>Spartan Games is pleased to announce that the much anticipated Halo: Ground Command tabletop wargame, which is set in the hugely popular Halo Universe, will be shipping in Summer 2016.
>The first iteration of the game is set in the year is 2552, with humanity forced to the brink of extinction by the fanatical alliance of alien races known as the Covenant. These human forces have fallen back to the fortress world of Reach, prepared to give their lives to protect Earth and buy time for a desperate gambit that could change the outcome of the entire war. This last bastion of humanity will see countless bloody engagements take place, and you will now be able to command these ground forces in titanic conflicts.
>Halo: Ground Command is a massed battle game using highly detailed 1:100th scale infantry, armoured and aerial models and has been developed in close cooperation with 343 Industries.
>>46231708
>“We’re pretty stoked about the arrival of Halo: Ground Command and we can’t wait for players around the world to experience the fun we have been having as we created the models and core rules,” explains Spartan Neil Fawcett, Creative Director of Spartan Games. “Halo fans are used to seeing ground warfare from a first person perspective, but with this game we step back and embrace the whole battlefield where we see entire Battle Groups engaging with each other. Players can deploy units of Troopers, Grunts, Elites, ODST, Elite Rangers, Warthogs, Scorpions, Wraiths, Ghosts… the list goes on!”
>Expansion plans for the game will see some of the most iconic vehicles from the Halo Universe realised in superb detail at 1:100th scale. “UNSC Pelicans, Covenant Phantoms, anti-air variants of the Scorpion and Wraith tanks, Banshees, Falcons and even giant machines like the Covenant Scarab. At 1:100th scale we have been working with the actual video game assets to make our models as accurate as possible. They are still designed to be gamed with, but we are sure fans of Halo will see just how much attention to detail we’ve lavished on these models,” explains Spartan Chris Peacey, Lead Designer for Spartan Games.
>>46231730
>THE GAME ENGINE
>In much the same way as our spaceship combat game, Halo: Fleet Battles, was created to allow Halo fans to readily embrace wargaming in the Halo Universe, so the ground game is built around smooth and intuitive game mechanics.
>“This is a true wargame that brings together tanks, soldiers and flyers in a hobby format we are sure will see gamers create stunning battlefields upon which they can fight epic games using their stunning armies,” added Spartan Neil. “As we created the rules we made sure that the Halo canon was adhered to, generating those cinematic moments of excitement, and always looked to keep the gameplay fast, intuitive and bloody.”
>A key part of the game play is the Reaction Engine, which means a unit is never safe from harm by an enemy unit. Players will need to keep their wits about them when deploying their forces and constant vigilance as a battle unfolds will be rewarded by victory!
>>46231763
>Come and check out the Halo: Ground Command game and models which will be on display at the Salute 2016 wargames show in London. And keep an eye out for some exciting news about two of our coolest [and largest] Halo flying models: the UNSC Pelican Dropship and Covenant Phantom Dropship.
>The initial release of Halo: Ground Command will see a 2-player Battle Box launched, along with the first upgrade boxes for the UNSC and Covenant.
All the best,
Spartan Neil
Source: http://www.spartangames.co.uk/halo-ground-command?platform=hootsuite
RIP Spartan Games. There's no fucking way a company this size will be able to support..let's see...
Dystopian Wars
Dystopian Wars Fleet Action
Dystopian Legions
Firestorm Armada
Firestorm Taskforce
Firestorm Planetfall
Halo Space Battles
Halo Ground Battles
I mean, we're talking about a company that has a permanent release bottleneck of the owner personally approving every detail.
>>46232274
I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft is in part helping them to keep them afloat, 343 had a vested interest in making this succeed because it's part of their larger plan to expand the halo brand
>>46232274
They manage it by neglecting certain franchises for months and years at a time, then releasing some sexy next stuff for them with a few other boxes, while neglecting others, and so on in a cycle.
Really they should have just dropped what wasn't working and sitting where they're comfortable, spending their efforts on the most popular brands. I mean, they're also trying to branch out with Spartan Scenics as well if you count that as a brand as well. You've got to work for that slow-grow and build up. Look at CB; they dropped their historical 15mm once it found Infinity was the project they were going to make a living on, and they threw fucking everything at it with a vengeance.
>>46233513
I really doubt Microsoft is going to just let them drop any of its halo games.
>>46231708
>armoured and aerial models and has been developed in close cooperation with 343 Industries
>343 industries
into the trash it goes
>>46233611
Let's be honest here, 343 way more about halo than Bungie ever did.
