Whether it be Firestorm, Battlefleet Gothic, Full thrust, XWing, (soon to be) Dropfleet, or anything else, what's your favorite space wargame and what do you play?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the various systems against one another, and what does your fleet look like?
Pic related, rapid prototype (3d printed) Shaltari Battleship for Dropfleet, apologies for the shitty quality.
>>46735864
right now my favorite of the listed games is X-wing. it focuses on a different aspect of space combat then the rest, fits the flavor of star wars, and manages to support both competitive and casual really well.
Its big disadvantage is how often the meta is getting reshaped, with the developers taking too big a hand in hard counters. They went from Fat han lists to autothrusters to tlt spam to u-boats with each release. Every new wave of releases has a counter for the last wave and its getting a little frustrating.
That said, I am looking at dropfleet with some interest and man that ship is large. I hadn't thought about how big battleships are gonna be in this, considering all we've been seeing are cruisers.
>>46736701
I have to say, I really like how good the X-wing models look, even if they are pre-painted. The bigger ships in the (armada?) game are also neato looking.
And yeah, that battleship up there is nearly 6 inches long compared to the average 4.5 for cruisers, and Hawk has pretty much confirmed that they'll be making even bigger dreadnought. I'm itching to see the Scourge and PHR battleships, though.
Pic related, UCM battleship; divide the length by two since this is a collectors model.
>>46736786
>Games isn't out.
>Already reaching GW levels of scale bloat.
Wew.
>>46736845
What?
>>46736786
Oh man, seeing the PHR battleship is gonna be cool. I have some personal stakes in the Scourge as they're my primary army in DZC, but the PHR ships have been pure sex so far.
I'm really curious about corvettes because I heard they playtested them a bit as lander hunters, which sounds like an interesting role.
Man we're only about 2 or 3 months off from DFC releasing. That's gonna be a hectic time. I wonder if we'll establish a general then.
>>46736845
Not sure if troll or retard.
>>46736953
From what I can tell, ships in atmos have both a penalty for shooting at them (+1 or 2 Acc for the attacker) AND a penalty for shooting from atmos (+1 or 2 Acc), Corvettes are supposed to be primarily atmos attack craft that don't suffer the shooting from atmos penalty, as well as possibly mitigating the accuracy reduction for shooting at stuff in atmos.
Basically, I think they'll fullfil the function of very weak submarines; able to stay and hide in atmos while pinging away at ships above them, and hunting strike carriers and the like.
So anyone plays full thrust?
And what game for something like homeworld do you recommend?
How does Firestorm Armada play? I read through the rulebook, but I wasn't able to get a proper idea of how quick or involved the game is from it.
>>46737097
I wonder if we'll get a corvette or two with torpedoes, to make that comparison really work. Heck, I gotta wonder if that one light PHR ship with a torpedo strapped to its front is going to be really good at hunting ships above it in terms of atmos. That could be an interesting little subgame you get to playing, with corvettes hunting frigates hunting cruisers above them.
>>46739812
As far as I know, there are no frigates with Torpedos; the PHR do, however, have the only frigates with a burn-through laser.
The corvettes might have really good scan ranges for semi-long-range CAWs, though.
>>46735864
>>46735875
>>46735896
Fuck's sake, Dave. You're killing me with all the detailing on Shaltari ships.
>>46740404
>take a close look at the battleship
>fairly sure that the upper portion can detach and operate independently if the main body is destroyed, like the Coyote
I swear to god if I have to deal with this shit in space, as well as land.
>>46740035
Oh yeah, it was the burn through laser I was thinking of.
Man I'm gonna enjoy playing with Corvettes. I've always liked playing to block a player's goals rather than going for slugging matches, and the idea of a heavy corvette and frigate list that's focused on scoring max points while denying your opponent from capturibg any sectors sounds really fun to play around with. Really can't wait for this to get some rules released.
>>46743508
I'm very glad that they decided to add corvettes, and it'll be interesting to see how big bruiser battleships fare against them.tfw no destroyers confirmed
I play X-Wing and have a Relthoza fleet for Firestorm. Love them both, but for different reasons.
X-Wing is fast and furious dog fighting fun with a few ships zipping about shooting lasers all over the place.
Firestorm is quick and fun for big fleets of capital ships. I love letting loose torpedos from a distance, moving up, uncloaking and then ripping into shops with broadsides. Will grab a Directorate fleet as a second fleet in the future to demo with.
I'm very interested if DFC as I love DZC and those Shaltri ships look mighty pretty.
Played BFG back in the day, but not sure if I'm interested in it's potential comeback. Will probably pick up the computer game at game point.
>>46744241
How well does FA combat resolve, especially with that exploding dice mechanic? Pretty smoothly and cleanly, or is it hard to keep track of everything?
>>46744070
Eh, its a wargame. They'll eventually add destroyers in, if only because its an area to easily add some models in.
Hell, considering how the detection and signature mechanics are set up, I wouldn't be surprised if destroyers are already planned as long ranged scouts. Something that can share its detection bubble with other ships.
