Thursday 27 October 2011

IK Daily going to Houston!

Is this what awaits me in Houston...? (o_O!)

IK Daily is taking a 1-2 week break due to real life work travels. I will be catching a flight to Houston, Texas in less than 15 hours time. By the end of next week, I will be in Dallas for a 1 day trip. Any suggestions on where to drop by and visit is heaps appreciated!

After this Houston trip, I will be travelling back to Brunei for more work commitments. My travels will not stop till end of January and I can see this affecting the quality and consistency of articles produced. Nevertheless, I will try my best to continue updating this site!

Saturday 22 October 2011

Terrain Tables from people of the internet

It is always nice to play on a well detailed terrain table. It really adds a nice narrative touch to your game and the sight of your minis on it is simply breathtaking! I will let the pictures below do my bidding.

Swamp Table


by AgeOfEgos
WIP: http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?80514-Swamp-Table-for-my-gators


Crossroads


by Frekke
WIP: http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?80984-Finally-finished


Corvis


by Atlantean
WIP: http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?75655-Corvis-Inspired-Table-%28Commissioned-by-Mike-from-Penny-Arcade%29


Clockwork Cove


by Atlantean
WIP: http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?55892-Clockwork-Cove


Modular Urban Terrain Project (deserves 2 photos)



by YabaBaga
WIP:  http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?30037-Modular-Urban-Terrain-Project-%28WIP%29


Wilderness Gameboard (WIP but you know it's gonna be awesome!)


by sonofblight
WIP: http://privateerpressforums.com/showthread.php?63136-Modular-Ruins-wilderness-gameboard



The above pics are compiled from the Privateer Press forums. I use to have pictures of really good tabletop terrains saved on a folder but it unfortunately did not get transferred when I switched over to a new computer. It included great terrain tables from other game systems like Warhammer 40k/Fantasy, Battlefield Gothic(!), etc. Being impressed by how awesome the terrain table looks is only half the story. One would have to see the efforts went through in making it in order to really appreciate the efforts put into it.

I hope this post is an inspiration for us to make and play on better terrain tables!


Any pictures/links of awesome terrain tables you'd like to share?

Thursday 13 October 2011

IK Daily on a Break



Due to foreseen work circumstances, I am unfortunately unable to update IK Daily this week with an article. Feel free to tune in next week for an article instead! :)

Saturday 8 October 2011

On the Spot List Building


It’s Friday night. You just finished handling your colleague’s screw up and it took you longer than expected. Your smartphone’s message alert can’t stop buzzing and you can’t be bothered opening it. It’s probably your girlfriend’s text reminding you to buy her tampons. What you need now is a good game on the table to escape reality and perhaps your girlfriend’s demanding demands.

With your army bag in hand, you walk into your nearby LGS which houses wonderful terrains and one of the friendliest owners you’ve ever met. Steve is rambling about how awesome his Avatar of Menoth is at one corner while Dave was arguing if a Khadoran Devastator is worth a spot in his list. “BOOM HEADSHOT!”, shouted Alfred. He just one-shotted his opponent’s warcaster, leaving a grunt of frustration coming out from his opponent. This is your Friday night. This is where you will get your sanity back. There just isn’t a better place than this.


“Hey! Want a game?”

You turn and see Rocky behind you with a big smile on his face. Rocky has played Warmachine for 1 year and is a nice guy. He’s 22, single, and has a knack of playing in character while in a game. He usually plays Cygnar but occasionally, he brings his Menoth to the forefront instead. This would be your third time playing against him.

“Sure! I had a tough week and need a game bad!”
“Alright! Which hero are you playing?”, asked Rocky.
“Venethrax! I want to see how viable he is.”

As both you and Rocky pull out your armies, you notice rocky pausing while looking at your side of the table. “Infantry heavy eh” he says. He puts back a unit he took out and replaces it with another unit. You squirm as you see that. You know where this is going but you hope it isn’t as bad as it looks. As you finish taking out all your models needed, you notice Rocky takes one final glance at your side of the table. He then pulls out pEiryss.


