“Beyond the Gates of Antares” is leaving the Warlord Games stables….

[eilif]

I don't really like the bolt action system but it's a shame when a game essentially gts put out to pasture. And it makes me fear for some of the minis on my "to buy" list from warlord - I can't see konflikt 47 lasting long at this rate.

I wonder about K47 but I'm more hopeful. It definitely has a leg up on Sci Fi games in my eyes in terms of survivability and later use.  It could be gone tomorrow but I think it's more likely to stick around because so much of the range is models produced and purchased for Bolt Action and other historical games.  Those units have extremely long production lives.  Even if if the K47 range isn't expanded, it only takes keeping the rulebook in print for it to continue.

Even if it's days are numbered I don't mind having invested in K47 (though I've only played a few games) because the minis are quite affordable and if K47 dies, there's other WWW2 and WW2 games they could be used in. Other game use is technically the case for games like Antares too, but the models are more expensive, have narrower appeal and don't necessarilyhave the same direct-equivalence as WWW2/WW2 units.

[Codsticker]

I bought the boxed set a few years ago s I thought it was pretty inexpensive, read the rules but never got around to playing the game. I quite like a lot of the models in the ranges and will be using some of them in 5 Parsecs From Home.

If we take the article linked to in the OP to be Warlord's word then the game and the ranges aren't really being dropped; production will no longer Warlord's responsibility and plans to expand the ranges or add new lines are being cancelled. Now I recognise this could be the first step in a long slow death, but for the time being ...

[Mammoth miniatures]

If we take the article linked to in the OP to be Warlord's word then the game and the ranges aren't really being dropped; production will no longer Warlord's responsibility and plans to expand the ranges or add new lines are being cancelled. Now I recognise this could be the first step in a long slow death, but for the time being ...

It feels a little bit like it's getting scotia grendel'd - still avaliable but not a living game in any sense. Which is fine, Games don't need constant support to stay fun - But Antares certainly seems to have struggled at every step, from its initial kickstarter to its slow decline at warlord.This feels like a bit of a "look how nice this retirement place is grandad, wouldn't you want to live here instead of that drafty old house?" situation.

[zemjw]

I quite like some of the figures (and really dislike others), but there never seemed to be a huge difference aesthetically between the races.

I'll probably pick up a few more figures, but it is a shame.

Mantic is shouting about the second edition of their Firefight rules just now, which I think is meant to be their W40 alternative (there are several flavours, I could be wrong). I did wonder if that was a wise move on their part, but time will tell

I was aware Skytrex was still about, but, other than as a nostalgic memory from my childhood, I haven't kept up with them

[eilif]

It feels a little bit like it's getting scotia grendel'd - still avaliable but not a living game in any sense. Which is fine, Games don't need constant support to stay fun.

I think "Grendel'd" needs to enter the wargamer vernacular. Such an accurate term for so many games where the figures and rules are available but -except for folks like us-  no one cares.

[Easy E]

I am honestly surprised it lasted this long.  It has never been much of a success and just seemed like a bit drag on resources with little return.  It is clear that Warlord's bread and butter is historical style games, and this one stuck out as an odd duck.

[aliensurfer]

Got the rulebook, read it through, the background and factions put me off. Where as Mr Priestly's other rules the Warlords of Erehwon is much better, for me anyhow. BTGOA just didn't grab me.

[Diablo Jon]

I liked some of the minis, the Boromites where interesting , but I never bought anything or really had and interest in the rules. It was always "maybe one day I'll get a few if those" I guess that day will never come now.

[NotifyGrout]

40K is the D&D of sci-fi "battle" scale gaming.  It's a terrible game, but it's IP/lore/model designs are solid and it's been round so long that it's the "easy" choice for new gamers, etc.  No one is playing 40K because the rules are good...they play it because they like the models, or it's just what everyone else plays.  Being so popular makes it...thus...more popular, a kind of chicken-and-egg conundrum for other companies to compete against.

This is the reality of it. 40K as a ruleset has been in need of an overhaul since the early 2000s. Third Edition was the last meaningful revision, and it wasn't always for the better, either.

Mantic was smart, doing it a bit tongue-in-cheek, but their models were pretty garbage for quite a while.  I know there are small pockets of Mantic gamers, but it's never appeared in any gaming circles I play in, and that says a lot.  Same thing for Beyond the Gates of Antares.  I am part of several different gaming groups with very different appetites, and differing age demographics spanning my state and the one next to it....if not one person I know mentions a game, that's a marketing/business failure.

I know a few people that want to play Mantic games in my area, but too many have the GW-itis. The one exception is Kings of War, which is quite popular.

It's a shame, because Deadzone is good, and the new Warpath: Firefight looks to be what 40k should have been a long time ago (it will certainly play a lot faster!). I got some new models from the Warpath line recently, and they're quite nice. I was able to build a Stargrave crew from half of the Veer-Myn Night Crawlers box alone.

I think the main thing that hurt Antares is that it didn't offer much that was genuinely distinct, other than the Bolt Action token pull system. From my skim of the rulebook, it seems like a solid, but thick-with-detail ruleset.

[sir_shvantselot]

Let’s be fair to Antares. I have loads of the models. It got to a point they were flogging loads of them once a year at 50% off. I actually think all the models were lovely and loads were even in high quality plastic. The rules were a bit fiddly but OK. I enjoyed the games I played. All three of them. Over five years. But nobody can really compete with the longevity and power pull of Warhammer 40k which itself has ups and downs. In a crowded field. Nobody was ever going to make Antares their go to game. I’ve only ever seen Warmachine compete as a go to game. And where is that now? So it was inevitable and why would anyone start a mass scale futuristic game system? Even Firefight, just released by Mantic. They usually don’t release a freebie digital rules set till months in. A few days after release, hey everyone to get more of you interested here’s an email with a link to a free rules set as enough of you clearly haven’t bought it! I reckon it’s probably really good to like Deadzone. Which I play a fair bit. But who’s got time for yet another game system?

[NotifyGrout]

EDIT: Warpath: Firefight only has sample rules free for download.

The large scale version of Warpath (the one that uses stands of infantry) is a bit long in the tooth, is still free for the full rulebook, and has been for some time. It is the only full ruleset available for free download at the moment. The rest are either full rulebooks that require a lot of purchased components (like Star Saga, Dungeon Saga, and Dreadball), or sample rulebooks that let people try before they buy.

https://www.manticgames.com/mantic-games-free-rules/