Dropzone Commander

[EnglishInquisition]

Just thought it wise to alert folk to one of the best miniatures release I've ever seen!
No rules yet, and only preorders being taken, but this looks amazing;

http://www.hawkwargames.com/#

I can't believe that there's been no coverage here. The game and range shows huge commitment, ambition, and imagination. C'mon folks show some appreciation for this independent developer.

[ksoh75]

Just thought it wise to alert folk to one of the best miniatures release I've ever seen!
No rules yet, and only preorders being taken, but this looks amazing;

http://www.hawkwargames.com/#

I can't believe that there's been no coverage here. The game and range shows huge commitment, ambition, and imagination. C'mon folks show some appreciation for this independent developer.

I'm with ya bro. This game is just looking all kinds of crazy sick. I can't wait to get my hands on it. Even the models are incredible. So much detail and they made them to have working parts...WTF....HELL YEAH!

I'm going UCM...I know of about 5 of us here in Cincinnati OH playing or getting this.

[wittdooley]

No Rules. Very Niche Minis. 10mm is a scale that can be off-putting for some. I dig painting up some Epic, but not everyone does. Plus, it's a bit expensive for the "amount of stuff" you get. By all accounts, the Large Army bundle is what you need to play a standard game, and $220 is a decent buy in for a game, but that's still yet to be seen, as we've only received tidbits of the rules.

That being said, I'm going to wait until ksoh75 sells his UCM and then buy them from him :D

[EnglishInquisition]

An FAQ went up after a 12 hour live Facebook Q&A session (which I took part in), and you can play the game utilising most of the mechanisms with just the starter sets! The large army and mega army deals would constitute a large/very large game!
To be fair, the mega bundles are more for the 'I want everything now gamer' (ie me) and are still balanced forces, done deliberately so they will play well in the game which I think is a refreshing approach. At £250 for that amount of high quality casts, with a custom cut case to carry them in, I think that's more than reasonable. Think of the start up cost of a 40k army (or Epic for that matter) from scratch, then add on a case (or two) to hold it all and..... well, I'm passed £250 already!

[Daemonette666]

I can not believe how much of an impulse buyer I am sometimes. I pre-ordered the Mega bundle army deals for both human factions and the main rule book from the Hawk Games website.

I am even planning to buy the new Russian Coallition forces being released for Dystopian Wars soon.

I bought 2 armies because I knew I would need an army for an opponent to play with, and I want to learn the rules for when my local gaming shop starts to stock it.

I hope the investment is going to be worth it.

[ksoh75]

No Rules. Very Niche Minis. 10mm is a scale that can be off-putting for some. I dig painting up some Epic, but not everyone does. Plus, it's a bit expensive for the "amount of stuff" you get. By all accounts, the Large Army bundle is what you need to play a standard game, and $220 is a decent buy in for a game, but that's still yet to be seen, as we've only received tidbits of the rules.

That being said, I'm going to wait until ksoh75 sells his UCM and then buy them from him :D

Your a dirty whore....LOL

Besides you said you are doing PHR...LOL

[ksoh75]

An FAQ went up after a 12 hour live Facebook Q&A session (which I took part in), and you can play the game utilising most of the mechanisms with just the starter sets! The large army and mega army deals would constitute a large/very large game!
To be fair, the mega bundles are more for the 'I want everything now gamer' (ie me) and are still balanced forces, done deliberately so they will play well in the game which I think is a refreshing approach. At £250 for that amount of high quality casts, with a custom cut case to carry them in, I think that's more than reasonable. Think of the start up cost of a 40k army (or Epic for that matter) from scratch, then add on a case (or two) to hold it all and..... well, I'm passed £250 already!

I took part too!! Was very infomative. Those guys are really making the game balanced at even low point scales.

For me, it's the models.....it's worse that telling a fat kid he can't eat at a chinease buffet. That's how I currently feel. LOL

And I agree on the price. I'm looking at getting a large army as well. However not over the pond. My go too place just started pre-orders and for the price of putting together what is in the large army with custom case and command deck, I'm saving almost $60 then if I order from Hawk Games. Granted, I may not get it until August, but I have a feeling this game will be worth it. Really excited about this one. Between Dust and this, GW and PP can go %$#^ theirselves....specially GW and their huge price hike. To finish my Tau army, I was only about $200 out. Now I'm freaking $375. THANKS

I feel that $375 will deffinatly be used wisely!

[wittdooley]

Bear in mind that he was stated saying that standard game size would be simliar to 40k (b/w 1000-2000 points) and that the Small Starter will barely get you to 1000 (again said in the FB thing).

For most people that play 40k, the price hike isn't a huge deal because few people are buying armies at once for 40k, but rather simply adding to what they have. Except for powergame net-listers, and who really cares about their feelings anyway?

I really think there's a healthy doese of perspective missing here. Buy yourself a plastic Marine set, and your'e getting cheaper figs than if you buy a two PHR walker pack. The large dropships are the same price as a rhino, but have a much smaller footprint. It goes on and on. To look at games that are more comparable, you get much larger ships for about the same price point with Dystopian Wars, and they're just as detailed.

