The first raft of Spartan Scenics products are a series of highly modular buildings, corridors and towers in 28 to 32mm scale, a great addition to any sci-fi, modern, near future or post-apocalyptic wargame. These kits are perfect for creating military bases, underground labs, research colonies, spaceship interiors - the list is endless!

We understand that, when it comes to gaming terrain, space is a premium. With this in mind, we created these incredibly flexible sets so they can be quickly and easily arranged in hundreds of different configurations, so every game you play can be completely unique. The concept of 'in it, on it and around it' sits at the heart of this product range.

The modules are designed so that you can fight where you want and how you want - removable roofs and opening doors make for thrilling close skirmish action while fighting on the roofs and around the buildings provides great cover and a flavourful backdrop for titanic, apocalyptic war-zones. Even more exciting, with the Towers & Walkways set, your game board extends vertically! This dramatically increases your playing space without need for huge boards, and creates dynamic, cinematic 3D battlefields, where the bullets fly in all directions.

To these buildings, extra life and flavour can easily be added with our amazingly detailed resin accessory packs. Each of these packs contains all the extras you need to turn the rooms of your Sci-Fi base into command centres, armouries, medical labs and more. This significantly increases the modular nature of the range, because these objects can easily be moved around to dramatically shift the nature of your game. Not only do these packs give great narrative background and themed objectives to your games, but they provide impromptu cover for your troops in fire-fights.

In case this isn't enough, the launch of Spartan Scenics also includes the release of a giant spaceship! Available in two different sizes this jaw-dropping model slots perfectly into any science fiction game, regardless of scale, be it as a terrain piece, an objective, or simply as a LARGE spaceship.

Less talk! More links!

Wow...those ships are awesome!

Link to the store: https://shop.spartangames.co.uk/SearchResults.asp?searching=Y&sort=13&cat=1925&show=100&page=1

So, yet more MDF stuff? It all looks a bit samey to me.

Also, terrain starter pack: https://shop.spartangames.co.uk/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SGSS01

Ah, no, these are not MDF. It says so right there on the description. They are HDF. Big difference

Is that good or bad?

HDF = high density fiberboard. MDF is medium density. I am not an expert, but I think the former is harder.

nice looking sets maybe even spartan is going to make a 40k style game (larger scale to there planet side) which will suck since spartan has never released a decent rule system in its life all fire power rule crap

spartan games : decent to great models over priced for what you get and poor rules

harder and (if you're transporting it) heavier

Looking good. And fit in nicely with the other offerings from MAS or Sarissa. Price seems okay, too.

And even if you're not transporting it, still heavier.
...I'll be here all night

I like those landed ships-- looks like someone at Spartan has been playing XCOM recently!

Holy maccaroni that 28mm deluxe variant is just lovely.

Needs.

Those internal detail kits (med lab, weapon storage, etc.) are very nice. Are they HDF as well?

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Those internal detail kits (med lab, weapon storage, etc.) are very nice. Are they HDF as well?

The descriptions don't tell us, but I think it's impossible to get so many details in m/hdf... they are probably resin like the deluxe addons for the space ships


Nevermind... found it

"These highly detailed and expertly cast resin objects " in https://shop.spartangames.co.uk/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=SGSS06

Once some pics without a pro studio paintjob are posted, I suspect it won't end up looking any more impressive than the rest of the MDF/HDF offerings that are flooding the market.

Am I the only guy tempted to buy it bc it isn't a kickstarter?

 lord_blackfang wrote:
Once some pics without a pro studio paintjob are posted, I suspect it won't end up looking any more impressive than the rest of the MDF/HDF offerings that are flooding the market.

like...
this one
https://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn.volusion.com/gnclv.fjgyd/v/vspfiles/photos/SGSS13-3.jpg?1369103639 ?

I was interested till I saw the pictures and realized they were laser cut HDF. More interested in the resin accessories.

 jgemrich wrote:
Am I the only guy tempted to buy it bc it isn't a kickstarter?

I lol'd and approve of this statement.

Some solid looking stuff, but the material of these and detail kits took forever to find, pointless obfuscation for the win.
That said, solid price and offerings.

