I'm going to just be using two X-Wing mats put together, but the crease will be less than ideal.
A friend of mine uses two 3x3 yoga mats. They're pretty heavy and sit well next to eachother for epic games. They don't let the minis slide and they don't slide themselves. It's not the most attractive-looking option, but it's still pretty good.
But what options are you all entertaining?
UK or USA? Found some great UK/Euro ones i might go for:
UK or USA? Found some great UK/Euro ones i might go for:
What material are they made from?
A lot of people around me are switching to mats made from mousepad material (foam with starfield-designed cloth covering).
Edited by Mikael HasselsteinAre we 100% certain Armada is on a 6 by 3? I saw some people on here are unconvinced still
UK or USA? Found some great UK/Euro ones i might go for:
What material are they made from?
A lot of people around me are switching to mats made from mousepad material (foam with starfield-designed cloth covering).
Choice of thick cloth or PVC. Sadly the mousemat material is probably too pricey for me at 6x3.
To Zhil....all we have to go on is the developer videos from Gencon, and at that time it was confirmed to be 6x3. It could easily have changed since then, but they seemed pretty sure at least at the time.
I'd recommend getting a print shop to make you a 6x3 pvc banner using one of the nasa hubble images. A lot of good images of star fields and nebulas available and you can get the high res images you need for a good banner.
The PVC banners are nice - I have a couple of those - though the cloth or yoga mat ones are less likely to let your miniatures slide. I solved that for myself by putting heavy washers inside the X-Wing bases, and then painting them over with rubber cement. That way they're both heavier and have a non-slide contact surface.
Given the nature of the Armada bases, I'll have to think of other solutions, but with luck they'll be naturally heavy and won't need that sort of alteration.
I dont think the Armada bases look to be as prone to sliding around thankfully. Hopefully not at least!
I dont think the Armada bases look to be as prone to sliding around thankfully. Hopefully not at least!
They are certainly a lot bigger (except the squadron bases) and they have stabilizers in their shield dials distributing weight around.
I think armada will be more forgiving on the make of the mat than X-Wing.
I dont think the Armada bases look to be as prone to sliding around thankfully. Hopefully not at least!
They are certainly a lot bigger (except the squadron bases) and they have stabilizers in their shield dials distributing weight around.
I think armada will be more forgiving on the make of the mat than X-Wing.
Possibly so.
I still like the idea of painting my bases black and adding weight to them, the way I've done with X-Wing. We'll see if that's practical or not with these new bases.
Of course, the bases are probably not quite as separate from the ships, in the sense that they're as interchangeable, or will the bases be generic except by size, do you think?
I dont think the Armada bases look to be as prone to sliding around thankfully. Hopefully not at least!
They are certainly a lot bigger (except the squadron bases) and they have stabilizers in their shield dials distributing weight around.
I think armada will be more forgiving on the make of the mat than X-Wing.
Possibly so.
I still like the idea of painting my bases black and adding weight to them, the way I've done with X-Wing. We'll see if that's practical or not with these new bases.
Of course, the bases are probably not quite as separate from the ships, in the sense that they're as interchangeable, or will the bases be generic except by size, do you think?
I think bases will be generic, but there seem to be 4 sizes instead of 2: Large (unreleased), medium (AF, VSD), Small (Neb, CR90, GSD), and Squadrons.
However, given that the shield dials are partially underneath the bases it might be hard to find room at the bottom of the base to glue weights to. (But it does look like each base has identical shield values, and you just set it to the right number, so there isn't a base for VSD's with 3 shield on each side, and a different for AF with x shield on each side).
Are we 100% certain Armada is on a 6 by 3? I saw some people on here are unconvinced still
One Gencon video said that standard tournament game is 3x6, another Gencon video talked about their demo board being 3x6 but actually being 4x6 including the deployment areas. Whether this "deployment space" is part of the regular game or not we wont know till it comes out, so I will be holding off till then 
The PVC banners are nice - I have a couple of those - though the cloth or yoga mat ones are less likely to let your miniatures slide. I solved that for myself by putting heavy washers inside the X-Wing bases, and then painting them over with rubber cement. That way they're both heavier and have a non-slide contact surface.
Given the nature of the Armada bases, I'll have to think of other solutions, but with luck they'll be naturally heavy and won't need that sort of alteration.
I think the solution to sliding is pretty simple. get a piece of mousepad material (or similar material like a single carpet square) thats preferably thick, cut strips to fit in spaces on bottom of stands and glue it in place. Instant traction. The reason you want something relatively thick is you want to cut it and turn the cut piece on its side to glue in place. Much easier to get the ideal depth needed that way.
For Armada bases you won't be able to fill the whole thing in, but you should be able to get filler into each of the corners and that should be good enough. Keep in mind for this to work the filler has to be supporting the stand ever so slightly rather than the plastic rim. You want the filler material to stick out just about a fingernail thickness. I've done this before on some other minis that I used to use on a rather expensive table that I was verboten to scratch.
I dont think the Armada bases look to be as prone to sliding around thankfully. Hopefully not at least!
