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Necro_EX
2011-05-25, 08:10 AM
So, I'm working on a wargame. I've done a wee bit of homebrewing and helped out on a couple of projects over on /tg/, but I've been wanting to tackle something a little bigger than writing up some prestige classes for 3.5. I've had this idea for quite some time but have only recently started putting some actual work into it. My goal is to make a rules-lite wargame with some depth and strategy but without the migraine-inducing complexity some games go to.

I'm not sure how many playgrounders are into tabletop wargaming, but my thread on /tg/ has yielded absolutely no replies so far. I have a couple questions that some answers to would be just swell.

So, on to those questions.

1. What are some things you expect from a wargame? Things that would be a turn off should a game not have it.

2. What do you think of Heroscape and other games with premade terrain pieces?

3. Would it be a huge turn-off if a wargame had an anime look to it?

4. In the case that I do attempt to get this published, how might I go about that? Considering the necessity of miniatures for a wargame, I assume at best I could sell the concept to a company in the industry?

Thank you in advance, folks. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Here are a couple drawings related to the project.

http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/TacticaMockup.jpg
A sketch of what the game might look like in the middle of a match.

http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/EmericNew.jpg
Concept of a general in one of the armies.

http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/EmericOld.jpg
Much older drawing of the same guy, wings shown this time.

http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/AngelofLight.jpg
Drawing of an angel like the one seen in the mockup.

dsmiles
2011-05-25, 08:26 AM
So, on to those questions.

1. What are some things you expect from a wargame? Things that would be a turn off should a game not have it.Huge armies are a turn off for me. I switched from 40k to WarmaHordes for that exact reason. Price of minis is kind of an extension of that. For about $100 in WarmaHordes you could probably field a decent army. For $100 in 40k/WHFB, you get a starter pack, which, by itself, is generally not enough to field an army.


2. What do you think of Heroscape and other games with premade terrain pieces? Terrain pieces are awesome, if they don't break. Homemade ones usually turn out cheaper, but more fragile. So, I'd pay for quality.


3. Would it be a huge turn-off if a wargame had an anime look to it?Nope. I played Tau in 40k. Anime Robots, GO!


4. In the case that I do attempt to get this published, how might I go about that? Considering the necessity of miniatures for a wargame, I assume at best I could sell the concept to a company in the industry?Or hook up with a budding miniatures company. I can think of one person here in the Playground that is doing just that. Or use Kickstarter.

Also, I'd recommend moving this to the Gaming (Other) forum. You'll probably get a lot more responses there.

SilverLeaf167
2011-05-25, 08:33 AM
1. Specific units should be able to counter specific units better, for example spears would be good against horses. The situation and conditions should also have an effect on things. I personally don't like it when combat is just a comparation of statistics. Of course, it shouldn't be too complex either. It also depends on how realistic you want the game to be.
2. I personally don't like spending too much money on a game, so no esperience with those.
3. Depends on the general theme. Anime doesn't really fit a gritty grimdark game that well, but it's perfect for fantastic and a little over-the-top action.
4. No comment on this.

I might add that I really like those drawings.

Necro_EX
2011-05-25, 08:38 AM
:facepalm:

I completely forgot we had that forum.

Well, this is still semi-applicable to be here, I'm planning on brewing up a pnp rpg with the same setting as well. A move probably wouldn't hurt though.

Sounds like you'd dig this if I can get it off the ground, actually. I'm designing it for smaller-scale battles like what you have in Heroscape. FFT is a huge inspiration for this, so typical battles could be about 6 units on each side, more if you go with multiple weak units.

Also, for the terrain I'm thinking something like...
http://www.purplepawn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/heroscape-water-300x234.jpg
Except they'll be cubes.


Hm...I hadn't thought about hooking up with a budding miniatures company. If that someone would be interested, that would be just swell. If not, Kickstarter does look like a good way to go.

Thanks for the reply, mate.