Not so chuffed about the buildings. The resin accessories, though, now, those are really something. They're a tad expensive, though.

Re: Accessories. I'm also wondering if they won't be too big for other games, like the Dystopian Wars minis being a full head taller than other miniature ranges out there.

 jgemrich wrote:
Am I the only guy tempted to buy it bc it isn't a kickstarter?

it is getting to be nice to see the occasional product go direct to retail. Im semi burned out on KS. Ive passed on a couple recently because Im sick of waiting for stuff. That being said, I will be pledging for Paulson Games Mecha Front when it hits KS.

Just to be sure, this is actually 28mm right? and not 35mm?

I am soooooo ordering an Invincible. Now if someone could find me a similarly sized steampunk airship...

Wow, fantastic paint jobs, that's for sure.
I've never seen mdf terrain look so good, but... I have a sinking feeling it's all in the paint.
Yes, I did see the dropship in primer, and no, I wasn't particularly impressed. Looks like those snap-tite models I used to build as a kid.

But yeah... the pics make it look absolutely fantastic.

Warstore has them up for preorder:
http://www.thewarstore.com/spartanpreorders.html

It's a delightful change for Spartan Games. They're hopping onto the 28mm-terrain-with-hexagons bandwagon. In-theme with Infinity.

Was I really the first person in this thread to mention Infinity? It looks ideal for that.

When Spartan Games abandons the Dystopian Legions line in a few months and starts up a new game, I hope this terrain will still be around. On the bright side, this terrain won't go out of style anytime soon.

I don't think I've ever tried to like a game as much as I tried for Dystopian Wars. Their abysmal ruleset and poor development turned my entire FLGS off to them. I'd like to see some clarification whether this stuff is meant for 28mm or their larger TT figs scale, because no way will I actually try to play their stuff in their games.

Wow these are perfect for the Sci-fi skirmish game I am currently creating, thanks Spartan games

Also does this mean there will be a sci-fi skirmish game your going to make for this terrain?

 sourclams wrote:
I don't think I've ever tried to like a game as much as I tried for Dystopian Wars. Their abysmal ruleset and poor development turned my entire FLGS off to them. I'd like to see some clarification whether this stuff is meant for 28mm or their larger TT figs scale, because no way will I actually try to play their stuff in their games.

The Warstore listing states that the terrain set is "perfect for any 28 to 32mm science fiction, modern or post-apocalyptic gaming board."
http://www.thewarstore.com/product87066.html
Considering the previous fiasco with them listing their 32mm Dystopian Legions line as 28mm, the scale may change. For all we know, we may get something silly like 35mm or something incompatible with anything.

Regardless, terrain itself is timeless and can be easily adapted to multiple game sets. The price seems fine with a retailer discount, and depending on the scale with Infinity miniatures, it's a thing to look at for me at least.

 happygolucky wrote:
Also does this mean there will be a sci-fi skirmish game your going to make for this terrain?

There is still a completely new game Firestorm Invasion in the works. Firestorm Legions will have to wait.

This is very similar to several of the existing sci-fi MDF terrain sets out there.

Accessories look pretty good from what I can see, but the rest is pretty meh, as far as I am concerned. And pricy...

~Eric

I wonder if those smaller space ships have interiors.

Well hello forgeworld space port

Funny, it does remind me a tad of the old Anphelion Project buildings they used to do, but a wee bit more affordable, but not by much.

 Agamemnon2 wrote:
So, yet more MDF stuff? It all looks a bit samey to me.

I must concur. I have a very hard time picking out one of these laser-cut kits from the other; they all seem to have the exact same industrial flame & smoke factory aesthetic to them, all ladders and railways and hexagonally shaped pods and bunkers. The only unique one I've ever seen was the kickstarter one where the guy made gothic ruins that were somewhat unique.

That being said, is that bottom image a carrier or dreadnought or something? That's kinda cool, although it looks awfully papercrafty.

Well, I was certainly interested in the accessories at first, until I realized that this is Spartan Games resin we're talking about. Thoroughly dissatisfied with their casting in the past, so I'm going to have to pass on these, even if they do look very nice.

