until AvP hits retail), the issue usually comes in if you have a fairly large gaming group, and it's generally mid-term players who have a problem with it - veterans know the faults in their game systems and will have probably been homebrewing themselves, and the n00bs love the creativity of adding to the game mechanics (although will almost always go overboard if they attempt it themselves
That's all anecdotal though. I've just had a lot of problems in my time with people assuming that any modifications you've made to a unit or rule is solely to benefit your chances of beating them, as opposed to balancing the game for everyone, or adding a really cool idea, in as fair a way as possible.
It doesn't seem like there'll be a huge need for it with AvP factions though, as the figures will come with their own stat cards, and leaders will change the way the force works. The way I've interpreted the Predator clans so far is that if you take a Berserker, its' rules change your other Preds into BSPs or Hish or whatever they're called, as opposed to standard Predators. It's a simple solution, and while I don't follow the Predator mythos the same way I follow the Alien one, I can't see anything wrong with the mechanic.
I believe I mentioned earlier that this will be my first table top game, so I'm not very familiar with the other big name ones. I now know the madness of a good friend of mine, when he told me he spent $50 some odd dollars on a tank piece for one of those games lol. But as far as house rules go, yeah I can understand why some people are super picky and don't want to deviate the slightest bit from the games official rulings.
I also play Magic the Gathering (Card game) so that's where my experience in complex rules and modifications comes in. The way I play it, I build and play according to official formats. However, I do know that there is a more general "casual" crowd that doesn't know about or doesn't care to build around the formats, so I try to play accordingly. I just try to not get too crazy. I'm sure there's some rules about to come out for this game that will bother a lot of folks, but Prodos sounds committed to making adjustments if need be. I'm willing to trust them. I did just send them a bunch of money after all
On the topic of coming up with house rules - you would not believe how many people get really... weird about doing that. I modify pretty much every game I play but some people just cannot handle the idea, even if the rules are terrible and unbalanced to start with (see: 40k).
Closed my pledge manager yesterday. Maybe spent too much but wanted a little of everything.
Getting Queen, Crusher, Young Bloods, Sentry Turrets, Sergeant, Powerloader, 5x Colonial Marines*, Hardback rulebook, Free Warriors, Predalien and Eggs (on top of the free Berserker, Praetorian and Facehuggers).
*Forgot about those, just double checked!
Two posts above yours:
Considering that the WY mercs are also in the same "faction" as the USCMC, I think you're free to choose what type of Predators are in your warband and can theme it around either group. Presumably you can play a hive war between Aliens, Marines vs Corporates or a Predator blood feud, as I've not seen anything so far that would stop you fighting another force from your own faction.
Can Berserker and assuming if other Super Predators are made, be considered their own faction or an enemy faction to the normal Predators? Especially considering the fact that they are seen as a renegade clan by the normal Predators.
Posted by Prodos Games Ltd ♥ Like
Hi guys, as we promised in the last update, we can reveal some of the rules for both the AvP Boardgame and the Wargame. Some of these things are still being finalised and may be removed from the final print of the rules. Prepare yourself for a wall of text, we are still waiting for approval on more of the imagery, which we will show you next week with some information about Salute 2014!
We have experience from designing the Warzone Resurrection game rules and there will be some similarities between the two games which we will discuss today and many of the game’s fans will recognise. These include the ‘circular imbalance’ and also the force organisation charts which are used to aid the creation of a force of miniatures.
The factions for Alien versus Predator in both the wargame and boardgame are limited to 3, they are the Aliens, the Predators and the Colonial Marines (or Humans or Weyland-Yutani). Miniatures from different factions cannot be joined together, for example a squad of Predator Young Bloods cannot team up with a squad of Colonial Marines, but there will be exceptions depending on the scenario. For example, in the ‘At all costs’ mission from the Boardgame, Predators and Colonial Marines have to form an alliance to kill all of the Aliens that they can on the Theseus Freight Ship. There may also be characters released in the future which allow you to change the restrictions of the factions and the Offensive Force Organisation chart, which I will discuss now.
