Terrain is everything - Hail the Omnissiah a new STC is found!

Techno-archaeologist Avro Vulcan continues his research in the Ferron Proxima badlands. It has been months since he revealed a newly discovered Standard Template Construct (STC) to Tech Adepts at the Adeptus Mechnicus Oversight Cohort on Ferron Proxima. This does not mean he has been unsuccessful in his discoveries, in fact the opposite is true, his very success has been his undoing by malicious data attacks by the group known only as the Free Radical Collective!

The Free Radical Collective have been targetting Avro Vulcan's data banks and releasing his discoveries prior to aproval by AdMech Overseers. Th people of Ferron Proxima have seen benefits from this, technologically speaking but wanton disregard for testing procedures and the free distribution of advanced technology has caused the Adeptus Mechanicus to bring in a specialised unit of Tech Inquisitors to discover the true identities of the FRC.

Meanwhile Avro Vulcan brings us another innocuous, but perhaps revolutionary STC, the Standard Manifold Coupling, aka the Modular Plug Socket. The details of this coupling has been kept secret by Vulcan due to the interest from data-hackers who have sort to gain control of this valuable information to share outside Adeptus Mechanicus control. Once private enterprise can access this information they will utilise it to gain control of all Mercury Plateaus suitable for Plasma Generators, thus reducing their need to pay tithes to the Ad-Mech administration. The Modular Plug Socket is more than just a connector for Plasma Generators, it also functions as an underground storage portal, watch tower base, heavy weapons turret mount and lift shaft. In time these STCs will also be shared with the world.

To access the full STC please point your Cogitators here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B97Rk-BalgZbUm1VQ3hKNF8xNDQ/view?resourcekey=0-ZT2qov4nLJ-2ojJ3gGkybw

This STC will be uploaded to the full Ferron Proxima STC library shortly. You can access the database here:

http://40kaddict.blogspot.com/2011/02/terrain-is-everything-standard-template.html

Terrain is Everything - Tournament Terrain

One of the last suggestions I had for other people's Old Stuff on Old Stuff Day was synaps3 guide to Terrain at synaps3 I had though about doing a post about terrain and 'tournament terrain' but after reading his post I thought he'd pretty much said it all. However, I then entered into my first tournament and also read SandWyrms's review of the Indy Open and thought there may be a little bit to discuss.

My local friendly neighbourhood gaming club had the following tables set up [although I think one is missing] and for the most part I think the terrain is suitably diverse and sufficient. The first three tables are the actual tables I played on and as such I was quite happy. This one had plenty of terrain, not sufficient to hide a Monstrous Creature but I got plenty of saves off it so that wasn't too bad.

Equally I had some nice things to hide behind here and finally playing on one of the 'red planet' boards was a treat.

This Cityscape was deceptive in that the amount of cover anything in the middle a sitting duck but the variety by this stage was quite welcome and although I struggled to find a way around the board, especially with deep striking Trygons and Spores it was great fun to have so many buildings on display.

Not so sure how I would have got around this table, most of the terrain is hugging the edges but I suppose if you're fighting for objectives the board may end up playing very differently.

As a bog-standard tournament board I think this is probably a better set up. The terrain isn't all hugging the edges and the central bastion blocks enough line of sight to allow those with an assault foot list to actually cross the battlefield without being totally shredded, at least that's the impression I get from it.

As you can see without that central piece there's a killing zone in the centre of this board but the other terrain is sufficient enough to allow you to flank in cover. From my perspective that cover in the bottom right is wasted but I imagine a Devastator squad may find it useful to hang around there. Without any hills to worry about high ground isn't too necessary and although the building on the left would make a good vantage point you'd probably still have to move them first turn to get up to the roof edge. 

Oh dear!? The very though of this fills me with dread and I have to admit I'm glad I didn't play on it

However the club did take a picture of this table during a battle and perhaps the fact it is very short on terrain allows a certain type of army to benefit, where boards like the Cityscape reduce that effectiveness:

So what's my beef? None really, the tournament we held had a variety of terrain, some that was uniformly spaced, some that had adequate cover, some more or less so but ultimately there was diverse battlefields much like reality. How many historical battles have been won and lost thanks to mastery of the terrain and invariably that didn't amount to a large piece of LOS blocking in the middle and four or six pieces surrounding it. Of course if we go back to the Indy Open pictures you will see a lot tables with far less variety and imagination in the setup but there were 64 entrants so that terrain has to go a long way.

