Man Battlestations Forum
Warcradle Naval Games => Firestorm Armada => Topic started by: Andrewchristlieb on September 09, 2014, 10:26:45 pm
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Planetfall preorder dropped today. Two player Aquan and Directorate set which will be matching the next two player box for Firestorm Armada. There are also Works Raptor and Terquai helix's up for preorder which will complement the WR and Terquai set to be included in the Firestorm set!
http://shop.spartangames.co.uk/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1863
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Let the invasion begin.
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Interesting looking models! I'm wondering if the rules for these will bear any resemblance to the Studio Sparta planetfall stuff that came out a couple years back.
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Holy hot potato!
Have you seen the sweet combo deals Spartan is putting together for the launch? I'm drooling over the Platinum edition:
http://shop.spartangames.co.uk/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=PFMB03
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Yeah, that ain't bad. I really don't see myself skipping Planetfall, but it may be a bit before I jump in. I am, however, planning to grab the Legions boxed set in November. Maybe I can get some the Denver Area Spartan Gamers into it...
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Just got this in my email today:
Hello,
Thank you for choosing the pre-order Planetfall launch products with the Spartan Games Online Store. Due to overwhelming demand and an unexpected delay with a printed material, we will not be able to ship these orders from October 22nd as originally intended. We will be working hard to ensure these products are delivered as quickly as possible, and anticipate that mail orders will begin shipping around a week after the aforementioned date.If you have any questions regarding your order please e-mail dispatch@spartangames.co.uk. We apologise for any inconvenience this delay may cause and thank you for your patience in the meantime. We will keep you updated with further developments.
Regards,
Ricky
So, disappointing news, obviously, though it is good to see the demand seems to be high! Fortunately, the delay doesn't seem like it will be too long.
Spartan Games
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For those in Colorado, Gamer's Haven has a stack of Planetfall box sets as well as the Works Raptor and Terquai support helix boxes. I picked mine up yesterday and started perusing the rules last night. They have the Black, Blue, Red d6 mechanic we've seen elsewhere. Movement looks like it'll be really simple for most things. The only models that have to use a turning template are those with the Lumbering MAR. I haven't had a chance to look at the army lists yet, but the phrasing in the rulebook made it sound like only big stuff (Leviathans, maybe heavy tanks) would have that MAR. I'll hopefully have time to look through the materials in more detail tonight and will type up my thoughts.
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I'd be up for a test game if you'd like. I'm tied up with the X-Wing league this Thursday night, but I could do a game sometime next week. I'm very interested to see how it plays, although I'll likely wait until the RSN ground forces come out to buy into the game.
Of course, I say that now...without having seen the models in person....I might get pulled in anyway. I can already here the justifications in my mind..."Well, the RSN and Directorate ARE both Zenian...so...."
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I don't know if I'll be able to get in a game next week, but I'm planning to work on them on the 16th for painting day, so you ogle them all you want. :)
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Stephan, anytime you want to get it on the table I'd like to see how it goes. You just name the day. But I too am going to be waiting for the other races. Specifically I'll want to pick up the Terrans after they're available for general purpose.
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It may be Dec before I'm in a position to play Planetfall between work, vacation, and assembly of models, but I'll let you know if I'm ready before.
Here's some more findings from my review of the rulebook.
Activation:
It's still alternating squadron-by-squadron activation BUT it is also Helix-by-Helix. Once a player activates a squadron/model from a particular Helix, the player must continue to activate squadrons/models from that helix until they have all been activated. Only then can the player move on to squadrons/models from a different Helix. So, for example, if I activate a squadron in my Recon Helix, I have to continue activating squadrons from that Helix until they've all been activated before I could activate a squadron from any other helix in my Battle Group. NOTE: A Battle Group is composed of a single Core Helix plus all attached Helix's. According to the rules, players should agree on not only max points but also number of Battle Groups allowed prior to the game.
