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The terrain is also by the same guy, released latter this year!

Edited transcript of the Q&A on Facebook. All comments by Dave Lewis:

For shooting, it's roll to hit (weapon accuracy occasionally +/- modifiers), then roll to damage (energy vs armour, again sometimes with modifiers). Some vehicles have passive countermeasures, so get a saving throw.


We have a 5th race and new units planned already, but that won't be for a while (as you say - getting ahead of ourselves a bit here, got enough on our plates for the moment!) We'd like to expand the game for years to come, so there will certainly be much more to sink your teeth into!


The initial buildings will be undamaged, so you can add as much 'ruination' as you like. We may also do ruins in future. There will be strategic options, often scenario driven

The modular resin terrain will be out later in the year (going into moulds right now!) Can't comment exactly on price yet, but we'll also be doing other scenery at lower price points since buildings are important in the game and you shouldn't have to shell out loads for them if you don't want to!

There may be a few more :-), also, any additional units will get free stat lines available online as soon as they're released :-)

One of the clubs I playtest with does videos, so will look into that certainly. I don't have a lot of experience with videos myself, and my workload is already off the charts! Doubt I'll be getting much sleep in the coming months...

You don't actually HAVE to have an HQ (they're not in the starter army after all!) They are good units though, so there's excellent reasons to field one! Army lists have a fair amount of flexibility, but you can't field massive hordes of unsupported infantry or whole armies of fighters for example.

Some armies have more upgrade options than others, but generally you can't upgrade units much for now, as it's difficult to keep track of what unit has what. This will be something for the future, where we have upgrade parts that can physically represent upgrades on the model.

At bit of conversion work shouldn't cause arguments, proving you don't do anything really crazy, like make it twice as big as before!

The Medium Gate can indeed more 3 tanks or one walker at a time. Will be adding 'carries/ can be carried in' entries to all the units on the site when I get a chance, should have been there from the start if I'm honest, although you can use the army

Tanks etc operate in squads, and move together. They CAN independently target though, and be independently targeted. This works well in practice, and heightens realism. Also, it makes the 'squad of 9 tanks vs 3 squads of 3 tanks' end up as a fair fight (as it should do!), rather than you having to pour all nine into one enemy squad of 3!

I'm obviously crazy busy right now, but once the game is on the shelves I plan on supporting clubs etc as much as possible! I believe in always putting in the effort, especially with clubs and bricks and mortar stores, as they're the lifeblood of our hobby IMO

eFigures will be doing out US distribution for the moment (all will be announced officially on the site soon). Your store can also deal with us direct if they prefer

We'll be sorting out a forum in the near future. For the moment I'm concentrating on finishing things up, and couldn't give a forum as much time as it would deserve. As soon as the game is out though, one will appear!

1D6 with modifiers per shot generally. 2D6 does kick in occasionally though! Cover can block line of sight or add modifiers (either to accuracy, armour or sometimes both!)

There is a damage chart, some units get saves and a fair number have more than one damage point (eg larger aircraft, heavy tanks, big walkers, infantry bases etc)

Hard to be specific, but for a ground unit, the very fastest skimmer can manage 12" moves, and the slowest tank plods along at 3". I'd say about 4-6" is typical for most ground units. Dropships considerably faster obviously (12-36" typically). As for shooting (and against units with countermeasures - like tanks), directed energy (eg lasers) get infinite range, high velocity weapons (eg railguns) around 24", low velocity weapons (like rockets) about 9" - can vary a bit though, but always in multiples of 3 to keep remembering things easy!

Dropship deployable barricades... you read my mind there! Expect to see these in the future :-)

The building are modular and tile based, so there are literally thousands of combinations! Certain styles do match well, so looking at it that way we have something like 10 set styles in around 50 distinct tiles, but don't quote me on this, no time now to work it out right now! Will be fully detailing the range closer to its release.
The command cards add small but often influential tactical actions to games. On the simplest level it might improve a unit's accuracy for a turn, but sometimes it'll be much more complex, such as intel discovering and underground tunnel between two buildings. You can hold/ play certain number per turn - the higher ranking your commander, the more cards you can play! If your commander is killed, you discard down to next in chain of command.
Some units are fragile (eg scouts) and some can absorb multiple hits (eg heavy tanks). Obviously armour is also a big factor in survivability. The game is designed to play out in a gaming night though, so don;t expect your tanks to absorb massive punishment! Think of them as 28mm soldiers in terms of toughness. Obviously, bigger stuff will last longer!
Measurement always from the centre of the unit's main body or base

