Dropship Horizon has the privilege of bringing you advanced Intel on the up-coming release of Tomorrow’s War – Science Fiction Wargaming Rules. Written by Robby and Shawn Carpenter of Ambush Alley Games and published by Osprey Publishing, it would be fair to say that there was quite a buzz about these rules during the testing phase that ended back in March.
At that time, a copy of Force on Force was required to play Tomorrow's War as it was produced as an add-on to Ambush Alley Games' popular modern rule set. What we see here, is the fully evolved and independent form of Tomorrow's War, and it looks pretty darn good.
From what we can gather, the release date of 20 September 2011 is still on track and the following images have been obtained via our High Orbital Spy Satellites.
A primer on the Universe of Tomorrow’s War.
Somehow, the thought of telling someone wearing battledress, who is armed with some sort of rotary cannon or fusion gun, that smoking might be harmful to his health strikes me as rather futile.
Quality maps and quality illustrations, production values are high.
Guys in armoured suites with BFGs. Total Win!
And pictures of our favourite toys by our favourite manufacturers.
Eighty-odd days and counting! Looks like the best set of hard science fiction rules to be released this year. Can't wait! - David
[Editor's Note: This post has been edited to include images that, while marking their source as Dropship Horizon, do not imply any ownership by the blog. Thank you - Eli]
That looks absolutely awesome. The free beta testing version alone put most other publishers to same in terms of presentation but this looks outstanding.
ReplyDeleteAn outstanding rulebook to match an outstanding set of rules. Can't ask for better than that.
Looks great! and from the very brief read here, looks player friendly!
ReplyDeleteIt does look good doesn't it! The taste of the pudding is in the eating as they say but, if the work done by Ambush Alley Games and Osprey Publishing in producing Force on Force is anything to go by, we can expect some very high production values!
ReplyDeleteLooks nice, even though the layout could be a bit more clear.
ReplyDeleteBased on the art I see here, i'll be buying it just for that!
ReplyDeleteThat looks VERY cool - thanks so much for the preview!
ReplyDeleteLooks like the general release date may have slipped a bit - October 18th??
http://ambushalleygames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7081
I am quite impressed with the text I see here. Clean declarative sentences, paragraphs with initial topic sentences, all very clean. Walkers "Motivated" by their legs may be a bit off but you know what it means, and nothing unclear or confusing in these samples.
ReplyDeleteI was disappointed with the FOF/TW bundle I bought in March.. FOF seemed a lot more fiddly than Ambush Alley and it was too annoying to have to read 2 rulebooks. Maybe this edition will be better for that reason.
ReplyDeleteI like high production values, will buy this one for sure.
ReplyDeleteThe release date has slipped to October. But, we WILL have copies at the debut in September at Fall Recruits to sell so if you can make it there you can get it a month earlier.
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ReplyDeleteWow, it looks GREAT. I'm always attracted by rulebooks which are also nice to look at.
ReplyDeleteI think that pictures and eyecandy, if go together with good mechanics, are killer application for a set of rules.
Customers like to see (not just to read) the value of their money!
80 odd days and counting indeed!
ReplyDeleteI don't much care for the production values and the glossy stuff etc. That's just froth! Can anyone tell me more about the gameplay and mechanics? I bought the Hammers Slammers books based on some beautiful pictures in glossy books but IMHO the gameplay therein stinks to the degree that it is almost unplayable! We are getting some wonderful 15mm figures at the moment but the rules have yet to catch up. Will these be the set of rules to change that?
ReplyDeleteDave S
Do want.
ReplyDeleteStoked! Looks Phenomenal! How do the game mechanics look?
ReplyDeleteDave S - there are loads good 15mm sci fi rules out there! Just off the top of my head there's: FAD (Fast and Dirty), Stargrunt 2, Gruntz, Critical Mass, 5150. But if you like the mechanisms of Force on Force then Tomorrow's War may be what you're looking for.
ReplyDeleteBenjamin - we don't yet have a copy of the rules so can't do a detailed review but, on the basis of the beta PDF, the mechanisms are similar to Force on Force with added levels of detail to illustrate varying force technology levels and battlefield communications, command and control amongst other things.