DR / Hit Points:
These are now combined into a single field on the model's stat card. Using the Leviathan example from the rulebook, it has a DR of 9+9+9. This means it has 3 Hit Points (each 9) and it takes 9 successes on a To Hit roll to take down one of those HP. For comparison, the Aquan Heavy Skimmer has a DR of 6+5+5, and the Dindrenzi Heavy Crawler has a DR of 7+6+6. In the same order, the mediums are DR 6+5 and DR 7+6, the Lights are both DR 4, and Infantry are both DR 3. The Terquai Drones are classed Heavy Infantry and are DR 4.
Ordinance Fire:
Range is broken into Effective and Long Range, each with their own AD.
Line of Sight is very simple, just any point on firing model's base to any point on target model's base.
Armored size class can see over the Light class but are blocked by other Armored and Elevated (Leviathans and Buildings). Light class can see over Armored to shoot at Elevated. Elevated are only blocked by other Elevated and Flyers never block or have LoS impeded.
Range is measured from the closest point on the furthest firing model's base to the closest point on the closest target model's base. If a model in the squadon has LoS from all firing models blocked by intervening terrain, then that model can't be damaged by the attack against the squadron.
All AD can Combine provided they either have the same MAR or no MAR.
Once you assemble your AD pool, roll using the Red D6 mechanic. Overwatch (yes, there's Overwatch!) hits on a 5+, Placed Shots (such as from Focused Fire when remaining stationary) hit on a 3+, and normal Move&Shoot shots hit on a 4+.
Take all your success dice and set them aside.
Damage is allocated by taking your success dice and, starting with the closest target model, put a number of dice needed to reach that model's DR next to that target. If the target has more than one HP, repeat this for all HP on the target until the target would be destroyed. If there are any Hit Dice left over, move on to the next closest model in the squadron and repeat. If you've done this for all models in the target squadron and still have dice left over, set them to the side, these are Floating Dice.
If the target squadron has shields, combine all the shield dice for the squadron and roll them using the Red D6 mechanic. Each shield save takes away a hit die, starting with the Floating Dice pool and then working backwards from the furthest model in the target squadron to the closest.
Now allocate damage to those models that still have a number of hit dice on them equal to their DRs.
Last, if any damage was done, take a Disorder Check. I won't go into the modifiers, but basically it's 3D6 using the Red mechanic. You need a number of successes equal to or greater than the number of damage markers placed on the squadron in that firing phase. If you pass, nothing happens. If you fail, place a number of Disorder markers on the squadron equal to the shortfall in your roll (so if you needed 3 successes and only got 1, you'd put 2 Disorder markers on the squadron). In the end phase, each Disorder marker automatically turns into a Damage marker. If there are enough Disorder markers on the squadron that it would be destroyed in the End Phase, then the squadron is considered to have Forlorn Hope and they get all kinds of crazy bonuses for the rest of that turn.
Some things to note on shooting, you do get bonuses against the target's DR if you fire from within the target's Flank or Aft arcs. You have to meet some restrictions like having at over 50% of the firing squadron in that arc, but it can really make maneuver worthwhile.
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Very interesting. I'm seeing echoes of both Dystopian Legions (at least the older ruleset, I haven't seen the new rules yet) and Dystopian Wars. Legions uses a similar Effective Range/Long Range mechanic (usually the difference is the dice color), and of course the Disorder procedure looks to be very close to what we have in Dystopian Wars 2.0.
Do you have to set an order of activation at the start of each turn, or are you free to activate the helixes in any order you want?
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You can activate each Helix in any order that you like, you just can't mix and match squadron activations from different "Helices".
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Very helpful info
Thanks
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Continuing my look into Planetfall....
Close Quarters Battle is pretty cool. It occurs between the Move and Main Ordinance phases and works just like the Main Ordinance firing with a few notable exceptions. If you end your movement within 4" of an enemy, you, or your enemy, can initiate a CQB attack. A unit with a Disorder marker on it CANNOT initiate a CQB. Two notable differences between CQB and Main Ordinance attacks is that CQB between two squadrons is resolved simultaneously and ignore all protective MARs and Shield saves.
