Issue #2

About this Newsletter

A lot of BRPG owners reading this might well never have returned to visit the Battlegrounds Games website or forums after their initial purchase. I strongly recommend that you do so from time to time, to keep up to date on the latest BRPG releases, submit feature requests and bug reports, and to generally help shape the evolution of BRPG with your feedback. Tell us what you like, what you don't, what you think could be improved, and what future products you would like to see made available.

For those people who do not regularly visit the Battlegrounds Games site or forums, this newsletter will keep you posted on important news, developments, and product releases.


Goodbye BRPG v1.4i, Hello BRPG v1.6m

BRPG v1.6m has become the new official release, replacing BRPG v1.4i. You can read more about this release and download it from here. I encourage everyone to update to this new version at their earliest convenience; upon finishing a current adventure might be a good time to do so.

I hope all the hard work that's gone into making BRPG v1.6m faster, more stable, and more feature-rich than the previous official release pays off in the form of more enjoyable game sessions for you and your fellow BRPGers.

Of course, having a new official release doesn't mean that it's time for me to sit back and relax. BRPG v1.7 is already available in beta. It adds support for cone-shaped light sources.

I hope that as more and more users update to v1.6m, that there will be more people logged into the BRPG Lobby (a feature that wasn't yet implemented in v1.4i). Keep in mind that a Lobby feature is useless if there's rarely anyone else there to talk to, so please do your part by logging into the Lobby once in a while.


Battlegrounds software is now available for purchase on other websites

The "Battlegrounds: RPG Edition" software, including the GM Client, the Player Client, and Floating Licenses, is now available for purchase on RPGNow, DriveThruRPG, and Wargame Vault. Hopefully the increased exposure, availability, and new possible methods of payment will help expand the BRPG userbase even more.


Special Promo!

If the existing 5-Pack of Floating Licenses was more than you needed, this might be just the deal for you:

For a limited time, you can get a 3-Pack of Floating Licenses for BRPG. This bundle is available immediately from the BG Store.


Ratings Matter

You can now rate the various virtual tabletop programs – including Battlegrounds, of course – right here (note that it can take 5 or 10 seconds before the ratings appear on the right side of the page).

Gamers interested in trying out virtual tabletops are likely to come across these ratings, which may (should?) influence their choice of VT. I hope you will take a moment to rate all of the VTs that you have had some experience with (and abstain from rating the VTs that you have never tried). The more people that rate, the more realistic the ratings become (right now, the rating system is new, and there are relatively few votes, leading to some peculiar front-runners).

I personally don't believe that VTs that are still in beta should be ratable, but perhaps that's just me.

And while we're on the subject of rating VTs, here is another site where you can rate VTs.


Updated User Manual for BRPG expected soon

Work has commenced on updating the BRPG User Manual to cover all the changes and new features added to the program up through BRPG v1.7. Expect to see the updated User Manual released sometime in late March or early April. Like the User Manual that currently ships with BRPG, the new one will also be in PDF format, and will have clickable hyperlinks in the Table of Contents. I expect it to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 150 pages, making it the most thorough and comprehensive documentation available for any virtual tabletop program.

In the meantime, in case some of you still don't know, a draft copy of the BRPG User Manual has been available for quite some time. It is 136 pages long and covers up through BRPG v1.4i. Download it by clicking here.


New Artpacks for BRPG

A number of new artpacks have been released for BRPG since Issue #1 of this Newsletter went out, and these are covered below.

The ever-growing collection of artpacks are a major strength of BRPG, and can save GMs a lot of preparation time while simultaneously providing them and their players with visually rich and professional-looking content.

The following list contains brief descriptions of each artpack. If one peaks your interest, click on its link to see preview images, contact sheets, and/or to get additional information about the product.

Mapping Tiles Pack 1

A set of 216 modular tiles and other graphics that you place on the background of your choice to create a custom indoor or outdoor map layout.

$8.00
SC's Mines Pack

A set of mine-themed graphics that you place on the background of your choice (or use one of the three background textures provided) to create a custom mine layout.

$9.00
Elven Armies

Assorted troops (footsoldiers, cavalry units, leaders, corpses, etc.), all rendered in 4 unique homogenous styles, allowing you to depict four different Elven armies or Elven subraces.

$10.00
Devin Night's Token Collection

An entire collection of themed artpacks (currently 10 packs with over 600 tokens) depicting guards & nobles, dwarves, pirates, orcs & goblins, characters, townsfolk, etc.). All of the content is hand-drawn, and many of the tokens have color mods for additional variety. The price of this collection will gradually increase over time, as more artpacks are released throughout 2011.

