Terrain & Scenery 21

I was suffering from cat paralysis last night, so here's a pretty picture post for you.

Lego Micro Bulldozer by Jürgen Gartinger.  This is pretty neat!

Lego Caterpillar Challenger MT 800 with Reversible Plough by František Hajdekr.  It almost feels like cheating to include Frantisek's work at this point.

Deep Diving the Stone Lagoon by Deltassius.  I know this

is minifig oriented but, look at those plant designs!

Atlantean Jetbike by Brother Steve.  Another minifig oriented build, I really find that

Jellyfish design inspirational.  But unfortunately the creator doesn't allow downloads.

FT908 Surface Explorer by Geoff Horswood.  A

little small for MFZ's usual scales but it looks neat.

War College: The Demo Rules (my version)

In this post I went over the set of rules Vincent proposed using for the purposes of demonstrating Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack.  I do things a little differently so I figured I'd give people a look at the way I run demo games.

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One objective in the middle of the battlefield. Everybody gets two frames, both Soldiers.  The reason why I run all soldiers for the demos is the Frames may look different but they all do the same thing and that's easier to keep track of.  Also, you only work at one range band until things get damaged.  I set the frames up myself on the battlefield, one team at each of the major compass points, starting behind a wall of some sort.  It's important that everybody has a frame a Ruler length away from the objective, but nobody has one closer.  I also set smaller walls (1 Hit each) at the secondary compass points at half a Ruler length from the objective.

Because everybody's sides are equal, everything on the board is worth 5 points to everybody, so I just say that: "in the full game, things are worth different points to different players, but here, everything's worth 5 points.  You each have 2 frames so you each have 10 points. If you lose a frame, you lose 5 points.  If you grab the objective, you gain 5 points." Set the doomsday clock to 7.  Expect to play at least three turns.  "When the doomsday clock hits zero, whomever has the most points wins." Since everybody's sides are equal, nobody has initiative.  "In the full game, initiative depends on how many points you have, and maybe we'll see that next turn, but since everybody's equal, we'll just start on the dealer's left and go around." If you're quick with the rules, this is a 15- or 20-minute demo for 2 - 3 players, maybe a 30-minute demo for 4.  I think it's sort of easier to explain the rules as you go. I've always found you want to get the dice in their hands and GO. "Here's the Ruler, this is how Range and Movement works. This is a Frame; this part attacks, this part defends, this part makes it move, this part Spots (explain that when it comes up in the turn). Here's your dice, roll them all together and pick out the highest ones."  And so on, and so forth.

Here's a picture of Vincent demoing with my set-up.

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When I run demos it's more about teaching people how the dice work and decision making within the framework of the game itself.  I'm not trying to teach all of the rules for MFZ.

10th Anniversary

Ten years -- and two days (seriously, how did I screw up the date?!?) -- ago I made the first post on this blog.  It's a little hard to believe ten tears have passed.  I thought about listing off a bunch of statistics but, like my second anniversary post, I'll do something else instead.

I'm going to take this time to say, "Thank you."

Thank you to Vincent, Sebastian, and Joshua for inventing Mechaton and it's successor, Mobile Frame Zero.

Thank you to Joshua for bringing me in to multiple cons to demo MFZ where I got to meet a lot of other fans.

Thank you to my gaming group, and all the people I've shared a table with, for every enjoyable moment.

Thank you to everyone who reads this blog.

Thank you to everyone who's taken the time to comment, whether here or elsewhere.

Thank you to the entire MFZ community for being awesome.

Ten years, damn.

Terrain Workshop: Undersea Accessories

For a looooooong while, the idea of a MFZ game set in/under/over water has haunted me.  I'm not sure exactly why.  But, anyway, here's a selection of random creations that could be used in such a game.

Giant Mollusk.  I originally built these to be Stations -- the Gold and

White ones at least -- but now I have enough where they can be used

as Cover.  Each one will take one Hit before being destroyed.

Coral Formation.  I don't have very many of these Coral parts so this is the

only piece of this type of terrain.  It will take one Hit before being destroyed.