True LOS, except for aircraft. As you point out, altitude vs flight stands could be a sticking point! As such, LOS is normally measured from a point 6" above the centre of the flying base. Also avoids overly tall and unstable

Once massive release to start with! I believe in gamers getting everything they need to experience the full game right from the start! Having said that, we'll be working on new releases as soon as we're done with this lot, so expect to see a steady flow of new releases from us in the near future. I've got years worth of plans for Dropzone Commander :-)

We're still in the final stages of finalising points costs, but army wise it'll be similar to 40k in base (eg 1000-2000 pts per normal game). Can't say exactly what the army sets are right now, but will very soon! As I've said, the Large army will be more than adequate for tournament play (think about 1500pts for a comparison), the Mega army for grander tournaments/ giving you more flexibility in choices. Depends on what sort of tournaments clubs want to organise tbh, as the starter sets are playable armies themselves!

The rulebook contains lots of fluff! More than double the amount that's on the site!
AA units are pretty brutal against aircraft (they're supposed to be after all!). Skilful placement of these will protect your units from strafing/ having units dumped right on their doorstep. Obviously, you can use your tanks to neutralise air defence :-). All this gives much cause for fire and manoeuvre, even for ground units.
Units can 'walk on' depending on scenario - can sometimes make sense for tank destroyers and artillery for example (both of which have a long range!)
UCM tanks low observability does indeed have rules! They can fire from behind low cover, but after doing so they can suffer return fire (but count as hull down).

Oh are they not coming out till later then? I need scenery to play with!

Agamemnon2 wrote:I find it hilarious how the community has turned on this game, and it's not even out yet. Heaven forbid if the rules aren't absolutely flawless, or y'all are going to tear it apart like a wasps' nest..

lol, yeah I know. Such a fickle community we have here.

We're still in the final stages of finalising points costs, but army wise it'll be similar to 40k in base (eg 1000-2000 pts per normal game). Can't say exactly what the army sets are right now, but will very soon! As I've said, the Large army will be more than adequate for tournament play (think about 1500pts for a comparison), the Mega army for grander tournaments/ giving you more flexibility in choices. Depends on what sort of tournaments clubs want to organise tbh, as the starter sets are playable armies themselves!

So it sounds to me like a standard-sized army for this game is still a fraction of the cost of an average 40k army. Which means this game isn't that expensive, especially if you're a 40k player (and most of us are, or have been). $600+ for a 40k army is fine (and that's on the cheaper side, Christ), but dropping at most $200, give or take a little, for a standard-sized army for this game is "too pricey"?

I'm still wondering why there's such a heavy emphasis on drop ships. Every side appears to have 4 different types!

Hop on facebook and ask?

Maybe you'll be able to recycle ground units as long as there are dropships to bring them in...

I got a feeling that the dropships will be able to also pick units back up and move them around during the battle.

lord_blackfang wrote:Maybe you'll be able to recycle ground units as long as there are dropships to bring them in...

For some reason I doubt that, but it sounds like a neat idea. The ship drops off a couple of tanks, flies off for a turn or two, then comes back with two more.

paulson games wrote:Does anyone know who makes the buildings that they've been using for terrain in the pics?


To me they look like 15mm scaled buildings rather than 6mm. I'd be interested in getting some if I can figure out who makes them and what scale they are.

They're their own, paulson . Sculpted by Dave at Hawk Wargames, he's planning to put them out later this year, too. Crazy, right?

Agamemnon2- A few folks are unhappy, but what release pleases everybody? The vast majority are still excited about the game, from what I can tell. Internet tones are deceiving, the 5 other folks interested in the game at my FLGS certainly haven't lost interest, although one or two were put off by the price at first (mostly due to not realizing what the exchange rate was- 1.6 isn't terrible).

H.B.M.C. wrote:I'm still wondering why there's such a heavy emphasis on drop ships. Every side appears to have 4 different types!

Sounds like everything really needs to be airlifted in, considering the differances in movement speeds between land and air units they seem important.

I guess the clue is in the name of the game Dropzone Commander

I think reading between what has been said, Vehicles move slow and have limited ranged weapons mostly, troops even more so. Drop ships move the units arround in bulk at speed giving mobility, plus can be used for extraction of same units once objective acheived (some of which can be moved and even swapped from unit to unit)

The text on the scurge makes specific reference to dropping in and staying there different to the other armies. I think its an interesting twist, kind of like a well played Tau army, mobile air cav for everyone!

