[Jason Smith]

Whirlwind wrote:

Thanks for posting that, really enjoyed it.
Is there a tutorial out there for making cyberpunk-themed terrain? That is my main obstacle to getting into this kind of thing.

Great! I’m glad you liked it!
As for terrain, cyberpunk is mostly just sci-fi in a bad neighborhood. You can just use regular offices and warehouses and shipping crates with maybe one weird sci-fi building to remind you that it’s the future. The rest is just pastiche. Neon and holograms. Billboards and mohawks. “Foreign” influence, whether its Russian or Chinese or middle-eastern.
Honestly, I have no idea what I’m doing and I just use whatever I have. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

Darkest Star Games wrote:

Quite enjoyed that. Good result, though some pretty close calls.

Thanks! I’m just lucky they were experienced, or it probably would have gone much worse. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

telzy amber wrote:

Good stuff. A bit too close though.

Thanks! Noted. Is it that you can’t tell where things are happening on the table?

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[Jason Smith]

I was going to go on a rant about how you should call out how unfun the setup is, or just concede and start a new game, but in reality, it’s probably hard to guess how that will turn out until it’s too late.

It’s still possible to do that, but as a rule of thumb, your idea is a good one. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

Mike Headden wrote:

Great stuff, Jason. Excellent figures/ scenery/ rules/ AAR!!

I may steal plagiarise be inspired by some of that when I next run my sci-fi RPG …. if that ever happens 🙁

Thanks! Everything I do is stolen from plagiarised from inspired by other stuff I’ve seen on the internet. 😉

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[Jason Smith]

Darkest Star Games wrote:

Man, you do not have the luck with first missions. But at least he is just captured and not outright flatlined!

Good stuff as usual.

Thanks! I finished the second mission. Didn’t get paid, but rescued the Ork, and two ‘Punks earned Street Cred. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

Cacique Caribe wrote:

Fantastic report and photos. I really like that geisha ad hologram too!

Thanks! The “hologram” was fun.

Now I’m going to try to do Turn two this weekend. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

Well, after way too long, this game is available to humans!

https://www.wargamevault.com/m/product/354627

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[Jason Smith]

madman wrote:

Well went to the blog. Gonna be published, a month ago, by Modiphius.

Looked them up on the web and nothing, no posts, any acknowledgement at all. So does this mean they are behind schedule and won’t admit it? You would think searching for Parsecs would get something, as they like discussing all kinds of things. Or is Five Parsecs so small they don’t notice or care?

Is there more than one Modiphius?

Is it a dead issue?

What caught my eye is after it has been “out” a month or so (like now) it will be available from WV as pdf. No joy.

Weird.

Five Parsecs From Home – Solo Adventure Wargaming

And yes, it’s been a few weeks, but that’s because it’s in a sort of “pre-order” status. People have it and are playing it. There are various blog posts and YouTube videos. They’re taking the time to get feedback on the PDF before they send it to the printers. Physical books (and stand-alone PDFs) should be available soon. To my knowledge, they’re right on schedule.

From the site: “This is a pre-order, shipping in May. You will receive a complimentary PDF upon completion of your order so you can start playing right away!”

You got me thinking, though. Notice that the very popular “Rangers of Shadow Deep” also isn’t mentioned at Modiphius.com. I think it’s a “third-party” thing, maybe.

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[Jason Smith]

Thuseld wrote:

Trying to decide if I want the gorgeous hardback enough to buy another version of Five Parsecs.

I did, but my name’s in it. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

I’ve got Stargrave coming in the mail, too! And yes, Hardwired and The Department are excellent games. Good luck!

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[Jason Smith]

Deleted User wrote:

I’ve been searching for whats new in the rules. Can you give a quick summary of the changes?

From the blog: http://fivemennormandy.blogspot.com/2021/03/five-parsecs-new-version-faq.html

*Character creation now includes 6 types of alien character, robot characters and a total of 18 “oddball” character types. You can now have a proper space-opera crew. Each alien species has its own quirks and starting profiles taken from the Unified Space setting.

Additionally, these are fully integrated into the game. Many random events have different outcomes or effects if you have certain characters in your crew.

*Your starship now enters the game as well. Ships can get damaged, requiring you to repair them (or risk a disaster), can have special traits and can be upgraded with any of 14 upgrades, from drop launchers to military fuel converters.