If you look at the stuff over on The Warstore, they have a measurement of 53mm tall on the corridor connector pieces.

May be a tad tall for something other than their line.

Very interesting. The HDF does sound better... but I wonder how it is packed and assembled. The mdf stuff I have took FOREVER to make (well... some of it... the rest is still waiting! )

Too expensive for laser cut fancy cardboard.

JWhex wrote:
Too expensive for laser cut fancy cardboard.

really, this seems fairly cheap compared to a lot of the other stuff on the market. There is a LOT of detail here

 Guildsman wrote:
Well, I was certainly interested in the accessories at first, until I realized that this is Spartan Games resin we're talking about. Thoroughly dissatisfied with their casting in the past, so I'm going to have to pass on these, even if they do look very nice.

I've been living under a rock. Would you mind elaborating? I haven't heard a lot about Spartan Games apart from their record on Dystopian Wars.

The vomited raindow of a terrain monster there reminds me of necromunda. Now if only that was still supported....

Spartan Games up's the Game Spartan places another solid amount of Game out there in an already busy market

Fixed that for ya. This terrain is good, and I always welcome more MDF and resin kits on the market, especially ones that are well designed and can work with multiple systems, but these are HARDLY upping any game whatsoever. The resin accessories are similar to anything long available from Antenocities (though different enough to be a good alternative) and the MDF has been available from dozens of different manufacturers.

None of this is a bad thing, more stuff on the market is more stuff, and these look to be some quality kits. Only thing I'n not too keen on is enclosed roofs/corridors with tapered sides. They look great, but they can be hell to game with

More pics. Spartan posted a picture on their site to show how strong the Terrain is, and a couple with models for scals. Not sure what line the models come from?

Yeah because that's what everyone does before putting the scenery away is to stand on them! WTF??? Seems really nice but to expensive for my taste.

I think we got the point after 50kg. Putting an 80kg gaming company suit on top is just... I'd ratehr have more pictures of your stuff. Up close so I can see the sharpness of the details, please.

I don't think anyone is really doubting the durability of this terrain. The big concern with terrain is whether it will chip when you drop sharp miniatures on it (not a problem with MDF/HDF). The big concern with Spartan Games is whether they will continue to support a product line a week after it's released (not a problem when their terrain fits with other companys' games.)

Between this and Mantic's terrain offerings I'm feeling spoiled and greedy.

Hey guys, can someone site me some evidence of the practices that have birthed the animosity in this thread?

Not that I don't believe it I just like to deal in hard facts and I'd like to know in case I decide to make a purchase.

Thanks!

Guy at the flgs ordered some of this. I'll try and get some pictures of it all Unassembled and Unpainted when it shows up. Will be the first mdf/hdf type terrain product well have here though so I won't be able to compare it to anything.

As for Spartan itself, I've not had a problem with their resin casting in quite awhile. The old Uncharted stuff had issues, but it was always more design flaws that led to stuff chipping IMHO. And I definitely wouldn't complain about the cost of their resin figs. Super cheap compared to other games. Do with their rule systems were better though and that they were better at listing the actual size scale of their products.

 AduroT wrote:
Guy at the flgs ordered some of this. I'll try and get some pictures of it all Unassembled and Unpainted when it shows up. Will be the first mdf/hdf type terrain product well have here though so I won't be able to compare it to anything.

Please do - I'm looking forward to this from you!

Try to get some figures from various companies in the shots too, if can...

Thanks!

I personally only bought once from Spartan's cornucopia. My Sorellian ships were fine, a few little bubbles on the mould line, nothing dramatic. Ironbovin just finished painting Dystopian Legions figs for our FLGS, and he was thouroughly unimpressed with the softness of the details. Even if it was a bit hyperbolic, I tend to believe him.

But that dropship... with some Paulson guns on it, and gubbins of my own... that's going to be sweet.

Yeh that'd be great thanks Aduro. I definitely need to see some kind of review since there seems to be a slightly cloudy history.

 Casey's Law wrote:
Hey guys, can someone site me some evidence of the practices that have birthed the animosity in this thread?

Not that I don't believe it I just like to deal in hard facts and I'd like to know in case I decide to make a purchase.