The reference to AAA being nasty giving mobile fortress options, ie, set up flak and limit air mobility in an area making them force a breach with Ground Pounders....

More, heavily edited. All replies by Dave Lewis:


Dropships generally stay on the field, and can be used to re-locate their cargo. this is often necessary as the tactical situation can change very quickly during the course of a game

I'm going to be posting a 'working with resin' guide to the site very soon. In general terms though:
The resin does NOT require washing of any kind! Having said that, I strongly recommend a good coat of real primer (I've been using Tamiya Fine White surface primer). Future coats stay well and truly glued to the resin after that! No paint flaking here!
Parts need very little cleanup. A tiny amount of flashing in some cases, and normally a small runner, which will easily clip off. The resin is not brittle, so no worries about chipping off bits you didn't intend to! There's been a bit said online about this by painters working on the guest painters pages already.


We'll be working with Kingsley distribution for the UK (to be announced officially soon). We'll also be happy to deal with stores direct.
Some dropships are armed, but none carry massive firepower, since they'd just dominate games! However, the need to flexibly and quickly more your troops around during games means that their job isn't over once they've deposited their cargos. Think of them as Rhinos that are useful for the whole game, rather than Land Raiders.

Will be putting a 'carries/ can be carried by' entries on the site in due course, should have been there from the start if I'm honest!

Structures are very important to the game, and there is an extensive ruleset for them! They can indeed be destroyed also. Some units (such as the UCM Seraphim with its bunker busters and the PHR Enyo Seige Walker) are designed specifically for this purpose!

You can have more than one dropship in each battlegroup. Each battlegroup only activates once per turn.

Sorting out Aussie distribution this week, they'll be something sorted out for you for certain!

See the FAQ about infantry - you will definitely need some, but not hordes of them! I personally don't enjoy painting thousands of little men lol

Other scenarios will involve demolishing certain structures, attacking an entrenched defender, searching a crash site.. there will be plenty! Games where there are attackers and defenders will obviously necessitate certain force structures, sometimes the scenario will give a defender some ground troops already in place, with reinforcements arriving by dropship for example.
When infantry are in a building they can be fired upon directly from the outside IF they've elected to fire from the windows, otherwise you'll need to either flush them out with your own infantry, use flame weapons or demolish the building! Also, falling masonry damage will kill occupying infantry, so they can be harmed before the building actually comes down!

REALLY rough turn overview: 1) Initiation - roll for initiative, play certain, roll for reserves etc, 2) Actions - players take it in turns to activate one battlegroup at a time, completing the actions for each squad within in (move, shoot etc, although you can shoot then move also) 3) Roundup - act on any 'end of turn' abilities, check victory conditions.
You could hinge everything, would be really fiddly though! Might make a nice project. The resin parts feature very snug tolerances, so will more often than not hold together without glue (but will obviously come apart if knocked!)

Being in a squad gives more units per slot in force organisation mainly. Also, since they activate together they can make an impact in one go. Generally, squads are there to keep activations and organisation manageable. Also, squads need to be of a certain size to fit into dropships, which must start the game filled.

There are various rules for terrain types, and the unit's mode of movement (eg normal, walker skimmer) does have a effect!

1 large dropship is cheaper in points than 3 medium and cheaper in real terms! Also, they sometimes carry heavier weapons (eg the Scourge Despoiler). The medium's are more flexible, can carry smaller squads and are generally faster.

Time will tell in the tournament department. Obviously, ANY new ruleset will be at least partially picked apart by the tournament scene, and while we're being as diligent as we can I'm sure there will be things we missed/ didn't foresee. (it would be unrealistic and arrogant to suggest otherwise!). Releasing tournament play updates online and supporting balancing adjustments in the short term that way is something we will be doing if necessary.

Here are certain advantages (such as being able to fire through one of your own vehicles, providing that it's part of the same squad). Also, simply getting more shots gives a larger squad more impact. Having said that, in smaller games smaller squads are more sensible, it's just that you'll need to field larger squads in big games, since your organisation slots are limited. This is all done to limit the number of activations and make larger games flow just as well as smaller ones.

There will be a painting and hobby guide in the rulebook, as well as free online guides. It isn't as hard as you might think to achieve this level of painting for presentation models, although some are harder than others . I won't be keeping my secrets close to my chest though!

