Review copy courtesy of
Fat Dragon Games.
Pros
- Variety of wall components provided allow for all kinds of corners and attachments
- Can be used with the other sets in order to fill holes and define different kinds of areas
- Easy to print and I had no issues with warping
- Results in a good fit when used with the Dragon Bite V3 clips
- Allows for very versatile layouts that would take multiple sets using the previous Fat Dragon method (narrow hallways, wide rooms, etc.) if you commit to the new design
- Includes instructions complete with images and recommended settings. You don't realize how badly you miss these things until you don't have them
Could Go Either Way
- Instead of the 1/2 square borders that the other sets had for wall pieces, this set results in no such border when linked to a floor piece. If you didn't like the old system this is great. If you did like that extra border in order to allow space for parts of miniatures that poke outside their base size, you might not like this.
- Combing this set with the sample set allows you almost every kind of room layout you could ever want. However, when combined with the sample wall you'll have one side that has a 1/2 square border and another that does not. The difference in layout can be useful and allow for more variety, but some would like it more consistent. Personally, I like the extra option.
Cons
- There are no alternate floor pieces included. One of the big advantage to this kind of system is that you can replace floors without needing to spend filament on brand new walls too. An alternate smooth floor would've just pushed the value over the top (this is a bit of a nitpick)
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| Corner piece made from the pieces included in the set. As you can see, it lacks the 1/2 square outer edge. Still looks nice though. |
Introduction
At
this point it should come as no surprise that I like terrain and
tiles. While I am perfectly capable of playing using theatre of mind,
I tend to prefer the precision that tiles give. There is no confusion about where things are when you lay down some awesome looking tiles and miniatures on the table. And with my recent
acquisition of a 3D printer as well as look at 3D printable terrain,
it should also come as no surprise that I've been itching for some 3D
printed terrain. That's where the DRAGONLOCK Ultimate: Dungeon Separate Walls
set comes in. In general I think it's a very good set and quite
versatile, but let's jump straight into it. My apologies for my less than stellar pictures in advance.
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| The four non-diagonal wall pieces. I use them to make a corner piece further down. |
Printer Settings
Everything here was printed with a 0.4mm nozzle. The door itself was printed at 100 microns but everything else was done at 150. One thing I have to give the sets that Fat Dragon make is that they always have complete instructions complete with images.
What's Included
The
set you get here is rather complete. You get a square base, and a
triangle base to attach the walls to. The walls themselves are
interesting. There is a every size of wall you could want in order to
add walls to the perimeter of your tiles. This is done by creating 4
different sizes of walls that can be attached by the DRAGONLOCK
system. On top of that, there is a door piece that prints in 3 parts,
a 1/2 square edge (though this doesn't help to recreate the old style
as a result of geometry and that only one side has a connector slot),
and a wall that print in 2 parts. This allows you to switch the tops
of the walls and by doing so decide if you want pegs or not. This was
a rather nice addition and surprise, though I tend to prefer the single piece variants at this point.
Sounds
like a good diversity of pieces, right? There are also diagonal walls included as
well, which I think are best seen to be understood. They are a nice
additional and I'm glad they are included, though they are more niche
in their application.
As
mentioned earlier, one of the big advantages of this kind of design
is that it easily lets you swap out the design of the floor while
using the same walls or vice-versa. As a result, it would have been
nice to have one alternate design that would have
had a smoother look to the stone. If it had that, it would leave me with few complaints. It was probably unreasonable to expect such a
thing, but would've really pushed the value over the edge.
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| Pretty nice looking door piece, isn't it? Being able to put these where-ever you want is rather useful and I'd say that the ability to do so is one of the most powerful parts of these kinds of sets. It fit together rather nicely. |
Appearance
If
you've seen the sample set, you know what to expect here. It is very
much in the same style. One thing I've commented on in the past is
that I really like the texture of the terrain that Fat Dragon make. That positive is very much kept here. Don't expect much from the base 2x2 piece though, as
it appears to be the same as the one from the sample set. I wouldn't
hold it against them as it's convenient and I don't
expect them to go to the trouble of making minor changes to it,
especially when it already looked good. The wall pieces, however, do
seem to be different from the walls used in the other tiles. The
layout of the bricks is different and I like the difference compared
to the wall pieces from the sample set, though I also have to admit
that it could have been closer to one of the sets that I don't have.