Vines and Rocks.  I don't know about you but, I have a lot of these

Vine/Seaweed pieces and I do struggle a bit with ways to use

them.  Looks like I have a plan now!  If you only remove the

Vines then these will take one Hit.  If you want to beef them up a

bit then you could use six of the Washing Machine Brick instead

of the three Corner Bricks to increase it to two Hits per section.

Aquacultured Seaweed.  Basically a simple way to make a "wall" type

 of terrain.  Each strip can take one Hit before being destroyed.

Geothermal Transfer Conduit (Magma Tubing).  These are

a little taller than the Pumping Tubes from my Ice 9 table-

setting but they still take two Hits before being destroyed.

Starter Plug.  Unlike Ice 9, I don't have any "Storage Cylinders" so

I need a way of starting and/or ending sections of conduit.  This

fills that purpose and can take one Hit before being destroyed.

Jellyfish.  This is another method for using the Vine/Seaweed pieces.  Each

one will take two Hits (not including the stand) before being destroyed.

I hope you enjoyed looking at all of these as much as I did building them.  I think most

of the construction is straightforward but if you have any questions feel free to ask.

Terrain Workshop: Walls, Lines, and Curves

One of the problems that people run into when constructing terrain, and Cover especially, is making walls that are long enough to hide behind but at the same time aren't impenetrable blocks of bricks.  And to top it off people want them to look cool too, the nerve!  :-)  One of the ways to do this is build walls in sections like PJ Nicht did for this game but there is another method that I'm going to discuss today.

So this is similar that you are building the wall in sections, the difference lies in building each section on its own base.  This way you can still dismantle the wall section by section but you can also shape it in ways that a standard section of wall can't.

Straight Wall.  Each section will take one Hit before being destroyed,

so overall this would be six Hits if it were one piece.

Angled Wall.  Pushing each base down -- or up considering which direction you're travelling -- by two Studs allows us to have a wall at an angle.

Big Curve.  If you feel like there's too much space between

sections, just push them up to overlap by one Stud.

Small Curve.  Bases are pushed closer by two Studs to tighten it up.

Here's a picture of the technique being used in actual play.  There

are 14 sections in total, comprising 24 Hits worth of damage.

I hope this helps when you're considering how to build terrain that's

frangible but still takes up a decent amount of space on the table.

Terrain Workshop: Battlefield Size

I've put this under the "Terrain Workshop" heading because the foundation of all the terrain we put on a battlefield is the table we're starting with.  According to the rulebook, Page 76, "Your table should measure 4-6 rulers' lengths diagonally and circular or square, if it's bigger or smaller, adjust accordingly."  Now, I don't know about you but, I've never done this and so I'm going to take some measurements and figure out just what that truly means.

A rough estimate of a Ruler puts it at 12.81" long.  So according to Page 76 your battlefield should be somewhere between 51.24" (or 4.27') to 76.86" (or 6.41') on the diagonal.

For reference, my kitchen table is 38" wide.

Four Rulers.

 This battlefield would be 38" by 35".

Five Rulers.

This battlefield would be 38" by 51". 

I didn't take a picture of six Rulers because it was kinda ridiculous.

This set up is slightly longer on the diagonal than four Rulers.

I hope this helps people configure their tabletop battlefields for future games.

Thanks to everyone on the Discord that was involved in the conversation that led to this blog post.

Well, Just How Big Is It 2?

One thing it may be hard to understand for new builders is the difference between Scale and Size.  Scale is how big an object is in relation to another object.  Size is just how big an object actually is.  Today we're going to be concentrating on the latter.

I use several different benchmarks to gauge the size of things I create or purchase for use with Mobile Frame Zero: Rapid Attack.  But that doesn't help you if you don't know how big the benchmark items are.  So we're going to change that.

Chub.

Front

Top

Side

Classic.

Front

Top

Side

Microfig.

Front

Top

Side

Nanofig.

Top

Front

Side

Now you have some idea of the size of the four objects I use to gauge size for my builds.

Terrain Workshop: How Much Is Too Much

So nine years ago someone on the Hangar asked about Terrain Quantity/Size and Joshua answered back with a picture from a game at Metatopia two years prior.  The original picture can be found here.