There will be new armies, as well as new units for existing ones. We plan to ALWAYS support all armies equally.

If you don't buy too much of one thing you won't go far wrong! The organisation puts an emphasis of flexibility if you see what I mean. You'll always need some infantry, some AA capability, some anti-armour weapons (tanks usually, but the rules are true to the backgrounds on the site!) and normally dropships for your ground units.

The whole thing started with the dropship concept, and the entire game (rules, models, everything!) was designed to fit this concept. This ensured a cohesive project with some clear aims in mind :-). The specific unit rules and their backgrounds we devised together, rule of cool playing a fairly big part! Even through the rules were in their infancy during the design stage, I had a good idea of how I wanted each race/ unit to play from the start - this being an advantage of one maniac working on the entire project!

Countermeasures come in two flavours, Active and Passive. Active detects an incoming projectile, and destroys or deflects it before it hits the target, given enough time (think localised shields, decoys, defensive lasers, defection beams etc). Passive is an all-encompassing energy shield, and always has an effect (much more advanced tech).
In game terms, Active effectively limits enemy weapon ranges when firing against most vehicles or aircraft. This makes moderate/ short ranges possible in games, and still maintains a sense of realism (a railgun would have a range of a few miles otherwise!). The faster the weapon's real live velocity, the longer it's Range (Countered) value is. Directed energy weapons get infinite range against Active countermeasures, since they move at the speed of light
Passive countermeasures usually grant a saving throw, and almost always have an effect, regardless of how fast the projectile is. Units with Passive Countermeasures usually have Active ones also.

Orlanth wrote:
Time will tell in the tournament department. Obviously, ANY new ruleset will be at least partially picked apart by the tournament scene, and while we're being as diligent as we can I'm sure there will be things we missed/ didn't foresee. (it would be unrealistic and arrogant to suggest otherwise!). Releasing tournament play updates online and supporting balancing adjustments in the short term that way is something we will be doing if necessary.

Things you would never hear from GW, #6

The simple fact that this is being talked about is enough for me to feel very confident about the ruleset. Dave clearly has put a lot of thought into this and has enough respect for his (potential) customer base to take their feedback on board and make changes if necessary.

Yet another reason for me to get monies together as quickly as possible (anyone who wants a SoB army to fund this please PM me )

Chimera_Calvin wrote:

Orlanth wrote:
Time will tell in the tournament department. Obviously, ANY new ruleset will be at least partially picked apart by the tournament scene, and while we're being as diligent as we can I'm sure there will be things we missed/ didn't foresee. (it would be unrealistic and arrogant to suggest otherwise!). Releasing tournament play updates online and supporting balancing adjustments in the short term that way is something we will be doing if necessary.

Things you would never hear from GW, #6

you forgot #7

We plan to ALWAYS support all armies equally.

Hmmm, not a fan of alternating activations at this scale.

Sidstyler wrote:

Agamemnon2 wrote:I find it hilarious how the community has turned on this game, and it's not even out yet. Heaven forbid if the rules aren't absolutely flawless, or y'all are going to tear it apart like a wasps' nest..

lol, yeah I know. Such a fickle community we have here.

Well, any new product needs to stand on its own merits. Good will alone cannot get me to buy (or keep buying) a product (I'm looking at you, Mantic.)

That said, there' s a theory that our modern, post-industrial society is now based entirely on filling the need for novelty. Think about it: the working class and above in any western society have all basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, health care) met. Even most modern "necessities" are met (transportation, computer, cable, phone). Entrepeneurs have a difficult time competing in those areas, so what they can do is compete for our attention, or provide a luxury good, or both.

For me, no only is beer a "need," but high quality craft beer is necessary. For others, it's a high end gaming computer, or a customized car.

But the only true scarcity in the modern economy is attention. I don't buy more video games because I can't afford them, I simply don't have the time to play the ones I have. Likewise with table top games.

This is where value gets distorted. To me, dropping $100 on a game that I'll play for even 15 total hours would be a pretty decent investment. But... how likely am I to even get that much play out of DZC? My attention/time is limited.

So, this is why people can be so amazingly fickle. I have the purchasing power to buy whatever minis game I'd like. I have access to them all, with pictures, game reviews, battle reports, and interactive communities. When a new game appears, no matter how cool one aspect appears (in this case the models), I'm still going to demand top flight quality in everything else.

