NO POSTING - Heroscape 2.0 News from Designers and Staff

[Anitar]

@Dartheyegouger took a bunch more high-quality pictures of the NYCC display. Girushia is much smaller than I expected.

Originally Posted by Dartheyegouger

We also have several new articles:

https://www.beastsofwar.com/scifi/fu...-hasbro-pulse/
(A typical "this thing exists" announcement)

https://geekdad.com/2022/10/crowdfun...-annihilation/
(This one contains information about the writer's positive experiences with Classicscape and a bit of the gameplay, so if you want to share an article with other people, this seems a good choice)

https://game-news24.com/2022/10/10/a...oscape-reboot/
(Info about one of the artists, who drew Sonlen 2.0)

https://cogconnected.com/2022/10/acc...oscape-reboot/
(Same as the previous article)

[Anitar]

For clarity:

Originally Posted by Encarmine

While it is our long term strategy to develop product and content around the Heroscape brand over the long term, IT IS 100% DEPENDENT on a successful Haslab campaign. A funded campaign covers the upfront cost of producing very expensive tooling for the plastic components. Without those tools available, the viability of developing a future retail line is simply not an option. This is an insight we have shared directly with the dedicated Heroscapers community to provide context to why we chose this platform to relaunch the brand. It therefore doesn’t matter how many awesome ideas we have for the continued development of Heroscape, our attention is completely focused on ensuring the Haslab campaign funds adequately.

Also:

Originally Posted by Encarmine

Yes, that is the plan.

[Anitar]

Originally Posted by Avalon Bill

Over the last several days, the Avalon Hill Design & Development team have been observing and gathering the opinions and perspectives throughout the gamer community on our recent Haslab crowdfunding campaign for Heroscape Age of Annihilation. One topic generating significant debate within the community is a preferred design direction for the unit cards. As part of our team’s effort to provide a positive solution for the majority of existing Heroscape players, welcome new players, and have an optimal solution for the future of the game, we would like to gather more feedback through a simple polling of the community invested in this initiative’s success.

Some development rationale associated with creating a product is not always obvious to consumers, so help provide context, and allow this poll to be an informed decision for all our players, we provide some insights associated with each format, giving a look “under the hood” of our creative process to further empower each of you to make your choices in the fan poll. For the purposes of the fan poll, we have used the same unit card for consistency, removed color to focus on composition, and provided a text heavy example, so players can see how units with multiple powers can influence the layout.

This poll will end on Monday, October 17th at 8 AM EST. We will take that day to review your thoughts and our design team will make a decision from there!

Note: This poll is Discord-exclusive.

Originally Posted by Avalon Bill

OPTION A - “OG SCAPE” For many, the seven-hex design of the original Heroscape unit card represents cherished memories and nostalgia for a beloved game system. The card formatting and shape has forever felt ownable and original to Heroscape, and provided subtle elements, such as the satisfying effect of “interlocking” them together on the tabletop when laying out your selected battle force. Unfortunately, the complex shape is prone to damage, resulting in frustrations for many gamers. The organization of information is also less than optimal, creating considerable “wasted space” on the cards, and requires attributes and powers to be small in scale of significantly edited, limiting the team’s ability to include more expansive rules into Heroscape today and beyond. Last, we have clearly heard that with unpainted miniatures now standard, players want full-color visuals of heroes and squads to use as reference to paint their collection, this format limits the space for those full-color visuals compared to other options.


OPTION B – “NEW SCAPE” The single hex format, while a departure from the original design, continues to provide a unique shape that plays into the language of six-sided hexes most gamers associate with Heroscape. This concept provides the added benefits of greater structural integrity and more optimized space to increase the scale of information and visuals. Initially this appeared to be the best option to provide a degree of ownability to the card shapes by answering many of the issues players have highlighted over the years with the card’s layout. While neither the original seven-hex design or the most optimized option in the poll, it represents the compromise of bringing past and future together, making it our first-choice choice out of the gates to gather initial feedback.


