Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Future Wars => Topic started by: The_Wisecrack on August 17, 2009, 11:44:11 AM
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like it says!
where in gods name have they gone, they seem to have entirely disappeared off of the internet!
any help?
TW
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They ceased manufacture in 2007 IIRC infact they stopped all miniature production including Babylon 5 and GAangs of Mega city 1.
If you search TMP or other forums you will see they had a lot of issues with their Asian plastics comapny in the manufacture whihc culminiated I think in loss of a lot of revenue when the light infantry ended up being in metal rather than Plastic.
The Cougar suits and such were the swan song and command a pretty price on e-bay and such. At the time they also brought out the skinnies whihc were not a good seller and mention was made of the Forth as another race but it never came off.
I used to play a lot for flogged off all my stuff last year or swapped it out.
Their final poor job was BattleField Evolution whihc had pre-painted plastics for near future wars, used similar rules to SST but the figures were a bit dodgy and more to the point were in a sort of inbetween scale of 20mm-25mm so not many opther ranges could be used.
Although they ditched their figures there are off shoots such as Modern Combat (SST core rules for Near future) and Agis WW2 books.
I think the SST range was pretty good but they seemed to swamp the market to the value of the ranges dropped too quickly and they cant possibly have got a good return as a result
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I think the SST range was pretty good but they seemed to swamp the market to the value of the ranges dropped too quickly and they cant possibly have got a good return as a result
A case of too good a starter box i think..
i'd really like to see all those minis reappear, they were very nice,
especially the cougars, the best power armour miniatures ever :-*
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A case of too good a starter box i think..
i'd really like to see all those minis reappear, they were very nice,
especially the cougars, the best power armour miniatures ever :-*
Yep you are right, they should have spaced their releases over 3 or more years and done one list to death before moving on what with SST oriingal, Light infantry, heroes of the thingy and such it was just too much
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Lowtardog summed it up real good.
SST was doomed when the Battlefield Evolution line failed utterly.
The Modern Combat and my WW2 book was an attempt to revive the system. SST was planned too and newer army lists were available on Mongoose site, but somehow nobody was interested, which resulted in canceling even that.
Evolution is still alive with there Logo License possibilities, but even that did no come to really alive.
Only my books and 1 other book appeared!
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too much too soon :)
i still have loads unpainted..
The 1/62 (or what they were) moderns were a real bummer, i had such high hopes for that stuff..
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The rules are sound and break away from the norm but I think there is a little of that Mongoose" stigma attached as a result which is a real shame
Only Agis has produced a fully polished and full set of rules the zombie list is OK but is merely lists. Modern Combat is ok but again is a revised version of the SST rules but they produced no QR sheet as such for either and I have had to tweak Agis who did a proper job :D
I have been toying with Soviet Invasion lists but as I am the only one who games moderns in our club other than 10mm/15mm and 6mm I am up against CWC and Ambush alley whihc seem to have taken mor of a hold beng new kids on the block >:(
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you need to pack your stuff & take a trip here Karl, i'll happily try out some modern combat soviet invasion stuff lol
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you need to pack your stuff & take a trip here Karl, i'll happily try out some modern combat soviet invasion stuff lol
If only I could Tomas :D
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=)
I'd happily take a peak at the list someday, only have first ed modern combat tho, never got around to buying second edition.. :/
and the soviets are still in boxes mostly..
I imagine the biggest challenge is statting out tanks?
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=)
I'd happily take a peak at the list someday, only have first ed modern combat tho, never got around to buying second edition.. :/
and the soviets are still in boxes mostly..
I imagine the biggest challenge is statting out tanks?
After 4 Vehicle Compendiums I can say without even the trace of bragging: Not for me!
;) ;) ;)
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hehe =)
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The rules are sound and break away from the norm but I think there is a little of that Mongoose" stigma attached as a result which is a real shame
It is indeed! Some companies were very happy to let me work on their IPs, but as soon as they recognized that my books will be based on Mongoose rules they sadly declined any joined ventures.
