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I hung out with some friends recently as they played a game of Firestorm Armada at my LGS. The game looked like fun and I'm thinking of getting into it.

Terran Alliance vs. Dendrenzi Federation

Interesting battle report! Not having the activation by squadron would really mess with the game mechanics. I think that when you guys play again using the squadron by squadron system, it will make a big difference.

The cards also make a big difference; they are about like the Special Orders for BFG, in that you can play without them, but it removes a layer of tactical thinking and complexity from the game.

As for the game itself, I thought it was weird that the Terran player gave the Dindrenzi battleship exactly what it wanted: a juicy target in its forward arc. I would have either swung around the planet and hit his BB from the rear, or else held back and pummeled the cruisers and force him to come to me. I also wasn't sure why the Terran player had both Aegis Shield Ships with the BB, for two reasons:

1. The Razorthorn (terran BB) already has 3 shields, and so wouldn't benefit as much from the extra shield provided by the Aegis as the frigates and cruisers would.

2. The Aegis +1 shield effect doesn't stack, nor can one Aegis boost the shields of another. So, having both of them next to the battleship only boosts its shields to 4, not 5. If that is the way they were playing (it wasn't clear from the video), then that was another mistake.

So, I would probably have stuck one of the shield cruisers with the cruiser squadron, and the other with the frigates, and let the BB fend for itself. But then, that's me, and YMMV .

I don't mean to come off too harshly; I have messed plenty of things up during my first few tries with these rules! I hope they stick with it, FSA is a lot of fun and definitely worth it.

Hi

What are the sizes of the ship bases in Firestorm Armada ?

The game looks FUN !

The bases are 40mm square. I assume you are asking because you want to use other sci-fi minis with the rules? This works fine; I've seen a number of other types of ships from other franchises used for this game, including B5, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica.

It looks like a pretty interesting game. Tim needs to hold the camera away from his mouth, though. I could barely hear the players, but he sounded like he was shouting in my ear.

Ruckdog wrote:The bases are 40mm square. I assume you are asking because you want to use other sci-fi minis with the rules? This works fine; I've seen a number of other types of ships from other franchises used for this game, including B5, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica.

No proxies per say , pieces of cardboard, just an experiment . I know they don't have quick start rules up to try but I think I have enough of the rules scraped together from around the net to give it a go.

Ah, if that is what you are after, then why don't you used the print-out fleets you can get from the Spartan Games site? They have Terran, Dindrenzi, and Directorate fleets all ready to go:

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

Also on that page, you will find the "Rules at a Glance" sheet, which will help you with the basics.

Alas I have no printer. I was just going cut the bases out of cardboard and write battleship, cruiser, etc... on them. Very high class job

Just found out about double criticals the other day. If they do 4 points hull damage that pretty much kills any current cruiser doesn't it ?

Not trying to get the rules from you but do ships have special rules other than the Firing Solution rule for the Directorate battleship ?


Also ships only explode on a Crit. correct ? Not if their hull only goes to zero ?

shinzuer wrote:Alas I have no printer. I was just going cut the bases out of cardboard and write battleship, cruiser, etc... on them. Very high class job

Bummer...it might help if you make your own movement template, too.

Just found out about double criticals the other day. If they do 4 points hull damage that pretty much kills any current cruiser doesn't it ?

Exactly . Still, a bit difficult as the crit rating for a cruiser is typically around 6 or 7, which means that 12-14 hits are required to one-hit it (assuming no sheilds). Not impossible, but not exactly what I would call a common occurrence.

Not trying to get the rules from you but do ships have special rules other than the Firing Solution rule for the Directorate battleship ?

Firing Solution applies only to the Directorate BB, and exists solely to provide an exception to the normal rule that fixed broadsides can't be link-fired with normal broadsides. While there is nothing preventing this or other special rules from cropping up, AFAIK this is the only one at the moment.

Also ships only explode on a Crit. correct ? Not if their hull only goes to zero ?

Correct. Only a crit of snake eyes or box cars causes an explosion. A model that has its hits reduced to 0 is simply removed.

Ruckdog wrote:

shinzuer wrote:Alas I have no printer. I was just going cut the bases out of cardboard and write battleship, cruiser, etc... on them. Very high class job

Bummer...it might help if you make your own movement template, too.

Just found out about double criticals the other day. If they do 4 points hull damage that pretty much kills any current cruiser doesn't it ?

Exactly . Still, a bit difficult as the crit rating for a cruiser is typically around 6 or 7, which means that 12-14 hits are required to one-hit it (assuming no sheilds). Not impossible, but not exactly what I would call a common occurrence.

Not trying to get the rules from you but do ships have special rules other than the Firing Solution rule for the Directorate battleship ?

Firing Solution applies only to the Directorate BB, and exists solely to provide an exception to the normal rule that fixed broadsides can't be link-fired with normal broadsides. While there is nothing preventing this or other special rules from cropping up, AFAIK this is the only one at the moment.

Also ships only explode on a Crit. correct ? Not if their hull only goes to zero ?

Correct. Only a crit of snake eyes or box cars causes an explosion. A model that has its hits reduced to 0 is simply removed.

