Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I've left GW products for good and im trying to pick a new miniatures game. Problem is i like the look of both but dont have the money to invest in both.
I'm looking for a game that i can run grand space/ground campaigns with.
Could anyone give me a run down of how each plays and the companies themselves, a brief skim read of the forums seems to show some people have issues with spartan games.

Thanks in advance.

I have a tooooooon of Dropzone Commander. Models assemble perfectly, they have nice terrain for it that is very affordable and the rules (for the most part) are very easy to get a hang of. Close combat is terribly written but you don't do it very often anyways so not a biggie.

I personally had both and sold off the planetfall as our group didn't like the models much and the rules were horrid. Though terrible rule writing is on par for Spartan.

I would go for Dropzone as they did a KS a few months back for Dropfleet, which is the spaceship version of their game. Watching the how to play it videos and seeing the ships, I expected nothing less and it look amazing.

Dropzone. Better written and supported game. Spartan habitually is reworking the same ruleset (often in the wrong direction, see DW 2.0), and will drop their game's ongoing support rapidly, as they continue to have property ADHD (two more Halo games, really?)

Dropzone's a great game meanwhile, with a ton of strategy and nuance. The core objective-focused and mobility-focused play is distinct and combined arms are actually different instead of just bonuses for aircraft that hover around and whatnot.

 Killionaire wrote:
Dropzone. Better written and supported game. Spartan habitually is reworking the same ruleset (often in the wrong direction, see DW 2.0), and will drop their game's ongoing support rapidly, as they continue to have property ADHD (two more Halo games, really?)

Dropzone's a great game meanwhile, with a ton of strategy and nuance. The core objective-focused and mobility-focused play is distinct and combined arms are actually different instead of just bonuses for aircraft that hover around and whatnot.

Wrong direction? DW 2.0 was a huge improvement. Also, the only game Spartan has dropped so far was Uncharted Seas afaik, and that one was selling really badly. Hardly a reason to say that Spartan quickly drops support. Spartan supports their games very well and they frequently release new stuff (much more so than Hawk). Spartan is a much larger company than Hawk. Spartan has no trouble supporting many different games simultaneously, while Hawk is now working on its second game (Dropfleet Commander) which seems to be taking up all Hawk's resources and time as I haven't seen any news on DzC for quite a while now (not that I mind, it gives me time to paint my stuff ).
Both are good, friendly companies that keep in touch and listen to their fans and who provide good support to their games.

Now on to Dropzone vs Planetfall. Both are awesome games. There is some pretty big differences though. The rulesets are hardly comparable (both games play very differently). Planetfall has a rather traditional and simple (but robust) ruleset and gameplay. DzC is a bit more complicated and different (alternating activations rather than turns, most stuff can be in dropships leading to very fast manoeuvering etc.) Check out some online reviews if you want an in-depth overview of rules of both games.
The miniatures are also very different. They are in different scales. DzC is a 10mm game, Planetfall is a 15mm game. Planetfall models are much, much larger than DzC ones. This difference is increased even more by the fact that the design of Planetfall units tends to be very bulky, while DzC units tend to be very slender. The level of detail on the resin models is about the same. Both have very good detail.
Moneywise, Planetfall is cheaper than DzC. The same money gets you more Planetfall resin miniatures than DzC, especially considering that Planetfall miniatures are so much larger. DzC however does have rather cheap plastic miniatures also, which makes building the core of your force very affordable. On the bad side, the plastic DzC miniatures are a lot less detailed than the resin ones. Planetfall also has the rulebook being free, so it becomes even cheaper. Both games have starter sets that are great deals that include the core of 2 standard armies and have everything you need to start playing small games.
Armywise, Planetfall has a lot more different factions than DzC (and even more are yet to be released). DzC however is older and more developed and thus has more different units and choices for each faction (given time, this will probably balance out though) I also find DzC to be more flexible in the way you build armies. Planetfall has you choosing your force from formations rather than individual units, with little possible customisation. DzC has you pick smaller chunks that can be customised, thus giving you a lot more control of what units to take and about how to build you army.
In the end, which game you choose really comes down to personal preferences. I would consider most important which miniatures you like best. After all, both games are all about miniatures and you will spend huge loads of time working/painting on them, so you'd better like them heaps.

To me personally, I like both games, but I like DzC better. To me it's ruleset is more enjoyable than that of Planetfall, and I enjoy the style of miniatures better even though they are much smaller.
But you should definitely check out Planetfall too. The rules can be downloaded from Spartan's website for free, so you can test them out and see if you enjoy it or not.
On a sidenote, you said you want to run space/ground campaigns. Currently, Planetfall is the only possibility for that. Hawk does not have yet released a spaceship game, much less a campaign system. However, Hawk is currently working on one (and it looks totally awesome!!!), and it will probably be released later this year. This does mean you will have to wait a bit though.

