In addition to the Sponsor system, DreadBall Xtreme offers up a fully interactive 3D gaming environment.

This is achieved in a multitude of ways.

Firstly the pitch layout is dynamic, meaning at the start of the game you randomise the pitch layout. This dictates which are the active Strike Zones.

These randomised maps also show the second dynamic aspect of the pitch: Scenery.

In DreadBall Xtreme the pitch is littered with crates and broken pieces of debris. Before the game these crates are often booby-trapped with explosives, turning the pitch into a deadly battlefield.

This offers an exciting new challenge to DreadBall as the way you position your players becomes more important than ever.

Once More into the Pit

In the same way the Player Manual takes the sponsor system to the, er, extreme, in July there is the Xtreme Xpansion expansion box which furthers the concept of unique pitches.

Variable pitches

DBX games take place in a vast array of different areas, of all manner of shapes and sizes. Whilst the organisers often try to find somewhere that at least vaguely approximates a normal arena, part of the challenge for the players is that the shape and size of this temporary sports venue will be unfamiliar. While the basic game allows for a certain amount of flexibility, this is still within the framework of a fixed overall size and shape.

This set includes 14 customisable pitch tiles. These can be assembled in a huge number of different ways to provide an almost endless selection of different DBX arenas for your games.

There are six suggested layouts in the book, including The Ortiz Folly and The Deredo, and rules for building your own.

It’s a Trap!

Traps that go boom are all well and good, but is that the limit of the devious minds of the Sponsors? Of course not.

Now sponsors can make use of Riot Foam, Force Pulse and Zzzzzap! traps on the pitch too.

Medi-bots

Medi-bots are expensive. Even if you’re not buying one, it’s a costly enterprise to steal and then hide it. They also have a nasty habit of being recovered by the authorities as the bots have numerous tracking and identification devices hard-wired in. The accepted process in modern DBX is to steal one just before you need it, and then abandon it after the match before the security forces move in. Temporary jamming of the ident signals is possible, and this usually buys the Sponsor enough time.

Hiring a medi-bot is a new choice for spending your Sponsor’s Extras on, and can be used in a regular DBX game or a custom one.

Multi-Player Games

When you play on variable pitches, you can choose to have more than two teams in play at once. This makes for even more anarchic games.

Giants

In the DGB leagues, it took years for Giant players to be allowed on the pitch, with all the commercial considerations of the likely injuries to be caused, the position of sponsors perceiving unfair advantages and a whole raft of other concerns. When they finally were allowed to play, they transformed the game in many ways, mostly for the better.

The coaches and sponsors in DBX had no such considerations to make, and giant players have been a feature of the underground sport since its very inception. Indeed, it was clear from the outset that the larger and more violent players were a clear boon in a game where the life expectancy of the average player was utterly irrelevant to the main aim of sponsors – making money. If a player could be found who was likely to do more damage to the other side and maybe even be resilient enough to be used again, then so much the better.

You can look out for more on the Xtreme Xpansion coming soon.

This is our final reveal of the day, though if check back later there’s a cool little competition you might be interested in