EDIT:
Silverleaf - Awesome, I was planning to do just that with how the units will work against eachother. I'm going to be taking a note from CCGs and have effects based on keywords, so it's likely there will be units with attacks more useful against specific other units and such.

Also, thanks for the comment on the art. :3

dsmiles
2011-05-25, 08:43 AM
Ah, one thing I forgot (and my only gripe with Privateer Press): If a mini can be cast as one piece, cast it as one piece. Nothing is more frustrating than getting a mini that needs the head glued on when it could have been cast with it on.

Necro_EX
2011-05-25, 10:03 AM
I haven't really done a whole lot of thinking on the construction of the minis just yet, but I was thinking of doing just that. Have a couple of different sculpts for each one so there's still some variability among them, too.

I was also considering selling basically booster packs of pieces for making hero-level units. I'm working on the guidelines for developing those later tonight, actually.

EDIT: Of course, there are plenty of hurdles to get over before getting this idea off the ground. I've got to finish up the rules, make some mockup pieces, playtest it and balance it, playtest it some more, then present the idea and get it all nice and clean looking.

dsmiles
2011-05-25, 10:11 AM
I was also considering selling basically booster packs of pieces for making hero-level units. I'm working on the guidelines for developing those later tonight, actually.You mean like selling bits boxes or individual sprues instead of unit boxes? That sounds interesting. It gives more possibilities for variations on poses. One thing, though, I'd stick with set units instead of different loadout options. It's less confusing. (For instance: WM/H you get a unit of infantry with set stats. 40k/WHFB you get a unit of infantry with about 50 different loadout options that change the stats. It can get confusing.)

Necro_EX
2011-05-25, 10:18 AM
For normal units I'm wanting to go the Warmahordes route and just have each unit's stats set in stone. Specifically, they'll be sort of like how Heroscape does its units. They'll come with a card that has all their information in one convenient little place for reference.

The game makes a distinction between those and 'heroes,' though. The idea is that people enjoy customization and making characters for things, so why not support that? For custom heroes I was thinking of selling basically little packs of bits to use, and there will be guidelines for building and statting them in the rules. They'll have a hard limit on points, so there isn't a worry about someone making something too ridiculous.

Also, since I'm wanting to make a pnp rpg to go with this product, there are your own custom-made minis for that. :3

dsmiles
2011-05-25, 10:31 AM
That's pretty awesome, but it sounds like it'll be a PitA to implement.

Necro_EX
2011-05-25, 10:39 AM
It could be, I haven't exactly gotten to that part just yet, but I believe I've got it mostly figured out. Basically you'll be able to use whatever pieces you have to build the hero with and each basic type of piece (short swords, long swords, axes, shields, chainmail, plate armor) will have a cost and certain effects on the unit. After that it's just a matter of picking out abilities from a list.

The real pain on my part is going to be translating the wargame's rules into a pnp. :3

dsmiles
2011-05-25, 10:43 AM
The real pain on my part is going to be translating the wargame's rules into a pnp. :3I doubt that. You'll have to add some rules (such as skills and leveling up), but the basic mechanics can be the same. If you use d6's with exploding criticals in the TTWG, the TTRPG can use the same mechanic.

Necro_EX
2011-05-25, 10:47 AM
Well, I was thinking that the acquisition of abilities would be the hard part. Have to keep the progression at a level that's fun, but if characters progress too quickly there would just be such a gap in power between the wargame and the rpg. It's just a matter of playtesting to get that balanced, though.

dsmiles
2011-05-25, 12:32 PM
Well, I was thinking that the acquisition of abilities would be the hard part. Have to keep the progression at a level that's fun, but if characters progress too quickly there would just be such a gap in power between the wargame and the rpg. It's just a matter of playtesting to get that balanced, though.

