Robotech Miniatures Kickstarter is live!

[Forar]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rrpgt/robotech-rpg-tacticstm

This went live yesterday, and blew through $150k in backing for the campaign by the end of the day. Starting day 2 off to a good start, the 4th stretch goal will likely be reached shortly (within a few hours), and with 31 days left to go there's plenty of room for awesome upgrades add ons, and bonuses (unfortunately the freebie enhancements are limited to those able to get in on some of the higher tiers).

Figured there might be some fans of the series here that would be interested in this project, I know I'm in!

List of stretch goals met and pending:

#1: 90k: 2 new Destroids available as an Add On for $20.

#2: 125k: bonus Veritech Fighter per box at Battlecry and above tiers (Showdown gets 2x all free bonuses)

#3: 150k: pair of Zentraedi Fighters available as an Add On for $20.

#4: 180k: bonus sprue of Battlepods per box added to Battlecry and higher tiers (3 more Battlepods)

#5: 220k: Add On Enhancement: original (non Stretch #1) Destroid pack of 2 for $20 upgraded to 4 for $20.

#6: 240k: Dice upgrade to game specific faction symbols.

#7: 260k: Roy Fokker's Skull One LE figure (all 3 modes) added to each Battlecry box and higher tiers ($15 as an add on). Bonus: all boxes receive Recon Battlepods (exact details unclear). $20 Officer's Pod add on now includes a Recon Pod as well.

#8: 280k: Additional Officer's Pod and Recon pod added to Battlecry and higher tiers.

#9: 325k: MAC II add on available for $40, or Daedalus Maneuver pack (3 MACs, 8 Destroids (Tomahawk/Defenders) for $150 unlocks.

#10: 345k: Zentraedi Faction dice added to ALL boxes, available as buy in (12 for $12).

#11: 375k: Zentraedi Fighter Add On package upgraded from 2 for $20 to 3 for $20.

#12: 400k: Zentraedi Support Artillery Battlepod Add On becomes available (2 for $20, can be made into any combination of Light and Heavy artillery between them).

#13: 430k: All box sets (First Contact and up) will receive 2 more Destroids (so total of 4 combined Tomahawks and Defenders).

2200 backers (roughly 100 more, as of time of posting) will see the Battle Cry and higher tiers gain 2 more Destroids per box (Spartan and Phalanx).

#14: 450k: Zentraedi Male Power Armour becomes available as an add on, $20 for 3.

#15: 475k: Spartans and Phalanxes in the $20 add on pack doubled up to 4 total (2 of each?).

#16: 500k: Khyron LE Officer's Pod, with removable canopy revealing The Backstabber within added to Battle Cry and up. *Also available as an add on for $15.

#17: 525k: another Veritech added to Battle Cry and above tiers.

#18: 550k: 3 more battlepods for Battle Cry and higher tiers.

#19: 575k: Artillery Support Battlepod add on improved to 4 figures for $20 (originally 2).

#20: 600k: Super Veritechs available as an Add on, 2 for $35.

#21: 625k: 3 Gnerl Fighters added to Battle Cry and up tiers.

#22: 650k: Zentraedi Heavy Infantry add on unlocked (6 for $30).

#23: 700k: Female Power Armour add on unlocked (3 for $30).

#24: 725k: Miriya Female Power Armour LE figure added to all Battle Cry boxes, and available as a $15 add on.

#25: 750k: 2 Valkyrie pack that can be built as VEF-1's (Electronic Warfare variant) or VF-1D's (two seater variant, often used as a trainer).

#26: 775k: Armoured Battloids add on unlocked: $20 for 2.

#27: 800k: 3 Male Power Armour suits added to all Battle Cry boxes!

#28: 825k: Zentraedi Infantry add on upgraded to 6 Heavy Infantry and 6 Light Infantry for $30.

#29: 850k: Lancer II add on pack unlocked: $20 for 2.

#30: 875k: Armoured Battloid add on upgraded to 4 for $20.

# of Backer Based Goals:

2200: All Battle Cry and above pledges get a Spartan and a Phalanx included in their box.

2400: Weapon templates (blast radius checker, etc) upgraded to plastic in ALL boxes.

2600, the Battle Cry and higher tiers will receive 2 Support (Artillery) Battlepods per box.

2800: Game cards in ALL boxes will be upgraded to laminated versions.

3000: 1 Spartan and 1 Phalanx added to all Battle Cry and up tiers.

3200: 2 Artillery Support battlepods added to all Battle Cry and above tiers.