Fucking hype. Even better, it means we're that much closer to an RPG.
>>46232274
To be fair, Fleet Action and Taskforce are just rules hacks for Dystopian Wars and Firestorm Armada
>>46233544
Also true. They've probably been wanting to get into this market for a while, put the Halo franchise into other game genres to make some cash. Probably thought Spartan Games was their best bet, plus it's got it right in the name.
>>46233611
>>46233654
Halo was a cheap serial for Bungie to sell on console to garner themselves some cash so they could move on to other projects. 343 were just the fanboys who loved Halo exclusively, without understanding a lot of what was behind it. Now the guys who wrote the fanfiction are in charge of the franchise.
>>46233707
Exactly, 343 is what happen when you put a bunch of fanboys in charge.
>>46233903
>putting a fanbase in charge
>ever
This is takes the lead just over "fanbase pandering" in the shit-that-fucks-your-quality-level category.
Fans are great, they buy your stuff and give you hype, but if you start letting that leak in, you'll exclude the wider audience or otherwise just fuck your shit up.
>>46233707
Yep I'm thinking they really didn't know better and went with spartan games, tho is worse for SG since M$ has way more money for lawyers, regardless I just hope they don't drop the ball with this one.
>>46234318
With the release of the Fleet game, I think they're doing alright. Good sculpts, solid rules... Spartan knows how to make a product at a certain quality and they deliver more often than not.
>>46233220
>our big tank broke
>just prop it up on four smaller tanks no-one will notice
>>46234459
The Scorpion is badly designed for actual warfare when you really look at it
>>46234459
Just for you
>>46233675
I'm hype about the supposed synergy it will have with the fleet game, I wonder what that will all be about.
>>46233675
We have/(had?) an RPG, some tripfag name vorked was working on it.
>>46234941
Turned into a closterfuck, they started again, and I don't know what happened to it. Seems like it was doing better since Vorked actually learned some lessons about listening to his playtesters.
>>46234972
He's got a subreddit now, looks like hes on update 22
>>46235017
Probably better there than here, frankly. We make something neat at the outset and then we turn it to shit.
I suppose that's the natural way of things, and a cycle we should take to heart for our other projects.
>>46235078
engine hearts was /tg/ made, wasn't it? I've found walpoc to be a good setting too
>>46231708
Another entry in Spartan Games' long line of half-supported game spew.
>>46235495
Honestly fleet battles gets something at least every 2-3 months and knowing Microsoft they are not going to let SG slack on their cash cow I mean look at pic related
>>46235558
And also this one, and how many months has it been since it came out?
>>46235619
Those middle two covenant ships look almost identical, whats the story there?
>>46231819
How the hell is this even going to work as a game though? The UNSC rapes the Covenant on the ground, unless Covenant models are cheaper the game will suck for covie players.
>>46235790
Inverse of the Fleet game where UNSC beats Covvies on the ground and Covvies have to zerg up to match?
Then again, players most often play Spartans, and Spartans fuck everything. Might be the sides are more balanced like Halo Wars. Table balance takes precedence in a table game rather than fluff balance, think 40k. Even the fleet game has UNSC pulling a 3:1 for Covvies, while fluff has it something like 20:1 for UNSC to have a chance.
>>46235863
But the UNSC was pretty OP even in Halo Wars. Like you said, Spartans check every rekt box. The game covenant will have to play completely different from the lore, playing smart and actually shooting at them instead of charging constantly.
>>46231708
>summer 2016
I'm too hyped, I'm ordering a starter box tomorrow when I go to the FLGS
>>46231708
1/100th scale :(
That sucks...
>>46235962
Fluff wise, spartans and high tier elites are on equal footing. Fulsamee and John are on equal terms as soldiers. An average silver facing an average spartan will be a fair fight. High rank jackals and low rank elites are on par with ODST's in open combat, with low jackals and grunts being equivalent to FNG marines. Ground forces are fairly balanced mechanically, it just comes down to tactics. They all have their place on the table. As for covie being under powered, do i even need to mention hunters one hitting every thing up to a damn tank?
>>46231708
>1/100
that's pretty bloody small, big 3mm or thereabouts
while in theory that's the sort of game I'd like to play, that is particularly small, and I suspect that may be because they want to shoehorn in a lot of 2kewl superheavies rather than be more about maneuver warfare
>>46238991
>big 3mm
what the hell are you talking about, 1:100 is 15mm
>>46231819
That looks like a 100% copy of the Reach model.
I'm okay with that.
Ditto for the scorpion.
