This week I’ve got just a small update for you. Over the past week I’ve spent most of my time on the delivery of the January rewards, but I’ve also managed to sneak in some time to work on a possible major update for the arena games.
I’ve also been collecting a lot of feedback regarding all of our mainline games over the past few months, looking at what could be improved about the core rules as well as the special rules, and in the coming weeks I’ll be working on a major update for those as well.
Anyway, time for the actual updates!
OPR Writing Jam #2 – Sign Up Now!
It’s almost time for the next writing jam, which is a 48hr story writing marathon, focused on writing stories in the OPR universe. Everyone is welcome to join, and it’s completely free, so if you like writing stories, this one is for you!
The writing jam takes place from February 19th to February 21st, it’s completely free to join, and you can sign up here.
Check out the last OPR Writing Jam to get a better idea of how it works, and read all of the 13 awesome stories written by our community!
Major Arena Re-Work
The arena games were originally created to be just some quick games that I could release in order to get more use out of the 2D minis, whilst also providing everyone with fun games to play. Over time however, the scope of the games has grown, and I have found myself investing a considerable amount of time into them each month.
Unfortunately however, the games are not being played a lot, and so it’s getting hard for me to justify the time investment on them. I have been trying to figure out what the reasons might be for the arena games not to be played a lot, and I have identified 3 main causes:
There is a misunderstanding that the arena games are card games
Not everyone wants to print and cut lots of paper components
The hex based combat is not something that everyone enjoys
If the arena games are to stay, they need to be made more accessible so that new players give them a shot and find out what is actually fun about them. With that in mind, I have devised a simple plan in order to lower the barrier to entry and get more players to give them a shot:
All of the game components are being re-worked so that they don’t look like cards anymore, which should hopefully remove some of the confusion
The game is being re-worked so that the only thing you need to print are the hex boards, and no cutting will be required anymore, so you can play it with the rules on your phone
There will be an additional sheet that helps you convert the game to be played fully without a hex board, so you get all of the arena goodness in a more traditional format
Finally, as this new version becomes more complete, I will showcase the game on our Discord and play with the community via Roll20 and TTS, so more people get a chance to see it in action before trying it.
This newest version is currently in development, and you can access it on Patreon already. After having played it a handful of times I have to say that it’s much faster and more engaging than the current print-and-play version, so I’m excited to see more players get their hands on it!
Patreon News
With the start of a new month we’ve posted a new release overview for February, which you can check out by clicking here. This month there will be a ton of new awesome models, so keep your eyes peeled!
Today we’ve also revealed this month’s special gift model, which is in collaboration with Warploque Miniatures. Check out the full post with more info by clicking here.
Community Reminders
Finally, if you’re new to the project make sure to check out all of our community pages, where you can get together with hundreds of other players to chat, share, play, and more!
Today we’ve got lots of cool news for you, from the Writing Jam, to our Gang Wars and Jakob’s Path expansions, a new AoF:S Starter Set, new Spear Skeletons and more.
Let’s get to it!
OPR Writing Jam #2
Back in September we hosted our very first OPR Writing Jam, which saw participants create a one-page story set in the OPR universe within a 48hrs deadline, and set to a theme.
Since people seem to have enjoyed both writing and reading the stories, and we’ve had multiple people request it over the past few months, we have decided to host the writing jams every 6 months!
This means that between game jams and writing jams, we’re going to have an OPR Jam every 3 months, allowing all of our fans to express their creativity and get together as a community to build fun stuff together.
The next writing jam is going to be in February, and you can sign up HERE.
Gang Wars Progress
Recently we announced that Gang Wars was under development, and things have been moving forward pretty quickly for the expansion over the last few weeks.
Whilst the game is still under development in early access, we’ve already added 95% of the content, and the expansion is now fully playable, only needing some minor tweaks.
Gang Wars is going to remain in early access on Patreon until the end of the month, after which it will be removed and sold at a higher price on WargameVault, so grab it now!
Jakob’s Path Completed
It only seems like yesterday that we started releasing Jakob’s Path, but after 5 months the journey has finally come to an end, and now the story has been fully completed.