3500: UEDF and Zentraedi Decal sheets added to ALL game boxes!

On Deck:

#31: 900k: 2 Resin scenario marker packs unlocked: $15 apiece.

#32: 925k: Zentraedi Officer's Pod Booster Sled add on unlocked (1 for $30 or 3 for $80).

#33: 950k: 1 Super VT added to all Battle Cry+ boxes!

#34: 1m: 3 Female Power Armour added to Battle Cry+ O.O

Edited May 17, 2013 by Forar

[i_was_like_you]

I was going to post this last night. It came across my fb feed from IO9. Looks like it'll be a great addition to the Robotech universe.

[Clousseau]

TBH I wasn't that impressed with the proposed sculpts (except the LE one).

[i_was_like_you]

Good enough for some Robotech chess, though.

[Forar]

We're supposed to get a gameplay video in the next week or so, and people who've gotten to demo at Adepticon have provided some insight into the basic mechanics and stats visable on the game cards.

Edit: 260k stretch hit, next is 280k, and while there's no number attached to it, the M.A.C. II "Monster" Destroid has been teased in a recent image, leading some (read: me) to speculate that it may show up in a stretch goal sooner rather than later.

[tldanon]

Wow...This is pretty awesome news!

[nilus]

So this had a lot of good buzz at Adepticon and I love Robotech.

My problem is that Palladium Books is handling the Kickstarter and although the guys at the con were very clear that Palladium had nothing to do with the game outside of publishing it(The rules are completely there own and KS has no direct involvement). I am very leery of giving any more to that company. They do not have a great track record with delivery dates or financial responsibilities

[Patchwork]

Pledged. Thanks so much for pointing this out.

[Forar]

Far as I know, Palladium is handling the KS in name only. I believe the head of Palladium outright said that Ninja Division were the guys running that show, but I'd have to go searching through their forums and releases to find it if need be.

Totally understand the concern regarding delays. I used to play Rifts when I was in high school, and I'm pretty sure some of the books they were advertising a decade and a half ago may have come out in the last year or two (hyperbole, I haven't actually looked that closely), but the ND guys have talked a good talk thus far. According to them the models will go into production 45 days after the campaign ends (accounting for the time it takes for cash to actually get to them, mold production, etc), and the delivery date of December seems pretty reasonable by that standard.

Obviously a snag could be hit at any time, so I'm not counting my Veritechs before they're in my hands, but I'm keeping optimistic for now.

[Forar]

OP updated to reflect the next stretch goal and other details. In short; $325k unlocks MAC II add ons for purchase (can't blame them making it spicy and paid to begin with, it's supposed to be an absolutely massive model).

[edonil]

Still woulda preferred powered armor... I want to be able to field Quadranos, lol.

[Forar]

There's been a lot of interest in the Zentraedi power armour, so I hope that we see them eventually. With 4 weeks and who knows how many backers to go, I'd be surprised if we didn't hit a whole pile of stretch goals along the way.

A Miriya double pack (Power Armour and Veritech) along with a Max Veritech would be awesome.

Worst case scenario though, 2 of my boxed fighters are getting painted in the appropriate red and blue trim.

[dgraz]

I was never really a Robotech guy, so forgive me if I sound stupid here. I never knew that Robotech and Battletech were together. I always just thought that a few of the machines looked similar.

Why are they called different things? The Tomohawk is obviously a Warhammer, the Defender is obviously a Rifleman and the Glaug battlepod is a Marauder.

[i_was_like_you]

There was a lawsuit and FASA dropped several 'Mechs that were from the Robotech / Macross universe. So yeah, they're the same, but since the designer had sold them to two companies at the same time...Well things got complicated.

[nilus]

Its a long complicated story but the gist is that the original battletech mechs were in fact the Macross mecha. Which became parr of Robotech in the states.

[Forar]

I remember reading my first Battletech novel, flipping to the mech designs at the end and saying "Waaaait a minute. I know these things..."

Which then led to heartbreak with later Battletech video games never having the mechs I'd come to associate with both series. Officer's Pod? MAD-3R Marauder? Doesn't matter, awesome either way. And sadly missing from so many great games because of the legal cluster... shenanigans.

Edit: also, having broken 300k overnight, there's now a teaser image comparing the size of the MAC II to the other mechs we've seen. It is HUGE.

