Artists Wanted!

Task Force: Broadside is in need of artists.

What we are looking for is artists that can work for relatively cheap – I can’t say an exact price because it all depends on what is done. What we are looking for, however, is a larger picture that can be used for things such as box art as well as having snippets of it being used for card art. Of course, most of the artwork should involve space ships and space combet, but if you’re interested, send me an e-mail at art@matchfire.net and I can give you more detail.

Pricing!

A few days ago, I went over to the print shop that I’ll be using for TF:B and got some price quotes. This wonderful information let me guestimate about where prices will end up. So I can now present what’s for sale and what its cost is likely going to be:

10-Pack: Contains 10 random Order cards (1 “Rare” and 9 “Common”). Price: $3

Ship Pack: Contains 6 cards: 3 Ship cards (Same ship at different damage levels), 1 Ship Icon Card (to represent the ship on the grid), 1 Squadron card or Special Order card or random Order, and 1 Random Order or Squadron card.

Precon Deck: Contains a preconstructed deck of 30 orders plus the appropriate Ship cards (And Squadrons if appropriate). Cost: $7.50

Large Grid: Large Grids will come in a 3-pack of random grids for $4. Nothing particularly special about them, except that each pack wouldn’t have the same grid twice.

Small Grids: Small Grids will come in two packs: a 5-pack for $2.50 and a 15-pack for $6. As there are fewer different Small Grids, there’s no guarantee that there won’t be duplicates.

There will also be some starter boxes:

Small Starter: The Small Starter will contain 2 Pre-Con decks, 1 10-Pack, a single Large Grid, and 4 Small Grids. This will cost $17.50.

Large Starter: The Large Starter will contain 4 Pre-Con decks, 2 10-Packs, 4 Large Grids (Including a unique one), and 8 Small Grids. Cost for this is $35

And there will also be the “Ultimate Box” available, and each one would practically create another printing run. Each “Ultimate Box” will contain 15 Ship Packs, 60 10-Packs, 5 Large Grids, and 15 Small Grids. Asking price for these is $130, about $90 less than getting everything separately.

Prices may change as this gets closer to release, but I don’t think there will be too much fluctuation. And before you say “You’re not going to sell enough of X,” remember that this is a print-on-demand thing. Orders will be collected, and then once there are enough to warrant a printing run, then the stuff will be printed and everything will be packaged and shipped. So even though I may not ever sell an “Ultimate Box,” I’m not going to have any sitting around gathering dust.

I’ll be posting when a date is settled for opening a pre-order place. It’ll be a while, maybe a month or so, but it’ll be there. I’m also going to look into making a mailing list to sign up for important updates on TF:B, and if I can get that to work, I’ll post that here as well.

Broadside: Beta Underway, Looking for Artists.

Well, technically it’s been going for almost a month now, but I’ve taken most of that time reworking most of the rules. I did, however, get a game in on Monday against one of my friends. The game still has a good way to go, but it is surprisingly balanced considering it was pretty much just “made.”

I’m looking at an experimental release sometime in the early summer if possible. The way this would work is that people send in an order, and once enough are ordered I’ll print the stuff off and send them out. A lot needs to be done before then – Mainly, getting artwork for the cards, finishing up the cards for everything else, and finding someone to print the stuff. I’m going to be talking to a local print shop tomorrow, and if all goes well I should have some information on costs tomorrow night.

We are also looking for artists to illustrate some of the cards for Task Force: Broadside. We don’t have a very large budget and we do have quite a few cards to illustrate (I don’t have a count at the moment, it’s constantly fluctuating), but if you’re interested send us an e-mail at art@matchfire.net.

Welcome to Task Force: Broadside

Welcome to the official site for Task Force: Broadside, the new game from Matchfire Games. We’ve been working on it for a few weeks now, and it is almost to the point where it needs more than just our standard thought-power to develop. Those of you that are astute in these matters (Or that have just talked to me elsewhere… cheaters) already know what this means. For the rest of you: Its time to begin applications for a closed beta of the game.

Remember, as it is a closed beta, not everyone will get in. This isn’t an open project like our 2207 project, and we want people who have experience with similar games and/or playtesting games to test it. Being able to make useful feedback is also a requirement. With this in mind, feel free to head over to the Beta Signup Page and apply. But, before you do that, have a look at what Task Force: Broadside is in the FAQ

Beta Applications will be accepted until the 24th at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. Applicants will be e-mailed their results by the 31st.

If you have any questions, feel free to send them to tfb@matchfiregames.net or log onto our IRC channel (#Matchfiregames on irc.ircstorm.net). Or you can go to our forum at http://www.matchfiregames.net