>>46744877
Honestly, I feel like "the big 7" are the perfect range of classes for space games, at least in general size categories.
Corvette, Frigate, Destroyer, Cruiser, Battlecruiser, Battleship, Dreadnought.
And then, of course, you can slot carriers as you wish into the classes.
Speaking of, does anyone else get really annoyed at ship sizes being called stuff like Titans, Leviathans, and so on?
>>46744980
I don't mind it on its own, but about the only time I've actually enjoyed big classification like that is in EVE.
I definitely agree with the assessment on the big 7 being the best size definition for space tabletop though. Anything else gets too crazy size wise.
>>46746140
It's not so much as the size increase, but the names themselves.
I honestly can't bring myself to like it when the lineup is:
Cruiser, batleship, titan, leviathan
compared to cruiser, battlecruiser, battleship, dreadnought.
The names themselves feel less serious, and more suited to individual ships or ship designs, rather than a size designation.
>>46746205
Eh, I don't find it silly but I was raised on death stars and star destroyers, where a cruiser really should be noted as a battleship and star destroyer was apparently a size variation all its own. I can understand why you would find it difficult to take titans or leviathans as names seriously though. It definitely doesn't go as smoothly as traditional designation.
Bump for spess
I've kinda burned out on X-wing at this point.
Not because of the rotation of the meta, but because by the time a new wave finally reaches stores everything in it has been spoiled for weeks or months, and online players have already determined the new metagame.
The period of experimentation with new stuff is just... gone.
That, and there are enough issues with the core gameplay that I'm just not that into it any more. The flightpath system of secretly assigned maneuvers performed with movement templates is still as fresh and fun as it always was, but most of the systems that FFG has built upon that are wearing a bit thin.
>>46737174
It's slow as balls. Like, 1200pts, so 2 battleships, 2-3 squadrons of cruisers and 2-3 squadrons of frigates will play an all afternoon. It's also quite decent. Then again, Full thrust, while an amazing game, would take 3x that time to play with the same number of models.
>>46744383
It's roll bunch of d6, compare result to two stats, apply effect. Super easy, and compared to games like Infinity (i know, apples and oranges) with dozens of states and effects, it's nothing.
>>46737125
I imagine a ton of people plays full thrust. I mean, it's movement system, where both sides write down orders and execute them at the same time is still unmatched by any space system out there. Air combat games, like Xwing have something similar, but if you want to play with ships, it's the way to go. And you can stat out just about any shit you want.
>>46747226
>where both sides write down orders and execute them at the same time is still unmatched by any space system out there
That's because Jon took it from naval games, so no wonder it feels more like ships.
I really want to like Attack Wing, because I'm a huge Trek fan. But X-Wing just does everything better, from model quality to game balance. And then there's shit like this.
Curious to know, how do all these games deal with "space"?
>pic and dimensions related
>>46748042
Largely by assuming two ships shooting at each other are, when there is no reference to up or down, always on the same plane. In other words, ignoring the 3rd dimension.
Bump
>>46748042
There's Attack Vector Tactical if you really want to get into it. No one I know is nerdy enough though.
>Endorsed for scientific accuracy by Scientific American
>>46735864
X-Wing:
Pros- Strong fanbase. Great pick up and play value. Easy to learn, tough to master. Amazingly fun, and overall game balance is quite solid. Pre-painted, and can be modified or repaintd easily.
Cons- "Fixes" to some ships often are only made available in later sets (i.e. Imp Raider has fix to Tie Advanced). Mistakes will be made...
Battlefleet Gothic:
Pros- Based on 40k universe. Models are good for their age. Variety of missions and factions. "Dumbfire" torpedoes allow you to funnel targets or have them risk piles of dice. Painting is easy, and can be "drybrush and go!"
Cons- The rules are attrociously balanced. Some factions simply aren't worth playing, and others are "balanced" by increasing victory points for damage they suffer. Game currently had minimal support.
Firestorm Aramada:
Pros- Models are mostly high quality resin, and look amazing. Good support, and solid rules designed around fun and ease of play. Lots of factions and ship designs, with ability to customize fleet composition and capital ships (to a limited degree).
Cons- Small player base, requiring you to convince friend to play. Game balance is "ok", but not as solid as it could be. Models can be intimidating to paint, requiring more than drybrushing to look tabletop quality. Average sized gamrs can be somewhat long, and don't lend themselves easily to tournaments because of it.
>>46748042
It is extraordinarily difficult to model 3-dimensional space in tabletop wargaming. So most games don't.
>>46747904
Attack Wing'a main problem, is that it's made by WizKids. Who are god-awful with game balance, and model manufacturing. The system is solid and built off of Wings of Glory, as with X-Wing (FFG licenses out the system's mechanics). But the key underlining issue is WizKids abysmal design team making the game an unbalanced mess.
>>46747904
I don't even play Attack Wing and I'm still left wondering why they would print this.
