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Firestorm Armada v2.0 is launching this week.




All factions have new starter fleet boxes.

A new two-player starter box is also available.



Ordering the new book gets you a free battlestation miniature. The fleet books/codexes are free and available for download today.

These models are looking damn good!

Also looks like the fleet action game will tie in with the 10mm planetary warfare game coming out next year. It's set in the same fictional universe.

Link: http://www.spartangames.co.uk/storm-zone-battle-for-valhalla

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/

Set shields to full front and arm all torpedoes...

jamesk1973 wrote:


Set shields to full front and arm all torpedoes...

Shields?! We don't need no stinking shields!

Interesting take on fighter tokens, if the pics are anything to go by.

That's something I'm looking forward to. I've heard snippets from beta testers that wings are now quite different, not to mention that all 4 types (they added a new type, repair shuttles) are all useful now whereas before that wasn't the case.

The new SRS rules are quite different but you're correct each version has a purpose, a big change from 1.x where you took bombers or interceptors and that was that. I'm not too much of a fan of the new tokens though but its the same flat style as their Dystopian Wars tiny fliers so somewhat expected.

I promised myself I wouldn't be a carrier-whore in this game but the new srs stuff I've been reading is making it hard to resist. In BFG I was a big carrier player, I used an Emp and 2 Dictators as auto-includes in every fleet I ran

I've got friends who are buying into second edition, but I can't for the life of me figure out on the website which factions can ally with which, etc...

Will likely try to read through one of their version 2 rulebooks, but one of them also mentioned that it only covers the 6 main factions, and the smaller ones will be getting a different release (pdfs? a book?) soon?

Too confusing!

 RiTides wrote:
I've got friends who are buying into second edition, but I can't for the life of me figure out on the website which factions can ally with which, etc...

Will likely try to read through one of their version 2 rulebooks, but one of them also mentioned that it only covers the 6 main factions, and the smaller ones will be getting a different release (pdfs? a book?) soon?

Too confusing!

I guess if you weren't around for the beginning it might seem a little bit confusing at first.

Two sides; the Kurak Alliance and the Zenian League. Of the six main factions you can download the fleets for, three are Kurak, three are Zenian.

Sorylian, Terran, and Aquan are Kurak Alliance.

Dindrezi, Directorate, and Relthoza are Zenian.

On Spartan's site, once your looking at the Firestorm homepage, you'll see a bunch of links on the right for all the main factions. There's also two links for "What is the Kurak Alliance" and "What is the Zenian League". These links will have all the info of which sub factions are in the league/alliance.

Basically, anything Kurak can ally anything Kurak, and the same goes for the Zenians. The rulebooks will clarify it a little more, but I personally find it infinitely simpler than 40k's version of allies.

Hopefully I cleared some of that up.

Mind you those subfaction pages don't all have pictures of their ships but all have some ships I believe. The Rense System Navy and Works Raptor are cool for the Zenians, and the Ryushi and Hawker Industries are cool looking for the Kurak.

As Blacksails said (and I can agree with because I only just learned about the factions a month ago) it can be a bit confusing just at first glance but a more in-depth look will get you the info on sides.

I picked up a used copy of Marauders of the Rift this week.

Looking forward to reading about the minor allied powers in the storm zone.

So which minor factions are you looking at? Personally I like RSN (go figure, dindrenzi) and for the kurak I like Hawker Industries, both have sweet looking ships.

I already own a couple of RSN Spook cruisers I picked up on a whim. I liked the look of them.

I was using the ships for Full Thrust without any specific background.

However, with the new hotness coming out this month I figured why not pick up the rulebook and give the game a try.

 Boblogik wrote:
So which minors are you looking at?

Never ever say that.

 lord_blackfang wrote:

 Boblogik wrote:
So which minors are you looking at?

Never ever say that.

Wow... Can't believe I didn't see that. Nice catch, edited.

Well before I started 40k and Fantasy I wanted to buy into this game but noone plays it in my area but now that I have a decent foundation for my armies from GW I will be trying this out.

I actually just ordered a blister of Dindrezi Fury Class Cruisers which is 2 models I think.
I picked it up just for painting purposes haven't gotten them yet but I think they look really cool but have no idea how good they are in the game.

I might pick up the starter set because it is a really good deal under $100 and get 2 full armies that you can play full games with.
The GW starter sets are that much but you need to spend another $200+ per side to just get a big enough army so this game looks pretty awesome.

Just a question, are the rules pretty easy to pick up? Compared to GW products anyways? Because I know some people who are interested but don't want to learn to many rules.

The 2.0 rules are expanded quite a bit over the 1.x version but its still pretty simple. The BRB is only 120 pages and a lot of that is taken up with some really nice pictures and a lot of examples, stats, scenarios, etc... An afternoon of pounding out starter box games should give you a solid basis with the game.

AndrewChristlieb wrote:
The 2.0 rules are expanded quite a bit over the 1.x version but its still pretty simple. The BRB is only 120 pages and a lot of that is taken up with some really nice pictures and a lot of examples, stats, scenarios, etc... An afternoon of pounding out starter box games should give you a solid basis with the game.

Yup, just got my rulebook. Very nicely done. Also ordered some Ryushi models, which are of excellent casting and quality.

Very pleased with Spartan so far. The fleets seem pretty balanced and play distinctly, I'm looking forward to getting in games soon enough.

Finally had a chance to skim my rulebook and I will admit that I am quite surprised. Everything seemed fairly logically laid out and after a quick skim I felt fairly confident in giving it a go.

Everything seemed fairly logical and streamlined.

