the Ninth Age videogame

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    • the Ninth Age videogame

      every experienced magician knows some basic illusionist tricks. like transforming one shape into another. or conjuring an old world to let it flicker in front of your nostalgic eyes. creating a whole New Universe of Wargaming, on the other hand, is a different task. it takes a large amount of work, of creativity, of courage, and of support. it is always difficult to know how the next world will look like. but if you peek through the Veil, you will maybe see a glimpse of the Age to come.




      90-seconds teaser


      be prepared to join us in the Fantasy Arena! a place where players with no experience can be easily introduced into the basic mechanics of the game. but the Arena is also a place where experienced veterans can test and finetune their heroes, before fielding them into an important battle. play comfortably from home, on your computer screen, but with the looks of real miniatures and terrain pieces - actually, with pieces contributed by the T9A community itself. the minis and terrains you see above are the result of scalpel and brush work from Admiralty Miniatures, @Little Joe and @Manacerace.



      screenshot from the Lectoring vs. Library match : D


      the game will be released as a free expansion for Tabletop Simulator, a sandbox environment available on Steam (check out the limited Black Friday deals). a few forum members are already helping us with pre-release playtesting on dedicated servers, but if you already have a copy of TTS, there is still some room for a few new players to join the group. in the meantime, if you want to shape the future of the Arena fights, remember to vote for the special characters you would like to see in the game. currently the polls are open for a High Prince build: best upgrades for High Prince

      if you are interested in this project, subscribe to this thread by posting a reply below.
      see you on the (virtual) battlefield!
      cheers,
      f

    • alright, let's open the dances, shall we?


      you saw in the post above that the poll for the best High Prince gladiator build is open.
      somebody might be asking: what is this, and why should you vote?
      well, the best way to answer is to show the results of a poll we just closed a few hours ago.
      we were looking for a nasty Feral Orc Warlord build to send to the Arena.
      the community proposed some alternatives, then we voted.
      and here's the winner:




      a nasty dude indeed. art by Thomas Karlsson - quite a big name in the illustration world. thanks to @Thorsen and the others on staff, for motivating him to join the project and donate his art to The Ninth Age! but i didn't just copypaste a beautiful illustration into a card template. as you've seen in the teaser video, each gladiator will have its cards - players can quickly glance at them to know which rules to apply, without having to go through the army book and the common special item section...

      as you see, i've also highlighted the options chosen for this build (Feral Orc Greenhide Race, Paired Weapons, Bow and Light Armour). for players who are not extremely familiar with OG, i added a card with the army-wide and universal rules. but i thought i could simply add the relevant Feral bits to the profile itself (see for example Aegis). and i added a couple of cards with the special items we chose for this gladiator.




      yes, yes, i know. i already hear you saying that the Crowd of the Wizard King is a very strange item to give to a gladiator... with such nasty competition from other factions, are we sure that a whacky item like the Crown is a good choice?
      well, i have three answers to that question:

      (1) the community proposed, and the community voted
      there's companies who utterly disregard players' opinions. then there's projects like T9A, were the developers listen to community feedback very very attentively. and then there's the Arena, where some players engage themselves enough to get direct voting rights. if you want to steer the future of the Arena, you only have to participate : )

      (2) balance? yes. fun? HELL YEAH!
      we all love the amazing level of balance that T9A has brought to our games. and, frankly, it would be silly for me to try and emulate these high standards on my own. so let's leave perfect balance to the competent staff members, and let's try to make this Arena all about fun. i don't know if we hit the target (maybe you'll be kind enough to take a moment to let us know with a comment below?), but think of a crazy orc with sneaky paired weapons, brutally resilient, with tricky protection and the total unpredictability of the Crown... isn't this the definition of fun?!? : D

      (3) open, fun and comfortable
      as we said above: we want the Arena to make life easy on inexperienced players. all build-specific rules must be easily available, so any player with a basic knowledge of the base rulebook can jump in and play, without needing to be familiar with every single armybook. so, this means that, if we use the Crown, we will also need cards for all Learned Spell 1 from the various path... well, as they say in one of the most beautiful countries on the Dark Gods' green earth, nae bother.




      so here you have it. this is the Arena. it has the beautiful rules from The Ninth Age, it has beautiful miniatures sculpted and painted by our supporting companies and our forum friends, and it's comfy a no virtual wargame ever was before. but more importantly, it goes where you want it to go. starting from the builds for the gladiators that will fight in there.

      you can wait for an old world to come back. or you can shape with us a New Universe of Wargaming. you can start with an easy first step: help us find a match for this crazy orc dude. join the poll for kitting the High Prince.

      see you in the Arena,
      f

    • thanks @Hombre de Mundo - yesterday i had a demo game using the revised wording you suggested here, and i wanted to tell you that it worked great, with no ambiguities. cheers!