We're still in the final stages of finalising points costs, but army wise it'll be similar to 40k in base (eg 1000-2000 pts per normal game). Can't say exactly what the army sets are right now, but will very soon! As I've said, the Large army will be more than adequate for tournament play (think about 1500pts for a comparison), the Mega army for grander tournaments/ giving you more flexibility in choices. Depends on what sort of tournaments clubs want to organise tbh, as the starter sets are playable armies themselves!

So it sounds to me like a standard-sized army for this game is still a fraction of the cost of an average 40k army. Which means this game isn't that expensive, especially if you're a 40k player (and most of us are, or have been). $600+ for a 40k army is fine (and that's on the cheaper side, Christ), but dropping at most $200, give or take a little, for a standard-sized army for this game is "too pricey"?

Tying into my above comment, value is about perspective.

You are comparing the value of a starter army from two systems, DZC and 40k, and seeing that the former is cheaper. That is undeniable. However, it is not necessarily a greater value.

I will sell you a starter set of "bottle cap commander." It's my new game in which you command a platoon of two liter bottle caps in vicious dice based combat. I will sell you a starter army, whcih is all you need to play, for $10. Is that a good value?

It's a hyperbolic example, but it illustrates the problem with comparing products solely on their use in their respective games. A GW starter army is simply more "stuff" than a DZC starter. Even within GW, I'd rather have a starter 40k army than a complete Blood Bowl Team.

A bigger problem is the built in value that GW product has, which is something not frequently talked about.
1) GW games have the largest built in player base of any minis games. When you buy into GW, you have great odds of getting in games.
2) GW models tie into a great IP that encourages emotional investment. People relate to Orks, Blood Angels, and Death Guard far more than they relate to Menoth and Trollbloods.
3) GW models, now more than ever, offer great modelling opportunities. Their kits convert well and easily, and with modern plastics have a ton of bits.

So, for any hobbiest that wants to play the game, relate to the backstory, or really get into modelling, GW prodcuts have a ton of built in value. No offense to DZC, which looks beautiful and interesting, but his produts dont' have that. Interestingly, the reason this game has more interest than, say, dystopian wars, is because of the qualitiy models and the immediate connection to some of the factions (I think the UCM are the choice for anybody that's wanted a near future spae marine army).

Sidstyler wrote:

Agamemnon2 wrote:I find it hilarious how the community has turned on this game, and it's not even out yet. Heaven forbid if the rules aren't absolutely flawless, or y'all are going to tear it apart like a wasps' nest..

lol, yeah I know. Such a fickle community we have here.

I'm really not seeing any sort of 'community turning on this game' going on.

I'm seeing questions about the ruleset, and I'm seeing caution due to lack of said ruleset for preview combined with a pricepoint that might seem a bit high.

That's all!

A bigger problem is the built in value that GW product has, which is something not frequently talked about.
1) GW games have the largest built in player base of any minis games. When you buy into GW, you have great odds of getting in games.
2) GW models tie into a great IP that encourages emotional investment. People relate to Orks, Blood Angels, and Death Guard far more than they relate to Menoth and Trollbloods.
3) GW models, now more than ever, offer great modelling opportunities. Their kits convert well and easily, and with modern plastics have a ton of bits.

(1) I'll give you, and (3) is probably true over most of GW's direct rivals (don't play GW or any of them). But (2) is entirely your subjective opinion that GW's IPs are 'great', and 'people relate to it'. Which people? Why are they relating to one fictional green-skinned alien species over another fictional blue-skinned fantasy one?

Its not dead yet Alpharius.

Dave cant do everything at once. people have been howling for miniature pctures since Salute!. Then they were howlijng for a website once the pictures started flowing. Now they are howling for rules.

Methinks they are coming.


As for the price, dropships are key and take up half of the cash investment per army, so your actual armies for DZG will be half the size you could otherwise afford. This could become a problem for larger games both in terms of cost and footprint. assuming the dropships need to follow the vehicles fairly closely to relocate them you might have to negotiate a porcupine of flyers to move and fight the 3" move tanks bashing it out in the middle.

Dave's post has me feeling a little better, concerning the rules. At least I can expect a mix between Warhammer Fantasy shooting, Malifaux Activations, and Unit based tactics.


@ Dave Lewis,

I'm getting the feel that list building will have some unique elements and rather than 40k where there are obvious best choices per slot it sounds like things in DZC will be a little more Rock/Paper/Scissors.