Like, do they not look at what mistakes X-Wing has learned to avoid from its earliest material?
>>46748042
The only game I'm aware of that messes with 3 dimensions is Dropfleet, and that's pretty vaguely. 3 layers of space closer and closer to a planets atmosphere, with shooting penalties for firing into ships in atmosphere and restrictions from the largest ships entering atmosphere.
I haven't played any wargames, but am thinking about giving X-Wing a try. I'm kind of a poorfag though. How much of an investment would I need to make?
>>46755970
about 40 bucks for the starter set, then about 15 bucks for each small ship, 30 bucks for each large ship. You usually only need about 3 ships to play unless you're running a swarm list, so if people are okay with card upgrade proxies you could pay about 80 bucks and get playing.
>>46755970
If you want to play casual games and derp around with basic "fun" builds, about $80 would get you a nice single-faction squadron range to fiddle with.
If you want near EVERYTHING from a faction to play around with at your leisure, or a good spread between the three factions (and as an X-Wing addict I will warn you that "one of everything" is definitely their sales strategy), probably $250 without discounts and before digging into two or more Epic ship boxes.
Find a friend who works at Barnes and Noble and you can shave an easy 30% off that.
>Scourge battleships are called the Dragon and Demon through heresay
>PHR are the Minos and Hercules
Fucking hell Hawk, just show us the damn renders already.
>>46756378
>Hercules
Color me absolutely unsurprised.Seriously, give renders so I can decide if I want two or not.
>>46752078
The first most fundamental mistake they made was choosing a stupidly simple formula for point values. A ship's point cost = sum of the stat line x 2. That gets you the point cost of every Attack Wing ship, regardless of any other factors. All stats are treated as equally valuable. Named ship abilities have no point value. Maneuver dials, action bars, firing arcs, and upgrade slots don't factor in at all.
>>46753624
Not only is it unplayable bad, but it shouldn't even be as good as it is. It's like making a trireme model for a game about WWII navel battles.
Was Babylon 5 Wars any good? I'm intrigued by the idea of a B5 wargame, but it was long out of print by the time I'd heard of it.
>>46756841
Damn, those Narn ships are cool as fuck. They ships were pretty shit but the desing and colour scheme are so cool.
>>46755970
As far tabletop wargames go, X-Wing is one of the cheaper ones. Buy online. Amazon and Miniature Market both have X-Wing stuff for about 30% off the retail price.
>>46735864
I'll have to say my favorite Space War game is Orion's Gate from OnePageRules.
Spacebump
Put together a small fleet to try playing Intercept Orbit.
>>46760349
Is tat a burn-through laser built into the prow of the Beijing?
>>46760494
*that
Fuck, I can't type for shit today.
>>46760494
Looks like it, I wonder if it's more powerful than the standard cruiser burn through, but less so than the Avalon.
>>46760525
I only know they decided to nerf the burn-through lasers on frigates compared to the cruiser mounted ones. Something more powerful than those sounds like it would wreak havoc on balancing.
>>46760629
>I only know they decided to nerf the burn-through lasers on frigates compared to the cruiser mounted ones.
Sort of? I think Burn Throughs were "nerfed" across the board in that they added upper limits to just how many times you could roll again after hitting, for example the Frigates have a limit of 3. It's possible that's a hard limit for all of them, or just for frigates with others getting higher limits.
If nothing else, I'd imagine that the Frigates would only get the one dice for them.
On the other hand, I do like how they then went and gave Burnthroughs the ability to cause energy spikes on anything they hit. I think that's a cool mechanic.
Plus, fuck the police I'm gonna make my Heavy Cruiser a St Petersberg. Although how well that will fare against my Scourge Battlecruiser remains to be seen.
>>46760467
That's pretty sexy, got a rulebook pdf?
>>46751511
>>46760349
>>46760836
I can't look at these ship designs without thinking of Mass Effect guns.
>>46761121
It's definitely the top bit, but I still like them. Smooth witour being too organic.
What do people think of Star Wars: Armada? Most of the first impressions I've seen were very positive, but I've also heard complaints that it doesn't have enough variety in ships and play styles.
>>46761418
has the same problem early X-wing had, where there isn't enough variety. It'll get fixed as the game gets older, and in the meantime it isn't that bad to play. Just make sure you play to the objectives and don't try and slug it out unless you have a real advantage there.
>>46761001
http://glyphpress.com/talk/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Mobile-Frame-Zero-Intercept-Orbit-d1.pdf
AFAIK this is the most up to date one floating around.
One slightly confusing thing is that it talks about spotting but it never actually tells you what spotting does. I infer that it functions the same as in Mobile Frame Zero - when firing at a target you can spend a spotting die assigned to it to add to your to-hit value, or something like that. Also lets you ignore cover.
>>46737174
Pretty easily. It takes a bit at first to remember how different sized ships move, and special rules, but once you get it down the basics of the system are real easy to get.