Maybe if the two games tied together with an experience system, but where both are technically stand alone games?

pendell
2011-05-25, 01:19 PM
So, I'm working on a wargame. I've done a wee bit of homebrewing and helped out on a couple of projects over on /tg/, but I've been wanting to tackle something a little bigger than writing up some prestige classes for 3.5. I've had this idea for quite some time but have only recently started putting some actual work into it. My goal is to make a rules-lite wargame with some depth and strategy but without the migraine-inducing complexity some games go to.

I'm not sure how many playgrounders are into tabletop wargaming, but my thread on /tg/ has yielded absolutely no replies so far. I have a couple questions that some answers to would be just swell.


So, on to those questions.



1. What are some things you expect from a wargame? Things that would be a turn off should a game not have it.


1) A hook. It has to somehow be interesting and exciting and cool. A cool enough premise can allow me to forgive any number of gameplay flaws.

2) Simple mechanic. The core game should give some of the ambience, a flavor, of the actual event but should not require looking up five different tables to resolve a single combat action. The faster the game, the more fun it is. The more complicated it is, the more time it takes to resolve simple actions and the more arguments there are.

3) From the above follows: The system must be coherent and complete. The more complicated it is, the more loopholes and room for argument there is, the more house rules you need to have to make it playable.

So: It has a hook. It is simple, complete, and coherent.

While I've never played it, I've heard that The Great Space Race (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/19727/the-great-space-race) fills many of these blanks.

A game which I HAVE played that works very well on this line is "Magic: The Gathering." Simple mechanic. Few pieces to lose. Infinite combinations and infinite fun.

On the opposite end of the scale is Air Assault on Crete (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_assault_on_crete). It's a fantastic game for experts and serious wargamers, but it's not fun. It's something you do to learn. If a game requires more than an hour just to set up the board -- too complex.



2. What do you think of Heroscape and other games with premade terrain pieces?


Can't answer. Most of my games are Avalon Hill and predate miniatures.

Miniatures are not, to my mind, a mandatory feature of games. I believe those are of greater interest to companies who want to sell them than to the standard player. I never had a problem with cardboard counters.



3. Would it be a huge turn-off if a wargame had an anime look to it?


On the contrary, it would be a major plus, done right.



4. In the case that I do attempt to get this published, how might I go about that? Considering the necessity of miniatures for a wargame, I assume at best I could sell the concept to a company in the industry?


While I haven't done it myself, I would suggest talking to Rich Burlew and Jolly Blackburn of kenzerco (http://www.kenzerco.com/) for advice. A small company like Kenzerco might be willing to listen to your pitch, find playtesters for it, and then either market it or give it a glowing review in their magazine, drawing the attention of thousands of players to it.


Respectfully,

Brian P.

Necro_EX
2011-05-25, 02:20 PM
Alright awesome, thanks for the feeback, Pendell.

What I've got is simple (the core mechanic is opposed rolls of a handful of d6s. Successes then compared.) and should be easy enough to follow, I believe it will keep the pace of the game enjoyable. Actually what I've got draws a bit from M:tG in the sense that everything has keywords that might be used for abilities/attacks, something like "This attack receives one extra die against beasts," "This unit receives a minimum of 2 successes on defense rolls against fiends," or "This attack may not target angels."

I'll certainly look into contacting those folks at some point, I believe.

EDIT: Also, some of those keywords might have intrinsic effects like in L5R. So units with the 'stealth' keyword can ignore an enemy's Zone of Control, but has none of their own.

EDITEDIT: So, it's been one day and I've already got the rules written up in a basic form. Obviously they're not complete yet, but what I have so far could at least be considered a game. I'm getting a friend of mine to compile them into a .pdf and I might be able to get some folks from here to do some playtesting?

Also, mfw I made that FFT wargame I asked about on /tg/ the other night.