Further, as Daemonette intimated, the game doesn't not have a built in player base yet. That's not to say it wont, but we're not likely to see a 500 man tournament at Adepticon next year.

The custom case is a "bit" underwhelming to me (because I'm a BattleFoam hoarder) if only because the case is made of cardboard. I'd really like to see how much extra space the case allows for so I can see how much expansion room there is.

Don't get me wrong: I think the models are lovely and I think it is a really impressive effort by this lone dude to get this stuff produced, but like I said before, I think some perspecitve is in order.

[ksoh75]

Bear in mind that he was stated saying that standard game size would be simliar to 40k (b/w 1000-2000 points) and that the Small Starter will barely get you to 1000 (again said in the FB thing).

For most people that play 40k, the price hike isn't a huge deal because few people are buying armies at once for 40k, but rather simply adding to what they have. Except for powergame net-listers, and who really cares about their feelings anyway?

I really think there's a healthy doese of perspective missing here. Buy yourself a plastic Marine set, and your'e getting cheaper figs than if you buy a two PHR walker pack. The large dropships are the same price as a rhino, but have a much smaller footprint. It goes on and on. To look at games that are more comparable, you get much larger ships for about the same price point with Dystopian Wars, and they're just as detailed.

Further, as Daemonette intimated, the game doesn't not have a built in player base yet. That's not to say it wont, but we're not likely to see a 500 man tournament at Adepticon next year.

The custom case is a "bit" underwhelming to me (because I'm a BattleFoam hoarder) if only because the case is made of cardboard. I'd really like to see how much extra space the case allows for so I can see how much expansion room there is.

Don't get me wrong: I think the models are lovely and I think it is a really impressive effort by this lone dude to get this stuff produced, but like I said before, I think some perspecitve is in order.

I will give you that brother.....perspective that is. I guess I just loss my 40k way ya know?

Not only that....I'm restricted to 2 games and 2 games only.....Dust was a must.....it's just cool and I can't wait to get games in with you guys. DzC....well......it's up there......I've always been a big SciFi geek and this is right up my alley.

[EnglishInquisition]

This guy could have had me and my friends literally emptying our pockets at Salute (and many others no doubt), but he didn't!
That takes a lot of restraint imo, to hold back until he's happy with the whole product seems to be rare these days. His commitment to this project is incredible and attention to detail exceptional.
I'm a model junkie, total sucker for a pretty range and a notorious impulse buyer too, but even if I wasn't, I'd still buy into this range. I'm going for the UCM (Mega deal), and not ruling out the PHR or Shaltari at some point too.

[ksoh75]

This guy could have had me and my friends literally emptying our pockets at Salute (and many others no doubt), but he didn't!
That takes a lot of restraint imo, to hold back until he's happy with the whole product seems to be rare these days. His commitment to this project is incredible and attention to detail exceptional.
I'm a model junkie, total sucker for a pretty range and a notorious impulse buyer too, but even if I wasn't, I'd still buy into this range. I'm going for the UCM (Mega deal), and not ruling out the PHR or Shaltari at some point too.

hahahaha.....I know how you feel. This is beyond eye candy for me. The entire concept and general idea of the game mechanics make me tingle in excitement. The quality is just AMAZING!!!

As for pockets, I sold off 40k stuff so I can upgrade my order, which now, I'm buying through my regular place now that they have preorders.....taking wha'ts in the large, buying a starter and the rest that's in the large and saving almost $75 bucks.

I don't need the case. I got a sabol in great shape at home....just will buy some new foam for it. It can share with my Dust Warfare stuff.....of course, putting DzC up top...lol

[scadugenga]

I'm trying to get my group interested. They love the minis, but the addition of another game will be a tough sell.

I couldn't get them interested in Dark Age, and we already play DW, Dust, 40k, WM/H, Infinity and occasionally WFB.

It's going to be a case of "let's see how well the rules play out."

Though at least we each prefer different factions this time around... (go, go, UCM!)

[wittdooley]

I'm trying to get my group interested. They love the minis, but the addition of another game will be a tough sell.

I couldn't get them interested in Dark Age, and we already play DW, Dust, 40k, WM/H, Infinity and occasionally WFB.


This, and more.

Not to mention for the game to really gain traction, especially in the US, LGSs are going to need to carry the game as regular stock. The LGS in our area that typically carries the Indie Games as regular stock just dumped the Spartan systems because not enough people were buying them. As such, they're not picking this game up to carry as regular stock.

Sure, plenty of LGSs will take preorder or make special orders, but that isn't going to help the game gain a player base in the US. We have a store in our area that I really want to purchase stuff from every time I'm there, but they do an almost exclusively special order business. They rarely carry a consistent, regular stock, and because of that, it's rarely worth the 40 minute drive to get there. If want to "special order" something, I'll it from on of the OLGSs, from the comfort of my home, in my boxers...and they'll ship it to my home, so I can receive it in my boxers.