To design your force, the Offensive Force Organisation chart must be used, for the Wargame, it looks like this.
Boxes not marked as ‘Compulsory’ are optional and may be taken as long as the ‘Compulsory’ Squad is taken.
TROOP - Compulsory (Boardgame and Wargame)
TROOP – Compulsory (Wargame only)
TROOP
TROOP
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
SUPPORT
MONSTER /VEHICLE
MONSTER/VEHICLE
MONSTER/VEHICLE
N/A
Within certain armies, certain needs must be met. For example, the Aliens must be led by a model with the ‘Primary Xenomorph’ Special Skill. This includes Alien Royal Guards and Alien Queens, but may include others in the future too. Another example would be the Colonial Marines, which at the moment must be led by either a Colonial Marines Sergeant (an upgrade to a Troop Choice) or Major Dutch Schaefer and Linn Kurosawa. Predators are slightly different. Due to their tribal nature, they do not need to have leaders, but having one often presents an advantage which will affect the whole army. At the moment, the only example is a Predator Berserker, who can choose to take Predator Dogs as Troops, rather than their usual Support option, but affects the other Predators in its army due to leading them with an iron fist, rather than in the usual, honourable, Yautja manner.
Here is how all of the current forces look:
Aliens:
Troop:
Alien Warriors (5-10 Miniatures per Squad)
Alien Lurkers (5-10 Miniatures per Squad)
Infant Aliens (5-10 Miniatures per Squad)
Support:
Royal Guard (1-3 Miniatures per Squad ‘Primary Xenomorph’ Special Skill)
Facehuggers (5-15 Miniatures per Squad)
Alien Eggs (3-8 Miniatures per Squad)
Predalien (1-3 Miniatures per Squad ‘Primary Xenomorph’ Special Skill)
Monster/Vehicle:
Alien Queen (1 Miniature per Squad ‘Primary Xenomorph’ Special Skill)
Predators:
Troop:
Youngbloods (1-3 Miniatures per Squad ‘Independent’ Special Skill)
Predator Warrior (1-3 Miniature per Squad ‘Independent’ Special Skill)
Predator Hunter (1-3 Miniature per Squad ‘Independent’ Special Skill)
Support:
Predator Dogs (2-6 Miniatures per Squad)
Predator Berserker (1 Miniature per Squad ‘Tribal Leader’ Special Skill)
Monster/Vehicle
N/A
Colonial Marines/Weyland-Yutani Corporation:
Troops:
Colonial Marines Squad (5-10 Miniatures)
Weyland-Yutani Commandos (5-10 Miniatures)
Support:
Sentry Guns (2-4 Miniatures)
Major Dutch Schaefer and Linn Kurosawa (2 Miniatures ‘Commanding Officer’ Special Skill)
Colonial Marines Sergeant (1 Miniature upgrade for 1 Colonial Marines Squad, but takes up 1 Support Slot, ‘Commanding Officer’ Special Skill)
Monster/Vehicle:
Power Loader (1 Miniature)
For the Boardgame, things are a little simpler. The Force Organisation remains the same, but you do not need to take leaders under any circumstance. They simply offer you certain advantages and special abilities whilst they are in play. For example, a Queen might be able to lay eggs on the battlefield, whilst she is unwounded and has not moved since being deployed. Once she moves or receives a wound, she gets angered and will go on a rampage, attacking any threat as soon as it comes nearby. There are also missions for the boardgame which require the use of certain model types, which break the Organisation chart.
Inside your copy of ‘Alien vs Predator: The Hunt Begins’, you will receive Standard Missions to use the miniatures within the box, but also some Expanded Missions to use other miniatures in the line. Among those extra missions there is a scenario called ‘Big Game Hunt’ where the Colonial Marines and/or Aliens players must take 1 Monster/Vehicle for every Troop Choice. However, they may also choose to take nothing but Monster/Vehicle Choices, whilst the Predators must continue using the standard Offensive Organisation chart.
