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I contacted Neal at the war store in regards to the overlays for the ships. I hope he fixes the problem as it would kinda suck not to have them. I got 2 starter sets so it would double suck!

Ernster, I'm in the same boat! I actually got this reply back from him this morning (having emailed yesterday):

Ok this is the first time I have heard about this.
I had two of my guys check a Gen Con box and they are saying the bag with the extra figures does not contain overlays but the original bag has extra overlays in it. Does that make sense to you?
I also have an email in to Spartan to see what should be in there, I will email you just as soon as I hear back.

So, it's great that they're checking into it quickly! I sent this reply, could you guys check it and make sure it is correct as far as what is missing?

Thank you for the quick reply! A few of us have been discussing this who get the special boxes, and the problem is that there are two ways to run the carrier/battlecruiser - with or without escort. So, the original bag contains both options, which to my understanding every ship of this type sold always will (just like X-wing ships come with extra overlays).

The problem is, with the extra ship and no extra overlays, you are forced to run one with escort, and one without, and I think this would also result in not being able to use the escort that came with the extra ship (so, essentially a wasted escort ship from the free sprue, since the overlay for it is missing).

I assume it was just an oversight of theirs not including the overlays... but if they catch it now, maybe you could add it in to the preorders for that box - and I of course was hoping that if I made another order from you I could get the overlays... since I picked up two of these boxes at GenCon that means I am pretty restricted in how to field the ships without the overlays.

Let me know if this is clear, and again, thank you for looking into it!

I think I may have mis-typed about the escort coming with the extra ship (I've been busy and will be doing some assembly on mine tomorrow) but as long as the gist is clear (there there is no extra overlay to run it with/without escort) - if I should follow up with any clarification just post it below and I will do so.

Edit: Got a reply already - they're on the case!

Absolutely clear and I am emailing back and forth with Spartan to see how they want to handle this. They are being very responsive :-)
I should have some guidance on this today or tomorrow

I told him I'd pass on any guidance to the others who were wondering too so hopefully this will be resolved quickly.

Thanks for following up on that. Glad to see Neal is on top of it. Over the past 6 months he's been slowly pulling more and more of my business away from MM.

Having looked over the rules and force creation last night, 2 starters is definitely the way to go.

@RiTides, Neal sent me the same e-mail as well. I am sure it will be resolved. Warstore has gotten my business from MM as well since they decided to carry BF products due to the poor KS.

Just finished playing the 1st scenario and I really like this game. The exploding 6 with limiter is a nice mechanic that works very well and pairs perfectly with the Firepower mechanic. It's elegant and smooth and after the first couple of times using it, comes naturally. There's a part of me that likes no limit due to the thought of being able to take the smallest unit on the board, make a suicide run at a capital ship and pull a miracle, but I've never been able to pull it off, so it doesn't hurt that much.

The movement mechanism is streamlined and also very natural, but it would have been nice if they had provided a turn template. I'll have to make one as I kept finding myself unknowingly turning units 90 deg when they weren't parallel to an edge of the table. For those who aren't aware of the mechanic, based upon size, a base can be turned 45 deg before and/or after movement is made. At least to my brain, the angle is a bit fiddly if I don't have a reference point to compare it to.

The first scenario didn't have boarding actions or wings, so I didn't pay much attention to those rules.

What I like about this more than anything is that it's very approachable. I can very easily see myself getting my brother, a big video gamer who does not play any tabletop games, to give it a try.

Glad to hear people are liking the game as much as I am.

In the mean time, "... stick with the Master Chief, he'll know what to do!"

 ONI-S3 wrote:
Glad to hear people are liking the game as much as I am.

In the mean time, "... stick with the Master Chief, he'll know what to do!"

I would love to have the rules of the CSO-class Super Carrier, the damage track alone is impressive.

And don't forget that 3rd part ONI.

Loving that Cortana cosplay there . Nice work!

 Tyran wrote:

 ONI-S3 wrote:
Glad to hear people are liking the game as much as I am.

In the mean time, "... stick with the Master Chief, he'll know what to do!"

I would love to have the rules of the CSO-class Super Carrier, the damage track alone is impressive.

And don't forget that 3rd part ONI.

I won't! Tried to film it today but it was very rainy and the light was really off, in the mean time maybe this will get you by:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/659512.page#8041475

It's the first campaign mission from the Fall of Reach written as a short story from the UNSC's perspective

Played first game, first scenario from the Reach booklet, I already like it more than I did Armada - yeah I know the two are different but this is purely from the "I want to play with spaceships" point of view.

The Covenant side absolutely ripped through the UNSC side.

I really like the firing solution mechanic, and the damage track mechanic. Read the rules for the squadrons/flights and again, compared to Armada, they seem to operate more how I envisage from stuff like BSG, Babylon 5 with reactive escort and suchlike. In Armada they seem to boil down to two screens tying each other down so bombers can slip through unmolested.

