Aurelian - Upcoming Rules

[SteveBurt]

Iiiiiiiirk ... Elephants in a 3rd Century Sassanid's army  

Maybe in the Far East , but not facing roman soldiers in Mesopotamia ...

Err, why not? The Sassanids certainly had access to elephants at this time.
They are attested at Ctesiphon in the following century.
No evidence for 3rd century - but then there's so little source material for this period that it would be a minor miracle if there was hard evidence either way.

[Axebreaker]

From my perspective Tobi it's not conjecture, but rather reality in that hardbacks/soft covers sell better then pdf's alone so I'll side with Doc. Actually the best combination is a hard back with the option to buy a pdf as it pleases everybody. Take a look at Sam's own LaSalle in which his now oop hardbacks go for funny money even though you can get the pdf. Oh and yes I happily do have a hardback version.

Imho nothing replaces a well made wargames book in your hand. I'll risk the price of a well illustrated coffee table book in that even if the rules suck you still have nice book to get inspiration from which has been the case with a few rulebooks I own and I still don't regret the purchase because of the compensation. What I don't like is spending money on is something that's has bad to no graphics and the rules suck.

All that said I'll still try the rules based on Sam's rules writing pedigree alone, but if I like them I'm likely to grumble even more that he didn't put it into a stylish hardback!

Looking forward to trying the game. Perhaps you can give me a demo in the spring.

Christopher

[axabrax]

Love the period and the subject matter and the author has a very good reputation in our group. Design looks a bit amateurish but not enough to prevent me from buying. I think it would probably rule out using the unit chits if they are on par, and I'd probably end up redesigning the cards if I really liked the game, however.

In Sam's defense, maybe this level of design and doing as a pdf are what make it possible to produce the game, which otherwise wouldn't happen? Perhaps his regular publishers thought the period too esoteric and the following too small to be profitable unlike ACW and Napoleonics?

In any case, I will pick it up...

[Mad Doc Morris]

I thought all of his games are self-published. Which would be a great achievement whatever the format.
It's just that his games could benefit from a less 'amateurish' layout. Because the rules themselves aren't amateurish at all.

[Axebreaker]

In Sam's defense, maybe this level of design and doing as a pdf are what make it possible to produce the game, which otherwise wouldn't happen? Perhaps his regular publishers thought the period too esoteric and the following too small to be profitable unlike ACW and Napoleonics?

Yep, I think the narrow focus had a considerable amount to do with the decision to go pdf and I think he did mention that in a podcast although please don't quote me on that as I could easily be wrong. I still think a hardback would improve sales, but as to improving it enough to offset costs is debatable and maybe the risk was just too great.

Anyhow I'll try it as I'm a big fan of Sam's rules, but I'll still miss it not being in hardback. Something about opening a new rulebook with the smell of fresh pages and a nice illustration gets the interest level up a few notches.

Hmm maybe time to start that Sassanid army I've been meaning to do....

Christopher

[Sir Tobi]

Well, I would have preferred a printed book as well - especially as I've provided all the photos and painted most figures for it (so I considerably added to the amateurish look of the unit cards, dear Mad Doc Morris  ) but I understand the maths behind it and I respect that decision. Stil I'm very much looking forward to the final release.

And of course, Christopher, I'll be happy to give you an worthy introduction.

[Axebreaker]

Although we will likely have to exclusively use your lovely collection Tobi, because if I paint up some Sassanids they will be based for Impetus which I believe are on larger bases then your collection. So in the end all I have do is show up and play.

Christopher

[starkadder]

If you cannot do without a hard copy, might I suggest that you simply take the PDF to a decent print shop and have a bound copy made?

It is surprisingly cheap, at least in Australia. and I suspect would still run out cheaper than a large format professional job.

A hard copy of the rules in high resolution would be about AU$15.

[Axebreaker]

Just briefly looked over the pdf and thought it looked very nice. It looks like most his books and the battles scenes looked quite nice! Wondering if I should order the cards or just make my own.

Christopher

[Hunter776]

I received the cards just a few days ago (and already have two games in!), and am very pleased I did. My printer produces nice quality results, but these were definitely at least several steps above what I can do.

My recommendation would be to buy two sets, as you'll recall from the rules that each side uses its own specific cards, plus 16 neutrals shared by all, so two sets are required.

[Sir Tobi]

While doing a tutorial/walkthrough-video for Aurelian (you cand find the youtube-links on my blog http://www.tobispaintpot.blogspot.de/) I also had some fun with photoshop. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I really like the effects you can achieve:

[Phil Robinson]

Great stuff, a very cinematic feel.

[bigredbat]

Love those photos!

[Sir Tobi]

Thank you very much for your kind comments. I'll upload part #3 of the video tonight with the game sequence, shooting, moving and fighting.

[Patrice]

The videos do not appear on a FB page (Sam Mustafa's or another) to share them on FB?