Nov 27
Work has been continuing on GearHead Caramel. The next scenario, DeadZone Drifter, is quickly approaching playability. There’s a random building generator and the random NPC generator has been significantly improved. The Mechanical Tarot scenario generator is working. Things are starting to look pretty good.
In DeadZone Drifter the player character travels to various towns in the deadzone and helps out with their problems (maybe). I’m hoping to release a playable version before Christmas.
Sep 17
The color editor for GearHead Caramel is up and running; it still needs a bit of polish, but it shows off how much nicer the new color switcher is than the GH1/GH2 version. Just look at how glowey everything is!
Sep 11
I’ve been working on a paper doll type portrait construction system for GearHead Caramel. This is the first randomly generated portrait created by the system; the player will also be able to use the portrait generator to customize their character. Once I have randomized NPCs up and running I’ll be able to start work on DeadZone Drifter, the next adventure module.
Jun 20
The MOG-07 Haiho papercraft model is now available at itch.io. This one is at the same scale as the BuruBuru, 1/144, and comes with a small habitat dome. There are a variety of decal options for the front armor plate if you don’t care for the smiley face.
Jun 17
I’ve just uploaded a new release of GearHead Caramel. This release finishes off Winter Mocha, at least for now, so I can move on to creating the first real scenario.
Six months after the Typhon Incident, you are invited to a charity mecha tournament at the newly built Mauna Arena. It should only take ten to twenty minutes to play through Winter Mocha, but thanks to the random story and puzzle generation you’ll have a different experience each time. Characters can be imported from GearHead1.
Try it out and let me know what you think.
Jun 11
The BuruBuru paper model is now available at itch.io. The kit includes an info sheet (featuring this lovely 1980s style cover), the mecha parts, and a set of optional decals which you can use to customize your ride. You’ll need to print the parts on heavy cardstock (180g or thicker) and the decals on label paper.
The kit is also available at DriveThruRPG and Sellfy if you’d rather get it from either of those places. Or, you could find me at a comics convention in Korea and get one from me there. The Haiho model kit will follow shortly.
Jun 07
Turns out that the papercraft BuruBuru was very popular at Comic World Seoul, so I’ve given it a friend for next time. I am currently getting pdfs for these two models put together, and will upload them to itch.io and DriveThruRPG. I think I’m all papercrafted out now, so I really really hope to release the next version of GearHead Caramel soon.
Having physical models of mecha I’ve designed is fantastic… almost like a drug… I must resist the urge to create more. But these guys need someone to fight and I bet the Chameleon would look great in paper. Also, I need a Zerosaiko. And a Kojedo. And an Ovaknight and a complete series of Savins.
May 09
If you’ve been following the development version of GearHead Caramel, you’ll see that I’ve been getting more work done on skills and the new electronic warfare/computers system. Hopefully I’ll make a new release soon… but not this week because I’ve been working on a papercraft model of the SAN-X9 Buru Buru. Last weekend at Comic World Busan I noticed that there wasn’t a scrap of mecha merchandise available, so I decided to change that.
This model still needs its shaka cannon and axe, but overall I’m pretty happy with it. This version is 1/200 scale, so about 8cm tall. I’m going to print out some for Comic World Seoul next weekend. If they’re popular, I want to do a fancy set with instructions, an information card, and maybe stick everything inside a file folder designed to look like a 1980s mecha model kit.
What other GearHead mecha would you like to see given the papercraft treatment? Any suggestions for other GearHead merchandise I could make for cons?
Apr 25
As the title says, stealth and searching now work, both for the player and NPCs.
GearHead Caramel uses a Dungeon Monkey-style invocations system for all attacks and skill uses. One of the great things about this system is that skills contain their own usage instructions; instead of the NPC AI needing to know about every possible skill, it can just query the NPC’s skill list to ask each one how useful it would be right now. Based on the usefulness values returned, a skill is chosen and invoked.
Mar 23
“The Sun Sets on Silicon Valley” by me
A whole lot of friends are currently in San Francisco for GDC; if you’re still going to be there on Saturday, there’s a release party for Sci-fi San Francisco at Mission: Comics & Art. I have a story in this anthology so obviously it’s worth picking up even without thinking about all the other great contributors.
Also on Saturday, March 24th, I’ll be at Comic World Seoul at table A-23. It’s being held at the Kintex convention hall in the northwest part of the city. Drop by and say hi if you’re in the area.
Cover of “Sci-Fi San Francisco” by Chuck Whelon
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