>>46744383
I think it works just fine. Everything is laid out clearly on a ship's stats. You figure out what range band you're inn that tells you the base number if dice to roll, factor jn modifiers like damage or obstructions roll. 4 and 5 is a hit, 6 is two hits and you roll another die. You compare that to the target's damage ir critical ratings. You meet or beat the DR you do one damagen meet or beat the CR and roll on the crit chart. Doublingoir tripling the CR lets you roll multiple times on said chart.
Really easy. The only thing I had real trouble with at first was combined attacks, but it's actually pretty easy to get as well.
>>46751974
I wouldn't call bfgs balance atrocious. it was decent, though you needed too play too the scenarios. Certainly no one was unplayable.
>>46748042
most don't bother beyond saying ships can move and shoot "through" eachother.
try too model it adds a heap of complexity too the mechanics for little if any gain in tactical options.
Being above your opponent isn't really any different to being too the left of them in space.
>>46762808
That's an interesting way of going about it, having everything hit on a 4+ and instead changing the amount of dice you roll. I'll definitely have to give it a look when I get some more dosh (especially the Soryllians(?), those broadsides look mighty fine)
>>46762904
Unless you or your opponent happen to be in orbit around something. Like, you know, one of those star things that everyone is always talking about.
>stealth DFC thread
>pre-painted anon hasn't popped in yet
I'm worried.
>>46763118
there's no reason too fight that close too a star. Any planets or anything of interest are going to be much further out.
Even then it's still a fairly 2D thing, being above you or being too your side is just a matter of rolling over.
>>46763247
This, unless your ship is extraordinarily wide or tall compared to your main direction of thrust, rolling is negligible to pitching or yawing.
>>46763247
There would be reason to fight near planets though.
>>46763106
Yeah, grab the rules. I think they're free online.
Sorylians are brutal. Fast and hit hard, but lower DR in general.
>>46763130
>stealth
SUP.
>>46763927
>mfw that thing hunts down all my frigates
[SCARED]
>>46762837
Orks and Nids were. Nids can be summed up as "Follow this flowchart, you only make decisions for your hiveship(s)." And Orks are the most shittily designed fleet; built around being slow with no shielding, and having randomized firepower with a maximum potential equal to that of what other flerts enjoy normally.
Meanwhile you have Eldar with their 2+ save vs everything that doesn't go by the firepower table (and what does has a right-column shift); Tau with more ordnance than Imperial and Chaod combined; and Necrons, the fleet designed solely to ass-rape Eldar because some fuckcicle at Specialist Games wanted revenge for losing 40 games to them.
BFG's balance is only not-fucked when you play Chaos or Imperial... or Tau depnding upon the build, or Mechanicus if you're not a fucking carpenter who can effortlessly eyeball cm for pinpoint nova cannon.
>>46763927
Sup, faggot.
>>46764110
The Basilisk sounds like a pretty fun solo threatstick to draw your opponent's focus with.
I really want to see the Avalon's final stats though. Gotta determine if I should practice yellingEXCALIBURevery time its superlaser guts a cruiser.
>>46764223
From what I can tell, it seems to be primarily a "fuck your strike carriers, nigger" ship; I'm sure it can do major damage to a bigger ship (especially if it can sneak into scan/scold range), but it'll probably lose in a straight up fire fight.
>>46763247
>>46763337
>there's no reason too fight that close too a star. Any planets or anything of interest are going to be much further out.
You DO understand that planets orbit around stars?
>>46764593
Don't be dense. >>46763118 used shitty passive-aggressive wording but still clearly claims that fighting in direct orbit of a star would somehow be an expected scenario.
"Well you could be orbiting something orbiting the star and thus orbiting the star" is just moving the goalposts away from the original claim.
Regardless, 3D positioning would have additional aspects to keep track of in an orbital battle - at least if you're trying to avoid shooting into the planet - but I can't think of much that would actually add to the enjoyment of a game rather than adding to its bookkeeping.
>>46764851
You're an idiot.
>>46764973
rude
>>46764973
Oh, I'm wounded.
At least you managed to word your argument in a direct and concise manner this time.
Now you could go into detail on how "nuh uh spaceships orbit stuff" might reflect on game mechanics, or we can keep slinging tone based criticism at each other.
>>46765319
Frankly, dropfleet does (or rather, will do) the best "3d" mechanic I can think of; involving roll and yaw in the game mechanics (of a wargame none the less, not a 1v1 or 2v2 dog fighting game) would certainly open up some interesting gameplay mechanics (if the ships had 3-d fire arcs and armor facings), but I don't really think it'd be all that feasible without a calculator, protractor, and a solid understanding of trigonometric arithmetic.
I enjoy my autism, but I don't think a wargame that requires you to remember the math class in highschool that you slept through will be that popular.
>>46765319
I honestly can't be arsed to deliver a dissertation on orbital mechanics as they relate to game design just to edify some anon that doesn't even have a loose grasp of the terminology.
Go on, anon. Tell us all what a "direct orbit" is.
