CT GAMER wrote:I have a group of friends that have been playing DT, and I am thinking of jumping in when DW hits (I prefer proper table top), but I want to play Soviets.

Daston wrote:Only just seen this dust stuff, and I gotta say it looks great! Love mechs and love WW2 era so win win!

May have to ask for Tactics for Christmas from the wife

Daston wrote:Oh those red devils look awesome is the revised core set going to be worse than the current one for content?

Fantasy Flight Games continues to be excited by all that has happened for Dust Warfare since we announced it in July! Our demos at Gen Con Indy 2011 were buzzing all weekend long, and that buzz only grew when we announced the upcoming release of our Heavy Walkers for Dust Tactics and Dust Warfare.

Today, renowned miniatures guru and Dust Warfare designer Andy Chambers shares some of the design goals and philosophies that informed his initial approach to the game.

About Dust Warfare

In the year 1947, World War II still rages. Allied and Axis forces wage massive battles with weapons derived from alien technology in the alternate 1940s reality of Dust Warfare. Control heroes, squads, and fearsome combat walkers in this exciting tabletop miniatures game as you battle for the fate of the world. Dust Warfare integrates dynamic and engaging new game design with the stunning models from Dust Tactics.

Andy Chambers: Designer Diary, Part One.

I want to kick off this by saying that working on Dust Warfare has me in a state of tremendous excitement. World War II is the war for me, the one that first had me pushing Airfix models around on a blanket and crying when my guys got blown up. These days my obsession manifests itself through books, books, and more books, with the occasional PC game. But it’s as powerful as ever. I love how Paolo Parente has built on the imagery and background of World War II with pulp classics like zombies, rocket troops, and walking tanks. So I'd like to thank the fine folks at Fantasy Flight Games for giving me the opportunity to be involved with such a great game; it’s a great honor to be designing for Dust Warfare, and I sincerely hope to do it proud.

General Philosophy and Inspiration

For me, the best tabletop games are grand affairs with a lot of dynamic action. By that, I mean participants have reasons to send their armies into action, utilizing the terrain and thinking about how to use their maneuver as well as their firepower. One of the other big attractions of a tabletop game is that it can be scaleable for anything from a small skirmish up to a really big battle. Dust Tactics is fast and deadly. I wanted Dust Warfare to be, too, but on a bigger scale with more crunchy bits of realism and a touch less abstraction.

As such, I set my sights on designing Dust Warfare as a platoon– or company–level World War II game with firefights, suppression, commanders who are important on the spot, and metal mayhem from the clanking tanks. That means, as a basis, it’s designed for three or more units on each side, usually more.

For overall feel, I’ve attempted to recreate a bit of the feel of the many different World War II games I've played down the years. The best of these always seem to really emphasize two key points about World War II combat that have been borne out by everything I've read or heard about it ever since:

First, if someone is shooting real bullets at you, it really is safer to be inside a house than out in the street.
Second, and less obviously, that soldiers can keep going through incredible firefights led by the energy and personal bravery of their junior officers and NCOs. Time and again, their leadership in small unit actions was what turned the tide and won victories.

I felt like this gave me some clear direction for the kind of game I hoped to develop and started by looking at what I considered the biggest challenge, the turn sequence.

What sets Dust Warfare apart from other tabletop miniatures games?

Dust Warfare stands apart by having the ass-kickingest miniatures range I've seen in a long time! Now granted, I am biased toward models from a setting that pairs World War II with walking tanks, intelligence-enhanced apes, and lasers. Mechanically, it plays fast and well. The interplay of actions, suppression, and reactions is highly evocative. I find myself thinking in terms of bringing up reserves, reinforcing the line, and giving covering fire during games of Dust Warfare in a way that feels very tactical and right.

Thanks, Andy!

SpankHammer III wrote:Just got Dust a few a couple of month ag o and I'm actively trying to convert my gaming group.

Just got the main box so far, but looking to get more. This new add on sounds good, still not sure what side to prioritise

BrookM wrote:Around here everybody wants to be a nazi.

Fantasy Flight Games is thrilled to announce Operation “Cerberus,” the third campaign expansion for Dust Tactics! As the battles get heavier, Allied and Axis forces call in armored reinforcements. Massive combat walkers tread the streets, armored troops storm the buildings of Southern England, and the campaign pushes deeper into urban warfare.

Operation “Cerberus” expands combat into multilevel structures, introduces new rules and skills, calls up two new heroes, details a chronology of the alternate-reality World War II, and profiles some of the war’s greatest heroes. With all of this and seven new scenarios, Operation “Cerberus” raises the stakes as brave Home Guard soldiers now fight to save their homeland!

Urban warfare

As the battles claim their toll, armored forces move further ashore, away from the sea and docks. Walkers march through the streets, laying down lethal streams of fire from their fearsome cannons. Outgunned by the walkers’ tremendous firepower, squads of soldiers find sheltered positions within tall buildings.

Operation “Cerberus” features new rules for multilevel combat. Squads can move up and down floors of the structures they enter, gaining advantages as they fire against foes outside the walls. This campaign expansion comes with parts for a customizable three-dimensional building, allowing players to construct terrain up to three stories tall.

A desperate defense

In Southampton, Portsmouth, and Brighton, Allied soldiers battle Axis walkers in close combat. With the help of the Home Guard, these brave soldiers fight to save their homeland–finding themselves in a desperate position that no one could have imagined just a few years ago.

Meanwhile, many of the Allied forces in the European theater concentrate in the United Kingdom. In a remote location north of London, the Allied Special Operations Command for Europe (ASOCOM “E”) prepares and arms many of the most formidable warriors of the Free World. With their unique weaponry and skills, these special operatives look to join the fight. If Western Europe is to be free again someday, if the British Isles are not to fall, they cannot fail!

As both Allies and Axis forces call in new reserves, Operation “Cerberus” introduces two new heroes. The assassin Angela plies her trade for the Axis while The Chef rushes into battle for the Allies with his two flamethrowers.

Players also gain new rules and skill descriptions for the heavily armored NCO Command Squads who have fought in the war for years and always managed to bring their men through battles alive. Operation “Cerberus” further details rules and skill descriptions for large vehicles that occupy multiple spaces.

Superior intelligence

In order to form sound battle plans, generals need good intel. Operation “Cerberus” provides a detailed chronology of the alternate-reality World War II of Dust Tactics. From the discovery of the crashed alien vessel in Antarctica to the Axis airdrops on Dover and the invasion of England, Operation “Cerberus” covers the most important events of a world now in its eleventh year of bitter conflict.

You’ll also find a history of ASOCOM, summaries of its major operations, and profiles of its most famous operatives and Most Wanted enemies.

Deeper into the dust

With all of this and seven new scenarios for urban warfare, Operation “Cerberus” expands your campaign deeper than ever into the world of Dust Tactics. Look for Operation “Cerberus” to release in the Fourth Quarter of 2011. As always, players will be able to purchase a copy with professionally painted miniatures from our Dust Tactics Premium line. Until then, keep checking our website for more intelligence on the battles raging in southern England and Dust Tactics!