Re: Blue Sky Thinking (was: Re: [GZG] re: Wanted)

[Ground Zero Games <jon@xxxxxxx>]

> On 11/2/06, James Moore <jmooreou@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > What is
> > this other F acronym (FASW or something like that) game that everyone keeps
> > mentioning though?
>
> That would be FMAS. It stands for FMA Skirmish (FMA being Full Metal
> Anorak, the name given to the opposed die roll system used in SG2, and
> -- to a lesser extent -- DS2).
>
> It's a skirmish game that Jon's been working on for... well, I think
> the original stuff, fantasy related, came out 1996.
>
> On thinking about it, perhaps the best method _is_ to release FMAS
> before some sort of squad level SG2 game. There's a large core of 25mm
> SG2 players out there that will feel "left behind" if SG3 is released
> as a "figures on bases" game. FMAS is also more than half complete. A
> fair bit has been done on it already, it just needed some additional
> stuff from Jon and more testing.
>
> That having been said, it's entirely possible that an SG3 with based
> figures would take _less_ time to work out than a finished FMAS
> product. There's a real niche for this proposed SG3 idea, and -- most
> importantly for GZG's financial well being -- SG3 looks like it would
> propel a number of sales, more so than FMAS.
>
> Allan


Allan has actually hit several nails squarely on their heads here.... 
the bottom line is that, just like any minis company, to stay in 
business WE NEED TO SELL MINIS - preferably lots of them! That's 
exactly why the Evil Empire (tm) has to repeatedly re-invent their 
games every couple of years and change the army lists, so that the 
kiddies must continually buy new armies. If folks stop buying figures 
because they've got enough for what they are currently playing, and 
the game doesn't change, then manufacturers die.

It's quite right that a company-level SG3 would drive sales 
(hopefully of 15mm) much more than a release of FMAS, which most 
folks would probably just play with a handful of the figures they 
already have. I WANT to get FMAS done and out, and as Allen says it 
is actually very close to being a fully functional system, but it 
will be rather more a labour of love than a commercially-important 
product for the business.

By the way, there are probably at least a couple of quite early 
versions of FMAS floating around in the public domain, which people 
are very free to use if they wish - but please bear in mind that the 
current version of the game is quite significantly different to those 
early versions. IF and when time allows (ha!), I will try to get a 
more up-to-date draft done for public testing - but please remember 
that holding your breath can make you turn blue and fall over, so we 
don't suggest you do that!  ;-)

Jon (GZG)

> --
> Allan Goodall            http://www.hyperbear.com
> agoodall@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> awgoodall@xxxxxxxxx
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