Games Workshop - Dread Fleet

moofrank wrote: I've been pondering Uncharted Seas, because I think that MoW *IS* just a little too fiddly. I've been without a naval game I could really enjoy.

That it is a fixed set minis game with a campaign designed around the bits and an event-centric model absolutely sealed this one for me. If it pulls off half the thing it promises, it will be well worth the money. I also have been looking at the GW model sets just because their new sculpts are so amazing. I kind of want a Morr's Garden just because...

As to the price. Cloth mat and that many large ship minis? And every single piece unique? $115 seems about right. Assembly should be a couple of hours. Painting....may take awhile.

Even if you compare these minis to Uncharted Seas the price isn't so bad. If you got 10 of their bigger ships, looks like it would cost you at least $70-$90. That's not even getting into terrain. So from that perspective, I might have to agree that the price of Dreadfleet isn't so bad.

Here's link that shows more of what comes in the box (scroll through the thumbnail pics to take a look):
Dreadfleet

Take a look at the sprues that come in the box. The Dwarf ship has a little nautilus that is inside the hull that you don't even see in the photos of the painted ship! The images on the sails are modeled on so all it takes is some paint to make them look good (that was actually something I was worried about). These models are quite amazing, but it looks like they need to be painted before you could even consider gluing if you want to get your brush to all the details.

I'm also really interested to see what the rules are for the little ships that seem to act as little scout ships or something for the larger parent ship.

There's also a few ship cards in their "Talk like a Pirate Day" Blog entry.
Talk Like a Pirate Day Blog

Though I don't know the rules yet, the models combined with my nuttiness for a fantasy naval game makes this one a must buy for me. Worse case I can use the islands and seascape for my MoW collection. Also it looks more like a skirmish type game than a fleet game with all the ships have a boatload (sorry) of character to them. I can't wait for the end of the month and early next month when I'm able to get a copy in my hands to muck around with.

That Uncharted Seas stuff looks great. Hard to find reviews that feature the 2nd edition rules.

Uncharted Seas gallery

I've avoided this thread for some time. I can certainly afford this and justify it if I get rid of some stuff, my wife's only concern these days is space. I would love to wait for a review but am tempted to pre-order anyway. Those ships are fucking cool. I have too many two player games. There's a reason for that, two player games are usually better.

If I wait for a review will it be sold out already? Is GW counting on this attitude. Most certainly, but that doesn't change anything for me. I still feel the need. I may have this ordered by the end of the week.

I don't think it will sell out as fast as Space Hulk (of which copies have been seen in remote stores, long after they were officialy sold out, btw) for the following reasons:

• The game is expensive. It might be cheaper in one country and it seems to have a lot of (extremely cool!) stuff included, but it is still an expensive game. Someone posted a couple of links to hobby sites and everybody there seems to be in agreement that it is too expensive.
• The game is unknown, i.e. nobody knows the rules or how it plays. For this price people will think twice about a blind buy.
• There are alternatives on the market, most importantly the ones from Spartan Games .
• It is not comparable to Space Hulk for another reason: IIRC a lot of people were buying the game to use them for their 40k armies and simply got rid of the rest of the game. Not sure whether it was cheaper to buy the game, than buying similar miniatures, or whether the sculpts were superior, or something else. But it took a lot of copies out of the market. And Dread Fleet? While you might convert the ships to be used for Man-o-War I would assume there are much less people playing it, i.e. buying the game for that reason.
• And lastly: I doubt that there will be as many speculators as there were when Space Hulk was published. I remember reading about a guy who bought something like 30 games or so.

So anyway, I've decided to wait and see for now.

I'm waiting and seeing too, but it is possible GW expects a lower demand, compared to Space Hulk, and prints less accordingly.

You know I just watched the promotional video and it summoned Heroscape to mind. Did anyone else get that feeling?

S.

That's true and probably the case. But lower print run, normally means higher prices. Would 70 ₤/115 $/90 € (the EU price, btw) suggest that this is the case? To me it seems they would have to print a relative large number to keep that price. That's only a gut feeling though.

Sagrilarus wrote: You know I just watched the promotional video and it summoned Heroscape to mind. Did anyone else get that feeling?

S.

From the perspective of a perpetual Heroscape junkie, an emphatic NO is my response.

Here's a rundown of a couple of turns.

www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/blogPost.jsp?aId=18300021a

I think it sounds a lot like classic Man O' War, but with cards instead of tokens on the ship templates. That wouldn't work in Man O War where you could have loads of ships, but with only five ships each I think it would be quite easy to scan your ships and assess the situation.

From what I've read so far I have to say, though, that the swashbuckling thing (captains duking it out when boarding) sounds potentially lame, but at the same time quite awesome. Also loads of dice, but that's a plus for me.

I just read the sample turn myself and I must say that it didn't build up excitement for me.

The way that the models all just charged into the center of the table isn't exciting. I want a little more cat and mouse chasing around if you will. Not everything moves towards the center into one giant cluster-f.

The game sounds like a cleaned up MoW with the clunky nature of the old damage table streamlined into card form with bits from BattleFleet Gothic mixed in there via the special order commands. Which all together isn't that surprising.

I just hope every scenario doesn't break down into a "gather at the center for one maelstrom of combat" type game.

Also, it's a little off putting that it sounds like one guy was ready to give victory to the other side after the first turn.

LordVonTush wrote: I just hope every scenario doesn't break down into a "gather at the center for one maelstrom of combat" type game.

Surely that's not the case. Why even create different scenarios if they all play out the same? (I'm trying to convince myself, I think.)

LVT: It seems like the scenario was such that the goal of the Alliance was to "save the ship" that was being attacked. It sounded like the Dreadfleet was closing on a ship and the victory condition was to save that ship at all costs. The turns make sense in that context...the one ship was trying to get the fuck out of dodge.

From the scenario description:
"Rob and Phil were going to play the Pride of Ulthuan scenario (there are twelve in all, including a variety of story-driven missions and straight up battles). In this scenario, the Grand Alliance has convened and spotted a battle off in the distance. It turns out that the High Elf warship, the Seadrake, is going it alone against the warships of the Dreadfleet. The Seadrake is currently ensconced within a volcanic crater, the water around which seethes with gouting spouts of fire. The Grand Alliance player must get the Elven galleon away from trouble and off the board, whilst the Dreadfleet player does everything in his power to sink it. Any damage done to the opponent's fleet in the meantime increases your chances of victory."

I'd add that the manual looks like a perfect-bound, leather covered sea log. And not the kind of sea log that comes out of a sailor's arse. Very, very cool.

...and I just realized I have nowhere to put the 5' x 3.5' map. My folding table I use for gaming is something like 6' x 30", and my kitchen table is round and about 4' in diameter...That's all I've got!

Also important for me: it is showing up the same week as Dark Souls.

While most people might think that a soul-sucking videogame and a box of things to paint showing up at the same time would not work out so well...they haven't dealt with Sandi and her King's Field obsession.