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Hi everybody,

As some of you may have heard, I'm working on Kickstarter-ing Engine Heart into FLGSs using the model of "giving them free copies". Three stores have agreed to host the books so far, so we're off to a good start! One mini-module has been completed and more are in the works, each with theme-specific locations, features and defects, and character sheets for local robots.

I've got some numbers from the guy who handles custom orders at the Gamescience factory, and it looks like a limited run of precision EH d10 sets is viable. The first stretch goal will be getting copies of Joints and Jivers bundled with the other books. Tentative stretch goals include GM screens, modular robot miniatures, Joints & Jivers miniatures, and Modempunk miniatures.

If you want a copy of the game you can download a form-fillable PDF for free on the wiki:
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Engine_Heart

It also has character sheets, the Power and Light module and a bunch of other fun stuff.
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Here's a flier if you want to send it to your local gaming store.
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And here's the pdf of it if you want that instead.
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Cool stuff Viral, when can we expect the KS to go up?
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>>23329795
>Cool stuff Viral, when can we expect the KS to go up?

As soon as the minimum number of game stores sign on or we finish all of the mini-modules, whichever comes first. The plan is to print 250 copies of the rulebook and another 250 of Power and Light, which at five copies each comes out to fifty stores. This could be offset a little because one of the prizes will be a copy of the book with a genuine doodle of your robot by the shittiest drawfag ever: me! In that case, the prize copies would eat up some of the run.

So it probably needs at least 25 or 30 stores to agree to take the books before it'll be viable.
>>
Viral marketing!
Reported to moot, the FBI, the LAPD, Dorner, Stephen Harper, the third chancellor of Germany, and every Brazilian named Juan.
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>>23329953
>and every Brazilian named Juan.
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>>23329953
The BEST KIND of viral marketing.
>>
I made a FB page for it: dok.stoy

oh god I don't know how to use facebook
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>posting in a Viral thread
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>>23330444
>Viraling in a posting thread
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>>23330444
Hey, I know you!

How's that defective copy holding up?
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Engine Heart storytime in >>23330596
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>>23330761
STRIKE THAT MOVING OVER HERE BECAUSE I'M AN IDIOT AND CANNOT INTO CATALOG.

Our protagonists this time were me as the VROOMba-extra fast vacuum cleaning robot, RC the cheap mostly plastic pterodactyl toy that could sustain short flights, and Top Gear the latest in toy top technology with gyroscopic self-spinners and micro jets to adapt to sudden changes, could spin as long as he had battery charge. The apartment block was our home. It had been everything we’d known since our unpacking and activation. Since our owners had long since disappeared I’d tried to keep up our work, recharging and routinely following the same rut, occasionally cleaning around the coffee table backwards to keep things fresh. The other two would alternate between flitting around and causing the horrible dust-mites to fall that I’d swoop in and clean up in a hurry and causing horrible scuff marks on the tile that would take me hours to fix.
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>>23330859
Then one day our recharging station stopped receiving juice. We couldn’t just deactivate, we had to keep ready for the owner’s return. Thus we began scouring the floor for other ports that might be able to sustain us. RC and Top Gear managed to work together to open those turn knobs using Top Gear’s spinning abilities and having RC carry it up to the knob and push him against it so the rotational force would be transferred (though twice RC nearly crashed as he was spun around as well). Nowhere on our floor was any place to recharge to be found. So we tried the next floor down, hopping into the elevator before realizing that its power had been cut too. Now we started getting worried, I’d have to descend the stairs. I couldn’t get back up without the elevator working and I had to keep that apartment spotless. But I couldn’t keep it clean if I ran dry. Pushing on I tumbled down four flights of stairs like only a square VROOMba could.

Each flight of stairs we tumbled down and did a sweep of the floor, getting quicker and more desperate with each one as we neared the ground. No power could be found anywhere in the building. We'd have to brave the outside, the dirtiest place in all existence.
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>>23330859
Aw, you didn't have to delete your thread!
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>>23330871
I nearly was driven insane by all the dirt my sensors were picking up. These weren't mere specks and motes like I'd been dealing with for decades but clumps! Miles of dirt in every direction, the air turning with organic matter that my sensors could only define as allergens and thus to be eliminated. I'm not ashamed to say I froze there, that I ran loops within loops with no exit condition. It took a hard reset by RC to break it, with it landing upon my big green power on/off button twice to get me over it. I almost relapsed before Top Gear responded that I couldn't clean if I didn't have any juice. And I'd surely run out of juice if I started cleaning the OUTSIDE immediately. With this sage advice we rolled off the sidewalk and into the (FILTHY) street. Now we just had to find someplace we could charge up. Then we'd get to figuring out how to clean up this mess and get back to the apartment.
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>>23330881
Sure I did, no sense taking up more space than required on the board. Not likely my thread would be active past the storytime anyways.
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>>23330909
>>23330927
Fair enough. This story is pretty great so far!
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>>23330909
We rolled, flapped and spun down the street a ways as night began to fall. The streetlights (mostly) flickered on. We briefly tried to smash our way into one of the live ones but vandal-proof construction was more than even our improvised drill in the form of Top Gear could penetrate with all his plastic might brought to bear. So we moved on and saw something in the distance, a building with lights on! That had to have power we could charge up with! We tootled on in to what we noticed on the sign was a car and robot repair shop. Inside were a few robots working away on repairing robots too! Surely they'd understand our need for a quick recharge.
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>>23330938
Hey Viral, just wanted to chime in and say I absolutely love Engine Heart and the other games you've put together. Sadly I've only had the chance to play Engine Heart with my group, but it's great, well designed system.
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>>23331057
With a beep bop bootle VROOMba announced the group's presence. Immediately the air was filled with a buzz on a frequency we couldn't quite receive. RC tried this time and a few of the robots stopped what they were working on and came at us, shocking us with their speed and grip. RC and VROOMba were quickly in their iron grasp, plastic wings useless as the servos whined and four electric ball wheels spun uselessly as both panicked, sending out calls demanding answers. Only Top Gear could resist their clutches for more than a few moments as its spin bounced off the grasp. Unfortunately without help from one of the other two he was fairly slow and got trapped in a jar.

Then one of the great steel fingers found that big round button.

-Click-
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>>23331124
Thanks a lot for saying that, anon!

It's really nice to hear stuff like that!

Got any requests for new content you'd like to see? Once I finish the current minimod I'm going to start work on a worldbuilding guide of sorts, but there's more than one more minimod planned.

Some people suggested space. Currently working on a transportation-themed one.
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>>23331177
>Space themed robots
>Space junkbots
>Mining bots
>Kerbal Spess robot probes
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>>23331133
Did they died?
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>>23331133
-Click-

DIRECT LINK ESTABLISHED. COMPUTING RESOURCES DIVERTED. CALCULATING ORDERS...
MODEL UNFIT FOR LONG-TERM SERVICE. SABOTAGE MISSION ASSIGNED. UPDATING INTERNAL GUIDANCE.

Then VROOMba was fitted with crude explosives and a piece of jagged scrap iron fastened to its shell. RC found itself with a shotgun shell and a tool to fire it strapped to the chest. Top Gear was mostly empty space to begin with anyways and got crammed full of explosives. Then we realized our orders. We were a suicide mission to disrupt some part of the outward Green AI, our core commands replaced with ones to do the most logistically taxing damage possible, though traces of VROOMba's need for clean survived the purge and so did the other's Entertainment-based requirements.