Jakob’s Path is a complete narrative campaign for Grimdark Future, which comes with an epic story spanning over 5 chapters and 10 action packed missions.
Follow the story of Jakob, an eager Battle Brother, as he hunts down Orc Marauders on the mysterious planet of Zeloria M-5, whilst searching for a precious artifact.
Jakob’s Path is going to remain in early access on Patreon until the end of the month, after which it will be removed and sold at a higher price on WargameVault, so grab it now!
New AoF:S Starter – Dark Retribution
When we released the Assault on Outpost Lixus starter we were happy to see that many players enjoyed it, and of course we got requests for more starter sets for our games.
Well, your wishes have been granted, and today we’ve released a new starter set for Age of Fantasy: Skirmish, which sees the Kingdom of Angels clash against the Mummified Undead.
Before we get even more requests, let us already say that we do have plans to release a starter set for AoF: Regiments as well, and also one for Warfleets: FTL.
December Painting Contest
A new month has started, and with it a new painting contest!
This month we’re giving everyone a longer deadline so you don’t have to stress out too much during the holiday period, and we’re also extending our winner’s pool to the top 3 voted submissions.
RULES: Paint 1 model from our November release and share a high resolution picture of it on one of our social media pages:
PRIZE: The community will vote for the best looking submission, and the top 3 submissions will get one FREE month on Patreon at Tier 2 (handled via refund).
BONUS: One other randomly determined participant will also get one FREE month on Patreon at Tier 2 (handled via refund).
NOTE: The miniatures should be painted by you, no commissions allowed. By entering the contest you give OPR permission to share the pictures on our social media platforms.
Free Skeleton Spearmen
If you supported us on Patreon in September or bought our Skeleton Warriors set on MyMiniFactory, rejoice, because we’ve just added spear options to them for free!
Don’t worry though, if you didn’t have the chance to get the models yet, they’re still available to buy on MMF, and you also get a 30% discount if you support us on Patreon.
We’re also going to have a special christmas sale in a couple of weeks, offering 50% store discounts, so if you’re looking for the cheapest deal just be a little more patient and you can get these models for super cheap.
Free Soul-Snatcher Model
Last but not least, guess what? Another free model! This has been a streak of one new free model every week on Thingiverse for over a month, a new record for us.
That’s it for today, make sure to sign up for the OPR Writing Jam #2, and we’ll be back next week with more surprise releases and cool content for you. :D
Today we’ve got a truly gargantuan update for you, with a new game, writing jam results, october previews, game updates, and much more.
Let’s get to it!
Warfleets: FTL
The wait is finally over everyone, Warfleets: FTL is now available to the public!
When I was first approached by Austin Peasley back in 2014 about the making of a spaceship battles game, I could’ve never imagined that we’d be here 6 years later releasing a full spaceship game of our own.
The journey has been long, with many iterations of the game, and even some moments of true despair, but we’re really happy that this game is now available for download, and can’t wait to see player’s reactions to it!
For those of you that are hearing about Warfleets: FTL for the first time, this is our take on a fast and furious spaceship battles game, which offers tons of fleet customization and exciting space battles.
Players take on the roles of commanders of a fully personalized fleet, which is made up of ships, heroes and upgrades from a common set of assets, as well as special assets from one of 6 interstellar factions.
Each faction comes with its own selection of ships, heroes and upgrades, and there is also a wide selection of legendary fleets, giving players the chance to step into the shoes of legendary FTL admirals.
As always, the core rules and faction book are completely free, and they offer countless hours of explosive spaceship battles… but what if you want more?
If you support us on Patreon, you can get access to the Full Rulebook, which adds a ton of advanced rules that allow you to further customize your games, with extra missions, deployment styles, events, and much more.
The Full Rulebook also has rules that allow you to re-use widgets from other games, such as blast markers, order dice, ordnance tokens, command dials, and many more.