Boarding and tiny flyers (now Short Ranged Spacecraft) were the two biggest improvements and I hope variations of these two systems see use in Dystopian Wars.

With boarding, there are no longer multiple stages of conflict, and what's more, each ship can only board once per game now (outside of those with special rules allowing for a second assault). So it is definitely something you save (though on the other hand, with AP not getting drained, you no longer risk counter-boarding just for doing it) but under the new system it is also quite effective.

First things first, capturing a ship outright is a lot rarer. But at the same time, unless your attempt is an abject failure you will likely do something to the enemy ship.

Basically, everything is handled now in a single opposed roll. The boarder takes all his AP and bundles it up and this is rolled against the defending AP of the ship they are boarding plus PD fire (and any linked in from the surrounding squad). From there, success is a sliding scale from doing a bit of hull damage on a single success up to doing things like a targeted strike on a system (two successes), a critical hit (equal to crew rating) or capture (double crew rating).

And the good boarding factions have a lot of effects to boost their pools and kill off crew before they get in close (as well as ways of bringing enemy defenses using things like targeted strikes and cyberwarfare attacks).

Now boarding is a decisive one-shot attack that requires good timing and will usually have at least some measurable effect. And it interacts nicely with all the other new widgets allowing you to set up conditions to optimize your chance of success. Along with shunting being a good tactic now, it opens up a lot of room for interesting plays. I love this a lot more than the ablative boarding system they used to use (which was effectively one shot and punished the boarder by making them easier to capture for having tried). In a lot of ways it kind of mirrors the normal damage system with a bit more of a gradient to it. And getting it down to a single opposed check speeds it up considerably.

As for the SRS rules, I love them. Now SRS will hang around within the control distance of their parent ship (and activate at the same time). When it is time for them to go, you declare an attack run on an enemy vessel (or SRS wing) and carry it out.

Point defense is quite streamlined (and multiple wings are represented by a single token, so not very fiddly in play either). Roll your PD (including whatever is linked in), on a 5 you "hit" the token, on a 6 you destroy a wing. For each destroyed wing, reduce the number on wings in the token (max of six, so cycle down the D6 in its handy slot). Count up the number of "hits" and if it is equal to the remaining wings then they break off and are docked on the carrier.

Things start getting interesting when you have things like Interceptors in the mix who can basically catch incoming SRS flights and force them off before they can even get close (others need to be positioned more carefully to do a similar trick). Dogfights work the same, but with different hit/destroy numbers (and anything forced to break off is sent back to the carrier)

So a bit like the Dystopian Wars, but a metric ton less fiddly and infinitely better explained. I only had to go over it once to understand it well enough to play.

As for SRS types you have Interceptors (short ranged but good at taking out wings), Fighters (jack-of-all-trades, good range and can hit ships and other SRS well but lack the specialty skills fo the Interceptor), Bombers (suck against other SRS but hit well against larger vessels; watch out for Interceptors or well-positioned Fighters), Assault Shuttles (2AP a piece, great at their job), and Support Shuttles (can heal crew points and repair damage, which is a big deal in the new version).

Overall, this is basically exactly what I've always wanted out of Firestorm. The rules are fairly clear, it is pretty and it has a wealth of tactical options and looks genuinely well-balanced and fun to play.

I'll be getting a game of it in this weekend, so I'll be able to post more thoughts after that. But so far, it is probably among the best things they've put out in recent memory. The extra work playtesting really shines through. I'm just sad it took them this long to finally put out something this good.

And now that I have some context, the updated fleets definitely feel very unique and distinct now. They were a lot more adventurous with the design space this time and really tried to get each race feeling like a unique entity. They also seem to understand how to work certain game concepts using their rules well. Dindrenzi no longer feel like they get the best of everything, the brawler factions feel like they can get to their ideal ranges without having to get the crap beaten out of them first and everyone has a unique way of getting the job done. They feel more like a tactical toolbox than a one-note archetype with some slapdash rules. Can't wait to get a game in.

You really make me want to get my copy early lol! Glad to hear such support! Oh and you were right in the other thread, ablative is -2 to cr when below 50% hp... What faction do you play Ronin?

Dindrenzi right now, though thinking about branching out to another Zenian faction as well. I have to say, I love what they've done with the Dindrenzi in this edition, though. I wont feel bad playing them now.

Hopefully I won't be hated for my choice as I've went with Dindrenzi I love their ship design and how they're described on the board. Right now I've only got a Conqueror and 2 Furies but I'm going to get the starter set later this month. The old ships are going to look like they've been out on campaign for a long time and haven't been back home for refits or overhauls.

You wont be hated for picking the Dindrenzi . A significant amount of time has gone into making sure all of the races are a lot closer in balance then the last edition and so far the response has been pretty positive. We should be seeing the alliance races out hopefully in time for Christmas assuming we can tie up a few outliers in time.

Are they still a mix of metal and resin or have they moved to all/mostly resin?

 Breotan wrote:
Are they still a mix of metal and resin or have they moved to all/mostly resin?

From the Ryushi I ordered (a later design), its all resin components, though the small corvettes are all metal but with no parts. It appears like all their multi-part ships are all resin now, but the occasional kit might be all metal if small enough or have some small metal bits.

The new Patrol fleet boxes for the core fleets are all resin (including the frigates).

Might look into it then.

My rulebook and battle station has shipped.

New renders up showing the incoming Battlecruisers! I think they look awesome!

Link!
http://www.spartangames.co.uk/happy-holidays

The FSA stuff starts halfway down the page.

Thoughts?

Gods be good...

That is a sexy beast.

Reminds me of the old ork ships from BFG with the big ass jaws, only built by a race capable of space travel.