My big question is - why the importance of uniform terrain layout to create a 'balanced' playing field is a primary consideration? I think I'd much rather have variety and a challenge from using the available cover than rock up to the same pieces in the same positions table after table.

Old stuff day 2012

It's old stuff day 2012. Last year warhammer39999 wanted to join a movement to rediscover lost gems from the world of hobby blogs. To choose one of your own blogposts that your most proud of, or may not have got the attention it deserved or any thing that may warrant some necromantic blogpost bothering. On top of that you were to share blogposts from other bloggers which you thought deserved the same spotlight of attention before they were returned to their dark nightmare infested slumbers.

So I showed a little love for one of my old posts but then again I link to loads of my old stuff anyway so maybe I'm guilty of doing this all the time. Anyway it's time to choose this years blogpost and like the Highlander there can be only one and this time lets show a little love (♥) to my most popular of old posts:

Standard Template Construct (STC) systems were advanced computers created during the Dark Age of Technology, which are said to have contained the sum total of human technological knowledge. An STC system was possessed by every group of human colonists before the Age of Strife, allowing them to build all of the equipment necessary for survival on an untamed colony planet. It enabled the colonists to build efficient shelters, generators and transports without any technical knowledge and using almost any locally available materials. The user simply asked how to build a house or a tractor and the computer supplied all the necessary plans.

My STC page has been accessed over 4,000 times and I've seen versions of my models recreated and remixed. This hobby we do costs money but with a bit of effort, some skill and a few bits and bobs we can all have some terrain that we can be proud of, it's all I wanted to do and I hope there is value to the community and that even if folk find no use for it themselves they pass the link on to their friends and share their results with me. I've still got STC's to come so this thread will hopefully never die, just be reanimated on a regular basis ;)

OK so what's floated my boat from other bloggers. I made this easy on myself and went back through all my 'starred' stories in Google Reader and this is what I found.

Recipe for Bronze by Brian @ A Gentleman's Ones

Brian does an awesome job here and if you root around he goes verdi-gris crazy

Sandwyrm's guide to painting black @ The Back 40k

It's not so much the guide as the awesome 'emo-guard' end result

Sandwyrm's Adepticon Siege of Terra Diorama @ The Back 40k

I've no idea why I starred this, I don't even remember doing so but the diorama is awesome and it's just a feat for the eyes which I suppose is a good enough reason.

Loler's guide to painting yellow and grey marines @ The Brush Brothers

This isn't just a guide to painting yellow and grey marines, there's all sorts of tips from battler damage to weathering powders, a tour de-force of painting techniques.

synaps3 guide to Terrain at synaps3

I was going to do a post about terrain and 'tournament terrain' but after reading this I think synaps3 pretty much said it all.

To all those I may have missed mayhap I will reference you throughout the year anyway, enjoy the old stuff, wake the dead!

Terrain is everything - Hail the Omnissiah a new STC is found!

Techno-archaeologist Avro Vulcan continues to catalogue the many man-made hills that dot the Ferron Proxima badlands. It has been months since he unearthed the Standard Template Construct (STC) systems for what has been classified as the Vulcan Plateau. In this time he has discovered numerous other man-made hills buried under the distinctive steep sided flat topped hills that can be found all over Ferron Proxima. Excavating these sites has revealed one man-made hill in particular that has shown many sub-categories of construction. Vulcan has designated this hill the 'Mercury Plateau'.

The purpose of some of these structures are still a mystery but it has been noted that some of them have a slightly different composition of rockcrete than standard Ferron Proxima fare. Whether the richer iron content is due to the value or protection of the many storage facilities built into these mounds is unknown, Vulcan has theories but so far has kept them closely guarded. What is known is that these iron-rich mounds are particularly well suited to accept the STC for Plasma Generators., was this their primary function? Indeed even the current generator model  has adapted well to the Mercury Plateau and it is believed very little retro-fitting was required to the connection manifold.

However, the details of this coupling was another secret kept by Vulcan that has attracted a great deal of interest from data-hackers who have sort to gain control of this valuable information to share outside Adeptus Mechanicus control. Once private enterprise can access this information they will utilise it to gain control of all Mercury Plateaus suitable for Plasma Generators, thus reducing their need to pay tithes to the Ad-Mech administration.