We were topped up on our battery juice and sent out. Three streets over was a sewer entrance and we were to start our mission in earnest there.
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>>23329622
>modular robot miniatures, Joints & Jivers miniatures, and Modempunk miniatures.
How do you go about getting minis made of a game anyway? How much does something like that cost?
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>>23331457
>How do you go about getting minis made of a game anyway? How much does something like that cost?

I emailed a guy who does commissions on Shapeways; he's pretty good and has a great track record. The KS stretch would be to pay him to make the minis (and I might run some sort of fun thing where people got to post their own creations and have those turned into minis). Once he made the models, anyone who wanted a copy could just go to the website and order one printed.

I also thought about having Eureka sculpt them, but... Eureka minis look terrible by modern standards.
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>>23331382
The group found this sewer entrance in short time, a broken main pipe that appeared to have been blown through the pavement. Likely some other unlucky robot like us sent to die to progress the Red AI's agenda one step further. Dutifully the robots dropped into the line, with VROOMba trying desperately to use its wide wheelbase from touching the very bottom of the pipe where mold had been growing. Top Gear then spun right through it, kicking up bits and throwing them all over his companions. Absolutely disgusting. If the mission's parameter's hadn't been overriding the cleanliness ones VROOMba might have thrown a massive fit. But they had the time limited by their battery so they pushed onwards.

Down through the sewer, following the pipes and the long dried up tunnels, up a ramp and were confronted by a rather small orange robot that seemed like it'd been stuck down here for sometime with one leg nonoperational. It transmitted messages to us, begging us to help until it caught some scattered bits of our constant communications with the Red AI. It began to tremble, to cry out as every servo shook.

SILENCE IT BEFORE IT TRANSMITS AND ALERTS EVERYTHING.

RC flew upon the shaking robot's head, pulled its wing in and triggered the shotgun blast, sending RC scattering into a dozen parts from the force and the robot he fired into stopped moving and ceased to cry.

Then there were two little robots.
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>>23331522
>Then there were two little robots.
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>>23331522
Top Gear and VROOMba were momentarily stunned. Their fellow for decades was gone. Then the burning in their code began, urging them onward before their battery drained out. Up the ramp, up up up. It let out somewhere not terribly far from the Dresda Institute of Science and Technology. Perfect for the Red AI's plans.

There was a known supply depot along the street, a certain 'hardware store' that was known to send supplies ordered by the Green AI discretely across the city to bolster its positions and fix the damage caused by the bombing runs done by Red AI drones. If we could disable the robots based there we'd deal a blow that would be difficult to recover from. We crept in the silence of night, a top and a cleaner bot under the pale lights. In a nearby alleyway we took turns conserving battery and keeping a lookout to see if our marks were going to return to their base.

Tick tock, tick tock, your battery is a drainin' and the Red AI a waitin'.
Don't disappoint your master, destroy the Green one faster.
Tick tock, tick tock, your battery is a drainin' and the Red Ai aint waitin'.
>>
I can tell you my FLGS wont sign on. I love it but the owner is pretty closed minded sometimes. But when the KS comes around i will back for a copy of the book and some other cool swag if its up for grabs for backers.
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>>23331657
Two robots, decked in hardhats and tool belts came into the view of Top Gear. VROOMba was woken out of its low power mode and...
Tick tock, tick tock, your battery is a drainin' and the Red AI a waitin'.
Tick tock, tick tock, aint no time for failin'
Tick tock, tick tock, your battery is a drainin' and the Red AI aint waitin'
Tick Tock, Tick Tock, now you're activatin'
Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock, Tick Tock
BOOM.

When the dust cleared those two robots that had been walking home were rubble, never even had a chance to take off their hardhat and say goodnight to their store AI.

Then there was one little robot, spinning all alone.
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>>23331799
Little battery remained. Spin spin spin Top Gear went, dancing across the pavement and going off kilter as its jets pushed him further on and correcting when it got too far. Through the bits of its long time companion, through the oil slick stains of two working robots, further further dancing on. It was an almost entrancing sight to see as it waggled and wobbled into the subway from a storm drain. It came upon a solid door, normally it'd be impossible to move but the years had not been kind to it with the rust having eaten away a corner where the paint peeled away, just big enough for a toy top to squeeze through. A transformer and electrical equipment from the underground grid was within.

Top Gear did his final dance, spinning up to the fragile equipment and detonated. The Dresda Institute would now be without power and any project the Green AI had within was lost.

But, what was this? A faint transmission still stood from Top Gear, its Red AI coded parameters met it defaulted to its old ones, "Was that entertaining, owner?"

The signal faded and the Red AI had the briefest flicker of what we'd describe as amusement.

>The End
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>>23331964
And then the Bee-Bot story that followed as capped by the good man Viral.
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>>23332022
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>>23331964
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>>23332061
Viral, quick question, I haven't actually glanced at the game yet, since I have somewhere to be, but would this game be fit for say, light hearted wall-E esque adventures?
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>>23332088
>Viral, quick question, I haven't actually glanced at the game yet, since I have somewhere to be, but would this game be fit for say, light hearted wall-E esque adventures?

That's pretty much exactly what it was designed for!
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>>23332186
>>23332186
So discarded robots fightung each other for control of trash heaps in a dump would be completely appropriate?
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>>23332251
As well as racist animatronics and little courier robots.
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>>23332251
>So discarded robots fightung each other for control of trash heaps in a dump would be completely appropriate?

Completely.

>>23332265
Or that.
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Did we ever stat out Scud the Disposable Assassin?
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>>23332337
Example of play pg. 2
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>>23332353
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>>23332360
And page 4.

>>23332344
Hmmm...
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Have players get caught up in a robo-mafia war between not-androids and not-iPhones, y/y?
>>
Never got round to picking up a copy of Engine Heart but I loved the J&J/Modem hardcopy I bought and now I've been reminded I'll probaby grab Engine Heart too.

Though of course now it seems I'd be better waiting for the kickstarter than picking it up of lulu right now.
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This just in:

Burrowowl, the guy in charge of Busty Bimbo Barbarians, has asked me to make a BBB/ Engine Heart crossover adventure.

Of course I said yes.
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>>23333018
uh, wha... huh?

How would that even work?
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>>23333018

Project ruined.

Tainted by shit.
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>>23333073
>>23333074
>a digital-only adventure module that conflates BBB with Engine Heart in some way. It would be something playable in the BBB system but thematically tied to Engine Heart (both are essentially post-apocalyptic, so it's not totally unthinkable)

I dunno, I think it would be funny. Something with robots at a spa trying to force-feed you alcohol and pamper you to death, like a Gygax dungeon with blaring New Age relaxation music that you have to fight your way through to get to the unlooted mall on the other side.

Engine Heart will still be G-rated.
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>>23333116
Ok now i can see that. That would actually be pretty fucking awesome.

I was thinking of some weird rule hybrids so half your group can be bimbos and the other half robots, and have to work together against something else. But I would play your module
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>>23333116

When cyber-whore AI attacks!

Coming up next on channel 341282178.
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>>23329953
I lost it at the third chancellor of Germany.
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>>23333116
Best thing: It can actually be too adventures, one where you play Engine Heart and one where you play BBB, but the same scenario.
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>>23333354
>Best thing: It can actually be too adventures, one where you play Engine Heart and one where you play BBB, but the same scenario.