Thanks!

Well for me, personally, it is a few things (not all of them have to do with the manufacturing side, but do speak to a lack of QC across the company):



[WARNING - KIND OF RANTY!]

- They can't write clear rules to save their lives. Their first foray in to gaming (Uncharted Seas) could be forgiven (it was missing the rules discussing how one actually goes about destroying ships). But FSA was also a mess and Dystopian Wars was such a mess that they have revamped the core book 3+ times in the space of a couple of years (and it is still loaded with glaring errors and a byzantine layout).

- They are really spotty on online/FAQ/Errata support. They put it out, but often it is just as poorly edited as the rules (the update PDF for people using one of the old Dystopian Wars books actually has several rule changes that lead to substantially different games such as swapping out hard target numbers for modifiers and the like).

- Despite the above issues, they seem hell bent on shoving as many spin-off games as possible in to their line. For years (even as they were putting out Firestorm) people have been commenting on this. But Spartan always told people that all the games had different dev teams and no one games time was being eaten by another. But on the face of it, the delays and dead space products like Uncharted Seas and Firestorm Armada have dealt with in the face of Dystopian Wars (and now Dystopian Legions) is kind of making that look like a load of . Uncharted Seas was basically dead a long stretch of time (over a year I recall) before it got a digital resculpt of all of its fleets, then saw nothing for another 18 months. Now, because apparently the community didn't eat up a game that has basically been dead on its feet with barely any releases in years, they are kicking it to direct only (and will likely no longer support it actively at that). Meanwhile Firestorm's first supplement was delayed by months while they shoved Dystopian Legions through the pipe. Now they have a spin-off studio called Studio Sparta which I can only assume is an attempt to make people not notice that they are now trying to support another game with a split scale (any 15mm stuff actually come out for that yet?). It kind of smacks of poor focus and shoddy management.

Basically for a lot of people they either bought in to Spartan games and then found themselves abandoned with no releases to look forward to for months/years (or indefinitely like the poor Uncharted Seas players). Or they got to be the iterative playtest audience for Dystopian Wars and got to look forward to Spartan reprinting a new (poorly edited) rulebook every year or so (the first reprint was even a stealth reprint shortly after release that contained errata never posted by Spartan!). It didn't help that despite all the reprints they never bothered doing any real balance work on the core factions that needed it in DW. And now it sounds like they are going through a load of new playtesting that sounds like it will result in an all new edition. Oh joy!

Basically, Spartan always seem like their in a rush to get somewhere but they forgot the roadmap.

[OKAY IT IS SAFE, YOU CAN LOOK AGAIN]

All in all, Spartan have done some things that have not made them tons of friends in the long run. That said, the quality of their minis (some QC issues aside) is fairly good (never touched Dystopian Legions though, heard less than great things about them) and this terrain does look half-decent. But I just don't think I can support Spartan anymore. At the very least this terrain is something they can make and then leave to moulder for years as it makes them money from people who don't play DW/DL. So their usual fire and forget (unless it is steam punk) strategy works fine for them here.

And more competition in the HDF/MDF market is always good. Maybe it will finally start pushing prices down once we start to reach critical mass (and maybe competition from all the cheap plastic kits on the horizon will catalyze it a bit).

^this. This is why I won't touch Spartan products, they need to stay committed to a rules system until it is solid before moving on to other products and also need to support there various lines otherwise it will slowly die out IMO.

Thank you Ronin, a little history has certainly shined some light on the situation. I guess as long as the reviews look good on the terrain then there is no problem for those of us just picking up a couple of bits for Infinity or something. I understand that those who have invested in the past and now feel like they've been turned over will want to stay clear.

The reviews will certainly tell how this plays out.

 Ronin_eX wrote:

- They can't write clear rules to save their lives. Their first foray in to gaming (Uncharted Seas) could be forgiven (it was missing the rules discussing how one actually goes about destroying ships). But FSA was also a mess and Dystopian Wars was such a mess that they have revamped the core book 3+ times in the space of a couple of years (and it is still loaded with glaring errors and a byzantine layout).

