Project Draftdodger: Part 6

See here for part 5.

 

I did manage to get a game in last week, although that was after my cut-off so I didn't talk about last time. Having had a few days since to process, I'll talk about the experience a bit now.

This was a 1000 point battle against Aelderi, and we were both new to our armies, although we played against each other a lot previously. I lost 70ish to 50ish, forgot to note the precise number, but a result I can live with. This was a learning experience all-round, and if I were to highlight the area where I made a bad call, it would likely be playing as the attacker, in addition to not getting ideal missions. My army list is also in need of further refinement, as my list wasn't that different from my typical index list. Now, the trick here is to not overreact to a single game. Or indeed two games, as I managed to work in another the evening before this post went live, and in that one I tabled my foe and felt very bad about doing so. Its too small a sample size, and in the absence of something clearly unambiguous, its too soon to tell. I would however make some small observations. First off, the Siege Regiment is a more involved affair than the Index, you need to think a turn or so ahead, but the stratagems and enhancements are worth using. Krieg Combat Engineers seem pretty good. They do similar objective/mission work to Catachans, but with an aggressive number of mortal wounds dispensed. They die easily, but what’s new? I’m not super impressed with Krieg Command Squads, at least in conjunction with big Krieg blobs. There’s still things I want to try, but I’m beginning to suspect the new Krieg units in general haven’t been “pushed” as it were. That’s good, it helps with internal balance, but I suspect the meta hasn’t settled yet. That might mean me reworking my infantry again, <sigh>, although I have built in some redundancy, so that shouldn’t be too annoying.

 

Tactical musings aside, this week was characterised by real life taking priority, and a subsequent desire to catch up with painting. I worked on the Krieg Commands, where upon I had what I'm choosing to call a happy accident. I failed a spot check, and I used dark green where I should have used dark grey. This was an easy fix, but I decided to leave it as-is on places like the Officers great coats. Its not massively out of place to have green military fatigues, so we shall just assume that these were "liberated", plus it helps models stand out versus the rank and file. Speaking of fuck-ups, I also worked on the quad guns. I opted to use the same green there, but in doing so I noticed some assembly mistakes that were a nuisance to correct. I just seem to have had a hard time in getting these together, although I’m glad I didn’t paint these in sub-assemblies. Yes, it would have made some things easier, but I think I would have lost my temper trying to glue these only to find that things didn’t fit.

 

I managed to get the Krieg Commands finished, while the quad guns (plus a few hangers-on)  are a few steps behind.  I’m not 100% happy with the Grognard style heads, the lenses don’t really stand out, but they are entirely tableworthy.

Up next: finishing the quad guns, and that battleline squad, but I think I’ll need to mix things up soon for variety’s sake.

 

Project Draftdodger: Part 5

See here for part 4.


Well, this week I was finally able to make my force codex compliant. Although, it was more I got things built, than actually painting them.

While I waited for bases, I made a start on some big guns. The Grognards Heavy Weapons are by and large another good example of the Deathfields series. Not perfect, for reasons I will go into,  but highly useful as a kitbashing resource. One box easily produces two squads of heavy weapon teams; with three easy proxies for 40K use. The odd one out is the bizarre and honestly compelling quad turret affair, which has no direct equivalent. You may not like these; they appear to be off a WWII bomber. I kinda love them though, and against all practicality I decided to field these as Krieg Heavy Stubbers. Unfortunately, getting them together is a mild nuisance, as they should probably be painted in sub assemblies, but mine didn't want to fit together right, and the whole affair is obviously top heavy. This is probably just a me problem, but I ended up snipping off toes to get the gunners in, before opting to just glue them and have done with it. This would not be an issue with the other guns though, so its self inflicted annoyance. The second team will be a more thorough kitbash with the carriage modified to feature wheels, although I'm still trying work to that out. Progress on these was however paused, as I took a brief getaway to Skegness.