I have never played Force on Force before but i have read a couple of reasonable review's on the system,the eye candy for Tomorrow's War looks very nice and i am almost tempted to buy a copy simply because of the artwork and in game photo's but i would also like to find out a bit more about the games system before i commit to buying a copy, does anyone know the retail price yet? Zac
ReplyDeleteZac - The Dropship Horizon crew will do a review of Tomorrow's War at or close to the time it goes on general release.
ReplyDeleteI've tried, and liked, the PDF pre-release version. Even needing a second set of rules proved no discouragement.
ReplyDeleteAs well as humans, we tried several not grunts in rubber suits-aliens: Ixx, Daleks. Quite different to FWC, which in retrospect we are now using for 6mm.
Already building forces, ready to kick sleebs and impell ardvinkles.
Now might be a good time to buy shares in GZG and khurasan!
well every book from AAG is better than the last and this look fantastic.hmm only one thing is bad on 15mm scifi when you started buying models you just cant stop :) my Federal army troops from khurasan and now looking for GZG UNSC light infantry and NAC marines:D
ReplyDeleteI know the addiction! I am very into 15mm and 6mm now, with only Warmachine/Hordes and Malifaux in any scale larger other than my all time love VOR! So, yeah, I have binged and will continue to binge on the glories of 15 and 6mm! Cannot wait for these rules!
ReplyDeleteOne question, is this ruleset usable for just 15mm or can it be used for 6mm scale as well?
Benjamin - I'd need to reread the rules to be sure, but I guess you could use Tomorrow's War for 6m if you used a small dice to denote casualties to multi-based figures. You might also want to check Future War Commander though as that rule set is specifically for smaller scale multi based figures.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt. I am mostly content with what 6mm rulesets are out there, I am pretty much locked entirely into 15mm at this point and the forseeable future, was just kind of curious as it came up in conversation with my buddy tonight. Can't wait to get my hands on this!
ReplyDelete@Dave S You can read some early AARs on our forum at www.ambushalleygames.com/forum. You do not need to be a member to read the stuff there. You might find some more info about the game there that is helpful.
ReplyDelete@Zac The cost of the hardcopy will be $34.95 the same as FoF. We'll also have PDfs for sale at $25.
@Benjamin_starkey We have people who play FoF at 6mm and 10mm so it's definitely doable. You just need to adjust measurements.
I asked the question about mechanics on tmp and found the resulting discussion helpful:
ReplyDeletehttp://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=234252
Thanks for all the interest in Tomorrow's War! We'll have representatives at most of the major US conventions this year running a demo game for people who are interested.
ReplyDeleteYou can get a lot of information on the game on our forum as well, of course, and it doesn't require you to register to read or search for posts - you can find it here:
www.ambushalleygames.com/forum
We plan to support Tomorrow's War in much the same way we have Force on Force, with companion books full of scenarios and force organizations. These will (mostly) be set in our background, but they'll all be easily transferable to other settings as well.
We're really excited about Tomorrow's War and it's great to see so many other people are, too!
Best wishes,
Shawn.
Ambush Alley, just take my credit card......
ReplyDeleteI've been loving Ambush Alley and Force on Force and the pre release of Tomorrows War.
Got the new FoF rules and love them. I can see another purchase coming up
Now, GZG, what new stuff have you got?
Looks very interesting......
ReplyDeleteSteve
http://yorkie.6sided.net/
Thanks for all the kind and supportive comments, guys! And thanks to the new crew aboard Horizon for hosting a sneak preview of the book's interior!
ReplyDeleteWe've got a lot of neat supporting material in the works for Tomorrow's War, including companion books containing tons of scenarios, organizations, and vehicle write-ups. Most of these will be for the background we describe in the rulebook (an entirely optional background, mind you), but we have several one-off projects and collaborative projects that we think you'll find pretty exciting!
Come see us at Fall Recruits to pick up a copy of TW in September, a month before the rest of the world! We'll be there running games as will a bunch of fans (I think there are six tables running TW on Saturday). Come meet us, try a game, and support a great cause (Recruits raises money for a HS gaming club and raises awareness of gaming among younger folks)!
Best wishes,
Shawn.
Sounds great Shawn!
ReplyDelete