Dystoipian wars has been updates once bro, not three tiems, its ok to slam a company but at least get your facts straight

 EmilCrane wrote:

 Ronin_eX wrote:

- They can't write clear rules to save their lives. Their first foray in to gaming (Uncharted Seas) could be forgiven (it was missing the rules discussing how one actually goes about destroying ships). But FSA was also a mess and Dystopian Wars was such a mess that they have revamped the core book 3+ times in the space of a couple of years (and it is still loaded with glaring errors and a byzantine layout).

Dystoipian wars has been updates once bro, not three tiems, its ok to slam a company but at least get your facts straight

There was the first printing, the second print run of the core that contained a lot of clarification and fixed typos (never showed up in an online FAQ), there was the June 2011 printing that was announced and updated/fixed a bunch of errors (but did get a FAQ at least) and then the current v1.1. This was actually a big point of contention for a while since a lot of early adopters felt they got a bad deal because the first book was riddled with errors and horribly laid out. It also made getting in to the game with the latest rules really confusing since there were few, if any differences on the covers of the books. To verify you had the latest version you had to delve inside (so buying online was a gamble for a little while).

Not to get all grognardy (as much as you can for a game that is only a couple years old), but I was an early adopter of Dystopian Wars, I got my first starter in the very first batch sent out in Novemeber/December of 2010. I was a long time fan and fairly active in the Spartan community back on the old forums. I remember each and every single revision that went through, I remember the flame wars incited by the the "secret" printing (only secret because Spartan never announced it, but there were definite changes between the book that shipped to people in December and the one people found in game stores in early 2011).

So yeah, my facts are straight. But most of the discussions from back in those days died when the Spartan Games forums suffered unrecoverable death several years back. So I forgive you for not being able to properly research the progression. But in the future, you may want to ask for clarification on someone's claims before assuming they're wrong.

Wasn't Uncharted Seas' second version only like a year after the first as well?

 AduroT wrote:
Wasn't Uncharted Seas' second version only like a year after the first as well?

About that time frame.

there was version 1, 1.1 then they released a new rule book during the failed relaunch, not sure if it is called 2.0. I didn't buy the latest rule book as I felt all that would happen would be they release another one in a year.

Firestorm has 3 rule books. I own them all.

Spartan came out with 1.1 rules for DW about 6 months or after the initial launch. Didn't bother buying the initial rules set as I knew what was going to happen.

Gentleman got it right over at TMP. You pay to play test spartan products.

Great miniatures, but their rules are about as organized as my girlfriend's bins of shoes.

Also, non-english communities would grow much faster if they would translate their books. Would not be more expensive than printing slightly updated books every year and definitly get more gamers playing.

 EmilCrane wrote:
Spartan never announced it, but there were definite changes between the book that shipped to people in December and the one people found in game stores in early 2011).

So yeah, my facts are straight. But most of the discussions from back in those days died when the Spartan Games forums suffered unrecoverable death several years back. So I forgive you for not being able to properly research the progression. But in the future, you may want to ask for clarification on someone's claims before assuming they're wrong.

Actually, the original SMF Spartan forums died just over a year ago ( Feb 2012, IIRC). This is actually something interesting I've noticed; because Spartan has been a prolific model producer and has introduced a number of games in short order, it is easy to forget just how new the company actually is. Dystopian Wars is not quite 2 1/2 years old, and FA is barely a year older than that. "Several years back" takes us almost to the beginning of the company!

Me personally? I'm still a huge supporter of Spartan, and I've been enjoying the ride! Even with having to purchase a second rule book, the total amount of money that I've sunk into DW and FA vs. the amount of enjoyment I've gotten from the games is still quite a bit higher than most other games I've played. I think some of the comments above about mismanagement are pretty much right on the money, though. My impression is that Spartan Games is being run by a group of enthusiastic, well-meaning but inexperienced folks who are learning a lot of lessons the hard way. Unfortunately for them, they are in competition with many companies (GW, Battlefront, Mantic, PP, etc) which have been around for decades or have the involvement of people who have, causing them to look fairly amateurish in comparison. It seems that the expectation now for a new game or product line is for it to spring forth fully formed and flawlessly executed!