He also wrote "This one has way more trees than were actually useful, so you could probably halve or even quarter that number to much the same effect. It's also good to have open areas so you need to make real decisions about when to run from cover to cover, or stand around in the middle of the street, hoping."

So I count 43(?) trees so that would mean 21 (half) or 10 (quarter) trees.  Add that to the 31(?) walls I count and you'd have between 41 and 52 pieces of Cover on a five foot table.  That's more than I normally have on my tables but I feel like my pieces take up more space on the table.  But in counterpoint the area of my table is 2,166 Sq. In. whereas the area of the Metatopia table is 2,847 Sq. In. so there is that too.  That being said, 74 pieces is plainly too much terrain.  You need things to hide behind but you also need open spaces to get caught out in.  But as I've mentioned before, the ratio of number of pieces of Cover to the size of the table is a variable that is hard to estimate.

How you set up your table is up to you.  From game to game to game it's a learning experience.  There will always be something you -- or maybe one of your players -- are not happy with.  Learn from it.  Carry it over to the next game.  I'm continuously experimenting and working to improve and I'm willing to share what I learn so your table can be as awesome as possible.

Sales Alert

Target is running a 20% off Select LEGO Creator, Technic, Dots, and Duplo sets sale this week.

Good hunting.

War College: The Demo Rules

Once upon a time, Vincent's version of the Demo Rules could be found in a few locations.  One of them is gone (G+) and the other is not fully functional (the Hangar).  I know CADmonkey saved a copy, and I still have behind the scenes access to the Hangar so I can grab them if needed.  But that leaves a lot of people out in the cold so I'm going to post them here so we have another place they can be found.

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One objective in the middle of the battlefield. Everybody gets two frames, one soldier and one hand to hand or one soldier and one artillery, nothing weird. I set the frames up myself in appropriate places on the battlefield, by eyeball*. Some in cover, some out. It's important that everybody has a frame at 5-6 away from the objective, but nobody has one closer. Because everybody's sides are equal, everything on the board is worth 5 points to everybody, so I just say that: "in the full game, things are worth different points to different players, but here, everything's worth 5 points. You each have 2 frames so you each have 10 points. If you lose a frame, you lose 5 points. If you grab the objective, you gain 5 points." Set the doomsday clock to 3. Expect to play 2 turns. "When the doomsday clock hits zero, whoever has the most points wins." Since everybody's sides are equal, nobody has initiative. "In the full game, initiative depends on how many points you have, and maybe we'll see that next turn, but since everybody's equal, we'll just start on the dealer's left and go around." If you're quick with the rules, this is a 15- or 20-minute demo for 3 players, maybe a 30-minute demo for 5. If somebody's not getting the rules, I try to just talk them clearly through the decisions their dice are asking them to make. "First choose your target. Now gather your dice: you get [these]. Roll 'em! Okay, now you need a defense number. Choose a blue or a white. Perfect. Now, do you want to move first, then attack, or attack first, then move? Great. Here's what we do..." * Basically in roughly equilateral triangles whose sides are the length of direct fire range. Some of the triangles include the objective as a corner point, some don't. The idea is to put every frame at a moment of decision, and an easy way to do it is to put them just within direct fire range from an enemy or a goal.

= = = = =

There you go.  I do things a little differently so I'll post those at another time.

Review: Lazer Blocks Deep Sea Shark

I purchased these at 5Below late last year before Christmas. There were three different sets on the shelf but I only bought the two I was most interested in.

Box.  MSRP was $5.00 for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Transparent Wedge Slopes, Transparent Plates, Round

Light Bricks, Round Plates, Bar Plates, Transparent Wedge

Plates, Plates, Transparent Ball Joint Plate, Ball Joint Plates,

Transparent  Brackets, Transparent Flags, Transparent Studless

Slopes, Tooth Plates, Brick w/Studs on 2 Sides, Inverted

Slope,  Transparent Inverted Slope, and Transparent Slopes.

