Primeval Abyssian Star maps : Prymarsiam Dominion

Primeval Abyssian Star maps : Luraydia Throne Realm

Primeval Abyssian Star maps : Cascadian Greater Vortex

Primeval Abyssian Star maps : Tolathian Storm-Empire

The second star map is the sub-map for the primary Tolathian empire :

Primeval Abyssian Star maps : The Etherium

In the first in a new series of PA posts, I shall be showing the Etherium universe and it's empires in map form. To start with, here is a map of the whole universe!

My Top-5 Sci-fi Novels of all time

 1_Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon

When I read this book I was totally blown away. The sheer scale of it, the ideas and concepts explored. It is litterally a history of the universe from beginning to end - with some of the most imaginative alien cultures and civilizations I've ever come across. Whats more is when you find out what the "Star Makers" themselves actually are. Mind blowing. The Arthur C Clarke quote on the front cover is certainly there for a reason.

 2_Dragon's Egg by Robert L Forward

The story of an alien civilization that has managed to evolve on a dying neutron star. We watch the Cheelah from the beginning as simple tribes and then watch them evolve into a more high-tech society, we see them make costly mistakes and evolve. Brilliant stuff that really excited my imagination as a kid. Nowadays I can appreciate it in a different light as Forward was a scientist and so the science is very hard and accurate - and this only adds to making it more believable in my eyes.

3_Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement

Yet another hard sci-fi classic, this time that takes place on an Oblate planet, which is why it has varied gravity all over it. A pretty fascinating concept and makes you wonder if such a world might exist out there. A great story, and another that puts a non-humanoid alien as one of the central protagonists - this time a rather likeable alien centipede-like creature. Like Dragon's Egg - the science is very accurate and realistic which for me just makes it that bit more enjoyable to read.

4_2001 A Space Odyessy by Arthur C Clarke

Does this one really need any introductions? One of the best hard sci-fi novels of all time, and very likely to be the most known and famous. I guess with this one, Clarke managed to put Hard sci-fi into the mainstream for a while, what with the film and all that. An impressive feat and accomplishment and one I wish I had the talent myself, so I have often looked up to Clarke and would love to be as good as he was.

5_The Shadow out Of Time by HP Lovecraft

While I loved At the mountains of madness, this one blew me away even more and eventually became my all time favourite Cosmic Horror story. The histories and alien races described are mind-blowing and exciting - with the amazing Great Race of Yith and their mortal enemies the Flying Polyps - both of which became two of my all time favourite sci-fi alien races. The story is a perfect mix of that hard boiled detective style film noir and mind melting cosmic horror to make you feel very very insignificant in the universe.

Primeval Abyssian : Introduction - The Psylorthian Conflux

Introducing..... The Psylorthion Conflux

The Psylorthion Conflux are a species of artificially created beings made from a strong resiliant metamaterial that is able to withstand extreme temperature and weathering, making them hardy and strong - the downside to this however is that the metamaterial has a fast decay rate so the bodies need to be replaced somewhat
frequently. The Psylorthions live on Anchorworlds, two oblate ellipsoids, the smaller being a singularity resting upon the larger. The Psylorthion minds can only exist within the confines of the singularities - permanently tying them to their homeworlds. The Psylorthion metamaterial bodies however are able to go anywhere and are created en-masse on the anchorworlds by advanced nano-swarms.

The Psylorthion Conflux was born by the Adrifell long ago - who opened thousands of Singularities across the Etherverse and sent encrypted datastreams into each one. Eventually the Datastreams would gain sentience within the singularities and create a network of artificial minds with each Singularity becoming it's own cosmic computer terminal. The Adrifell would then link the singularities together to form an expansive universe scaled computer network and intelligence system that could monitor the Etherverse and repair any potential anomolies.

Primeval Abyssian - A Direction change for the better

A somewhat strange update - Primeval Abyssian will be having a direction change, both from an artistic and marketing decision. The game will not be marketed as "Lovecraftian" but instead will be related to what is more it's main influences and inspirations anyway - and those are hard sci-fi writers such as Olaf Stapledon, Hal Clement and Robert L Forward. I believe these writers deserve more of the credit for inspiration and deserve more exposure alike.