OPTION C – “ARENA SCAPE” First introduced in the release of ARENA OF THE PLANESWALKERS. The “bookmark” redesign of the unit card provided a much-improved organization of information but compromised the unique silhouette of the original seven-hex card design. The vertical structure allows the team to organize rules in a simple method to scale the holding shapes for heavier text usage but tends to shrink the space reserved for visuals. Easy to lay across the playing surface, the design provides strong legibility but can be clumsy to physically handle and tends not to fit in any existing protective sleeves.


OPTION D – “TAROT CARD” The oversized tarot design is by far the easiest to shuffle, organized and protect, granting us an excellent base level in which to compare all other options. While this format is utilized across many popular strategy games it lacks any unique appeal, providing an excellent control for the exploration. While the concept may appear ideal and comfortable for most gamers, the real estate on the card will unfortunately limit the number of powers we can introduce into Heroscape in comparison to other options. (*Note, we did review the potential of a standard playing card size, but the concept is simply unfeasible for this game system without utilizing multiple cards for each unit.)

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Patrick

This is a real card being play tested. Hoping to release more in the upcoming days.

[Anitar]

Originally Posted by Encarmine

I intentionally removed color to focus the poll around card layout. It is a traditional method of evaluating composition.

Additionally, the campaign page has been updated with a full list of the terrain offered. This is the only update.

[Anitar]

Originally Posted by Avalon Bill

For our Discord community first and foremost:

Originally Posted by Avalon Bill

haha, that is JUST for scale, sadly it is not included in every Has Lab

I've taken the liberty of pinpointing all the new kyrie in this picture.





Also, the campaign page has been updated with an FAQ:

Spoiler Alert!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Regarding Heroscape: Age of Annihilation

Q: Why bring Heroscape back now?
A: At Avalon Hill, we are first and foremost gamers, and we've recognized that a number of the games we loved as kids were out of print and only available for hundreds of dollars via resale. And when the original designer of Heroscape, Craig Van Ness, joined our team, bringing back Heroscape was a no-brainer. We're very excited for existing Heroscape fans to return to the world they loved, and to introduce the battle of all time to new fans as well.

Q: Can I play Heroscape Age of Annihilation: Vanguard Edition with my older Heroscape sets?
A: Yes, the Avalon Hill team made it a priority to make sure fans of Heroscape can use all of their existing Heroscape figures and terrain mixed in with the Age of Annihilation set.

Q: How many figures are included in Heroscape Age of Annihilation: Vanguard Edition?
A: Age of Annihilation contains 71 figures - 7 large figures that sit on a two-hex size "peanut" base, and 64 figures with the standard single hex base. Additionally, there are five more figures that can be added through stretch goals.

Q: Will Heroscape Age of Annihilation: Vanguard Edition be found in retail stores after the project ends?
A: Our focus is currently on getting the Heroscape Age of Annihilation: Vanguard Edition Has Lab funded. Should this project meet its funding goal, we will then focus on delivering the game to everyone who backed it. After that, we may look at publishing an edition of Age of Annihilation more suited for retail stores.

Q: Will there be any way to get the Has Lab exclusive figures after this campaign?
A: No. As it says, the Thyraxis Dragoon and Scavorith, Lord of Ruin are exclusive to this Has Lab campaign and these figures will not be available outside of this project.

Q: Will Heroscape continue to be supported after the Has Lab?
A: If the Has Lab for Heroscape Age of Annihilation: Vanguard Edition is successful, our first focus will be delivering it to all the backers. After that, we would love to continue the Heroscape line should the demand exist.

Q: Why aren't the figures of Heroscape Age of Annihilation: Vanguard Edition painted?
A: Creating a game today isn't the same as it was 10-15 years ago. We wanted to find the right balance between offering a premium product and making it affordable for fans old and new.
We also understand there are fans out there for whom painting is part of the miniature gaming hobby. We decided that Age of Annihilation will come unpainted and that the figures for each faction will be a different color. That way you will still be able to easily identify figures on the battlefield while still allowing for the painting side of the hobby to thrive.