How often does the above happen to you? Most people do not like playing against a list tailored against theirs, especially in ‘friendlies’. List-tailoring can be as simple as putting in a solo (i.e. Eiryss, Bokur, etc) to give him an upper-hand, or can be as complex as choosing an army focusing on the opposing faction’s weakpoint (non-siege/caine cygnar gunline with no magical weapons against Menoth jacks with choirs). It may not happen as often in real life, but it does happen often in Vassal as it is easier to do so. While some matchups may be of concidence, you can really identify if you are playing against a tailored list by observing your opponent’s behaviour.

So how do they do it? They ask a simple question.

“What hero are you playing?”

Or if they want to do it in a subtle manner,

“What faction are you playing?”

Asking what faction is being played contributes to list-tailoring may come out as a shocker to some. A lot of players tend to ask this question without realising that by knowing faction type info, they can tailor their list against yours. A good example is the Cygnar Gunline vs menoth as stated above. Some do it without even realising they are doing it! The honest player may have swapped his unit for the sake of “wanting to play it”, but the opponent may perceive otherwise.

Many say they ask what faction their opponent is playing because they do not want to field “useless units”. However, the only “useless units” I see are the game-specific ones i.e. Machine Wraith, Feralgeist, etc (it really feels like a wasted point slot when playing Machine Wraith against a Hordes-based faction).

 
To alleviate this problem, a player has 2 options.

1)  Play a pre-build list. It doesn’t matter what faction or warcaster your opponent plays. You have a set list that is both advatageous and vulnerable against certain armies. If the opponent is petty, write down your list on a piece of paper.

2)  If you insist on not playing “useless units”, ask the right question i.e. “are you playing a warmachine- or hordes-based faction??” Knowing whether you are up against a Warmachine or Hordes faction is enough information to exclude models like the Feralgeist and such. Swapping your unit of Blackbane’s Ghost Raiders for a unit of Satyxis Raiders because you found out he is playing Khador is as good as tailoring your list.


Noone likes to play against a list made to go up against theirs. Tailoring a list can be done in a subtle manner even without realising so. Unfortunately, many have the habit of asking what faction their opponent is playing. Warmachine players around the world should be educated on information of whether you are up against a WM- or Hordes-based faction is enough to not field “useless units”. Only then will the rate of list-tailoring be reduced.



What are your experiences in going up against a list tailored against yours?

Wednesday 5 October 2011

Habits! The good, the bad, and the weird…



Everyone have their own habits when playing Warmachine. Most are LGS specific, but there are some habits that are considered a worldwide phenomenon. Habits are infectious whether good, bad or weird. Habits mostly appear as the player finds his/her comfort zone. Below is a list of some habits found in individuals or in LGS that I’ve managed to gather based on observations and the interwebs.


The Good


- When rolling for damage, player says "dice plus/minus X”. If the PS and ARM is equal, player says “straight dice”.


The Neutral (neither good nor bad)


 
- A 5 life solo got hit. Damage roll at -3. Player says “8+ to kill”.
- Immediately removing a 1 life model with damage roll at -1, 0, +1, etc.
- If you can’t balance a model on a terrain, it cannot be placed.
- Sniper’s 1 damage is referred as “ping for 1 at column 4”.
- Referring a damaged system as “busted” (i.e. busted cortex).
- Saying “3+ to hit” instead of “anything but ones”, refusing to say “ones”. (my personal habit)
- Naming their warjacks/warbeasts/solos
- While many LGS have an understanding rule that all cocked dice are re-rolled, there are LGS where cocked dice are not re-rolled. The side that faces up the “most” is the number rolled. If it’s too tough to tell which side it is, only then it is re-rolled.


The Bad

 
- Not using wreck markers once jacks are destroyed “for convenient purposes”.
- Turning warjacks around to represent a wreck.
- Laying a model on its side to indicate the knocked down effect. (this should be avoided as it disturbs the model’s facing when the model stands up).
- Not marking spell-based effects with tokens.
- Measuring movement from center of model.


The Weird

 
- Rolling a bunch of dice before starting the game, picking out the high rolling ones.
- Kissing their models after it “out-performed” itself.
- Playing the game while in character (i.e. the medieval knight, the pirate scum, the irish bartender, etc)
- Player adds in “sound effects”


What habits do you have or notice while playing a game of Warmachine at your LGS?