>>46765392
Yeah, the only thing I've seen from DFC so far that really gets my autism going is the fixed-broadside layout on the PHR ships. They're engaging high-tech 3D warfare, can't they at least build their guns with better gimbal mounts?
I get that the PHR gimmick is "let's build wacky things that would be cripplingly inefficient in combat if we didn't have an alien AI feeding us engineering pointers", but doing a handbrake turn with your kilometer long cruiser every time you want to get a salvo off is really pushing it.
>>46735864
Looks cool, but is it prepainted?
>>46765522
To be fair, those guns look to be somewhat turreted (especially the heavy broadsides cannons, of which there are no painted models which use them yet), and I bet the PHR have some kind of freaky deaky maneuvering drive, owing to how big those fins are. I mean, when your entire design strategy is "put as much guns and armor on it as physically possible because we only have a fraction of 3 billion citizens to throw at a problem", broadsides do provide a lot of guns.
>>46765540
Thank goodness, I was worried you weren't going to show up.
>>46765583
I love you too, anon.
>>46765515
A direct orbit is when the object in question is directly in orbit of the celestial body in question and not indirectly orbiting it by way of orbiting something else entirely :^)
I'm sorry that I didn't play enough Kerbal Space Program to apply literal astronautics terminology when discussing tabletop games involving space ships with you, senpai.Oh gee it really is in use as a synonym for prograde orbit, my bad bro
>>46765515
Not him, but I'm interested.
How would you implement fully 3-dimensional movement and combat (not just an XYZ axis, but pitch, yaw, and roll) in a wargame with, at least, 7 or so ships per side and each ship with multiple arcs of fire and weapon profiles, while at the same time not making turns take more than 45 or 60 minutes to resolve.
>>46764156
Tyranid fleets can be quite effective, the flowchart being largely beneficial, and you can make ld checks for things you really need. The BFG just has a battle report where a nid fleet stomped a necron fleet.
That being said, orks get a pretty raw deal, the errata from 2010 helps some. It also fixes attack craft, points values, and nova cannons.
Beating eldar is a matter of forcing them to come at you into the sunside of the table.
Not balanced, but not as bad as you seem to think.
>>46765583
Like you say, I can imagine the PHR being the kind of superior space jerks who drop out of FTLspace straight into knife fight range and bully the shit out of an entire battlegroup in CQB before they can bring weapons to bear.
On the other hand, everything I've seen of their tabletop mechanics gives the impression that they're going to be playing forced WW1 naval broadside tactics against factions with much more flexibility in their maneuvering.
As an upside, apparently their launch assets are nasty business, which pleases me since their escort carrier is adorable.
>>46765700
If I remember correctly, that Necron player was new and flew his biggest ship unsupported into aggro range of Nidguy's full complement of ramships. And something about Necrons taking autodamage from Nid spores due to a lack of actual shields.
>>46765743
To be fair though, each side of a PHR cruiser is almost equivalent to an entire other cruiser from some other faction; they're barely at a firepower disadvantage if they can only shoot one side at a time, and do have better armor and the like.
Personally, I think it will be less about the PHR getting in the thick of it, since they can do just fine kiting; rather, it will be everyone else desperately trying to keep the PHR kiting, to deny them weapons-free advantage.
That being said, it will be interesting to see how the Shaltari "Jousting" style of combat plays out, especially with those big particle lances.
>>46765790
Oh yeah, necron play wasn't very smart which made the game very short. Shit lasted 3 turns when it could have been an interesting 6+ turn game. But the common conception that they're unbeatable/op is hyperbolic butthurt unless you're eldar. In which case yeah, bad times in direct confrontations, best play to the scenario as much as you can rather than just trying to slug it out.
>>46765848
>BFG Necrons exist primarily to steal the Eldar's thunder
>this theme extends to all of their fluff
It's like poetry, it rhymes.
does anyone by chance know where to buy one of these?
i just need one....
>Noble Armada: Vuldrok: Slatra-Kognir Dreadnaught
>>46765743
>I can imagine the PHR being the kind of superior space jerks who drop out of FTLspace straight into knife fight range and bully the shit out of an entire battlegroup in CQB before they can bring weapons to bear.
>UCM defense fleet in orbit around a smaller cradle world
>suddenly, gigantic PHR battleship jumps right in the middle of them
>heavy, thumping eurobeat floods over the UCM's com systems
>A voice that is both siren-like and utterly inhuman comes to life over the speakers
>G-G-GET BULLIED, NERDS!
>UCM ships proceed to have their engines and weapons completely destroyed, PHR ship jumps out without destroying the UCM ships
>>46765948
Oh shit. Has anyone even played Noble Armada? Love me some fading suns. Vuldrok being bright yellow seems out of place though. I imagined them with more rust, gunmetal and runes painted on.
>>46736887
He means the minis are too big.
I don't know if these have reached that point, but big minis make a board feel crowded, and that feels restrictive with this sort of game.
