STARGUARD! (Finally!)

[Ray Rivers]

Those little Frisbees make excellent bases!

Keep it coming... I'm convinced.   

[grubman]

I'd like as my Rep-com come on this purple planet to met your bugs 

I'd love to...unfortunately, like most wargames, the people that get really into it happen to be a million miles apart , but, if I'm ever visiting France from Wisconsin (USA), I'll be sure to look you up.

After seeing the models I'd written this thread off, but on a whim I came to see how it was looking and wow! Have I changed my mind. I'm still not sure about the models (they look a little dodgy), but the terrain and the imagination going in here looks fantastic!

Very nice vegetation. I wasn't too fond of the purple soil but with the complementary plants it starts looking pretty cool

Thank you very much .  It's coming along nicely, but I have a lot of work to do to fill up the table.  I think hills will do a lot to bring it together and get things on different elevations...but It'll be a few days before I can get a new stryofoam cutter (grrr ).

Those little Frisbees make excellent bases!

Yeah, every now and then you get lucky and something really works out well.  The dollar store (everything there costs $1, if you couldn't figure that out) is my biggest friend when building terrain.

My wife isn't into my hobby, and thinks I'm a bit of a dork when it comes to this stuff.  When we go into the dollar store and I start buying all kinds of goofy shit she just sort of rolls her eyes ...but, even she is sometimes impressed with what I make out of a bunch of cheap crap.

[Cosmotiger]

My favorite cheap alien plants are dried "lotus pods."  They are expensive if you buy them from a craft place (or online), but I found that Wal-mart sells them in a bag of about 12-15 for something like $3-4. 

[artshiraz]

Greetings

Very nice vegetation. I wasn't too fond of the purple soil but with the complementary plants it starts looking pretty cool

Darn ... if you continue like this you'll have half of us buying Starguard Rules and Minis before long.
I know I'm half way hooked by now    

[raskal]

Which version of the rules you (will) use ?

[grubman]

I'll be using the 5th edition.

I just got my mega order int he mail, that means the rules, and one pack of every Dreenoi avaliable.

Now I have 2 new things to add to this thread...first, a review of the Starguard rules as I read them, and second, more minias to start painting.

...although I do plan on getting a little more terrain done before I start on miniatures again (or perhaps I'll bob back and forth).

On a side note, there was a slight problem with my order.  I got a copy of Hostile Contact instead of Warbots and Death Machines.  I emailed John about it...so we'll also get to see how Reviresco's customer service stacks up when they make a mistake.

[grubman]

One of the things I knew I needed was some “broken” terrain.  When I saw these glass shards in the craft store I got an idea for some REALLY broken terrain.  I figured I could kill two birds with one stone by creating some difficult ground, and some obstacles/cover.

Using some more of those Frisbee bases, and one I made from some pieces of plastic I found (taped and glued together), some more of that Modeling Magic, and that bag of glass (one of the more expensive things I purchased for the terrain at $3.50…on sale), I quickly put the terrain together.



Once again, a loving coat of paint and I quickly had more terrain to add to the table.  The blue glass is really an interesting contrast to the rest of the table and makes the piece seem a bit odd…something that makes it look more alien IMHO.  (For the record, the humans in the picture below aren’t Starguard, they are EM4 plastics I used to experiment with “the dip”).

As the Dreenoi advanced on our base they had no idea that we had taken up a defensive position behind the reflec crystals of the purple planet.  When we sprung our ambush the stupid bugs were more than eager to return fire.  Unfortunately for them they had never seen reflec crystals before, and several of their laser shots reflected right back at them, doubling the death toll.

[grubman]

On a side note, there was a slight problem with my order.  I got a copy of Hostile Contact instead of Warbots and Death Machines.  I emailed John about it...so we'll also get to see how Reviresco's customer service stacks up when they make a mistake.

...and about an hour after I wrote my eMail John responded.  He apologized for the mix up and said he'll send the Warbots and Death Machines books out ASAP and to keep the Hostile Contact book as a freebie.

So customer service gets 2 thumbs up.

[The Gonk]

I'm looking forward to the rules review.

[raskal]

I'll be using the 5th edition.
../..