Your ship can even be impounded or blown to bits.

*When traveling to a new world, a new starship travel events table is used.

*Planets now have a random trait table, making each location more distinctive.

*A setting chapter is included, introducing the player to the world of Unified Space, as well as a very cool colony map to use as inspiration. The game is also fully part of the Unified Space setting, reflected in both random events and characters.

*A 7 step story-driven campaign is included to play through, pitting you against an old rival out to make your life miserable.

* An optional set of random battle events allowing for more unpredictable and exciting battles.

*Options have been added for grid based gameplay on tiles, super-difficult Red Zone jobs and more.

*An extensive GM’ing and scenario section with rules for story connections between battles, 12 NPC profiles, mechanics for advancing plot points and faction conflict and a lot more.

This section is also useful for people who want to flesh out the narrative connections between their battles and is perfect for people who would like to run the game more like an RPG, where a GM creates scenarios and the players fight the bad guys.

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[Jason Smith]

Andrew Beasley wrote:

Loved the buildings but the best bit had to be the green / yellow tree on the roof – looks like a Woodland Scenics armature but the colour tweak really works.

Thanks! I wanted to do something acrylic originally, but there weren’t a lot of options in 15mm. It is indeed an unbent, unflocked Woodland Scenics tree with a neon-green gradient painted on it. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

It’s even worse than I realized. I could have also used the Story Points to re-roll my failed recovery tests. If I’m not going to use them during the battle, using them to save a character’s life is the least I could have done. Well, new game, new rules. Mistakes will be made. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

Mike Headden wrote:

Great terrain, beautiful figures, entertaining and informative write up. Thanks!

Are the corp goons White Dragon figures?

Thanks! They are indeed White Dragon Marine Tactical Unit figures (and some Talos Exosuits, actually). They’ve got some nice detail. I just have to be careful that I don’t keep snapping them off at the ankles. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

Darkest Star Games wrote:

Thought about what would happen if they went into an underground facility, all labyrinthian?

Thanks!

I hadn’t though about that. Now I’ll have to see if I can fit it in. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

Darkest Star Games wrote:

DO you think things might have played out differently if the team stuck together more?

That’s a good question. If you’re zerging the objective, maybe, but massed ‘Punks lose Stealth more readily, and you’ll probably miss out on the Loot Crates and Data Terminals. Once everybody is shooting, it might be useful, but at that point I’m usually running away.

Darkest Star Games wrote:

Say, does Chrome Hammer include vehicle rules?

Not specifically, since vehicles don’t really fit the skirmish theme, but the Squad Hammer Core rules assumes that a unit is a unit is a unit. Give it some armor and a special rule or two, and now you have a vehicle.

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[Jason Smith]

Thanks! That’s one of the goals. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

Alternatively, ZippLyne™ Upgrade. One use. Carry Out (automatic). Place a token within 1 inch. Place second token with 9 inches (ignore angle) and lower elevation and LoS.
A Move Out action will let any ‘Punk teleport from the higher token to the lower. Roll the bonus movement die, but don’t add it. If it comes up “1”, fall off half-way and take 1 Damage.

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[Jason Smith]

Darkest Star Games wrote:

Say, do you have rules that cover zipline and the like? (As in, how much like Satellite Reign is it?)

I thought about it, but that’s sort of a puzzle solution that didn’t translate well to competitive tabletop skirmish.

If I were to make up something on the fly, though…

• Place two linked tokens at different elevations with LoS to each other, and in different quadrants.
• Usage requires a Move Out action. Discard bonus movement die to teleport from high token to low during move.
• These are actually power lines that do 1d3 damage when you use them, ignoring Armor, except Armor (2) from the PowRGloves™ Upgrade
• This damage can be permanently turned off from either end with a Carry Out (7+) in contact, but failure does 1d6 damage, ignoring Armor except the PowRGloves™ as above.

Well, those seem like rules.

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[Jason Smith]

Well, I hope you like it. I’ve never written a game before. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

MWAHAHAHAHA! Marketing! 😛

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[Jason Smith]

Gee! Thanks, humans!

Darkest Star, the stairs are 3D printed from Thingiverse:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1481146

Modular Tech Catwalk (15mm scale)

I’ve got a few of the catwalks, but I’m not quite sure how I want to use them yet.