My only complaint is the poor poor bases and pegs, they seriously do not fit well at all which was a bit of a downer. Sure, I can file them all down, but my point is that any reasonable person reviewing the prototype should have been able to see this issue, surely ?

Liking the MAC platforms in the rulebook and the bigger ships, I really hope Spartan do well with this !

Here's an update on the Warstore GenCon set from Neal:

Ok, sorry for getting back to you late, we had an 'interesting' end of week last week. Spartan did reply right away, and basically they want us to direct anyone who wants the extra overlays to contact them directly with the request and their address, and Spartan will mail them to you.
Let me know if you have any trouble.

I also asked him who specifically to contact, and he said Katie should know about it - the very last contact on Spartan contacts page:

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/contact-us

I've sent an email to her, and already gotten a reply - they didn't plan to include them, but are willing to send them to folks who wanted them. So, you should be able to reach out to her and get it sorted.

Nice. E-mail sent. In my experience, Spartan is very fast about replacing missing items. I was missing power crystals from my Planetfall core box and they replied within 24 hours and they arrived about a week later.

So they didn't plan on including things necessary to use the "free" ships in an actual game?

Not sure what to think about that...

Well they're usable - just in only a single configuration (because you would have to take an overlay from the core set). So, instead of having options in how to run them, you'd have to run both large ships a single way... if they had advertised it that way, I think it'd be fine, but it was pretty clear that all components would come with the extra ships, and in the end "more" was charged for it (full retail by the Warstore instead of a discounted price) so I think it should come with everything.

Triple9 - You're right, Spartan has been great so far so I'm not worried about it

It's an oversight for sure. As long make it right.

ONI we getting the video on wings and boarding?

No pressure, ONI, but I'm anxiously awaiting your fighter/bomber/boarding craft video. Buy your camerawoman some nice chocolates, flowers, and a large cappucino if you need to grease the wheels a bit!

I went to the FLGS this week and actually found the litko bases I wanted to use for my fighter squadron idea (instead of custom ordering them like I had planned). I drilled a 3x3 hole pattern in the clear acrylic 2cm squares (thanks for the previous measurements!) and I think the idea will work once I find out how they're deployed and used in the actual game. I'm not sure if I should make one visual minis squadron to sit on top of the "stack" with just extra bases underneath or if I should do every base with minis and deploy them as a swarm (but only count the first as the real location on the board).

I think in one of the earlier posts it was mentioned you deploy the fighters pregame directly on the board instead of "launching them" from the ships during the actual first turn (I know there are reinforcements but I mean initially). Once you place them in a "stack", can you later split them off? Can stacks contain fighters from different carriers or do markers in a stack have to be from the same ship? I think it was mentioned that the stacks have to be pure of each type (so only fighters or bombers, not both). If you can split them mid game, can you also join them back together? Is there a benefit to having a stack of 5 versus 5 individual counters of fighters next to each other?

Also, the stats for the sabre seem quite underwhelming and I'm wondering if it is a typo. The fluff IIRC for the sabre is that it is specifically and anti-ship fighter that does double duty but on the stat sheets I've seen on youtube it has ZERO anti-ship ability. It seems like a waste of 2 hangar slots without that (although I admit that is obviously without any hands on experience). For two slots, I'd expect it to have anti-ship and anti-fighter capabilities since you can literally buy 1 fighter and 1 bomber token for the same "price". It's odd...

I received my Gen con edition from the warstore yesterday. It took me less then two hours to clip clean and assemble every ship. My first impression is that the ships look great and feel good in your hand. I was very suprised in the amount of detail in the ships. The med and large ships had a ton of small details, the small not as much. The box seems a little excessive for the amount of stuff. I kinda wonder why its so large, I would assume a small box would cost less.

The quality of the printed items like the counters and books are very good. The UNSC ships are easy to put together but less intuitive then I thought they should be. The covent ships are so simple its scary. Anyone can put these together rapidly even people new to the hobby. The bases are really a great idea. Its a simple way to make you think and feel there are more kind of ships then there are. The problem is that the vast majority don't fit well, and won't without filing. I don't really now how this could had happened, someone should have seen this and fixed it before shipping.

The terrain is nice. Its a great idea as it will help everyone play with a table thats not made with books and cups. Again, new people will really dig it, hard core gamers will make there own. I really like the campaign book is fun. It's laid out well, the narrative is fun and makes for some interesting games then just the basic kill kill.

I have not finished the rule book yet nor have I played a game but there are a few things that I wish where in the book. I was hoping to see a a ship index with the full specifications, history, backstory, shipyard, date of construction, ect. This would be a really great way to give people a more immersive feel for the universe and ships. I feel like Spartan really missed the boat on this. They could have also added the ship information for the next planned expansion. I know for a fact they already have the ships picked and in some form of production. They do not need to put the stats in but, people would know what to expect and look forward to.

