Welcome to C3V

[ZBeeblebrox]

Welcome to the C3V

(Classic Custom Creators of Valhalla)

Hello!

We're glad you could stop in. This is the place where you can come to extend your Heroscape game with some amazing, community-approved customs. We hope you take the time to see what this piece of Heroscapers is all about.

Allow me to be your guide into the new era of Classic Heroscape.

Here's how to get started:

1. Choose some cards to play with: Check out our C3V Books of Index. There you will be able to browse through all the cards that we have designed.
2. Get the figures: Each Book will list, below the cards, what figures that card uses. You can purchase these figures from many stores, both online and brick-and-mortar.
3. Print the cards: Each Book has a PDF link under each card. You can download those PDFs by clicking on the links. Save those PDFs to your computer and print them out at home or at a print shop. Then simply cut the cards out and take them to your gaming table.

What? You want to know more about the C3V first? Sure, no problem!


What is the C3V?
C3V is a customs project with the goal of creating fun, reliable, playtested Heroscape customs that are designed to work seamlessly with all other C3V and SoV customs, as well as official Heroscape units.

Our History and Process:

Spoiler Alert!

When was the C3V established?
Back when WotC announced they were discontinuing Heroscape, Griffin, a well respected member of the community and founding Member of the C3G, asked if a version of the successful C3G method would work as a means to continue Heroscape into a new era. The community answered with a resounding "Yes," so Griffin, IAmBatman, and Grungebob started working on getting the C3V operational. The C3V would be involved in the entire process of unit creation: deciding which ideas to develop, designing powers and stat blocks, playtesting, and organizing them into waves.

How Does C3V Work?
We are broken down into departments just like employees at large companies. There are designers, editors and graphic artists all working towards making new 'scape for the community. Each design moves through each department in a step-by-step process as they develop into a certified C3V Unit.

C3V Method:

Spoiler Alert!

BRAINSTORMING:
Every member of the Inner Sanctum is free to muck around in the Brainstorming phase. It's where we find minis and throw around ideas about suitable powers, or build hypothetical units waiting for the right mini to come along. Everything is fair game. Sometimes, a Lead Team is ready to take a few ideas from Brainstorming into Design


DESIGN DEPARTMENT:
It is the designers' job to continually discuss and create new additions to the game of Heroscape. They help mold a design and mini(s) from Brainstorming into a fully formed unit with stats and powers, and get the bones of a design all worked out in their department.

INNER SANCTUM REVIEW:
Once Design has worked with the Lead Team to develop a unit that seems fully formed and ready for everyone to have a poke at it, that unit moves on (independent from whatever else the Lead Team is doing) to the Inner Sanctum phase. There, everybody in the Inner Sanctum is encouraged to offer his or her thoughts about the unit. This will normally, but not always, lead to some more tweaks, and ultimately back to Design for a final check before moving forward again.

EXECUTIVE REVIEW BOARD:
It is the ERB's job to review each design, discuss the big picture, and direct the group in a way that fits the Heroscape aesthetic, endowing the C3V with goals and a long term vision. The ERB monitors all threads, keeps tabs on everything going on in the C3V Inner Sanctum, and makes many of the "big decisions." Also, in the design process, the ERB will review a unit and check for suitability within the canon. Is the mini right? Is it suitable for the canon, and where we want the canon to be? Are the power names suitable? Is the mini availability good enough? Once a unit passes the ERB phase, we announce it immediately. At this moment, (1) the mini exists in suitable quantities, (2) we have a design that we believe is set, and (3) we believe it's (almost) ready for showtime. Buy it now! When we announce it!

EDITING DEPARTMENT:
It is the editors' job to review the grammar and text of the card and correct the text if necessary. Editors make sure the card follows the precedents of all classic army cards and is worded in familiar "Heroscapey" language. Corner cases are considered and we satisfy ourselves that the text is sound.