 Duncan_Idaho wrote:
Also, non-english communities would grow much faster if they would translate their books. Would not be more expensive than printing slightly updated books every year and definitly get more gamers playing.

Dude, they can barely write functional English

Dystopian Wars and DBA (a short historical rules set) are the two games I can recall where getting the rulebook made things worse. I learned both by playing with people who already knew the game and had great fan made reference sheets. Then I got the actual rules and was like WTF?!

You know you failed at publishing a rulebook when reading it makes things less clear rather than more.

Well, there would be people out their that would love to help them with translations AND proof-reading their English boosk.

Well, you may want to get a GOOD spell-checker first..

And you need to playtest different language versions as different translations may mean the exact wording can change the rules. So you gotta be really careful.

Liking the look of that dropship, thinking it might go really well with a deadzone landing pad as a terrain piece/ really cool objective.

The terrain isn't my thing, everyone and their dog has already released MDF terrain that looks similar, but the drop ship is a great example of them taking the material and doing something more interesting with it, by using it to make large vehicles instead of just terrain.

Yeah, I feel the same way.

More MDF/HDF type terrain just doesn't get me excited - unless there's some other reason to, like significantly cheaper, more detailed, etc.

I think this does work out pretty cheap, or at least a measure less than the other MDF stuff about - Wayland Games are doing an offer on for the starter set, £72 for this lot:



For Infinity (or 40k or any other sci-fi game for that matter) that's a pretty impressive looking centre piece for your board. And, pretty much the same price as something like the Fortress of Redemption.

Some of their little accessory packs are pretty neat too (the 'barracks' and 'med bay' packs etc).. seriously thinking about starting a 3rd board for Infinity in fact!

If you say so, I'll believe you!

Hard to envision what that will look like on the table, with models next to it/on it/etc. though...

My issue with Spartan stems from their quality control. I got the Covenant starter fleet as a Christmas gift. When I went to actually start on it, I found that many of the ships had a 1mm layer of ugly miscast material/flash on the bottom. I requested replacements, which were sent out quickly, but with one slight problem: some of them were worse than the originals! After that, I've been reluctant to finish what I had and unwilling to purchase any more. Haven't even gotten to a game yet.

@Alph - check out the render of the rooms together that I posted in the terrain thread and find something nearbye that has about the same measurements given for the doorways. That should give you a pretty good idea of the scale... I think, I'm not sure how other people's brains work.

That's pretty damning, Guildsman, especially if it was the Christmas just past. Do you have pictures?

 Ronin_eX wrote:

Not to get all grognardy (as much as you can for a game that is only a couple years old), but I was an early adopter of Dystopian Wars, I got my first starter in the very first batch sent out in Novemeber/December of 2010. I was a long time fan and fairly active in the Spartan community back on the old forums. I remember each and every single revision that went through, I remember the flame wars incited by the the "secret" printing (only secret because Spartan never announced it, but there were definite changes between the book that shipped to people in December and the one people found in game stores in early 2011).

Boy, that comment you made about early adopters of Dystopian Wars ending up in the stealth-playtest-open-beta really resonates with me. I (and my friends) bought Dystopian Wars thinking that it would be like a more in-depth version of Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures with battleships and airplanes and stuff blowing up.

A very long story short, this elaborate WWI-esque battleship game had boarding mechanics that were so much more powerful than the shooting mechanics that opposing fleets would generally speed towards each other trying to launch Marines onto the other guy's ships. Toss in a clunky and largely useless 'tiny airplanes' mechanic, and then figure that several of the models were plain imbalanced. Like inanely so. The FSA battleship was cheaper, more powerful, more durable, and had better perks than a KoB battleship. When some of these glaring imbalances were pointed out (imagine a 16 pt Space Marine being compared to a veteran Imperial Guardsman ... now make the IG vet cost 17 points) the response was, I gak you not, 'roll better'. On the SG forums, 'rolling better' is valid 'tactics'. This is now a running gag at my FLGS; when somebody is doing abysmally poorly, they scream TAAAACTICS!!! as they roll the dice, praying that a bunch of sixes bails them out.