Necro_EX
2011-05-27, 10:41 AM
Well, during that spontaneous movie marathon I went through last night I drew up some mockups of unit cards, might give everyone a bit of an idea of how the game will function. You can definitely see the influence games like FFT and Disgaea have had on this. I'm really hoping this will give the game a strong strategic element. Attacks might move the character using them, knock back opponents, cost the user mana or in some cases health, units have a Zone of Control that you'll have to get around to hit units behind others, a lot of magic will have an Area of Effect, etc, etc...

So, here are some mockup cards. They're for the holy crusading armies of Fares. I'm trying to take a note from Infinity, the battles will be small-scale skirmishes with ~7-12 units on each side, and each faction will have different er...'branches,' so there will be variety in each faction.

============

Emeric Dugall
A general of Thera's holy crusaders, wearing celestial plate armor, and wielding swords made from the wings of deceased angels.
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/EmericCardFront.jpg
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/EmericCardBack.jpg

Zealots
Berserkers devoted to Thera's light, they deprive themselves of her divine light so they might be fueled by rage. They carry heavy swords into battle and are horrifically wreckless. I'm going to have to give them some sort of static ability to represent that...Seems I forgot to.
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/ZealotCardFront.jpg
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/ZealotCardBack.jpg

White Templars of Thera
These are heavily armored knights in service to the clergy of Thera. They serve to defend the weaker members of the clergy and create battlefield control during times of war.
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/TemplarCardFront.jpg
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/TemplarCardBack.jpg

Priestess of Thera
The clergy of Thera has many healers and priests in their numbers. Priestesses are considered the chosen of Thera, blessed with both her divine femininity and light. In combat they serve mostly as healers.
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/PriestessofTheraCardFront.jpg
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/PriestessofTheraCardBack.jpg

Holy Footmen
The Holy Footmen are the rank and file soldiers in the crusading armies of Thera. They carry broadswords into battle armored in chain with a reinforced shield.
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/HolyFootmanCardFront.jpg
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm344/NecroEX/Tactica/HolyFootmanCardBack.jpg


I'm going to be doing some playtesting with a friend in the coming weeks, so these will definitely see some changes.

The test army lists I'm working on are:

Fares Test Set

Emeric Dugall X1
Zealot X2
White Templars X2
Priestess of Thera X1
Holy Footmen X4

Osdaar Test Set

Lord Nevets Helgrath X1
Shadows X3
Fiendspewers X4
Shadowpriest X1
Magi X1

Also, because I love you guys and I'm way too excited about this project, here's the current list of factions:

Major Factions

Fares - The theocracy of Fares is governed by the clergy of Thera, the goddess of light. Their holy armies march against the other nations of [CONTINENT] in crusades to crush the profane beliefs of their enemies. The crusading armies of Fares are outfitted in heavy armor and has the support of angels. Powerful divine casters and knights are their leaders.

Isveg - In the frozen north are the lands of Isveg. The people that live in this hostile environment are powerful and durable having lived through many harsh winters. They are seen as barbarians by the other peoples of [CONTINENT], but in truth they are a proud people struggling to survive in the harsh environment of the north. Strong warrirors fill their ranks alongside wolf riding cavalry and berserkers. Their leaders are skilled and powerful warrior kings and princes.

Osdaar - On the far eastern border of [CONTINENT] lies Osdaar, a collection of city-states ruled over by a powerful nobility. The people of Osdaar have come from across the seas and introduced new religion and technologies to the land, making them instant enemies of Fares. The rulers of Osdaar are powerful magi and their armies are filled with demonbinders and lesser magi. The people of [CONTINENT] all see Osdaar as a cancer to be removed by force.

Irtur - The wetlands of Irtur are a harsh place filled with trolls, gremlins, and lizardfolk. The constant warring with Osdaar and Fares combined with the less human threats have hardened the populace of Irtur into strong warriors. The people of Irtur have learned to be fierce and cunning, taking advantage of the terrain and using guerilla tactics. Their use of terrain may be their strongest asset.