Wrong direction? DW 2.0 was a huge improvement. Also, the only game Spartan has dropped so far was Uncharted Seas afaik, and that one was selling really badly. Hardly a reason to say that Spartan quickly drops support. Spartan supports their games very well and they frequently release new stuff (much more so than Hawk). Spartan is a much larger company than Hawk. Spartan has no trouble supporting many different games simultaneously, while Hawk is now working on its second game (Dropfleet Commander) which seems to be taking up all Hawk's resources and time as I haven't seen any news on DzC for quite a while now (not that I mind, it gives me time to paint my stuff ).

Pretty sure Dystopian Legions and Armored Clash havent seen updates or new releases in months, might as well be dropped at this point. Then theres Firestorm Taskforce which im pretty sure isnt aelling at all, you dont even see it mentioned on their own site. Most Spartan games are pretty much DoA.

Also, Hawk has previewed the next wave of releases for Dropzone Commander.

chaos0xomega wrote:

Wrong direction? DW 2.0 was a huge improvement. Also, the only game Spartan has dropped so far was Uncharted Seas afaik, and that one was selling really badly. Hardly a reason to say that Spartan quickly drops support. Spartan supports their games very well and they frequently release new stuff (much more so than Hawk). Spartan is a much larger company than Hawk. Spartan has no trouble supporting many different games simultaneously, while Hawk is now working on its second game (Dropfleet Commander) which seems to be taking up all Hawk's resources and time as I haven't seen any news on DzC for quite a while now (not that I mind, it gives me time to paint my stuff ).

Pretty sure Dystopian Legions and Armored Clash havent seen updates or new releases in months, might as well be dropped at this point. Then theres Firestorm Taskforce which im pretty sure isnt aelling at all, you dont even see it mentioned on their own site. Most Spartan games are pretty much DoA.

Also, Hawk has previewed the next wave of releases for Dropzone Commander.

Armoured Clash isn't even full game. It is a rules supplement to DW that has additional rules for land battles. There are no miniatures or anything attached to it, not sure in what way it would need updates or new releases? It is just free stuff they give you. Spartan can be awesome like that. I highly doubt it is going to be dropped. It is nothing more than a free pdf on their site...
Dystopian Legions is still actively being worked on, altough the pace is slow. There are several new releases in the works currently, of which they show something every now and then.
Firestorm Taskforce can hardly be called a true wargame as well. It is a few models and simple rules in a box set that was designed to be able to play really quickly. Kinda like the boxed games GW is putting out. I don't think it is ever intended to be more than it currently is. And how can you be sure it is not selling? It is most definitely mentioned on their site and in their store.

The new DzC models are a mean argument though. They were only introduced just now and I hadn't seen them yet. Anyway, consider my argument now outdated and me very excited!
Yay new stuff!

Beasts of War did an interview with the game's creator about the new units.
They are pretty rad




Personally, I'm waiting until DzC releases a few more units before investing in it. I can't decide which faction to go with, so I'm waiting to see who has the coolest stuff.

Currently, PHR are winning with their scorpion and their future armed transport, but scourge are coming close with their upcoming worm launcher and their crab mechs.

Also Scourge are basically HR Giger works, and I love HR Giger

I'm not familiar with either ruleset, but I've read over DZC and it seems quite impressive.

Really though I'd look around nearby and go with whatever game has the most local traction. It's tough enough to find players for small scale game as it is.

One other thing to note is that there's actually quite a number of rulesets written for whatever 6 or 10mm miniatures game you have. If you happen to have a group of players wanting to go small scale, you could start with one of the games and then try other rulesets.

I've got to say I've never really been the fan of the various Planetfall (or the majority of other Spartan models, though there are exceptions) models. They mostly seem to make me think of things been out of a single large lump of resin than an actual model. They kinda reminds me of those sand sculpture you see people make.

 Compel wrote:
I've got to say I've never really been the fan of the various Planetfall (or the majority of other Spartan models, though there are exceptions) models. They mostly seem to make me think of things been out of a single large lump of reading than an actual model. They kinda reminds me of those sand sculpture you see people make.

I'm much the same. I haven't played any Spartan Games games since Uncharted Seas, largely because it wasn't an impressive game and apparently newer games are based on its core rules.

Either way I would go for Dropzone, you will be hard pressed to find more detailed models and the rules are simple but elegant (the CCQ rules are a bit clunky but they work). Its also a game that absolutely demands combined arms which is always something that I appreciated. Its also got some decent fluff, which is a bit of a rarity.

If you want a lot of interaction between space and ground combat then I would suggest waiting until August and Dropfleet. That is a fleet based space game (co-written by Andy Chambers no less) which is very objective focused. These objectives are mostly about landing ground troops and taking/holding ground so while the game itself is about spaceships there are mechanics for (very abstract) ground combat written into the core rules.

Dropzone has more tournaments and players, and is a far more focused and consistent company.

I will never drop money into a Spartan game again.

With that said, what do your friends want to play?

Dropzone all the way

A bit of thread necro, but I suspect Planetside has been subsumed by Halo ground combat at this point.

Meanwhile DZC just got another book and tons of new variants.

Planetside is probably getting a few new releases that were in the pipeline, but I wouldn't expect anything else for Planetside until the Halo license runs out.

Sorry for the Necro post, the other Dropzone threads just dissapeared.