To access the full STC please point your Cogitators here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B97Rk-BalgZbd2NTd3JpUGpSbm1ldTRhUzFwd2NOdw/edit?resourcekey=0-Uo2SSY82guWZ3FrOehSQ7g

This STC will be uploaded to the full Ferron Proxima STC library shortly. You can access the database here:

http://40kaddict.blogspot.com/2011/02/terrain-is-everything-standard-template.html

Happy Birthday to me, this is my gift to you!

Terrain is everything - Dawn of War Plasma Generator part 7.

Have I screwed this up? No, well I don't think so. I think the weathering is great and aside from the lack of green [due to Ferron Proxima fluff] I think I've done a passable version of the rusty yellow I see at Appley Bridge Station, which of course was the challenge. However, I feel it's too pale in places. The age old problem with that colour. I kind of miss the Iyanden Darksun, but then I also like weathering, so which is best? There's only one way to find out - FIGHT! For those who don't know Harry Hill I suspect that's lost on you, nevermind.

Additionally, the choice of white and [soon-to-be] black chevrons feels like a mistake. The shaded red oxide previously was quite a contrast and perhapse worked better. Still the Aquila has come out well thanks to the weathering.

I think perhaps the drybrushing enhances the defects in construction here... at the top

and here... at the bottom, but perhaps because there is more grimes/rust applied I think it's more forgiving to the shoddy masking tape. So for what I have lost i think I've also gained - equilibrium?

Not sure why I have these two nearly identical pics but theres a slight change in lighting that might enhance some detail in construction if you're that anally taking notes. However, the big issue might be that when I come to add the plasma tubes do I make an effort to add a glow effect on this base and on the inside edges of the uprights? Would it be an effect too far? I'm already trying to justify the weathering, will it confuse/detract/ruin the current state. Is it better to just leave it alone and make do - here lies the stumbling block that could stall this project altogether!

Now, at least in this pic you can just make out that the textured folder card is slightly visible in the top right. Not so sure about that bit of masking tape edge though :( It's a choice between capping the entire edge including reinforcement, that looks neat on the edge but scruffy on the side or the alternative, just visible on the right background upright - caping just the foamboard so you're left with a slightly shoddy looking edge but clean finished sides.

Terrain is everything - Dawn of War Plasma Generator part 6.

Iyanden Darksun for the yellow! G.O.D. I love stippling, it really allows other paint to show through and adds texture as well areas of more/less opacity.

I'm thinking I could have added a couple of Imperial Fists symbols on the two plain sides, as they came with my drop-pod, but I suppose it's a bit late now. I think this is the point where you clearly see those joints, edge covering that work and those that don't. I think the biggest area of concern is not in fact the laminate reinforcements which could be explained as seperate pieces welded on [as in fact they are in real life] but some of the shoddy masking tape work on the four upright pieces that lead into the plasma tube holes. However, as exciting and keen as I am on this project as I near the end of it I can feel my enthusiasm wane. It's always the way and as far as I can tell equally common among other hobbyists

Here's where the stippling looks coolest, but what will remain after I put my next lot of weathering effects in place?

Terrain is everything - 2nd man-made hill gets paint

Red Oxide primer, seriously, if you haven't got Red Oxide Primer in your life you're doing it all wrong. For whatever building you are doing, once you've done a black undercoat to seal any possible foam [I've mentioned my 'special mix' many times] adding this colour allows so much variation to what will come after. Most buildings benefit from tonal variation, with all that flat surface in play it's a great way to add more detail without much effort and as the mand said - 'more detail is more detail'. The next plasma generator post will show better how Red Oxide is such a perfect base for your painting, so look forward to that

Following, the Red Oxide next up was some more of my Early Learning Centre black poster paint. Trying to get it in all the grating crevices and the modular socket door so it looks like it's been scuffed as it slides open. Of course there's plenty more coats of paint to go on yet but as I've said before I'd be more than happy to leave this as is for your average gaming club terrain. As it is I will be drybrushing the grating with silver, painting the socket door and drybrushing more Vermillion on the edges

I may also look to paint the cable ties a different colour. it might be a nice feature to draw attention to the detail, or if the paints too thick it might fill up the detail I was so keen to add. I should know after the Vermillion has been added. Of course this looks really cool with the Plasma Generator in place. I think a second red one may well be something I'd like to explore [here's where I hear a little voice shouting "why?"] with some added detail, maybe when I've finished my To Do List perhaps, treat myself.

I really should work on the STC for the hill as well...

Terrain is everything - Dawn of War Plasma Generator part 5.

