Strange Machine Games Announce New Robotech RPG

Strange Machine Games have announced a licensing deal with Harmony Gold to develop and publish a brand new Robotech Role Playing Game! SMG plan to publish a core rulebook that has equipment and story elements of the Macros Saga. They also have something for backers of the failed Palladium Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter.


SMG’s Jeff Mechlinski sent me some never seen ‘just finished’ artwork for the new game to show for the first time, as well as letting me know some key features of the forthcoming game.



  • SMG has patterned with Bryan Young, who will create the background, scenario and story information.
  • Choose from any standard Career path based on the show, or make a new one.
  • Pilot any Mecha, or command any Starship from the saga.
  • Asymmetrical play: play as an Officer while your allies fight in Valkyries.
  • Choose from a large number of insertion points within 5 distinct Macross Saga based Scenarios.
  • Play with an innovative system designed specifically for Robotech that enables Personal, Mecha and Naval class combat.
  • Skills allow you to create Cinematic Events that help drive the story.
  • Hybrid simulation / narration system.
  • Francisco Etchart has been retained to create the majority of the artwork for the game.

Wave 2 Backers of the failed Palladium RPG tactics Kickstarter will be given a complete box of Robotech: Ace Pilot board game free of charge when buying the new RPG direct from SMG.

The Robotech Role Playing Game is due for release in the 2nd Quarter of 2019 and is expected to come in at between 200 to 250 pages.

For more information about Strange Machine Games, and their games, please check out their website.
 

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I am curious as well. I think it is very good of them to offer anything to the backers that were bamboozled by palladium. They aren't accepting any playtesters yet, but I am curious - moreso if they are planning on doing miniatures.
 



I know very little about Robotech (isn’t it kind of like Battletech) but I am intrigued.
No.

Okay, buckle up for a real quick deep dive.
In the ‘80s there was a popular anime named Macross. Following in the success of other anime ported into English, a company bought the rights to Macross to dub. But found they couldn’t sell it as there were too few episodes (you needed 100 for syndication). So they took two other completely unrelated anime whose only common element was transforming vehicles, and mashed them together with Macross. And called it Robotech.
It was popular and repeated attempts to relaunch and produce sequels have been attempted, but all have failed save a direct-to-DVD movie.

Meanwhile, Macross and related anime licensed the rights to their mecha designs to other companies. Battletech filled out the designs of its mechs with those, during its early days. As did Transformers (the original Jetfire was one), as the G1 toys were a hodgepodge of Japanese transforming toys mashed together.

The company that owns Robotech, Harmony Gold, has sued over their designs a few times. They hilariously sued Hasbro over a SanDiego Comic Con promotional Jetfire, demanding everyone who bought the toys return them.


So it’s an RPG based on an ‘80s Frankenstein TV-show owned by a litigious company that now has a phenomenally cheesy dub. I think it’s currently on Netflix.
 

I know very little about Robotech (isn’t it kind of like Battletech) but I am intrigued.

That is a tricky thing. Both Robotech and Battletech based robot designs off the same anime. Robotech more closely as they adapted the anime for american audiences. For many, Robotech was their first exposure to anime. Robotech is availiable to watch on Netflix. (Robotech is actually three seperate anime series that are mushed together, though the most popular is the first. It has a torrid past involving liscincing litigation, and distribution rights, with the crown being how Palladium books effectively stole money from hundreds of kickstarter backers)
 


Dragonblade

Adventurer
Whether Harmony Gold even still has a license to the Macross property at all is in question. Their original licensor Tatsunoko has been losing court cases in Japan over who owns the international copyright to Macross. Harmony Gold is a zombie company, propped up solely by clinging desparately to a nearly 40 year old license that is now being called into question.

I'm surprised any company took the risk with them. I'm not a Kevin Siembieda fan, but he made the smart play here by walking away. HG recently backed down from their court case over the Battletech designs, because the opposing attorney was going to challenge their rights to the IP and thus whether they even had standing to sue at all. Rather than risk losing that case, they folded. That would never happen with any legitimate licensee.

Frankly, in my personal opinion, they are shady company that has conspired for years to deny the international distribution rights to the Japanese company which actually owns them. "Robotech" is a sham property and needs to die completely, so Macross in its true form can come to the west. I mean, if you are that enamored of a nearly 30 year old bastardized version of Macross, wait until you see Macross Zero, or Macross Frontier. Both amazing Macross sequels that couldn't come to the west legitimately because of Harmony Gold. I can't in good conscience support anything Harmony Gold touches, nor any company that seeks to "license" anything from them.
 

I'm surprised any company took the risk with them. I'm not a Kevin Siembieda fan, but he made the smart play here by walking away.
I think that had more to do with the failed Kickstarter. By "losing" the licence, they wouldn't be expected to ever deliver on their promises. It was the firm break they needed to just move forward.
That, or Harmony Gold pulled their licence as they didn't want to be associated with Palladium and Siembieda. Which would be far more depressing...
 

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