A kill-all-humans module for 2-5 robots?

What's not to love?
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Viral sama! I missed you, how is Mute city?
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>>23333722
Bustling as eeee- nah, it's been kinda quiet. A few of the F-Zero playtesters have been involved with making a second edition of the game, so that's pretty neat.
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>>23333722
Hoots here.
Makean CATastrophe.
Procastrinating over F-Zero
>>
EH is great and you should all be playing one-shots of it.

Ran a con round last year, big fun.
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Dude...I literally just ordered physical copies of both engine heart and j&j/modempunk. I wish I would have waited now
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>>23335319
I see, well I will have to hop on sometime in the future! I am really glad to see that you are finally kickstarting all your ideas! I think your free book campaign is interesting too.

Keep at it boss sama!

>>23335365
Making trophies from the behinds of felines sounds like a disaster waiting to happen! Maybe I will show up and throw everyone off track with my horrendous /d/ like hijinks???
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>>23335365
Someone else is doing things with CATastrophe? Colour me surprised.
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>>23336324
is she smuggling a pumpkin in her sweater?
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>>23336280
>Dude...I literally just ordered physical copies of both engine heart and j&j/modempunk. I wish I would have waited now

Awww! Tell you what: send me a screencap of your order confirmation and I'll send you something nice when this gets started.

Email in email field.
>>
>>23336324
CATastrophe is a tropical post-apoc. Like waterworld, but lighthearted and with cat(dog,bunny)people.
also:
>horrendous /d/-like hijinks
>not glorious /d/-like hijinks

>C:Horatio emetrp
if Oldguard counts as golems, then yes, they ARE there. You cannot RP as one, tho
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>>23335365
You know, I don't think my player ever came back to do any more CATastrophe storytime. Maybe I should fix that.
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>>23336695
you are playing it? Color me interested.
I am kinda stuck on feats for TAIL right now. The most complete version is still TAILS by fellow anon.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0By0FBXzqHIhnRG1OM1o5SEdWa3M/edit?pli=1

Anyway, the pixiv of the artist who made an original pic also had this.
I am slightly tempted to add mouse- and fox- people (as probably non-canon additions) now.
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>>23336324
>Maybe I will show up and throw everyone off track
dohoho.
>Michelle
>Throwing someone off track
>1d8 nerve
>1d4 flair
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>>23336750
Yeah, one of my players did a short storytime after our first session awhile ago. I'm the Stardust Port GM. We've been running a house-ruled version of Savage Worlds as the system.
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Hey uhh...Viral...dude.

Would you be up for a game of this using the internet? It seems pretty fun, but i've no one to play this with IRL and i'm in Europe.
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>>23336794
Savage worlds goes with everything, isn't it.
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>>23336865
>Can't find a group
>hit up game designer for online play

I wish porn worked like that.
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>>23336867
It really does.
>>
So Viral, any advice to others it terms of designing a game?
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>>23336902
http://www.cracked.com/article_20088_7-amazing-things-people-got-just-by-asking.html

Hey, you never know, right?
>>
>The kickstarter goes crazily well
>Viral gets so much money he doesn't know what to do with it
>Starts up a small publishing business and publishes the stuff fa/tg/uys make
>The RPG industry enters a new golden age
>>
>>23338260
here's to hoping it does THAT well then. I have a few projects i wouldnt mind getting published
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>>23333354
I really like the double-adventure idea. Same scenario playable from both perspectives, uses both rules systems. Hm...
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Damn! Late to the party.
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>>23336902
It does if you have money. There's a whole industry of commissions and shit.
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>>23339881
Waking up before we get to sleep
Cause we be rocking this party eight days a week
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girls + robots = wacky hijinks
>>
I still don't know what to think about the setting.
Couldn't imagine more than a one-shot.

On another note:
Can you play a bighuge war mech that runs on whiskey like Gunhed?

"Mr. Gunhed, let's go to tank mode and don't get drunk!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8D76QVbxMc
>>
>>23338260
>The kickstarter goes crazily well
>Viral gets so much money he doesn't know what to do with it
>Runs to Viralzuela, never to be seen again.
>>
>>23342835
>Viralzuela
>he has so much money that he bribes an official to rename it after him
>It was previously called Bolivia
>>
I don' t know about you guys, but if a Kickstarter I backed lead to somebody fleeing the country and setting up a South American vanity-junta, I'd consider my money well-spent.
>>
>>23342930
It was actually a pun on Venezuela, much like Mootixico
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>>23343112
>the joke
>>
>>23342985

I'd consider swearing fealty to Generalissimo Viral (that's pronounced VEE-rAl) and helping catapult our banana republic into the twentieth century.
>>
>>23343573
¡Hasta La Car Lesbians Siempre!
>>
>>23336865
I'm on the suptg IRC most days. #viralgames
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>>23336926
>So Viral, any advice to others it terms of designing a game?
You gotta make something you love! Nobody wants to see yet another totally generic this-system-can-do-everything game, because that's been done to death. Engine Heart is tailor-made for playing little utility robots, Joints & Jivers is made to play 1970s B-movie action stars. They could probably be used in other types of settings, but they work best in their native element.

Otherwise, you gotta playtest the shit out of it. No matter how good it seems to you, there are always tons of broken things that require other people to see. Engine Heart was in playtesting for over a year before it was at a level that I felt decent about releasing to the general public.
>>
>>23345873
How did you go about play testing it/what kind of feed back did you get? It is hard enough getting a group to agree to play a mainstream game, I would imaigen getting people to playtest something new and diffrent would be like pulling teeth.
>>
>>23346032
Just give some hobos a couple bucks. They'll be happy to earn it doing something that doesn't involve touching your genitals.
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>>23346119
Sadly my area is short on hobos.
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>>23346785
Arrange a housing crisis so that you get some.
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>>23336391
A couple actually!

>>23336779
dohohohoho

>>23336675
oh yeah!
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IS GOOD THAT YOU ARE MAKE OF GAME YES

NOW I WON'T BE ASHAMED TO MENTION YOUR NAME IN PUBLIC
>>
Viral how do you intend to enforce the, "we give you free books, if they sell keep half the cover price," thing? Just hope for honesty?

>I admit I know nothing about modern retail
>>
>>23347945
>Viral how do you intend to enforce the, "we give you free books, if they sell keep half the cover price," thing? Just hope for honesty?
Yup! The main point of this is to get Engine Heart wider exposure, not to make money off of the copies. The form letter I send to the FLGS specifies that they aren't responsible for shoplifted or damaged copies, and that forwarding on sales is strictly optional, but so far all of the stores have agreed to it.

>>23347483
Hey Boris, I heard you need a new computer. The one you've got is out of RAM.
>>
>>23346032
>How did you go about play testing it/what kind of feed back did you get?
I posted a really rough first draft on /tg/ in June of 2009, got some people to make bots, took suggestions on problems and limitations they encountered, then just kept reposting new versions for the next couple months. After a workable version developed, I started playtesting over IRC, and spent the next year revising the system. A lot of the feedback was on clarity issues - places where the rules were unclear or left out important information. Features and defects was another area that had a lot of major overhauling. As the rules were streamlined many of the rules for features and defects didn't make sense or didn't work within the system anymore, so a lot of things were heavily edited or dropped altogether. Here's one example:

>Bad Processor
>Gain: +10
>The robot’s processor contains some kind of error. All Intelligence-type checks are made with one less die than normal. The robot cannot have any Intelligence-type ratings above 3.

