Improving the Starter Box contents

[Wraithcannon]

So I bought another box set and I'm looking at the contents and sort of shaking my head. I mean, the whole purpose of a starter box is to get two players started playing the game, right? But with the models in the box, you can only field one force and part of another.

On the UEDF side there are 5 veritechs (with one spare battaloid because of how the sprues are laid out) to make up one unit, with a spare for a VF-1S. Then there are 4 destroids to make up another unit. Ok, boom. 2 units, force is ready to play.

Then on the Zentradi side we have 12 Battlepods, a Glaug, a Recon pod, and a Recovery pod. But wait, that's only enough for one unit. You automatically need to go buy another box of minis before you can field a legal force.

So, my thought is, why not take some stuff out and add in other things so that new players can have a legal force?

On the UEDF side, take out one Battaloid, Guardian, and Fighter sprue from the VF's. That still leaves you with 4 VF's to make a full squad AND it eliminates that weird extra battaloid. Leave the Destroids how they are. Boom, force is good to go.

On the Zentradi side, we simply add more pods. 2 more sprues of Battlepods gives us just enough to make another unit when combined with what's already there. Boom, 2 units and we are ready to play.

The really weird thing is, it also makes the points values for the base forces of 2 units vs 2 units exactly the same.

VF Squad 80 points
Destroid Squad 60 points = 140 points

vs

Attrition squad (12 pods) 70 points
Recon Squad (6 pods, Glaug, and Recon pod) 70 points = 140 points

Mind. Blown.

Overall, you also have one less sprue in the Box, thereby allowing you to reduce the cost to attract more players.

[slaaneshgod]

This honestly makes sense. A lot of it. And I honestly want another started for the 5 Valkyries and extra tokens and an extra template.

[wilycoyote]

Yes this does make a lot of sense and is a better line up in terms of a starter set.

Of course the contents of the original starter are somewhat defined by what was offered onthe kickstarter but perhaps PB should consider a mark two starter box. If using existing stock it would mean reboxing and new boxes so , might only be viable for a rerelease with wave 2? Possibly PB could offer a discounted non boxed or plain boxed starter package simply with rules, basic cards and the model count you described - the other cards could be downloaded as needed.

Certainly should be considered as when (the big question) we get wave 2, the ganme will need a big relaunch to get people interested again

[Kryptt]

All this could be moot. This game seems to be dead for now. It might be revived when wave two comes out but even then this game has hardly any real presence in gaming circles. To add to its already uphill battle it seems PB is having a difficult time just trying to get wave two out let alone redoing a new starter set. Don't get me wrong I agree with the new load out in the original post, but as of now it'll be a miracle if wave two comes out before legal troubles shut down the project and or PB.

[Thorfinn]

Your proposed contents are a very good idea. It would be a much better balanced starter force for people to learn how to play. Repackaging would obviously create issues, but they're not insurmountable, and though it's not the nicest looking option, a lot can be done with stickers applied to the box detailing the new content, and explaining how it's better.

However, the true difficulty of the starter box, and what I think in the long run will kill or save this game, is the complexity of the miniatures. Don't get me wrong, the miniatures are very nice, and very detailed. However, for a starter box for a game, they require too much assembly. Models should have at most 3-4 pieces each, and they should go together without glue, so that a person can have them out of the box and on the table in a short amount of time. For those of us with a vested interest in a Robotech game and/or are experienced modelers are not that dissuaded by a more complex build, but I think the daunting assembly task has been an impediment to bringing in new gamers or people new to Robotech, who may buy the game, but then put it in the closet with the intent to put it together later - and never get around to it.

Yes, it means having minis that are less modifiable, but for an experienced modeler, this isn't really an issue, and from the quality of the conversions I've seen around here, it wouldn't have slowed anyone down. For the inexperienced modeler, they can easily get their figs assembled and start playing.

As for the threatened legal actions Krypt mentioned; I understand that many of the Kickstarter backers are upset with the delay, and rightly so. We can go back and forth for weeks about how Palladium should have done this or that to get things done on schedule, but it won't change anything. I'm not discounting their frustration, but we are where we are. Things are moving forward. Wave two will arrive eventually. This is all part of the risk/reward of funding a Kickstarter: you may be getting a better value than buying off the shelf, earlier access, and exclusive features, but there are most likely going to be delays and issues as a new product line is brought to market. You have to be flexible. Lawsuits at this point won't bring out Wave Two any faster, and will probably just kill the game entirely as Palladium spends their money on lawyers instead of miniatures, and those people won't get their money back any faster than they would get Wave Two, because they'd have to wait for legal proceedings to complete.