>>46766020
They aren't, though; the biggest minis are a little under half a foot, and most are closer to around 4 inches or so. Board size starts at around 4 by 4 feet, and increases to around 6 by 6 at bigger game sizes.
>>46765683
I wouldn't.
But... you can simulate fairly detailed "physics" by using X-wing style maneuver templates and setting rules about how they are used. You can then improve that model by tracking a few important stats, and abstract away the ones that are less important to your game.
"XYZ, pitch yaw roll" isn't really how we think about maneuvering in space, and it is especially not relevant to maneuvers involving two or more spacecraft.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_elements
>>46765980
>PHR pilots blasting Eurobeat while they spacedrift in circles around their baffled victims
I didn't know how bad I needed this until just now.
>>46766181
Now, more importantly, what would the Shaltari play as they pierce your battle line with their particle lances?
>>46766216
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHNfvJc99YY
>>46766292
>posh shaltari commander decked out in jewelry and several monocles, drinking from an overly ornate and geometric teacup
I need this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuETuApX-WM
Match a song to a faction, or match a faction to a song.
Anyone checked out the rules for Firestorm Taskforce yet?
>>46765683
I really don't think it's worth attempting.
The fundamental problem with 3D moment in a tabletop game is that tabletops are 2D. You could use some sort of marker to indicate a ship's position on the z-axis, but that would be really clunky. You'd be forced to use the Pythagorean theorem to determine distances, because you couldn't measure it. And two models still can't occupy the same spot on the table, so what do you do when one ship is directly above another?
Keeping track of 3D orientation would be another headache of top of that. Especially if you want to use realistic motion, where the direction you're pointed and the direction you're moving would have to be tracked separately.
>>46766703
It might become more feasible in the future.
Like... imagine buying a bunch of old ipods and using them as smart ship bases.
>>46764223
I think the point of the Avalon is that it's a St Petersburg class that doesn't have to go weapons free to unload 4 dice of burnthrough laser onto someone. So you can have it hang further back and pop anything that goes weapons free on the other side of the table.
It's a sniper, basically.
>>46766000
>>46765948
Should have been at Salute man, the Bitz Box stand was selling second hand fleet boxes.
>>46766565
That would require someone to actually enable Spartan's ADD, so no.
>>46765683
The same way the crazy historical dudes do it with the magnetized extending antennae deal?
>>46747904
Wizkids is a shitty company that makes shitty games. Plus they destroyed heroscape
>>46766565
They're currently only available in physical format in the "starter boxes" which give you two out of three cruisers in a squadron. You have to be mentally challenged to actually buy it, so no.
>>46749457
>>46751774
>>46752028
>>46755575
>>46762904
Cheers chaps.
bump for fucks sake!
>>46766000
fuck, you played too?
i have stuff. i always wanted Vuldrok Dreads, to go with my BLACKMETAL langskips and frolljirs.
i have Hazat and Kurgan fully painted.
>>46767223
Even better than a sniper, it's a sniper with enough light weaponry to plink frigates that get too close to it.
Bumping with flying box of pinball shooters
What should I buy to start X-wing with my dad? Is the starter set good and balanced or do I need to buy a few more ships for each side?
>>46771439
I don't play much myself but 2 starter boxes gave me a solid starting point - plenty of dice and templates for both of you - and meant games were a bit more interesting as each side has a few ships to use.
What's the dealio with Shattered Void? The minis they had on display at Salute over the weekend looked rad as fuck. The rules (from the quick glance I had) looked like a direct X-Wing epoxy however...
>>46737174
Best rulebook and rules set Spartan's ever made by a fair margin. Combine that with how fun it is, I really like it.
But, like all their systems it takes a while. 800 points is a 3 hour game and, whilst quite small, is also the most common game size.
>>46773457
>800 points is a 3 hour game
Jesus, how many models is that?
I mean, I like to take my time, but 3 hours is fairly excessive for a "small" game.
>>46773566
It's an exaggeration. I've played 1000 points in less time than that. It can take a bit, thoughn as moving ships tends to be the slowest part of the game.
>>46773646
It's not an exaggeration, it's how long my 800 point games take.
Expansion to >>46773938
>>46773566
Models wise it depends. Generally it's 4 or 5 squadrons a side.
Usually 1 Tier 1 option (Battleships & Carriers, so 1 model squadrons), 1 Tier 2 option (Cruisers, Destroyers etc, so 2-4 model squadrons), 1 Tier 3 option (Frigates & Corvettes, so 3-6 model squadrons), then one more squadron of either T1, T2 or T3.
>PHR battleship(S) will be the next render revealed, followed by the Scourge battleship(s)
>will definitely be revealed before launch, which will be shortly after kickstarter shipment
get hype
>>46773646
It's really not. I've been playing since 1.0, back in 2010, and it's slow as fuck.
Bump for space fightan
>>46748042
Sanagami Island Tactical simulator and the fluff agnostic system it's built from ate what you want anon.
>>46756841
Yes. It was a lot like Battletech/aerotech. Check out Richbax.net for some resources. Mongooses' system A Call to Arms was fun as hell too, at least in its B5 incarnation.
