Just thought I'd write up a quick first impression of the Dreadfleet box game as I just got a copy.
My pre-ordered box arrived Wednesday, the box is the same general size as the Space Hulk special release of a couple of years ago, just a little thicker, and a somewhat lighter.
The plastic sprues have really nice detail and there were no obvious problems with any of them, the ships generally are slightly bigger lengthwise (1 cm) than Man O War flagships from the respective races (ie. the Dreadfleet Dwarf ship is slightly bigger than the Man O War Dwarf dreadnought).
There really is alot of miniatures in the box including the scenery, it's all pretty nice quality, with good detail. The rule book is all color, heavier paper, contains a little bit of background of the ships and characters, full of Blanche artwork, pretty nice overall. It was pretty stiff when I got it so I carefully went through the whole book page by page and ran my finger against the inside of the pages as I turned them (I hope people know what I mean by this, I worked in a library ages ago and this is something we used to do with all the new books, it's supposed to help define where the pages turn and stop the spine from wearing out). The rules seem rather detailed, there are scenarios and at the end suggestions how to play a campaign. The are a number of decks of cards sealed in plastic(already to cut out), dice, and a bag full of little zip lock baggies to store stuff in. The 'sea mat' is rather thin, seems slightly thinner than the GW 'grass mat' they sell and the wrinkle free material appears to be polyester.
The Good: At first glance the models appear to be high quality with lots of detail. The rule book is actually very nice on it's own, especially is one has an appreciation of Blanche. The fact this box contains everything is a real plus for me, and I mean everything, scenery, sea monsters, the auxiliary ships and fliers, 'nautical navigation devices', etc. I find this to be a real plus (especially considering GW track record of releasing everything for 'side games')
The Bad: I was kinda disappointed with the 'sea mat', it just seems a bit thin, I'm hoping it doesn't move about during play. I was wondering all along how the mat was going to fit in the box (expecting something like their grass mat) and it fits in the box because it is rather thin. A surprising 'bad', the miniatures are rather nice, they deserve a nice paint job, they really do, I just don't know if I have the time amongst my other hobby 'demands' to give them the attention they really deserve.
The Ugly: Dreadfleet is actually pretty nice, it looks like a bit of time and effort were invested, the quality overall is top notch, one could even say it's a good value. I can see this being great fun with the grandkids on holidays. So why the ugly? A better question in the end may be why Dreadfleet at all? Even though GW is a multinational company that generates millions in sales and has store fronts around the globe they manage to still play that they are a small little affair that lacks the resources to support not only Specialist Games but even produce all the Codexes and miniatures for their core games. So when I look at the effort and quality that obviously went into Dreadfleet instead of being wholeheartedly happy with what surely is a quality product I am filled with question and pretty much regret that the time and the effort wasn't spent on numerous offerings I would have much rather seen lavished with such effort: a Battle Fleet Gothic box set like this would have been awesome, and heck, they could have generated sales for the minis they already have on the site, or how about Adeptus Titanicus with the five highly detailed sprues full of Epic Titans and scenery, on the fantasy end since that's what they are pushing why not Mordheim, etc. Am I happy with my purchase? Lets just say I'm quietly pleased, but at the same time more than a bit sad when I see what GW could be. If GW can put Dreadfleet out how can I not feel angst about the treatment they show for games I care about but they ignore.
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Any thoughts on how the game will play?