$17.00
Dice Pack

Contains 128 dice objects that you can use to roll dice right in BRPG's map window.

FREE!
Devin Night's Sci-Fi Tokens

Contains 160 high-resolution figure tokens for sci-fi games.

FREE!
Roads & Vehicles

Contains 157 graphics suitable for depicting vehicular combat and/or car chases.

FREE!



New Game Conversions for BRPG

The following list contains brief descriptions of every game conversion released for BRPG since Issue #1 of this Newsletter. If a particular game listed below peaks your interest, click on its link to see preview images and/or to get additional information about the game.

Note that 8 of the 9 new game conversions are absolutely free.

"Close Assault" (Advanced Game)

A game of man-to-man combat in WWII. Soldiers can be standing, crouching, or prone, and each posture affects their vulnerability and lines of sight. "Random sequencing" mechanics (a "chit-pull" system) simulate simultaneous movement, the fog of war, and combat friction without the bother of written orders. Each unit represents an individual soldier, weapon, vehicle, or piece of equipment. Requires "Close Assault" (Basic Game), which is a free download.

$22.00
Chunky Fighters Dice Game

A dice game where humorous characters fight it out in an all or nothing brawl. Each fighter is made of four dice: a head, a body, some legs, and a weapon. Players choose their fighters and roll them to determine hit points and weapons. Combat involves rolling damage and hit location dice. As fighters take damage, their body parts are adjusted to show the remaining hit points, until they are finally destroyed.

FREE!
D-Day Dice Game

Set against a backdrop of American troops landing in Normandy, the players are soldiers trying to organize improvised units for an attack against a machine gun nest. Each player starts the game with a unit of a few soldiers and nothing else. As the game progresses, he will collect resources and advance on the beach, sector by sector, as his unit grows stronger and deadlier. He will succeed... or die trying. Although built around dice rolling, this game is about resource management (soldiers, specialists, items, and courage) and knowing when to move your unit.

FREE!
"Feudal Ops" Boardgame

"Feudal Ops" is a BRPG digital boardgame conversion and complete re-theme of the "Nexus Ops" boardgame. Players assume the role of medieval Lords that battle each other for control of the region's wealth and compete with each other for the King's favor. By winning battles and fulfilling Secret Missions, the players can obtain victory points. The first person to reach the required number of victory points wins the game.

FREE!
"For Sale (Star Wars Edition)"

A complete re-theme of the original "For Sale" card game. "For Sale, Star Wars Edition" is a simple, fast-playing auction/bidding game. The original "For Sale" is considered one of the finest auction/bidding games around, and has a devoted following of fans. Players are continually forced to make a multitude of difficult decisions during play. The auctions allow for tactics and bluffing, and require careful assessment of your opponents.

FREE!
"The Dungeon of D" Card Game

A solitaire dungeon-crawling card game with no bookkeeping and no dice. Just you, the cards, a token and a dungeon to explore! Your mission: Get out of the dungeon alive as rich as you can. And if you are able to, find and bring back the Amulet of D’eugor!!

FREE!
"The Island of D 2" Card Game

A solitaire fantasy adventure card game with no bookkeeping and no dice. Just you, the cards, a token and an adventure! Your mission: Save the Village of Dawn from an impending bandit invasion. Oh, and by the way, you only have 8 days to do it!

FREE!
"Up Front"

In this card game, which is loosely based on Avalon Hill's Squad Leader series of wargames, each player directs a squad of men in various World War II scenarios with cards driving the action (there is no gameboard). Each card and counter represents an individual soldier, weapon, vehicle, or piece of equipment. This digital conversion includes not only the basic Up Front game, but also the components from the "Banzai" and "Desert War" expansions, so you will be able to play any of the seven nationalities (Germans, Americans, Russians, Japanese, British, French, and Italians) covered in these games.

FREE!
"Zombinion"

"Zombinion" is a complete re-theme of the "Dominion" boardgame. In this game of zombie-killing in a post-apocalyptic world, each player starts with an identical, very small deck of cards. From then on, the players construct their deck on the fly, striving for the most efficient path to the precious victory points (zombie kills) by game end.

This digital conversion covers/supports not only the original "Zombinion" game, but also the follow-on expansions "Zombinion: Entrails" (the re-theme of "Dominion: Intrigue") and "Zombinion: Genocide" (the re-theme of "Dominion: Seaside").

FREE!


That's all for this issue. Thanks for reading, and happy gaming!


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