Play testing

Greetings, Jastley!

Sorry it's so er....empty...here - hopefully that will be changing soon. We're cutting over all the old posts from our playtest forums, and there's a lot of data that needs to be moved. But I think we may have lost a few busy souls in the conversion. Maybe they'll be back - but if not, then we can rise from the ashes like a bold phoenix of old! :)

I'm stoked to hear about your group - sounds perfect for a place for Untold to take root and hopefully grow. We're in this odd sort of in-between place where we have a finished product but we're running to catch up in terms of infrastructure - honestly the response to the game was far beyond what we'd expected to see (but closer to our grandest hopes and dreams) and so now we're racing to catch up with demand.

Untold is still in playtest in an open beta playtest format.

However, one of the aspects of the game is that it will constantly be evolving with new, optional content. So if you and your group, for instance, create a new Race card that will fit well with the game, or maybe a whole string of new Power cards, or maybe even an idea for a whole new setting, then we'll consider it! If it is a match for Untold, we'll make it part of the "cannon" of the official game and give you credit to boot! :D

We're very happy to hear that you think the idea is a good one - so far this has been the universal and overpowering response that we've received - everyone loves the idea and even more so, once they actually play Untold, they LOVE the game! :) So we think that we've been blessed with a winner here...

In terms of getting your hands on the game, I dropped you a note on Facebook. Let's talk. Glad to have ya on board! :D

Hello.

I'm very curious about this game and I was wondering if you guys intend to release this internationally (I'm from the Philippines, you see). I've read the primer and I have to say that I'm really interested on how it goes, especially the CBRPG style of play. The Battle style is pretty interesting too. Is there anyway for someone like me, who lives on the other side of the world, to be a play-tester?

Welcome to the forums, catiff! There's a big announcement pending about this very topic, but let me give you the short answer: yes. There is a way to have you involved in the development of Untold. Drop me an email (contact [at symbol] wanderingmen [dot symbol[ com) and we can discuss.

Do you, by chance, know of John Gonzalez? He's one of our artists and is from the Philippines! :D

Yessir! He is a friend of mine. :)

Re: involvement in development. I shall e-mail ASAP.

Thanks. :D

WOO HOO! Looking forward to your email, caitiff! :D

Hey Guys,

Caught you guys at Imagicon but did not get to play test. If you'd like me to learn and play with others I would be happy to. Just let me know and I'll send an address to mail it to. Keep up the great work!

Paul in Birmingham

I got to playtest Untold at Mobicon, and I loved it! I've had experience with many different games including D&D, MTG, L5R, and much more. But I have to admit that this game is probably going to become a favorite. It combines everything that I love about RPG's and makes it easier to set up and play. You can make the game as simply or as complex as you want, and you can create your own character much the same way you can in D&D. The beauty of this is, however, no books! Everything is layed out in card format. This is wonderful for all characters from spellcasters to barbarians. It was extremely useful when aiding another adventurer, such as with a spell. This also eliminates having to write up and roll out character sheets. You can just pick what you want your character to have and do. I loved it. I'm actually hoping to play one more time before the CON is over so that I get more comfortable playing and understanding the rules before I try to teach my friends.

If you get the opportunity to playtest, I recommend the game. If anyone is in the Mobile/Pensacola area, let me know if you are interested in playing.

Jenn

Like Jenn (my fiancee) I too got to playtest Untold at Mobicon, and this game is already ranking as a favorite. I've got extensive gaming experience from everything to CCG's RPG's and Mini's and I have to say that this game is a successful, interesting mix of the quick, easy setup of a CCG and the complexity, without the complications, of an RPG. And like she said, no heavy books to haul from game to game. I also like the quick character creation and the diversity of characters offered. I got to play the Chrul Toa today but am hoping to diversify maybe tomorrow and possibly play L'na. We strongly encourage any one in the area interested in playing to contact us and we will get a group started. I've got to say to the Wandering Men that this game is great, and we are having a blast playing it and supporting you guys at the same time! The only suggestion I could possibly make at this point in the game is the possibility of introducing mini's for the game. Plastic, pewter, doesn't really matter, but it might help clarify combat position.

