Dropfleet Commander Boot Camp – Saturday

We're diving back into the Boot Camp today and exploring gameplay but before that an introduction to what's going to be happening today!

Big thanks to Deep-Cut Studio, Dark Ops, Army Painter and of course Hawk Wargames!

Join us as we get stuck into plenty of awesome chatter with folks here at the Boot Camp and remember that we have some epic goodies for you to pick up and all you have to do is comment on the Live Blog to be in with a chance.

Dave is joined by Darren to take people through the basics of Dropfleet Commander. He'll be talking movement, shooting, as well as a few of the neat twists which make the game an exciting tabletop prospect.

Standby for a full video in a little while!

As well as running the Boot Camp we also took some time with Dave from Hawk Wargames to have a bit of a contest. We're getting stuck into the building of some great big Space Stations!

With a bit of rules chatter out of the way we're getting stuck into some proper games now as folks learn about the basic mechanics of their fleet with an introductory scenario.

We'll be chatting with some of the folks we caught up with yesterday and then will find out how their first games went!

If you're loving what's happening here with Dropfleet Commander then you might want to check out Orbital Bombardment and their Youtube Channel.

Here we've featured their awesome Battle Report between Scourge and UCM but there's plenty more to go and see to. So, give them a watch and subscribe!

One of the things we've heard from all of the folks here at the Boot Camp is how cinematic the games are feeling right now with ships exploding left, right and centre, and guns blasting through armour as bits of ship float off into space.

The game really does come to life through its mechanics and it seems like everyone is having bouts of both good and bad luck!

Here Dave and Darren from Hawk Wargames take you though the basics of Dropfleet Commander with a few sample turns looking at movement, firing and some of the more technical aspects of battling on the tabletop.

We'll be diving into more detail as the weekend progresses but this gets everyone up to speed for their first game.

Justin sits down with suetoniuspaulinus from the community to paint up his PHR fleet and get some additional colour onto these ships before getting in a game or two.

If you have any tips for Justin or indeed thoughts on how you'd paint your own fleet get them in the comments below.

Food has arrived and Mother Justin is making sure everyone is fed and watered with some rather awesome looking hotdogs and chips.

Yes, we're aware there's still not as much colour here but we do have Lance's fruit stand as well! No scurvy here!

We step in and chat with Richard about how things are going with his first game using UCM.

Interestingly, this features a bit of a training exercise/blue-on-blue battling as his opponent is also using UCM!

Justin has now taken to the tabletop with his PHR fleet against the UCM and things look like they're going to be heating up.

Who do you think is going to win in this exchange?

We're now finding out how Adam is doing in his game using the Shaltari. It seems like the Space Hedgehogs are doing well!

Will they be able to survive the attack from the UCM? We find out as Ben tries to blast Adam's stuff out of the sky with a burn through laser!

We join the guys once again for their Space Station Build. Clipping isn't the most interesting of aspects in building but it does give you a sense of satisfaction!

We see if Michael's tactics have managed to carry over into the first day of gaming and his initial match-up against Rob's Scourge.

Does running away count as a tactical choice?

Why might we be setting up this rather awesome tabletop for Dropzone Commander.

Until we do reveal our plans make sure to get commenting below with what you think we're up to!

We find out how things are going for Nate now that his beautiful space aliens have taken to the battlefield.

Things might not be turning out so well but maybe something will explode...maybe? Quick, fudge it!

We'll shortly be joining up with Dave again to talk about the next scenarios the Boot Camp members are going to be playing out today looking at Ramming, Bombardment and the destruction of Space Stations!

It's now time to move onto the next stage of the adventures in space for this weekend as Dave takes us through some more rules for Dropfleet Commander.

We'll have to see how the goodies giveaway goes throughout this afternoon!

We have our first Spot Prize which includes a Space Station Explosion!

Drop Beasts is our epic team of Admirals who are playing in competitions for both Dropzone Commander and Dropfleet Commander at Hawk Wargames’ tournaments and further abroad too.

If you’re interested in getting involved message commodorerob with your details and maybe you’ll get a rather epic t-shirt too!

See how things worked out when the Boot Campers got obsessed with ramming speed and going head long into the enemy!

It might mean the death of your ship but you can do some dangerous stuff as you smash into the opponent.

We take a look at the awesome Dashboard that Dark Ops has put together for use with Dropfleet Commander condensing everything from the tabletop into one place.

Look out for them towards the beginning of next year and we're going to test out the prototype today!