I will finish reading the rules in the next few days and get a couple games in. I will put another post with my thoughts of the rules and gameplay. I will also prob post my hopes for what Spartan could do. Would anyone like me to add any other information, or would they like to know anything else I didn't touch on? Thanks

When you say the bases don't fit without filing, do you mean the stem into the ship, the overlays onto the square base, the stems into the square base, or something else?

Most of the stems don't fit entirely into the square base, but there's enough friction that they still hold securely while playing. I've found the stems that do fully seat are a bear and a half to remove after a game. I'm considering it a feature rather than a flaw.

Are the bases the same kinda thing as Dropzone Commander? I remember having a few issues getting them in, but once I did there was no way I'd ever be able to take em apart. I ended up using pluck foam and making a T and laying the base on its side.

Similar, but not the same. More like the stands used in x-wing. where the base has an overlay on top and then the stem inserts into it. There are multiple holes on the base and different overlays have a different hole pattern that changes from game to game, so they need to be constantly changed.

The bases are very stable. But like triple said they don't fit into the stand well.

Be careful forcing the stands in farther, the bases WILL crack.

If anyone who has the game in hand could explain how the fighter and boarding craft actions work, that would be much appreciated.

So I've played a few games over the past week or so and I absolutely love this game. It is not without it's quibbles though, and I'm just going to take a moment to point out 2 things that annoy me; primarily from a documentation standpoint rather than a gameplay standpoint as they are two things that could easily be addressed with a couple cheatsheets (that I intend to put together when I have a moment) .

1. The unit stats being on half sized, double-sided sheets for each faction drives me nuts trying to determine a firing solution. Ok, what weapons does a supported battlecruiser have; ok AND plasma torpedoes ...flip, and a corvette, flip, how many dice for the plasma torpedoes, flip, oh and for that formation, flip...oh wait, I'm shooting against frigates that have elusive, so let me figure out my dice pools separately; flip. Would one full sized sheet for each faction have been that difficult, the box is big enough to pack it in.

2. For special actions, I think the D6 would have worked better. Sometimes, you're looking for a 2 on the Halo dice for a critical hit vs a skull for firing a MAC (and placing a vulnerability marker) vs this and/or that in other instances. Not a big deal, but still having to look up in the documentation or reference sheet on rolls to make sure I'm rolling for the right stat and I haven't even gotten to boarrding actions, which I'm sure is going to blow my mind. Would have been nice to have a comprehensive chart of all special rolls.

When your biggest gripe isn't the rules, but minor presentation of rules; then it's safe to say the game ain't half bad.

Do you get more than one of each card? i.e two cards with the UNSC carrier so you don't have to flip?

 warboss wrote:
Do you get more than one of each card? i.e two cards with the UNSC carrier so you don't have to flip?

Nah, you get one card for each faction where the capital ships are on one side and the frigates/corvettes/wings on the other. I need to just scan each side, merge them and print them on letter when I et a moment. Not a big deal.


To answer your earlier questions regarding Wings and Boarding at a high level (and from memory, so some details may be off). Game phases are

1. Order
2. Wings
3. Ship Movement/Combat
4. Boarding
5. End

Wings

Each battlegroup has a set number of hangar space. Each type of fighter/bomber takes up a certain number of slots. Stacks of each are made based upon hangar space/slots and placed within 8" of the battle group during deployment. When wing elements are destroyed they are placed in a scrapyard. Some ships have a carrier ability that allows forming of new wings from the scrapyard during the end phase. During the wings phase, stacks are moved around and at the end opposing rolls are made; fighter/figher, figher/bomber, bomber/ship and damage applied. Each figher/bomber in a wing has a dice pool and defence dice just like any other ship. I believe point defence from a ship is applied before a stack finishes its bombing run.

Boarding

This is a bit more complex and I may get some details here wrong. Each ship has a number boarding shuttles that are placed on their base during deployment. Boarding shuttles have a security detail (with Spartans and Zealots having an extra high value here), wich is basically their attack value. During the boarding phase, stacks of shuttles are sent out to make contact with enemy ships (point defence rolls are made here). At the end of the phase, the attack value of all enemy boarding craft and security detail of the attacked ship are compared and a modifier determined. 2D6 is rolled and the modifier applied, which provides a result of the boarding action. Low values will be determinental to the attackers and high values to the ship. A certain roll will destroy the ship out of hand and other rolls will place countdown markers (bombs) that need to be rolled off during the end phase or potentially destroy the ship over several turns. Based upon the rolls, boarders may remain on the ship engaged with security and continue to the next round (with more enemy and relief boarders entering the fray). It's really neat actually and there are rules as well when shuttles are expelled or the ship destoryed about being picked up.

So was the warstore gencon issue resolved? I bought a box as well at Gencon and kind of want to know who I should contact

I have no idea how they're going to get everybody to not play Covenant in this.

Sining wrote:
So was the warstore gencon issue resolved? I bought a box as well at Gencon and kind of want to know who I should contact

Yes, check back in the thread people posted about it but I can't remember what the resolutions was (Tho I think it was Spartan saying contact us and well send a card)