Here a full breakdown of what you get in the Full Rulebook:
Terrain Placement Rules
Multiple Deployment Styles
Extra Missions
Boarding Actions
Random Events
Battlefield Phenomena
Terrain & Objective Effects
Fog of War Rules
Catastrophic Damage Rules
Order Dice Rules
Shields & Defense Tokens Rules
Scanner Ranges Rules
Rules for Planetary Control Games
Rules for Multiplayer Games
Rules for Kitchen Table Games
If you don’t have any spaceship models, you can also pick up our very own 2D and 3D models on Patreon, where we’re releasing a new fleet every month.
This month we’ve released the 2D Empire Fleet and the 3D Empire Fleet, and if you stick with us you’ll have the full set of all fleets as they’re all released.
Next month we’ll also be releasing a set of 2D space terrain with lots of asteroids fields, destroyed ships, space nebulas and more, which you can use to pretty up your table when playing both with 2D and 3D models.
Alright, this should be enough of a preview, now it’s time for you to check out the games yourself. Make sure to join our Discord Server to share pictures of your battles and provide your feedback and ideas!
Note that the Full Rulebook is going to be available exclusively on Patreon until we feel that the game is polished enough for a “final” release, at which point it will be removed and put for sale on our WargameVault store.
Writing Jam Results
A few weeks ago we ran our very first OPR Writing Jam, and finally the results are in!
The writing jam gives participants the opportunity to share their own take on the stories taking place in the OPR universe, writing a one-page story in just 48hrs based on the same single theme: INFINITE LOOP
All of the submissions were really awesome to read, and we want to highlight a couple of our favorite ones here.
A Dull Ache by Joe Fonseca – Trooper Hark of the Human Defense Force faces the reality of war on a once beautiful planet.
Pain of Victory by Grim – Stuck in a time loop, Kr’tchikr Steelbiter must fight tooth and nail to break the cycle and survive the battle with his litter-compatriots.
Hunt by Matteo Cantelmi – Follow a cohort of Machine Cult Infiltrators as they track down a rebel leader on a war-torn world.
September Releases – Last Chance!
Before we continue, we wanted to remind everyone that if you want to get all of the amazing stuff from the September releases, then it’s best you join now and download everything before it is removed.
September has really been a crazy month, we tripled the amount of different units we released for 3D printing, we’ve doubled the amount of armies we released for 2D printing, plus we’ve got 3 new games for everyone.
If you’re not a patron yet, please consider subscribing, as this is the only way we can keep the project alive. Not only do you get a ton of extra content, but also our eternal gratitude.
October Release Previews
With the month coming to an end, it’s time we take a look at what’s coming in October, and once again it’s going to be a very content packed month. :D
On the 3D models side we’re continuing with our Alien Hives and Mummified Undead releases, and for FTL we’re going to be releasing the Marauders fleet. On the games side, we’re going to be releasing the 4th chapter of Jakob’s Path, as well as Season 2 of the arena games and warband creators (Season 1 will be released in early October).
We also have 2 major game releases that are going to be revealed in October, but we don’t want to spoil the surprise yet. All we can say is that we have a new expansion for GFF in the works, and also a completely new game that is going to take us in a new direction…
Here’s everything you’ll get in October:
3D Alien Hives – Soul-Snatchers, Hive Warriors, Soul-Snatcher Lord
3D Mummified Undead – Mummies, Guardian Statues, Mummy Queen
3D Marauders Fleet – 3 Ships + 1 Squadron
2D Fantasy Orcs – Boss, Shaman, Warriors, Archers, Brutes
2D Marauders Fleet – 3 Ships + 1 Squadron
2D Space Terrain – Destroyed Ships, Asteroid Fields, Space Junk, Space Nebulas
Arena Games – Season 2
Arena Games – Warband Creator
Jakob’s Path – Chapters 1-4
Mystery Expansion for GFF
New Mystery Game
Here some WIP shots of the 3D models, note that they are subject to change.
Small Game Updates
Moving on to updates for our core games, this week we’re adding a bunch of new units!
It’s always cool to see our little games make their way around the world, and this week our friend Akinori provided a Japanese translation of Age of Fantasy: Skirmish.
This is not the first time that Akinori makes a translation of our games, and if you want to check out WarStuff in all its Japanese glory, check out these posts HERE.