"Ahh, sorry Agis, we would do it with your small company, but we did not want to be named in one sentence with Mongoose!"
Stuff like that. It is a real shame - the game system is a very good one IMO and only because some of Mongoose mini lines disappeared is not proof of the quality (or non-qulaity) of their rules.
I am working hard to re-establish some faith into the game system!
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=)
I'd happily take a peak at the list someday, only have first ed modern combat tho, never got around to buying second edition.. :/
and the soviets are still in boxes mostly..
I imagine the biggest challenge is statting out tanks?
It is and it isnt, the evo stats on the forum could be used as people ahve produced them for 3rd world countries
I have some rough bits and bobs pulled together Tomas perhaps we can pull it together-together :D
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It is indeed! Some companies were very happy to let me work on their IPs, but as soon as they recognized that my books will be based on Mongoose rules they sadly declined any joined ventures.
"Ahh, sorry Agis, we would do it with your small company, but we did not want to be named in one sentence with Mongoose!"
Stuff like that. It is a real shame - the game system is a very good one IMO and only because some of Mongoose mini lines disappeared is not proof of the quality (or non-qulaity) of their rules.
I am working hard to re-establish some faith into the game system!
Thats a real shame as you and I have said it is a very versatile set of rules with some cracking mechanisms
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To answer your question Wisecrack...e-bay is your best bet to be honest, yu might find the odd internet or bricks and mortar shop selling them but I doubt it.
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What made the SST system so good? How did its mechanisms work? And what exactly is battlefield evolution?
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thanks lowtardog, nice answer ;P
but yeah i looked around, im looking to pick up mayeb 30 of the main bugs. but there hard to get hold of cheaply.
TW
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It is and it isnt, the evo stats on the forum could be used as people ahve produced them for 3rd world countries
I have some rough bits and bobs pulled together Tomas perhaps we can pull it together-together :D
Sure =)
What made the SST system so good? How did its mechanisms work? And what exactly is battlefield evolution?
hard to say, it feels complete, and for me, it was the first system with Reaction mechanisms =)
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a good review of basic game here
http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/aol/search?s_it=sb_uk&q=star%20ship%20troopers%20rules%20review
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Stuff like that. It is a real shame - the game system is a very good one IMO and only because some of Mongoose mini lines disappeared is not proof of the quality (or non-qulaity) of their rules.
I am working hard to re-establish some faith into the game system!
Utterly agreed. Good rules, but they jumped the gun with the miniatures and made the whole bottom soggy making it all fall out. Mongoose were good blokes, but a little out of their league, methinks.
Which is too bad really, there was a number of figures and sets I was eying intently back in those days when I didn't have money.
but yeah i looked around, im looking to pick up mayeb 30 of the main bugs. but there hard to get hold of cheaply.
I could get you 20 of my arachnids if you're interested. Never had enough bugs to play against my Mobile infantry (which I will be keeping, thank you) anyhow.
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a good review of basic game here
http://aolsearch.aol.co.uk/aol/search?s_it=sb_uk&q=star%20ship%20troopers%20rules%20review
ok, thanks
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SST was a great game. The miniatures were pretty good (Ok, the Skinnies were ugly, but big deal, they could have been re-done, as was originally "Promised), and the game sold very well. Several friends in the industry told me that they felt that it was the first science fiction game in years that had the potential, and the clout, to challenge 40k. Andy Chambers was a big name author, and the mechanisms weren't just recycled 40k.
I'm not sure what they were thinking, honestly, and I don't think anyone else was, when they decided to "Re-do" the rules. They were very popular, and simple errata would have done fine, but my best guess is that Matt and company felt that they could follow the 40k standard by re-releasing the rules every few years. The problem is that the Evil Empire was more established when it started doing this (initially, with Fantasy), and Mongoose was just getting its feet wet. They made a jump they weren't prepared to make. Oh, and lost Andy Chambers in the process.