PLAYTESTING DEPARTMENT:
Playtesters do some testing themselves and direct playtesting with our wonderful fans, who also participate in the Playtesting phase. We consider the value of the unit, to make sure it's priced fairly, but we also consider whether the unit is fun, whether it's fun to play against, and whether the powers are used with appropriate frequency. Thanks, public playtesters! You guys are the best!

ART DEPARTMENT:
It is the artists' job to create a finished downloadable/printable product of the design. They create the advanced and basic sides of the army card itself, as well as producing a PDF for each army card. It's difficult to overstate how much attention to detail each card receives from the Art Department.

FINAL REVIEW:
Once an army card is created and finished in the Art Department, it is moved on to the final stage. The design and its card gets voted on by every member of the C3V and SoV to determine if we agree that the design fits into the Heroscape canon and is worthy of being released to the public as a certified C3V Unit.

Is that it?

Nope! There is so much more I'd like to show you ...

What figures are used and where do we get them?
We use figures from other games that look like they will work with official Heroscape sculpts. We list information about a figure being used right in the unit's "Book of" thread for easy reference. After C3V1 (Wave 14), the ERB decided to release information about each figure that has been approved by the ERB in the C3V Public Miniature Information Thread . Every figure the C3V will be using at some point is listed there. It may be in the next wave or another one down the road, but we will use that figure.

How We Choose Figures:

Spoiler Alert!

We decide on figures based on aesthetics, availability, and price. We try not to choose rare or expensive figures, and we monitor availability constantly. Now, please understand we cannot control the buying habits of the gamer population, so a figure that was in good supply when the mini information was released may not be as readily available by the time the unit is released. That is the nature of the beast, but please check out the Shopping for SoV/C3V minis thread. There you can find links to online stores that may sell the figures we are using for C3V. Also, we're always happy to provide links to places you can find figures. (We track all that information in the Inner Sanctum).

Can I contribute more to the C3V?
There are many ways to get involved. You can volunteer to playtest, you can make suggestions to the designers, you can author the public books for released C3V units, you can get voted in as a PAM (Public Access Member) by your fellow Heroscapers, or you could even be inducted as an C3V Member or SoV Judge by existing Inner Sanctum members.

Public Playtesting
We always have units ready for you to playtest. Just PM the guys in our Playtesting Department, let them know you're interested, and they'll hook you up.

Suggestion Boxes
The Suggestions for the C3V Design Team thread is where you can make figure, power, and theme suggestions to our design team. Not only do they watch that thread, but all suggestions are posted to a thread in the Inner Sanctum so we can keep track of what our fans want.

The C3V Human Resources Department thread is where you can go to offer suggestions to the entire team, comment on how we are doing, or register complaints. The ERB watches this thread and monitors how the community perceives the project.

Books of C3V/Sov Units
C3V Books of Index
The C3V is a community project, so any community member can author a "Book of" thread for a unit released on the front page or in the Soldiers of Valhalla - display thread. Just PM Dad_Scaper and ask to author a Book. He'll let you know the format and if it is OK to proceed.

PAM (Public Access Member)
Periodically, the Inner Sanctum (which includes current PAMs) makes a list of candidates for a PAM vote. A thread is created for the entire Heroscapers community to vote for a new Public Access Member. The 'scaper with the most votes gets a temporary pass into the Inner Sanctum, with all the voting and posting privileges of a full-time member, including participation in Brainstorming and on Lead Teams.

C3V Membership
C3V Inner Sanctum members
C3V members are voted in by other members. There is no term limit on membership; you are a member until you decide to retire. We periodically bring in new membership after a retirement or when the department heads decide they need to expand and bring in some new blood.

Well, that's it ...


Oh, you have one more question? OK, shoot!


Why use the C3V?

Spoiler Alert!

The C3V is composed of many respected members of this community, and those members are trusted to follow design methods which are similar to those that the Hasbro designers followed to create the game we all love.

