Sci-Fi & Fantasy Incoming! Episode XI

Welcome to Episode XI of the Sci-Fi & Fantasy edition of the Incoming! Video Podcast

This show looks back at the new releases from w/e 4th December 2009, and included in my top ten are new releases from Splintered Light Miniatures, Raging Heroes, Spartan Games and Shadowforge Miniatures.

Spartan frustrations

Well, as you are no doubt aware, this week has seen the release of Firestorm Armada from Spartan Games.

Or at least, that’s what they tell us…

OK – I ordered my rules and models from Tor Gaming a couple of weeks ago, as they were recommended to me as a good company, and they were giving a 10% discount on pre-orders.

They posted a message on their storefront to say that FA was being delayed due to ‘volume of orders’ and problems getting the stock from Spartan.

OK I thought – similar issue to what happened with Uncharted Seas.

Then I spotted that Russ Wakelin of the D6G Podcast has already posted a mini-review of the game on the Dakka Dakka forum – which means that he’s had his game since Tuesday of this week.

In the mean time, I ordered some new Uncharted Seas flagships and the FA templates direct from Spartan. The flagships arrived this morning, minus the templates. I queried this with Spartan, only to be told that Spartan weren’t shipping anything to do with FA to the UK until next week. I replied, asking why, if this was the case, were customers in the US already getting their rules and figures…

Silence so far in response…

Now, I know that Spartan had been talking about delayed shipping for some time so that they could achieve ’simultaneous release’. Well, if that’s the case, why not make it simultaneous?!

Yes I know, this sounds like a frustrated rant – yes, it is, but not I think without just cause. It’s obvious to me that orders aren’t shipping because of artificial delays created by Spartan. It’s doubly annoying, as I paid for my order several weeks ago.

Oh, and on a related subject, I did at least receive my flagships.

You have got to be kidding me!

I’ve fallen for it again. Both of these ships (Dwarf and Elf) are one-piece resin castings (OK, the Dwarf ship has a small metal turret) and yet they are charging £8.50 for these ships. This is almost worse than the Elf Dragon. I really should have checked what I was getting before I ordered.

OK, it’s my own fault, and they are nice sculpts, but £8.50 for a 6″ resin ship?

The fleets for Uncharted Seas are reasonably priced, but I really think that this is offset by the prices of the specialist ships – Spartan are definitely following the GW pricing structure – you pay for how much the vessel is worth to your fleet, not for actually how much it’s worth in monetary value.

So, one can say that I’m not happy/impressed with Spartan at the moment.

Eden – not interested…until now…

I’ve been featuring the upcoming Eden game from Taban Miniatures for several weeks on the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Edition of the Incoming! Video Podcast, and I must admit that whilst the figures have been very nice, they haven’t really grabbed me enough to get me interested in the game.

That is, up until now. We have just seen previews of the starter set for the last faction for the game, the ISC.

Big samurai-themed armoured robots – OK, now I’m interested (and yes, I collected VASA forces for VOID as well!)

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Incoming – Episode X

Welcome to Episode 10 of the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Edition of the Incoming! Video Podcast
This weeks new releases includes figures from Wyrd Miniatures, Dark Sword Miniatures, Taban Miniatures and Pig Iron Productions.

Sci-Fi & Fanatsy Incoming! – Episode IX

The latest edition of the Sci-Fi & Fantasy edition of Incoming is now available:

It features new releases from Ground Zero Games, Red Box Games, Rapier Miniatures and Avatars Of War, amongst many others…

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Incoming! – Episode VIII

Welcome to the latest edition of the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Edition of Incoming!
In this show, I feature new releases from Dark Sword Miniatures, Red Box Games, Impacy Miniatures & Heresy Miniatures.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Incoming! – Episode VII

Welcome to Episode VII of the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Edition of Incoming!
This week features new models from manufacturers such as RAFM, Olleys Armies, Khurasan Miniatures & Crocodile Games.

I hope you enjoy the show…

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Incoming! – Episode VI

Welcome to Episode 6 of the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Edition of Incoming!
This show features new releases from Reaper Miniatures, Taban Miniatures, Dragonblood Miniatures & Darkson Designs

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Incoming!- Episode 5

Welcome to Episode 5 of the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Edition of Incoming!

This show looks at the new miniature releases for w/e 9th October 2009, and features new models from, amongst others, Dark Age, Red Box Games, Black Hat Miniatures & Hasslefree Miniatures.

Race for the Galaxy – a new lease of life…

I’ve been a big fan of Race for the Galaxy ever since it came out, and I’ve bought both expansions – however, it has been somewhat difficult in the past to find opponents.

All this has now changed, thanks to listening to the last episode of The Dice Tower podcast.

On this show, they were talking about Race for the Galaxy, and playing it solo against ‘robot’ opponents.

I followed this up on BoardGameGeek and came across the following site:

http://keldon.net/rftg/

This is a full version of Race for the Galaxy (approved by Rio Grande) that allows you to play the game solo on your PC against up to 5 AI opponents, and includes the original game and both expansions.

It does the job for me, and allows me to scratch my RftG itch. A game plays in about 10-15 minutes, and this program would also be good for teaching others how to play (without all the hassle of card drawing and shuffling).

Check it out.