June 29th Warcradle Q&A - It's live! Video & Blog.
It’s up! Barring a few technical difficulties, we bring to you our latest Q&A video, covering the most recent questions you've asked us about Wild West Exodus, Armoured Clash, Dystopian Wars and Firestorm Armada. We also touch on our plans for Warcradle Classics ranges.
Like what you're reading so far? Watch the video and keep reading!
Prefer to read? If you're interested in a specific game and would like to skip straight to questions asked about that system, just click the links to go:
Will we see some reworked rules for the Union Rail or a new model/scenery kit?
When Wild West Exodus was first released there was a huge resin train produced called Heavy Rail, which is still available in very limited numbers. We want to do something more with the Heavy Rail to help make it an integral part of your army. In our eyes, the train deserves scenarios, stories, and campaigns around it; focusing on train and rail warfare. Whilst this is in the pipeline it’s not something we’re currently working on, however, the Heavy Rail will be back (and maybe with some surprises).
If you have your own Union Heavy Rail custom scenario rules please share them with the Warcradle Community on Facebook or the forum - after all, it’s great to share!
Are bigger models like the Doomsday going to be slowly phased out? I'm getting the impression because the models are currently only available in your online shop and not able to be ordered by my local dealer.
No, they are an important part of the game. They are, however, massive chunks of resin and we are looking at ways to make it easier for people to build and use these larger models in the game. We want to make it more economical to add more vehicles to your army.
Wild West Exodus games are designed to have vehicles in them and the idea was always to have hulking vehicles in it. We have plans to get the likes of the Doomsday, Ironhide, and Rolling Thunder back into the game.
It is without question that all of these vehicles are fantastic but we know we can make them better using our resin technology. We just need to work out the best time to bring them back into the release schedule.
Warcradle showed some really great painting tutorials (especially the RJ-glow), will we see more videos of this kind?
Yes. The Wild West Exodus range has a particular aesthetic cultivated by the Studio team. You’ll find previously released ‘how to videos’ on our YouTube channel and within the Warcradle Studios Community on Facebook and the forum. The Studio has been working extremely hard on preparing miniatures for the shows we have been attending, however, we will be doing more painting videos, guides, and blogs for Wild West Exodus, and we’ll also start to paint other ranges in the Dystopian Age, so keep an eye out for those.
The new hardback rulebook for Wild West Exodus will also feature a painting guide to help you replicate the signature Wild West Exodus style.
Meanwhile, we recommend joining The Dark Council Community page on Facebook as there are lots of fantastic painters on there too.
How about the old comic books? Is there anything along the lines planned for the future?
We like comics; when we first talked about the Second Edition of Wild West Exodus we said we would like to do novels and graphic novels, and they are some of the many things we are currently developing. Some things take a little longer to get to fruition and we hope that you’ll all start to see things coming out next year.
Are you planning campaign material? Will there be campaigns at all?
Some people within the Warcradle Studios Community have been asking if we will be releasing any ‘shape the Dystopian Age’ type material. That's not how the Dystopian Age works. It’s more of a sandbox of a setting and the campaign you choose to use in your local area, gaming clubs, and at narrative weekends will shape the world for you.
The storyline we have released takes us up to the present day. Any content we release will help you run and create your own campaigns and narratives. Our storyline is more of a framework to inspire great games that you can organise, tailor, and play through.
Will we see any watcher vehicles in the future for WWX?
Short answer? Yes.
The Watcher background talks about and references different Clades; each Clade being a different species and with their own role. There will not be any Viridian Clade vehicles as this does not suit their function, however, there are Clades that operate vehicles; the Azure Clade, for example, operate jetbikes/skyboards which you’ll get to see in the fairly near future.
Are we still going to see the Soul Hunters (he asks with hope in his heart)?
Yes. You may recall us announcing this posse before the Dystopian Age went into full swing, so yes, you are still going to see the Soul Hunters. Exactly where they fit within the release schedule is still to be determined. The concepts are done and the sculpting is underway, however, the posse won’t be out soon. This is the same for the Nekomata.
The integration of what is now the Dystopian Age has been awesome, what were the toughest challenges in combining IP's?
I would say that trying to manage Community expectations has been the toughest thing for us. Everyone wants to know everything straight away, and we understand that - you love these games and want to see them thrive as much as we do!
People want to know how it affects their hobby and all the minutiae as to how it all connects... and, although the grand plan was in place when we initially made the announcement, the finer intricacies are still to be finalised and mapped out by the writers.
By releasing small nuggets of cool information, we hope to satisfy your curiosity, whilst working on finalising these intricacies, however, sometimes the information shared has been interpreted in ways that have caused concern. Especially regarding some of the factions and how they would fit into the wider world of the Dystopian Age.
In some cases sharing information that we saw as exciting only caused more concern, as some people saw it as too big a change or did not understand how the new information linked to existing information. In hindsight, it may have been easier for us to manage the Community's expectations by not releasing information in advance in the way we chose too but as long detailed articles instead.
Yet, due to the way we like to work (we’re rather creative sorts over here), this would not have been our first choice to share information anyway. Plus, the thought of the number of calls we would have received from people wanting to know more about the future of game they love made us go in this direction instead.