Dwarf Army Bundle Released
Over the past 6 months we’ve released a full Dwarf Army in collaboration with Kyoushuneko Miniatures, which came out looking pretty damn awesome.
Whilst we had single units available for sale until now, some players asked us if it was possible to get the entire army at once, and well… your wish is our command!
The complete Dwarf Army is now available for sale as a bundle with a hefty 20% discount, and if you’re also a patron at Tier 3, then you will get an additional 20% discount on top!
The great folks at Stonehorse Gaming have been releasing more and more AoF:R videos, with an awesome how to play video and a battle report. Now they’re also adding new tactics videos which cover all aspects of the game one by one, and are definitely worth checking out.
Three Men and a Wargame Podcast
Last but not least, we wanted to give a shoutout to the Three Men and a Wargame podcast, who were so kind to cover our September releases in full detail.
That’s it for today, but don’t worry, just because we released FTL today doesn’t mean we’re done making games, so keep your eyes peeled for more stuff that’s on the horizon. ;)
This week we’ve got a couple of new videos, a brand new OPR wiki, as well as some paper model updates and a new collaboration.
Let’s get to it!
Writing Jam Votes
Before we begin, don’t forget to read and vote on the best writing jam stories. Voting ends in just a couple of days, so make sure to be quick about it!
This week Wyloch’s Armory posted a great how to play Grimdark Future video on YouTube, which covers all aspects of the game and OPR as a whole.
If you’ve never played the game, or have always wondered if you’ve been missing out on something, then this video is for you. Make sure to also check out his battle report series.
Age of Fantasy: Regiments Battle Report
It’s awesome to see more and more videos being made for our games, and this week Stonehorse Gaming also released an awesome battle report for AoF: Regiments. This demo game shows off all of the basics of the game in a single battle, so it’s also perfect for players that are still trying to learn the game.
OPR Community Wiki
Did you know that OPR has an official Community Wiki now?
The wiki was created to provide a place where new players can find more information about our games, as well as find extensive miniatures libraries to know which models can be used for different units.
There are also games and faction pages that fill you in on the background stories of our games, and there are tactics pages to give you a better idea on how to play each faction.
The wiki is pretty new and still needs to be filled with a lot of content, so everyone is welcome to contribute by adding new pages, completing information on existing ones, adding miniature pictures, writing tactics, etc.
There are templates for all sorts of pages, so you just need to copy those and fill them out!
Infected Colonies are settlements that have been infected by a mysterious virus which mutates them into blood-hungry warriors. Those that have been infected are categorized into different stages, with each stage having a different effect on the mutated subject.
Note that our new 2D models now also come with a thick black borders version.
To help you get started with this army, here’s a ~750pts Grimdark Future list you can use:
1x Monstrous Tyrant
10x Zombies
20x Infected
5x Infected Hunters
5x Infected Dogs
Space Elves by Nico Pogarskiy
This month we’re starting a new collaboration with Nico Pogarskiy, who makes awesome papercraft miniatures in his own old-school style: https://www.patreon.com/nicopogarskiy
Nico makes really amazing models for RPGs and wargames, and if you support him on Patreon you not only get access to his full archive of models, but also get custom miniatures made by him to your liking!
For the next few months we’ll be releasing sets of his lovingly drawn Space Elves models, which come in 4 different colors and feature front and back art.
After a small delay this week we’ve finally been able to reveal the missing models from the Alien Hives, and boy oh boy did they turn out great!
First up we’ve got the Prime Warrior, a massive hero that commands his army with a heavy hand. He’s armed with a deadly bio-gun, and has a spike on his head to show his prowess.
Then we’ve got the Shooter Grunts, that come in a pack of 3, with bio-guns coming straight out of their terrifying mouths, ready to liquify their enemies with acid bile.
With these models the full lineup of September releases has been revealed, so make sure to grab all of them (and much much more) for just $10 before the end of the month!
This week we also released the 3rd chapter of the Jakob’s Path narrative campaign.
This chapter contains 2 new missions, and if you support now you get all previously released chapters as well. Whilst the campaign was written with Battle Brothers vs Orcs in mind, it can be played with any other factions and whatever models you have available.