IE, if I decide I want to go heavy on fighters (Or as heavy as I can) and my opponent decides to skimp on AA, will I have a really clear advantage in that I can blow away his tanks and Dropships with impunity? On the same token, if that opponent decided to field 5 or so AA guns am I boned?

Riquende wrote:

A bigger problem is the built in value that GW product has, which is something not frequently talked about.
1) GW games have the largest built in player base of any minis games. When you buy into GW, you have great odds of getting in games.
2) GW models tie into a great IP that encourages emotional investment. People relate to Orks, Blood Angels, and Death Guard far more than they relate to Menoth and Trollbloods.
3) GW models, now more than ever, offer great modelling opportunities. Their kits convert well and easily, and with modern plastics have a ton of bits.

(1) I'll give you, and (3) is probably true over most of GW's direct rivals (don't play GW or any of them). But (2) is entirely your subjective opinion that GW's IPs are 'great', and 'people relate to it'. Which people? Why are they relating to one fictional green-skinned alien species over another fictional blue-skinned fantasy one?

I'm not sure it's entirely subjective. While calling it "great" is a subjective opinion, I think it's pretty objective to call it a broad and deep background that is well fleshed out and full of iconic characters. Somebody is reading all the black library books.

As for which people? The people that get warhammer tatoos. The people that yell "waagh" at tournaments when they play orks. The people that argue for months about the lost legions or other tidbits.

The only other guys I've seen as into the background are the Battletech guys.

LIke I've said, I think this is part of the head start that DZC has over, say, Mantic's warpath. They have a strong aesthetic for their races that has more hook than "space dwarves" has.

What people really seem to be glossing over is the fact that game isn't even out yet. The capacity to preorder is a service offered to anyone brave (stupid, mental?) enough to want to put down some money before seeing any rules. Normal people can wait for release, read up on the game and make informed decisions then.

Yes, I have pre-ordered.

I heard that there are some people who are not a fan of this 10mm scale. Why is that? I feel like this makes war games more realistic and makes decisions more tactical. One thing that always sort of irked me about 40K is that once you deployed you really do not have to move at all. You literally can just leave all of your stuff where it is at and just start shooting. It always felt a little awkward in my opinion.

Orlanth wrote:Its not dead yet Alpharius.

Huh?

Anyway, I really WANT to get into this game - ever since GW gave up on the scale (and what a bad move that was - Titans and Super Heavies at a scale you can actually use!) I've been wanting to find something similar.

I still think this game will be it - I'll just wait until the rules are released and reviewed is all!

I like the idea of 10mm if anything just because it will be easy to find train scenery stuff that's N-scale to match

More:

If the rules need an update, this will be issued for free as a pdf - you shouldn't have to pay for any mistakes we make! Obviously there will be a 2nd edition sometime down the line, but this would include more than just alterations.
about an hour ago

Game mechanic is alternate activation (groups of units/ squads at a time), with the occasional opportunity to interrupt (eg with interceptors and anti-air reaction fire)

Embarked units can get wiped out if the transport is destroyed, but there's also a fair chance they might survive unharmed or take damage (rolled on a results table). With an aerial transport that would be 'Destroyed in the Air' (everything inside dies), 'Crash Landing' (everything inside might get damaged) or 'Emergency Landing' (everything gets out alive).
The Shaltari Gates can indeed allow for instant transference between gates, although each gate can only perform one 'extract' and/or one 'deploy' per turn. This does indeed give them a distinct advantage in terms of speed and flexibility, and is one of the reasons why Shaltari Gates are unarmed (they're quite useful enough already!)

Hard to say exactly what it's most similar to, but the combat/ shooting mechanics should be reasonably familiar to most players (not massively re-inventing the wheel here!). The command card mechanic is vaguely similar to that in Uncharted Seas (certainly in its aim of adding extra flavour to the races anyway, although they work quite differently). Players I've play tested with have been pleased with how easy the game is to pick up, and I've found it quite easy to teach people to play after a bit of practice.

Most 'standard' units (medium tanks) have one damage point (except for the PHR), heavies generally have two and larger models 3 or more (the desolator has 4). Infantry have 3 or more per base (normally 5 for a 5 man base). As such, high rate of fire anti-infantry weapons work best against them (an anti-tank round will REALLY spoil one or two guy's days, but a minigun will be more effective).
You won't be able to destroy individual weapons (at this level anyway), since it becomes unnecessarily fiddly to manage larger games, and avoids piles of tokens + excessive record keeping.

