So I heard that FFG have purchased the rights for AT-43 like CMoN did for the Confrontation line. Does this mean they might be re-releasing the models for DUST Tactics. (i.e. Red Block for Sino-Soviets, and Cogs for Vrill?) or will AT-43 have it's own line. I really hope they don't get put into the DUST Tactics range although AT-43 was originally supposed to be DUST...

Just wondering where you saw that this has happened? I still have all my old AT-43 stuff and I thought it was pretty much dead and gone and I was actually considering selling it.

AT-43 is nice, but I just don't want them to release it as DUST...

I read it over on Dakka Dakka. I've been looking for the AT-43 Initaition Set but can't find an affordable one...

[so]Rice said:

Really. They had stacks of them at Origins for $25 a pop. Almost got me an extra set, instead I went with some of the buy 1 get 2 free AT-43 box sets.

I hope FFG did buy AT-43. Its a good setting and would also make a fine RPG (as would DUST).

It would be wierd for them to roll it into DUST but I could see it being done if done right. The miniatures are slightly different scale. And the Red Boc warmachines are quite smaller then the DUST walkers. But I could imagine the Soviets fielding smaller war machines out of necessity and resources available.

But it would be a fairly cheap option for them. And as a DUST fan I would feel cheated. As a AT-43 fan I would feel ignored.

i highly doubt this, since FFG's first jump into AT43 went horribly bad. i want them to focus on this game, not an old dead game (an old dead game i really loved, but old and dead nonetheless)

blkdymnd said:

Its the old Ted Turner gambit though. When he started CNN back in the early 80s otehr peole said he would eventually lose out when other companies made their own news networks. What did Ted do? He created Headline News, making his own competition. This would allow FFG to have their 40K competing line. They can expand it and when the 40k RPG lines/games meet the end of their contract they can alter existing plans and turn it into AT-43 and DUST stuff.

By owning AT-43 outright instead of leasing (40K) or jointly working (DUST) FFG can have their own baby to raise and publish. One that already has some appeal and fans and history and is known to many gamers.

AT-43 is ripe for a video game ( even a first person shooter of Damocles), a novel (they wronte two for Android for crying out loud), card game, board game, miniature game and a venture into OGL RPG games (Traveller, RQ2 or old OGL/Pathfinder/True Twenty).

Same with DUST. But why only focus on one when many can work and make money. Some would appeal to one set of fans, another to another set and both to joint sets as well.

AT-43 went horribly bad because it was merely repackaging the Rackham stuff and not doing it on its own. FFG was not making products, they were just ranslating and distributing it in the USA. Now Mutant Chronicles did go bad (primarily because of the scale, if it went 28mm it would have done better), but I still blame the MC property and not FFG for that. MCis one of my favorite settings, but ever since it came out it has suffered from a serious problem. Focus. Is it Buck Rogers? Is it Pulp Action? Is it Gothic Sci-Fi Horror? Is it Classic Sci-Fi? Is it Steam Opera? Is it War? MC has never been able to settle on what it really wants to be, it is like the undecided major student in college. A little bit of everything, but not enough of one to make it.

I like AT-43. I like DUST Tactics. I am looking forward to the Vrill invasion, teh Japanese/Soviet Forces, some British and French forces and to see what the Allies come up against in the Pacific and Africa!

I like AT-43, I would like to see some more personal stuff done with it, like AT-43 Tactics (which would be good for DUST Tactics as well). I would like to see what life on Ava is like, especially on the border zones where the Red Blok of Ava and the UNA merge. I would like to see how the joint forces of the Cogs, Karmans, UNA and Red Blok work together against the Therians. Elite multi-national teams of investigators and commandoes ferreting out fifth columnists, separatists, sympathizers, traitors and yes, even cultitsts. Elite special forces launching raids on Therian planets and habitats. Space Combat and so forth.

AT-43 has room to grow and chances to succeed, and I think FFG could be the ones to do it.

And it wouldnt distract from DUST Tactics at all.

Peacekeeper_b said:

Well if anyone has a base game or AT-43, send me a message, I'll but it from you

I'm not saying AT-43 will be incorporated into DUST, it might a a possibility although I hope that doesn't happen...

So what's the difference between AT43 and Dust? I always thought they were 2 games but based on the same storyline and fluff?

AT-43 was originally Dust, standing for Alternate Timeline 1943. When Rackham had decided to make the game ( from what I read, Rackham (french company) was not to happy about the WWII setting and decided to make the game set in a SCI-FI universe.

