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Rocks, hills, and to a lesser extent trees are fairly universal, thankfully

 .Mikes. wrote:
I reckon it's also functional. 25/28mm models are easier to paint and as most games are in that scale, terrain can be used cross-system.

easier to paint ? I must be odd, but I find bigger models way way way more difficult (and tiring) to paint.

About the lack of popularity... sometime ago I asked the owner of a successful LGS about it, he said people just like bigger "normal" 28/32mm scale, and just dislike Epic scale.

IME, many people simply dislike the scale because it's not the "normal" one.

Once they start going down the rabbit hole, though.... well, that suddenly changes and many people start disliking "normal" models for anything other than skirmish level games.

But it is a big hurdle, because quile like it happens with D&D and RPGs, GW/40k is both a gateway to the hobby and also a whole separate hobby, and it basically makes the standards to which everyone else then "must" adhere.

As an older guy bigger models are MUCH easier to paint. I would rather paint the conquest scale (which honestly is not much larger than recent GW stuff) or the epic scale. The in between is making me struggle a lot.

The thing about scale turning people off is a major lie for two reasons:

1) Warhammer Fantasy is a completely different scale than AoS yet i haven't seen anyone complain about it
2) The Brutes and Monsters of Conquest are perfect for other games but still i haven't seen people use them.

Funny experience, but yesterday I moved eleven AoS armies into storage, and part of that was me hating the scale. Every one of those armies had one or more models almost a foot tall. I distinctly had the thought that my miniatures hobby of decades was looking anything but "mini".

That afternoon I played a 2000pt Armoured Clash game, and it felt like exactly what I wanted.

Don't get me wrong, I love Crisis Protocol, so even 40mm scale feels good at skirmish sizes, but GW "army" sized games just look awful to me now.

Sasorijap wrote:
I got a question on the average Dakka Dakka lurkers.

Dystopian Wars and Armoured class seem to do everything right. Awesome art, modern rules and plastic minis that look amazing!

Despite all that, their popularity don't seem to reflect the amount of work they have been doing. Not saying they are not popular but i would expect them to be massive.

Why do you think that is?

Personally I could get into Dystopian Wars - but naval games of any scale are a pretty tough (read a: nearly impossible) sell in my area. So I'm not too interested in investing in it atm.

Armoured Clash? None of it's models really does anything for me. I don't hate them, just eh. I suppose I could go with the faction with the tri-pods if I were to pick it up cheap enough.
BUT....as I haven't heard anyone in my groups/shops even mention it? I doubt it's even on their radar as existing. So I'm in no rush to add any AC tri-pods to my backlog. Nor do I feel compelled to bring a game I'm neutral on the models to their attention.

Sasorijap wrote:
I got a question on the average Dakka Dakka lurkers.

Dystopian Wars and Armoured class seem to do everything right. Awesome art, modern rules and plastic minis that look amazing!

Despite all that, their popularity don't seem to reflect the amount of work they have been doing. Not saying they are not popular but i would expect them to be massive.

Why do you think that is?

I love the look of of both systems. I reached out to Warcradle about nabbing an intro set to review and drive up interest outside of GMG and OTT but got a firm "LOL no" back in record time

So why not just buy my own copy?! Much to the amusement of my local gaming pals, I am always trying to get them to try other systems but the answer is always the same: They can get a game of AoS or 40k anywhere in world. They can get a pick up game of AoS or 40k any night of the week at the FLGS. They all admit that the rules are generally pish, but it doesn't matter because everyone plays GW stuff, so everyone plays GW stuff.

 Tabletop_Magpie wrote:


but it doesn't matter because everyone plays GW stuff, so everyone plays GW stuff.

SIGH.... This is so true, and is the kind of cancerous thinking that ruins hobbies, creates unsustainable business models, or gets despots elected to offices...

I'm saddened by how deeply lazy people have become, and how unwilling they are to make better choices, even when they know the current choice is the wrong one.