Greatwood - The elves of Greatwood had lain dormant for hundreds of years and have recently come out of their magically induced torpor. Bereaved to find much of their great forest destroyed by foreign invaders the elves have taken up sword and bow to defend their sacred land. Stealthy and swift, the elves of Greatwood are masterful hunters and rangers. They bring ancient magic with them into battle.

Minor Factions

Trolls - The trolls that inhabit the swamps and marshes of Irtur are strong, fierce, and savage monsters. They have been a major detriment to the people of Irtur, constantly raiding their hamlets and villages to slaughter their livestock. The more intelligent, for what that matters, of the trolls have taken up arms and have sold themselves as mercenaries to the warring armies of [CONTINENT]. They care not who wins so long as they can act on their violent urges and are paid with fresh cattle.

Gremlins - The gremlins of [CONTINENT] have held themselves up in the hills of Fares and Irtur as well as the southern mountains of Isveg for centuries. They have toiled on developing new technologies, always interested in new and innovative ways to kill things. They are horribly violent and offensive creatures fueled only by a morbid curiosity and the evil in their black hearts. They have recently discovered gunpowder and developed basic steam engines, making them a viable threat to all people of [CONTINENT].

Dwarves - The dwarves have not concerned themselves with the wars of the surface folk for centuries. They were once allied with the people of Fares until they had seen the extent that the Faresians would go in the name of their goddess. Constantly defending themselves from the dangers that lie under the surface and protecting their mines from the surface folk have hardened the dwarves of [CONTINENT] into incredibly dangerous warriors. Though their government has no concern for the affairs of the surface folk some entrepreneurial dwarves have taken up the lives of mercenaries. Powerful shock troops and battle priests have sold themselves into the wars of [CONTINENT].

I'm also working on some more pirate factions, but I don't have anything down on paper just yet. There are going to be some foreign armies, one very China feeling and one very India feeling, a minor army with a very Middle East feel, a minor faction of pirates, too.

Necro_EX
2011-06-06, 08:38 PM
Might I request this be moved to the more fitting forum that I seem to have been unaware of when I originally posted this? Thanks in advance, you lovely mod-folk.

Playtesting's gone well so far, figured I'd give this thread a little update.

Anyone interested in some playtesting? I have the rules all written up and I have four workable and balanced armies so far, plus I'm still working on new things for this at least once a week. I've got some other things I'm working on, otherwise this would probably the only thing I'm workin' on.

Jair Barik
2011-06-07, 07:46 AM
Ah, one thing I forgot (and my only gripe with Privateer Press): If a mini can be cast as one piece, cast it as one piece. Nothing is more frustrating than getting a mini that needs the head glued on when it could have been cast with it on.

Okay this is something I disagree on slightly. For many metal minis yes I would agree that casting in one piece is often preferable however this is one of my gripes with PP, if I want to field several units of the same kind it inevitably means I have little groups of 4 or so guys with the identical mini. Personally I prefer plastic for the customisability you get with sprues even if it is just a case of putting different looking weapons on people.

When you say 7-12 units each side do you mean models or do you mean groups of models?

Also having terrain organised into a grid is an interesting decision, not sure if I've seen another tabletop 'wargame' do that.

Necro_EX
2011-06-07, 02:40 PM
7-12 models. I'm trying to keep the game fairly cheap to get into, like Infinity. comparing Infinity to either Warmahordes or Warhammer, it's incredibly cheap. You can go stomp around tourneys after only dumping ~100 USD into it. More skirmishes than battles, really.

As you can see on those mockup cards though, each unit (even basic non-unique ones) can have up to six available forms of attack, so I think that will keep people used to larger armies interested with the smaller scale.

The grid's largely because I was sort of wanting to emulate SRPGs like FFT and Disgaea to a degree.

Jair Barik
2011-06-07, 04:11 PM
Could work for you.
Are you familiar with Malifaux? Part of the main appeal of that is that it manages to differentiate itself from the competition with a unique quirk (cards instead of dice) you might be able to do similar with your grid combat.