A Condor can hold 1x Kodiak, 2x Heavy tanks/ 2x APC (notice the mount points on the models) or 3x medium tanks. The Condor kit comes with 3 'grabbers', which can be positioned in either a triple or double configuration

The Shaltari striders are pretty stable without bases, as long as you don't assemble them in a particularly weird pose! Rules wise there's no reason why you can't base them if that's what you'd prefer

The warstriders are essentially twice as big as a heavy tank, so the Eden (medium) can move one at a time, and the Gaia (heavy) can move up to three. Other races may get larger units in future.... getting ahead of myself here though!
Pre-orders will be dispatched on the 23rd, so should be with you shortly after that, depending on which country you're ordering from obviously.

We do have plans for other theatres, linked campaigns etc, but that's something for the future as you say. There will also be other races - this is by no means it! (see earlier comments)

Templates are round templates, in 3 sizes. The Kodiak's tactical orbital strike is more of a 'fine beam' effect, so doesn't use a blast marker. The Desolator causes carnage over a WIDE area (too big for blast markers!), but at very low accuracy - essentially it's random tendrils of energy latching on to all sorts of targets. Desolators are particularly good at damaging multiple structures, since these are always hit on a 2+ (with any weapon - they're big static targets after all!)
Armour can indeed hold/ move objectives once out in the open, but you'll normally need infantry to locate and capture them first

You could play a smaller game than the starter, but the reason they are what they are is that it's the minimum size to get a feel of most of the game's core mechanics and to experience it as it was intended (with the dropships, interplay of elements etc).
There is a fair amount of choice for expansion and flexibility in the Large and Mega armies. as long as you don't choose too much of the same thing (eg loads of fighters!) then you should be able to use them. Having said that they are complete forces in their own right, but not exactly points balanced with their equivalents from other races (balanced by model content). Often you might want to reconfigure your army a bit to deal with different scenarios, especially for casual play - in this case the Large and Mega deals give you a flexible and well balanced pool of units to choose from.

A bit complex for a facebook post, but in general terms: Gates move and deploy troops just like normal dropships, although they aren't physically carrying them. Multiple Gates can also be activated to transfer units from one gate to another, but each gate may only perform one embark and/or deploy operation per turn. Aside from the speed, a big advantage is that your units are safe until deployed. A disadvantage is that should the Gate be destroyed, there's no chance of troops getting out onto the battlefield after a crash landing - you'll need to send a new Gate to the target area.

I love Art Deco, and like a lot of gamers I'm getting bored with Gothic - there's no skulls anywhere in this range! The architecture is currently that of the UCM, and I imagined a future architectural renaissance in a similar manner some that have already happened (eg the Renaissance itself, neo-gothic etc). What would they use for inspiration? Why not one of the great and fresh styles of the 20th century? I've added a neo-deco/ scifi-deco twist to a lot of them though :-)

The Scourge and Shaltari are sometimes unforgiving of bad decisions, so both of those are a bit harder to play well than the UCM or the PHR. Of the two, I'd say the Scourge are probably the most difficult to play well, although one of the most rewarding once you've got it right :-)

The army deals will remain after the launch

They could do, but you can't always rely on your fighters to turn up every time you need them, so it's a risk. Also, they can't operate well in confined, high rise environments. Fighters are equally vulnerable to enemy air defence, so might not be able to make a pass without exposing themselves to enemy fire.

To start with we've invested a lot for a small company, secondly we're using some new and high tech processes and materials that are newly available. Also, this type of quality only comes with effort (me spending 3 months cleaning 3000+ masters for example!) Lastly, in response to the well publicised 'failure' of another range, I think their problem stemmed from the vast quantities they needed all at once, and the massive size of the range. I'm not going to start company bashing here though, everyone's situation is very different and I can't comment fairly on theirs.

You can indeed land on roofs if they're large and unobstructed, and can enter from the roof if there's an entrance. UCM Praetorians can fast rope straight in, and make an entrance with breaching charges if there isn't one to hand!

The Taranis is best employed against structures, where it can operate from a long way away, safely tucked behind scenery. It's range against vehicles is much more limited due to countermeasures, although PHR rockets manage a slightly longer range as they employ stealth technology. The Taranis is also excellent against infantry in the open (air burst mode!) It isn't the best ant-vehicle weapon though (can't be good at everything!)

The Athena is multi-role, as it packs a pair of rail-repeaters (anti-air), a pair of cruise missiles (anti structure) and stealth missiles (moderate power anti-vehicle)

We haven't got a distributor near South Korea yet, but there's no reason why we can't have one at some stage! Chances are the card flatpack scenery will be ready sooner - easier to bring to market and will help starting players get a lot of scenery down at a low cost.

