Ny udgave af Age of Steam

[Frouvne]

Som det fremgår af en anden tråd, er der rygter om en ny og bearbejdet udgave af Age of Steam.

viewtopic.php?t=866

Om det nye Age of Steam forlyder det, som det også blev citeret i den ovenfor nævnte tråd:

The Age of Steam Begins Anew at Mayfair Games!

Martin Wallace and Mayfair Games have joined together to create a new edition of Warfrog's acclaimed Age of Steam game! Martin has been developing a new set of rules for this instant classic, to streamline play and simplify the learning process. But fans of the original Age of Steam need not worry: all the new components will be fully compatible with the earlier version. Mayfair's new edition will include beautiful new artwork and the top-quality components you have come to expect.

Though we can't yet reveal all the details of the new edition, here are a few glimpses at what is to come:
• Simplified banking rules allow players to take loans whenever they need them.
• The income reduction system has been banished, along with bidding for turn order.
• The track-building costs have been simplified, and a new city growth system has been added.

Martin's efforts will create a new Age of Steam experience that is just as challenging as the original game, but will be more welcoming to new players. It will play faster and have less between-turn downtime, while still bringing all the excitement of building a railroad empire right to your table!

Nu er der dog sket den udvikling i sagen, at Martin Wallace, der har designet Age of Steam har bedt BoardgameNews om at bringe nedenstående udtalelse:

I think it important to inform people that Mr Bohrer has not involved me in his negotiations with the company he intends to license AoS to. I don’t even know which company it is. I personally cannot see how a company could produce a game without the consent of the designer and original publisher. It would be nice if the company that does intend to license the game from Mr Bohrer could contact me.

I decided to do further development work on Age of Steam because many people had said that it would be good to have a simpler version of the game to help introduce it to new players. It is my intention to include an advanced set of rules to allow a version closer to the original to be played. It is also hoped that players will be able to use existing Age of Steam maps with the new game, and any new maps with the previously-published rules. However, there are some fundamental changes to the rules which I will be making in the game for the advanced version. I don’t want to go into more detail now but at some point I will ask Mayfair if an electronic copy of the rules can be made available to the public in advance of the actual publication of the game.

Kilde:

http://www.boardgamenews.com/index.php/ ... air_games/

Ovenstående skal formentlig forstås således at John Bohrer sideløbende er i gang med at lave et re-print af Age of Steam...?!

Noget kunne tyde på, at mudder-kastningen vi tidligere har oplevet mellem de to herrer lige er gået i gang...

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/131846

[Frouvne]

Der er startet en tråd om den nye udgave på Boardgamegeek:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/1319415#1319415

[Frouvne]

Så er der flere detaljer om spillet fra Martin Wallace på BoardgameNews:

I wanted to say a little more about what the new AoS will be like.

Turn order is determined by position on the Income track, from lowest to highest, so the player with the least income has an advantage. Certain actions, such as Urbanization and Improve Engine, have a cost, so you still pay for the good actions.

The Share track has gone. If you want to take $5 you move back one space on the Income track. This was Hammy’s [James Hamilton’s] idea and works really well. It means you can take as many shares as you like. You can take shares whenever you need to, as in RRT. The track does have a negative section.

Income Reduction has gone. What has replaced it is greater maintenanance costs for having a good engine. The Income/VP track is also based on the RRT one, so your income actually starts going down as your VPs increase. Thus Income Reduction is an organic part of the game rather than something tacked on.

Track tiles will be double-sided and some will have towns printed on them, so the Town discs have gone.

City Growth has gone—there is now a new action where you can choose a New City tile and place it on a city that has no cubes in it. The New City tiles already have cubes placed on them at the start of the game. The result is that there is less luck; in fact the only luck is the order of play in the first turn. It also means that the maps are cleaner—all you need to show in each city is the number of cubes that are placed there at the start of the game.