On the subject of Malifaux briefly both it and WarmaHordes use cards for model stats, I would recommend looking at how both games do this as the lay out is notably different and might make you think how you would like to set out your own stat cards.

Necro_EX
2011-06-07, 04:26 PM
I'm not familiar with Malifaux, no. I've seen it a couple of times, but haven't really looked into it at all. I'm hoping the grid will be appealing to people. I enjoyed Heroscape's hexes, so I'm thinking that will translate well to a grid.

I have a friend that does graphic design working on a layout for the cards, but I will have to have a look at the malifaux ones just to see how they've done it.

Tyndmyr
2011-06-15, 06:26 AM
1. What are some things you expect from a wargame? Things that would be a turn off should a game not have it.

Well, it needs to scale well for different sizes of conflicts. This satisfies different preferences, and allows beginners to participate without great investment.

I also dislike what I call binary games. Consider Flames of War. Its an otherwise solid game, but it tends to have exactly two sides for any given battle, and most models work for exactly one of those sides. Annoying if you and your bud both happen to like germans, or you want a three way battle.

2. What do you think of Heroscape and other games with premade terrain pieces?

Curious, but haven't bought in yet. Have held it repeatedly to consider it though. I suspect the biggest flaw is that

3. Would it be a huge turn-off if a wargame had an anime look to it?

Nah, so long as its well done and has variety. I think it'd be a welcome change of pace.

4. In the case that I do attempt to get this published, how might I go about that? Considering the necessity of miniatures for a wargame, I assume at best I could sell the concept to a company in the industry?

Well, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is, game companies don't generally pay for concepts. Hell, most of them refuse to look at submissions as a matter of policy.

The good news is, casting models is easier than Games Workshop would have you believe. I've got a tutorial up on making high quality casts, Ill dig you up a link when I'm not posting from a cell phone. For now, flesh out the rules, do concept art, and consider learning to sculpt.

Premier
2011-06-15, 07:28 AM
My advice, assuming you have serious plans for eventual publication:

- First of all, get acquainted with a variety of wargames. You can't make a good or even passable product in any area of life if you don't know the basics, and if you don't know what came before you. And I don't mean just Warhammer Fantasy/40K - popular as they might be, as combat simulation (and ultimately, all wargames are about combat simulation) they kind of suck. Read and at least try out De Bellis Antiquitatis, Kriegsspiel (and if you don't know what that is, why are you trying to design a wargame?), and whatever you can get your hands on. I'd suggest you place special emphasis on historical wargames, simply because they involve and display a level of conscious research, system design and "simulationism" that you probably won't find in other genres - and these are skills you'll need to learn.

- Discover, explore and get acquainted with the wargaming / miniatures wargaming hobby. These are the people you'll be trying to sell your product to. How do you expect to do that if you don't know which shops they go to, where and when they have conventions, and what they want to see in a wargame?

- Someone above suggested you start by deciding on a cach. I strongly disagree: start by deciding on a niche. At the top level, will this be a miniatures wargame, or a board wargame? What organization level is it about? Grand strategy? Army level? Battalion? Squad? What setting is it - even a fantasy game is strongly based on a specific historical era and culture. Possibly choose a specific aspect of warfare at large. "Early medieval for small and medium armies, concentrating on raiding scenarios", "High Medieval siege warfare", "Napoleonic Army level" and "World War 2 aerial combat" are all nieches. "I have this RPG setting with cool factions" is not.

- If you're designing for love, design the sort of game you want. However, if you're actually planning to sell something, you'll inevitably have to consider your audience. "Build it and they'll come" is generally true, but with limitations. In this specific case: in the West, manga style is far from widely accepted (no matter how it might seem from inside the fandom), and in fact I think it's an actively repulsing factor for a significant portion of the non-fans. Also, wargames are an extremely narrow niche hobby. Just how many potential consumers are there - that you can actually reach - who belong to both?

