Can you play this game by yourself? How would you go about it?

http://xwing.runbam.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/xwing_ai_1.7.0b2/index.htm

That's a web page that will generate maneuvers for the other side. It's good though wave 4. It's not very good, but it's an option other than picking the maneuvers yourself.

Yes, generally by way of training flights and 'duck shoots'. Eg set yourself some asteroids as obstacles, put a few counters down as targets and practice your manoeuvres and firing arcs. Use different ships to get used to the different dials.

There's a basic app you can use ( I forgot what it was called ) which selects a movement for your opposing fighters. So you can gave a bit of a practice battle, albeit without upgraded opponents. /\ ninjaed

Hope that helps.

When I was just starting out I played a few games against myself to get a feel for my maneuvers. I played Imps as normal as they were my normal faction and I wanted to practice maneuvering. For the Rebels I'd spin the dial to a random maneuver and then pick actions and shoot normally. Unsurprisingly Imps won but I felt like the Rebels random maneuvers weren't as much a problem as I thought they'd be. Since I didn't know where they'd go and I had no idea just what they'd do I was caught off guard a few times by them. I did fudge the dials in the rebels favor once or twice just to stop them flying off the board or to pick the more reasonable of the maneuvers when it was between two of them.

I just play with my ships alone by holding them by the stems and running around the house in a pretend-dogfight making many different "vroooooshh!!!" and "pew! pew!" sounds...

I don't think you could play a full fledged 100 pt. match since you'd know the moves for each faction. One thing you could try, and I've even tried myself, is to create a list that you fly and a list a hypothetical opponent would fly. Set up as normal and fly your list normally, and make predictions of what your opponent would do. It can be really helpful for evaluating if/then scenarios and getting an idea of how to react to specific board states and list compositions.

Alternatively, you should check out X-Wing Mission Control. There are a few solo play scenarios other players have built. You may even be able to modify scenario's for solo play.

If neither of those options suits your fancy, you could download the Vassal Engine and X-Wing Module and play other players online through the Vassal platform. It can be a little more cumbersome than playing with actual models, but it can make for some excellent list testing and maneuver practice.

Where abouts are you based? There is a forum subsection on organised play where you may find players in your area which is always going to be better than solo play.

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/forum/292-x-wing-organized-play/

As shawnebaby suggests vassal would be my second choice...

I'm not a Vassal fan, but I was learning the game, I'd set up two games at once and alternate dial selection between the games. Game 1, side A; game 2, side A; game 1, side B; and game 2, side B. Then play out activations. Not perfect and requires a lot of ships, but it worked ok.

I don't think you could play a full fledged 100 pt. match since you'd know the moves for each faction. One thing you could try, and I've even tried myself, is to create a list that you fly and a list a hypothetical opponent would fly. Set up as normal and fly your list normally, and make predictions of what your opponent would do. It can be really helpful for evaluating if/then scenarios and getting an idea of how to react to specific board states and list compositions.

I've done this a fair amount. It helps with the fundamentals like judging movement. It helps give you a sense of how the dice can really screw you, and makes you think what you'd do to mitigate it. Finally, it helps you think a turn or two in advance. My normal solo play is one side as "me", and the other side as "the other guy". I pick my moves and the "other guy" (also me) picks moves based on what I've picked -he always guesses correctly. This makes me think about making moves that limit my vulnerability if an actual other player guesses correctly, instead of just picking and hoping.

I play solo sometimes using the "X-Wing Maneuver Workbench". For selecting the opposing sides maneuvers I roll a 6 sided dice. 1-5 is the speed, you pick which direction would best suit. A 6 means they have guessed which way I am going so I choose the best maneuver and speed they could have done.

I don't see any problem with constructing two 100 point lists and playing both sides. I play each side to the best of my ability and I find that I can do so without bias. I'm so interested to see how each side handles the shifting tactical landscape that I don't favour one side over the other. I find that it's great practice for me to manage both teams.

Games I play against myself are usually very close, within 1 to 3 hitpoints and I rarely can predict the winner. If you're able to play without bias then you may find it very enjoyable to have some practice games with yourself

I do it all the time for playtesting scenarios. I don't find it too hard to compartmentalize my maneuvering and guessing (at least I think I don't)

But I'm doing that more for the test than the fun of it.

I don't see any problem with constructing two 100 point lists and playing both sides. I play each side to the best of my ability and I find that I can do so without bias. I'm so interested to see how each side handles the shifting tactical landscape that I don't favour one side over the other. I find that it's great practice for me to manage both teams.

Games I play against myself are usually very close, within 1 to 3 hitpoints and I rarely can predict the winner. If you're able to play without bias then you may find it very enjoyable to have some practice games with yourself

I do the same thing. I try to be neutral , and pick the most favorable actions and maneuvers that I can. I also alternate setting each sides dials first to help offset being able to read my own mind.