It didn't work very well because of a few reasons, the main one being that limiting attribute maximums has no in-game effect (which is the point of features and defects). The defect was too problematic so it was scrapped entirely.
>>
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/burrowowl/busty-barbarian-bimbos

>Day Spa Death Spa - at $7,500 we will be releasing a Gygaxian nightmare of pedicures, facials, and aromatherapy by the creator of Engine Heart, Viral of Viral Games. This crossover adventure module is sure to detoxify, disorient, defoliate, and defenestrate your heroines as they cross paths with aggressively amiable automated aestheticians. A bonus PDF for all reward tiers.
>>
>>23351597
This is incredibly awesome.

One imagines you could do BBB cross overs with J&J and Modempunk too.
>>
>>23351597
I love it.
>>
>>23351597
Wait, that guy's actually got a decent-quality project now? Last I saw it was a clusterfuck.
>>
>>23351671
It's less than $1,400 away from legitimately promising the EH crossover...

>>23351643
>>23351669
I'm having fun writing it!
>>
>>23351697
Alternate Engine Heart thread
>>
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>>23329622
I've seen Engine Hearts a few times before, but can't say I've read the booklet thoroughly yet. Think I first saw it when you began making the 1d4chan page. Or it may have been one of the early threads. No idea.

Can't really describe how pleased I am to see /tg/ homebrews seeing the light of day/success though. First BBB and now this. It's refreshing to see folks sticking with their projects and making something of them. Godspeed, Viral.
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>>23358473
>that feel when people make macros and demotivs about your stuff
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>>23358580
Dat feel when the game designer is the first comment on your OC.
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>>23358739
I did a shoddy job, too. Here it is cleaned up.
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I need to go do my laundry, but in the meantime here's this. The original goal was 50 stores, but 35 is about the absolute minimum for it to be viable. I have a couple of stores near me that might be interested, but if you have a FLGS near you and you want them to receive some copies, send them the flier and let them know what's going on!

Maybe I should make a group FB page for this shit. But I never use FB...

Anyway, time to go do some more work on the BBB crossover adventure while I watch my towels dry.
>>
What point value (positive or negative) for a trait that made it so a robot could only move on an electrified rail. Provided said campaign would be set in a facility filled with those. On one hand there would be areas he would need to be carried to, on the other he is continuously recharged when on the rails
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>>23359696
...Are you trying to play Wheatley?
I approve of this plan, just asking.
>>
>>23359696
I would houserule it as an extra appendage, and an extra charging socket, although I am unsure as to whether there is any crunch for a second charging socket.
>>
>>23359696
>What point value (positive or negative) for a trait that made it so a robot could only move on an electrified rail.

The idea of only being able to move on certain surfaces has been discussed before , but it was rejected because it was felt that it would be too limiting. However, in your particular case (where the entire game will take place within a factory where they are commonplace), you might have to fudge some things. Battery loss is only really an issue when the PRs are on the move, traveling to locales where there might not be easy access to charging stations. Your game is atypical in this sense; I assume the other robots have equally easy access to their own types of charging stations?

My first instinct is to suggest using the Environmentally Attuned defect as a base. Depending on what the robot's Mobility rating normally is, you could change the attribute loss to be all Mobility instead of it affecting RealityCom and Perception as well. Of course, a robot with Mobility 1 would suffer less than a robot with Mobility 3, since both of them would be equally affected but one of them would have more of a loss (since the minimum is 0), and a robot with Mobility 5 would still be able to move even off the rails (although a robot with Mobility 5 is probably too spry to be contained to rails anyway).

tl;dr that's a stumper.
>>
>>23359777
Or you could say that all models designed for this facility have their propulsion system shaped for dual purpose rail/ground movement (which their chassis has to show) and make it a freebie.
>>
>>23359817
Now I want a feature rail-agility
Extending redundant rail appendages allow the chassis to be lifted above the rails in transit, enabling this model to overtake slower travelers of equal or smaller size on the same rail.
>>
>>23359747
Maaaybe
>>
>>23359897
Well, like I said, this isn't the first time that rails have been suggested; problem is, it runs contrary to the central game concept that all of the PRs are fully mobile (even if they have a hard time navigating things like stairs or loose gravel). There's never been a reason to have rail-only movement before now because it's so limiting (heh).

This is a tough one.
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>>23359926
What could possibly go wrong?
>>
On the other hand, I could always just have it be a straight advantage. Allow all robots to move without a rail, but allow those who buy it to attach to the rails as well when it is an advantage to do so
>>
>>23359967
I agree, it would have to be an additional feature, not replace independent propulsion altogether.

Then again, robots don't need rails to shoot through tunnels like a subway, if the Axiom's population is any indication.
>>
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>>23360004
>On the other hand, I could always just have it be a straight advantage. Allow all robots to move without a rail, but allow those who buy it to attach to the rails as well when it is an advantage to do so

I think this would be the best way to handle it. You could model something after the High Chassis feature from Power and Light.

Another option would be to look at the High Speed feature and scale that down to only work on the rails.

A third option would be to make a new Feature that doubles your Reflexes (because Reflexes affects your interaction pool, TN to be struck, initiative, and speed) while you're on the rails. This should probably have a scaling cost determined by your mobility rating, with robots that have higher ratings having to pay more for the feature.

Of course I'm just spitballing here. And I really need to go do laundry now. Back in a couple of hours!
>>
>>23358871
It's shit, though.
>>
>>23359694
Hey viral I hate to say it, but i think asking /tg/ for FLGS references is probably limiting your audience too much. You may need to expand into other things to get more references. As in you may need to go ahead and launch your kickstarter and when it starts getting the recognition, then you ask for FLGS references, it just wont work the other way around. It will be a LONG time before you get the 35-50 you need.
>>
>>23359694
Why do you need an arbitrary number of stores? What's your plan? Do these books contain mind-control devices that (once distributed) will allow you to take over the world?
>>
>>23360415
This one knows too much.
Send the killbots disguised as harmless toasters and coffee makers.
>>
>>23360199
High chassis does sound like a good equivilant
Thanks for the help!

> armed xamerok
I think I also now have a name for the BBER
>>
So Viral, what's the status on that south american 'vacation' fund of yours?
>>
>>23360357
>>23360415
Basically, for economies of scale to make this viable I need to print a run of at least 100 copies. 250 is a more ideal number, but I need at least a minimum number of stores to agree to take copies or I'll just end up being stuck with a big crate of books. 50 stores at 5 copies of each book = 250 copies; I'd like stores to ask for more, but one store that's agreed so far only has shelf space for three of each.

Until I know that there will be enough receiving FLGSs I'm pretty hesitant to move forward with things, because like I said I'd hate to get the funding for this and then just get stuck with a big crate of books that I can't unload anywhere.

I also hate the idea of cold-calling stores to get them to agree, but if anyone has suggestions for this, I'm listening!
>>
>>23362021
Well, you may have to, because I doubt the majority of people on /tg/ will end up bringing these flyers to their FLGS, and the majority of those (I assume) may not be interested), so calling around may be your only option.
You could also try getting the system more out there using social networking and such.
>>
>>23329953
>every Brazilian named Juan.
you know that is a very rare name in Brazil, since we speak portuguese and not spanish.
you knew, that right?
RIGHT?
>>
>>23362252
Si.
>>
>>23362021

So are these books going to be the same as the hard copies which can be bought of lulu or are they going to be completely different in terms of printing/binding etc...?
>>
>>23362151
>Well, you may have to, because I doubt the majority of people on /tg/ will end up bringing these flyers to their FLGS, and the majority of those (I assume) may not be interested), so calling around may be your only option.
>You could also try getting the system more out there using social networking and such.
Yeah, you may be right...