Don't me wrong, I'm not trying to discourage you. Do what your heart tells you to, but keep a realistic eye and adjust expectations accordingly.

Master_Rahl22
2011-06-15, 09:55 AM
1. What are some things you expect from a wargame? Things that would be a turn off should a game not have it.

I expect to be able to simulate cool battles with it. I know it doesn't sound impressive, but if my battle report was "I attacked his big dude, then he attacked my 2 little dudes" then it wasn't a fun game. I also dislike trap options or armies that seem good but just can't stand up to the other options. In 40K this may be due to power creep, but they say "Never bring a gun to a knife fight" and it's true that close combat focused armies win much more often than shooting focused armies and I don't like that.

2. What do you think of Heroscape and other games with premade terrain pieces?

I dunno, my friends and I tend to use books/boxes/whatever to make terrain with and just pretend it's terrain, just like we're pretending our little plastic toys are soldiers.

3. Would it be a huge turn-off if a wargame had an anime look to it?

I was initially turned off by this sentence, but I like your sketches. Maybe that means you should make things look however you want and just not play up the "Anime!!" aspect of it.

4. In the case that I do attempt to get this published, how might I go about that? Considering the necessity of miniatures for a wargame, I assume at best I could sell the concept to a company in the industry?

No idea, but I think Kickstarter is a good start.

Tyndmyr
2011-06-24, 01:11 PM
Quick and Dirty casting guide: http://knol.google.com/k/detailed-casting-on-the-cheap#

I like using JB Weld for the final item, as it's quite metal-like, but the price point might be too high for large objects. If you whip up or buy an injection molder, it'll be cheaper to do plastics in the long term, but this requires a significant outlay, generally speaking.

Mx.Silver
2011-06-24, 07:54 PM
A lot depends on whether you're going for collectable miniatures or not. Given I have more experience with collectable miniatures, I'll be answering from that persepective mainly.
Most of Premier's advice I'd second, with the possible exception of the anime style comments, but I'll get to that later.




So, on to those questions.

1. What are some things you expect from a wargame? Things that would be a turn off should a game not have it.
First, at least some noticeably distinct factions. They don't have to all have radically different playstyles, but they should at least feel somewhat different.
As other people have said, a wargame also needs to feel like there are actual, you know, battles going on. Whatever size of conflict you choose to foccuss on, it should feel something like that.
There should also be at least some attempt at balance. It can be difficult, especially since you'll probably also want to let players customise their forces, but you need to make the attempt otherwise problems will emerge.
Finally, the game is going to need something of a niche, or at the very least something that differentiates it from other games. Fluff can go a very long way in helping this. In fact, good fluff can make-up for quite a lot of other faults (I'd suggest it's one of the reasons for 40k's complete market dominance).


2. What do you think of Heroscape and other games with premade terrain pieces?
I don't mind premade terrain, certainly has less problems than pre-painted miniatures, and can even come in useful if you play other games with similar miniature scales. If the game insists solely on using premade terrain though, then there'd be problems.



3. Would it be a huge turn-off if a wargame had an anime look to it?
No. I mean, it hasn't hurt Infinity (although Infinity has the slight advantage of being one of the best miniature wargames around). Anima: Tactics is managing ok for itself too, and that's about as anime-influenced a fanatasy skirmish as you can get.
Some of it may depend on geography though. Both the above games have enjoyed most of their success in Spain (unsurprisingly, since that's where they're made) and continental Europe. Depending on your country that style may not be an advantage. That said, you're playing to a niche market anyway, most of whom probably won't be that bothere by it.



4. In the case that I do attempt to get this published, how might I go about that? Considering the necessity of miniatures for a wargame, I assume at best I could sell the concept to a company in the industry?
Approaching a company that makes miniatures is a possibility, but to be honest I've more often seen the process work in reverse (pretty much all the miniature wargame companies started-off making miniatures). It may be difficult getting their attention, probably about as difficult as starting-up a company yourself really.