      i'll have to disappoint you @matrim, it seems like i cooked the books in my own favour : D
      i know you had a different build in mind, but this is not our last kitting contest. also, if you want you can help choose a name and write a story for our gladiator - as long as you stay highbornily classy (that is to say: well within the confines of the swear filter, and far away from others' intellectual property) ; )
      in any case, here is the winning build, with cards already available for you to download, print, and bring to the battlefield.




      a very minimalistic and elegant and highborn build, if you ask me. one honour, one enchanted weapon, one artefact. period. i like the vibe of it, but... how do you think it'll do against that crazy orc from the message above?
      and that's where @PTG-Lucky-Sixes can show all the support we are looking for: let's have a game and make a youtube report out of it! let me know when you guys are available. between tournaments and megabattles, you are being incredibly active on your channel, so if you're too busy right now i can wait. but when the moment comes, we can do a nice minitournament - High Prince vs. Feral Orc Warboss vs. Infernal Overlord. woohoo!

    • Haha ironically I actually took this build to my last tourney so would be very excited to see him in action against some other powerhouses. He is elegant but frail which is just how an elf should be I guess!

      Would be keen to get something in the diary before xmas so I'll have a look and get back to ya mate!
      Find me now on Twitter @luckysixesPTG
      Visit our Youtube channel and latest project for book reviews, video battle reports and much much more!

      Proxy Table Gaming Youtube Channel
      The Many Adventures of Lucky-Sixes
      THE QUICK-STARTER WORLD CUP

    • i'd love that - do let me know if you find the time.
      in the meantime i am playtesting character balance and arena functionalities on my own, like a sad lonely kid : D

      but i also had the chance to play a game with Little Joe, who after having sculpted the physical arena for the Spiel convention (in case you hadn't seen it: link here) has also sculpted the 5 terrain pieces i used to create the digital arena in the videogame. no elf prince battle report for now, since we played Daemon vs. Infernals so that he could write a report and get some points for the Avras campaign (sidequest IV). i'll quote his entire post here, so you get a feel of how the game plays and looks:


      Little Joe wrote:

      Dicing for Avras side quest IV

      Yesterday in the rocky arena by Veil of the Ages on the table that can be flipped to cheat any result ever rolled a Kuulima’s Deceiver and an Infernal Dwarven Overlord met on the field of battle for an ultimate duel.

      Ok, ok, so I had fun trying out the mod for Tabletop Simulator on STEAM (should still be 50% off for 1 more day). Rather than just telling you who rolled this and that, let me guide you through this very interesting addition to wargaming with some awesome images.



      Let’s start with an overview of the characters prepared by @piteglio, the token can be switched to a miniature. Ample choice but a Deamon was needed to fight over Avras, so that was my pick and I got a nice Soulfly by Hitech Miniatures which got to fight an Overlord by Admiralty Miniatures.




      Top view which shows how everything is very clear and clean which allows a focus on actually gaming (some hiccups from my connection aside, don’t mind us switching colors). The game comes with a plethora of smart solutions of which I am sure to forget a few. I think that the arena looks amazing, while I know that most of it is basically made up by a max of 3 objects, I was still stunned by how cool it looked. But I am biased since I made the real life versions. Even so, take a minute and judge for yourselves, does it not look cool?



      The cards seen underneath work like a small booklet where you can flip any of the pages to the top. So after a look at all the spells I decided to enhance the close combat with the spell "Know Thine Enemy". I would not need the Agility, in my reasoning the Offensive and Defensive Skill help killing dwarves better and stay alive.



      I lost the roll to deploy and @piteglio set up for a position that would not allow me to hide from his shooting. Here you can see the very cool all in one measuring tool (Advance, March, roll needed to charge, shooting ranges and rolls needed). This works like turning the token into a miniature, you can switch as you like during the game. When you copy the miniature and set the original to this measuring tool, you can move without using tools all the time, amazing! Here we used it to set up the Deceiver at 24". and then I chose to go first. This way I could hopefully limit the shots I would need to take to just 2, with one of them in cover.



      You can move around the arena and look at the fight from all angles, for tactical decisions the top table view we all know is still best. The image clearly shows how I will not be able to use terrain to block line of sight. Nothing for it but to move forward as far as possible to attack next turn. I know that the Overlord has a very short range on his weapon, so he must at least advance to shoot.



      To the right we had turn dice, the brown one to show the turn and the white ones for the phases. The green dice are wound counters and the double number dice is for magic. My choice of spell did not help for this round at al, still needed to roll and got lucky rolling a 4/3, so basically a 1 (QS rules) but with less thinking needed. One bad option gone, better chances for the next magic phases.





      The dwarf slowly walked into shooting range and then made the shot. The second image shows how gaming features give information during the game. Again I got lucky, guess what the theme of this fight will be. :D After hitting me the shot failed to wound.