>>23363065
>So are these books going to be the same as the hard copies which can be bought of lulu or are they going to be completely different in terms of printing/binding etc...?
There will be a little bit of clean-up with the text, but the store version will be functionally identical to the one you can get from Lulu and Amazon right now. A hardcover collection of the rulebook, Power and Light, and all the minimods will also be available for people at a certain funding level, but only through the KS, not in stores.
>>
>>23363551

Oh no...I'm a sucker for hardcovers.
>>
>>23362021
I really don't get the FLGS thing to be honest. Maybe in an age before kickstarter that would make sense, but now it doesn't make any. Look at BBB (or any other rpg kickstarter) getting 100-250 orders is no problem. You can easily make supporter levels of 5-10 books for retailers.
Half of kickstarter is the promotion aspect to get new names and products out there. You are making this a lot harder than it has to be and I can't see why.
>>
>>23365957
right or wrong, having actual books on actual shelves in an actual store still has a certain level of prestige, and it could serve as a gateway to entire populations that, well, don't come here.

>my opinion anyhow
>>
>>23362021
Viral, how many points would you suggest for a difficult mini-boss? 150?
I want something that will give the PCs quite the challenge, but is still beatable.
>>
>>23365994
Well, kickstarter would do that too, some people browse kickstarter looking for cool things and will see it, then share it to their respective social groups, be they digital or physical.
The FLGS option does this too, so the best theoretical option would be to do both.
>>
>>23366079
I'd argue that trying to give the game away makes it look like it is worth nothing. If anything struggling to give the game away like he is doing is harmful to it.
>>
>>23365957
The point of the KS is just to get copies on store shelves. People can already order print copies (and they have), but as teka said >>23365994, it will have the effect of giving exposure to a wider audience that doesn't hang out on /tg/.

>>23366279
Well, it's worth eight bucks a pop cover price. I figured I should do everything I could to make it an appealing offer for them - that's why paying me after the sale is voluntary.

Maybe I am doing this completely the wrong way, but all I want to do is give people the ability to take pictures of themselves next to the book in their FLGS. That's my dream. Also there are dinosaurs, and I have to save Natalie Portman and that girl I knew in second grade.
>>
>>23366279
To customers, yes. To retail manager?
Hell no!

And it's not trying to be a leather bound 300 page bible with gold corners. It's fast, fun, and free. You just pay the printer.
>>
>>23366279
Actually, it's a well known business move, called consignment, and is generally used as a trial run of a product.
The supplier gives the retailer X units for 'free' and recieved X% of the profits from sales, the retailer keeping the rest, after all the units are sold the retailer generally either makes the choice to simply buy more from the supplier, or to not.
>>
>>23366387
Need sleep? You're starting to sound like Randall Munroe.
Not that that would be a bad thing.
>>
>>23366387
>that girl I knew in second grade.
Fuck man, you had to go there didn't you?
I'm sorry I didn't give you that pencil Heather.
>>
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http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?676935

Welp, here's a thing.
>>
>>23366446
>>23366387
>Knowing girls in second grade
How did you guys escape the cooties?
>>
>>23366481
>>23366387
Viral pls respond.
>>23361949
>>
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>>23366446
Another guy but..
There was a girl in third grade who was pretty plain looking... at the end of the year she gave me a pencil and an eraser with a piece of paper that said, "I like you."
I remember not appreciating it because she wasn't one of the "cute" girls. I never mentioned it to her after that.

I feel right now. In fact I'm getting misty eyed.
>>
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>>23366533
Well, in 2011 I got a check for about 28 bucks, and then last summer I got another check for about $30. If people buy a few more copies before May 15th, I might get another one this year.

So yeah, between Lulu, Amazon and the IRS, about 95% of the cover price disappears before it ever trickles down to me.
>>
>>23366620
So, roughly 30 bucks a year then?
Math time.
A condo in Venezuela is roughly 100k USD
A plane ride to Venezuela is around 1,200 USD
Let's assume Viral keeps all his belongings in one suitcase, so no shipping costs.
Buying an SUV once in Venezuela would cost you an additional 35k USD
Of course, you'll need a live in servant too, so lets say you pay him/her roughly 1 dollar a day, so to put a down payment for three years it'd be about 1,000 dollars.
Not factoring things like water, food and electrical utilities, your bill is about 137k USD, making thirty dollars a year you should be able to escape to your paradise in only... 4573 years!
Mark your calendar and pack yer bags, Viral!
>>
>>23366777
Oh, and if you wouldn't mind responding to >>23366046 please?
I'm working on an adventure for some bros, and it'd be really helpful.
>>
>>23366823
>>23366046
Sorry, trying and failing to multitask right now.

I'll let you in on a secret: There are some 150-point terrorbots in one of the minimods, which are leaps and bounds better than the PRs. I think it's a good number for a robot that requires a team beatdown to dismantle.

Just make sure you don't go too overboard and give them Rating 5 Armored Chassis and it should be memorable.
>>
>>23366939
Alright, thanks Viral, you're a pretty cool dude.
>>
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>>23366777
>Let's assume Viral keeps all his belongings in one suitcase, so no shipping costs.
>>
>>23366553
Boys can be so mean.
>>
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>>23366961
BEHOLD, S-WRECK
>>
>>23367626
I think it's pretty great!

>implying I wouldn't want one at my eighth birthday party
>>
>>23367626
Also, Viral, I found a minor error in your .pdf, although it may be on my end.
When writing in Features and Defects, I cannot enter spaces as the newest character (IE: I have to type a sentence, and then insert spaces afterwards.).
>>
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>>23367707
What pdf reader are you using? It works fine for me...
>>
>>23367774
I'm just using basic Adobe Reader (it's pretty shitty), which one are you using?
>>
>>23367823
Foxit. Are you using the charsheet in the book or the single-sheet pdf?
>>
>>23367911
Single sheet .pdf.
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>>23367931
Huh. Other people have used it to make character sheets with Adobe Reader.

Can anyone else with Adobe Reader try to see if they can enter spaces in the bottom area?
>>
I really wanna run a game, but i have no idea how to do it. (i have no experience with any kind of role playing games) where should i start?
>>
>>23367991
I just finished remaking the .pdf using Foxit, and it works fine using that.
Also for some stupid reason Adobe .pdf Reader doesn't allow saving of editable fields, and now that I realize Foxit does I am ecstatic.
>>
>>23368144
Yeah, I use Foxit for everything. Phantom is great for putting in form fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, etc, and Foxit PDF Editor is fantastic.
>>
>>23368122
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Engine_Heart#Scenarios
Run though a few basic scenarios, give em a little twist.
>>
>>23368122
>I really wanna run a game, but i have no idea how to do it. (i have no experience with any kind of role playing games) where should i start?

What this guy said >>23368180. I would suggest playing a game before you try to run it, but you might not have that option. There are always online groups on places like roll20; I play over IRC a lot.

Obviously you're gonna need some players if you decide to run it yourself.
>>
>>23368325
i have poeple who'd play, i just have to figure out how to do it
>>
>>23368433
Oh, well in that case you're already halfway there!