This does make viewing your fleet a little easier and allows you to use clear bases to see the tabletop beneath, especially when it's a nice Deep-Cut Studio mat!

We catch up with Andy who was able to get his hands on the Third Prize as part of his game with Justin.

It's time to blow up some sectors and as we find out from Dave there are some deadly ways to make this a reality.

We continue looking at what the guys are up to as they build their Space Stations.

Which Build Pattern would you follow in your tinkering?

Justin has been able to claim victory over Andy but at what price? It seems like his fleet might be getting a very funny looking ship in its midst.

It's interesting seeing how the games play out and while it's fun to blast people out of the sky you HAVE to think about your ground assets.

We said there would be a price. It seems like when victory was given to Justin Andy decided to give his ships a make over and now this Pikaship is beginning to find its way into all manner of situations.

Is this heresy or awesome in ship form?

We're now stopping in with Dave to talk more about the next scenario which will include how terrain moves around, moons and the fact that we might be able to get stuck into a BIG game featuring all manner of ships.

We see how Tanya has been getting on with the Dark Op's Dashboard. It was a bit of a fiddle getting all the things ready but when they're done they look awesome!

The bases do look very nice as does the painted dashboard!

We're cranking things up to the next level for this game where the Boot Camp members are bringing together a combined force of PHR against a large Scourge menace.

...with a Moon involved this could end up being a lot of fun.

We get stuck into some more gaming this evening as the Boot Campers are really getting to grips with some new rules and working together on tactics and tips for their games.

It seems like folks are starting to learn more about how it all works and the fluid nature of the game is coming to life.

We jump back to Dave and the guys as they tweak a few things from the 1500 Point Game to make it a little fairer.

We WILL be back with this game to see how its going now things are a few turns in.

It's time to tuck into some good food as we're enjoy some Lasagna from the local food joint.

We think it's rather excellent looking grub!

We're checking out how the game is going between Adam and John where it looks like the Shaltari might have set themselves up for an explosive finale BUT they managed to take down a battleship in the process.

Woot, blasting things means goodies!

We're looking at the game as it continues to power on. Ships are moving into position and space stations are getting blown up.

A lot of assets are also hitting the tabletop and trying to harry other larger ships. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out as the PHR are focusing in on some tactics through mutters and whispers!

Ben sits down with John to have a think about exactly what he's been up to behind the scenes as he tinkers with a Battleship from the UCM.

Do you think our cultured chatter might be good form for an upcoming airbrush tutorial?

As the evening continues we're painting a few more ships with people out in the quiet area surrounded by tea and coffee.

It's neat to see how the fleets are coming together so nicely with plenty of interesting schemes.

This UCM facility has now been caught napping and a whole bunch of fleets are closing in to try and take advantage of this massive structure.

We'll be following as this battle unfolds and Dave will be GM'ing throughout to make sure things are nice and nasty. Of course there are some goodies on offer too!

Folks are getting into the swing of things and it looks like there might already be a few blasts to repair on the massive space station floating in the middle of the table.

We'll have an update for you soon from Commander Justin!

We're catching up with things as we move towards the next turn of the game where things are blowing up, people are winning goodies AND we're seeing the Space Station get a bit of an upgrade.

Let's see how this carnage continues!

Tune into Periscope at 9pm to see some exclusive behind the scenes and ask us some questions as we stream live!

Check the official time on our Twitter @Beastsofwar

We're joining the guys again as part of their Space Station build to find out who is planning what today.

There are some great plans, some good plans, some...iffy plans, and more beside. Whose Space Station would you like to survive on?

We're joining the guys as they play through another turn of the Mega Station Ambush. We had to jump in here because there's been another big explosion on the Space Station ending with another set of goodies being handed out.

...what nefarious schemes does Dave have for the participants now?

The games continue and more things explode. We've got some neat stuff to get into soon as we look towards a bit of ramming but in the mean time take in the games.

It truly does look awesome when you see the ships battling it out over these mats.

We find out how this ramming attempt has turned out as we look at the game between the PHR and the Scourge.

There's plenty of fire and shredded metal as the ships tear apart in space.

It's time for things to go 'mega boom' as the Space Station is finally taken down and things fall apart in this mega game.

Cad walks away with the big new Starter Fleet for himself and another participant walks two launch asset packs!

...and that's us done for Saturday. We'very had a great time and can't wait to see what Dave has in store for us tomorrow!