I was wondering if FFG might have bought AT-43 to prevent any possible legal issues from rising if someone else bought the rights. As AT-43 was going to be what Dust is now(reptilebro1 is spot on), it stands to reason that there will be a lot of similarities between the two. Both in design and function. I figured this just prevents copyright infringement.

-Jeff

i hope FFG dont reuse AT-43 stuff never realy liked any of the stuff from that game

reptilebro1 said:

I never knew that. Interesting. But there are no Space Nazis in AT-43!

FFG did pretty good with AT43 at first. AT43 only went bad for them when Rackham couldnt live up to their end and keep the product coming in and dates kept slipping or not materializing. As for the setting change to Sci Fi it was more than likely because the swastica and related nazi symbols are illegal in many EU countries making it kind of hard to do a WWII game so it was just easier to make it something else while keeping the look and feel. Personally I prefer the Dust setting. At the time most of the artwork for Dust was german so they evolved into the UNA and later some of the ONI.

DoomOnYou72 said:

But the UNA feels very much like ASOCOM. I feel that whatever was in Dust that was supposed to evolve into AT-43 was largely left on the cutting room floor (other then the shoulder pauldrons many of the infantry troops have).

Dust still managed to get rid of the Swastika in the Dust fluff by having Hitler assassinated and the Nazi party abolished and the SS merged into the Germany Army. Looks like a whole lot of white washing was done to avoid the topics of Nazism, holocaust/genocide and concentration camps from the world of Dust Tactics.

There is room for both Dust and AT-43.

My take on AT-43 (and yes I did dive in head first I do have all of the army books except for the Oni book) is that there was no clear direction . They wanted to go this way then someone farted so they they went that way and then someone burped and they changed gears again. The artwork and the miniatures looked great ,just that the story line was so convuluted that Luke and Laura getting married on General Hospital was easier to understand. I took my AT-43 minis and painted the UNA as Germans and used the Red Blok as Russians and ignored everything else. Basically I was playing Dust Tactics before it came out. Oh my shiny moment . . .what if they licensed the game so they could reuse some of the red Blok designs as Russion power armor? I think the kollossus makes excellent power armor almost a shrinky dink version of the KV-47.

Have more news for this:

Apparently:

Quoted from Duncan Idaho off Dakka Dakka:

Nope, Cogs are not going to be Vrill and Red Block will not be 1:1 translated into Sinosoviets.

That's good news, I don't like the AT-43 models in DUST although they are nice for their own game.

[so]Rice said:

I imagine AT-43 will stay its own game/system/setting.

[so]Rice said:

well, now i see one issue. duncan idaho is definitely not a news source. during the at43 days, he always hyped himself that had all this inside info, but all he was is a part time commission german translator. he may know slightly more than the average gamer because of his translation work, but he is anything but a news source, or most of what he says would violate pretty much every NDA out there.

AT-43 is a great game. Its such a great play and has many great minis. I own over 800 minis and 50+ vehicles. I hope FFG continues on with the development of some of the other minis like the transports and fighters. If anyone has the game I would say dont sell it unless your really done with it. There are still cheap minis out there and ebay has some stuff to.

Dust is a great game as well and I like the different settings. There are so many other minis that work with either game to help expand them that them both offer never ending modeling possibilities.

Katman said:

Luke and Laura got married????

I won't believe this till I see a press statement from FFG, I'm on their mailing list for such things, so if it was true, I think I would find out in a few weeks.

But who knows, if they only bought it to bury it, news may be hard to come by, and in that case it wouldn't matter anyway cause it will never see the light of day again.

Peacekeeper_b said:

You've obviously never seen the ONI minis--some of them look near identical to the Axis Laser Grenadiers.

oddly i believe in the UK support for this game(AT-43) was patchy at best i traveled widely to tournaments and shows(not to play AT-43) in the uk and in one area you wound find loads of players who loved the game shops with lots of minis for sale and so on , in another area nothing no players no minis zip . as aside note the players i know who played AT-43 brought loads of stuff in the sales most shops had when the game stopped .... myself i never liked the look of the game and saw far to many damaged minis come out of packs when players brought them at my local fgs (FFG will of cause fix that) i still wont be buying any of it though

I've got a fairly large AT-43 collection and would be thrilled to see FFG pick up the (dropped) torch if at all possible. I really enjoyed the game and would love to see it return to "active" status. I'm not holding my breath that this rumor is accurate, but if it is and FFG confirms it (saaay, during the GenCon "In-Flight" report?) that would really make my day.