Anti-Infantry weapons are virtually useless against heavy armour (AK's having no chance against an M1 in a real life example lol). however, heavy calibre anti-infantry (like UCM vehicle mounted machineguns) will just be able to damage the lightest of combat vehicles.

There will be a 'standard' chart to use with most games. These scenarios will for the backbone for tournaments I imagine. Other, specialist scenarios will allow different compositions and might be best suited for casual/ pre-organised play. How this will all work with tournaments is something I intend to help organise once the game is out.

We've set our deals for now, and changing them after taking pre-orders would be messy. Also, they're designed for the best value for the models themselves, especially for those building massive armies and buying more than one army. That way the price isn't increased a bit by adding a rulebook to every army deal, whether you want one or not, if you see what I mean. I think the rulebook is good value in any case, given the amount of content and its size.
The rulebook will be going to print very soon (we have a fast print deal setup with our printers). We're essentially assembling and formatting it now, all the elements are finished except for the guest painters page and parts of the hobby section.

The Shaltari are quite self serving, and thus fight for their own, often incomprehensible reasons. each tribe has very different motivations, and they often fight each other! They're quite warlike, and believe in trials of strength. Also, they hate the Scourge just as much as everyone else! Scourge attacks on the Shaltari are unknown to humans (from whose perspective the background has been written from), but no doubt it's happened at some stage!

Such things do come into play with the command cards, and might see more comprehensive rules in future. You can always hold/play one command card per turn, even without a commander.
It was pizza for lunch, and it was indeed tasty!

The starters are playable as small armies (although not exactly points balanced) - think of them as 40k battleforces if it helps! Having said that, DzC supports smaller games than 40k and does not demand massive armies, so you can have fun playing with just the starter armies. I'd consider the Large army deal to be a good sized army, and the mega being a big/very big army

Does anyone know a good site for streaming the football? Forgot about the game when I organised this and won't desert my post! Time's being what they are I don't have much chance to remember the outside world lol

I quite understand. We're not ruling something like this out, and we're also considering doing a battle report or two very soon (see earlier answers). It'd be quite hard to do quick start rules in the short time I have left to get the rulebook out (has to be priority 1 for me!) I'm trying my best to give people a good indication on here and the site's FAQ's though (6,400 words so far today!)

Some common ranges (against countermeasures) - directed energy- infinite, railgun 24", cannons 12-18", missiles 6-12", anti-infantry (generally) about 12", although infantry don't usually carry countermeasures, so the full range (normally 36-48") can be used against them - try not to leave your infantry exposed: they won't last long!

Using the UCM as an example, you'd have one group with 2 infantry squads, in one Bear each, both in a condor. You'd have a second group with the Sabres (+Condor), and a third with the Rapiers (+ Condor). An obvious unit/s to add would be a command unit (which would go in a new Command battlegroup), fighters (Air battlegroup) and Scouts (these normally go in command also)

You don't have to put your commander in a command vehicle, but the commander's field of influence is halved if they're in a unit not designed for the role (weaker communications suite etc). Lower ranking officers (sergeants etc) work well in standard units though, since they extend chain of command

They can indeed, the fluff only refers to space-planet transit

IF I get them early enough, I'll get some copies out for review!

Thanks for continuing to post the facebook Q&A, Orlanth, this is great!

angryboy2k wrote:I think we've all been spoiled by the instant gratification offered by the internet. There was a time when we'd have seen a game like this in a shop and given it a chance - blind - based on how cool it looked. Now, we've got thousands of photographs of cool models to feast our eyes on but we're not satisfied till we can see a full PDF of the rules to decide whether or not this guy's effort is worth the money.

I'm seeing similar comments over rules from folks on boardgame geek over sedition wars but in that case I think they really do sound like spoiled kids: the box is already full of cool miniatures, take a chance that the rules will live up to the models!

For Dropzone Commander, personally I'm still on the fence, but it ain't the lack of rules info that's holding me back (can hardly be WORSE than 40k's rules); it's considerations of time (and money) that I'd need to invest in a new system.

Thanks to you, and to all who have validated my point.

Today is the big day. If you want to know about rules ask them today on facebook.

Loving this so far! Keep the updates coming! I am liking the way this game sounds so far (although true LoS irks me a little bit).