Chapter 3 – Jakob and his men return from the jungle battered by the heavy fighting, with one of their brothers in critical condition. They hope to find a victorious Khari at the landing zone, but instead will find that they are not alone…
After much deliberation we’ve decided to create an Instagram profile for OPR, where we will share lots of pictures of our newly released content, as well as sneak previews in the stories.
In order to boost our reach we’re also considering doing some giveaways on Instagram, so make sure to follow us now to get more news about that when it happens!
This week Stonehorse Gaming released a new video, explaining how to play Age of Fantasy: Regiments in a simple and concise manner (and with some great models to boot).
Check it out if you haven’t had a chance to play our games yet, and want to see them in action!
That’s it for today, a pretty quick update. We’re looking forward to reading your writing jam stories, and can’t wait to see what crazy ideas you come up with for the theme: INFINITE LOOP.
Today we’ve got a bunch of new stuff for you, a writing jam, new grimdark models, new fantasy models, new spaceship models, a quickstart section, a game update, and even a new battle report for you to watch.
Let’s get to it!
OPR Writing Jam #1
Before we delve into all of the new goodies we got for you this month, let’s talk about the OPR Writing Jam, which is a brand new concept for us, and a bit of an experiment.
For the longest time people have been asking us for more narrative, and there are many of you in the community that have been more than happy to share your own stories and takes on the OPR universe. Since we got so many awesome and creative submissions from fans, we think that it’s a shame that only we get to read them.
So today we’re introducing the OPR Writing Jam!
The OPR writing jam is a 48hr story writing marathon, focused on writing one-page stories set in the OPR universe. We want to stress that this is about writing stories set in the OPR universe, and not to write stories based off another game’s universe and just change the names to fit within the OPR universe.
The writing jam runs from September 11th, at 8PM UK time / 3PM ET time, to September 13th, at 8PM UK time / 3PM ET time. There will be a 1 week public voting period, and then we will highlight a couple of our favourites on our website. This is just for fun, so there are no prizes or winners.
The submission process is pretty simple. At the start of the jam we will announce a theme, and then you will have 48hrs to write a 500-1000 words story set in the OPR universe. The story must fit on a single sheet, and we will be providing templates for you to use.
Starting the jam has been a very spontaneous decision, and we’re curious to see how it goes. If this is well received, then we could see ourselves having more writing jams in the future, or trying out different concepts. :)
New Alien Hives and Mummified Undead Models
This month we’ve got a ton of new 3D print models for you, so let’s start with our two new armies for Grimdark Future and Age of Fantasy.
The Alien Hives and Mummified Undead are going to be released over a period of 3 months, and each month we’ll be releasing 1 hero and 2 units for each army (~7 model each, for ~14 models total). At the end of the 3 months you can expect to have 3 heroes and 6 units for each army, and we’re also going to try and include some bigger models in there as well (monsters anyone?). This means that for just $30 you’re going to get 30+ models just in these 2 armies, plus all of the spaceship models, new games, expansions, and more!
These models are being created in collaboration with Punga Miniatures, and we’d like to thank the whole team for the amazing result: Rim, Bulat, Radmir and Guzel
The Alien Hives are being sculpted by Radmir: INSTAGRAM
The Mummified Undead are being sculpted by Bulat: INSTAGRAM
All of the renders are being done by Guzel: ARTSTATION
And of course the production is being done by Rim: WEBSITE
This is just the beginning of these two armies, and we’re looking forward to seeing more of them come out, and can’t wait to release the full armies after these 3 months. Of course by supporting us on Patreon you get a TON more content, so make sure to check out our September release overview: https://www.patreon.com/posts/41104102
Note that we are still pending on the renders for the Alien Hives hero and the second unit, and we’ll make sure to update everyone once those are released.
New Empire Fleet Models
You thought that was all for this month’s model releases? Think again!