Typically I've started with a red oxide undercoat. Sure I've decided not to make another red building but it'll make a perfect base for stippling yellow on top of to get that weathered look I'm after.

Early Learning Centre poster paint was used to shade certain areas. This stuff is still soluble when dry so can be a useful technique for adding variation to colours that go on top. It also gives a nice matt, 'soot-like' finish, which is also handy for weathering. As you can see some of the card gaps are still visible but part of me like the look of separate pieces of metal, not one solid cast. I think this would be better justified with some tiny rivets, but as I don't have any I can live with it.

Here's a top view which, to be honest, isn't pretty. The masking tape on the edges isn't great, but then capping them would have been really fiddly too. Ideally a + shaped piece across the top would neaten this all up but I'm still struggling with taking it apart and rebuilding it repeatedly for painting and photographing I can't be bothered with another piece to paint and attach once the thing is complete.

You can clearly see my issue with the sloping lines of the generators profile in the following pic. The extra detail on the vents draws the eye along the same path. But I don't mind it so much now, again I can live with it's imperfections.

Terrain is everything - 2nd man-made hill

Having said I can't recall if this was the Athena Plateau or the Mercury Plateau, There to accompany the Vulcan Plateau I think I resolved in my head that this is in fact the Mercury Plateau. It's a uniform square [not taking into account the staircase] which better reflected the planet Mercury, whereas the Athena Plateau is/will be a long thin hill better reflecting the bow Athena used in her hunting. Look, have you seen the misplaced symbolism in star constellations? These are as good a reasons as any! 

Anyway below is the black undercoated hill with the modular socket capped off with a door and the steps faced with another new buidling material

Cable ties! Sure they're 4.8mm which means they don't quite cover the 5mm foam card but the little step adds detail and 'more detail is more detail', not to mention the many little grooves from the tie grip. I'm sure there's plenty more ways they can be used, even en masse as a whole wall texture and as I got a bag of 50 for £1 they're cheap as chips.

Here's the newly undercoated Plasma generator in plugged into the socket. More on that soon.

 And a marine in place for scale.

A weekend of progress [with a 'Terrain is everything' thrown in for free]

Following on from my feeling of lethargy on Wednesday I feel like I've started to break free from that 'swamp'. Admittedly the progress isn't massive, under close scrutiny, but somehow I feel like I'm getting somewhere. As I commented in that thread I actually went on to listen to Helion Rain and did the 50:50 Bonewhite/white highlight on the Terminators. Drilled out the storm bolters and added Mechrite red to all the bits that needed it. I haven't yet taken pictures, not sure if the level of highlights will even show up, which doesn't sound like progress but I assure you it is.

Anyway, on Friday night the wife had another night shift so I decided to crack on with a number of other things. I'd prepped a new 'man-made hill' and decided you all needed to share in it's inception. This hill is obviously a lot simpler than the previous Vulcan Plateau - a simple square, but the final STC will in fact have extra bits that will allow you to construct your hill in a number of patterns. Sharp eyed amongst you will notice that the cladding pieces on the side don't go as close to the corners as usual. This is so you can add corner bulkheads similar to those used on the 40k Outpost that got bigger. Alternatively you can leave them off.

A third option will involve steps. As it is, these are hills and unless you run the rules that hills are difficult terrain there shouldn't be any reason to sculpt steps onto them, to allow figures to get topside. I don't make them in my foam hills so there's really no need, but with these they sometimes make sense. This particular version will just have one set for reasons that will become clear but equally you could do a set of steps on each side which I think would look quite cool. Of course you could mix and match any of these options for a multitude of hill types but the three options described seems like a nice starting point.

And obviously the modular plug aspect allows you to add in the Vent Tower components. Don't worry I have realised I will have to expand the number of models featuring the modular socket. I have one immediate plan to 'fill that slot'. It's a new addition to my 'to do list' that will remain a secret for the time being but I will be prepping some CD bases with modular sockets so the items can be used on the current man made hills or just as normal terrain.

Here's why I needed the stairs, the Vent Tower just wouldn't have sat right with no immediate access to lead you in to those big old doors. So I've managed to add even more height to the tower which is fun, G.O.D. help anyone with a 12" range, you can shoot anyone assaulting the base, that's it. It's a total real-estate thief but it's looking awesome.

More progress to follow...