[abraxus04]

After seeing the minis at Adepticon, if they keep it to scale the MAC II should be roughly the size of the GW Forgefiend/Maulerfiend. maybe a little smaller but not by much. Also I talked to the guy at the booth and he did say that the power armor models are coming. With 27 days to go I think they will have them up as a stretch goal soon. while I like those I am waiting for the super and armored versions of the veritechs!

[dgraz]

Thanks for clearing me up.

[Forar]

Not that anyone here has been complaining about this in particular, just something I've noticed in the campaign Comments and need to get that off my chest;

The campaign has held steady at 22-27k per day for the last three days. Now, obviously one can't expect that to hold up across the entire month. I'm expecting it to quite possibly slow down in the next few days, maybe a week, depending on what the following stretch goals are (how far they're spaced, what exactly is added/buyable), but even at 10k/day and 20k/stretch, there should be a good dozen or more to go. And then there's the last day or two, ye gods those generally seem to get a bit bonkers.

So agreed, I think it's very likely we'll see the male/female power armour, improvements to some of the add ons (original Destroid box style; upgrades to quantity and whatnot), the Super/Armoured Veritechs, and some neat stuff in general, hopefully including things like objectives (downed Cats Eye, etc) for various scenarios, etc.

It's funny to see people complaining about the campaign slowing down and whatnot, as though every single one needs to hit 5 million to be a success. There are tons of campaigns struggling just to hit their target goal who'd see nearly a third of a million in funding and 20k+ per day and just drool. Personally, I think it's moving along at a great clip, even estimating that the Monster won't unlock until sometime tomorrow.

[i_was_like_you]

The more people who share the kickstarter, the more possible donors will see it. Gotta account for some people waiting for payday, or waiting until after a certain stretch goal to be sold on pledging.

I think there were only a few hours left to the Through the Breach kickstarter when I finally pledged to it.

[edonil]

Anyone else excited by the bit of rules that they showed? For me, I'm glad that it's not going to be a game on the complexity scale of Battletech. I don't want to have another giant mech simulator, I can't get a game of Battletech in as it is.

Also, I'm loving the look of the models so far. Here's hoping it's possible to pose the Veritechs a little more once the designs are finalized!

[Forar]

Yeah edonil, I liked what I saw as well. I was wary when they said it would be 'fast paced', but once you get in a groove (Figure X needs a 3 to hit Figure Y, a 2 if shooting from behind) I imagine it should get pretty swift to play through activations.

Even as a work in progress with 7+ months until delivery (assuming they even make Dec; I'm hopeful but wouldn't bet my life on it. Hell, I wouldn't bet my lunch on it), I felt it showed a lot of promise.

[Forar]

So, we hit 325k (unlocking the MAC II and Daedalus pack) and just tapped 345k a little bit ago, unlocking the Zentraedi faction dice for ALL boxes.

It's a small thing, but it's a thing all the same.

Next target is 375k, which will bump the Zentraedi Fighter add on from $20 for 2 figures, to $20 for 3.

Not the sexiest of stretch goals, but I stand firm that right now we're just buffering them against costs and steadily sweetening the deals here and there a touch, with the true craziness not even on the horizon yet. Just under 4 weeks to go, still seeing 22-27k in new funding, and roughly 100 new backers per day. Not a break neck pace, but steady, and I'd rather steady gains than crazy fluctuations that seem to leave everything up in the air.

Steady for now, leave it for the last week to let things get bonkers without being anticlimactic.

[Forar]

375k stretch hit, fighter add on pack expanded from 2 to 3. Next goal is 400k, at which point a Battlepod Artillery Support pack will unlock ($20 for two artillery battlepods, any combination of Light and Heavy).

They have also added a backer based reward tier system. At 2200 backers, the Battle Cry and above tiers will have two more Destroids added to their box. At 2400, 'weapon templates' (not certain exactly what these will be used for, possibly measuring, line of sight, or blast radius checkers?) will be upgraded to plastic, and at 2600 backers the Battle Cry and higher boxes will get a pair of Artillery Battlepods added. Not too shabby!

[Forar]

400k hit, opening up the Artillery Support battlepods add on as promised.

Also hit 2200 backers, which add a Spartan and a Phalanx to the Battle Cry and higher tiers.

Next goals are 430k (another pair of Tomahawks/Defenders added to ALL box sets), 450k (Zentraedi Male Power Armour add on opens up, $20 for 3), and 2400 backers (weapon templates upgraded to plastic for all boxes).

Things have definitely cooled a little of late, but people have been clamoring for power armour since the KS launched, so hopefully things perk up a little as we move into the second act of the campaign, as it were.