There are lots of books and pdfs floating around about how to be a good GM, but it boils down to a few things:

* Keep your players entertained.
* Make them have to work for what they want, but reward them when they succeed.
* Always leave them wanting more.
* Be fair - you're not out to "beat" them, you're all there to have fun and make a cool story come together.
* Don't be afraid to make things up and don't be afraid to change your mind if things aren't working out.
>>
>>23368542
>>23368433
Also, say you make a really cool encounter, >>23367626 for example, but the party does something you didn't think about, and skips it!
That's fine, the party never /knew/ the encounter was there, so you are perfectly able to just plop the encounter down later in the adventure to not waste resources.
>>
>>23368618
Oh yeah, this is one of the best pieces of advice.

"Nothing exists until your players find out about it". I tend to run games by putting together a few loose elements, then hold each of them in reserve until I can drop them into the game in some permutation. Party takes a left instead of a right? Lava trap becomes ice trap.
>>
>>23368618
Thanks guys, this is some really good advice, hopefully i can put something together that all my friends enjoy
>>
>>23368802
If you need more material, the Power and Light module has a bunch of locations and stats for NPC robots:

http://www.mediafire.com/?yi9nrfh52z1rl9s
>>
>>23368830
>Dat setting info
Based Viral.
Would you mind if I sent you an email about the martial law Garbage Dump I'm working on, for a chance at getting into one of the suppliments?
>>
>>23370033
Go for it!
>>
I just heard from an EH fan who (according to this email) ran the game at Dreieichcon:

http://www.dreieichcon.de/pen_and_paper_rollenspiel_samstag_engine-heart_traeumen-roboter-von-mechanischen-schafen.htm

Let's see here... good thing I took German in 7th grade...
>>
>>23373141
I'm right here. Ask away.
>>
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>>23373141
I pulled a false label and named it Do Robots Dream of Mechanic Sheep? and really played Alien on an all robot Nostromo named Costaguano.
The players realized it in the chestburster scene and it was good for a laugh. Then they proceeded to dismantle the ship in search for the adult shape Xenobot, ending in a panicked TPK and lots of hilarity.
6 players, 5 hours, I would call it a successful game all the way.

The most fun was had at chargen, with exploding the ship a close second.

Xenobot survived btw.
>>
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>>23373255
Das automatische Transportschiff USCSS Costaguana der Yutani Investorengruppe schleppt eine Erzraffinerie zurück zur Erde durch das unerschlossene Zeta Reticuli Binärsystem. An Bord verrichten fleißige Roboter ihren Dienst unter Kapitän Al-1-570UN, gehütet vom Schiffscomputer iMom. Die Sensoren registrieren eine weit ausgelagerte dünne Wolke, einen roten Gasriesen, und einen kleinen Planetoiden im Orbit um Zeta2 Reticuli.

Plötzlich erscheint ein Signal. Es ist schwach, aber es ist eindeutig eine Nachricht, vielleicht ein Hilferuf. Es kommt von dem kleinen Planetoiden, doch die Datenbanken belegen, daß nie ein Schiff auch nur in dessen Nähe gekommen ist. Kapitän Al konsultiert die Firmenrichtlinien und stellt fest, daß die Erforschung von Zeichen unbekannter Intelligenz allerhöchste Priorität hat.

Schnell wird ein Landungsteam zusammengestellt und in einem der 2 Shuttles losgeschickt mit der Anweisung, die Quelle des Signals zu finden und jede Spur von Intelligenz mitzubringen, oder falls nicht transportabel wenigstens zu dokumentieren. An Bord sind:
.......
...und RS-01, ein Kommunikationsroboter mit rotem Gehäuse.

Auf Kokytos gelandet stellt sich schnell heraus, daß die Übertragung aus einem verfallenen Raumschiffwrack unbekannter Bauart stammt. Das wrack ist überdimensioniert, ein Riesenschiff, und es scheint gewachsen zu sein anstatt gebaut. Vorsichtig erkunden die Roboter das Wrack. Alles zerfällt beim Berühren oder ist kurz davor, doch auf der Brücke leuchtet eine Konsole auf als RS-01 sich nähert.

Die Konsole zeigt unerkennbare Symbole, doch in ihrer Mitte sitzt scheinbar eine Datenbuchse. RS-01 verbindet sich, piept kurz interessiert, und wird dann von einer Überladung erfaßt und deaktiviert. Bestürzt transportieren die anderen Roboter RS-01 zurück zum Schuttle und heben ab.
>>
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>>23373317
BERICHT.DATENBANKEINTRAG.Zeta_Reticuli

Zeta1 Reticuli gehört der Spektralklasse G2.5V an und besitzt eine scheinbare Helligkeit von 5,54 mag. Zeta2 Reticuli besitzt eine Helligkeit von 5,24 mag und gehört der Spektralklasse G1V an. Die Sterne sind rund 12,1 Parsec (ca. 39,5 Lichtjahre) von der Erde entfernt. Die Entfernnung zwischen den beiden Sternen beträgt 3,750 AU, eine Umkreisung dauert 170,000 Jahre.

Das System ist Teil des Zeta-Herculis-Bewegungshaufens.

Mehrere Planeten werden im Zeta Reticuli System vermutet, bisher wurden jedoch erst 2 identifiziert. Phlegethon, ein turbulenter roter Gasriese, und Kokytos, ein Planetoid in einer erdähnlichen Umlaufbahn, beide umkreisen Zeta2 Reticuli.
>>
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>>23373340
Aaaand the license for the ship's AI.
((c)apple inc)

There. 'nuff spam.
>>
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>>23373255
>>23373317
>>23373340
By the way, nono (the German con GM) is credited in Power and Light for coming up with the hilarious idea of the supermarket in The City. I hadn't realized that it was nono who ran the con game until now.
>>
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Related: >>23374447
>>
>>23374280
Could have been me.

>not sure if proud
>>
>>23374128
>freeform rpg party after defeating bbeg.jpeg
>>
>>23374617
Wait, there are two nonos?
>>
>>23374617
I don't know any, but it's just 4 letters.

Did you get it here? Because we've never mailed before. I am quite verbose in EH threads, and I always write blurps when someone asks for writefags.
>>
So uh, what's so good about the SYSTEM of this game?

It seems pretty damn bog standard to me. It's pretty much like, dare I say it, an nWoD hack.

Nary a narrative mechanic or something that directly helps drive the story in sight.
>>
>>23374788
What, like Bikini Bimbo Babes or whatever the fuck had good mechanics? It made thousands with diddly shit. Everybody wants in on the fa/tg/uy gravy train now. "Oh yeah, I had this old homebrew that was a thinly veiled Duck Tales reference that was endless threads of fluff talk with nothing else back in the day, let me find the old pages and see if any of the fans are retarded enough to toss me a buck or two."

Just wait. At this rate, some moron is going to start a kickstarter for getting Love Can Bloom printed.
>>
>>23374826
At least BBB has an interesting, relatively unique mechanical gimmick.

As far as I can tell, this game... doesn't.
>>
>>23374826
>fa/tg/uy gravy train
Oh yeah, people are just jumping at the chance to get them big $30 a year checks.
>>
>>23374788
>nWoD hack
I really don't see it myself. Care to elaborate what you mean? Maybe there is a build your own robot part of nWoD I didn't know about or something, or do players have to search for ways to keep themselves powered and maintained? Like, vampires need to find blood to suck or something? Is that it?
>>
>>23374841
Oh. I'm sorry, I thought you were an uninterested third party with no stake in the matter. I didn't realize you had a horse in this race for fa/tg/uy's wallets.

