A chat with Fred from Bastion about their game Ex illis
August 16, 2010 by lloyd
So Gen Con was massive this year and will still have more videos that didn’t make it out last week so we will continue releasing them thought out the week.
First up we have a chat with Fred from Bastion about their game Ex illis. Now for anyone who hasn't seen it, Ex illis is quite a unique mix of table top gaming with software that helps introduce new players to the game and facilitate some pretty special game play.
Now if your thinking how can I play a game that needs a PC at my friends house (who for some strange reason in 2010 doesn't have one), well Baston are working hard on bringing the software to as many different platforms as possible. So you can use your PC of course or what about a laptop there nice and portable or better yet your phone. Yes you can use an iPhone and I would say that won’t be the only phone supported in the future or if your really flash an iPad! Nice 🙂
Visit www.ex-illis.com for more info. or join the Ex illis discussion Group here on Beasts of War.
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always good to see a gooner 😀
Yes yes, lots more gencon videos when you are good and ready, please.
Ex illis seems like an interesting concept and if it gets more people in to the hobby then all the better. I would give it a try and see how it works.
But i have to say that you just can’t beat the feeling of rolling a lovely big hand full of dice 😀
It’s an interesting take on a hobby too. As all your individual units ‘power up’ they could (at least in theory) develop a really strong narrative.
I think as the range of units an miniatures increases this game will become more and more interesting.
It just may be a little ahead of the curve in its technology requirements. But there is definitely a section of our community who are able to jump all over this, the question will be are they willing!
Like you Warren I’m a bit of a sucker for narrative in my games. I have yet to find anyone in my area willing to give it ago. I guess it’s a case of, “oh it’s new and strange it must be shite” attitude that haunts the hobby form time to time. It’s funny the amount of bad press 8th ed fantasy got before it was released and i think now most people would agree it was a vast improvement. Maybe Ex illis will end up like the Nintendo Wii? The hardcore hate/distrust it, but the casual/newbie and more open… Read more »
It could do, but they would have to stop marketing to wargamers 😉
Agreed, why try and convert gamers when the wider market is untapped, that’s exactly what Nintendo did with the Wii. Didn’t do them any harm 🙂
Having not played it i can’t say for sure but it looks like it has the family appeal, the kind of game a parent can play with their kids with minimal hassle?
that looks so cool. i wanna have a go 😛
Come join the group and chat with the Ex illis community 😉
http://www.beastsofwar.com/groups/ex-illis/
Added this link to the post 🙂
Ex illis seams rely cool idea I must try it out fore fun
If it can be played long distance with web cams it should be a hit with people in remote community’s, like myself
Nice minis,good fluff and inventive game mechanics, I’m getting quite excited about this one.
Indeed, that would really interest me. Would be great as I could game with my good mate who lives at the other end of England more often.
Otherwise I find it a interesting ‘concept’ but not much more.
Reminds me of Advanced Wars / Fire Emblem but with minis.
Not a bad concept, except for the fact that you don’t roll any dice. When you roll badly in a normal game (40k, Warhammer, etc) you can only blame yourself. When a computer program determines the results for you (attacking, defense), you can feel a little cheated by the whole process.
The idea of having your troops “level-up” during the game is pretty cool. It would definately change the way every game is played.
This is not really a miniatures game, its just a cheap comuter game where you can use miniatures, they are not needed for play and add nothing to the game. I’ve played PC base rules before and they just don’t work, it actually slows down the game considerably and usless for large multiplayer games if you are all waiting around for your turn to press a few buttons and in my house the PC is in a different room! As said in an earlier post – you have to roll dice in wargames or you don’t actually feel your playing.… Read more »
I can’t see why people seem to like this, its a rather crappy PC-game with minis that you don’t need to play the game, and that don’t really add anything to the game except to lure wargamers. And I can’t see many of them staying after trying it.. gimmickgame that will probably not be here in a few years or have been changed to “all PC” or “all minis” the mix just don’t work.
Unlike yourself im reserving judgment until ive played it, sure its different but whats the point of making something if it doesn’t bring something new to the genre.
For instance my 1st edition 40,000K bears very little resemblance to the current edition, with its d6 mechanics.
Its only young and we should all give it a chance, as like other forum members have said it could very well help “civilians” engage in this fantastic hobby/world of ours.
Ingenious solution to a non existent problem.
Not sure about this either. I could see that having a computer might help with a situation such as working out the results of armour penetration by specific gun and ammunition types in a WW2 type of game (if you wanted to simulate that level of detail) but surely half the fun of a fantasy game is rolling the dice in the first place and as stated eslewhere, feeling you are in control of the outcome. Also, working out the results of a combat by calculating modifiers etc is probably healthy for one’s mental capacity, having a computer do it… Read more »
It does however leave you free to concentrate on other aspects of the game such as strategy and tactical elements.
Ex Illis is an interesting system in that it takes away alot of what we’re used to, but then presents a bunch of options we rarely (or never see) 🙂
This has been my favorite game for about the last 6 months. I’m of the mind that a war game is about more than rolling dice or neasuring inches. To me, a war game is about formulating strategies, making in game tactical decisions, and adjusting to your opponents moves on the fly. Ex illis gives me tons of viable strategies and a myriad of in game tactical choices. Plus fir those that use war gaming as brain food, the algorythms and probabilities are all available to the players who would like to delve that deep into the game. The cool… Read more »
Isn’t the game rather limited? For example I could be playing Warhammer, se models from another company and write rules to suit them for play with WH rules. With this system you are totally tied to using their models and profiles. Besides, I can quite easily cope with rolling dice and determining tactics, is there any gamer who can’t multitask this?
If your the type of gamer that wants to write their own rules etc, then this games not going to be for you 🙂
I think its an interesting business model bastion have (that is in the gamers favour) you basically get the rules for free so thir income if from selling models, if they want to sell models they need to keep bringing out new and great models. Simples!
Isn’t the game rather limited? Isn’t every game? At some point there happens to be a limitation that you’ll run into and have to find a way around. In Ex Illis it just happens to be that their business model hinges on getting people to purchase their miniatures to unlock the units in the game. As was said above, the rules and algorithms are available to view, you should have relatively little trouble converting the game to a pen and paper affair in which you can edit the troops and add new units of your own of that appeals to… Read more »
The only downside I can foresee for this type of game is its portability, or lack thereof. To play any of my current games, all I need do now is pack up my army and die and maybe a few other bits. With Ex Illis, I now have to pack along a laptop. The game does looks interesting. I would definitely like to give it a go before making any decisions one way or the other.
Hithero, did you even try the game before making statements such as “This is not really a miniatures game, its just a cheap comuter game where you can use miniatures, they are not needed for play and add nothing to the game”? If you try several Ex illis games, with an average sized army on each side (about 10 units each), you will quickly understand how miniatures are essential to the game. Just try to go through a few turns without looking at the board and you will be totally lost, you won’t know what units are where, what you… Read more »
Join the Exillis Group and see my review as well as WIP!
Im really impressed with this miniature range and game, the minis look fantastic and the game looks very interesting, with the aid of the computer to keep track of the action its a great new area in miniature wargaming…..