"Spinespur...any thoughts?" Topic

Is this an outlet for horror clic miniatures? Not that it would be a bad thing, rather clever to use something out already. But will it stand alone?

Anyone who played/demo'ed/etc. the game chime in with some more details like the direction of the game. Please.

I've seen plenty of people playing SuperSystem with Heroclix minis, so I don't see why the same couldn't happen with Spinespur and Horrorclix…or Dreamblade, for that matter, which is also full of creepy figs. You see this happening with WotC's Star Wars ship minis too…their rules are too simplistic for most people, but the figures themselves work fine in any of a variety of other space games with "build your own" rules.

The minis look awesome

I can actually (and will be more than happy to) answer your questions directly. What exactly do you want to know?

Please keep in mind I an very biased in my opinion of the game. :D

k,

If a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich is a couple pieces of bread, peanutbutter, jelly, and is ment as a light meal… what is Spinespur?

Direction of game?
Is it a platform for using Horror Clix?
What is the overall plan for the miniatures(releases)?
What is the niche that you hope to fill with this game/miniatures?
Certain miniatures seem to be minor where others are major, where is the break point or margin for this? (does a torn or creepy kid have a chance against chainsaw hero?)

I suspect once you have answered these questions that the others I have will be covered, thanks for responding.

I'm not too excited about the rules or premise, but some of the minis do look pretty cool. I would like to see them lined up with other figs to get some size comparisons.

Jake

The minis look very promising and the minis are what attracts me to a game. And seeing as how skirmish is my favorite size for a mini game I'm looking forward to seeing what the game mechanics are like. Interesting enough to join their message board and follow the game as it progresses. I see a lot of potential here and wish Comfy Chair the best of luck, they have my support so far.

**what is Spinespur?**

In the next week we will have a teaser on the front page that explains the "world of Spinespur." Theres a bit of a "good vs Evil" eternal struggle theme to the whole picture that adds alot of flavor. I could bark out a quick synopsis of it here and now, but it would do little good for the setting and if in my haste I overlook an important detail the background could seem hollow and its anything but! This game has been in the works for offically 3 years now.

**Direction of game?**

Direction can mean alot of things so I will take a stab at guessing what you are going for.
Were looking at a small scale skirmish game that will be scenario driven. I'm setting the web site up so I can post frequent scenarios that people can play, discuss and report their game results. The results will help decide certain factors in the games story line.
I'm attempting an interactive miniatures game with alot of fan support.

** Is it a platform for using Horror Clix?**

I suppose you could use Horror clix, but the models direction I am having produced will be much darker & grittier than Horror clix. Remember what age bracket Horror clix is targeting. Spinespur is targeting people 17 years of age and older.

**What is the overall plan for the miniatures(releases)?**

At origins wave 1 with a few pieces of wave 2 will be released. Theres approx. 20 sculpts in wave 1. Spinespur: Threshold holds many dark and twisted characters in its pages. Some are archetypes while others are characters. We are probably more character heavy than most games.

**What is the niche that you hope to fill with this game/miniatures?**

This is a 2 part niche I'm hoping to cover. First part is the Horror fans. Theres not a whole heck of alot of horror miniatures games out there. Most games we play use miniatures from many different companies, alot of the time the game can feel cobbled together because of all the different styles. As a note of interest I'm also booking table space at a Chiller Convention to try and introduce more people into miniature gaming through a cross market.
The second niche is the adult gamer. Whenever I go to Conventions I see a ton of adults & a few kids, yet games seem to target kids heavily. You end up with forums being babysitters to younger players who complain about not getting their way. I'm hoping to avoid this & target adult gamers. The book has stories that will hopefully make you cringe, stories that other games that target younger audiences would never even think of putting out. Not explotiation stories, but gritty stories that Horror fans could really dig!

*Certain miniatures seem to be minor where others are major, where is the break point or margin for this? (does a torn or creepy kid have a chance against chainsaw hero?)*

Great question!
The system is based off a points cost system. So for every Chainsaw weilding maniac with a ton of health you could buy many more Torn or other grunt types. The points have been balanced out very well if I do say so myself. I an a creator & if the points balance was left to me the game would be crap! I am using a very talented Developer who lives something like 6 states away to develop my ideas into a workable & balanced game. We've butted heads alot, but the game is stronger for it.
Now I did say the game was scenario based, then I said points costed. Two things that usually don't go together. However we have directions we are going where both are playing in, including introducing unbeatable scenarios where the goal isn't to win, because you can't. Instead the goal is to challenge yourself to try and maybe beat your buddies best body count or survive longest. Theres alot of fun planned.

**I'm not too excited about the rules or premise, but some of the minis do look pretty cool. I would like to see them lined up with other figs to get some size comparisons.**

The game won't be for everyone. Some might find some things offensive, which is alright. In the end its all about having fun & if you like a few minis & want to add them to a different game I say all the more power to ya!

The general scale is 30-32mm. I like beefy figures.

I hope I shed a little light on this for you. If you have any other questions I'll be happy to answer them.