I have been using a mix of rules that give me a rather fun 100pt game. We use the Tyneside Rules with a slight tweak...a D6 roll to determine which third of the initial side to set up in and another D6 roll for the initial formation and flying "style" ( 1-2 Defensive, 3-4 Neutral, 5-6 Offensive...purely my terms and judgement, but you get the idea). Plus, formations usually take the rolled maneuver instead of individual ships to try and keep some cohesion and massed fire (Swarms are brutal with these rules still, so it seems good to me). http://www.tynesidewargames.co.uk/xwingrules.html

Of course, lists do determine Flying Style, in most cases and I use internet lists as "opponents" for variety. Combined with a few other ideas from posts on this forum, we get a lot of variation and flavor with this system.

In addition, I play the Other Side fairly close to the rolled results while slightly changing the output for proper tactical decisions pertaining to occurences like asteroids, board edge, overtly silly moves and so on.

Have fun...

Try this...

http://xwing.runbam.com.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/xwing_ai_1.7.0b2/index.htm

It's that guys stuff, just easier to use.

I've done this before. I usually do the maneuvers for the side I'm biased towards first, and forbid checking or changing until all dials are down. Biased doesn't necessarily mean faction you play the most, it could be the one with the build you're testing or the ship you like most on it. Just be honest with yourself, which side do you want to win, do them first, and once they're down don't change them or even look at the dial again, what's done is done. Then go to the other side, try to clear your mind, think about something else for a few seconds, then try to make the most logical decisions. If you remember some of the maneuvers that's ok, they were probably obvious anyway. If its a less obvious maneuver and its going to be vital how the other side reacts then try to randomize, either with dice or software. Actions are similar, they require a bit of compartmentalization, and when in doubt just focus.

Results will still probably be a bit skewed unless you are good, but its still a good way to get a feel for the game.

Well, with the link I added above, you set "your" ships dials, then set the AI dials As you run through the initiative.. that was you dont need to mess with the dials at all. Also, though, you can set the AI dials after you set your dials, and then just play normally.

I kinda like not knowing what the AI ships are doing.. so I figure them out as I go..

People may not be Vassal fans, and I know of at least 1 person who 'can't/refuses to' use it because it provides no spatial awareness....

I personally vouch for Vassal's awesomeness. I have been a voyeur on Vassal for a while now watching and learning (maneuvers/strategies not lists). I have played 18 games on Vassal personally so far, and through watching and learning (even doing the moves on my desk in front of the monitor with actual ships during the Vassal games I'm watching), I have managed to improve my RL X-winging. OK, I'm 50% on Vassal itself (Yes I keep track in my preferences)... but DANG there's some great people and players on there.

What I'm saying is... Hang out and WATCH even. You don't have to play. It's amazing the things you pick up via just watching matches.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Cheers

AI updated with wave 5: http://s-fear.com/xwing/.

AI updated with wave 5: http://s-fear.com/xwing/.

This looks really cool, I'll definitely have to try this out. But I'm curious how obstacles will play a factor with the AI. How do you play a maneuver that would obviously end up on an asteroid?

I play solo exclusively, just by playing both sides. I'm in it for the cinematic and collector side of things.

AI updated with wave 5: http://s-fear.com/xwing/.

This looks really cool, I'll definitely have to try this out. But I'm curious how obstacles will play a factor with the AI. How do you play a maneuver that would obviously end up on an asteroid?

I just try to use good judgement when it looks like something will run aground. Substitute a bank for hard turn or whatever...I try to keep the same flavor of movement and just toss the obvious flubs or truly terrible tactics of the AI. Plus, it is great practice in tactical thinking for me (what would I do exercise, I guess).

Thanks to Oneway, btw. I hadn't seen those updates and am K-turning with joy with the easier process. Prost!

This looks really cool, I'll definitely have to try this out.

Myself I only really use it for testing builds or practicing flying. In those cases it isn't really about win/lose it's about how well you fly, learning the dials, learning interactions, ect...

But I'm curious how obstacles will play a factor with the AI.

It depends on how well you want the AI flying.

You could take it as it stands and fly into the rock. It's not like people never do that anyway.

You could adjust the speed of the maneuver, so if a 3 left turns puts it on a rock, take a 2 or 1 even, Or change the turn into a bank.

Or keep hitting the button until you get a maneuver that fits better.

When I want to test a build, or just need a X-Wing fix, I will sometimes play alone.

What I do is set the dials only for the build I want to test. For my opponent, I choose his maneuver only when he activates. This way, it's as if my opponent knew exactly what I was doing and planned accordingly. It's a very good practice against arc dodger like Phantoms since they are much harder to get in sight, you really need to cover your angles. It's also much harder to block and easier to get blocked.

Nothing like the real thing, but a really good practice nonetheless.

I play solo a lot. I am also an only child through and through, so this kind of solo play is just a reminder of a peaceful childhood. I don't have too much of a problem separating my moves on one side from the other. I still bunch up like I don't know any better. Multi-ship pile ups actually seems to happen for me more when I play by my self than against an opponent. Ultimately, it's a goo way to experiment with ideas, but nowhere near as fun as being destroyed by my friends!