Hyperspace Frontier March '25 update

Since the blog is new I guess the only place I will have shared anything about my upcoming game is on social media, and that basically means hardly at all. I really don’t post often enough and word limits make it hard to explain much. So in brief:

• I’m making a tabletop miniature game including miniatures, rules, art etc.
• The kits I’m making are all modular and are broadly compatible with other kits.
• It’s a sci-fi mash up all sorts of themes but players can make of it what they want.

So where am I up to?

Miniatures

I felt like I was falling behind on getting kits done and that was true, but mostly I underestimated the number of parts I needed and my pace has picked up so I’m on track to have the 3 main kits done by the end of May.

Each kit is a multi-part, 28mm kit, featuring both masculine and feminine body shapes, with loads of interchangeable parts. The first two are nearly complete: the Frontier Rangers, a western inspired kit with plenty of cowboy hats and fancy shooting irons, and the Wasteland Reavers, some post-apocalyptic scavengers with makeshift weapons and a brutal look. I haven’t even started on the third kit: a mash up of sci-fi and fantasy/medieval knights.

One thing I need to start doing soon is making test prints, working in 3d is fine but I find that if you don’t constantly connect with the physical objects your sense of scale really gets out of tune. It’s too easy to start focusing in on tiny details that just wont show up on the print.

Rules

This is a huge recalibration for the game. Originally I was building a new set of rules, incorporating some things from an older system I designed and some rules for using cards. After a few play tests this really wasn’t landing. There were plenty of interesting mechanics but mostly they just slowed things down on the table.

And that older system, that had some legs. I had created a sort of universal game system that let me build out new games by adding and modifying rules. It had gone through plenty of iterations and been used in about 7 or 8 different games so it was pretty flexible. So the rules are changing. This is going to need a post all of it’s own to explain but that system is getting an overhaul and it lets me build a solid base for a few games I’ve been wanting to do.

Artwork

I have been doing some sketches but definitely not enough. Everything still looks really rough but I have been struggling to make the time for drawing. Honestly this is the hardest part right now and I need to accept that I will not suddenly make a great leap forward with it when I am not putting in the work. I don’t know that it is going to be a problem but when I start really putting the rules together I want to fill all those little gaps with some artwork.

Next

Really the next few months is about not losing focus. I have a few other committments that will take priority, including some commission work I’ll be excited to show off once the client is ready. If I take any time for other hobbies I should probably make that either drawing or painting some models.

I also need to invest more time in building up my social media which does not come naturally to me, but might prove to be an important step.

-Callie