Certainly a comprehensive answer, like the sound of it and love the minis

I'm planning to play a demo at Origins. I've read and reviewed everything online as of Tuesday. Sounds interesting. Personally, I don't "need" graphic miniatures in my collection so I'll probably pass on many of the nude/semi-nude models (I'm not into painting male genitals, etc). I'll likely use models, minis, and Clix I already own… but the Werewolfs are appealing! I'm a sucker for lycans!

The models are not as graphic as you might first think. Mr. Jingles is about the most graphic right now & he's wearing a leather thong.

What is creating the mature or adult rating is some of the topical matters in the book. An active parent of a 14-15 year old should hopefully be a bit concerned about their child reading fluff on a character who is a Cannibal or a Necrophiliac. We needed to approach this from a responsible standpoint and the mature rating was the way to do it without the story or setting being compromised.

Some Steven King stories are not great ideas to give to a young person, it doesn't mean theres pronography.

I look forward to meeting you at Origins and running a demo for you! I'm sure the minis in your hand will speak to you. ;)

Mr Chair,

As mentioned you are planning to include gamed history into your ongoing creative process for the game. Perhaps you could also include a running contest to introduce new miniatures?

Drawings, conversions (to show details not to cast), and background written work.

This would allow you to gauge interest along the way by keeping your finger on the creative pulse.

Just a thought.

I have a few different forums planned for the web-site that wouldn't make much sense to have up at this time.

To be candid for a moment, the miniatures industry tends to be very incestuous feeling at times. People go from company to company while IMHO many talented people are overlooked.
I have been using talented writers who have been looking to get their break into the industry and I am very happy with the results!

I'll have a few forums up for modeling, fiction, art and more. I will also be keeping my eye on them for freelancers to use in upcoming projects as well.

Alot of talented people out there, all they need is a stage to show their ability.

An active parent of a 14-15 year old should hopefully be a bit concerned about their child reading fluff on a character who is a Cannibal or a Necrophiliac.

Thank you for that. I was in the wait and see mode for this game, the mature rating had me wondering just how "grown-up" you were shooting for. I can game horror with my teenaged kids, they can fight vampires and werewolves and zombies and the like.

They will NOT be gaming necrophiles (or child molesters, or rapists or other sick & twisted things that real "monsters" do). I understand you want to target that nich though, so good luck.

Steve

I didnt see any reference to child molesters or things like that! It seems to be more the slasher flick than the Zombie/Vamp/werewolf. A bit more Clive Barker than Romero or Hammer horror.

I think?

Lowtardog pretty much hit the nail on the head.

I'm not about to say or pretend the game is for everyone. If you are looking for a game to play with your 15 year old, its your decision as a responcible parent. If you feel the subject matter is something you don't want to expose them to, I applaud you.

If you like horror and are looking for a game to play with people of a similar age to yourself I say don't cheat yourself by not at least checking it out.

If you are easily offended I say look into another game.

Not all games are made for all people and if this game isn't for you I say I'm happy you at least took the time to make an informed decision.

As mentioned before the minis are great (Ok I'm a sick mind)I love a game with a taste of Clive barker and a slight of "when hills have eyes"

One question about those pick ups and cars( A eye for detail): which manufacture produce them?

Keep up the good work I would say

Armand

1:43 scale Wal-Mart cars. 10 in a pack for $12-15. You just have to smash them up yourself.

Its the best contemporary Horror Game out there, the rules are tight and just complex enough so as not to get samey too quickly.

A couple of the Models could do with improvement, Hack being the most disproportionate of the Range. But overall nice and imaginative.

The Background seems hauntingly familiar, as it draws from Movies in places quite heavily. But the fluff is so diverse its different enough to be an entity in its own right.

1st day of posting, welcome.

This was a curious thread to rebound after more than a year.

Dr Anacronym, are you familiar with the character called Sock Puppet?

Good luck with your horror gaming!

Not sure what that is to mean, but it sounds a bit hostile. I guarentee I have no idea who Dr. Anacronym is, but I would like to invite him to the Comfy Chair Games Forum to further talk of Spinespur without the negative input from some people.

Well, 28mmMan did make me laugh, but yeah, I think there was a little hostility there. I don't go looking for suspicious posts, they usually need to be pointed out to me before I "see" them. In this case, I didn't think there was anything wrong with the Doc resurrecting a very old thread (two of them in fact, and those are his only two posts since joining TMP).

But, now that you mention it, and don't take this the wrong way Comfy … I thought you guys went out of business. Before the Doc posted to those two old posts, it has been 10 or so months since anyone had anything to say about Spinespur here on TMP. I thought you guys came, did your thing, made some sales, interest died, and that was the end of you.

Have I missed news releases? Or have you guys just gone quiet with new developments (assuming new minis have been released)?

Would have sent this to you as a PM but you are not a supporting member, and the only contact info I discovered on your web site was for retail sales support. So I had to post here in the open.

And for the record, glad to see that you are alive and kicking! From your web site, looks like y'all are making the rounds at some game conventions. Cool!

I liked the premise for your game myself, but thought the background was just a bit too dark for my tastes, so didn't buy the rules (hence no keeping up with your website and the news there). Like many of the minis though.