>little over an hour later
>page 9
We're not going down until bump limit, dammit.
>>46778457
Oh shit I remember that from Salute. I wish I'd gotten a better look at it now. Is that the 3-up version that crazy people on the Kickstarter could purchase?
>>46778666
Possibly, but the kickstarter version is 2-up, not 3-up, which still places it at nearly a foot long.t. crazy person who is getting both it and the 2-up Ajax
>>46778699
On the subject of Salute, I really wish they'd had more Dropfleet on display. This close to June I'd have hoped to see maybe an early demo game and a few more display cases than what we got.
If anything Hawk's stand seemed to have LESS things than last year.
The Spartan stand really went berzerk this year by comparison. Two new games on demo tables, crazy deals on offer, and the Xelocian stuff available to buy WAAAY early.
>>46778833
I didn't get to go to Salute (rip Americans), but I'm sure it's because they don't want to leak too much actual game data when they're likely still making adjustments and refinements. Releasing tentative values isn't that big of a deal 6 months out, but at less than two months out they don't want people to get stuck on whatever values they do set out.
That beings said, I'm a bit surprised that I didn't see more stuff in the video that BoW did with them; you're right in saying that the overall quantity of models is a bit lacking.
However, we do know for a fact that the PHR and Scourge battleships are not finalized yet, which is probably also why they only had a rapid-prototype for the Shaltari.
>>46764223
For me I'm going to be imagining this in my head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty-1zWsXFNs
And yes, I will be referring to it as such.
Reminder to paint this on all Scourge Space craft.
>>46766216
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vkR1G_DUVc
>>46765743
>As an upside, apparently their launch assets are nasty business, which pleases me since their escort carrier is adorable.
Incoming PHR Meta.
>>46761418
Armada is a blast, but yeah, there isn't a ton of variation yet. It's basically (big ship with escort) or (bunch of smaller ships and squadrons.) The newer ships coming out bridge the gap, but it might be too little too late. I don't think the game ever found its foothold.
>>46780147
>best PHR list is nothing but Bellerophon heavy carriers, the assault troopships, and Andromeda escort carriers for maximum launch assets and a squadron or two of Pandora beam frigates for direct damage
>>46766515
UCM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmgBzlkM5WY
https://soundcloud.com/maartenbonder/just-do-it-up-renegade-x-mix
Scourge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E33jQRmc5ZA
PHR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeQpuXhqh2I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tabyUMkPgYA
Shaltari
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbvr0PvPGp4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KePfzPGQ9-8ResistanceSpace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VlgYgN8qosGround https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbovwHryovE
On an unrelated note, Max Anarchy OST makes for an insanely good workout mix.
Do the miniatures come pre-painted?
>>46781860
I mean... like... do they come prepainted?
>>46781860
>>46781883
These threads wouldn't be the same without you, anon.
>>46780334
The radio silence while they had release issues hurt them, too.
>>46781108
Nah, PHR would be something like this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVqPx5mUj0g
Bumping with Kadesh.Cruiser.
>>46784323
>>46780147
>>46780356
>>46781108
New PHR theme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY1fVrI2NFQ
>>46784420
>mfw PHR battleship or dreadnought is an umbrella
Shame that the Shaltari already have a confirmed supercarrier, considering how supposedly each faction will have (for now) a combat battleship (Beijing presumably, and the Diamond) and a unique battleship ( New York presumably, and the Platinum), and that the uniques will not overlap with the other factions.
>>46784323
Are those two burn-through lasers on that cruiser in addition to launch bays?
>>46784710
Yep, it's a heavy cruiser technically, though.
PHR do not fuck around.
>>46784323
>>46784738
>can't decide whether the burnthroughs would look better being slightly drilled or not.
>>46784773
this makes me wanna play PHR....
>>46770947
Nah m8, I just really like the setting and was curious about the rules. How does it play basically?
>>46784738
Remove PHR.
>>46786211
Nej
>>46773938
>>46775568
You know what? You guys are rightb my bad. "Exaggeration" was a poor choice of words, and I am in the wrong here for using such loaded language.
Firestorm can take some time in some cases. I've been able to fit 1000 point games in 2 hours or son but that doesn't make me the majority here. I guess it also depends on play style, missions, setting turn limits and so forth. I do trnd to find 2nd edition a bit smoother and faster than first, although with more options(like precision targeting) I can see it going slower.
Again, my apologies.
>>46764194
So, what does the Lima do?
>>46786453
Pings shit on the 'dar (presumably with some way to detect stealth) so you can shoot ludicrous amounts of ordnance at ludicrous ranges.
>>46761418
I still play it every Tuesday and love it. The mechanics are all there, it really does a great job of being just the right amount of complexity to be a serious thought process of strategy while still being approachable and not an afternoon sized time commitment (from setup to fully taken down is about 2 hours with 1 1/2 of those hours being gameplay). I've witnessed the "meta" go in circles so much that I think it's actually really well balanced as far as making a large number of strategies work. Also the fact that the upgrades are more about mitigating luck rather than adding to it makes it feel a lot less chaotic than X-Wing.