Our intention behind producing videos is to explain and address concerns in the clearest way possible - something we plan to continue doing for as long as you need us to. The wait for the background information of the Dystopian Age is nearly at an end. Expect a big reveal in the next few weeks as we start to release Dystopian Age information for Wild West Exodus and Dystopian Wars in time for the beta.
New posse preview - Discordant Symphony
Thomas Edeson’s posse for Enlightened featuring Mina Edeson as well as gun dogs with phonic blasters and three menials with phonic blasters.
Will the amount of dice in play change or will +- stay the same?
The Third Edition of Dystopian Wars will use six-sided dice and the volume of dice used will be very similar to Second Edition of the game.
Will there be some kind of 'Fleet Action 3.0' or will the core rules of DW be streamlined so that there's no necessity for a separate rules kit?
No, there will be no Fleet action. The Third Edition rules will facilitate the use of quick play games. Games will play faster with relatively low points, if you take fewer models, maybe a single battle group around 750 points, you could play a game in an hour, maybe on lunch. If you want to play a larger game (1500-2000 points) this could be several hours, depending on how you build your fleet. There will be more information on this when the beta comes out.
When is Dystopian Wars beta going to be released and when can we expect stats for all/majority of models to be available from day one?
The Third Edition Beta is coming and should be out before Autumn. Don’t worry, we will announce beta ahead of time and there will be plenty of information when it has been released.
We can’t give an exact date at this time because we need to complete the Alpha. The major development has been done, there are currently no major issues, and it still feels like Dystopian Wars.
When the beta is out we will provide a PDF listing how each of the existing factions and existing models can be used in the Third Edition of the game
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Will unreleased Spartan Models which had renders and Dystopian Legions be amongst the classics released?
Anything that had a mould when we took over Spartan will be tested. If the mould is viable then we might be able to release that model as part of Warcradle Classics.
Also, some models are made up of parts from various moulds, so we have the massive tasks of finding multiple moulds for various parts and checking whether or not they are viable and then cast them. This is a long process and will take time to go through, however, we hope to have some items out in the next week or so.
Just to be clear, if there isn’t a mould it will not be on the list. If any moulds are damaged or have missing parts they will not be released as part of Warcradle Classics.
Models requiring metal or acrylic are less likely to be produced if we don't have the components.
Will there be any renders or information for the dystopian wars/armoured clash Ottoman Sultanate models?
Yes, the Ottoman Sultanate was a minor faction in Dystopian Wars Second Edition and it is now a major faction in the Third Edition, giving us quite an interesting design space to work in. There are other elements from Wild West Exodus and other parts of the Dystopian Age that will have a surprising connection to the Ottoman Sultanate. But, we’ll reveal that later.
With the release of images of concept art of fighters for Armoured Clash, will there be other aircraft based off DW Tiny Flyers for Torpedo Bombers/Dive Bombers for the major nation blocks?
Yes. We have lots in development and this is a great way for us to explore some of the design athletics from Dystopian Wars but in a larger scale. Some of the tiny flyers tokens don't always translate to models, so this gives us a chance to design something new. A good example of this is the new design for the main fighter for the Covenant of the Enlightened called the Scythe.
You've briefly mentioned that in the new rule set all existing ships will have counts-as equivalents. Broadly speaking, will we be looking at big changes to what classes are out there/how they're defined (and obviously with some sort of conversion table for using Spartan-era models)?
Third Edition is a significant move on from the First and Second, it’s not just a refinement, there will be significant changes to the narrative, factions and models too. It is still very much in the development stage, currently, so we can’t say too much with certainty at this stage.
Similarly to Wild West Exodus and Dystopian Wars; there will be a public beta for Firestorm Armada, and all models will be listed with rules on how you can use your existing models within the Third Edition. No model will be left behind!
Are there any plans to produce new Firestorm Armada factions?
We are reworking the factions and background. At this stage, we can't say what's definitely coming back. What we can say is that we are trying to be respectful to the existing versions and keep all the great things about the game - even if it's in a new interpretation - whilst making big changes.
What's next after the rules are back in print - background books, scenario books, or something else?
The rules are currently in very early alpha so it will be a while before you see a public beta released. Once the rule set is ready we will then go into working on scenarios, faction details, and delve deeper into the range, giving you everything you would want in a game setting (including novels) but first, we need to get a really good game.
Will all the old miniatures be back as well, or will there be some culling of the herd?
We will be reworking the range in the same way we have done with Dystopian Wars; some ships will be back, with some tweaks (maybe), but yes, there will be a few familiar designs making a return. It's unlikely you’ll see models come back as they currently are though. Although there will be a new range you will still be able to use old models in the new game - you get the best of both worlds!
How much alteration can we expect in the background - not specifics, just roughly how much stays and how much goes?
A lot, a heck of a lot. We will be a doing a reboot of the background and it will be a reimagination and reiteration. For those of you who are a fan of a particular faction, we’re going to try to find a home for everyone in the new game. Go into it with an open mind and you will find it very exciting.