Sky Drop is definitely a feature everyone will need to get used to. At the beginning of the game, each player puts down an number of Sky Drop markers, each with a d6 set into it. The # on the d6 is typically set to 6 but can vary by faction. The d6 represents the # of d6's you roll to determine deviation distance when a unit is called in from that marker. The rules on Sky Drop are kind of confusing, but from what I can tell, you can hold back any or all of your units with the Sky Drop MAR and deploy them in this way. They're held back just like Reserves, but instead of deploying them at the start of a turn, you instead declare that they're activating in the Activation phase and then bring them onto the table and activate them all in one go. On the turn they deploy, these squadrons remain stationary, but can't go into Overwatch or declare Focused Fire.
You can reduce the value on the Sky Drop marker's d6 by using a Designator attack (assume you've got a model with the Sky Drop Nexus MAR. This works just like normal shooting and each Hit will reduce the value on the d6 by 1 to a minimum of 1.
Note: Some factions are apparently big into Sky Drop and some less so. The Aquan/Terquai force in the Proteus list has access to two Sky Drop Nexus models while the Directorate/WR force has none.
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Sounds great! I'm still waiting for mine to arrive :(.
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"Sky Drop" just sounds so cool...
Any rules for orbital strikes from supporting ships?
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They have an Artillery rule that also uses the Sky Drop markers, but to call in attacks instead of models.
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I like that idea...it allows you to have off-table arty support without adding a lot of additional mechanics.
I should finally be getting my stuff in the next day or so. Once I do, I'll post some unboxing and impressions on the blog.
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Spartan posted the Planetfall stats!
http://community.spartangames.co.uk/index.php?/topic/12146-orbats-for-firestorm-planetfall/ (http://community.spartangames.co.uk/index.php?/topic/12146-orbats-for-firestorm-planetfall/)
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I'm also hosting mirrored copies of the ORBATS here:
http://www.manbattlestations.com/hostedfiles/planetfall/PFAquan1_4.pdf
http://www.manbattlestations.com/hostedfiles/planetfall/PFDindrenzi1_4.pdf
http://www.manbattlestations.com/hostedfiles/planetfall/PFDirectorate1_4.pdf
http://www.manbattlestations.com/hostedfiles/planetfall/PFRelthoza1_4.pdf
http://www.manbattlestations.com/hostedfiles/planetfall/PFSorylian1_4.pdf
http://www.manbattlestations.com/hostedfiles/planetfall/PFTerran1_4.pdf
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So, I finally got my hands on my Planetfall stuff earlier this week. So far, it all looks awesome! I'm hoping to get through the rulebook and post some first impressions soon. Anyone have a chance to actually play the game yet?
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Took me a few weeks, but I finally got my impressions up on the blog:
http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2014/12/23/planetfall-rules-impressions/
Also, I'm going to re-post some thing here that Dalekunz posted in the FACO sub-forum, because I thought it was fairly insightful:
We had a quick learning game at the Demo Day on Saturday, and I've finished my rules read-through along with a 2nd revisit post-game. Here's Ugly, Bad, and Good , IMHO:
Ugly:
-- Rule book is terrible, a real step-back compared to the new Firestorm book. It was hard even to find where it says that Models moving Flat-out don't get to shoot. (i.e. in a paragraph, not a chart or reference bulet). Index is so much an afterthought, it's near useless.
-- Rules also have contradictory rules all over the place, like the Terror Weapon MAR.
-- STILL no pictures of the actual species troops, out of armor/exo-suits, etc. Is it so much to ask for a color-plate for each main faction showing races and uniforms? Ye Olde FASA games managed that at least.
-- How Woods work for LOS and "occupiable" is awfully unclear, even with the FAQ.
-- Cyberwarfare weapons need work. How they affect multiple-model squadrons is unclear. And the chart needs work - result 6 could be either awesome or useless whether before or after target activation.