 

When I returned from the windswept tackiness of Skeg-Vegas, I decided to start on a third aspect of the project, the Krieg Command Squad. While I am loathe to to have more than one plate spinning at once, getting that squad assembled was going to be essential if I wanted to use the new codex. As mentioned last week, such units are now tied to specific regiments, so if I wanted to run my infantry as Krieg, I'd need to have one of these. And a second if it looked doable for Monday. It took me a long time to settle on a look for these, as I wanted something that A) easily said to a foe what it was, B) fit in with what I had already, and C) could possibly proxy as another type of Command Squad. I opted for a mix of basically whatever I had to hand, but mainly Bulldogs with certain key pieces from the Grognards sprue mentioned above. Assembly proved to be relatively swift, which should not have surprised me, and so I proceeded to make up a second. I've got a lot if painting to do, but at least I can game easily with the new book. There's a few time saving things I did here. I had ordered in some 3D print meltaguns from Scourge Scenics, (Remember them?) which unfortunately proved too big. So I snipped the barrels and mounted them to the energy weapons from the Bulldog kit, a trick I've used a few times now, and it just works. I also opted to use some old scenery bits as Servo-Scribe tokens. Yes, I could absolutely make better versions with green stuff and wire, but they would be titchy and fragile. The terrain bits, previously used for remote bomb parts, have skulls and speakers on them, so its not really a stretch for relaying orders in the Imperium.

Up next: painting I hope.

Project Draftdodger: Part 4

See here for part 3.

Well, between waiting for stuff to arrive, the codex arriving, and waiting for stuff to go on pre-order, I didn’t get that much finished. Mainly I did busy work, and read the new rules. So there’s gonna be less actual models today and more commentary.

My initial impressions of the codex are broadly positive, with some rough bits around the edges. Things feel a bit slipshod; I don't think the folder it comes in is any good, with the day one patches and removed units being well-documented at this point. With the game being so reliant on digital updates currently, which is a net positive don't get me wrong, I find myself questioning the point of hardback rules tomes like this, but it is what it is. The tome does justify existence by having meaningful and worthwhile differences from the index. Krieg got some nice additions, but the Cadians and surprisingly the Catachans got needed work done. The assorted detachments are a nice selection too, although as the tournament scene has yet to break any of them, I reserve final judgement. Recon Element for example has been quickly adopted as the three million infantry one, even if that feels contrary to its theme. I suspect a nerf. Mechanised Infantry looks OK at first glance, but its detachment rule only triggers if your boys dismount, so that’s either a bit underwhelming or there’s something about the wider detachment that’s so niche I'm just not getting it. The tankie one looks alright, favouring speed and utility over brute force, while Siege favours infantry and a fun artillery mechanic. Meanwhile, the revised Combined Arms detachment just stands there with a sign which reads "would that work better with Lethal Hits?". Overall, a pleasant selection on first impression.

 

 The main difference, and one that gave me some pause for thought, is how we effectively have three armys in one due to Krieg, Cadia, and Catachan regiments each having their own squad variants, but no generic one. There is a lot of overlap, and on inspection I doubt you'll have issue a finding a suitable proxy for your preferred regiment, but the differences are as strong as they are subtle. Catachan, even as it looses its character selection, is at worst a sleeper hit. Its heavy weapon teams are arguably the best available, and everything has Scout, including it's command, so these musclemen have some flexibility they've sorely lacked. Cadian options end up as the generalist/defensive choice, with lots tying to objectives, and having the best character selection for Orders. Krieg obviously get a lot of new toys, although not everything is a slamdunk. Their command squads are the least flexible, obviously favouring the meatgrinder, and I'm not super enamoured with their horses, but the Combat Engineers and heavy weapons look good. As all three regiments are compelling, I found myself questioning my stated plans, at least until I remembered that if I got the kitbashing right, I wouldn't be forced to choose. I'll build them as Krieg for now, and my pre-existing Platoon Command Squads have an easy way to go. I just need to settle on a look for the Krieg Command.…

 

 

Meanwhile, with the release still unknown some weeks away for the new Krieg units, I decided to work on the bread & butter stuff: the Krieg battleline option. As I mentioned back in part 1, I feel the need for additional infantry, and my existing examples need some modernization. Confusing this matter is the very obtuse wording of their data sheet. A casual glance would lead you to think that you'd be able to field a squad with 4 special weapons per 10, but then you see the mess of footnotes. While I would greatly appreciate some clarification from GW on this, Ive decided to follow a conservative interpretation of 2 per 10, with the Vox Unit option counting towards that ratio. I assume that is is a reflection of a (new?) sprue layout, and I have a dark suspicion that you aren’t intended to have both melta and plasma in some cases, but its not totally clear. So that's 20 models for the new squad, plus 4 additional models for the existing ones, medpacks & lasguns. I am however taking this a bit slow, if only because I’m awaiting some meltaguns in the post. The ones pictured are intended as replacements/add-ons for existing squads, and will be batch painted with the rest… whom currently exist as imcomplete bodies glued to bases. I’ll spare you a picture of that. 

