Wednesday 29 August 2012

Vampifan's Views 28 - Monthly Musings 13

Vampirella by Greg Hildebrandt
In my last post, I reviewed two WWG construction vehicles, a digger and a grabber. I was extremely embarrassed to discover that I had stuck the bucket of the digger on back to front. Thanks to Johnny and Mathyoo for pointing this out to me. I corrected my mistake and I took a new set of photos, which I have used to replace the original ones in my review. Check them out if you want to see what the digger should look like. I also took that opportunity to reposition the arms of the grabber so that the claw attachment is now raised off the ground. I posted a couple of pics of the two vehicles on the WWG forum and from the following comment it might appear that I didn't get it wrong with the placement of the bucket - "The bucket on an excavator is made to be removed, and some models have made this an 'on the fly' operation with a locking system that can be disengaged to swap buckets or to mount other tools (like a grab or a steel roller for tamping soil to the right hardness). I have seen operators use this to swap the bucket placement back and forth, from the classic 'curled back pulling toward the operator' position to the 'scooping away from the operator' position yours is in above. That can be really handy when they are digging around previously buried pipes and foundations.
Alexio
(I'm an archaeologist, part of the job is watching trenching and excavations)"

That made me feel less like a klutz. Even so, I do think the change was necessary.

 Once again, I have a story to tell you about the kindness of others and the generosity of my fellow bloggers. I recently received an e-mail from Phil Hynes asking if I'd be interested in a green of a tar zombie that he had sculpted and painted? Phil did point out that the figure was slightly larger than 28mm scale, but that certainly didn't bother me. Within two days of confirmining that I was very interested, I received a small package that not only contained the aforementioned  tar zombie but also a fridge magnet of a zombiefied head of Elvis Presley. I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the fridge magnet. The two photos to the left show Phil's tar zombie. For those who don't know what a tar zombie is, they first appeared in the film, Return of the Living Dead. They were kept stuffed and locked away in large metal drums and they got their name from the thick fluid that was used to preserve them. No, it is not tar, but the name stuck. Mayhem ensued when one of the barrels was accidentally opened.

Not only is Phil's sculpting spot on but so is his paint job. I stuck the figure onto a circular slottabase and added the sand and gravel. The only painting I did was on the base to tie it in with the rest of my zombie horde. I am absolutely delighted with this figure, especially knowing that it is a one off. Once again, many thanks, Phil!

In other news, I have seen four films at the cinema this month, which is very good going for me. They were The Amazing Spiderman (not bad but I wasn't wholly convinced by the make-up/CGI of the Lizardman), Batman - The Dark Knight Rises (very good but I'd rate it no more than 4 stars), Ted (rude, crude and very funny) and finally, The Expendables 2 (mindless action that is just so over the top it made me smile!) All four were entertaining in their own ways. I'm looking forward to seeing Dredd 3D, Cockneys vs Zombies, and The Sweeney next month.

I have to admit that these past couple of weeks my figure painting and card modelling have almost come to a standstill. I do have a very good excuse, however. I was chosen by Ed Teixeira of Two Hours Wargames to be a play-tester of the new ATZ rulebook - Final Fade Out (FFO). This has been a dream come true for me. Let me tell you that FFO is a very different set of rules to BDTZ. In my somewhat biased opinion I think that they will be the best set of zombie skirmish rules on the market. BDTZ certainly had its faults but FFO is such a vast improvement. It is undoubtedly ATZ, but not as you know it. It is leaner, meaner and more streamlined.
In my last Monthly Musings, I said was a bit uncertain about continuing my current ATZ campaign or should I start a new campaign? I also said I'd make my mind up after I'd read FFO. Well, not only have I read it, I have also play-tested a lot of the rules. I am now more convinced than ever that I want to start a new campaign. Vampifan will still be the Star and team leader. His team will consist of Gap, Big Sil and Angie. Yes, I'm bringing back Angie but this time she and Big Sil are going to be a married couple.
I could have continued my current campaign but after carefully weighing up all of the pros and cons, I decided it would be best to start again.
I'm sorry to say that I made a lot of mistakes in my BDTZ campaign. I never rolled to see if any of the team left at the end of a month. I ignored the use of resources, especially food and fuel. When I started using the PEF rules from I, Zombie I didn't realise that they should be used in addition to the initial zombie placement rules. I used them instead of initial zombie placement, so my encounters should have had a lot more zombies in them. There were a few other minor points that I got wrong. As a result, I view this campaign as a practice session. It was fun but it was also flawed.
With my experience from that campaign and a better set of rules, the FFO campaign should be very different. FFO is part skirmish game but with more of a role-playing element thrown in, albeit role-playing lite. FFO has so many changes from BDTZ that it will feel like a totally new game. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to playing it for real.

48 comments:

  1. Nice Vamperilla picture. Don't beat yourself up over the rules thing. It didn't detract at all from the fun I'm sure you had as it comes out in the AARs. As Ed often says it's all about the game having fun. Bob

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    1. Thanks, Bob. I definitely agree that the most important rule in any game is having fun. I certainly had a lot of fun with my BDTZ campaign. Having said that, I do feel the need for a fresh start.