-- Besides the lack of even rudimentary ORBATS, its also annoying that clearly colorful weapon systems have NO descriptives whatsoever besides their names and MARs. What's a "Shard Cannon" for instance?
Bad:
-- The whole thing is beta-version, as has been said elsewhere. Many rules, interactions, and ORBAT entries are either completely inpenetrable or don't even work. They really should have taken another 6 months to iron all this out - at this rate, they're going to owe everyone a free PDF of the updated rulebook.
-- However the frack Artillery is suppose to work, versus Sky Drop, versus Target Lock is all hopelessly muddled together. I *think* I've figured it out with the help of the FAQ, but the statement about not using Allied drop markers no has me wondering how RSN even deploys.
-- Nobody's explained the REAR ECHELON MAR properly yet. Does the dropped model not get any activation when it deploys? Are embarked models even allowed to disembark? Because if I have to drop a Relthoza hive-tower and let 8 stands of Infantry sit there inside it for a whole turn like sitting ducks, its a deal-breaker on the whole game.
-- Per FAQ, it seems clear that a Transport cannot drop Infantry into buildings, as that would be a Disembark and Embark in the same Activation. So at some point, Infantry has to sit in the open playing target with no saves. STUPID. Doubly stupid is the notion that you CAN get into a building, but only if fighting the enemy to do so. So... we don't have time to just run in ... but there's time to fight some CQB. Basically, terrain needs a separate rule from Transports.
Good:
-- IF things work the way I think they do ...the drop and artillery mechanics can be really awesome. Since Artillery can kill Infantry in a building with no saves or to hit penalties, its very good they seem limited to once a game. But that can also be sucky if that unit can do little else.
Sky drop seems a very satisfying mechanic, long tem.
-- I like the simplified DR chain, and lack of Crits. This many models on the table needs faster resolution, and I think this provides.
-- I like the differences in Infantry, and the reliance on them to take and hold.
-- Building models are amazing.
-- Almost all the armor models I've seen are amazing. I'm not sure if the initial Helixes contain Infantry Option models (Command, Heavy weapons, etc) - but they *really* need to have that standard in any Infantry pack. Not as much worry for me as I play relthoza, but still.
-- Snafus, bad rules, and confusion aside...the game was FUN. So many tactical and strategic possibilities kept occurring to me.
End point - I want to play MORE!
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Some more observations :-)
The REAR ECHELON MAR actually seems redundant. It's mainly on Sky Drop elements (that I've seen so far) that have neither guns nor movement. So whether they "activate" or not is completely moot once they deploy. Their cargo can activate independently, disembark and get on with things as normal, since Embarked units are spearate activations. Perhaps more utility for this rule will come later, but I really don't get why its there...
I spotted another *really BAD idea* in the FAQ:
"...A squadron that is out of Coherency at the end of its Movement Segment automatically takes a Disorder Marker (no roll is taken) for EACH surviving element in the squadron
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I spotted another *really BAD idea* in the FAQ:
"...A squadron that is out of Coherency at the end of its Movement Segment automatically takes a Disorder Marker (no roll is taken) for EACH surviving element in the squadron
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When firestorm first came out the rules were terrible.
Perhaps I will get the models to paint and wait for 1.5 to play
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When firestorm first came out the rules were terrible.
Perhaps I will get the models to paint and wait for 1.5 to play
Eh, I wouldn't say they were terrible...the way wings and PD worked were a bit clunky, but the rules were fun and serviceable. Same as Planetfall, I would say. Everything we've heard from people who have actually played the game (which is not me yet, unfortunately) indicates that Planetfall is a lot of fun too.
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I just finally noticed this FAQ update. A lot of real issues solved!
http://www.spartangames.co.uk/wp/wp/wp-content/spartanimg/PF_FAQ_22-12-2014.pdf
Natural allies can designate for each other. Coherency penalty markers are only applied if out at the end of activation. Some more clarity on Sky Drop and Artillery.
Infantry still can't disembark into cover though, unless also storming. That's still annoying.