Mantic: Dreadball New Edition is Coming
Dreadball is going into close-season – that means a new edition is on its way!
Hey there, sports fans, the titanium ball has entered the arena for the last play – it looks like we’re approaching the end the season.
For the past 4 years, all over the world thousands of coaches have taken to the pitch to play ball, win tournaments and claim trophies – or often to just bash their opponent’s heads in, forgetting about the ball and scoring strikes… yet all good matches must come to an end, and it’s time for the first edition of Dreadball to be no more!
Over the years DreadBall has grown beyond the simple core game and 2 expansion teams we originally had planned! It developed into 6 season books, 25 teams, a cast of MVPs, a multi-player expansion, several stand alone expansions and a supporting range of accessories, pitches and giants. Two of those books and several teams are now out of stock and the range has become intimidating to new players and unbalanced as new teams have joined the game. With the core game going out of print and 4 years of community feedback under our belt, it’s time to tidy it all up and make it into something even better.
So, please don’t panic….DreadBall – the new Edition is coming!!
Like we did with Kings of War, we’re going to create a 2nd Edition of DreadBall – The Futuristic Sports Game.
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We love the core principals of the game and we are keeping the speed and dynamism of the main game so these will remain unchanged, but there are a few areas that need some attention.
The new edition update will address:
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Enhanced Game Play – Faster to play, simpler to learn and easier to collect, the new edition will streamline 6 seasons worth of rules, FAQ and errata without losing any of the soul of original DreadBall.
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A New League System – built from the ground up, offering unprecedented options for team building
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Improvements based on your feedback – Reworking Jacks, Giants and MVPs to become central to the game are high on our priority list!
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Balanced Teams – each team will have a unique play-style and will be fairly balanced for competitive gaming.
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And more!
DreadBall 2nd Edition will enable you to play exciting pick-up games, but also unlock epic leagues that will be talked about by your gaming group for years to come! Our plan is that it’ll let you enjoy the galaxy’s greatest sport whilst reinvigorating the DreadBall scene for the vets, and bring in a host of new players.
DreadBall 2nd Edition will be spearheaded by a new 2nd Edition core game, which will include the new rulebook, an up-sized pitch and two new teams. The tooling and production will be funded on a simple, short Kickstarter in July, which also builds awareness of its retail launch in 2017. You’ll get updated rules for every team and Dreadball Ultimate will also get the 2nd edition treatment.
Before anyone gets worried about all their beautiful teams getting discontinued – the focus is on the rules and balance – and while we will add a couple of new teams to the core game (which will come as 1 piece figures to open the game up to a wider market) all the teams will be valid with the next edition. We just want to sort out the rules, make those improvements and get it growing all over again.
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There will also be ongoing support, in the shape of new organized play packs, an online global ranking site, and continued releases, and we hope lots of international versions of the game.
More information will become available over the next couple of weeks as we show-off the development work. The rules committee are already at work on making DreadBall 2 better than the first, supported by a new team of alpha playtesters – the hardcore tournament players who’ll help make sure every team and every position creates game-play options.
What does this mean for DreadBall Xtreme?
At the moment – nothing. DreadBall Xtreme is a standalone game set in the same universe as DreadBall. Xtreme is a brutally fun sports game with an underground theme.
DreadBall Xtreme will becomes the de facto way of getting started with DreadBall until the second edition is out, and then it’ll carry on as its own game. As you know, every team and MVP is compatible thanks to the Player Manual, and you can even build your own team out of any player in the range,
AdvertisementIt’s all the fun of DreadBall with some unique twists. Find out more in this video:
We believe this will keep people playing Dreadball until DB2 hits!
Until then, please let us have your suggestions in the comments below for how to make DreadBall even bigger and better – and watch out for more information on the DreadBall 2, and the mini Kickstarter campaign coming soon!
So, get ready, a whole new season is about to kick-off!
Are you ready for a new season?