Movement template ? A very basic piece of the puzzle I must have overlooked

Not that big a deal, really. It isn't strictly required, but it is a nice aid when moving ships. It consists of a piece of card that has a notch in one corner that is 1" long. You can find an example on the Spartan downloads page I linked to above.

Doh, that thing. I was looking right at it and it didn't register that was it. I chock it up to nothing but Raimen noodles and meatballs for 3 days.
I'll have to make one up.

Hey

Are the resin ships supposed to be made with super glue ? Never had a resin model but sounds like from what I've read you are suppose to use super glue or an epoxy for them.
If so sounds a tad daunting for my shaky hands and super drying glue.

The Tinman. I didnt know you were on Dakka.

Been enjoying your battle reports for a long time now. Good reports, when I got over about the base rim colour of your Cygnarans.

shinzuer wrote:Hey

Are the resin ships supposed to be made with super glue ? Never had a resin model but sounds like from what I've read you are suppose to use super glue or an epoxy for them.
If so sounds a tad daunting for my shaky hands and super drying glue.

Yeah, you need to use either epoxy or CA (superglue). If you are worried about the working times, there is a product that instantly sets CA (kicker). Dampening one side of the joint will also do the trick, as CA needs moisture to cure.

Thanks again.


It's been over 2 weeks and they still haven't approved me for their forum use. Hate to keep bugging you but was there something about the templates in the book being to small like 6inch instead of 8 inch or something ? I thought I had read something about it but I can't find it now. And is it true that if you use all the cut outs in the back of the book they are double sided and it will make some of them not usuable ? Thought I read that somewhere to but can't find that again either.

Yeah, both the official "punch out" large template and the one in the book are too small. AFAIK, the current downloadable one has been correctly re-sized, and the Litko one is correct as well (a few of these were made in the wrong size, but Litko is offering free replacements for those).

Not sure about the cutouts (I don't have my book in front of me), however all of the cutout pages in the book are on the Spartan website in PDF...I know you said you didn't have a printer, but there has to be a school/family member/room mate/library that wouldn't mind you making a few print outs .

Ruckdog wrote:
2. The Aegis +1 shield effect doesn't stack, nor can one Aegis boost the shields of another. So, having both of them next to the battleship only boosts its shields to 4, not 5. If that is the way they were playing (it wasn't clear from the video), then that was another mistake.

My reading of the rules on the Aegis is that it lends its shields to all ships within 4", so it would confer +2 shields to everything, not +1. Did I read something wrong?

Endgame wrote:

Ruckdog wrote:
2. The Aegis +1 shield effect doesn't stack, nor can one Aegis boost the shields of another. So, having both of them next to the battleship only boosts its shields to 4, not 5. If that is the way they were playing (it wasn't clear from the video), then that was another mistake.

My reading of the rules on the Aegis is that it lends its shields to all ships within 4", so it would confer +2 shields to everything, not +1. Did I read something wrong?

No, you got it right. I was going by memory and got it wrong . The Aegis has a str. 2 shield bubble.

shinzuer wrote:Thanks again.


It's been over 2 weeks and they still haven't approved me for their forum use. Hate to keep bugging you but was there something about the templates in the book being to small like 6inch instead of 8 inch or something ? I thought I had read something about it but I can't find it now. And is it true that if you use all the cut outs in the back of the book they are double sided and it will make some of them not usuable ? Thought I read that somewhere to but can't find that again either.

In the same boat here. I signed up and never heard anything.

Makes ya feel kinda lonely and rejected don't it ?

Hrm...interesting. You two aren't the only ones having this issue, apparently. If I had to guess, the lag might have something to do with the Spartan forums exploding due to the release of DW. If you want, I can try PM'ing Spartan Neil for you to see if that greases the skids at all...

Thanks for the offer but what do ya know I just tried signing in and it worked but I never received an email telling me I had been accepted. Might want to try just signing in too tinman_xl

Pffft watch me have been able to log in a week ago. Doh !

BTW: My account is still not approved in the Spartan Games forums.

Hey guys, quick question.

Just recieved my Directorate fleet today, and I noticed the strangest thing - there's brown paper stuck to the bottom of the bases that I just can't seem to get off. Has anyone else had this problem?

tinman_xl wrote:BTW: My account is still not approved in the Spartan Games forums.

I'll send Neil a PM today. I don't know if it will help, but hey, who knows?

infinite_array wrote:Hey guys, quick question.

Just recieved my Directorate fleet today, and I noticed the strangest thing - there's brown paper stuck to the bottom of the bases that I just can't seem to get off. Has anyone else had this problem?

That is a protective film that covers the sheet stock they cut the bases from. It does peel off, the trick is to get it started. I usuall have to use an X-acto knife to do so; I find that going at it from the corners is the easiest way.

Perfect! Thanks, that looks much better.

tinman_xl wrote:BTW: My account is still not approved in the Spartan Games forums.

Okay! I got a PM back from Neil about your account, this is what he said:

Spartan Neil wrote:Hi Ruckdog,

Has he emailed me directly?

If folk do that then they get sorted out. But if they don't I have no idea if they are trying to sign up or not.

Thanks for contacting me.

Cheers,
Neil

So, if you haven't emaild him yet, go ahead. If you have already, I would try again .