Well DreadBall Season 2 is off my desk now, and apart from talking to you guys about all the fun stuff it contains¹ I can shift my focus onto the next project – but what’s that to be?
Well the rest of the year looks like being incredibly busy for me with a raft of projects, both big and small. Most of my time will be spent with new games for Mantic. First off there’s the other two DreadBall sets we talked about in the Kickstarter: Season 3 (Ultimate) and DreadBall Xtreme. They’re both roughed out in principle, and though the details are still fuzzy I know exactly what I want them to do and the extra goodies each one brings to the game. The ink’s barely dry on the Season 2 manuscript and I’m already being nagged for Zee team stats and details of how the Teratons teleport. Have patience folks: it’s all on its way.
However, those two are less than half of what I’ve got booked in for Mantic. There’s Dead Zone coming up really soon too. That’s still largely under wraps, so I can’t tell you much beyond the title and the fact that the first models are back already and they look great! Dead Zone isn’t the only covert project either, as another of them cannot even be named out loud (or else Bad Things happen). That’s a bit of a departure and a rather fun one at that. Crazy, but fun 🙂
Finally², there’s DKH 4.
Those of you who have been following my ramblings for a while³ will know that I’ve been planning this ever since Mantic first published the original Dwarf King’s Hold. Delving back into the archives I found a 2011 piece I wrote about the future of the game which described DKH 4 thusly: “This is the version of DKH you get your groups of adventurers confronting the teeming mass of dungeon denizens…” It’s been a while coming, but now it’s on track for later this year. At least, for me to work on it this year. I never believe release dates anyway 😉
And that’s just Mantic. There are, of course, plenty of other projects I’ve been wanting to do, including the much delayed Eternal Battles. Actually you can blame Dead Zone for most of that delay, but anyway…. I’ll get into the details of what’s going on with EB in another post.
On top of the new stuff I do this year there are a number of games that have already been completed and still languish in various files, unpublished. I’m talking here about things that other companies have, not my own burgeoning filing system. I’ve no idea if, when or in what format they might turn up in the public domain, though it would be very nice to see some of them finally emerge into the daylight, blinking myopically after their long incarceration. I’ll keep you informed if I hear anything on those.
I’d tell you more, but you know how it is. I’m slightly surprised that I can tell you as much as I have here to be honest, and that’s kind of exciting. But if you see me wandering about giggling to myself it might not just be that I’ve finally lost the plot: it could be that I’m having too much fun 🙂
1: More of which tomorrow.
2: Actually these aren’t listed on the order that you’ll see them, so DKH 4 is “finally” only in the sense that I got to it last. Who knows what order they’ll be released in?
3: And those of you that don’t should subscribe so you will in future 🙂
Quirkworthy 
Tell us a bit more about Deadzone. From the loose lips at Mantic we know its a KS, Warpath universe, features at least the Enforcers and scenery too.
I think Ronnie should adopt the slogan “Loose lips sell bits”
All in good time. DZ isn’t really ready to be discussed in detail as it isn’t even a proper alpha set yet. It’s had some playing and much tinkering and is finally moving from piles of notes to an early test version. I don’t want to discuss details until I’m more certain of what’s going to stay. However, that stage is only a few weeks off, at a guess.
Gah, you’re no fun anymore 😉
Just hearing of teratons makes me a very happy gamer. And my 3 DKH are waiting for their little brothers. 🙂
For DZ I’m a little less excited. Having more minis than you can paint is fine (even normal) but now I have more than I can glue to bases (a little disconforting). 😦
Teratons do seem to put a smile on people’s faces. Not entirely sure why, even though I’m smiling too 😉
What you’re experiencing on the miniatures front is a temporary disorientation. Do not panic. It will pass and you’ll quickly become accustomed to more figures than you can remember purchasing. This is normal. It’s when they turn up in the freezer that you have to start worrying.
The freezer, the washer and the oven up to now are miniature free.
So everything must be fine. 😀
Absolutely! Nothing to worry about at all.
I’ve got that problem with comics. I went looking for a specific one in a box the other day, and found a bunch that I didn’t know I had.
There are worse problems than surprise goodies 🙂
Oh the humanity! We had the Robot team summary, then some non-Dreadball news, then bugs summary, then non-DB news, so obviously I’d leaped to the mostly unfounded conclusion that we’d see another team summary today! So much for hitting the 4 day weekend with a spring in my step and warm fuzzy feeling inside.
The girls are scheduled for an hour or so 🙂
That post is crying out for a smutty reply but I just can’t come up with one! Good news none the less, I’ll stay tuned!
Innuendo? Moi? Surely not.
Any more Pandora on the horizon at all? I have only played it a handful of times, but with a little more variety available I reckon that I could get stuck into it.
Do DreadBall coaches have facing? I was painting my Coach Renton last night, but didnt know whether to add threat or facing markings. With S2 in the can, maybe you could spill that particular, almost inconsequential, mixed-metaphorical bean…
Coaches don’t have facings. I was going to discuss them in a day or two. Running out of teams…
Pandora is a funny one. I really need to have another proper look at some of the details as a few folk think there are issues I didn’t have myself. I need to replay the relevant scenarios and see if I can replicate the problems. Can’t fix problems I can’t see.
I’ve also had some scenario ideas for Pandora that might be fun – including a DreadBall tie-in. It’s just a matter of finding the time (as ever).
quite excited about DKH4.
Shame that DKH1 isnt available anymore : will it in the future?
I didn’t know it had sold out again so I hadn’t had the discussion. Can’t keep track.
Reprints of earlier boxes probably depend on what happens with 4. You won’t need 1-3 to play 4.
my mistake : dead rising and green menace are available but ancient grudge isnt.
I refer the honourable gentleman to my earlier comment.
Great news on Dwarf Kings Hold. Will this be a straight Mantic release or another kickstarter?
Something I would love to see is a deluxe DKH. Glossy rulebook, decent cardstock, card deck instead of activation counters (I mde one from a deck of plastic playing cards and coloured permanent markers) and most importantly colour coded one piece models so it becomes suitable for a boardgames audience. I loved the game, but really the models are aimed at wargamers who like fiddly construction and painting, I ended up using some of the original citadel skeletons who were so much faster to paint and assemble. Hell I would imagine all those who bought into the bones kickstarter (almost, but there comes a time when you realise you don’t need a thousand new models you won’t paint for years for games you are unlikely to play). If its a limited run maybe something using the troll forged miniatures plastic spin casting process (I have some of there models, it is a million times better than restic, so far the worse thing about the dreadball release) http://trollforged.wordpress.com/
I’d like a deluxe DKH too please 🙂
Seriously though, DKH was made in a world before Mantic started doing Kickstarters, and they would make it to a higher production standard now. Simple practice also helps: DKH was their first board game and now they’ve done 5 boxed sets…
I actually quite like the activation counters as counters, though they would work perfectly well as cards too. We’ve not done a detailed spec yet so who knows what they’ll end up being?
Can’t discuss models yet 😉
I should add a deluxe set would of course be all 3 (4!) games in one box! I can dream.
Counters are more fun yes, but it can fiddly pulling them out from bags/cups etc. We far prefer using the improvised cards which wile a bit souless are easier to use.
We did discuss the idea of putting all the games in one box, and initially I was all for it. However, on further discussion we talked ourselves round to doing DKH4 on its own. The main reason for this was that there has been so much confusion with DKH2 being a stand-alone game (which I thought was a straightforward enough concept) that putting two ways of playing one game in a box was a recipe for confusing folk even more. SO DKH 4 will have one way of playing – admittedly a varied and mutable way with many permutations – but still one way.