Topics

1

Space Naval Games / X-Wing Dice Stats

« on: February 01, 2017, 08:59:12 pm »

 I'm not very familiar with X-Wing... is anyone aware of a site/resource that breaks down all the dice math/stats for the various combos of dodge, focus, target lock, etc?

2

General Discussion / Did HALO kill Spartan Games?

« on: January 17, 2017, 05:12:38 am »

Read this on a blog while not sleeping:

"Halo is too simplified. I’m not interested in teaching gamers how to play checkers with minis. It doesn’t have a fun factor, unless you are very young or really love Halo. Spartan made their money and dropped support for the game Microsoft wanted. They [Spartan Games] aren’t allowed to make more money on it because Microsoft won’t make more."

I'm curious for all the HALO players... how fun is the game, and why?  And more importantly, it certainly seems HALO did kill Dystopian Wars and Firestorm, which are the primary games from Spartan... or were.  Before the DW Kickstarter, when was the last time anything came out?  I can't recall the last substantive release for Firestorm. (Announcing a narrative online campaign five months doesn't count.)

I looked it up: the Omnidyne release, which was in July 2016.  It added some new ships, and updated models.  Before that was April 2016, when they released the Core Six Fleet Guides consolidating the System Wars and Task Force stats into one PDF... Task Force was released shortly before that, and is the last time anything was released for Planetfall.

3

Firestorm Armada / Jaded Spartancast

« on: October 25, 2016, 05:28:22 am »

Alex Mann recently quit his volunteer position with Spartan Games as the lead Firestorm Armada game designer.  Yesterday, he posted a new podcast and blew up bridges with some C4-F Bombs, as he explains to the Jaded Gamercast why he finally got fed up with the company and quit:

http://mannmomo.blogspot.com/p/the-hub-systems-podcast.html

 Adult content warning

4

Firestorm Armada / Flashpoint Amber

« on: September 20, 2016, 10:23:49 pm »

Apparent Ruckdog was able to circle the wagons enough at Terran HQ enough to launch a coordinated counter-offensive:

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/flashpoint-amber

Too bad an Omnidyne subsidiary is mining asteroids in the area while 'guarding' the system.  You don't want to see what happens when war breaks out between our forces... Oh wait, that's right, you do.  Good thing I put all those satellites in solar polar orbits.

5

Firestorm Armada / RSN Tactics

« on: September 14, 2016, 07:06:11 pm »

Since Landlubber refuses to contact me about this, I figured I'd just start a thread here.

First, while the RSN have a lot of options for a Support Fleet, there isn't an over-arching play theme.  RSN instead have several unique ship classes with specialized roles, which can make them difficult to use cohesively.  There are a few commonalities though...

Elite Crew:  All RSN ships have Elite Crew, which means Command Checks get a success on a 3+.  Essentially, this means two things. 1) Flanking is slightly more precise. 2) Gas Clouds usually don't cause Disorder.  In fact, the failure chance drops from roughly 1/3 to 1/6.  This means you should plan to occupy every Gas Cloud on the table, using them as defensive bunkers.

Bonus to DR:  RSN T1 ships have a +1 bonus to DR, which can combine with 1-2 Shields to make them surprisingly resistant to damage.

+3 FTB:  This will often allow you to dictate Turn Order, which is important as RSN will often have an Activation Disadvantage.  Sometimes you will want to go second, as it might encourage your opponent to shoot at your DR 8 Dreadnought with 2 Shields hiding in a Gas Cloud, or otherwise waste their first Activation, or put themselves in a bad position.

Finally, the Zenian League TAC cards are garbage; just stick with the main 6 TACs.

6

Firestorm Armada / Firestorm Flashpoint

« on: September 13, 2016, 05:17:50 pm »

This apparently came out today:

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/flashpoint-firestorm

7

General Discussion / MBS Monthly Poll #2.5

« on: July 09, 2016, 07:57:06 am »

This month's main topic is worthy of its own poll.

8

General Discussion / Tactical Withdrawal

« on: May 15, 2016, 08:28:42 am »

Hello fellow naval wargammers!

While discussing Firestorm Armada, we ended up discussing how wargames don't incentify perserving your forces.  Most games don't have any incentive; Firestorm Armada has a pretty good incentive, and it's pretty easy to run away, yet this is rarely utilized.

I think this is mostly due to game design; a game should encourage you to engage with your opponent, not dis-engage.  Even a partial withdrawal isn't something built into games, even though force preservation is an important part of warfare.

This lead to discussions about actual military tactics, and we don't know anything when it comes to naval tactics for disengaging.  Specifically, the most extreme example I could devise was the convoy vs U-Boat Wolfpack.  First, unlike most wargames, each side has an asymmetric goal in this scenario:

1.  Convoy - preserve as many transport ships as possible; destroying the enemy is strategically irrelevant
2.  Wolfpack - destroy as many transport ships as possible; destroying specific ships is primary, perserving your forces is secondary.