Parts 2.  Transparent Slopes w/ 2/3 Cutout, Transparent Wedge Studless

Slopes, Ball Joint Plates, Transparent Ball Joint Plate, Plates, Transparent

Plates, Transparent Jumpers, Transparent Large Cheese Slope,

Transparent Tiles, Inverted Studless Slopes, Transparent Studless Slopes,

Studless Slopes, Transparent Round Tiles, Cheese Slope, Apollo Studs,

Transparent Brackets, Bar Clip, and Transparent Quarter Circle Tiles.

Build.  Micro-Frame (or Station) and Frame (2Rd).

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  Better than the last review - in terms of parts clutch -- but still lacking in Clips

and other useful parts.  This should get us a little closer to making a "stealth" Frame though.

Review: Lazer Blocks Motorcycle

I purchased these at 5Below late last year before Christmas.  There were three different sets on the shelf but I only bought the two I was most interested in.

Box.  MSRP was $5.00 for a $0.05 Price per Piece.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Tires, Rims, and Round Light Bricks.

Parts 2.  Transparent Wedge Slope, Plates, Transparent Plates, Transparent

 Mud Guard Bricks, Bricks w/Axle Hole, Bricks w/Double Pinhole, 6L

Axles, 5L Axles, Transparent Round Tile, Transparent Tile, Transparent

Round Plate, Transparent Bar Plates, Inverted Slope, Transparent Thin

Bent Liftarms, Transparent Thin Liftarms, Pin Connectors, Transparent 

Brick w/Pinhole, and Transparent Bent Axle Connectors w/Pinhole.

Parts 3.  Axle Connectors w/Pinhole, Axle Connectors w/Axle Hole,

Thin Liftarms, Bushings, Transparent Axle Connectors w/Pinhole,

Transparent Axle Connectors w/Axle Hole, Transparent Bushings,

Transparent Thin Liftarms, Transparent Brackets, Transparent Studless 

Slopes, Transparent Pin, Transparent Pneuma-T, Transparent Bar

Holders w/Clip, Transparent Tiles, Axles, 3L Axle/Pin, and Plates.

Build.  A Frame and two Stations.

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  While there are some neat parts and colors, the clutch on some of the parts was poor

and I struggled a bit to make a build for the review.  Also, the odd number of certain parts is annoying.

Review: 30583 Easter Bunny Polybag

I found this last week in the Seasonal section at Target.

Bag.  MSRP is $4.99, for a $0.07 Price per Piece.

Instructions

Parts.  Plates, Wedge Plates, Minifig Paintbrushes, Boat Sliders, Bricks, Tile,

Studless Slopes, Mod Plate 2x2 w/Studs on Side, Printed Round Tiles,

Brackets, 2c2x2/3 Brick w/Corrugated Sides, Bar Plates, Quarter Circle

Tiles, Rounded Tiles, Jumper, Inverted Studless Slopes, Clip Tiles, Curved

Bricks, Curved Bricks w/Cutout, Bricks w/Studs on Corners, and Clip Plates.

Build.  Frame and Station.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio?  Below.  (+5)  (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away?  Yes.  (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts?  Yes.  (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  I like the colors and it has a decent parts selection.

Terrain Journal: Animal Skull

As I've mentioned before I'm always on the lookout for new ideas for terrain and sources of inspiration for table-settings.  Oddly enough this comes from the same source my last bit of brain candy came from, my local pet store.

Inspiration.  I saw this while looking for more of the grass mats and thought

it looked really cool.  So I took it upon myself to try and build something

similar out of Lego to put on the table for a MFZ: Rapid Attack game.

First attempt.  I like the basic structure but it's way too flat and

the two halves aren't linked at the front.  Only 9 Hits though.

Second pass.  I've added some texture but the Hits have jumped to 12.

Third pass.  I've reduced the amount of parts slightly.  I think I'd need

to buy some things I don't have in my collection to make major

changes at this point.  It still stands at 12 Hits -- which is more than 

this building -- so I really have to figure a way of shaving parts off.

Size comparison.  As you can see, this is much larger than my benchmarks.

Flickr Page.

Overall the build is somewhat close to being finished.

Now I just have to figure out where it's going to be used.

I think my Oasis table-setting is where it will end up.