Earlier, I mentioned ‘Circular Imbalance’, this is a phrase we used throughout the production of Warzone Resurrection to discuss our approach to games. Quite simply, it means that although most of the squads are balanced, they have special skills and abilities that simply cannot be balanced. Everything in the game has something special that only they, or perhaps a very small ‘pool’ of miniatures, can do. This means that players are constantly looking for the perfect combination, but no skill is too powerful. We have already seen this in Warzone Resurrection, where a player will find what they believe to be a completely devastating combination, only to find players are working out how to beat it within a few days or weeks. It’s an interesting approach to games design, but one which always brings players back to a point where they can look at the game with fresh eyes.
The more we expand the system, the more intricate it will become, with a huge variety of options available to you, the player and our valued fan. This is furthered by a levelling ability which we have taken from the realm of Roleplaying games. A completely optional function, certain models can enter the battlefield trained to a certain level. For example, a squad of completely green level 1 Colonial Marines will be pretty poor at well, everything! But they will not cost you many points. This means you can fill your force with cheap Pulse Rifle fire and overwhelm your foes with gunfire. Conversely, you could take a squad of fully tooled up veteran Marines, led by a sergeant, who have a little more survivability and can be relied on to hit their target every time, but you will need to sink a lot more points into them! The Predators are very focused on this system; every single one has options of level 1 to level 5, with each level offering a variety of special skills. Throughout the game, your Yautja will gain experience for their skills, much like the Predator Youngbloods do in the Alien vs Predator film, trophy hunting and making split second decisions that mean life or death suddenly become a little bit easier on them through experience in the field of battle!
So there you have it! We have been busy little bees, finalising the rules and background for both games and we will be revealing more and more as time goes on. This update should help you make some decisions for your armies and though we haven’t been able to reveal any points costs just yet, filling that Organisation chart should not be too hard for you!
From the latest update
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageshack.com%2Fa%2Fimg401%2F6374%2Fhnoy.jpg&hash=5e638df3df9b764874f9c30065705bfb3b46a416
Pic posted up over the weekend.
Included free items:
Royal Guard, KS Berserker, AVP Game (Box), Facehuggers x7, Sentry guns, Eggs (Obj. Marker)
Extra Items:
Stalkers x5
Alien Warrior x5 (4 boxes)
Crusher
Alien Queen
Hardback Rulebook
Ordered for a friend:
Weyland-Yutani Commandos x5
Cloaked Predator (Spear)
[Grand total of Aliens: 4x Eggs, 7x Faceguggers, 10x Infant Warriors, 10x Stalkers, 20x Warriors, 1x Crusher, 1x Praetorian, 1x Queen.]
Marine Dice
Sergeant
Power Loader
W-Y Commandos
Alien dice
Queen
Hardback Rulebook
Dutch
Mixed Marines
Stretch Goals -
Warriors
Sentry Guns
Half synthetic markers
Free Ones -
Praetorian
Berserker
Face-Huggers
Nice. Going for a balanced selection or favouring one faction?
Hot damn!
Also working on a Miniatures section for the website.
Holy shit, another kiwi? Too awesome.
Nice. Seems like a few people on the Prodos home forum (and most likely Dakka, etc) will be in attendance, but the more pics the better at this point.
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi932.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fad165%2FLiamgregg1988%2FMobile%2520Uploads%2Fd28f89a486770e7adb41316307f62e0b_large_zpssbbff5y9.jpg&hash=3922ffb29008d3a60f14c596cf93913dc5cb6c86
These are some of my favorite games, the only real problem being the Dungeons and Dragons dilemma: I have to play with real people.
That sounds judgmental, but I've been there man. It's not fun lol. Hard to find a good gaming group in a small community.
I know them feels