Lorindor

News from SDCC: Jamie Sullivan, the artist that made the retro style box art, mentioned in passing that there will be a line of retro style boxed toys that apparently will include Destroids. At around 17:20 :

As someone who doesn't really like action figures of humanoid/organic characters due to how the joints often look like an eye-sore, I wish they were statues. But they still look very promising, so will definitely buy them if they are released. We're not really spoiled with Sentinels toys, nor Regess/Refless figures.

Well, I know Force of Arms sold pretty well. Enough to release an expansion and Crisis Point at least, with more still planned. SMG have released two games and have even more on the way. So I would say it sells enough. Besides, the risks involved are not really that high in this industry. Miniature-based wargames is something entirely different though, since is requires many expensive molds. Kids Logic seems to focus on less molds and the minis will probably be better products than the RRT minis (mainly because they will not need as much assembly). Since they are a Hong Kong-based company, they also have an more international perspective that PB never had. The US market might not be big enough, but there are plenty of Robotech fans in China, South America, Europe and Australia. And I wouldn't say that licensed boardgames are necessarily just for fans. For example the Battlestar Galactica boardgame is probably more popular with general boardgamers than Battlestar Galactica fans. A good game is a good game. Well, I've already written a couple of thousend words on the sequel, but if it comes out of course depends if the first one sells enough. As for the criticism of the system that you have, tell SMG. They listen to feedback. But making it possible to convert the game to the Macross setting isn't really their main goal, I can tell you.

True. I was a RRT backer. I also realized that it's different to back a crowdfunding project and to preorder a product, so I was patient for a long time. Now it's pretty clear, though, what an incompetent company PB is. I don't hold any loyalty to any company, I just like Robotech. The main difference here, though, is that there are not any crowdfunding for these new products. You can thus wait for reviews so that you don't buy a pig in a poke and still don't miss out. Like almost any other product. That's of course subjective. We have a different RPG tradition in my country, so that affects my opinion. I just want more from my RPG experience than endless, micro-managed battles. Or go through endless skill lists... You realize that you are reviewing a work in progress?

I'm not sure how PB could be considered experts in RPG making. They made one game system in the '90s and have milked that format since. I personally consider their system utterly outdated and unplayable. I only used their books as tech manuals, and even for that they were inadequate. They are also clearly not experts in wargame making - in that case they would have been able to actually make a complete wargame.

This game is not crowdfunded. SolarFlare is just using pledge manager for preorders. The game is currently in active production.

Yeah, I know, I was a backer. And yeah, they don't have anything to do with Palladium (thankfully). SMG's game will actually be modern and playable. And I've only heard good things about Savage Worlds (but I don't really know any details). Well, the board games are and have always been on a seperate license. So they are unrelated. SMG's first game was announced on SDCC 2017 (or earlier), meaning at least in July 2017. Palladium announced the loss of their license on February 28, 2018, and it took affect some time in April or May. Of course, HG probably knew that they would need to find a new RPG/wargame maker earlier than that, but they would of course not be able to breach a contract.

What do you mean?

I should post here as well: The 1-on-1 strategic card game Robotech: Crisis Point, based on Robotech: The Masters Saga, is now up for preorder. You either play as the Army of the Southern Cross or the Robotech Masters and fight over different locations from the show with a plethora of different mecha and characters. Fans (like me) have been heavily involved in the creation of the game, so it's really by the fans, for the fans. When preordering directly from SolarFlare Games, you also get some bonus stuff: a preorder-exclusive standard poker card deck with Robotech illustrations, a mini-expansion for SFG's previous Robotech game and an exclusive cover variant of one of Titan's Robotech comic issues. All for just $30 plus shipping (and the shipping is discounted $5 for all orders). And (something I like) EU friendly international shipping. I think it's a very sweet deal. To preorder and read more information, go here: https://bravefrontier.pledgemanager.com/projects/robotech-crisis-point/participate/

I'm not involved in the Savage World version, so I cannot speak for that, but no, the McKinney novels are not the primary source for SMG's RPG. But they are liberal and are cherry-picking stuff from different sources (including older ones) and tries new spins on some things. This RPG is primarily meant to be fun to play. It doesn't set out to be the super-detailed tech manuals that the Palladium 2E tried to be and many things established in that RPG will be changed (but then again, it never was canon to begin with). I can assure you though that there won't be any thinking caps, Shapings or chanting children in the RPG.

