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CAV Developer's Journal
By Rob Davis
By now you've most likely seen the Black Lightning Dictator data card that was the focus of this week's Friday Update. If not, you should check it out and then come back and finish reading this. Back already? Great!
For those of you who own a Black Lightning or two, I'm sure you're overjoyed to see stats for it in CAV 2. Those of you who weren't lucky enough to earn one, or who didn't play CAV back in the days are still welcome to use the BL in friendly games at your local gaming store, just don't expect to show up at a tournament and be able to field one. The BL Dictator presents us with a question though: with existing content from Reaper and new content from Mil-Net, how do you know what is what? To help resolve this issue, everything that we produce here at Mil-Net will have an icon and level attached to it, denoting the item's level of canon or officiality.
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Official (Level 1) items include anything that was created by Reaper Miniatures and anything created by Mil-Net that Reaper has given approval to as Official. Level 1 items are considered Core Rules and are legal for use in any and all Reaper and Black Lightning sponsored events. |
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Mil-Net (Level 2) items are rules, data cards, Special Abilities, doctrines and fluff that Mil-Net feels is tested, balanced and fits the current game environment, but has yet to be approved by Reaper. As soon as a Level 2 item gets Reaper's blessing, it gets kicked up to Level 1 status and becomes Official. Some items may never become official, in which case they'd be considered optional, giving the community a large source of alternate rules, scenarios, etc to play with that they know won't break the game's core rules. |
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Testing (Level 3) is our beta testing grounds. Anything released here is something that we've decided to share with the CAV community, but isn't in a finished state. You may find rules to test, scenarios to play balance, and even rough drafts of stories and artwork. |
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Fan Content (Level 4) is kind of a catch-all category. For the Mil-Net team, this is a place where we may occasionally toss something that we did in the past but no longer have a use for. Perhaps a few old stories that Thane has laying around from the CAV 1 days or maybe a one-off story set in an alternate-CAV universe. This is also where we will place any fan-submitted stuff that we receive, simply so that it is easily distinguished from what Mil-Net is creating. |
So now that you know how to tell what is what, where should you expect from us in the future? Basically, anything that you see on Mil-Net in a Friday Update will be either Level 2 or 3. Level 4 stuff will most likely be added to the site during the week and only noted on the home page's news section. Finally, any CAV products that we release for sale will have already gone through the approval process with Reaper and will be Level 1.
So what do the levels mean for you as gamers? Anything Level 1 will be official/canon and is completely legal for any CAV event. Even if the rule isn't published in a book, if it's marked as Level 1 here on Mil-Net, it's official and legal for game play.
Level 2 items are basically Optional Rules and we hope that all Black Lightning Demo Team members will allow them to be used in their games - even encourage them. However the final call is always up to the BL officer or the person running the event you're playing in, so if you're going to an event you should make sure the person running it is OK with Mil-Net's Optional Rules.
Level 3 is where we really need your help. Getting together with a buddy for a friendly game? Why not test a rule or two out for us and give us your feed back on the forums? This is your chance as players to directly affect the game you love. In a few weeks, Mil-Net will be launching a new section of the site, aptly named the Proving Grounds. This section will provide you a place to record your opinions and suggestions on every rule we release for play testing. This allows us to have solid data and feedback on a rule before we decide what further action to take with it.
Last, but not least, Level 4 stuff will simply be for your CAV-playing enjoyment. They could run the gamut from user-created tools like Outkast Samurai's (soon to be released) Initiative Cards to short stories by the Mil-Net team that just don't have what it takes to go into the pipeline.
This may all seem a little confusing to you at first, but we're sure that in the coming weeks, as the site expands and our content grows, that this system will not only become easily understood, but also efficient and effective in helping new and existing members in finding the things that make playing CAV more exciting and fulfilling.
Thank you for taking the time to visit Mil-Net today and supporting CAV. You can expect a new Developer's Journal in the first Friday Update of every month, so join us in June when I'll talk about the work that goes into planning and creating a new CAV product.
Now go buy some minis!
-Rob