Regarding the Has Lab website

Q: When will I be charged for this project?
A: Backing a Has Lab project is a promise to pay when the project ends if it has successfully reached its goal. For Heroscape Age of Annihilation: Vanguard Edition, the project ends on Nov. 15, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST. Your chosen method of payment will be charged the next day on Nov. 16th.

Q: Will I be charged if the project does not succeed?
A: No. You will only be charged if this project reached the designated goal of 8,000 Backers.

Q: Is there an additional charge for shipping?
There are no shipping and handling charges for orders placed to the continguous United States.
For other regions, shipping and handling charges will be calculated at the time of checkout. For the full Hasbro Pulse Shipping & Return Policy, visit https://hasbropulse.com/pages/shipping-return-policy.

Q: I live outside the US. Can I place an order?
A: We currently ship to all US states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, most of Canada, and APO/FOP addresses. Unfortunately we are not able to ship to Quebec. Our partner sites can also handle order from the UK, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, and Germany. To back out project from those regions, please head to:

UK - https://uk.hasbropulse.com/products/...nguard-edition
EU - https://eu.hasbropulse.com/products/...nguard-edition

[Anitar]

"Loredump Junior" (because it's smaller than the previous one).

Originally Posted by Encarmine

Consider this: over time. A Kyrie ventures out across a pasture they have known for their entire lifetime on Valhalla. The blue-green grass blowing in the wind a constant reminder of a once peaceful world now thrown into chaos by war and strife. As the war rages around it, this pasture has thus far remained unscathed by the bloodshed and battle. However one day this same Kyrie crests the hill and looks down upon the land only to see it changed. Where once the grass moved to the rhythm of a soft breeze, the Kyrie sees strange and alien plants that appear like oversized neon mushrooms darted the horizon, a common sight on Marr, but not on Valhalla. Is this a sign that the constant usage of these Wellsprings to draw living things from across the universe is effecting the ecosystem of the planet perhaps? Have we been dabbling in things we don’t completely understand?

Would perhaps drastically expand terrain options for the future no?

So now… what happens to a living creature that constantly is accessing that same power and energy over an extended time?

Originally Posted by Encarmine

Anitar ate her Wheaties today it seems.

Originally Posted by Encarmine

Just working through some stuff

[Anitar]

A correction.

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

Hi, everyone!

I’ve been given permission to release a small bit of information about a design in progress.

The *actual* current stats for Killian Vane, as opposed to the incorrect ones put on the sample card, are as follows:

Life 5
Move 5
Range 1
Attack 4
Defense 2

Otherwise the card is precisely as we are currently considering it.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Dad_Scaper

I don’t remember who I was addressing yesterday, but now that the stats for KV are fixed, feel free to have a close look at the design and share your thoughts. This is obviously not intended to be anything complex or groundbreaking on its own, but you are looking at a good guy pirate hero, who can be a part of a pirate army or maybe serve some other purpose.

[Anitar]

From the official Twitter:

Twitter

Transcription, courtesy of @Myth26 (thank you Myth):

Spoiler Alert!

Patrick: Hey everybody. Patrick here, aka Intergalactic Patrick over on the discord. I just heard some HUGE news about Heroscape: Age of Annihilation, the current Haslab campaign that we’re running over on Hasbro Pulse. I figured “You know what? Instead of me telling you about it or just writing it up in a tweet, I’d go crash Steve’s desk from the app development team.” C’mon, follow me. [quieter] Yo Steve, what’s up man? How you doin’? Whatcha working on?

Steve: Hey Patrick man, you know what I’m working on.

Patrick: Oh, yeah, but the internet doesn’t.

Steve: All right.

Patrick: What’s up dude, how you been?