Part of the discussion is this:  what was the convoy's tactic if a transport ship was damaged, but still able to move?  I suspect the official tactic was to keep going... unlike today, where the tactic is to hunker down and wait for help to arrive.  During the Battle of the Atlantic, the convoy was the only help you were getting.  But perhaps there was a middle ground, where the escort ships would split up and try to guard everything.  This could work if your opponent wasn't ever trying to destroy the escort ships, as splitting up makes them vulnerable too.  So far, online searching has yet to reveal the answer.

I think this would be a fun scenario to play, but it requires the right incentives to each side for it to work.  It also requires something so the attacker can't easily destroy the transports; sacrificing the entire Wolfpack to kill the transports has to equal a loss.  There needs to be a mechanism to preserve THIS U-Boat, and not sacrifice it as every wargame seems to encourage.

9

Find a Game! / Firestorm Armada

« on: May 04, 2016, 07:15:44 am »

As discussed in episode 6 of the Man Battlestations Podcast, Bill and I will be running several Firestorm Armada events at the 2016 NOVA open.  Here are all the links and resources you will need:

NOVA Open:
http://www.novaopen.com

Firestorm Armada Registration:
https://novaopenstore.com/NoVACart/Home/EventContainer/27

Event Packets:
http://ops-center.weebly.com/nova-2016.html

 Please send me a message if you have any questions or comments.  I hope to see some of you there!

10

Find a Game! / Firestorm Armada, 600 point Tournament, Glen Burnie, MD

« on: April 22, 2016, 08:41:34 pm »

For those of you in the Washington DC/Baltimore area, we'll be holding at 600 point Tournament at Games and Stuff on May 15th.  We're looking to make this a fun and fast event, where everything can die, so there are no Battleships, Battlecarriers, Assault Carriers, or Battlestations.  There are also no Admirals, so Heavy Cruisers and Gunships will be viable Tier 1 choices for many factions.

I'll be posting the Tournament Packet to my website tomorrow:

www.ops-center.weebly.com

11

Modeling Q&A / 3D Clouds

« on: April 22, 2016, 08:23:34 pm »

As I start ramping up for another Tournament and other events, we're looking to build a 3D Terrain collection for Firestorm Armada. Asteroids and Debris Fields are pretty easy, but we're kinda stumped on how to handle Gas Clouds. Cotton seems like the only material to use, but maybe there's something else?

In addition, what's the best way to paint it? What would a space gas cloud look like?

Finally, how do you put it on the table? I see the following options:

1) Just place the cotton on the table
2) Place the cotton on a round base, which allows the construction of a large mass
3) Build some kind framework to place on a elevated stand, and cover with cotton while obscuring the frame

Of the three, #2 seems best, as long as it doesn't end up looking like a column of smoke... Would it be bad if a Gas Cloud was represented by a few cotton columns?

If you have any suggestions from your playing experience, please post them here. And if you can include links to photos, that would be even better.

12

Roll Call / Heard the Fleet Signal

« on: January 17, 2016, 02:18:28 pm »

Hey Everyone!

I've been playing Firestorm Armada for about a year, and first heard about Spartan Games (including Dystopian Wars) about two years ago.  I'm a reformed 40K player, and decided to pick up Firestorm Armada after reading about it online at several locations.  I'm still impressed with how well-balanced the game is, and the level of depth available.

I picked up the Dindrenzi first, with the intent of picking up an Aquan fleet second, painting them like the UNSC and Covenant, and applying to be a Vanguard.  The best laid plans... turns out I'm much more interested in playing than painting, so I barely have my initial Dindrenzi models painted.  If Halo Fleet Battles had been released a year sooner, I would have dived into that without a thought.  Now, I don't see a reason to play that when I'm so invested in Firestorm Armada.

I also started a website, www.ops-center.weebly.com, about the same time I started playing.  I mostly wanted to make Battle Reports to teach people how to play, and how to play better... But it turns out it takes a lot more time to make the style of Battle Report I envisioned.  Besides, right now I'm too busy trying to put together a Firestorm Armada Event for the 2016 NOVA Open.

13

Find a Game! / Firestorm Armada, Glen Burnie MD, 31 January

« on: January 16, 2016, 04:02:30 pm »

Firestorm Armada 500 point Doubles Tournament

Games 'n Stuff, Glen Burnie, MD

31 January 2016, Registration starts at 10:00 AM

more details and the Tournament Packet available here:
http://ops-center.weebly.com/events.html

14

Space Naval Games / Newtonian Movement?

« on: December 23, 2015, 07:02:47 pm »

Most, if not all, of the current Space Armada games don't try to emulate all the interesting tactical movement available in space, like flying backwards.  I was wondering if anyone is familiar with a good movement system which captures this, but without requiring a slide rule and a protractor.  I'm not interested in doing math in my games.

Off and on, I've been trying to develop something for Firestorm Armada, and while the system I have is functional, it's not exactly easy and smooth.  I'm certain someone here has played something good during their wargamming plays.

Thanks in advance.