So anyone heard of Ex-illis at all?
link on box review:
http://www.youtube.com/beastsofwar#p/u/4/cesIn49Knp8

It's a very interesting twist on mini wargaming. It seems like it could easily be played just as a computer game with the minis giving only a "real world" perspective, but i hope i am wrong in that assumption.

The game board is very nice though, but that whole starter is $170, quite a lot for a starter set for 1 or two people.

My big beef with it, having seen it demoed at my FLGS, is that it CANNOT be played without a computer nearby - all the rules, combat resolution etc is handled by the computer and there is *no* option to do it manually (no dice?? Madness!!!). My desktop is not in the same room as my gaming table, and I don't have a laptop right now so it's a non-starter right out of the gate for me. Too bad as the minis look fairly attractive.

The game actually seems like a gimmick to me. If I see it played, I may change my mind...but I really doubt it. I think they are trying too hard to catch a fad and grab some cash before folding in a year or so.

The models are nice but all your thoughts (especially chief's) hit my mind pretty quick.

Another thought of mine was that if everything is handled on a computer why not just make a computer game...all the models are there for is a physical showing of the whats on the screen, since it shows all the models on the grid.

The registration also stops letting people borrow mini's, though you can set someone up as a "brother in arms" or so, but seems tedious.

What I may do is see how the game is played, but the set and make dice rules and use a pencil and notebook to keep track of unit growth. I would like to see this game not become what it seems it will/is.

The models also look huge, are they 52mm?

I've been rolling the game's concept over in my mind and I have to agree with the 'why don't they make a computer game' sentiments. Especially since it calculates ranges and autocompletes rounds.

I wonder if they weren't shooting for some kind of rulebook-killing app and, frankly, overshot.

It's gotten me wondering what I would tolerate from a product like this, so here goes; an army builder where two players can load lists to it. Then you can select model/unit vs model/unit, attack conditions, and so on, before opponents agree the program 'rolls it'. Misses, hits, damage and so on are rolled, announced and assigned, statuses tracked. Include activity rollback in case of dispute. Can be run offline. And that's it. For all the program knows you're doing this alone on the bus, since it needs no pictures of your game board and it doesn't track movement.

And don't integrate it with your model selection. Sell the program as supplemental to your product. I can see the option to 'simulate' running an army you don't own as leading you to purchase new models.

I am (apparently) one of the few people who have actually played this game. Honnestly, I still don’t know what to think about it.

First thing I have to say is that I am really not aggreeing ith the comment made above about this being a company that just tries t grab some cash before closing down. The shear amount of work and time put into developping this game means it just isn’t a quick way to make cash. They’ve got a very nice background/ narrative. They know what they want with their miniatures (no, they aren’t really big. They are 28mm miniatures, although they even look smaller than GW because they use "historically accurate" weapons and dimension, instead of the supersized GW ones). And most of all, they have really thought the idea through of getting the most out of using a computer to deal with the rules.

So, a breakdown of unique differences (for me):

Game mechanics.
- The idea of using a computer is a really good one. When you play a miniature game with a rulebook, you always get hit by the same problem: either people make the game very realistic, thus adding countless diagrams and little rules, or the game designers make a fast, easy-flowing game, which results in a less realistic game. In Ex-illis, you get a combination of the 2. You get a fast-flowing game, with very deep and realistic rules. For one thing, it is the only game I have ever played that has rules for the fatigue of your troops.

There are however 2 downsides to this approach: first, they had to simplify the map you play on, to make the interaction with the computer easier. Though it plays fast, I agree it sometimes feels like you don’t really need the map. It does give a very nice overview of the battlefield that you don’t get when only playing it on screen though.

Second problem with this approach is that you don’t have a rulebook that you can read first, so you don’t always know why your troops are doing what they are doing. The mechanics are so deep and diverse, that in the beginning it is sometimes very hard to see why your troops are not performing the way you want them to. The idea behind this is that you can start playing wihtout any preparation, but that experienced players can always delve deeper into the tactics. They really succeded in this. You can start playing a game without any preparation. An they are putting all kinds of tactica articles on their website, so you can really get into it.


Experience
The experience system really is cool. your troops evolve between games, without having to do any kind of caculations. Take a look at any game that has an experience system and you’ll see that people tend to spend as much time post-game, just to calculate the benefits from the batte. In Ex-Illis, the computer does this for you automatically. When you go up a level, your troops get extra capabilities. What’s more, they designed the experience in such a way that you have to choose a sort of "experience path". Depending upon the capability that you choose, you will get different options later on. This way, two different level 15 decurions won’t be exactly the same. This really breathes character into you miniatures.

The downside of this is that there is indeed no proxying. I know some people will see this as too much of a "GW-Big Brother" mentality. Well, I don’t agree. If you want to play the game, buy the minatures. I’ve never understood people who proxy an entire army. The nice people at Bastion put a whole lot of time, energy and money into develloping Ex-Illis. The least you can do if you want to pay their game is buy the models. I know I won’t make myself very popular by saying this, but ever since the internet and file sharing was born, people seem to have the idea that they have the right to get everything for free. (start the flame war in 3, 2, 1...)

-Army Building
One again, a nice way to let the computer make everything easier for you. Army building is right there on their website. While you make your army, you get a nice schematic telling you how much your army is focussing on melee, ranged attacks, magic,... What’s more, the program automatically adjusts the points cost of your models, to prevent you from making an all-shooty army. This really kiils powerplaying, which I can only applaude. It’s better than doing it all on a piece of paper and it’s better than spending extra money on separate software.

- The computer.
The biggest problem most players will have. The problem with using a computer is that you have to divide your attention between the battlefield and a computer. The good thing is that you can also play it from your iPod Touch or iPhone (if you have one). Trust me when I say this, when you play it from one of those devices, it stops bothering you immediatly. The interface is made for an iPod touch and you really get to focus on the battlefield, with the iPod just being a game-aid.
I understand not everybody has the money for one of these though. That’s whay they made a version for computer. It still plays nice, but I have to admit it is easier to keep your thought on the battlefield when handing over an iPod than it is when focussing on the laptop that sits next to the battlefield.

All in all, I think it is a game with a lot of potential. Why I don’t play it more often? First, because I don’t have all that much opponents where I live. Second, because the game is so rich and deep that I haven’t had the time to delve into it and try and get the most out of my troops. Third, because there are so much other games out there, and for some reason, I seem to be playing them all

The thign about it is, they coudl take the investment put into all the trimmings and software development and pump out a LOT of plastic figures and be FAR better off in the end.

They have two starter sets... the cheap one and the exensive one.

The cheap one comes with a fold up map.

The expensive ($170 USD one) has a plastic terrain tiles like the GW Battleboard, though from the Beasts of War unboxing look to be 1x1 instead of 2x2.

and the whole proxying argument for me is try it before you buy it. I wouldn't buy a car without first test driving it, I don't buy mini's without trying out the unit in 1/2 dozen games before I actually make the investment. (Unless they are starter sets).

When I first saw this I was like PSHAW! Really.... but then they came out with the iPhone app. And I will seriously consider getting this if and only if they support Android and Blackberry as well. While they have a MAC offering for software version.... I don't plan on lugging around my 24" iMac just to play a mini's game.... and I don't own an iPhone but my work does provide me with a BlackBerry.


Of course I could just buy the mini's and use them with other game systems. The Winged Knight looks way cool.... as does the level of detail on their Calvary models.

Beasts of War did an ...... I highly recommend checking it out.