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Thread: What am I missing?

  1. #1

    matt56's Avatar May you forever fly in blue skies.
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    Default What am I missing?

    Okay...my original exposure to BSG was the original series, and it was enjoyable but sort of ehnnn...I made the Monogram model of the Cylon fighter at the time. I didn't find it as enjoyable as the original Star Trek series or the original Star Wars movies...but I was born in the mid-50s and am perhaps spoiled by early sci-fi movies and books.

    But I like ARES products and plan to pick up a set of BSG to play and run at conventions...SO...I started watching the reboot series. I have watched the mini-series/movie to begin the new arc, and I have seen the first of the episodes, and I am feeling rather ehnnn

    I think the models for BSG are lovely (although I like the original Cylons better than the reboots), and I imagine the game works well as a system. But even though the T&T game has been pushed back and pushed back, I think I am still anticipating it more than BSG.

    Am I a hopeless cause, or is there something I should be looking for as I continue to watch the rebooted series to find something to latch on to so that I can generate some enthusiasm? I am open to suggestions

    All the best,
    Matt

  2. #2

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    Nah, that's just the way you like stuff!

    I loved the 1970s/80s BSG (I was young, back then). I still have the 'Monogram' Cylon fighter, and the Baseship .

    I avoided the reboot for quite a while, until finally pushed into it by my brother, only to discover I thought it was just my cup of tea!
    Apart from the way it ended (a bit lame) I much preferred it to the original.

    I can't find any enthusiasm for the Tripe-pods.
    I'm SOOOOOO glad I avoided the Kickstarter - it seems to have become nothing but a cause for complaint among those poor souls who backed it.
    But even when it is released to the General Public, I won't be buying it - it just doesn't "float my boat".

    Unlike you, Matt, I don't want to be converted - I'm happy as I am, ignoring it as far as possible.
    It ain't quite SAILS, but it's close.
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  3. #3

    matt56's Avatar May you forever fly in blue skies.
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    I don't know that I want to be converted, Tim...I am happy where things are. I appreciate the making of the game, and I would like to support it.

    I did go all in on the T&T Kickstarter, and I love the original War of the Worlds movie (again, a mid-50s product). Like Clipper, I am not sure I totally like the Martian war machines, but they look pretty cool...

    And I do like SAILS...

    What made the reboot your 'cup of tea' compared to the original series? Do I just need to give it a chance to get into it a bit more? It has a 'pretty'cast, and the special effects are not bad..I posted this thread in hopes of getting some feedback to move in a more positive direction vis a vis the BSG product. It's harder to run a game when you aren't quite 'into' it.

    All the best,
    Matt

  4. #4

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    I could never get into the original when it was on tv so forgot about it. When the reboot came I waited half a year before I watched an episode. I was kicking myself as I really liked it. I think I'll have to go back and watch the original and then the reboot again as I never saw all of it.

    Not sure what I'll like better, BSG or T&T. Right now I'm betting on BSG. BSG should have more legs to it with expansions.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by matt56 View Post

    What made the reboot your 'cup of tea' compared to the original series? Do I just need to give it a chance to get into it a bit more? It has a 'pretty'cast, and the special effects are not bad..I posted this thread in hopes of getting some feedback to move in a more positive direction vis a vis the BSG product. It's harder to run a game when you aren't quite 'into' it.

    All the best,
    Matt
    There's a variety of things..................

    1) It's much more "military" than the 70s/80s version (which was a lot of running about in ones and twos, waiting to get killed - a bit like the Security guys in 'Star Trek').
    The reboot seems much more like a Navy aircraft carrier, in a shooting war.

    2) The writing had me hooked - one cliffhanger after another. Just when you thought things couldn't get worse, they did! A bit like the old Republic serials (Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers etc). The first episode, "33", showed the pilots strained to breaking point, struggling to keep things together (not at all like "Star Wars", where an untrained farm boy can be given a surplus fighter ship, and can know instantly how to fly it, and out-fly the veterans in his squadron )

    3) The "enemy within" arc caught my attention (though I had trouble with the technology involved)

    4) The reboot Battlestars were just so cool - the need to retract the landing bays to protect them and allow for FTL jump was a much better idea than the bland "static" bays on the 70s version. (Can't figure why they needed 120+ Battlestars, though, with no mention of any aliens, and the belief that the Cylons were gone, never to return...........)

    5) The special effects were highly watchable (one of the later episodes [I won't spoil it for you!] is a repeat watch in my house).
    I didn't find I was watching for the "pretty" cast members (though they were an added bonus).