My FLGS won't even stock Warcradle, despite four of us playing there constantly, because the 40k idiots buy a new meta-chasing army every month, making it too lucrative (despite those players loudly trashing the rules, prices, etc CONSTANTLY).

Balls to that. I play Dystopian with about 4 of my closest friends, I play Heresy with 2 guys at the FLGS, I drive to Austria to play Kings of War and to Croatia to play Forbidden Psalm with folks I met over the internet. "Everyone plays it" is a dumb reason to play a game you hate, unless you live on a submarine you can get to one person who plays what you like and that's better than 100 people who play 40k.

NewTruthNeomaxim wrote:


I'm saddened by how deeply lazy people have become, and how unwilling they are to make better choices, even when they know the current choice is the wrong one.

If they are buying brand new armies every few months and building them up for 2K point games then I don't think they are lazy. They just like 40K more than Dwars and you've been unable to convince them otherwise. That isn't lazy, that's just people liking something you don't like.

Heck if you project that "My other game is just better than your game and your game is rubbish" attitude on them chances are they won't ever budge. They've got a game they enjoy playing and is fun.

Not everyone has the time or patience to set up a group to play games outside of ecosystems that already exist.

There's a lot of elitism when it comes to people wanting to run systems outside GW and I think that also contributes to people sticking with GW.
Why go where people only say "this is better than what GW makes and you are [INSERT WHATEVER HERE] for playing GW" when people can walk into a shop, see some cool stuff, and hear "Hey, come join us! We'll teach you whatever you need to know"?

DW/AC looks real neat and the scale definitely terrifies me but I have neither the time nor patience to grassroots yet another game into existence.

 lord_blackfang wrote:

Balls to that. I play Dystopian with about 4 of my closest friends, I play Heresy with 2 guys at the FLGS, I drive to Austria to play Kings of War and to Croatia to play Forbidden Psalm with folks I met over the internet. "Everyone plays it" is a dumb reason to play a game you hate, unless you live on a submarine you can get to one person who plays what you like and that's better than 100 people who play 40k.

I'm speaking specifically about my local mates as in, they live in the same small town as me, who you'd think it would be easier to convince to play something else if I'm laying out all the cash for the starter sets!

I could probably scrounge up games for a few different systems if put in the effort but that requires using Facebook and joining the various groups at the FLGS.

Forbidden Psalm in Croatia sounds absolutely brilliant though. Quite jealous.

I started my own wargaming group in my small rural town with no support other than an art store and even that eventually turned into an all 40K group. We started with Ancients! The grip of GW is long and strong.


I can only speak for myself, but I no longer want a lifestyle game. I think D-wars is cool and all, and I even like Naval. However, I am not going to start it. I would rather start a historical Naval game with universal models than another bespoke, life-style game. I want off that merry-ground.

Only playing GW stuff is so bad for the hobby.

If one company has monopoly then they can change the prices as they see fit and they can control the retailers as much as they want.

Healthy competition is important.

Also Dystopian Wars and Armoured Class are cheap as hell. I see no reason whey it is not the second or third game of more people.

Sasorijap wrote:
Only playing GW stuff is so bad for the hobby.

If one company has monopoly then they can change the prices as they see fit and they can control the retailers as much as they want.

Healthy competition is important.

Also Dystopian Wars and Armoured Class are cheap as hell. I see no reason whey it is not the second or third game of more people.

Srsly. The amount of quality stuff you get for the money is kinda nuts, coming from GW.

 Easy E wrote:
I would rather start a historical Naval game

Then do that and you have a nice starter set of scenery for DW!

 Albertorius wrote:

Sasorijap wrote:
Only playing GW stuff is so bad for the hobby.

If one company has monopoly then they can change the prices as they see fit and they can control the retailers as much as they want.

Healthy competition is important.

Also Dystopian Wars and Armoured Class are cheap as hell. I see no reason whey it is not the second or third game of more people.