 

On Saturday, GW finally stopped playing coy about its new Guard releases, and stated the base sizes for two units, the afore mentioned Krieg Command, and the Krieg Heavy Weapon Teams. I had a lot of what I needed, but not all, so I worked some of the HWTs on the Sunday and Monday. I will however talk more about that next time,

Gaming: Vampire Survivors (PC)

OK, let me start with a culinary metaphor. You do not eat a brick of cheese for dinner. It might be tasty & satisfying, and lord knows I’ve eaten cheese straight from the grater, but its fundamentally bad for you in quantity. Cheese, like many things, works best in moderation, in conjunction with something else. Vampire Survivors isn't a whole brick of cheese, but it is close, like an entire Christmas cheeseboard, plus some crackers, in one go. Assume for the previous that you are not lactose intolerant. Anyways, Vampire Survivors is a game I picked up cheap during a steam sale, and its a bit of an indie darling. Few games for under a tenner get both a BAFTA and Noclip documentary. You might think if it as Castlevania inspired, specifically the 8 bit ones, with elements of tower defence and bullet hell games. You have to survive a mounting horde of undead, your character attacks automatically, so grab power-ups quickly before you are overwhelmed. Its a very simple game, and one well worth the money I paid. But I kinda don't like it...

When you get right down to it, Vampire Survivors can be described as a fruit machine buried beneath retro-graphics and punny names. Its not completely fair to do that, but the comparison is there. To explain why is to invoke a lot of boring technical buzzwords, and better writers than me have already gone that route. But I will try. The key, addicting, mechanism here is RPG style character progression, a concept that originated with Dungeons & Dragons and the like. This is the idea that a player, having gained an arbitrary amount of experience, gains new abilities. The reward for playing the game is to become more powerful in game, gain new abilities, and thus face greater challenges. You see this in a lot of games these days, especially ones based on micro-transactions and subscriptions, as its something that encourages player investment. With Vampire Survivors this process is a touch randomised and ungodly quick. The time from one character level to the next is less than a minute, and what you get is a choice between 3ish random powerups, which stack and interact with eachother. These are lost when you inevitably die, but Vampire Survivors also has a "Rogue-lite" system where in-game gold is used to purchase permanent upgrades as well as new characters to play. The result is a frankly intoxicating gameplay loop, and one that would be utterly evil if it had but one micro-transaction to tempt you with. It does not, thankfully, but this pull is worrying to a neurodivergent person like myself.


Vampire Survivors is a game where you can easily spend 30 minutes in a dopamine trance. You spend the first 10 minutes or so dodging your foes, building your character into something you prefer. You spend the next 10 minutes getting progressively more powerful, as truly apocalyptic levels of death are displayed on screen. If you do things right, your character will be the eye of a storm of particle effects. Then you remember that at the 30 minute mark, the Reaper will appear to claim you. There's nowt you can do about that (yet), but that completes the level. So you then get told about Achievements you got, get to spend your money, and likely unlocked a new map or mechanic to play. Its layers of enticing loops atop of enticing loops atop of enticing loops. Its like Cookie Clicker, but with actual gameplay.

At about the 12 hour mark, I paused playing for a few days as I was questioning my attachment, and didn't feel much of a need to play again after that. I had broke the habit, and I find myself unexpectedly introspective about my relationship with gaming now. Its very tempting to compare Vampire Saviours to gambling software, the creator is upfront about his history in that field after all, but I feel that's a bit reductive. I’ve had a couple of mobile games hit me this way, and well as the occasional open world game; initial obsession followed by burn-out. Its not the first time something like this has got its claws into me, but this is the first one for a while, and with unusual force. As mentioned there are no exploitative micro-transactions, as well as no small amount of whimsy, and scale. Few games escalate so rapidly as Vampire Survivors, and even without its extensive DLC library, there's much to discover. But I can't help but see the mechanics of addiction at play here. Does that make it a bad game? No, but its not a game I really trust myself with either.


There's a reason why you don't eat a brick of cheese by itself for dinner...

Project Draftdodger: Part 3

See here for part 2.