Steve: Hey. Just got the word, Heroscape campaign app is a go.

Patrick: That’s awesome.

Steve: All right, so-

Patrick: What’s in it?

Steve: Well, all right. Two big features we heard from the fans, top priorities, map making and army building, so we’re currently looking at getting more feedback and doing some more research on what’s important on those things. So, pretty broad, right, to start with, so we’re gonna try and narrow it down to what the fans want for both those things, wrap that up, phase one, Heroscape app, knock it out of the park.

Patrick: That sounds awesome, thanks Steve. You heard him, we’re scoping the work right now, we’re figuring out exactly what map making and army building contains, and what you’re looking for, and what you’re looking for in a companion app. So please, let us know, tell us, fill up the comments, blow up the discord.

Steve: Do it.

Patrick: Alright, good to see you buddy.

Steve: Take care man.

Patrick: Alright, bye.

Originally Posted by Intergalactic Patrick

Pretty major Haslab page update should hit next week.

We are sharing updates as they happen to keep y'all up to date as early as possible.

[Anitar]

Bookburner.

Originally Posted by Avalon Bill

There's more to come a little later today, but I thought y'all might like a little taste - note these are not final army card designs

Originally Posted by Encarmine

Yes it was

And yes, there will be character illustrations on both sides of the card.

Originally Posted by Encarmine

I want to produce two campaign settings each year. With their own scenarios, uniques, common packs and terrain packs.

Originally Posted by Encarmine

Hot Lava Death pack is already spec’ed

Originally Posted by Encarmine

Would be cool if the entire campaign happened to be tracked collectively as an ongoing narrative on the companion app no? wins/loses across the world recorded real time, effecting the entire map, battle lines updating daily… I have some ideas.


Would be even cooler if the outcome determined by the players, became the canon results of the campaigns and were transcribed back up into the lore each season…

[Anitar]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Twitter

Gameplay video:

YouTube

New cards:

Originally Posted by skyknight

Someone said “her Royal deadliness”. I like that

(That was me, by the way)

---

Last edited by Anitar; October 18th, 2022 at 05:37 PM.

[Anitar]

Originally Posted by Encarmine

Something like that, yes.

It will be cheaper, and smaller. But half the components doesn’t yield half the price, or half the price doesn’t get you have the components. It doesn’t work that way.

It costs more to produce an item for retail, then it does for a Haslab, because the retailer demands higher margins. So in the end, while the price point of a master set will be less then $250, the value comparison won’t be close.

So IF proven successful and IF Heroscape makes it to a full retail launch, players shouldn’t assume the value will scale with the price lowering. Like I said, players who wait will find they will not get the same volume of components for their dollar. It just doesn’t function that way.


Also, we’ll end up destroying the tools for the exclusives. We really can’t legally release them again.

Originally Posted by Encarmine

Um no, not really. There was a game concept that included a theme associated with modern contemporary gangsters, that happen to be animals.

..And another article:
https://geektyrant.com/news/heroscap...b-crowdfunding

Originally Posted by Encarmine

How would you judge it. The day they drink from a Wellspring or the moment they are revealed in the story?

I would say Volarak drank first, but Revna reveals herself first.

[caps]

Anitar, Myth26, and co. are hard at work getting a transcription of the Tales of Valhalla podcast interview last night with Chris Nadeau/Encarmine put together. In the meantime I wanted to post a few tidbits that I thought were really interesting/revealing:

- There are only 6 full-time staff members on the Avalon Hill team.
- There is a HasLab team at Hasbro that is responsible for the website. They are entirely separate from Avalon Hill and have their own processes and patterns for putting together the pages (you can see a kind of standard grid template on most HasLab pages).
- The HasLab team is used to putting together campaign pages for toys for collectors. Collectors know how action figures work, so they don't need it explained to them. Ergo, explanation of the product is not a typical part of a HasLab page.
- Changes to HasLab pages are made by the HasLab team, not by Avalon Hill.