Do you use the standard turn sequence or the optional program movement systems (for skirmish games) ?
If you choose to use the standard turn sequence, you can find below a link showing detailed turn sequence (consolidation of the first paragraph on page 49 (5th Ed.)  and the old version of Starguard)

Turn Sequence

(most text is in french  but there is also the turn sequence in english)

[grubman]

The Starguard Review

Part One:  Appearance and first impression

With the Starguard rule book in my hand I anxiously start my as-I-read-it review.  I absorb rules a bit at a time, so this review will be ongoing as I read it (and get the chance to write about it).  Keep in mind this has nothing to do with actual play of the rules, just my observations and opinions as I read it for the first time.  Hopefully this will provide enough information on how the game works so a reader can decide if this is a game he/she is interested in getting into.

Again, I’m reviewing as I read, so, please don’t ask me any questions other than about stuff I’ve already read…or , to be honest, I’m not going to have a clue!

Before I start the review proper, this first bit simply has to do with my first impression as I flip through the rulebook, how it looks, and what you are getting for your $30.



What you are getting when you order the Starguard rules is a black binder with a slip-in color cover and 72 loose-leaf pages with 3 holes punched in each.  The paper is good quality printer paper.  The pages themselves look as if they are printed on a laser or ink-jet printer (rather than photo copied or printed).  My copy looks like a grey (rather than black) and just a bit blurry, almost as if the “quick-print” option was chosen when printing it up or the printer was running out of ink.  It’s readable and won’t be a major problem…but I do wish it was a bit crisper.

The interior is 2 column and probably a 10 point font.  What I’m very pleased about is that it is loaded with old-school art!  I was afraid the game was going to be void of art, and I’m a very visual person.  While the content of a game might be very good, I find it hard to trudge through dry rules without any visual stimulation for inspiration and to break up the monotony.  There is an illustration on almost every page and this should help in the future when hunting for rules during play.




As far as quality, well, $30 is a bit steep for the actual physical product, especially when you can often get a full color hardcover game book for the same price (or a little more).  However, I’ll judge the game based on its playability, not presentation.  After all, what is more valuable, a full colored fancy book for a game you never play…or some photocopied sheets of a game that gives you hours and hours of play and fun?

So, as far as my first impression go I like what I see (mostly because I was actually expecting less).  The low quality printing is a little disappointing, but the old school illustrations make me WANT to play this game (which is very important to me).  The physical product (binder and loose-leaf pages) might be disappointing if you aren’t aware of what you are paying for…but now you know.

I know (via the yahoo group) that the author is debating a 6th edition of the game (although, this would seem a long way off).  Whether he does a 6th edition, or whether he just cleans up the 5th edition, Mr. McEwan should really consider getting it printed (possibly even distributed through) Lulu.  At no initial cost, the production quality would be about 100 times greater.  His profit margin would most likely be smaller, but, I think the impact it would make on quantity of sales would be well worth the exchange, and, after all, the rules lead to the miniature line, and that is where the real money is.

Summary of first impression:  Real nice looking old school content with lots of cool illustrations in a straightforward readable package…if you can handle forking out $30 for a $3 binder and 70 computer printed pages.

Next I'll actually dive into the content.     

[grubman]

Tangent:  Made the front page of the local news paper this morning, Friday, January 16, 2009 ( http://www.shawanoleader.com/ ) in case you were wondering why I spend so much of my off time indoors making terrain and painting miniatures!

[grubman]

Here is another quick and cheap piece of terrain.  While at the dollar store I saw a bunch of these cemetery vases (for putting plastic flowers in and then sticking them next to gravestones).  But I thought it looked like something more majestic, and decided to make it into a war monument.



I simply cut some nicks and cracks into it and pasted on a cardboard sign I cut out of a frozen wonton box.  I mixed a bit of sand in with my paint, and then did some quick drybrushing,,,and tadah!  $1 terrain.



“blblblblbl Zeke, you’re the one with the huge cranium…what does it say?”

“blblblblblb…I think it’s a monument to the Dreenoi!  It says ‘To all who died at the hands of the Dreenoi during the invasion’”

[twrchtrwyth]

That's a brilliant use of that vase. Excellent.

[Ramshackle_Curtis]

Great scenery by the way. I especially like the crystal outcrops. But by the gods, the colours! My eyes are burning! Its like invasion from the planet Barbie! I would suggest some brown washes and muted drybrushing to tone down the bright pinkness of it all! However, I do admire your conviction....