    There's more, but you get the idea.

    I need to go to bed.....up too late, AGAIN!
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by matt56 View Post
    Am I a hopeless cause, or is there something I should be looking for as I continue to watch the rebooted series to find something to latch on to so that I can generate some enthusiasm? I am open to suggestions
    I would have been in my early teens when I first watched the original BSG, and I loved it. If I watched in now with a nostalgic enthusiasm, I'd be disappointed as it wouldn't hold up after running the gauntlet of time.

    I watched the re-imagined series as and when it came out season by season, including all the webisodes and TV movies etc and I have a love/hate relationship with it.

    What I love is all the fantastic looking ships and modernised military equipment, all the special effects and fight scenes (although I could have done with less shaky-cam) and I even liked some of the acting and scenes on the bridge of the Galactica and some of the single episode plots.

    I have a long list of things I dislike and a few things I hated and could ramble on for quite a long time about it all, but I'll boil all that down to just this - I think overall the story line was poorly planned out for the long term and also poorly written in many areas. The story had lots of glaring gaps that were either hobbled together with a crazy end knot, or claimed to be by designed to increase viewer thought...rubbish, it was just poor planning and unskillful writing with crazy twists.

    Having said all that, I do love the BSG universe how I formulate it and allow it to exist in *my* head, and if you are having trouble swallowing or enjoying the re-imagined series, matt56, I suggest you take from it only the bits you like, and fill in the gaps and the rest of the BSG setting with either information from other sources (like the BSG Deadlock PC game on Steam) and/or use your imagination to fill it all out until you have a setting you enjoy. You don't have to accept what the show tries to spoon feed you, you can create a gaming setting that is either outside that storyline or in your alternate BSG setting!

  7. #7

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    I see the game as a potential change of pace from our group favourite which is WGF. Yet to play my first but it looks very interesting. As for the series ... never watched the first series but watched the mini series and the four new series. I tried to follow logically and came up with:-

    Humans used robots to save labour (and perhaps as soldiers?)
    Humans programmed them to recognise threats?
    Robots (Cylons) thought humans were the threat and that lead to the first Cylon wars.
    Second Cylon wars started when Cylons infiltrated Humanity with their twelve humanoid models and gained access to military secrets. They nuked all 12 inhabited planets.
    Human survivors went on their big search for the Earth which they belived was the original starting point for human colonisation.

    Totally onboard with that until the last few episodes and that overturned all my logic. Can anyone come up with a sensible story line?
    Last edited by Baxter; 02-02-2019 at 20:41.

  8. #8

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    I’m in the same boat. I enjoyed the original series as a kid and for what it was; generic SciFi with cool toys. Still like it. I tried liking the reboot but couldn’t get past season 1. The reimagined characters mostly killed it for me. I also felt it went down the Voyager path; ie, Seven who was in it only for 12 year old boys. Oh, plus even in S1 rather wildly varied writing.

    As far as Tripods not having legs, well, I see it as having more legs than BSG. Ares can pretty much make up what they want as far as Martians are concerned. Not so with BSG. Well, that is, unless they just start making up new fighter craft. There are only so many pilot cards you can shove into the same packto make them different.

    As far as the game is concerned it looks really cool and a much better interpretation of space combat than that other game we won’t mention. But, I’m still awaiting my Tripods order so no new Ares stuff for me until that comes in.

    Just M2C.
    Last edited by BwanaJoe; 04-28-2019 at 16:02.

  9. #9

    matt56's Avatar May you forever fly in blue skies.
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    Thanks for the input and insight, folks! Didn't mean to keep you up, Tim... I am going to continue watching the reboot series and see how things develop - there are some interesting hooks to it, and the special effects are certainly an improvement over the original show (as one would expect).

    I look forward to getting the game and playing - I guess the 'expansion' of the line for this might be somewhat limited (though likely not as limited as the T&T options) depending on the ship designs out there in the BSG Universe that Ares will have access to due to the licensing agreement. It will be interesting to see what role the Galactica and Cylon Basestar play when they are produced and how they will fit into the game/combat system. I am interested to see how ship movement in the game mirrors what ship movement in the series looks like, and how that differs from X-Wing.

