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Made in de
Longtime Dakkanaut





Hello guys,

A few days ago I rediscovered Dropzone Commander (DZC) and read it's rules in the free pdf on the interwebz. Being a former "Space Marine" (Epic from the 90s) player I really liked what the devs did there.

So my intention is to collect two armies. Maybe adding a third later on. My favourite so far is the faction of the truly alien Scourge. You got to love these buggers! As for the second I am a bit undecided. It's either PHR due to Appleseed & Ghost in the Shell influence or the Resistance with their Mad Max flair relying on junk vehicles and old Russian wargear. The other two factions, UCM & Shaltari, haven't impressed me much.

Though I want to ask the community a few questions first before I dive fully into this new project:

1) The main rulebook covers all factions but the Resistance. In which source book have their rules been published?

2) All factions have access to (random?) event cards. Do they spice up the game like in Rumbleslam or are they not necessary?

3) Do flying models come with their own flight stands or do you need to buy them separately?

4) The game is geared towards warfare in cities. How is your experience playing DZC in other environments?

5) Do you know a good youtube channel for building terrain in a 10mm scale?

6) The models are made up of resin. What kind of durability do they have? Are they brittle as the stuff from GW (shudder!) or more sturdier? Are there also models in metal and if this is the case do you have an option to order them in metal instead of resin?

That would be all for now.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/07/21 15:49:16


 
   
Made in gb
Crazed Gorger




Hi, can't answer all your questions but from my experiences.

1) I think they're in Battle for Earth. The TT site has an army builder function that covers the individual rules for the units though so you can use that if you don't want to get the book.

2) They're useful and add extra options but they're not as intrinsic as something like strategems in 40k. I've played games with and without them and they've both been fun.

3) Flying models should come with their own stands in my experience (haven't bought any since they repackaged things but I don't see why they'd change it). They also come with a widget that means you don't need to glue the flight stand in place which is handy for transporting things.

4) Have only tried it in cities but as long as you designate what terrain can be garrisoned and the like it looks like it should work pretty well.

5) Haven't found any,

6) The ones I've had have been a sturdier resin though shaltari with their fins and what not might not be the best ones to judge it on since they have a couple of annoying bits like connections to the sprue on the delicate fins on a couple of models. I haven't seen any metal models from them it's all been plastic or resin from my experience.
   
Made in us
Growlin' Guntrukk Driver with Killacannon





Italy

I got a box a while back and I remember flying models coming with flight stands if that helps.

As for 10mm terrain if you have a 3D printer I've found a lot of great free designs on Shapeways and Thingiverse for cities and sci-fi. You'll just need to rescale them for what you are running.
   
Made in gb
Moustache-twirling Princeps




United Kingdom

 Strg Alt wrote:
A few days ago I rediscovered Dropzone Commander (DZC) and read it's rules in the free pdf on the interwebz.
You can download the rulebook from their site, and this is their army builder.

 Strg Alt wrote:
4) The game is geared towards warfare in cities. How is your experience playing DZC in other environments?
It's fine as long as you know in advance and can build a list around it. Playing with little or no cover or LoS blockers radically changes the game.

 Strg Alt wrote:
6) The models are made up of resin. What kind of durability do they have? Are they brittle as the stuff from GW (shudder!) or more sturdier? Are there also models in metal and if this is the case do you have an option to order them in metal instead of resin?
The resin is really good, but sometimes the gates are in stupid places. Metal was used for detail pieces and infantry, but most of it has been moved to resin (and a lot has been re-done in plastic).

One thing to watch out for is some of the models in the starter boxes don't come with the options for their alternate builds.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2021/07/21 20:23:28


 
   
Made in us
Longtime Dakkanaut




The V2 DZC rules include details for all types of terrain, including forests, so you aren’t tied to a city nearly as much as V1. Make sure you’re looking at the online rule book on TTCombat’s site rather than the original.
   
Made in us
Shadowy Grot Kommittee Memba




The Great State of New Jersey

1. Battle for Earth

2. Never used them, not necessary.

3. Yes, the flying stands are included.

4. Have only ever played in urban environments. The game relies on being able to occupy and garrison structures, and being able to destroy them as well. You don't have to play in a city per se, but you will need to work out how to handle this if not playing on urban battlefields as it will significantly effect game balance.

5. Sadly, no.

6. The resin is good, its a bit on the brittle side but very high quality, haven't encountered (m)any bubbles and flash/mold lines are typically minimal. There are/were some minis/bits which are in metal, but there is no option as to which material you get, its either cast in that material or it isn't. A lot of the metal stuff has moved to resin over time, not sure if they are still doing anything in metal or if its fully resin production now. Note, however, that the starter sets contain plastic minis (except maybe the Resistance one, which I think is only resin).

CoALabaer wrote:
Wargamers hate two things: the state of the game and change.
 
   
Made in de
Perfect Shot Dark Angels Predator Pilot




Stuttgart

Dropzone was my first tabletop game and I firmly believe it is still the best I have played.

The rules can all be accessed online, the army builder has been recently updated and is a very well made tool, all unit rules can be easily seen. You can even print out the unit list with all their rules so it can be easily referenced during gameplay.

The command cards add interesting elements to the game, but when playing we generally found that they are not really needed that much. It does have an impact on the choice of commander level you want to buy. The new deck for V2 is supposed to be customized pregame, so you can through out the some cards not relevant to the playstyle you prefer. In my games, we only used one deck with both players drawing cards.

The V2 rules contain extensive terrain rules for forests, but I would recommend starting out with the urban environment to get a feel for the game before expanding out into other terrain types. The differences between forrests and houses are mainly what weapons are effective (with some special weapons like flamers being additionally powerfull). I would watch out for sufficient cover though, otherwise some factions and espacially anti-air can be way to dominating.

