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Just wondering what its like, miniatures wise and playwise.

I've never heard of it.
I've done the RPG and the mini game but I thought it was dead.
If it ain't I'm gonna throw some cash thier way.

http://www.dp9.com/

This guy has a lot of info about the game, and is blogging his prep for a Heavy Gear tourney

http://tyler.provick.ca/?cat=9

and here's his review:
http://tyler.provick.ca/?p=136

Thank you for those. Did you search for these rules as a result of this
post, or is it something of interest to you and you thought of them?

(I'm interested in the filters that bring us our information, in case you're
wondering why I'm asking)

Hmm. Always liked Heavy Gear.
I can't justify another mini game right now... not now...
Phooey.

I used to use some of the HG figs for Battletech. They're nice figs, paint up well, and go together well. Can't say anything for the game, but those who have played it that I've talked to liked it.

Here's what spiffy on the DP9 boards told me:


---
The game is largely about speed- you can switch between various forms of movement which have pros and cons.

It's a combined arms game. The four types of group you encounter most often are:

Gears: 15-20 foot robots of the agile-anime variety.
Tanks: Generally larger and with bigger guns than present day
Stiders: Big tanks that walk around. Often scary.
Infantry: Essentially no stopping power but very difficult to dislodge.

New players should focus on Gears, since they're really the focus of the game and the most compelling to buy/paint. Gears are fielded in groups of five, called Squads or Cadres. The different flavors of Squad (General Purpose, Strike, Fire Support, Recon, other) determine the gears and options that a group has access to.

The emphasis here is on small team tactics. Individual Gears get a bonus to attacking in unison (Multiple attacker Penalty or MAP), and a rule called "Snap Fire" allows them to cover each other's movement.

An average sized kitchen table comfortably holds 2-3 combat groups (5 gears to a group) to a side without getting sloppy. The good news is that the rules support fielding just 1 Squad as an army, so the entry cost is very low.

As for what happens during a game, mostly you try to keep your big, heavy units safe and launching damage from a concealed position whilst your smaller scout units are spotting for them. There's a lot more variety than that, but it's pretty important.
----

Sounds thrilling!

DP9 have been making stuff that I like for years. I haven't been loyal but this is something I'm going to look into.
My local store doesn't stock any of thier stuff so it may be tough.

I know. I'm going to ask at the store if they can special order dream pod 9
stuff, or if I have to go online to find it. It's at The War Store and Dream Pod
9's own shop, but I do want to buy stuff where I play.

BTW: if you want some HG stuff, I've got a bunch that I'd be happy to part with. Needs stripping but still good stuff...

They didn't change models or scale with the release of Blitz?

Posted By malfred on 05/07/2007 8:56 AM
They didn't change models or scale with the release of Blitz?

Nope, they kept the same scale (1/144), just new sculpts in different (more dynamic) poses. I don't play, but I've always liked DP9's stuff, especially Heavy Gear, as they seem to get the "mech" idea more right than anyone else (except Dirtside II, which nails it). That is, larger mechs = bigger targets = the harder they fall.

Posted By malfred on 05/06/2007 3:59 PM
Thank you for those. Did you search for these rules as a result of this
post, or is it something of interest to you and you thought of them?

(I'm interested in the filters that bring us our information, in case you're
wondering why I'm asking)

Tyler is an old friend, and I have followed his blog for a while, actually.

But I was also into the old Heavy Gear back when it was more of an RPG.

Awesome.

Screw Heavy Gear, how cool does Gear Kreig look? Chickenwalker tanks, Nazi zombies, and helicopter jetpack G.I.s? Sign me up! As soon as I get a job that lets me afford all these freaking games.

Well, I kinda wanted things scaled down (up? I forget which direction scales go).

I am not a fan of Blitz, they have changed to much and taken away the ability build the force you want. Also they took away the ability to build your own gears because Blitz uses some system that will not be published. As for the game play is faster is a bit of a joke, a friend a I played a blitz game at the same speed as the old game. I can't be bothered to buy the edition.

nyarlathotep667 wrote:

Posted By malfred on 05/07/2007 8:56 AM
They didn't change models or scale with the release of Blitz?

Nope, they kept the same scale (1/144), just new sculpts in different (more dynamic) poses. I don't play, but I've always liked DP9's stuff, especially Heavy Gear, as they seem to get the "mech" idea more right than anyone else (except Dirtside II, which nails it). That is, larger mechs = bigger targets = the harder they fall.

Nyarly! Back from the angles of time!