As far as I know, no one has posted a thread (or in any other thread that I’ve seen) on the recent surge of Robotech tabletop games. I’m sure there are people here that would be interested though, so let me start this combined thread. People with Robotech and HG phobia may look elsewhere. Five different companies have recently released or are planning to release Robotech board games, RPGs or wargames based on Robotech. That’s a lot! SolarFlare Games First out was SolarFlare Games which released their 1-on-1 strategic card game Robotech: Force of Arms last summer. Based on The Macross Saga, the players need to strategically place cards around a 3x3 grid of cards, which are read almost as a coordinate system. The attack and defend values of two cards placed at the edge of the grid are added onto the card placed where lines from them intercept in the middle of the grid. The cards are also placed face-down, which adds a guessing element to the game. Very strategic and I liked it a lot during my playthroughs. More information: http://solarflaregames.com/robotech-force-arms/ SolarFlare is also planning to release a follow-up to FoA based on The Masters Saga. The game is called Robotech: Crisis Point and is similar to FoA, but the biggest difference is that the grid is now 4x4 (which opens up more strategic possibilities) and the inner grid is built up differently. The game is now available for preorder with an expected release in June. As a bonus if you preorder directly from SolarFlare, you get a preorder-exclusive standard deck of cards featuring artwork from both FoA and CP, as well as a mini-expansion to FoA (called Grand Cannon) and a free comic book. All this for 30 USD plus shipping, which is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. More information: http://solarflaregames.com/robotech-crisis-point/ Preorder here: https://bravefrontier.pledgemanager.com/projects/robotech-crisis-point/participate/ SolarFlare is also planning on releasing a cooperative card game for up to six players based on The New Generation called Robotech: Invid Invasion later this year. More information: http://solarflaregames.com/robotech-invid-invasion/ They are also planning a deck builder game and a cardboard standee-based wargame (leaving miniatures to other companies), but there's not much information on them yet. Kids Logic Games Kids Logic are already making Robotech statues, but their sister company Kidslogic Games have the license to make a 6 mm scale miniature-based wargame (currently unnamed). There has been only a few previewed pictures of early sculpts so far, but those look pretty good (but I’m not so fond of some of the details that they have added to some of the mecha though). Unlike previous attempts (which we don’t have to mention), the minis will come as just one piece (or possibly a few). You can get more information if you join the Kids Logic Game Community on Facebook. Strange Machine Games SMG is another board game producer and they have made two Robotech board games: Attack on SDF-1 and Ace Pilot. I have sadly not played these games yet since my order is delayed, but especially Attack on SDF-1 looks impressive and Ace Pilot seems like a quite innovative game. They have also announced the plan to release another game similar to Ace Pilot based on The New Generation called Cyclone Run. More information: https://strangemachinegames.com/robotech-board-games/ SMG also has the Robotech RPG license and are planning to release the first book with the main rules and setting for The Macross Saga later this year. After that, a book that covers the other two parts of the main series is in a planning stage. This RPG differs from previous RPGs by having a completely different rule system and it focuses on a more narrative and cinematic experience. More information: https://strangemachinegames.com/robotech-the-macross-saga-role-playing-game/ A beta of the rules can be found on SMG's forums: http://forums.strangemachinegames.com/forums/ Battlefield Press Battlefield Press is also making a Robotech RPG based on the Savage World system, together with SMG. More information: https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/42291/robotech-gets-savage-worlds-treatment Escape Velocity Games Escape Velocity Games is, together with SMG, also releasing a cooperative game called Robotech: Brace for Impact. Information on this game is quite sparse right now, but it should be released soon. More information: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/240006/robotech-brace-impact (Full disclosure: I’m friends with the runner of SolarFlare Games and I’ve helped him with Crisis Point and Invid Invasion. I’m also a fan contributor to SMG’s RPG. I don’t get paid for any of this.)

I got a reply on my PM to MAAS Toys. HG hasn't approved their Kickstarter plan and MAAS are waiting for more information from HG. I think they want to wait with going public with information until they know something for certain.

I want to remind people that Meptoys is a new independant one-man-show AND these small action figures are clearly meant to be retro style. They are not meant to be of the same quality as KitzConcept's offerings. With that in mind, I think they are way better than Toynami's recent retro-style action figures. And Meptoys are actually doing The Masters Saga stuff, which Toynami has never even thought to do. By the way, I got a reply to my PM to MAAS Toys on Facebook. HG has indeed not approved their Kickstarter plan and MAAS are waiting for more information from HG. The line is clearly not abandoned.

No, no one would have conclusive evidence of that, it's just speculation. Since the main income source of Yamato (and Arcadia) is likely from selling those creepy dolls, the reason Yamato folded could just as well have been due to fluctuations in the doll sales. They way Yamato transitioned into Arcadia was a bit strange as well. I've heard people speculate it was some kind of elaborate tax evasion or something like that. But yeah, no one really knows and we shouldn't take speculations as facts.

The VF-4 actually has two very different battroid modes and transformations. The more common modern version has a slight anachronistic feel since it was probably finished long after the fighter mode was designed. You can read a short history here: http://www.collectiondx.com/blog/vf5ss/brief_history_vf4039s_design (It could also be noted that the VF-X-4 experimental fighter received another transformation in Robotech (there renamed YF-4). All in all, the VF-4 family of designs has one of the most interesting real-world design histories in my opinion.)