But I digress. I love good looking models. But I don't know if that's enough for me to purchase an entire line of minis. I still need to see the full ruleset before I go touting this as the next wargaming nirvana.

[scadugenga]

Has anyone seen a game played yet?

Is there a rules set that has been posted?

While the visual styling is awesome, I need more than that before placing an order.

[EnglishInquisition]

Unfortunately not! Hence, the reluctance (understandably so) of people buying into the game.
I believe there will be further 'hints' of the rules etc as we get closer to the release- there is an FAQ up on the website now with more insight into the game, and hopefully a video of gameplay at some point (although this may be done by a playtesting group or something similar).

There's also more pics coming out from his playtesters and painters for alternate colour schemes too on their Facebook page.

I think the main focus at the moment for Hawk is getting the rulebook finished and getting the stuff to us (distribution deals etc)!! I'm happy for a lull if it means I get cool toys on time. :-D

[EnglishInquisition]

Link to the first 'insider' review I've seen.
http://theshellcase.co.uk/2012/06/24/a-first-look-at-drop-zone-commander/

Also on Hawk Wargames Facebook page.
All seem impressed!

[BDub]

There's also more pics coming out from his playtesters and painters for alternate colour schemes too on their Facebook page.


I have seen anything but the studio painted preview pics. Do you have links?

[wittdooley]

Link to the first 'insider' review I've seen.
http://theshellcase.co.uk/2012/06/24/a-first-look-at-drop-zone-commander/

Also on Hawk Wargames Facebook page.
All seem impressed!

An "insider" review means nothing. Lip service.

[ksoh75]

An "insider" review means nothing. Lip service.

agree...opld news...hoping with the new week, we see something this week!

[EnglishInquisition]

Well, I think it does when it's an independent blog or forum! They have a vested interest in being impartial, otherwise their main currency is defunct. Much like on this forum, we hope that the reviews we get are honest, open, and yes, impartial.

There are other pics of alternative colour schemes, but for the life of me can't remember where I saw them- will post links if my addled mind decides to work properly!

[Daemonette666]

Does anyone known when they are going to be ready to send out the pre-orders? I know I am getting a little concerned, not having heard about release schedules for the game/miniatures yet.

I refuse to face book, twitter, and any of those other websites where they own everything you post, and keep all your photos and sensitive info about you. Who knows what they do with it, and who they sell it to! If they have posted a release schedule or chatted on one of those sites can anyone let people like myself (non-twitterites) when they said things will start being sent out to those who pre-ordered?

[ksoh75]

you following them on facebook??

Everything ships Monday

[Daemonette666]

I sent them an email yesterday, and got a reply tonight. I did not think they would reply so quickly. I do not follow face book, or twitter for personal reasons, so have never signed up for an account, not even a hotmail account.

But Hawk Wargames in their email told me they ship out on the 23rd of July. Thanks for the reply Ksoh75.

[ksoh75]

Hawk Wargames are updating and adding things to their sight today. Downloads are taken offline currently and we have images for the rulebook and cards....with certain sneak peeks of rules.

Check it out!

[EnglishInquisition]

There's a whole load of free pdf's available- and I mean LOADS!
Player aids, tokens, quick reference etc, all on there now.
I've had contact saying my order has shipped!
Stupidly excited.

Well done Hawk Wargames- came through with everything they said they would and more!
Wonder when we'll see some official unveiling on here for them? Alert the masses that there's another awesome model range released.

[The Madman]

My friend told me about this a couple weeks ago and yesterday brought the rulebook over, i'd only read the opening fluff but its got me interested. so far its only three of us and the other friend (the one without the rulebook) seems to be set on PHR while i am leaning towards the Shaltari (i like the protoss/eldar feel they have going) hopefully we can find a fourth player to take up the last faction if my rulebook friend chooses either UCM or Scourge.

[Nightwolf]

This is a good time to start looking at getting in Madman. The resin casting quality had a hiccup when the game was first released and has since improved dramatically with the purchase of more dedicated machinery.

That said I am slowly building up a Shaltari strike-force at the same time a few of my friends (along with my wife) are building forces of their own. We had one person for each of the four races and every one of us began with a small starter, but we are now moving up to 1000 points. Do you have any idea what kind of list you plan on building? Also a small note on Shaltari vs PHR is to be careful around the Phobos walkers. Our main battle tanks should be more weary of anti-aircraft weaponry of a decent strength, generally speaking, than they are of enemy anti-tank. Their tracking abilities negate the penalty to hit us if we move fast, they get multiple shots, and their weapon strength matches our low armor. Anti-tank weapons tend to only get a single shot, their high strength is statistically negated by the increased to hit roll and far beyond what is necessary to hurt us, and we also have passive saves from our shields that we can use against them.

Also there is presently a dedicated forum to this game if you have not seen a link. PM me if you want me to give it to you.