I really wanted to like Spartan Games, but the rules system was impossible and their development community had their heads in the same paper bag that apparently they grabbed their rules systems out of.

So it's a good thing I still don't own a Dystopian Wars rulebook then eh? I had been planning to ever since I bought my Kingdom of Britannia starter last year, but after been horribly beaten by the FSA and Antarctica starters.. Roll harder indeed!

When I went to actually start on it, I found that many of the ships had a 1mm layer of ugly miscast material/flash on the bottom. I requested replacements, which were sent out quickly, but with one slight problem: some of them were worse than the originals! After that, I've been reluctant to finish what I had and unwilling to purchase any more

Ahem, if that is what is suspect than that was a very stupid thing to do. The flash layer at the bottom of the ships is quite normal since that´s where they pour the resin in. Normally some sanding the bottom should do the job and can be expected from any customer. If it was something else we would need pictures to get an idea what exactly you mean.

@scenery
It´s quite a good value for the money in my opinion.

@DW
It´s not that bad, it has improved with 1.1, but it still could need some editor and some more external playtesting.

@translation
spelling and keeping the rules consistent over the different versions is no problem if you hire professionals to do it. Actually professionals are cheaper than fan-translations in the end.

Well, my wife must have done something to feel guilty, as she just let me buy the starter set from Wayland.

Now I'm wondering what she's done.... The car's still in one piece.

Cheers

Andrew

 BrookM wrote:
So it's a good thing I still don't own a Dystopian Wars rulebook then eh? I had been planning to ever since I bought my Kingdom of Britannia starter last year, but after been horribly beaten by the FSA and Antarctica starters.. Roll harder indeed!

Reading the SG forums KoB section is probably the biggest reason i lose interest in getting my KoB fleet painted. They seem to be in dire need of some attention as many of their 'special' units are of extremely limited use (The Vanguard, the submarine with a chainsaw-bladed prow, is too slow to catch up with targets it can actually take down without suiciding, for example).

I'm waiting to see the Australian rules coming soon. They can apparently either stay loyal (and have some KoB stuff that is 'improved' plus their own ships) or go their own way (and get energy weapons from the CoA). Cool either way, thouh I'm not thrilled that the answer to a limited list is to get allies.

Hehe, yeah when I bought my boxed set my friend was super motivated (probably because he wanted to sell that box and have someone to bash) but afterwards when I asked him what the special thing was of the KoB he couldn't tell me. I did find out that FSA can turn on the spot and has superior fire power, that Antarctica has particle cannons that can slice through multiple ships at once and that the KoB has more torpedoes? Yay I guess, just a shame that all those other fleets have such effective counter measures against those..

KoB: You specialize in a weapon that cannot shoot aircraft!

A brilliant evolutionary achievement considering that France has an entirely airborne navy!...

I knew I should've gone with the frogs!

Eh, feth it, I'll sit this out until decent rules and a fix for KoB hit the web.

 sourclams wrote:
KoB: You specialize in a weapon that cannot shoot aircraft!

A brilliant evolutionary achievement considering that France has an entirely airborne navy!...

Though the torpedoes can still hit the French skimmers, albeit at a slight disadvantage (5+) but it does bypass that pesky retardant armor (Though it makes no difference if they've got a cloud generator up, everything will hit on a 5+ anyways). They will be joined by the Ottomans who will also field quite a bit of skimmers.

The French Naval core is a bit average though, especially compared to its Aerial core (That damned Vauban is effectively an aerial dreadnought), France also lacks shields compared to Britain who can shield even their smalls under certain circumstances. The Battlecruiser Lord Hood is quite the bruiser though especially if attached to a unit of Agincourts.

Notably though, the first five Naval Starter boxes are pretty poorly planned overall. FSA and the CoA have very strong starter boxes, as their battleships are quite powerful, and the rest of ships are decent. The KoB has an average starter. The Empire of the Blazing Sun is average as well, with the battleship and bombers being alright, the cruisers being the worst of the bunch, and the frigates able to fire a staggeringly large amount of gunnery. The Prussians have a terrible starter box, as the Prussian Battleship is infamously poor, and the Cruiser isn't much better, slightly offset by its decent bomber and the best frigates in the game. Thankfully the new flotilla boxes their releasing this Spring/Summer should remedy some of this.