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  2. Hi Bryan,
    I was going to tell you that you could leave the bucket as it was because of the reason stated above. But then work struck and I just have enough time by now after you already changed it. Looks more "natural" the new way to me, too.

    Nice selection of movies by the way. Sadly I will only be able to watch Expendables 2 and have to view the rest on DVD. With the current time span on DVD releases that should not take too long. ;)

    So looking forward to FFO. My Minis and Buildings are starting to look good enough (only in numbers that is :D) for a small encounter and if I can keep up the pace there should be a campaign possible by end of this year :) As you judge the new rules that good I will definitely wait until they are released.
    Just out of curiosity: When are you planning to start your campaign anew? I hope to see a batrep soon. And good luck to the gang. I presume they are going to need it...

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    1. Hi Stefan,
      It's always a pleasure to hear from you! One of the rules that FFO has dropped is the recommended gaming board sizes. If you want to play on a small sized board like 3' by 3', that's fine. If you want go mega and use a 4' by 8' board (yes, Joe, I am thinking of you!) that's equally fine.

      I would highly recommend waiting for FFO to be released before starting any campaign. Release date is either late-September or early-October.

      I'd like to start as soon as possible but first I've got to wait until the rules go on sale. My mum has another three holidays booked this year, so that gives me three windows of opportunity. Thanks, for the good luck message. It will definitely be needed. FFO zombies are a lot tougher than BDTZ zombies!

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  3. That's a great little zombie. It must be cool to have a figure that you know no one else does. I'd feature it in a few battle reports for that reason.

    As someone who is yet to start their ATZ campaign, would you suggest I grab the new ruleset before beginning? It sounds like that is the smart decision.

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    1. Adam, I am so chuffed with my tar zombie figure. It is cool to own something that is unique.

      As I said to Stefan, you should certainly wait for the release of FFO before starting your ATZ campaign.

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    2. I shall definitely wait then. Works out for me, as I am just about ready to start.

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  4. Indeed a very nice pic. We ALL make errors with rules especially if we play other sets or are set in our ways (2nd Edition 40/Necromunda for me) its amazing how things blur.

    Look forward to the new team Vampifan i'm sure it will be great

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    1. Hey, Simon, I freely admit that I am fallible. I do make mistakes. But I like to think that I learn from them. Due to being a solo gamer nowadays, the games that I play nowadays is limited to ATZ. There are so many other games that i'd like to try or revisit. Necromunda was always a big favourite of mine.

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  5. Wow! Vampifan, Gap, Big Sil and Angie, great team!

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    1. Yep, Tito, it'll be great to have them all back together again. Angie was such a big loss to the team.

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  6. This leaner version sounds excellent and congratulations on the playtesting gig, no one better in my opinion regardless of some minor gaffes, it's how we learn as we go, good for you my friend!

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    1. I was quite surprised to hear from Ed and to be asked to be a play-tester. What has been especially pleasing about the experience is that many of my comments and criticisms have been acted upon. This makes it very difficult for me to criticise the new rules.

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  7. I wouldn't worry about rules omissions; it's about having fun, right? Personally I don't use the campaign rules for ATZ, but rather just create the next scenario based roughly on the outcome of the last game [for example, is the zombie plague spreading? Then maybe the next game will be an involuntary encounter where the humans are surrounded and must escape!]. As for things like not placing zombies when using PEFs - maybe it was just a quiet part of the city? Seems quite reasonable to me; it's your game.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words of support, Hugh. They are appreciated. I've always been a one for including house rules in many of the games I've played. So, I guess my mistakes could have been down to house rules. Yes, it is all about having fun!

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  8. That tar zombie is a great figure, some people have more than their fair share of talent !

    I'll be waiting for the FFO rules too before starting my campaign and like you Bryan, I'd recommend others to wait for the rules to come out before starting their own.

    Looking forward to your new campaign too.

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    1. Thanks, Joe. Tar zombie is just the dog's bollocks! He rocks!

      I can't stress enough to anyone contemplating a new ATZ campaign, wait until FFO gets released. You won't regret it and it's not too long to wait now.

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  9. My only regret is not even giving my copy of ATZ a full read through yet. I like the Tar Zombie. Return of the Living Dead is my favorite Zombie movie, pure camp.

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    1. I can heartily recommend buying FFO and trying it out, Sean.

      I'm a big fan of Return of the Living Dead, too. I can actually remember seeing it at the cinema when it was first released!

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  10. Great post Bryan, that Tar Zombie is so cool! is that his brain showing in the second pic ? LOL! based on what you said about ATZFFO I am looking forward to getting a copy, ATZ did have its flaws but was still a solid game.

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    1. Yes, that is tar zombie's brain that you can see in the second picture. Cool, eh?

      FFO has got rid of many, if not all, of the flaws that plagued BDTZ.

