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Author Topic: Twilight Cards  (Read 7754 times)
Carcharoth
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« on: May 24, 2010, 04:14:32 pm »

I've been considering doing some cards for Twilight units for a while now... it's always useful to have a simple reference so you don't have to keep flicking through the rules every time you want to check a unit's stats or abilities. I've had difficulty getting the cards looking right though!
I've finally managed some that I'm happy with, and it would be good to hear what you think!




I've done most of the Devanu and empire units already, but it's a word document so I'm not sure how best to share it! Send me an email if you would like a look and I'll send the document over.
The plan is probably to put these on the website for people to download, but I might see if I can get some printed at some point.
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darth tater
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« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2010, 04:44:27 pm »

I like them!  Don't know why i couldn't get the email to open  Angry

I would love to see what a Fubarnii and a Delgon card look like too, I think they should look different and be representative of the cultures.  The symbols behind the stats could aid this, ie the Devanu stat symbols could be more feral, claws and stuff....... Huh

I see you definately decided against having the stamina trackable on the cards.  Probably for the best as you would just end up rubbing out and adding back every turn.....
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Rick
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« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2010, 05:06:59 pm »

Ooh - I do like these. Perhaps you could watermark the faction symbol onto the background.
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TheGremlin
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« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2010, 06:56:37 pm »

Fantasic!

They look really good.

However, I would prefer the stats placed more geometrically; I'm not sure how conscioulsy the icons were placed, and I'm sure others prefer the cards as they are.

Rather than watermarking, which might make the cards a bit busy, maybe the stat icons could be stylistically distinct.


Stamina could also be slightly different from the other icons, perhaps in placement or something...

I assume the grishak card at least is non specific, ie. not tied to any model, reference only. Would that be the same case for the Devanu Sempa, et al? Keep track of the stamina with stones next to the model kind of thing... Otherwise you could number the cards I suppose.

If you have any spare time ( Cheesy Wink), you could always do versions using the illustrations as well, because I'm sure they would look brilliant too. (not saying anything against the paintjobs, which are stunning.)

That looks a bit critical, but I'm a big fan! Perhaps you could save them as a pdf. I've never done it, but I don't think it's too hard.
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Carcharoth
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« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2010, 07:40:24 pm »

Ta for the comments - great to have some feedback.

I would like to do distinctive culture variations, but that depends a lot on time! It might be better to get something done in a generic fashion, rather than delay the process until I can do something more specific... I've got some ideas so I might play at some point.
I also need to finalise the icons for the three cultures, but it's a big decision as I'll be stuck with them  Wink I think I've got the delgon pretty much sorted, but the Devanu and Empire are more elusive.

The icons are deliberately a bit haphazard rather than being very organised. I might have to consider making the Delgon version much more geometrical.

I did decide that stamina would be too fiddly too track on the cards, which means you can have generic cards rather than ones specific to figures. It might be worth considering doing the Striders with their own cards, but using dice to represent fuel seems to work well enough.

I would prefer to do versions with nice illustrations - the only problem being I don't have illustrations for all the models! I've considered a few different styles of images, but that all takes time...

If anybody fancies having a play with these then you are more than welcome to - you might come up with something that would help  Smiley
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Brandlin
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« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2010, 10:16:56 pm »

hi mike

i have to declare up front that i've never been too much of a fan of cards for games - i dislike the clutter on gaming table surround of cards and counters and such. But having said that i do know that for certain games they make tracking stats easier and in some cases essential.

I think i understand why you have made the stats somewhat haphazardly arranged - its the whole organic random feel of the world you like rather than giving a regimented feel for things. The problem is an easy reference card has the numbers where you expect to see them on each and every card.

I agree about tracking stamina on the cards - too tricky, especially as you have used both sides, if you are tracking stamina on the cards then you wont pick them up to read the other side.  Personally I'd put the main illustration or picture on the reverse of the card and use the face for as much systematically laid out information as you can about that particular model. The generic information about what each ability does could go on a separate reference sheet or in the rule book.

Having said that i think it depends on the appraoch you are taking mike. If you imagine there being a lot of character or model specific abilities coming along as you put in place more miniatures, then you'll end up with a somewhat CCG approach where you need everything on the card, and you're going to have to supply cards with the figures (like rackham used to). The rules book then doesn't need to be updated. Personally i think this leads to creating a large proportion of special troops over rank and file and can mean whoever has the latest models or the best combination or knows the abilities best wins  - rather than tactical ability. 

The other approach is to keep the rules in the rule book and the cards simply as handy reference tools.

i'm not sure which way you intend to go, so the cards fall between those too stools for me.

Having said all that, for what is essentially a very small home grown game still, your attention to detail in the presentation of game materials is exceptional! <insert the applaud icon from FoD here>
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Carcharoth
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« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2010, 11:14:50 pm »

Thanks Alan. I can see your wariness regarding cards, but I was purely thinking of them as a useful tool for people who want them. I'm not sure if I'll get some printed or not, but I'm sure there are people who would find them useful, particularly if they've played games like warmachine in the past.

I planned to keep the layout almost identical for all cards - the stats sitting in pretty much the same position on every cards The details of the abilities were put on the back as you don't really need them most of the time. I can't imagine they would need to be turned over very often once you've played a couple of times. I also don't plan to create huge numbers of unique special rules - the last thing I want is rules creep!

I was avoiding doing stamina tracking on the cards as I didn't want to have to cross off then erase markings all the time. One way you could do stamina tracking would be to simply have a track on the card and a stone that can be moved up and down. Not sure if that would be more or less fiddly than stones on the table but might be an option that would allow you to keep more counters etc off the table.
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Brandlin
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« Reply #7 on: May 25, 2010, 01:44:42 am »

I agree they can be useful. and i like the style. franly if people think they are useful and you can cover costs/make money (depending on your business model) then do it.

I assumed stamina tracking would be several stones resting on the card and then removed and added as necessary...?



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Lord of Wormwood
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« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2010, 08:50:50 am »

Fast & dirty post due to just getting in.

I love them, the feeling of the visuals really are in keeping with both the game and the faction that the unit belongs too. You might want to look at ArtsCow.com for on off printings or placing the cards up there for us to buy as we need them - saves having to hold stock... stock that might get updated/revised before you get around to selling off the run.


Lord of Wormwood
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Carcharoth
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« Reply #9 on: May 25, 2010, 11:35:42 am »

Interesting thought on the on-demand printing. I'll have to look at costs...
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Auton
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« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2010, 11:02:36 am »

I like them and certainly would be interested in some  Smiley
Maybe you could sell them as PDFs for people to print themselves?

Nick
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Carcharoth
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« Reply #11 on: June 07, 2010, 01:35:18 pm »

If you want to print them yourself then drop me a line and I'll send you the original word file to play with.
Other than that I'll put a post on here when I get around to send some for professional printing. I do want to make sure I've got everything right before I do that though!
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