Will the system come back? Doubtful. The last best hope for this was in the "Evolution" series of rules. Ignoring for a moment the initial and disastrous release of "Battlefield Evolution" with its pre-painted soldiers and out of scale vehicles... (yeah, right, that's an Abrams in 28mm. Let me sell you this bridge that isn't seeing much use over in London...), the "World at War" engine did re-ignite some hope, but it hasn't done well, for a variety of reasons.
1. It's a Mongoose product. Unfortunately, that's like saying the name is "mud." Mongoose has been blacklisted by most American retailers and more than one distributor, and beyond even that, most gamers hear the name and immediately lose interest. Even roleplayers have mixed feelings about Mongoose these days. Which is unfortunate, but entirely the fault of the Mongoose leadership.
2. They took several months to publish the working version of the "Open License" for the "Battlefield Evolution" engine, by which time most independent developers had moved on to other things, because the interest in the game had simply died. As this situation developed, they were extremely close to the vest about how that licensing would be done, and didn't like discussions "off site". Several of us attempted to set up an independent group for sharing of ideas about how to stat up vehicles, develop scenarios, etc.. Matt of Mongoose was extraordinarily offended by this idea, and claimed that nothing without the "official" stamp of Mongoose could be relied upon, whereupon most of us questioned what exactly the point was of an Open License... Result was that both major developers and freelancers (like me) who had interest in writing supplements, lost most of our enthusiasm.
But, most importantly for Starship Troopers, specifically...
There was an SST "Evolution" book promised. First it was a pre-painted game, then it was simply a rulebook. This had a lot of promise, and was not entirely divorced from the old SST rules. But nothing ever happened with it. And now, aside from comments in the forum, there are no references to Starship Troopers: Evolution to be found. An unfortunate end, but... unlikely to improve.
In my personal experience,having been a wargamer for many years and having written a number of gaming supplements myself (ok, four, but still, that's something), I have never seen a company so poorly run, or so determined to make false promises and repeatedly break them. In addition, the arrogance there is... to be put it bluntly, -overwhelming-.
I do wish you luck with SST. It was a fantastic concept, and deserved a better shot. There have rumors that someone else has picked up a license, but these are just rumors. Hopefully if they pan out, we'll hear something.
-Doc
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MONGOOSE killed themselves with multiple dull spoon disembowelments and apparent group lobotomies among the folks who made decisions at management levels . . .
as a result, we no longer have the toys from both the SST movie and CGI series. the skinnies were fine-they looked suitably alien, the bugs were excellent, the cougar and grizzlie powered armors the best ever designed and made for gaming.
the SST rules i could live with out without, although i do think CHAMBERS did a good job on them.
i was one of the folks who believed, at first, that SST ws a serious possible threat to GDW 40K universe.
sadly i was wrong.
DAWGIE
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Dawgie, you back online!? I've been busy, I missed you coming back online, right?
Thomas
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YEPPERS!
DAWGIE is back again as of the weekend (last), and prowlin' the www with pleasure!
i missed all of my buds from the www,muchly!
DAWGIE
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I've got about a tonne of the arachnid models. At least 5000 pts in the old rules.
The miniatures were funny, but the quality left a lot to be desired. Especially the brain bug was... rather poor!
The rules suffered from the same thing that any other rule set I've come across: If you play people who can't limit themselves, it's too easy to "crack the code" and make a completely broken list.
So in that respect it's no different than Urban War, Warhammer 40.000 or other armylist games.
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I imagine the real reason is the same reason most of their stuff disappears - their niche is in licenses, but they have to keep paying the renewal fee, or lose them. It's a truism of the games industry that products are subject to what's referred to as the 'hobby hump', whereby unless you really heavily support a product, people stop investing in it. That's fine when its your own IP and you can support it at your own pace, but if you're paying to use someone else's then you're on their schedule.
Now Mongoose are tied to Rebellion, who own Judge Dredd, we may see then stick at an IP they don't have to pay a license for though.