replaces his mysteriously missing frigates.
The date for our Martian Front Kickstarter was supposed to be in this press release. Sorry, but no exact date yet. We are now targeting mid-April. The response has been so strong that we are now scrambling to make the initial line launch bigger: more product and more reveals. Please bear with us. Your response has been inspiring, and we want to get this as right as we can. We have provided an extra long preview for you this time around! More information can always be found at a website we created just for All Quiet on the Martian Front: martianfront.com.
A truly lumbering beast of a machine, the Mark IV chassis has only been on the front the last few months. This picture shows the Monitor version, packing no less than six 15-pound guns, a twin machinegun on a turret cupola, and a massive "anti-tripod" main gun. This is one of the first "turreted" vehicles. The original design was a hand-cranked turret, but it was so slow to traverse, one of the new Westinghouse motors was soon installed. The main gun is very large and has a side breach, yet the very rear of the gun still sticks out the turret. When the gun is fired, it actually recoils through the turret itself. While it sports many guns, ammunition supply is scant, as even with its massive size, there is little interior room left. To save space, the side rods are outside the track sponsons for the front drive wheel. The tracks are driven by powered wheels both front and back. This tricky design problem was ultimately resolved with the help of Ephraim Shay, who invented an all-new drive system for it. The Mark IV chassis in many of its configurations also lacks range, due to the small size of its water tank. Some vehicles have been equipped with towed water tenders to extend their range. The maximum speed of the heavily armored Monitor version is seven miles per hour.
Envious of the incredibly powerful and versatile Heat Ray of the Martians, the Army wanted an equivalent weapon. After much study and some experimentation, the best the Ordnance Department could do was the "Heat Gun" mounted on a Mark IV chassis. The DuPont Chemical Company developed a special two-part fuel for the weapon. These fuels are mixed at the same time, and a pressurized system drives them out of the nozzle and into the igniter. The resultant mixture is highly combustible and burns at a temperature of nearly 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Early experimentation found the chemicals could not be stored premixed as they were both too unstable and corrosive when combined. Even with the large, electrically powered pump on the main tank, the resultant stream of heavy liquid has a disappointing range. To make the weapon effective against tripods, it had to be elevated... and thus was born the version shown in the picture. The vehicle is still relatively stable as the upper works and turret are relatively thin plate. These weapons are just entering combat, and while effective when close enough to get direct strikes, they have proven very vulnerable to the Heat Rays. If a Heat Ray punctures any of the chemical storage tanks, the resultant spectacular and widespread explosion of sticky, burning fluid has devastating consequences.
A rare variant of the Mark IV chassis, the Senior Command version features a very tall observation and communications tower. Designed as a mobile bunker for senior field commanders (mostly three-star generals and above), only a few dozen have actually been built. It is typically armed with two 15-pound cannons and two machinegun turrets for self-defense, but it is not meant as a combat vehicle. Many generals have seen to a refit of the armament to their own tastes after deployment. The vehicle is equipped with a signaling platform on the back (frequently used to address gatherings of troops, as well…) and they are all equipped with the new 75-watt radio sets. This provides them a communication range of 200 or more miles, depending on weather conditions. The towers are covered with thin armor plate, suitable for defense against small arms and even some light cannon, but not very effective against most Martian ranged weapons or even terrestrial "big guns." To date, only one of these vehicles has been lost. It occurred when the Martians broke through the Shreveport Gap, cutting Texas off from the rest of the Free U.S. in the process. General Samuel Yates, the commander of the 5th Corp defending the gap, was killed along with his staff when several Assault Tripods sliced his command vehicle apart with their Heat Rays.
This model is a Kickstarter exclusive, and will be given special rules for its use in due time.
Why Steam Power?
We have had a few folks ask about the Human vehicles: "If it's World War One, why steam instead of internal combustion engines?" The answer to that question is actually it's not all steam, and it's not actually World War One. It's also not a secret agenda to do "Steampunk!" There is much more to it than that. In fact, the majority of Human vehicles that have been shown (and some of the new ones to come) are American equipment because the American theater is the focus of Part One of the Great Interplanetary War that is All Quiet on the Martian Front. The British Expeditionary Force operating in the American theater uses a quite different group of power sources – more on that later.
Anyway, the reason American Forces use steam power for their larger vehicles is as follows:
In 1910, America runs on coal. With the largest and most advanced railway system in the world, huge coal reserves, and the petroleum industry still in its infancy in many ways, coal was the fastest resource to exploit in defending against the Martian invasion. In addition, steam engines were a well-developed technology. The manufacturing base to produce more was in place on a large scale, and it could all be done fast. This last bit was particularly important as the American army was very tiny in comparison to the amount of territory that had to be defended, and technologically ill-equipped. With the exception of a few primitive trucks and steam tractors, the American Army was a horse-drawn affair of towed guns, cavalry, and infantry. These forces were virtually useless against the Martians. If America had any hope of survival, it needed new weapons, vehicles, and technology immediately. It was both natural and logical to turn to the strengths of its current industrial base.