I
would suggest taking a look at the sample set. While it isn't exactly
the same, it gives a very close impression of what you'd be getting.
It can also be used with the walls in this set. I'm a big proponent for trying something before buying if you can as it often gives the best impression.
Connections
One
of the concerns that I immediately have with these kinds of tiles is
the connections. The way the tiles connect together is rather
important for any 3D terrain. At the very least you don't want it to
shift as players move their minis around the tiles. And naturally, as
you have and more connections, things tend to get more wobbly. That's
just how things are. One solid piece is more stable than the same sized piece made with connectors. The V3
connectors result in rather close connections and while there is
small amount of wobble, the way that the clips wrap around a post
inside the tile means that there is very little change of the pieces
separating unless you apply significant force to do so. Put another
way, while they might wobble a bit they won't detach. The walls don't
connect to each other in this design: they instead connect to the
base. When places on the table the wobble is far less noticeable as well, though still more than the previous design. To really understand what I mean you really should print out a couple of pieces and try it but I doubt it would bother many people. It's really rather impressively solid.
Ease of Printing
I
found these tiles very easy to print. I had quite a few problems
printing other separate wall sets because they would lift and warp.
These, however, had no such problems. Not a single one I printed
experienced lifting or warping despite how much less surface area
they have compared to the old style found in the sample set. Good job
Fat Dragon. I'm impressed and like this very much. It wouldn't have
been much of an issue if it required a brim, and if you find that you
aren't as lucky as me you may want to use one, but it is rather
convenient that I didn't need one. It doesn't take very long to remove a brim but it can add
up with many models and it's just nice to not need to deal with it.
Designs
The
great thing about these walls is that they can be used to enhance
designs mainly created by the other tile sets as well as being used
on their own. This typically takes the form of thinner alcoves or
walling off areas to make smaller but more interesting layouts. You
could make similar layouts without the walls, but they would result
in larger tile layouts or needing more sets. The versatility gained
from this is very nice. I took a look through the other sets and
besides the starter sets, I think this would be one of the sets I
would naturally gravitate to first. However, you get the most benefit
from it if you decide to completely embrace the new style and don't
mix it with the previous system. This is less than ideal if you have
many of the previous sets. In those cases, you'll find yourself using
it to supplement what you already have. It's still useful in this way
and allows for improvising if you don't have enough pieces as well as
different layouts. It's just not as useful and easy compared to
completely embracing the new style.
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| Corner piece made from the pieces included in the set. As you can see, it lacks the 1/2 square outer edge. Still looks nice though. |
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| What can happen when not carefully mixing the two styles of tiles. It can be avoided but requires planning or completely embracing the new style. Of course, there are use cases where you might want something like this as well. These pieces are linked together using the DRAGONBITE clip. |
Price
The set costs $8.99 USD
here.
It's not a bad price due to the versatility I think, but some might
like to have more tiles in a set or to wait on sale. As always this
is one of the more subjective parts of a review and I hope what I've
said so far helps you reads make a choice you are happy with.
Newsletter
I
think it's worth mentioning that Fat Dragon have a newsletter, and
they give out free 3D models every now and then. The last one was a
3D printable crate. Use this knowledge as you will but I felt it was
worth mentioning. It's a good way to keep up to date with their work
and see some samples if you are interested.
DRAGONBITE
In
the past, DRAGONLOCK tiles used a different system of locking. I've
been informed that they all now use the DRAGONBITE locking system, so
they should all be easily compatible with each other from that
perspective. Locking system incompatibility can definitely be a
concern so it's good to know that you can just pick out the sets you
like instead of also doing your homework on what kind of locking
system they use.
Summary
It's a good set and allows
for many different layouts. When combined with the sample set, it
allows for a large number of different layouts to be created. The
advantages of separate walls help extend the usefulness of this set and probably makes it the most powerful set Fat Dragon made.
It allows you to do in a few pieces what it would previously take
multiple sets to do. Long narrow hallways? Easy. Hideaways from 3
walls? Also easy. And if you prefer to make layouts without the 1/2
square gaps found in the normal Fat Dragon tiles but love the
appearance, you'll be happy with this set. The best results are felt
when completely committing to the new design. However, you can still get a
surprising amount of mileage through combing these new walls with other sets. This leaves few reasons to avoid this set, in my opinion, unless you'd prefer the classic design where the wall is
incorporated into the tile, you'd prefer a different and more
specialized set, or you like a different brand of tiles.
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