Srsly. The amount of quality stuff you get for the money is kinda nuts, coming from GW.

Agreed, the value on the DW sets looks great.

I think what has gone under the radar a little bit with AC is that you get enough rules and gubbins for two players in the starter set.

 .Mikes. wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
I would rather start a historical Naval game

Then do that and you have a nice starter set of scenery for DW!

I'm honestly a bit surprised that no one's yet done a set of WWII ship/aircraft stats for this game.

All the rules for adapting it are already there.

 Tabletop_Magpie wrote:

 Albertorius wrote:

Sasorijap wrote:
Only playing GW stuff is so bad for the hobby.

If one company has monopoly then they can change the prices as they see fit and they can control the retailers as much as they want.

Healthy competition is important.

Also Dystopian Wars and Armoured Class are cheap as hell. I see no reason whey it is not the second or third game of more people.

Srsly. The amount of quality stuff you get for the money is kinda nuts, coming from GW.

Agreed, the value on the DW sets looks great.

I think what has gone under the radar a little bit with AC is that you get enough rules and gubbins for two players in the starter set.

And dice! Loads of them! On basically every box! It's a bit nuts, really xD. But it lowers a lot the barrier of entry for a game with proprietary dice.

 schoon wrote:

 .Mikes. wrote:

 Easy E wrote:
I would rather start a historical Naval game

Then do that and you have a nice starter set of scenery for DW!

I'm honestly a bit surprised that no one's yet done a set of WWII ship/aircraft stats for this game.

All the rules for adapting it are already there.

Man Battlestations was working on one before 3.0 released:

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2016/09/24/dystopian-wars-historicals-a-proposal/

I'm currently painting the Empire stuff I got, and I'm liking it quite a bit, TBH. I'm one thousand points down so far, still a fair bit to do:

Looks amazing. I'm at about 2400pts painted of Empire and Crown (will post pics soon!) and its a game with unbelievable table presence. 2000pt games REALLY convey army vs. army battles!

Looking good guys!

Planes previewed for all the current AC factions:

Depending on the rules, I am down for 1-2 of each! Best game on the market today just got a whole new layer of depth!

Those are some hawt models.

What are these AC models for? Some air combat game based on the same background?

 schoon wrote:
What are these AC models for? Some air combat game based on the same background?

They're airsupport for Armoured Clash. The core rules are already in the rulebook, now we're waiting on the orbat update.

We are speculating that they might put out a small dogfighting game as well, but there's been no official word on anything like that.

Footsoldiers are on high alert this month, as the unmistakable sound of aircraft can be heard barrelling towards the battlefields of Armoured Clash

A new dimension to combat has opened up in Armoured Clash as aircraft for the released factions are coming this March. Get ready to add aerial units for the Crown, Empire, Union and Enlightened with the Defiance Fighter, Doksuri Fighter, Corsair Fighter, and Scythe Drone, respectively.

Following the launch of the Enlightened last month, you can also bolster your army with the Wells Battlegroup Set, Enlightened Armoured Regiment and Enlightened Infantry Regiment. These sets offer elements of the Enlightened Faction Battlegroup and are ideal for acquiring additional units for your army.

Finally, Union and Alliance players can add a legendary relic of the Ore War to their Dystopian Wars fleets as the Gotham Battlefleet Set is released this March. This Battlefleet Set offers a great mix of manoeuvrability and firepower, and it's a great addition to any Union or Alliance.

These new products are due to be released at the end of March 2025.



Armoured Clash

March is a massive month for Armoured Clash as four new aerial units are available soon: The Defiance, Doksuri, Corsair, and Scythe, as well as even more Enlightened reinforcements. The Wells Battlegroup Set, Enlightened Armoured Regiment and Enlightened Infantry Regiment follow last month’s introduction of the Enlightened and offer players even more machines.