They do need to balance the cruisers somehow, since nearly everyone will agree that a gunship vastly outperforms a cruiser as a medium choice.

I do like how they use community involvement though, its quite refreshing. Though it was surprising when they decided to use YHLAN's unit cards for DW and plan to discontinue their own unit cards for newer models, granted the fanmade cards are arguably far better. The fanmade quick reference sheets are also quite good and makes far more sense than their rule-book. As long as they learn from their mistakes, Spartan has a good chance of growing into a fine company.

 Balance wrote:

 BrookM wrote:
So it's a good thing I still don't own a Dystopian Wars rulebook then eh? I had been planning to ever since I bought my Kingdom of Britannia starter last year, but after been horribly beaten by the FSA and Antarctica starters.. Roll harder indeed!

Reading the SG forums KoB section is probably the biggest reason i lose interest in getting my KoB fleet painted. They seem to be in dire need of some attention as many of their 'special' units are of extremely limited use (The Vanguard, the submarine with a chainsaw-bladed prow, is too slow to catch up with targets it can actually take down without suiciding, for example).

I'm waiting to see the Australian rules coming soon. They can apparently either stay loyal (and have some KoB stuff that is 'improved' plus their own ships) or go their own way (and get energy weapons from the CoA). Cool either way, thouh I'm not thrilled that the answer to a limited list is to get allies.

Ignore the forum, the KoB are a really good faction.

I, for one, really like dystopian wars (though rulebook design does leave something to be desired) and while the first version was terribly balanced in regards to boarding the game is changing and improving all the time. Spartan really listens to their player base is a very open and friendly company. No company is perfect but I like the asthetic of DW enough to see past the negatives.

EDIT: I agree with the poster above me however, the first thing people starting DW should do is get away from the starter boxes, they aren't balanced. Play equivalent points ASAP.

Yep, ignore the forum and play with your group.... the forum can get nasty-whiney at times.

Has Spartan already linked the fan-made cards on their website?

They have not on their main website, it is stickied in their community forum however.

Sigh.... Spartan... as organized as ever... Do you have a link?

 Duncan_Idaho wrote:


Ahem, if that is what is suspect than that was a very stupid thing to do. The flash layer at the bottom of the ships is quite normal since that´s where they pour the resin in. Normally some sanding the bottom should do the job and can be expected from any customer. If it was something else we would need pictures to get an idea what exactly you mean.

Sorry for the quality, but I think it illustrates the point. This one was the worst of the bunch. A thick layer of extra resin, which files and a hobby knife couldn't handle. Others had the same layer, which didn't extend to the edge, leaving it ragged and pitted. I fixed the ones I could with an electric sander, and asked for replacements for the rest. I also asked for a replacement for the tower on the battleship, but the replacement was worse, so I made do. In the end, I was unsatisfied with the quality of the models I received. Maybe it was the part where I had to use power tools on them. Stupid? Maybe, maybe not.

It´s very hard to tell whether it is an extra layer below the original cast, which can be easily be removed with some sanding paper and a few minutes of sanding or whether it is beside the original cast.

Couple of seconds on a palm sander does wonders for removing that casting band. If you don't have one use a sanding block and some mk1 elbow grease, simples. Overall I've found the casting quality good to excellent, and the resin holds detail very well with easy clean up.

On preorder for a 3rd July release:
http://shop.spartangames.co.uk/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1925



























On preorder for a release on 31st July:
http://shop.spartangames.co.uk/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1938

Delayed, and now listed as unavailable.

Does anyone know why/what is the delay?

Cheers

Andrew

Interesting question. A wave of accessories and the smaller ship made it to distributors and stores though. The rest is still flagged as on the way.

Spartan says the demand was higher than expected.

They are working to fill the back-orders and getting all the supplies out to their distributors before putting the products back up for sale on their online store.

Cheers for that info roadkizzle.

Andrew

Their stuff looks excellent, I'm not surprised they ran out, I still really want to snag one of those deluxe 28mm Invincible Dropships.