Terrain is everything - a solution to an age old problem part 4

Apologies once again about the 'washed out' nature of these pics. I'm trying to find a quick solution to editing my phone pics, instead of using my digital camera then editing in Photoshop and trying to use the Blogger picture uploader, which sucks on IE6 [don't ask, we're saddled with the browser at work]. So far I tried Photoshop Express and Image Shrink Lite but a new App called PicSay allows me to import any image at 640x480 edit the colours quicker than P'shop Express and upload straightaway, so they should be better in future.

Anyhoo, here's the Vulcan Plateau with a bit of colour. Red Oxide Car Primer then I got some silver paint, mixed some black in for home-made Bolt-gun silver and drybrushed the meshed bits. Doing it this way shows a bit of the Red Oxide off underneath, a hint of rust, no less!

Next up is my old Vermilion art acrylic to highlight, then some black poster paint shading washes to try to tone down the glossy finish to the red highlights. Then perhaps a little paler drybrushing to bring out all the edges. Although, if I was in a situation where I needed a lot of terrain painted and ready, like if I was running a gaming club, I'd actually be happy with these as they are. So if you are in that sort of situation I'd heartily recommend stopping at this point.

Terrain is everything - Hail the Omnissiah a new STC is found!

The Techno-archaeologist Avro Vulcan has unearthed a new and complete Standard Template Construct. Standard Template Construct (STC) systems were advanced computers created during the Dark Age of Technology, which are said to have contained the sum total of human technological knowledge. An STC system was possessed by every group of human colonists before the Age of Strife, allowing them to build all of the equipment necessary for survival on an untamed colony planet. It enabled the colonists to build efficient shelters, generators and transports without any technical knowledge and using almost any locally available materials. The user simply asked how to build a house or a tractor and the computer supplied all the necessary plans.

Surprisingly STCs have been found for more mundane purposes and Vulcan's discovery falls into this particular realm. although not without historical ramifications for Ferron Proxima. Vulcan has discovered the STC for a 'raised plateau', in effect a man-made hill. On paper this may seem a rather underwhelming find, why would hills need to be made? It has since been revealed that 73.4% [factor a 2.6% differential] of all of the strategic high ground, or hills, on Ferron Proxima originated as an STC. It would seem the planet was unnaturally flat and the first settlers in need of increased visibility set about building higher ground so their settlements could be protected better.

Due to the high ferrous content of the rockcrete base of these mounds, over millenia the sharp and angular cast constructions weathered and rusted leaving the more organic shaped but iconic steep sided flat topped hills that can be found all over Ferron Proxima. Further investigation has shown that the STC's function often went beyond additional height. Storage facilities and underground habitation, amongst other things were built into the structure. This news marks all potential hills an undiscovered relic from before the Age of Strife. Who knows what may rest in a long forgotten mound?

To access the full STC for the first 'Vulcan Plateau' point your cogitators here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B97Rk-BalgZbZDg3MzNkMTktZGVhNS00MTA4LWE4MWEtYmI5MmUwZjgwYjIx/view?resourcekey=0-uaipWLa_ruOk6Frc6mdYWg

To see the collection of current STC's go here:
http://40kaddict.blogspot.com/2011/02/terrain-is-everything-standard-template.html

Terrain is everything - a solution to an age old problem part 3

Hey folks, here's a little update on my man-made hill. This is mainly fixing on all the details, the mounting card edges, Granny Grating, DoW strategic asset and modular socket. As you can see below the top was sectioned off with some strips of mounting card. I just did 5mm strips and cut them with scissors over the template to get the exact angles for them to butt up neatly.

I decided a DoW strategic asset might be nice. Originally my son had a Spider-Man Comic freebie toy that had these little yellow 'web-shooter' discs that I was going to use but couldn't find them. Obviously they've since resurfaced since this picture and typically they're too big to replace my orange card disc. A Robinson's Fruit Shoot cap will make the structure for the asset. It's not 100% what I want but it'll do.

The granny grating was put at an angle, which is a less efficient use of the material but it looked better. Seeing as I didn't do the angled wire fences the least I could do I make the effort here.

Here's where the modular aspect evolved by adding in a Vent Tower socket I can use the same plugs to create variety with the same hill. Either with just the rooftop:

Or with the rooftop and extension. The socket will be closed off with some sliding doors for when it's not a modular structure. I appreciate there isn't a door in the extension to get to the roof. I thought about putting one in the back, beside the steps but it would too complex at the moment. So let's just suspend our disbelief for a minute, like we have to do with plenty of other aspects of 40k and just get on with it! Folk can get to the roof and that's that.