Carry on, don't mind me.
>>
Ah, the US has study hall.
I love the smell of flaming in the morning.

The remarkable thing about the EH crunch is that is a gamist interlocking framework for any challenging action, against difficulties or other robots. In this it is even more formal than DnD, but much more structured and really easy.

It is a real game, not storytiem with dice for building towers.

It is nothing like WoD except for point buy chargen. Maybe that is confusing people?
>>
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>>23374826
>What, like Bikini Bimbo Babes or whatever the fuck had good mechanics? It made thousands with diddly shit
>BBB made thousands

You know nothing of shipping and margins. $6000 pledged does not mean $6000 profit.
>>
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>Move along. Nothing to see here.
>>
Contact the Hairy Tarantula store in Toronto, Canada. They love indie projects like this.

www.hairyt.com/

Good luck.
>>
Viral, you could always just start looking up FLGS's in major metropolitan areas via google and send them emails, saying "hey one of your customers mentioned you might be interested in..."

Instead of relying on /tg/, who no longer tends to get shit done. I'm no longer near a FLGS due to work, and even when I'm home I rarely go to one so I'm not much help there. Your kickstarter will probably be the first that I ever support if you get it going, though.

Also, EH dice and modular robot miniatures (however you get it to work) would be extremely interesting stretch goals which I'd also totally throw money toward.
>>
>>23379288
Maybe. If I can't get the minimum number within a month or so I might have to do this.

Still waiting on the mini sculptor, but I sent him a bunch of blaxploitation movie posters to give him an idea what J&J was like. And a picture of Wall-E and some concept art from the EH vaporware vidya.

>>23379221
Will do!
>>
I applaud the nostalgia of putting your game in game stores. Sadly they are nearing extinction.
>>
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Regarding Kickstarter as a marketing tool, at a week and a half in, I've noticed that referrals from within Kickstarter didn't really make up a big chunk of pledges until after the campaign had crested its initial goal. The first few days were 80% external reference and maybe 20% internal. By external I mean Kickstarter didn't think the backer found the campaign page by browsing Kickstarter's site.

Right now KS says 38.35% of pledge money came from the "discover" section of their site, 22.09% came from direct reference (I've assumed this was folks copying and pasting from /tg/) , and every other reference (including other parts of Kickstarter) each chip in somewhere under 5.02% each.

Anyhow, from what I've seen it's probably good to have a "base" of folks that may be interested in the project independent of the Kickstarter throngs.

I'm hoping Viral will be fine getting that initial nudge that gets him close enough to funded so the random passers-by in KS will take a chance on him too.
>>
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>>23382426
Yeah, whaddya gonna do?
>>
>>23383156
I'd like to read this book on Kindle.

Got a Kindle?
>>
>>23374788
>>23374841
>So uh, what's so good about the SYSTEM of this game?
>It seems pretty damn bog standard to me. It's pretty much like, dare I say it, an nWoD hack.

This isn't the first time Engine Heart has been compared to WoD, probably because both games are d10 pool-based systems. When I was putting together EH, I tried to keep in mind exactly what the characters were going to be (little robots). One big thing is the hit-point analog of the Damage Threshold. Robots in Engine Heart don't bleed out or get weaker from being injured. As long as you still have one point of Damage Threshold left you can keep functioning, but you can't heal (obviously). That's where the repair mechanics (heh) come in. Any robot can attempt to repair any other robot (including itself), but if it's not mechanically-minded it will have a hard time and will likely take a lot longer to fix whatever is wrong. Larger robots are easier to repair than smaller robots, because they have larger parts and their parts are less fragile (compare fixing a copy machine vs. attempting to fix a broken iPod).

Speaking of fixing things, the four Intelligence attributes were created by Earthflame for ArtifIce, but I think they're brilliant and do a very effective job of parceling out different kinds of machine intelligence.

Power is another big aspect. The setting assumes that electrical outlets are hard to come by, so being able to run for several days without having to worry about finding a plug-in is pretty nice. I've only played WoD a few times, so I don't know how it handles stuff like that (do vampires have to drink blood every day to stay undead?), but your battery life is a pretty big deal. There's also the option for cranking up the juice to give yourself an extra bit of "oomph" (i.e. extra strength, speed, or finer fine-motor control), with the very likely possibility that you're gonna run your battery down to near-nothing doing so.

>too much text warning
>>
>>23383156
>$8.00
Well no fucking wonder you're not making any money.
>>
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>>23383678
Anyway, I made Engine Heart because I wanted a system that facilitated games about little service robots, and there wasn't really much out there that filled the criteria I had in mind, so I made this. It's definitely simple, but I made it for me and I like it; anything else is just trimming on the chassis.

>>23383763
I wanted to make it cheaper, but neckbears demanded that I crank up the price to something more than "just enough to cover overhead".
>>
>>23383415
No I do not.

You're the first person to ask about a Kindle edition... what the heck does that mean, anyway? Aren't ebooks just raw text?
>>
>>23383786
Yeah, up it to just shy of twenty.
>>
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>>23383786
You should listen to your captcha more.
>>
>>23383858
>Yeah, up it to just shy of twenty.
Well, that ain't gonna happen. First and foremost, it's because I don't think it's *worth* 20 bucks. Engine Heart was never intended to be a for-sale item; the only reason it's even in print is because so many people demanded a legitimate print copy. As I said earlier, the Deluxe Model Edition is $18 because printing costs alone are almost $15 (coincidentally, that's the reason you'll never see the color Deluxe Model Edition for sale on Amazon - the cover price would have to be nearly 30 bucks to cover Amazon's fees on top of the printing cost).

Heck, the Printer-Friendly Edition is in stark black and white with no full-page images specifically so people can print the whole thing out for free with minimal ink expenditure.
>>
>>23383842
I was just commenting on Amazon synergy. Don't go down the licensing hellhole of ebooks.
>>
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Bumpan with robits in case anybody cares, or wants some NPCs.
>Attempt two because I'm a fucking retard
>>
Give kickstarter link or gtfo. I want so support the ks but I cant be arsed to talk to non-existing LFGS
>>
>>23384140
Whoops, seems I made an error, his damage is actually 1, not 0.
>>
>>23384140
>Size 1
>Limbless

Oof. You might consider the Databank feature from Power and Light if you want it to come preloaded with a bunch of information that service robots might not otherwise normally know.
>>
>>23384168
Kick starter isn't up yet I believe, Viral is trying to get at least a minimal IRL presence before he goes to KS.
>>
>>23384088

Good to see you Viral, and good to hear the project is going decently. Just thought to say that, if this message catches your attention within the next hour or so, please pop on to IRC. I've had some thoughts on the project we discussed.
>>
>>23384168
>Give kickstarter link or gtfo. I want so support the ks but I cant be arsed to talk to non-existing LFGS
Before I have a run of books printed up I need to make sure there's a place to send them all to.

>>23384194
Be right there!
>>
>>23384179
The idea was pretty much making a PDA, but with lil spider legs to get around, and I'll check out Databank.
>>
>>23384210
...Forgot your name.

You samefagging fuck up.
>>
>>23384277
Whoops. That'll teach me to post in other threads.
>>
So you're going to do a kickstarter where if I give you money you make books that you give to other stores for free and I get nothing?