That being said, we need more variety fast. Floatillas are being added and that fills a perfect niche the game has needed of cheap ships that serve support roles, but whatever wave 3 is needs to have at least two other ships for each side or one game changing ship and more squadron variety, though honestly I feel like squadrons don't need to be touched for now because they're in a nice place as is.
>>46786630
Squadrons are okay, I'm sure we'll get an ewing/Kwing and defender/punisher box though. I'm hoping FFG is getting ready to drop Scum into armada and that's why wave 3 looks so underwhelming right now. Even if they don't, maybe a winged MC80 or an MC30 for rebs and an Interdictor or Carrack cruiser for emps.
>>46786931
so here's a question, would people prefer scum as a separate faction like in X-wing or a group you hire to add to your fleet like in imperial assault?
>>46786960
I'd like a separate faction, Zahn Consortium minis would be awesome
How would you represent a 'Dictor in Armada play? Because the point where I can drop that trollfaecing fat cow between a pair of Imp IIs is when I'll throw all the shekels in the world at FFG.
>>46787075
Some sort of modifier to dice rolls within range 2, to represent the ECM suite.
>>46787075
Load the package it comes in with unique objectives. New Empire only Objective cards that recquire an interdictor brought along but puts you in advantageous positions during set up. I'd match the interdictor with the pelta frigate from Rebels and give it a bunch of unique rebel objectives involving escaping imperial attacks, or getting through imperial blockades.
>>46786960
Wave 3 only looks underwhelming because they forgot to tell us there's more. They changed the way they announce waves without saying anything so they in a silly way made wave 3 look like nothing but Floatillas. I have no doubt there's going to be at least 2 more things coming to each side. As for squadrons, it's not so much that they lack stuff to add so much as it is they need to work more on variety of their big ships. Squadrons are pretty dang varied right now, but ships only see a handful of changes between players. Besides, Rhymer was a mistake and giving Rhymer a super bomber would be a scary move without first creating proper anti squadron measures.
As for scum, I don't like the idea of it. It's stretching too far to add their stuff, and we already kinda put their chips in with the empire what with the main bounty hunters all working for them.
>>46787847
>They changed the way they announce waves without saying anything so they in a silly way made wave 3 look like nothing but Floatillas.
The fact that those flotilla's consist of nothing but Transport and Gozanti models from the Rebellion board game with flight peg holes doesn't help dissuade that impression either.
Honestly, for a Star Wars game, FFG's support of Armada has been hella shoddy. Plus things like wave release delays, not having the ISD and MC-80 in Wave 1, giving us the Mk-II Assault Frigate instead of a Dreadnaught with Bel-Iblis...
None of these things have done anything to help Armada.
Daily reminder to remove inferior one-lifespan subraces.
>>46788242
Eh, the launch made perfect sense for easing people into the game. Starting at 300 and moving into 400 was a good move and large ships would make no sense in 300. Plus it built up hype to their second wave, which is arguably more important to the life of the game than the initial launch if you want to have a long life span.
That being said they killed the hype by having wave 2 being delayed for so long and while they're trying to make wave 3 more of a gradually announced thing that is better than just something big and then silence for 8 months, it also managed to flop its initial announcement by announcing the smallest and most subtle of the new ships. We need something like the interdictor to be announced to get the love rolling again. Flotillas are great for the meta but not a great selling point.
Also they look a decent deal better than the rebellion game pieces.
>>46786211
Why? Except for being an affront to nature they seem quite ok.
Morning bump
Does anyone know how the Scourge will play in DFC?
>>46791288
Close-in bruisers with lots of sneaky tricks, nearly all their weapons do extra damage if the target is in scan range, not even counting CAW. Somewhat weak in regards to long range firepower, I'd think.
>>46751774
People get scared off by the "accurate physics" before they hear how it's all hidden behind the game mechanics. They think it's going to be an extended word problem, rather than battletech on ice.
>>46749457
The problem with this is it makes dodging missiles much harder, since you only need to cover the areas left and right of the target to guarantee a hit rather than the entire area around them.
>>46790355
Out of curiosity, how do you think Hawk got that really nifty gradient on the Scourge ships?
It looks to me like a dark gunmetal base on black primer, with those minitaire tints to make the gradient.
I have no idea how they got that middle bit so smooth, though.
>>46782077
Y-you too, anon...
>>46792145
On that one I'm pretty sure they used pearlescent paint.
>>46793463
I don't think so; you can see that even at this other angle, the colors are the same.
That being said, a beetle-shell Scourge scheme might be cool.
>>46793713
Oh.
Well, some kind of airbrushing involved I suppose.
>>46793787
That's what I'm assuming, I'm just intrigued by how they managed to blend the purple and green so well together.
It almost looks like they left a small strip of black between the two colors, and blending right up to it.