The SoV are thoroughly playtested community designs that are nominated by 'scapers and then judged by a panel of respected members of Heroscapers, similar to how maps are chosen by the BoV. They try to find the best of the best customs to induct into the SoV.

The SoV and the C3V now work together as partners to continue Heroscape into the future. It was determined that the SoV Judges and the C3V Members had to coordinate with each other so that one group would not approve a unit that could create issues with the other group's designs. So the SoV and the C3V became partners; all SoV Judges are now C3V Inner Sanctum Members, with the same voting and posting privileges as C3V Members and PAMs. Likewise, C3V Members get to vote on the final decision to determine if an SoV nominee is worthy to become part of the new Heroscape canon.

Since we have garnered the trust of the community, tournament directors are beginning to allow C3V and SoV units at organized events. It is a groundbreaking decision by the community to allow the C3V and SoV customs to work side-by-side with official Heroscape. We are glad the community trusts our designs and hope more tournaments begin to adopt the C3V and SoV into the future of organized play.

This concludes our journey through the C3V. I'm glad you took the time to join us on this tour.

I hoped I answered all your questions. If not, please do not hesitate to ask.

Also, one last thing: all important announcements for the C3V (new figures being used, contests, front page and blog alerts, etc) can be found in the C3V Public Announcements Thread.

Cheers,

ZBeeblebrox
Promotions Director
C3V ERB Member and SoV Judge Emeritus


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LIST OF IMPORTANT C3V THREADS

Spoiler Alert!

C3V Public Information Thread - DO NOT POST!!!

C3V Public Announcements Thread

C3V Minis Index

C3V Public Playtesting Sign-up

C3V Public Playtesting Tips & Tricks

Suggestions for the C3V Design Team

C3V Human Resources Department

C3V Books of Index

C3V Inner Sanctum members

C3V Playtesting FAQs

C3V & SoV Inclusive Power Rankings

C3V & SoV Units, Various Cross-Indexes Including Planet, Species, and Personality

Fun C3V Threads:

Spoiler Alert!

Premature PreRelease C3V Speculation and Information Thread!

C3V/SoV-inclusive Power Rankings

Heroscape...Visually (with C³V and SOV) 2/24/12

Rectangular C3V-SoV cards, Artscow, 11-17-11

Guide to Wave 14 / CV1

Shopping for SoV/C3V minis

Rebasing: A Guide for Bases and Stickers

C3V/SoV Figure Count

The C3V Cave - Hangout

Competitive SoV & C3V armies

Factions of Fanscape!

Heroscape Genres in the Age of Fanscape (C3V and SoV incl.)

Thank you C3V and SOV

C3V/SoV Sculpt Polls Master Thread

A special thanks to Infectedsloth for his suggestions about an improved "Welcome to C3V" post. You were an inspiration!

[Griffin]

EVERYONE is always welcome to post here and ask anything that they would like to.

[kmgenius]

Is there a general date when the first wave will be released?

[IAmBatman]

Does "soon" and "they're working on it really hard" count?

[Dad_Scaper]

Originally Posted by kmgenius

Is there a general date when the first wave will be released?

Soon.


Very soon.

[kmgenius]

Yes!

[Griffin]

So did everyone notice that Truth updated the front of the site today?

[boromir96]

So did everyone notice that Truth updated the front of the site today?

I DID!!!!!

[Red Eyed Jedi]

Congrats C3V, these new units look great. I like how you have decided to release them as well, it really gives us some thing to look forward to. I can't wait to get these new units on my gaming table.

[vikinglad]

Originally Posted by Griffin

So did everyone notice that Truth updated the front of the site today?

Ya! That is what led me to this thread. I have always been curious about the C3V stuff I see posted on this site, but never took the time to take a closer look at what it all was. What a great effort this must have been. These look really neat. Thanks guys.

[Porkins]

Are there plans to generate a pdf file with all units that prints more than one per page?

[robbdaman]

Originally Posted by Porkins

Are there plans to generate a pdf file with all units that prints more than one per page?

Very likely, once everything is complete.