      Charge!!! I needed a 5, rolled an 8 and went for it. I guess we were both so excited for combat that we forgot stand and shoot (rectified later on). The black disc in the middle is a dice dispenser, great for starting with the right amount of dice, just click the right number. Anyhow, the daemon charged and I needed a bit of a magical boost, with a 5/3 I still decided to take a bit of risk. 22! Perfect, because you can't beat that with just 3 dice and no bad side effects. This meant that at least for the first round of combat my choice for magic would work.





      May luck be with me! I had 1+4 Attacks after stealing the 4 from the Overlord (at first I just rolled 4 but got to repeat). This was lucky (!), because the dwarf would have ignored venom sacks. With just simple 4+ needed to wound, what could go wrong, I ended up with 4 hits including the poison attack. The poison must have affected the dwarf's senses because he whiffed 3 armour rolls and all Fortitude tests. Instant kill! :thumbsup:




      At this point we remembered to do stand and shoot, which of course whiffed. Interested to see the dwarven kit at work we decided to roll one round of attacks for the dwarf. Did I already mention being lucky? I could save all but one wound from 3 hits and because mirrored scales the dwarf hit himself as well once and of course failed all saves again.

      The main take away from this batrep, besides me being stupidly lucky, is that this digital arena was made with the support of companies and private contributions alike. Imagine the possibilities when we can work together and kick @piteglio hard to make this even more perfect and then give us QS to test new features and ultimately The 9th Age in full 3D glory. Personally I find the options exciting and 3D design is not that hard, so …

    • and to complete the presentation of the three models we'll use in the upcoming mini-leagues on youtube, here you have the chosen build for the Infernal Dwarves Overlord - that is, the one we'll use before the new LAB is published.

      if you had to place your bet, who would you say would end up winning in these three matches with HE, ID and OG?

      High Prince vs. Feral Warlord
      High Prince vs. Overlord
      Feral Warlord vs. Overlord


    • "For the last time, I am not a god and you're not a shaman. We're partners, see? I get to see the world and you get to hurt people. You enjoy that, don't you?"
      The Crown of the Wizard King had been trying to spur its pet Orc to action all morning. This partnership was not working out as well as the Crown intended: on one hand, the feral brute had been easily manipulated. The voice suddenly appearing in Kamorko's head was – clearly – a god to be obeyed, and the Crown just went along with it. It was grateful to be spared the usual pantomime of promising wealth and glory to its wearer.
      On the other hand, the random jolts of magical power that the Crown injected in the Warborn's body were starting to take their toll on its simple mind. Kamorko had become...contemplative. Peaceful, even.
      "I can see the entire universe in a grain of sand", he said one time. "Now I see that, every time I take a life, the whole web reverberates. This is what you wanted me to see, isn't it? You led me to violence so that I could understand its consequences! This was a test!"
      "...Not really. I just wanted that guy's magical armor and weapons, we'll need them in the Arena. Now finish looting his body and go, before the rest of his tribe wakes up."
      It was a problem. The Crown would soon have to choose a new wearer. Thankfully, it was surrounded by champions of the Arena, but it had to make sure that the new wearer was malleable enough and the insufferable Highborn elf on the other side of the ring just wouldn't do. That one had to die.

      This was not what Cyros expected. He had heard the call of the Arena. He had bidden tearful farewells to his friends and loved ones. He had sailed through thunderstorms and walked the icy paths of the North to prove his worth to his people. He was a big damn hero and he expected a proper fight, something the bards could immortalize.
      What he got instead was a smelly brute who had been staring at rocks and muttering to himself all morning. It was the most humiliating day of Cyros' life.
      He had walked the sand of the Arena in his glittering armor. He had chosen the best tactical position, tightened the string of his longbow and placed his magnificent spear at his side, but the orc kept ignoring him.
      For a while, Cyros tried to keep his composure: a High Warden of the Flame wouldn't fall for such a childish trick. The determination quickly turned to irritation and, finally, to exasperation. He started hurling exquisitely phrased insults towards his opponent, but to no avail.
      In the end, he gave in to his frustration and shouted: "JUST FIGHT ME, YOU STUPID ANIMAL!"

      "...Animal? Hang on a minute, that dandy just gave me an idea."
      The Crown suddenly knew what to do. It elongated ethereal tendrils beyond the Veil, reaching for the primal power of the Path of Shamanism. As soon as it found purchase, it siphoned raw energy from the ether and injected it in Kamorko's veins. Viscous froth came out of the Warborn's mouth and he turned towards the elf with a murderous look in his eyes.
      "Yeah, that worked."Screenshot (470).jpg

    • thank you matrim!

      sometimes it looks like comments, subscriptions and likes are a small thing. in reality, they help much more than you can imagine - they create the visibility i need to convince more miniature companies to donate their sculpts to the game, so it can grow quickly. so, i really mean it: thank you.

      as for playing the game, until i get a good dose of playtesting in, i'll keep it on a private server, and use it for demos with friends. i'll share them as much as i can - also because my friends are very good at writing batreps, as you've seen from the posts i quoted above, from LJ and OTI.

      that being said, if you do have a copy of TabletopSimulator, just add me as your friend on Steam (username: "piteglio", unsurprisingly). if i see you online i'll ask you if you have 20 minutes to spare for a demo game. or you can wait until the open version is released - but that's probably not a thing that'll happen this year : )

      Post by matrim ().