Steve

Were still kicking. We actually started selling through Distributors like Alliance, ACD and Warpath. I'm getting ready to post the announcment for our 3rd wave through Distributors this week. Weve had a little problem keeping stock up which is great.

I don't post a whole lot in the Horror section here (though I do read it alot) because I don't want to come off as a Huckster bringing up my game in every thread. Then when you have something to say it gets ignored because people assume they know what you're saying.

We actually have the RPG and the follow-up book to Spinespur: Threshold being worked on right now.

To be completely honest I something see TMP as a great resource that gets abused by some real limited interest announcments and threads about things not very miniature game related at all. Which also explains alot of my silence.

However anytime anyone wants to ask a question about Spinespur or Comfy Chair Games I'm probably only 2 days at the most from seeing it.

:D

Only a mild dig actually…really :)

It was just a curiously odd sort of post and caught me at a weak moment.

Spinespur fills a niche and I wish them nothing but the best for their project and those who like it.

Some updated pics from ongoing games would be interesting to see.

28mmMan – Thanks for the Warm welcome. I 'ressurected' the thread because it was the first time I had been aware of comments on TMP about Spinespur. Your somewhat 'characteristic' response for the TMP community was one of the reasons I had never bothered being a member before – you should edit your 'weak moment' post to read 'sad and untrusting' – But, rudeness not withstanding – Spinepur is the best contemporary Horror Game atm (when I Horror gamed before Spinespur it was Rippers), and to Comfychairgames – thanks for the Warm invite. I've already been a member for a couple of Months, and find their Forum to be exceptionally friendly – a refreshing change to most Forums on the internet thesedays. SeattleGamer – I had been a little lax since joining; but the Mrs managed to bang her head (getting concussion in the process) and for some reason I could log into TMP from my PDA!

Having watched the Spinespur process build up and then quitely slip into the background, I figured there was some issue with the fiction/fluff and the spurians were laying low.

But it seems they were just busy. which is good.

As for recent rudeness…it was kinda funny and mean…which seems to be the whole theme of the spinespur universe, but as this forum is not that universe I could see a smidge of mean but I suspect more a jab to the shoulder rather than an actual kick to the kebblers…which would also be an accepted greeting in the spine'oworld.

I also would like to see some pics from all those conventions and fan paint/conversions.

AtomicRay – how does one put pictures on here as part of a post? Is it possible?

Yes we've been very busy of late hitting conventions from Fla to Historicon and Origins. We missed GenCon due to a small surgery, but now were back on track. I didn't think keeping a web prescience and running a Con season would be such a demanding task at times (but I'm not complaining!)

We have our Corpse tokens in production again and pretty much have around 65% of the releases from the first book sculpted up fully. As a side note, Bobby Jackson is working on the Stun Nuns as we speak.

The RPG is around 80% finished and the second Spinespur book has been in playtest and is keeping with what people have grown to expect from us. Cannibal Hillbillies, Sewer dwelling miscreants and many other oddities!

Also we have a special "Horrordaze" release coming up in November. Five and a half horror inspires X-mas models that will only be available for 2 Months of the year through the web-site only. Pictures will be posted on TMP a few weeks before they go on sale.

We also have a new Dark-Humor Horror line coming out shortly thats around the 40mm scale and leaning in a cartoony direction. The inital line should boast around 9 models and because it's a web-sale only line the price point should be a bit surprising (because the product travels through less hands.)

I need to make a more concerted effort to have a web prescience, but between all the work were doing making new product, writing, packing and hitting Conventions we get swept away sometimes.

Dr A … you can include links to photo albums. People do it all the time. You cannot "upload" a picture to TMP itself.

So … if you were reading a thread, and somebody posed a question like "Gee, anyone out there have a painted example of the ABC mini, I'm looking for inspiration", and you had such a mini, and wanted to share you could do so.

Step 1 – Head to a free piccy hosting site (plenty to choose from, but I'll pick one: Photobucket
photobucket.com

Step 2 – Create a free account (takes all of 5 minutes)

Step 3 – Create an album, and then a sub-album, into which you will upload your piccy (takes 1 minute)

Step 4 – Upload your piccy into that sub-album (1 minute)

Step 5 – Make sure your photo album is marked as public, so others can view items inside )the other option is private, so only those you share the password with can see them – perhaps just your wargaming buddies).

After you have uploaded a piccy, you will see a URL address for that photo. You can select that, then head back to TMP and paste that into your thread saying "Here's what I did with that mini".

That long URL will be converted by TMP into (usually) the word Link. And then, when people read the thread, they come upon your post, and can click ont he word Link and head to the photo.

Sounds more complicated than it is. But in 15 minutes or less, you will have an account, an album, and at least one sub-album with a photo inside. In the future, you can just add more sub-albums and upload piccys as you want, so it's quicker.

And you don't need more than one sub-album, they are there for organizational purposes. Like, sub-albums for Sci-fi minis, western minis, fantasy minis, etc. Or even more granular, they could be Spinespur Minis, Games Workshop Minis, Hasslefree Minis, etc.

But you could just have one sub-album, called All My Stuff and everything goes in the one spot. Your call.

Hope that helps.

Steve