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  11. Hmmm...now you've got me wondering about my own campaign. Do you know when FFO is due out? If it is in the next few months, I could use the time to bulk out some of my materials: zombies, buildings, etc. and just wait. Longer, and I may just continue with my story and hit the "reset" button when the time comes.

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    1. The expected release date for FFO is either late September or early October of this year. It should definitely be out within two months.

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  12. As you well know..I have had my rules wrong in some of my ATZ games! But that should not stop us having fun!

    Looking forward to the new rules, I like that they seem to be a faster mechanism.

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    1. I totally endorse your views on having fun, Johnny. It's actually more important than getting the rules right.

      Gameplay should be a lot faster with FFO. For starters, a lot of the reaction tests have been dropped.

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  13. Ah, don't worry too much about a few slips of the rules. I think most of us didn't notice and you've learned and will surely implement them in the future. It's about having fun playing and from what I can tell, you had a lot :) We're all fallible after all.
    Last time we had a run of Speed Rally I won by losing control over my car in the last turn, messing up my skill roles and rolling some strange wipe-out roles, that send the car skidding and spinning around my brother's leading car, coming to a stop front-bumper to front-bumper :D
    Later we learned that by the rules this was not possible in that way, but the imagination of that movie-like stunt was great fun. :)

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    1. Thanks, Stefan. To be honest, no one noticed that I'd cocked up, which just goes to prove that the story is more important than the rules. I'm going to wrap up my BDTZ campaign in four weeks time. It needs a proper send off, rather than leaving the characters in limbo. The scenario will be a Raid encounter with Team Vampifan having to defend their base against a horde of zombies and the Killer Klowns. Sunny wants his revenge! Be afraid, be very afraid!

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    2. I did! I just didn't want to embarrass you ... honest!!

      ;)

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  14. So we'll see Team Vampifan again as...what, REP 3 or REP 4 characters?


    Whiteface / Oliver
    P.S: There are no mistakes! I prefer to call 'em instant-house-rules.

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    1. Oliver, I'm planning on starting everyone off at Rep:4. FFO recommends that Stars start off at either Rep:4 or Rep:5. Starting Grunts should be Rep:3 to Rep:5 but not higher than the Star.

      Instant in-house rules sound cool to me. If ever I foul up in the future I shall use this as my defence.

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  15. Yes, GO OUT with GUNS A-BLAZING! Can We see 706 Zombies on the board please! :) Thanks, Ernie

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    1. Yes, I thought it would be best to go out with a bang! I doubt if I'll get to use all 706 of my painted zombies, but now that I know PEFs are used with initial placement zombies there will be a lot on the table. Plus, the Killer Klowns have some nasty tricks in mind for generating lots more zombies.

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    2. The dice haven't decided on that "going out" matter, yet. ;)

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    3. Indeed they haven't. What I really love about ATZ is the unpredictability of it. When dice are involved in the equation, you never know what's going to happen. That's what makes it so much fun!

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  16. Does Rhiannon also returns?
    I liked that girl...
    Thanks
    Sascha

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    1. Sascha, there's a very good possibility that Rhiannon Marlow will return. The FFO campaign will be totally divorced from the old BDTZ campaign, so any one who died in my old campaign may return. I'd say that Rhiannon has the best chance of reappearing. I also liked her and it was a shame she didn't last longer.

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  17. Based on your advice then Bryan, I'll get a copy of FFO before I begin a new campaign, and I'm definitely looking forward to following Vampifan version 1.1!

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    1. That's definitely the way to go, Colin. It really does make sense to wait for the new rules to go on sale. Hey, I'm looking forward to playing the new version of Team Vampifan as well.

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  18. Cool Tar-Zombie! About the only thing as cool would be a mini of the half-dog! LOL

    Your comments about FFO are dragging me kicking and screaming towards purchase of the book when it comes out. Leaner? Streamlined? Fewer reaction tests? Damn but that sounds good!

    Zombie Chow

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    1. Hee, hee, split zombie dog would be cool!

      It's true, ZC, that every change in FFO is a change for the better. It'll have you thinking, I wish they'd done this earlier!

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  19. Great to see Tar Zombie in his new home :D

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    1. You just knew that Tar Zombie would settle in up here, Phil. Hell, he's got loads of friends and even more victims to satisfy his need for fresh brains!

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  20. love the paint job. Since ur especially into trying all the different zombies out there. this may be of interest. I think the free survivor sealed the deal for me. They have good stuff in my opinion

    http://www.indiegogo.com/zombie-miniatures?c=home&a=1170894

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    1. Thanks for the heads up, Mindfad, but I already knoe about this seeing I was one of the first to make a pledge. Studio Minis certainly make the best zombies on the market in my opinion.

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  21. Great post Bryan, congrats on the play testing. If you can't do it who can :) I am excited to here about the rules change. Nice Studio figs, too. Sorry I have been out of touch. Really working hard to correct a lot of things in my life.

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    1. It's always a pleasure to hear from you, Roger. I'm glad to hear you're getting your life back on track. Keep up the good work, my friend!

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