Why not just ask for donations and avoid KS altogether?
>>
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>>23384320

He's giving the books to the stores on commission, which is the best way to get a store to carry an indie product from an unknown developer. If you donate to the Kickstarter you can get a book for cheaper than buying one would be.

Is that so hard to figure out?
>>
>>23384320
>So you're going to do a kickstarter where if I give you money you make books that you give to other stores for free and I get nothing?

No, you get a nice hardcover version of the book plus goodies. As I understand it, stores will get softcover versions to sell. Unless you're a store, you're not getting it for free.

...outside of the totally free pdf that's always been there.
>>
>>23383415 my kindle reads pdfs just fine
>>
>>23384320
I don't want donations, I just want more people to see it.

>>23384353
Yeah, a couple of the FLGSs have told me that this is pretty much the model that other indie/ small-press games have used with them before.
>>
Sent a link to the RPG forum post to my friend who runs the FLGS in town, expect an email in the next couple days, im sure he'd be willing to stock it
>>
>>23384410

It's how indie comics and DIY-ish clothing designers do it too. Having to shoulder the cost of production and all the risks yourself while splitting the profit with the person who own store space is a time-honored traditon.
>>
Consignment. The term is consignment.
>>
>>23384194
This bodes well.
>>
>>23384456
Sweet, thanks!

>>23384493
Dun dun DUNNNN
>>
>>23384456

ok, just got a message back, apparently he's already agreed to stock it! go figure haha
>>
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Generic mook bot made from spare parts.
>>
>>23384627
What is with the loud speaker? So he can make dramatic announcements?
>>
>>23384655
LAY DOWN YOUR WEAPON, YOU HAVE TWENTY SECONDS TO COMPLY
>>
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>>23384662
heh
>>
>>23384727
meow
>>
>>23384606
Well!

That's certainly something. What store is it?
>>
>>23384627
Speed should be 6, not 9. Unless I'm missing something.
>>
>>23384840

Gaming Grounds in Kent, Ohio

might be able to do a demo on a thurday or the weekend i don't think we'll have any problem finding players
>>
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>>23384866
Ah, good catch!
I had them with the high speed upgrade before, I guess I forgot to dock their speed.
Also, meet Junkbot
>>
>>23384929
>Gaming Grounds in Kent, Ohio
Oh yeah, I talked to the owner already. He sounds like a pretty nice guy. That's one of the original three stores that agreed right off the bat.

>might be able to do a demo on a thurday or the weekend i don't think we'll have any problem finding players
Neat! Let me know how that turns out!
>>
>>23384937
Oh, I love the giants.
>>
>>23384937
Wall-E's big brother, Walter-E
>>
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>>23385132
>>
>>23385335
eve looks ugly here..
>>
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>>23385335
>Wall-E being clean and polished
>>
Rock on, Viral.
>>
>>23385335
>Wall-E has Auto in his chest instead of a trash cubeizer

My mind is full of jellypeople
>>
Android... Mute... oh god I can make a robot mime! or... M1M3!!!

or slightly more seriously a mechanical manequin that would take on new clothing poses the customers asked for
>>
>>23329953
>Dorner
Personal Space Station S1D3S has achieved orbit.
>>
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Meet Handy.
>>
>>23386120
>Handy
In English = practical
In German = mobile phone
Does Handy come with a data flat rate?
>>
>>23386281
Well, he does have a Databank of information on things such as (but not limited to!):
>Cleaning!
>Cooking!
>Light Menial Labor!
>Relationship advice
Any many, many more!(tm)
>>
>>23386373
Siri!
>>
>>23385335
That looks like an armored Johnny 5
>>
nono suggested that I look into local translations of Engine Heart... then another friend suggested that I look into Mechanical Turk for having the translation done...
>>
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It's good to see you moving forward with your project, Viral.

Expect some support from me for your funding when the KS page goes up.
>>
>>23388072
>Mechanical Turk
I think it has to be done for free. It's too much work to pay somebody for it, that's way beyond the financial scope of it all. And a half assed job would be horrible, nobody likes reading Taiwanese manual translations.

Given a few months I can see myself and a few friends tackling a first draft for German. But it'll be foreverDM work because the amount I'd have to charge for that would be enough for a couple of slackers to live off.

This project lives off of enthusiasm, capitalize on that.
>>
>>23388599
> to live off
Luckily, in German I'm more solid on prepositions
>>
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>>23388682
>>23388599
Maybe. I've got a few trilingual friends that might be able to do some stuff as well, but right now I just need to finish these minimods.
>>
>>23388248
Thanks!
>>
>>23392159
The tough part will be the verse bits. Maybe I'll leave those in the original English for /flavor/. Stats should remain English as well for compatibility and because that's the way it is with tech toys today. No need for involuntary comedy in linguistic gymnastics.

For the remaining bulk it's a question of hitting the right tone. If I'm angling to include kids and girls other than teka's wonderful kind there should be no hindrance to EH's do-as-you-learn approach in the language. The temptation to presume any kind of genre savvy must be battled at every corner. And I'm hoping to add some charme along the lines of language somewhere between Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. There is a fine art to simplicity that does not presume a lack of sophistication. If I can hit that, I would consider it an accomplishment worthy of the game. Let's see.
>>
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Has anybody seen Engine Heart played on a grid map? - sort of like Robo Rally but without the programming steps?

I have used maps, but never grids, although for robots that could make a lot of sense. At least for the crucial battlegrounds.
>>
>>23392790
>>23392732
nono, were the paper minis you used for the con game just placeholder miniatures, or did you use them like legitimate grid combat figures?
>>
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>>23393914
They were just a gimmick to keep the other players busy during chargen. 4 were started, one finished, designed in chargen to suit the miniature.

I used the easiest /po/ I could find, which happened to be cubeecraft.com
I believe there are better choices. Aesthetically actual origami can't be beaten, but it's too hard to pick up. A modular system with parts sharing a common connector could work.
>>
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>>23395306
...and it was the con round. Should've mentioned that.
My regular players love the minis, but just as a cute distraction. They are too big to fit on any scale maps.
>>
Must ... resist ... buying off lulu now.

... wait ... for ... hardcover ...
>>
>>23396937
Im getting a copy printed here because i want to run a game of it and time is of the essence so i cant wait to get my book from kickstarter.

Hey viral, i will be talking to my flgs about your dea. Ill be getting his email and ill email it to you so you can email him. When you get it from me ill give you my name so you can mention me by name. Were good friends.
>>
>>23400584
Will do!
>>
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>>23402419
Just spitballing here...

So I have this con coming up. It'll be a week in tents with about five score larpers. I'll be playing Laundry, WoD, Farscape, DRYH, MaoCT, Fate, but pnp is really just a side note there. Nonetheless, I'd like to try and spread the gospel, get some FLGS emails, and see if I get enough players for an intro round in the afternoon.

And I'd like to go for the full monty: Paper models, grid map, Wall-E flavor, maybe a soundtrack and some bleeps and bloops. 5-7 hours, 3-8 players, and a simple one-shot challenge.

So any ideas, links, resources, models, maps, art... would be appreciated.
>>
>>23403359
I'm still waiting to hear back from my soundtrack guy.
>>
>>23404867
A official soundtrack?

No, Johnston, that's not a girl.
Down boy.
>>
>>23404997
Yeah, it's under consideration as a stretch goal.



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