 

In part 1, I described Krieg Combat Engineers as something adjacent to Kasrkin or Scions, and on reflection, that’s a touch misleading. Combat Engineers do have a similar statline to those elite units, and a similar position as a small specialist squad rather than the rank & file. Engineers however end up a bit more low tech by comparison, and regular Krieg have more direct and more diverse firepower per point, depending on how you count. What Combat Engineers have instead are a number of otherwise uncommon weapon types and an obscene amount of explosives. These are basically trench raiders, with a Scout move and are technically capable of being equipped as a mêlée unit, but are actually known for putting a significant amount of mortal wounds on something.

 

Having decided that Bulldogs would be a good basis for such a unit, I decided to experiment in kitbashing a minimum sized squad and its weapons. The combat shotguns were an initial problem, as the Bulldog rifles where the wrong shape, and I struggled to source an alternative I liked. The Stargrave Mercenaries sprue did present an option I would later return to, but in the meantime I opted to modify some cannon fodder guns with new barrels and drum mags. These looked pretty good, and this gave me confidence to try making a handflamer, but I really should have remembered how delicate such work is. This is why you start small, so you can catch bugs before you go all in. With the remote bomb and operator I got a bit silly. The bomb is a glorified token, so it doesn't matter too much what it looks like, while the operator just needs a remote. Thus I built a crude carriage with a skull on it, (sourced from old Imperial Strongpoint terrain IIRC,) and then plonked a resin bit that resembles artillery shell on top. Yes. This is oversized and dumb. But it's clear what it does. The operator meanwhile got a PDA to control it, and a cup of tea to enjoy.

 

 

Look engineers are builders, right? Same thing. Builder’s tea is a thing. They are already wearing high visibility orange. What more do you want? For me to take the setting seriously?

Anyways, As I noted last update, I wanted to batch paint my models, so I made another squad of five along largely the same lines. I used the aforementioned stargrave option for shotguns, something that eased the process. There aren't many of those per box though, so as and when I make more, I'll probably have to go for cannon fodder kitbash anyway. I'm not planning to make more immediately though, as I want to playtest them a bit first. One concern I have is diminishing returns on a third squad, as you can't use a stratagem twice in a phase, and if you're running three sets of engineers, that’s a limitation you will feel. There's also the somewhat unusual way these squads scale up to 10; you don't get more bombs or specialist weapons, but you do get 5 shotgun dudes for a piddling 25 points. Its not mandatory, but I can see a case for extra bodies for improved objective play. Some minor tweaking to both sets on the Wednesday was then followed by leisurely painting over the week. The plasma pistols proved a recurring problem though, not staying on or together, prompting modifications rather late in the process. While I did attempt to sculpt some additional armour in places, I don't think it came through very well. That said, they turned out OK. I don't think I’m really getting better as such, but I am getting more efficient. At the very least I was glad of some new brushes I got recently, tiny ones help with the goggles and such.

Speaking of rules and play testing, I am still impatient for my copy of the new codex. In the absence of a general release, I decided to source a loose special edition example from eBay. At time of writing, I have yet to receive it, but assuming nowt goes wrong, I'll be in the position to play test in time for the next update. The continued absence of a release date and base size for both the Krieg Command and Krieg Heavy Weapons is also an irritation. I have ideas with respects to these, and I may deviate from my original plan. I find myself leaning towards the "Castellan Command Blob" as a backfield option, but we'll see. I don't think I need two Krieg Commands if I properly modernise my existing two Platoon Commands. Of course, GW would post a preview for a pre-order a few days after I ordered the codex, mere minutes after I finalised this paragraph.

 

I thought something like that might happen. 

Still, I don't think I overpaid, and I should have the last of the information I need by Sunday.

Up next: Krieg battleline.

Transformers: Alternators Jaguar XK Ravage is Something that Exists

 

The 1984 Transformers Ravage toy

While largely forgotten these days, Alternators was a precursor to the now-endless neo-G1 lines, the modern (not-)masterpiece scene, and the endemic East versus West fandom disputes of the 00's and 10's. I was around at the time, but never actually had one before this article. The alternators were pitched as modern updates to G1 characters with then-modern car altmodes, but car modes of the highest possible fidelity and officially licenced. Hasbro provided them without fiction, but Takara did a Takara, adding diecast metal to the toys, as well as tie-in fiction. This of course made the Takara Binaltech versions more desirable to certain collectors, and I can see where they are coming from, but diecast is a mixed blessing. Alternators and Binaltech eventually faded away, replaced by smaller and more accessible toys, but not before Takara revamped the line. And I am still too angry to talk about that, so you can read up on that abomination on your own time. More generally though, Alternators was pulled in several different directions, the car manufacturers being difficult, Takara being Takara, Hasbro being Hasbro, and an often inexplicable character selection. One notable example of this was Ravage, one of Soundwave's chest tape minions, whom somehow ended up with two distinct toys. As opposed to literally anyone else who could turn into a car already.