>>46239162
Oops, I read mm but not per foot
>>46233684
Not really. Taskforce is in no way compatibile with Armada, so while the minis are the same (which, btw they are revamping once more...so prepare for brand new Core Six battleships and cruisers and shit AGAIN!), the rules will need full support, not just tweaking stats from one game to the other.
>Spartan knows how to make a product at a certain quality
Too bad they don't know how to support it afterwards. I dig my consolidated fleet pdfs for firestorm! Oh wait, no, for two years now they can't fucking copy two statlines into one document per fleet.
>>46234910
Well, the synergy between Armada and Planetfall is that you get minor perks in one if you win in the other so yeah, don't expect anything imaginative.
>>46236102
15mm is just about the only scale they could do it at (unless they want to go 10mm or less). 32 mm is a scale for 10-man team skirmish gaming, only a complete retard would try to bring a whole battleline into that.
So how are Spartan's other games doing? Is their ADHD killing them?
>>46236102
I'm fucking psyched!
>>46240448
Give me those Sangheili units...NOW
>>46240469
These pics are old, but damn if it isn't soon, friend anon.
>>46240475
Anything for those...
>>46240490
Were it so easy.
Soon we shall bring ablution to many a games table.
>>46240518
Oh arbiter!
>>46236115
That's great and all, but doesn't help when Covie doctrine is straight out of the start of World War I (CHAAAAARGE), and humans love the shit out of indirect fire weapons.
>>46240531
Have one more.
>>46240544
>what is combined arms
>what is STEEEL RAAAAIN
>what is BS energy shields
>what is orbital superiority
I'm not buying it
>>46240570
>I'm not buying it
The reason the Covenant are glassing UNSC worldsis because they deploy the ground forces, they get fucking destroyed, and then the Covies glass the planet as part of their doctrine when they withdraw, to deny that planet to the enemy
>>46235728
One is an older variant of the one in the left, with weaker shields but stronger armor
>>46235790
Actually the covenant always had the upper hand in the ground as well because of their superior technology, is just that their doctrine was to send Jackals and Grunts until the enemy ran out of ammunition and then the real shit show began
Anyways I'm also hoping for zealot chapters:
>The role and legacy of Sangheili Zealots can be traced back to the pre-Covenant era. Over the decades, a number of different Zealot chapters aligned with particular interpretations of ancient codes of honor or debt-packs endured – and even thrived – under the Covenant. In Killer Instinct, players can outfit their character with the ceremonial battle harness that was the armor of choice of the Devoted Sentries, a group of Elite Zealots that served under Supreme Commander Rho ‘Barutamee within the Fleet of Valiant Prudence during their assault on Reach.
>>46240839
They would glass planets regardless.
Even then, Reach was the 2nd most heavily defended world humanity had, and not only was a single spartan the sole defender remaining on the planet, they started glassing it as soon as they had orbital superiority.
>>46239855
In going for the halo reach, and the halo wars units to make it to the game
This from a while back and there is at least one thing that changed since then:
>Basic game mechanics (e.g. the dice system) are similar to Halo: Fleet Battles, though troop morale plays a key role. Where appropriate we are using the same terminology across both games.
>Design intent is to allow players to field platoons of infantry supported by up to a dozen vehicles and have a game play out in a reasonable span of time (about 90 minutes, although players can easily expand their forces to play all day!).
>The actual mechanical parts of the game is focused at the squad level. You will not be rolling for individual “sticks” with plasma grenades. However, we are looking at concessions for “rule of cool” Halo elements, like Warthog splatters and vehicle hijacking.
>Infantry have multiple models on a single base, representing fireteams for the UNSC and lances (or demi-lances) for the Covenant. Line troops are on larger bases, command elements and specialists on smaller bases, so you can easily pick them out on the tabletop. The base unit of maneuver is the squad or file, which consists of line and specialist bases in various combinations. The sprue design we’ve worked out should give considerable flexibility in force composition right out of the box (even more if you want to magnetize some key units).
>Dropships are a core part of the game, though not a central element of maneuver and strategy. Whilst the current plan isn’t to include a Pelican or Phantom model in the starter box, we do intend to include a full size template (top view on one side, wrecked on the other) for a UNSC and Covenant dropship so you can make use of them even before Spartan Games releases the models themselves. And dropships are not going to be the largest units in the game . . .
>>46241809
>Drop pods will be key to both Covenant and UNSC victory! Meteoric assaults by UNSC ODSTs and Elite SpecOps are vital in getting firepower in the right place, at precisely the right time. Using drop pods as impromptu orbital artillery may not make the final cut.