They might be bigger and heavier, but they are on four fairly thin legs - that means there is much less contact, so less friction!
UK or USA? Found some great UK/Euro ones i might go for:
What material are they made from?
A lot of people around me are switching to mats made from mousepad material (foam with starfield-designed cloth covering).
Mikael? I'm liking the sound of mousepad material, seems robust enough to roll up and store somewhere yet resilient enough for play. Can you name a source or something for those of us that might be interested -thanks.
I would also look at F.A.T Mat. (http://eustore.frontlinegaming.org/fat-mat%3A-space-6x4/dp/23 EU Site)
Their mats are made from mousepad material, so should also work fine. But I have not yet played on them, so not entirely sure
I would also look at F.A.T Mat. (http://eustore.frontlinegaming.org/fat-mat%3A-space-6x4/dp/23 EU Site)
Their mats are made from mousepad material, so should also work fine. But I have not yet played on them, so not entirely sure
Sweet! Thanks obergrot!
Aww heck...that'll hurt the old hip pocket for sure. Hehe. F.A.T. Mat! Can be rolled up and even has its own storage bag. 59 Pounds though...gee. How much is that in AUD? And how much is that in terms of Armada Expansions. Haha.
Decisions, decisions! This is excruciating. 
Edited because I found these guys:
http://www.gamemat.eu/4x4-g-mats/4x4-g-mat-space1.html
Does anyone have any experience with them ^?
4x4 seems too small for Armada, no?
Edited by Alpha Xg1
I would also look at F.A.T Mat. (http://eustore.frontlinegaming.org/fat-mat%3A-space-6x4/dp/23 EU Site)
Their mats are made from mousepad material, so should also work fine. But I have not yet played on them, so not entirely sure
Sweet! Thanks obergrot!
Aww heck...that'll hurt the old hip pocket for sure. Hehe. F.A.T. Mat! Can be rolled up and even has its own storage bag. 59 Pounds though...gee. How much is that in AUD? And how much is that in terms of Armada Expansions. Haha.
Decisions, decisions! This is excruciating.
Edited because I found these guys:
http://www.gamemat.eu/4x4-g-mats/4x4-g-mat-space1.html
Does anyone have any experience with them ^?
4x4 seems too small for Armada, no?
4x4 would defintely be too small,
As mentioned above one Gencon source said 3x6, another said their playboard was 4x6. (3x6 with a 1 ft deployment area).
I would also look at F.A.T Mat. (http://eustore.frontlinegaming.org/fat-mat%3A-space-6x4/dp/23 EU Site)
Their mats are made from mousepad material, so should also work fine. But I have not yet played on them, so not entirely sure
Sweet! Thanks obergrot!
Aww heck...that'll hurt the old hip pocket for sure. Hehe. F.A.T. Mat! Can be rolled up and even has its own storage bag. 59 Pounds though...gee. How much is that in AUD? And how much is that in terms of Armada Expansions. Haha.
Decisions, decisions! This is excruciating.
Edited because I found these guys:
http://www.gamemat.eu/4x4-g-mats/4x4-g-mat-space1.html
Does anyone have any experience with them ^?
4x4 seems too small for Armada, no?
4x4 would defintely be too small,
As mentioned above one Gencon source said 3x6, another said their playboard was 4x6. (3x6 with a 1 ft deployment area).
4x6 is standard playing area for quite a few table-top games (40k, Warmahordes), so it is a fairly safe bet for FF to pick as there are tons of tournaments that use that size. However, 3x6 seems reasonable as well since it is exactly double the size of X-Wing.
4x6 is standard playing area for quite a few table-top games (40k, Warmahordes), so it is a fairly safe bet for FF to pick as there are tons of tournaments that use that size. However, 3x6 seems reasonable as well since it is exactly double the size of X-Wing.
Exactly, which is why I would hold off buying until we know which way they have gone for certain
Based on the custom mat FFG had at GenCon, I think 6x3 is going to stay as a playing surface. The reason I think that is, FFG has some smart folks. They know most stores have 6x4's. They also know you need space to put your extras. With x wing, a 3x3 fits on the table and plenty of room around it for cards, dice, etc. If you make the playing surface a 6x3, then it fits ona 6x4 table and the 6" on each side are for your cards and components. The custom mats had a 6" white strip with game play notes on each side.
4x6 is standard playing area for quite a few table-top games (40k, Warmahordes), so it is a fairly safe bet for FF to pick as there are tons of tournaments that use that size. However, 3x6 seems reasonable as well since it is exactly double the size of X-Wing.
Exactly, which is why I would hold off buying until we know which way they have gone for certain
Hah! Seconded. As much as I'd like to try and get everything prepared before Armada ships, the above is wise advice.
In the meantime though, I've found this mob -Quiver Gaming Gear:
They're a (new?) startup that focuses on gaming mats. A bit different from the neoprene (mousepad) type mats I'm looking for, but should work nonetheless.
Looks like they've got a mat tailored for X-Wing. Suppose they'll tailor one for us Armada folks?