    Thanks again for your suggestions and ideas!
    All the best,
    Matt

  10. #10

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    Matt, man let me send you my DVD’s of Season 1 of the are-boot. It’s SUCH an awesome show!
    “Flying is hours and hours of boredom sprinkled with a few seconds of sheer terror!” Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, USMC”

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by ArkansasChuck View Post
    Matt, man let me send you my DVD’s of Season 1 of the are-boot. It’s SUCH an awesome show!
    We just wanted the Pilot of the reboot again. What a great show. I think it is available, plus the full seasons, on Amazon Prime and Hulu for streaming.

  12. #12

    matt56's Avatar May you forever fly in blue skies.
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    I have access to the show on Hulu, guys Thanks of thinking of me, though!

    All the best,
    Matt

  13. #13

    matt56's Avatar May you forever fly in blue skies.
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    Just finished Season 1 today - it was pretty good, all things considered. I enjoyed the starship battle scenes and potential scenarios for our games, but I am finding the character drama a bit tedious...not really sure there is a character or two that I buy into enough to identify with and keep me interested. I am resolved to make it through Season 2 and see what develops - I hear the Battlestar Pegasus makes an appearance and since Moebius Models make the Galactica, Pegasus, and Colonial One, I am thinking about one or two larger ship models to use in the game.

    I picked up a couple of Raptors and the Cylon Heavy Raider at GenCon and am looking forward to using them in the game. And I continue to really like the way the game plays.

    All the best,
    Matt

  14. #14

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    Well, I did not watch the original version. I have the game and I love it although I seem to make illegal moves every time I play. I read those rules over and over and to me there is always something that needs more explanation.

    I guess that aspect should keep anyone who buys it amused. Also there is a commitment to more models and I am looking forward to scoring a Raptor. For a challenge, how about a high speed chase through a group of planetoids. The slightest error and BANG! collision time.

  15. #15

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    I like the new series the best.

    Beside that I'm in love with No.6, we played a lot of FFG's Battlestar Galactica boardgame in my gaming group.

    Try it. It's very cool.
    Voilŕ le soleil d'Austerlitz!

  16. #16

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    Binge watched all 4 series of the new one. 2nd time round for me as I enjoyed it when first sired.

    Now all my pieces have arrived I'm a bit let down that the Heavy Raider and Raptor do not come with their own control panel. I assume that it is the same for the individually boxed vipers and raiders.
    See you on the Dark Side......

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skafloc View Post
    Binge watched all 4 series of the new one. 2nd time round for me as I enjoyed it when first sired.

    Now all my pieces have arrived I'm a bit let down that the Heavy Raider and Raptor do not come with their own control panel. I assume that it is the same for the individually boxed vipers and raiders.
    Yes, you have to purchase control panels seperately. They come 4 in a pack. I have 3 sets. One is put aside for when the plastic slides are worn and loose. I'm optimistic I get to use them that much!

  18. #18

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    I think the separate sale of Control Panels is a great idea!

    If you buy 10 Colonials and 10 Cylons, but only regularly play 5 vs 5, why should you be forced to spend money on 10 unused Control Panels?

    It's the same with my WGF planes - each Ares plane comes with a Manoeuvre deck.
    50 Fokker D.VIIs later, I have 50 'L' decks, but never need more than 8 at a time on the table. I don't bother taking more than 10 to shows now.
    I laugh in the face of danger - then I hide until it goes away!

  19. #19

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    I totally agree Tim. I have 16 control panels for an 8 x 8 game. Anything over that is basically useless. I won't get any more panels unless some future release has new special panels.

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Skafloc View Post
    Binge watched all 4 series of the new one. 2nd time round for me as I enjoyed it when first sired.

    Now all my pieces have arrived I'm a bit let down that the Heavy Raider and Raptor do not come with their own control panel. I assume that it is the same for the individually boxed vipers and raiders.
    I was initially bummed, but Andea explained here:
    Battlestar Galactica – Starship Battles - Post #416

    I now have 12 panels, and might get 4 more. That would probably be the limit.
    Mike
    "Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
    "Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59

  21. #21


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    Quote Originally Posted by OldGuy59 View Post
    I was initially bummed, but Andea explained here:
    Battlestar Galactica – Starship Battles - Post #416

    I now have 12 panels, and might get 4 more. That would probably be the limit.
    I totaly get the point, and I think they could have done the same thing with model bases. If you don't plan to display some figs in a showcase, you don't need more bases than control panels...

  22. #22

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    I'm thinking now of asking a friend to cut me a few wood control panels with a damage and fuel slider/dial added.

    Neil
    See you on the Dark Side......

  23. #23

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    BSG dogfighting



    The game does a pretty good job of emulating this.



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