Week@HS #24

VC
Hi everyone! Arch-vile here, interviewing a longtime member of VC about the upcoming Wave 17. So, without further ado, here is dok!

Arch-vile: Tell me a little about your involvement in the VC project.

dok: I was brought on about 5 months into C3V's history as a Designer, which meant my role was to help come up with preliminary designs for available figures and kick them along to the other stages of the process (review, editing, playtesting, and, if all goes well, art and final approval). It's challenging but very fun work. Fairly recently, I've changed hats in C3V. I'm now part of the ERB, whose job is to review those preliminary designs and consider whether they are appropriate in terms of theme, gameplay, and the quality and availability of the figure sculpt being used.

Arch-vile: Wave 17: Aquilla's Answer is coming soon! How involved were you in the production of Wave 17?

dok: I was on design through most of the development of the figures in wave 17. I spent a lot of time working on the mechanics of the Varkaanan faction, which involved a ton of back-and forth with the rest of the project at nearly every stage of the process (review, editing, playtesting, and final approval). To me, one of the most satisfying things about the C3V process is to see the way the different people on the project, with their different roles, all contribute to a design and produce something that's much better than any of us could do individually.

Arch-vile: There are a lot of Varkaanan units coming: 3 Unique Heroes and 4 Unique Squads. Describe the Vark faction in three words.

dok: Yeesh, that's hard. I'll go with: fast, challenging, versatile.

Arch-vile: To what extent do they bring something new to the game? How much do they hark back to the existing canon?

dok: It's very much a mix. Some of the Vark powers are an echo of powers from the original Rise of the Valkyrie set, and many of their other powers are slight twists (or exact copies) of existing powers. But the big central mechanic of the faction is really new and forces you (and your opponent) to think in new ways.

Arch-vile: What was the hardest decision that needed making during the process of creating the Varks?

dok: That big central mechanic I just teased took a long time to work out, and went through many revisions before its final form. We wanted a power that linked them together thematically and synergistically and it took a lot of work to get it right.

The Varkaanan faction was also extremely hard to playtest, because they were so interdependent. Any time we tweaked one squad or hero, it called into question the correct stats and pricing of the entire faction. It took a long cycle of tests, analysis of tests, and adjustments to get things hammered down.

Arch-vile: Finally, anything else you wish to add? A release date perhaps?

dok: Heh. I'll just say news will be coming down the pipe pretty soon.

Arch-vile: Thanks dok for your time!

HoSS
Last week, HoSS released their first master set! This week (and in coming weeks) we will be spotlighting one of the figures every week!
This week, we will be featuring Luke Skywalker! With his Force Intuition he can re-roll blanks for defense or attack. He can also use his I'm Here to Rescue You special power to save fellow heroes by combining it with his Daring Escape special power! Combine these with his decent stats and you get a fun figure who is good for fight or flight (with a friendly hero)!

Custom of the Week
This week we're featuring the custom terrain work of new member Slaine! He's created a number of crystals, rocks and other obstacles to spice up his battlefield.
See more pictures of his work in his thread!

Map of the Week
This week, we bring you a map from Dignan, The Quad!
While a bit of a high hex count, this map is quite beautiful and balanced. The nice use of cover means that both high and low ground can be used, so that the battle rages around the board!

Custom SuperScape Creation
This week, we bring you masterfully made mods by mac122! He has made mods of the Hammer Drones for every branch of the military!
To learn how he did it and to see more of his work, see this thread!

Miscellaneous
Do you hate emptying your PM inbox as much as I do? If so then you will be happy to learn that all Site Supporters will soon have the same amount of PM space as admins do!

Coming this Saturday, Site Supporters will be able to hold in more than 60,000 PM's at a time with their inbox. "The inbox space of an admin will be provided for Site Supporters. Let's just hope no one manages to fill that up!" said Xorlof. This is just another great reason to support Heroscapers by becoming a Site Supporter and donating with Paypal.

Editor's note
With the new release by HoSS, we at Week@HSers have decided to grant it it's own section! We will not only be giving a review of each figure from the newest set, but will keep you updated with the latest news!
- Week@HSers