For forests and hills, most terrain building techniques are rather scale agnostic. Consider that Dropzone not only takes place on Earth but on other planets as well, so massive plants and of course lifeless badlands are all valid for battlefields. I do not know any 10mm youtube modelling channel sadly.

The resin quality is a bit hit or miss - I had some models with a bit yarring moldlines - nothing I couldn't fix with a scalpel and some greenstuff, but I know this is offputting to some. But this is not to common, like one in 10 models or so. Be sure to extensively scrub the models off under warm water and some soap, their mold release agent has caused some headache on my part.
I do have to add that TTCombat has an excellent customer service, they immediately replaced a part (Got the wrong tank turret for my resistance alexander).
As far as I know, TTCombat completely replaced metal components with resin for the dropzone and dropfleet lines.

I really hope you enjoy the game! I can't stess enough, how much I love dropzone
   
Made in ca
Rebel_Princess




Austin, TX

Hmm... Lotta response from people that haven't played in a while or only recently started. Let me correct a few inaccuracies and explain more.

1) Resistance lore is in Reconquest Phase 1. Unit details for the original edition of the game are in Reconquest Phase 1 and Phase 2. The Battle for Earth book is 1/3 retelling the background from the original DZC rulebook and Recon splats, 1/3 background and art and fluff about the literal Battle for Earth, and 1/3 rules (but not unit stats or lore) that were outdated within 6 months of publishing. The current digital free rulebook contains 0 background or lore, just rules. The unit stats are all in the online builder and stat cards (though both have different typos, frustratingly). Some of the unit lore is in the online store, but not all of it, and some recent units have never had any lore whatsoever published.

dropzonecommander.com/resources

dropzonecommander.com/forcebuilder

2) All factions currently use the same generic set of command cards. TTC says they intend to publish faction specific decks to mix in, but probably some time after Behemoths get released. Any factional deck you find for sale at present is for the orignal edition of the game, and does not mix well with the current rules. The current card deck is pretty generic, lacks a lot of the factional flavor you got from the old decks.

Less spicy than Rumbleslam, as they're all fairly generic. Nothing awesome, just nice. For instance, PHR used to be masters of cyber warfare, with cards that hacked countermeasures and targeting controls, Scourge were suicidal maniacs that would kamikaze their largest units rather than see them simply die, Resistance had the ultimate home field advantage with prepared traps. All currently missing sadly.

3) ALL flying models will come with a flight rod of ~60mm, a clear square flight base of either 40 30 or 20mm depending on the size of the model, and a 'widget' that's a peg you glue to the model that lets you avoid gluing the model to the flight stand. I'm a big fan of the widgets, use them in other games than DZC.

4) DZC is designed for urban warfare scenarios with objectives. You can use it for other environments, but it's a square peg in an oval hole. The game needs the blocked lines of sight from buildings, the durable structures to garrison. Wide open plains is terrible. Thick gargantuan jungles work alright. If you're starting with the game, play in cities. No reason not to play the game at it's strongest style.

5) Nothing specific, but 10mm is pretty dang close to N-scale for model railroads, and there's a vast number of channels on that topic, and books and forums stretching all the way back to pre-internet days.

6) Model material varies.

Old Hawk era resin was incredibly durable. Back when Hawk Dave was boostrapping the company by his lonesome, one of his selling points on the models was to take the most spindly delicate model in the entire range, and chuck it at a wall; no damage.

The plastics are hard plastic and again very durable.

Older hawk era models especially infantry, but occasionally walker legs or random bits, were metal, and generally pretty great. My berserkers in metal had a lot of miscasts, missing ankles and hands. Conversely, every pack of Braves and Firstborn I've opened, and I've got more than I'll ever need, is flawless. No mold lines to clean, no vents, nothing. It's unnerving to find nothing to clean on that many models.

TTC has started casting in a different, more slick and plasticy feeling resin than the dry white stuff Hawk used. It's not bad, but I keep getting stuff slathered in releasing agent, like more than I can scrub off with a standard rinse. Intruder/Reaver/Corruptor spines for instance seem to just attract the stuff, and I've taken to dunking the whole model in Simple Green overnight and then attacking it with a toothbrush to get primer to stick well.

TTC's mold makers are a mixed lot. They've improved some of the models, like how UCM Bear/Kodiaks now come in one piece for the hull, but they've gone and done some really foolish vents on some models. PHR Njord missile racks have a gate on the end of every single one of 8 missile tips, which is a massive pain to clean and keep the shape, and Scourge Razorworms have the vents in their god damn face. Their FACE.

Which brings me to TTC's move to resin infantry. I'm not a fan. The details are so fine and important on those models that bubbles can be catastrophic. And they're thin enough that they're brittle. I've seen some terrible pics of Resistance Fighter sprues with every single model snapped off at the ankles straight out of the box.

HOWEVER, TTC has good customer service, and if you can wait, they can probably replace whatever you find broken.

Sort of a last mention, US distribution is still pretty bad. They only have distro through Golden, which not all stores have, and the only major online retailed I know of that carries them is Game Kastle, and even then they have less than a third of the range in stock, the rest on back order. Kick-Ass Mail Order is the most reliable US source for DZC packs, and there's a handful of other stores selling consignment of old Hawk stock.

Warning: 98% of all eBay listings for dropnoun games are more expensive than manufacturer direct, or from either store mentioned above.

   
Made in us
Legendary Master of the Chapter





SoCal

The Facebook trading group sometimes has some great deals.

   
 
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