I have some of the original HG figs, and if they are 1/144th scale, then humans would be tiny. The second iteration went to much smaller Gears. I think the current Gears are about an inch tall, roughly, while the ones I bought 'way back in the early 90's are about 3-4 inches tall. Most recently, I was using them for CHAS units in Starship Troopers, and they fit the scale pretty well.

Never actually played the miniatures game, but I liked the background (hmm, Northern, politically free but socially conservative, or Southern, individual freedom but no say in government?) and enjoyed the hell out of the computer games.

Mr. X wrote:Screw Heavy Gear, how cool does Gear Kreig look? Chickenwalker tanks, Nazi zombies, and helicopter jetpack G.I.s? Sign me up! As soon as I get a job that lets me afford all these freaking games.

Gear Krieg looked cool, but no one wanted to play. AT-43 mechanics have won some converts at my FLGS, and now DUST Tactics has many people who left sci-fi for Flames of War drooling in antici




...pation.

There was a game put out with significantly smaller minis for Heavy Gear, but I don't really remember what or how. Seemed vaguely Epic-like.

Buying HG stuff used should be much better than GW stuff used. HG gears would be much easier to strip, and should strip quite a bit cleaner than most GW minis.

However, a lot of the gears are prone to breakage of joins, since most are just flat portions with no pegs or the like. I ended up drilling a lot of shoulder sockets since I suspect superglue would be just too brittle.

You've got questions, I've got answers. And sarcasm!

OrK_Smasher: There IS a rule in the original Blitz! book on building stuff. Look for 'Legacy Designs'. Basically, all original Blitz! designs were made in the 2nd edition Tech Manual rules and divided by 10, then manually adjusts to the nearest value ending in 0 or 5.

The DP9 forums had a note somewhere on changes made for Locked & Loaded. A few things were change, but not many. I believe Automation was recosted as just lumping in more crew, which makes more sense as Blitz! doesn't differentiate between the two in a meaningful way.

fellblade: The old (ended in 98 or so?) RAFM minis were something like 1/72. The current ones are 1/144. The Blitz! changes are kind of like how GW will 'refresh' models across versions but usually milder. The new Grizzly still looks like the classic Grizzly (although the rocket pods may have changed a few times) but it's a bit larger and the proportions are slightly different. The weapons are a bit bigger, mostly thicker to reduce breakage.

The Grog: DP9 did a really tiny 'Fleet Scale' rule set. It's available as a free PDF as part of the older Tac Mini Rules from Drive-Thru RPG. They did minis for a few common landships, tokens representing a squad of Gears, tanks, or similar. They also did a few flyers, which have been brought back as part of the Blitz! game line: the new rules have air-assets 'on the table' albeit in an abstracted way. They even did some Peace River 'Black Wind' aircraft.

I don't remember the RAFM gear minis I assembled. THe current and older Heavy Gears are pretty extensively pegged except for the weapons. The pegs are kind of short, but they do exist.

DP9 also uses a metal mix that results in their miniatures being *very* hard, and hence god forbid you get a mold line or want to convert, because it will be hell sawing or sanding them. On the plus side, the miniatures are really modular, so the need for conversion is less.

Another problem I had with DP9's stuff is their lack of availability in stores, especially here in the UK. They're nigh impossible to find, and when you do, stock can often be spotty. Compound this with the fact that they are hideously expensive and even more so when you try to order them direct from DP9. Admittedly the cash required to start may not be as much as your typical GW game, but the figures themselves are borderline not-worth-it for the price they command.

They do paint up and look very nice though...

Played it, love it.

for those in Europe, I believe Battlefield Berlin have some, and there's also the UK retailer www.jorvikgames.com

@Zandris IV - vey nice Southies!

The minis *are* expensive, but by and large they are very cleanly cast and assemble like a dream. My three armies (North, South and Port Arthur) have set me back about £250/$500 dollars so far - and given that I can get dual use out of them (Blitz and RPG), I think they're decent value. I have always found that when there are miscast bits, DP9 are happy to replace at their own expense, very quickly.

Now I just need to get them built & painted

It's also worth noting that they are so expensive due to the number of parts - the average gear averages a space-marine like number of parts - head, torso, arms, legs, missile pack, engine backpack, multiple weapon choices. And that's just the smaller gears. When you're talking about the newer Grizzly or King Cobra, you can add a number of additional ammo feeds, armour plates, antennae etc.....

Note to those thinking of getting into the game - go to DP9's forums and have a look at the army building threads - it is possible to build a viable force quite cheaply with the right choices.

Also, wait for the new Locked & Loaded rulebook

The tanks, while expensive, are generally a high TV-to-Dollar ratio... And they can be effective, but I'm hearing that L&L really favors 'combined arms.'