      This post was deleted by the author themselves ().

    • thanks @matrim!
      maybe one of the easiest (and most fun) ways to help is to play a little demo game and write a lil report about it
      it can be close to the facts (as the report by @Little Joe) or more narrative instead (as this one by @Oh The Irony!):






      Kamorko stumbled forward, his whole body twitching from the energy running through his veins. The Crown led him to a cautious advance in a dense patch of tall grass, bow in hand, while it tried unsuccessfully to weave the bursts of raw power into something usable.



      Somehow sensing that the orc's magical defenses were still inactive, Cyron saw his opportunity and sprang forward. He went into a roll and easily ducked under a clumsy arrow fired from the foliage but, when he raised his eyes towards the dense grass, he realized that he had lost track of his opponent. Unwilling to risk an ambush, he stopped in his tracks and settled in a defensive position daring his opponent to come out. He picked some of his favourite quips from the poet Mahr Zul's immortal masterpiece: "Seven hundred (and one) sonnets to get the lesser races really pissed off".



      Kamorko wouldn't keep him waiting and stormed out of the foliage, roaring something really confusing about a cat in a box. Apparently, it was a good day to be both dead and alive.



      As the two combatants clashed, the Crown finally managed to get a hold of its magic and a thick layer of scar tissue covered the Warborn's entire body.



      Cyron was ready. The Sliver of the Blazing Dawn snaked towards his opponent again and again, easily finding weak spots in the orc's clumsy movements.
      Something was off, though. With mounting horror, Cyron realized just how thick the Warborn's skin had become. His spear just seemed to graze it without inflicting any damage. He grew more and more frustrated until, finally, a deft strike to the stomach found purchase in his opponent's flesh.
      Time stopped and both combatants found themselves staring enthralled at the wound, as if wondering what would happen next.



      Kamorko coughed and a spasm from his magically empowered muscles pushed the blade out. As scar tissue coalesced around the wound to close it, he stared absently at his opponent. He pondered out loud: "Is this life a dream, or do dreams help us live?"
      "You...you would dare quoting Mahr Zul to me? Would you at least take this seriously, you specimen?"
      Kamorko nodded gravely, shrugged and punched the elf in the throat.
      Gasping for breath, the smaller fighter opted for a tactical advance in the opposite direction and put some distance between himself and the moronic juggernaut. He regained his composure just as the Warborn charged again.



      With the methodical approach having failed, Cyron realized that his only chance lied in an all-out attack to finish the fight right then and there. He focused the power of his Ring of the Pearl Throne to shut down his opponent's defenses rather than his weapons and threw himself back into the fray, stabbing wildly and shrieking like his wilder cousins from Wyscan.



      It wasn't enough.



      As the final blow from the orc dropped him to his back, Cyron stared at the brute in defiance. Kamorko dropped on a knee and smiled. He waived a finger, filthy with blood, right under Cyron's nose and proclaimed: "The dog won't eat from either bowl, you see. He just has no way to pick one and will starve to death."
      He sprang up in the air and the last thing Cyron saw were two colossal feet about to impact on his sternum.







      (man, i am a huuuge Mahr Zul fan!) :goldmen:
      and i guess Kamorko the philosophical brute deserves a beauty shot:



      not sure if his thoughts got so deep because of the Crown or because of his newfound love for the Halfling's leaf...
      i mean, he has a pipe after all, right? i guess only sculptor @Karak Norn Clansman will know the answer to this enigma.

      The post was edited 2 times, last by piteglio ().

    • New

      my perfect twin,
      my brother in sin,

      winning the Arena games is the highest testament to a warrior's worth.
      so fly there, and kill everybody you meet. come back a winner,
      and everybody else will wish they were you.

      Kuulima will be pleased.






      yep! after the Prince, the Overlord and the Warlord, the Arena greets a new gladiator.
      sculpted and painted by our artists at Veil of the Ages, but only finally got into the game with @joel127 's help - much gratitude!

    • New

      thanks guys - the Arena would be way uglier without you. i am constantly grabbing ideas and learning from what people do on this forum. for example, i don't know if you've seen what @RHworldbuilding is doing (if not, link here), but it got me thinking, and i started looking at old Ninth Scrolls, and...



      do you think an Alchemist of the Dark Gods would have good chances in the Arena?