Wow, Ben - that was an awesome post! Can I use part of that on the Testimonials page of the site? :)

Actually, we're already working on some mini ideas and we're talking to some folks about possibly creating minis for us - so we're right there with ya! :)

Wow - can I quote you too, Jenn? :)

Good to hear from you, my friend! I would love for you to learn how to play and help out with the playtest/demoing. :) Drop me an email - contact [at symbol] wanderingmen [dot symbol] com and we'll start chatting!

Always! Anything I post on here you guys are welcome to use for anything. That's part of why I post on here.

Thanks, Jenn!

Ok, this is what Ben and I have noticed when it comes to one-on-one battling (please note our limits on cards and characters). We played Apenimon, Toa, Taelia, and Buzzsaw. Right off the bat, the L'Na demo decks were not built for one-on-one battling. If we had more cards, we could have built them to be more offensive. But as is, the L'Na just kind of struggle to stay alive. Buzzsaw and Toa were awesome. They kind of just come off swinging. Against each other, they were pretty fun, but against the L'Na it was kind of unfair. We do think, however, that if it was a two-on-two battle or a battle where the L'Na were aiding another character, then they would be pretty cool. They have some really good back-up kind of spells and actions that would assist another character, but do nothing for themselves.

As far as game play for one-on-one battling, it was super easy to learn. In fact, if you know the RPG version of this game, then you already know how to play. If you are unfamiliar with the game to begin with, the battle version did not take long at all to teach. But if you think about it, building your character and learning the combat portion of the RPG is also done in the battle version. So if you can play one, you can play the other without a problem.

If you have any questions, just let us know.

Dovebear,

Thanks so much for the feedback on Battle! Sounds like our experiences are being mirrored by you and Ben. :) Try throwing all the powers in a pool and building a couple of different characters (i.e. a L'na with Lava Maw or something) and see how that works out. Let me know! :)

We already thought about that. Like Jennifer said, we are working with a restricted environment, but the cards we do have can make some characters better. A combat/control l'na twilight is one I considered making. But all in all, the quick battle system is very effective, fun and fast, and easy to understand. Once again, nothing but good things to say about Untold.

By the way, we did print off a copy of the Primer. It makes it easier for us to read, its hard to stare at a computer screen for too long. It also will makes thing easier when we explain it to other people. Its very easy to read and understand.

We worked hard to make it so; glad you like it. We've been asked to create a Lulu POD version. Would you guys be interested in something like that?

Awesome! Please let me know how that goes! :D

What do you mean by "Lulu POD" version??

Sorry about that - Lulu is a service where you can print your own books on demand (POD). The books are of a decent nature and there's no "up front" cost to us, as the publisher. You can check out their website here:

http://www.lulu.com/

We've been considering it - if you guys were interested, we'd make it happen!

Hey guys, echoing Ashy's suggestion on the builds,. We had the same thing Apenimon in my playtest group. Try using different combinations. After all no one said you could not play a grenade launcher packing L'na!

Apenimon with a grenade launcher - sweet!

We had ours cheaply bound. But how much would something like that cost the player? If its not too much at all, I would definitely consider it as an option. Every game, regardless, has a rule book of some sort. It would be small enough to be easily transferable but not too large as to be a burden.

Well...we did not want any rulebooks for this game, and in truth, once you learn how to play and build a character, you really don't need the Primer anymore, unless its merely a reference. In regards to how much it might cost, I'm not sure, I'm still checking. But say if it's ~$20 - would that be too much? Again, these are just rough numbers I'm tossing out.

it runs what, 52 pages? Little pricey for so few pages.

Maybe throw in a few pages of the Splintered Serenity setting?

Maybe a short 1-2 page play example of a round of combat, which is pretty standard in a lot of CCG and RPG books, one that uses a few different types of cards.

Yea, what if we threw in the Demo Adventure, Bad Beginnings, too?

I agree with Jordan. I think that if you included an adventure or two and some more world info or something like that, $20 wouldn't be bad at all. We had ours cheaply bound, since we are hoping to get some mileage out of it over the next couple of weeks, for around $10. I agree that once the rules are learned, that the Primer is no longer needed. However, there may be an instance where someone does want to reference it. I understand that the game is trying to get away from the necessity of rulebooks, however, some players may still want a hard copy easily accessible.

Thanks, Ben!

No problem. And I have to say, it says alot about the character of the creators of a game when they are so willing to listen to any feedback they get. You guys have created a wonderful game and world for players, and I am glad to be a part of it.