Defiance Fighter



Boasting a tailgun as protection, an innovation that the other Great Powers deemed superfluous, dozens of Defiance class fighters are now based at RFC Lakenheath Warren, each ready to set flight at a moment's notice to defend the Crown against her enemies or to be transported to Avalon Class carriers to extend Queen Victoria's reach across the world.

Contents:
1x Defiance Fighter

Doksuri Fighter



Boasting a resin-lacquer shell, combined with the hanji paper of Korea, the fuselage of the Doksuri Fighter is flexible, light and durable, making it significantly more manoeuvrable than many of the fighters employed by the other Great Powers.

Contents:
1x Doksuri Fighter

Corsair Fighter



The Sarius Engineering Company began developing the Corsair in 1866. Even as it was being constructed, it was clear that it would be more than a typical fighter. Speed was the watchword of the design process, and now these aircraft can reach a velocity of 450 miles per hour.

Contents:
1x Corsair Fighter

Scythe Drone



Scythe Drones bring aerial support to the forces of the Covenant. Lightweight, fast, and eminently replaceable, these machines streak across the combat zone, unleashing their particle beam weapon upon anyone unfortunate enough to attract their ire.

Contents:
1x Scythe Drone

Wells Battlegroup Set



The Wells Super-Heavy Surveyor is a behemoth worthy of such nomenclature. Looming over even the Monarch Landship of the Crown, it is a walking testament to the rightful superiority of the Covenant.

Contents:
1x Wells Super-Heavy Surveyor (may also be built as Horsell Super-Heavy Extractor)
5x K9 Gun Dog Pack
4x Heavy Construct Devastator Cohort
2x Mars Battle Tripods (may also be built as Deimos Guardian Tripods or Phobos Assault Tripods)
2x Europa Artillery Crawlers (may also be built as Enceladus Mortar Crawlers or Callisto Assault Gatherers)
2x Sickle Gyro CAV Cohort

Enlightened Armoured Regiment

[img]https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5791f4d720099efc0f76dd06/1740066848402-TA2W1PZYLE5CA2P357OW/ARM100001+Enlightened+Armoured+Regiment_Group+%282%29.jpg?format=750w
[/img]

In the Enlightened Armoured Regiment Box you'll find heavy support for your Enlightened force

Contents:
5x K9 Gun Dog Pack
4x Heavy Construct Devastator Cohort
2x Mars Battle Tripods (may also be built as Deimos Guardian Tripods or Phobos Assault Tripods)
2x Europa Artillery Crawlers (may also be built as Enceladus Mortar Crawlers or Callisto Assault Gatherers)
2x Sickle Gyro CAV Cohort

Enlightened Infantry Regiment

[img]https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5791f4d720099efc0f76dd06/1740069996197-DNPGIA3YD4KS3TUTRVVE/ARM100002+Enlightened+Infantry+Regiment_Group+%283%29.jpg?format=750w
[/img]

In the Enlightened Infantry Regiment Box you'll find support for your Enlightened force.

Contents:
8x Citizen-Soldier Contingent
4x Brute Enforcer Cohort
4x Brute Warden Cohort
4x Mono CAV Cohort
4x Strider CAV Cohort
4x Hellion Cohort
5x Seeker Outrider Cohort

Dystopian Wars

The Gotham Battlefleet Set introduces a relic of the Ore War to Dystopian Wars this March, serving as a versatile pickup for both Union and Alliance players



Gotham Battlefleet Set



The Gotham Battlefleet Set for Dystopian Wars is an excellent way for a Union or Alliance player to include a relic of the Ore War in their fleet.

Contents:
1x Gotham Littoral Fleet Carrier
2x Ore War Cruisers
(Each Cruiser can alternatively be built as either Gettysburg, Providence, Saratoga or Sumter Class)
4x Springfield Corvette
4x Escorts
2x Talon Tokens

You can pre-order all of these products at your FLGS or online at Wayland Games on the 28th of February 2025. Stay up to date with the latest news and releases on our Facebook, Instagram, and X and on the Warcradle Studios Blog.

That is one massive release of new models in one go!