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[Jason Smith]

Like I say in the blog, the gameplay felt very visceral. Beyond that, the rules were simple and fun. It probably played fast, too, but it’s hard to say between pausing to take notes and photos and occasionally getting summoned by the wife. So, it seemed quick, I think.

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[Jason Smith]

Thanks! And only a few months late! 😉

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[Jason Smith]

Wow. Good question!

You know, you just work with what you have. My table is usually a mix of resin sci-fi buildings, paper-craft, and scratch-built stuff.

If you have a 3d printer THESE (and related products) can (eventually) fill up a nice table.

Papercraft can look great if you don’t mind putting a little work into it.
Warehouse

I like to scatter these around to make a neighborhood look kind of rough:
Shanties

Also:
Sci-Fi Checkpoints and Cargo Pods

Beyond that, you’re looking at gluing together and painting up foamcore buildings, but that’s a whole topic unto itself.

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[Jason Smith]

Thanks! My friend put together a custom Corporate force that looks better than my own! 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

…and now the rules at Wargame Vault have been expanded to include aids for solo play!

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[Jason Smith]

Cacique Caribe wrote:

Thoroughly enjoyed watching the video! Thanks for that.

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’m planning to to do a Chrome Hammer one next. (If I can find a free hour or two.) 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

Shaun Travers wrote:

Hello Jason

I see some interesting vids in your channel and your bias towards Ivan’s games is on show 🙂

Ha! Indeed! But I make videos of the games that I like and that I (mostly) know how to play. That’s going to happen. 😀

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[Jason Smith]

Here’s a link to a playlist of just my minis videos, though. There used to be a “Patrol Angis” one, but the internet ate it.

Minis Gameplay Videos

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[Jason Smith]

Shaun Travers wrote:

I did not know you did videos has well. Have checked it out and great stuff! Oh, and I did subscribe to your channel.

Thanks everybody! I’m actually riding on the coat-tails of my friend’s channel. I’m just not committed enough to have my own channel. I mean, I do have my own channel, but it’s not branded and there’s not much there. Besides, Grey Wizard Gaming has some really nice content! 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

ian pillay wrote:

Is alien squad leader still available? The lulu link doesn’t work…

How’s this for bad timing? The author just took it down a couple of days ago! Lulu changed something, so the book layout has to be reformatted. It should be back in a couple of weeks. Keep checking back, I guess. Sorry. 🙁

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[Jason Smith]

Ooh, RUINER is very stylish! And now I have to go find NeoCab!

[Thorsten, RUINER vexed me until I went all melee and just spammed the crap out of things! :)]

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[Jason Smith]

I made a new cyberpunk minis game (“Chrome Hammer”). I don’t know if it would inspire so much, but it is itself inspired by the computer game “Satellite Reign”, which is a cool cyberpunk game.

And yeah, I liked Altered Carbon S2 well enough, but it seemed more “trans-human” than “cyberpunk” (even though there’s plenty of room for overlap).

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[Jason Smith]

I’m a lone weirdo who plays weird games. I pretty much assume that I’ll be playing solo or providing both sides of the fight.

I’d like to be able to concentrate on one side, though. It’d be less work. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

I actually need to up my game and get new models. My ‘Punks are Khurasan’s “Prohibited Non-Human Eradication” squad, mostly. My Corp guys are mostly White Dragon Marines and mechs and power-armor.

AA’s “Betrayers” are next on my list, though.

A lot of my terrain is scratch-built, but I think a mix of hi-tech sci-fi and industrial inner-city works.

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[Jason Smith]

Well, for better or worse, the rules are now available on WargameVault. 🙂

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[Jason Smith]

VR powers not used that game were Tuning (move terrain), Glitch (randomly teleport figure), and SPISPOPD (let a figure move through terrain).

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[Jason Smith]

Darkest Star Games wrote:

That was really cool!

[… ]

Does having a deck allow more points to be generated, or what does it do?

[…]

And how did you do that 8-bit artwork?

Thanks!

The cyberdeck isn’t super exciting. To keep things consistent, all it does is grant a +2 bonus to tests to hack the stacks. Probably everybody should have had one.

And the artwork was just done “freehand”. (I mean, using Photoshop of course, but I did all of the work.) 🙂

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[Author]

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