While defensive lines of massive trench works and fortifications could slow the Martians, it certainly didn't stop them. What was needed was defense in depth, and the ability to relocate resources to repel an attack at its point of origin. The War was becoming a far more mobile affair. The one advantage Humans did have was numbers. Getting enough numbers into action to absorb the Martian attacks was a key factor. This meant vehicles (and due to the appalling losses against the Martian technology), lots of vehicles. The automotive industry was tiny, just beyond the cottage-industry level. Ford was just beginning. The biggest producers of vehicles were the railroad companies. Baldwin Locomotive Works, The American Locomotive Company, Lima, and others soon started building more steam tractors, that eventually became armored to improve their survivability, and then tracked to increase their mobility. Within a matter of months, it was clear that standard designs would speed production immensely. Thus was born one of the single greatest accomplishments in perhaps all of Human industrial history. America went from having virtually no self-propelled military equipment to assembly lines producing thousands of vehicles in the course of a single year.
So there you have it. Steel and coal are the materials of choice. The great locomotive companies of the industrial East bring their expertise to production. Oil and the refining of it into suitable fuels like kerosene, gasoline, and diesel fuel is far less abundant than the vast coal fields of West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and with the Martians putting tremendous pressure on Texas, supply looks sketchy. Petroleum does make it onto the battlefield in the form of internal-combustion engines used for motorcycles, armored cars, the new aeroplanes etc., but it is steam that powers the huge gun-carrying vehicles with their heavy steel and ceramic armor on the battlefield. At the time of the Great Interplanetary War's beginning, internal-combustion engines simply were not advanced enough to provide the power needed for some of the larger military constructs, and in America, refined oil products were in short supply compared to the need.
An Introduction to Game Play by Rick Priestley
We'll be showing you more about how our game plays very soon – but to start with, let's look at the basics. Each side represents an army – whether Martian or Human – comprising a number of units. Each unit is made up of one or more models in the case of vehicles and artillery, and one or more bases of troops in the case of infantry. An army can have a mix of different kinds of machines, troops, and guns, and is chosen from an army list using a system of points values; the better the units, the more points they cost – fairly obvious stuff and no surprises there! The aim of the game depends on the scenario you're playing – usually one side has to take an objective from the other or sweep the enemy from the field – but either way, you'll need to destroy as many enemies as you can, and try to stay alive if you're going to win.
The game progresses in turns, and in each turn, both armies get to move all their units and make attacks. Whether you get to go first or second is determined by an initiative dice test made at the start of the turn, with bonuses applied for successes scored during the previous turn. So, the better you do in one turn, the better chance you have of going first next turn and pushing home your advantage. Movement is fairly standard, with different units moving at an appropriate rate. However, it is worth noting that we allow most units to move twice each turn: once before they make their attacks, and once afterwards. This allows for some interesting tactics for both sides, and especially for the vulnerable Humans who must make what use they can of available cover at all times. By the way, we measure all tabletop ranges and distances in inches using an ordinary tape measure - this should be familiar enough to anyone who has played a tabletop wargame.
Both shooting attacks and close-range fights are resolved in the combat phase. The game uses ten-sided dice (D10s) to work out attacks, and is designed to give fast but realistic results. When a unit shoots, it picks one enemy unit as a target, and every model in the unit shoots at the nominated target. You're allowed to pre-measure ranges before choosing your target, so no wasted shots against enemy who are "out of range." Every model that can see the target unit gets to shoot – and we use a simple system of height levels to determine who can see over what. So, for example, a towering Martian Tripod can see over low woods or ruins, or over the top of a tank or a group of Zombie Troopers – all sensible and very intuitive. To work out if your attack is successful, roll a D10 for each infantry base, or for each weapon shooting, in the case of artillery, tanks and machines. Remember, some tanks bristle with guns, in which case, you might be rolling two or three dice for those models. Add any power bonus for the weapon – for example, a tank gun adds a deadly +2, but a Martian Heat Ray adds a devastating +4. If the total equals or beats the target unit's armor value, the shot has scored damage, and with most types of troops, including infantry, artillery, tanks and other vehicles, damage equals kaboom! In other words – a shot that scores damage removes one enemy model (or base, in the case of infantry).
Some machines are so big and so powerful that a single damaging shot doesn't necessarily destroy them outright. In these cases, we have a special damage chart, and once again, we roll a D10 and read off the result from the chart. The result can be anything from light damage reducing the target's armor value, sending the target wildly out of control, stunning it momentarily, or a catastrophic explosion destroying the target completely and scattering debris over other units nearby. The more damage you can score on a big target, the greater the chance of a critical result – so concentrate your fire against those nasty Martian Tripods, if you can!
Aside from that – well, there are lots of special units with interesting abilities, from refuellers and gun tugs that allow for extra moves, repair workshops that can patch up your vehicles, medical units that can save your men from deadly attacks, and bizarre and otherworldly weapons like Martian Black Dust, the Tesla Cannon, and many more. Some mention must also be made of hidden units – which we make allowance for in the form of 'blip counters' that can move about the battlefield and are only revealed when they are shot at, approached closely, or if they decide to launch an attack. This enables the Human forces to distract and misdirect the Martian invaders with "phantom" units – a very useful attribute and one of the Human side's chief advantages. We also have rules for traps – pits and mines set by the Humans to catch unwary Martian Tripods – as well as ambushes, reserve troops, and reinforcements. To counter all of these, the Martians have developed their own devices – not least are the horrific Zombie Troopers and Slaver Tripods! But of these, and even more heinous creations of the abominable invaders, we shall spare the reader further shocking revelations for the moment…
Be sure to join the discussion on the Alien Dungeon forums, and be sure to sign up for the pre-Kickstarter information and specials on martianfront.com!