Of course all models currently sculpted are still in. Tolathians, Masters Of unlife and Luuran will remain how they are - which is, they were never really "lovecraftian" anyway, and I feel it is best to get away from the "cthulhu mythos" as far as possible.

Some races (ones that havent been sculpted yet anyway) will undergo radical direction changes - and there will be some new factions too such as the Psylorthion Conflux - which use oblate planets. The new races will follow from what you've seen of the Cascadians - which will be more high tech but abstract looking sillohettes.

PA Update

Been a while since I updated this thing. I have given sculpting a rest for the past month or so, and I'm just waiting for recasts of the Masters Of Unlife Abyssal Drone and Cascadian infantry so I can get back into it and get more units done, this is one of the main reasons I've given things a rest since I can't make much more progress until I get those recasts. 

I have however made significant progress with the Seeker Drone for the Masters Of unlife, so I thought id post a few pictures here and share the current state of this model.

It still needs quite a bit more work. It's been one of the more challenging models I've made - but I'm fairly happy with how it is looking so far.

The Primeval FAQ

FAQ :

The models look pretty fragile, will they stand up to tabletop gaming?
They should do! Trollcast plastic is pretty tough and strong as you can see from videos that Ed has posted. If they do break, teh breaks are very clean so it shouldnt be too difficult to fix. I'll probably do some experimentation with this to get a better answer though!

Some of these things look weird for weird sake, what gives?
Blame "The Doctor who monster book" I saw as a 4 year old kid. As I grew up Hard sci-fi authors like Robert L Forward and Olaf Stapledon became bigger inspirations. I'm also obsessed with deep sea life. I don't think my stuff is really that unique/original when you take all that in mind, it's just fairly uncommon in larger skirmish games. If I had to explain it, it's the appeal of the sillohettes - I really prefer them to more common designs. In Short? I love squiggly things!

Do you expect to make a living from this stuff?
Not really. I'm more than aware this is a very small niche and it's more of a personal hobby - and I have fairly low expectations for future sales. I'd just like to give the tabletop gaming world some unique and cool aliens.

What will the prices be like?
For starters I'm no Bob Naismith or Jes Goodwin and while I am happy with what I make I know my skills don't measure up to those sculpting giants and nor do I have the ability to create those high quality multi-part kits. The prices reflect this, you'll be able to get about 22-30 models for about £35 and that's the standard size of a game of PA.

When is your game coming out?
I really have no idea to be honest! Theres so much work ahead of me and it's all so new. The goal is to make 40 kits, that's 10 per faction. It's already taken nearly 2 years and I am just over halfway. Beyond that, I am working on the rules and I need to get artwork, and then these kits need to be moulded and cast up. I'd like to say give it another year or so but I can't give any guarantees.

How many Factions will there be?
I'd like as many as possible and have ideas for as many as 21 but I'd like to focus on the first four to begin with, if those go well and they sell then I will expand as much as I can. I would like a minimal of 10 and that's what I will try to achieve.

Some of the races sound more "Pulpy"?
Yep! I love my pulp sci-fi cheese. There is a race of alien plants because I was a huge fan of Day of the Triffids and always thought killer plants needed more exposure. Is an army of killer plants considered a garden though? There is a faction of giant disembodied brains inspired from those old 50's killer brain films as well as more recent stuff like Super metroid and Doom. There are a few other pulp style factions too but those are the two I really want to get made.

What are your biggest influences?
Classic Dr who episodes, 50's b-movies, hard sci-fi writers and deep sea documentaries that I watch when I should probably be sleeping.

What about the Tolathian sci-fi web show?
Like the miniatures-game, I always wanted to make my own sci-fi show since I was a kid - this will take years and years most likely. I'll post updates when I have them, but I'm starting right at the bottom and need to work myself up. In short : A very long time.

What are your favourite sci-fi aliens?
 From Dr who I would say the Gel-Guards and Krynoids. In general? Triffids, the Crystaline entity from Star trek, the Vorlons from Babylon5.