All Income/VP, Engine Level tracks will be an integral part of the game board, so no need for separate game cards. I’m hoping to size the map so you can pop an old AoS expansion map down on it and the new tracks will still be showing around the edge of the map.

The game is a lot quicker now, but you still have an awful lot of think about. It should not be hard to add the old bidding for turn order if you wish to.

Det hedder endvidere at titlen på spillet endnu ikke er fastsat!

Kilde:

http://www.boardgamenews.com/index.php/ ... tin_walla/

Hold i øvrigt øje med nedenstående tråd, hvor nyudgivelsen diskuteres:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/1321436#1321436

[Frouvne]

På BoardgameNews kan man nu læse nedenstående uddrag af en pressemeddelelse fra Mayfair, der meddeler at den nye version af Age of Steam er på vej og at den er kompatibel med de tidligere udvidelseskort.

Developed with updated color rules and beautiful new components, Age of Steam® Third Edition will deliver the ultimate railway game experience. Martin designed the new rules to make the game more approachable for beginners and casual gamers. Advanced rules for expert players will satisfy railway game enthusiasts looking for a more complex and challenging game.

Martin notes that the new game:

“…is just as challenging as the original, but plays in a shorter time and is much more welcoming to new players…”

Age of Steam® Third Edition will be fully compatible with earlier expansions, so owners of these products can still use all of their old maps. Old maps fit right on top of the new board. You won’t obscure the information and displays used in the third edition, for they appear around the edge of the new, larger game board.

Improved components include double-sided track tiles and complete sets of track with printed town symbols, so no more town discs are required. The game will include two maps. One covers the northeastern U.S. and part of southeastern Canada and is suitable for three to four players. The other map covers Germany’s Ruhr Valley, the area around Essen. It’s suitable for four to five players.

You’ll see that we’ve replaced the random introduction of new goods cubes with a new (basic and advanced rules) action called “City Growth.” Revised income reduction will smooth game play. To keep every game competitive, game leaders face increased maintenance costs and greater penalties for borrowing money. We’ll make all the rules available for download on our website with the release of the game.

Mayfair Games will also be releasing guidelines for creating your own expansion maps. We hope to encourage third-party expansions by allowing the use of a “Seal of Approval.” We’ll invite prospective publishers of Age of Steam® expansions to contact Mayfair Games for our Seal of Approval guidelines.

If all goes to plan, you’ll see Age of Steam® Third Edition toward the end of 2007!

Kilde:
http://www.boardgamenews.com/index.php/ ... m_mayfair/

[Frouvne]

Så er der nyt fra Martin Wallace om hvordan det skrider frem med Age of Steam 3rd Edition. Det korte og det lange er, at vi ikke skal forvente spillet før i 2008. På Warfrogs hjemmeside kan man læse følgende:

The latest version of the third edition of Age of Steam is being tested as we speak. This version will be released by Mayfair sometime in 2008, (hate to state an exact date as I'm sure to be wrong).

There will be all-new artwork, double-sided track tiles, and wooden train markers. I have designed the map so that old AoS maps can be fitted on top and the necessary game tracks can be seen around the edge.

The game will have an introductory version of the game which is simpler and quicker than the original. However, and I cannot stress this enough, you will still be able to play the 'classic' version with this set.

As some of you may know there has been a falling out between myself and John Bohrer over ownership of Age of Steam. As far as I am concerned the matter is very simple, I designed it, I produced it with my own games company, Warfrog, while John was paid to do development work on the game. Warfrog stuck 'licensed from Winsome' on the box as a favour to John to help raise the profile of his company. That favour is now coming back to bite me on the behind.

I have now decided to cut all ties with Winsome. I have sent John a letter stating that any and all contracts that might exist between us are now terminated. John no longer has any call over the design. I would urge any people out there designing expansions for Age of Steam to contact myself or Mayfair before doing anything else.

That's all for now.

Kilde:

http://www.warfroggames.com/Aosprogress.html