This month we’re seeing the first FTL fleet being released, starting with the Empire Fleet. The FTL fleets are going to be released over a period of 6 months, and each month we’ll be releasing 4 models for each fleet (3 ship types +1 squadron). At the end of the 6 months you can expect to have all 24 models, plus the Full Rulebook for FTL, giving you the complete range of FTL fleets. That’s right, for just $10/month you’re not only getting all of the models for the other 2 armies, but also a new FTL fleet.
These models were made in collaboration with Danny Cyanide, who is going to make all FTL fleets for us. Check out his stuff here: https://cults3d.com/en/users/danny_cyanide
We’re really happy to be working with Danny, and can’t wait to see where else this collaboration could take us after FTL (maybe some nice mechs? who knows…).
So, you love the idea of spaceship battles, you want to give FTL a try, but you don’t have any models or a 3D printer? We’ve still got you covered!
Alongside our 3D print fleets we’re also going to release a 2D print fleet every month, giving everyone a chance to play FTL. This follows the exact same system as the 3D print fleets, so you get a new fleet with 4 models each month, and you will have all of them together at the end of the 6 months. The basic 1 color version is available for just $3/month, whilst the full 2 color version is available for just $5/month.
And this is not all for you 2D print fans, because this month we’ll also have a new 2D print army for Grimdark Future coming out, which will be the Infected Colonies. But more on that later when they’re ready to be released…
New Quickstart Section
As some of you might have already noticed, we have re-designed our landing page, adding a couple of new features to make life easier. We now have a button for the news section (because some people didn’t realize we had one), as well as a button that leads straight to our monthly Patreon release highlight.
Most importantly though, we’ve added a button that leads to a new “start here” page.
This page serves to introduce new players to everything they need to know about OPR, from the fact that our games are free, to how the project is supported on patreon, to a step by step guide on getting started.
The step-by-step guide was designed to give the easiest introduction possible to our games, with just the one-page rules first, and then a series of brand new quickstart sets, which include the beginner’s guide, some pre-made army lists, as well as 2D miniature tokens and terrain. This is the absolute best way to introduce someone that’s new to wargaming to our games, and is the perfect package to run demo games or share the rules with new starters.
Then there’s even more stuff on the page. We’ve added a battle report by Wyloch’s Armory for those that would like to see the game in action, as well as links to all of our social media, community pages and the newsletter.
All in all we think that it turned out pretty great, although we might keep tweaking it as things go along. Big shout out to Perram on Discord who pushed me to actually implement this, thanks a lot!
The Orc Marauders have always been a very “controversial” faction in Grimdark Future. They’re one of the most played factions out there, but also one of the hardest to play right. In the hands of the right player, and with the right conditions, they can be absolutely brutal, however for a lot of players they just end up being frustrating because they are much harder to play than they look.
After a lot of discussion we’re decided to take a couple of small steps to address this issue, and hopefully give players the tools that they need to feel that they can be more competitive when playing Orc Marauders. This is not a complete overhaul of the army, but instead just a couple of tweaks to tip the scales.
Here’s the full changes:
Mechanics and Shamans now have access to upgrade list B
Fixed cost of Ultra Armor on list C
Heroes can now take Jetpacks
Added new special rule SHOOT!
Lowered cost of WAR! and Mad Doctor
Specialist Orcs and Orc Pirates now have Relentless
Modified weapons and upgrades for Specialist Orcs and Orc Pirates
Mini Helicopters now have Impact(3) as an upgrade
Most Vehicles can be upgraded with Relentless
Condensed multiple buggy types into a Combat Kart
We hope that these small changes allow players to play with the army in new and interesting ways, and hopefully be able to mitigate some of the army’s weaknesses, whilst still maintaining that core Orc Marauders identity.
Age of Fantasy Battle Report and Review (German)
Finally this week we were very delighted when we found out that German channel Bier und Brezel Tabletop filmed a full battle report and provided an in-depth review of Age of Fantasy.
The battle report is very well filmed, and there is great commentary that explains everything that’s happening in detail, so this also serves as a great “how to play” video as well. The review section is also really great, going over the pros and cons of the system, and it’s great to see someone that truly understands the strengths of the system make a review for it.
For those of you that don’t speak German you can watch the video with YouTube’s auto-translated captions, although we can’t vouch for the quality of the translation. :D
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