The other Alternator Ravage, circa 2004

I have two somewhat contradictory opinions on Ravage. The first off is that he is a cat, and therefore I'm predisposed to love him as a precious murder-baby whom can do no wrong. The other is that Ravage was the focus of possibly the best example of geewunner pandering ever animated, the Beast Wars episode "The Agenda (Part 1)". Built up as a badass special agent, the lad turns up and basically ends the beast wars in ten minutes. Arguably the least physically capable of the original Decepticons, which the cartoon depicted purely as an animal, is so overwhelming as to reset the series. By comparison, when Starscream's Ghost made an appearance, they remembered what a walking failure he was. I mention this as that episode as Takara used it to justify the first Ravage toy in this line, a headswap/convertible retool of Tracks. Via time travel weirdness and deep cut lore too convoluted to quickly recount here. In fairness, that may very well have been the original design intent, but I should mention that Japanese fiction is absolutely riddled with continuity porn like that. My research did not turn up a similar explanation for the second Ravage toy, our subject, as it was a 2007 example that never had a Japanese release. What I believe however, is that this toy exists as fortuitous result of licencing, where somebody said something like "Jaguars are cool cars, and we have somebody who is also a Jaguar.". That's too good an idea not to use.

Ravage's first toy was a Micro Change Micro Cassette Robo Jaguar, geddit?

So, the car mode. It's a Jaguar XK in 1:24 scale, part of the famous British Jaguar brand. Its a fairly memetic brand, one associated with style, wealth, and being a bit of a cad. They are viewed as luxurious and capable with a price to match, especially in running costs. Top Gear had strong opinions about these, before Clarkson had his mardy. I can imagine them not liking the brand's recent turn towards electric. Anyways, I wasn’t previously familiar with the XK, but its something very much in that vein. A stylish thing in black, a car for Englishmen to covet and occasionally squee over. The toy comes packaged like this, in a fancy bubble box. I'd imagine your average gearhead would be quite onboard and its not immediately obvious that this is actually a transforming toy, something the Alternators was consistently good at. It achieves this by avoiding anything in the transformation that would break the lines of the car, and adding all the little details commonly omitted from Transformers toys, both then and now. We're talking rubber wheels with visible break disks, actual wing mirrors, numberplates, translucent lights and an actual interior with opening doors. As a collectable model its very on point, if you look at it properly outside of that display bubble you will find robot bits, like the back window for example, but Its otherwise nicely done. Getting the car right was clearly the focus of the enterprise. That said, actual play features aren't here, yes it rolls, but that's about it, and it is not in right-hand drive. Boo.

 

After a somewhat fiddly panel-forming transformation, the jaguar mode, sorry, robot mode is somewhat less impressive. On the one hand, its not trying to be humanoid, its a cat. Its the first and last Alternator to try that, while being one of only two unique Decepticons in the line, and thus needs to be graded differently. On the other, there's an awful lot of loose panels here. The head and paws are doing a lot of work to characterise the toy, and it looks decidedly skinny beneath the car bits. I do like how much more colourful the robot mode is versus the car, adding more accents along with the grey. Articulation is mixed; there's much in the head, and neck, although the limbs are limited at the shoulders and hips. The hips are especially worrying in that they use translucent plastic and were very tight. As there's no outward motion, Ravage looks a bit stiff, although he is quite stable. His distinctive missiles meanwhile have their own articulated arms, so you have options. Not the worst cat mode Ravage ever had, and he's had some awful ones since, but far from a triumph with all those car bits everywhere.

 

 
As my first foray into the Alternators line, Ravage is pleasant but flawed. I'm aware that this toy isn't that representative of the line as a whole, but that was part of the reason why I got it. Flawed as it is, I do like the exceptions. I suspect that the earlier Tracks-retool might possibly be better overall, going by the numbers as it were, Beast Wars etc, but this is clearly the fun one. I also suspect some of the negatives here are things I wouldn't like about the more conventional Alternators. The slavish devotion to the car mode is both a strength and a weakness, and this supposedly one of the simpler examples. That said, its far from bad. And its not often that you can say you have a jaguar that turns into a Jaguar.