I would suggest for the Venator something different. The main difference between the Victory and the Venator is that the Venator is made for a fleet combat while the Victory is made to fight rebels on its own. The Venator usually goes in big numbers while the Victory goes alone.

Not only that, but the Venator is always seen going side by side to make a combat front.

Thats why I would suggest the Venator should be less versatile than a Victory but should work better when you put it next to other Venators. I think the ship should have a good forward firepower but on the sides it should only have black dice. This results on a ship that is weak if you attack him from the sides but if you have 3 Venators and you make an attack pass with all of them side by side, you will be doomed.

I would suggest for the Venator something different. The main difference between the Victory and the Venator is that the Venator is made for a fleet combat while the Victory is made to fight rebels on its own. The Venator usually goes in big numbers while the Victory goes alone.

Not only that, but the Venator is always seen going side by side to make a combat front.

Thats why I would suggest the Venator should be less versatile than a Victory but should work better when you put it next to other Venators. I think the ship should have a good forward firepower but on the sides it should only have black dice. This results on a ship that is weak if you attack him from the sides but if you have 3 Venators and you make an attack pass with all of them side by side, you will be doomed.

Got to agree. I would drop all reds to the sides and rear and replace them with blacks. I would also shift the bulk of the shield power forward. Even going as far as 4 front and 1 both sides and back. Venators were Phalanx style attack carriers.

I love the no turn on move three.

I like both takes as they are, but it supports my own idea of the design so I am bias. The no turning at speed 3 is a neat idea.

That said, I can see the opposite camp as well. trouble is, the ship has a great broadside heavy turbo turret arrangement, so I think it is a better all around fighter then we let on.

Isn't fiction fun?

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

I like the phalanx idea. However, if I weaken the side arcs and strengthen the front one, I pretty much end up with... a VSD. In fact, I had deliberately shifted from front to sides to differentiate it from the Victory.

Perhaps more importantly, there's this:

The 8 Heavy Turbolaser turrets cannot shoot in the front arc at all (or, at the very best, the front pair could - and even then only one at a time as they don't have overlapping fields of fire)! And neither can the pair of dual Medium Turbolaser cannons - only the Point Defense Lasers and the Heavy Proton Torpedo launchers.

So maybe this is what I should do instead:

Front: 2 black, 1 blue (2 shields)

Sides: 3-4* red, 1 blue (3 shields)

Rear: 1 blue (1 shield)

*: either 3 with Turbolaser upgrade icon, or 4 but no upgrade icon (obsolete guns)

Its survivability plus strong broadsides mean you can charge into the thick of things - where the high squadron value is even more useful. But the front and rear are both comparatively weak and unprotected.

Thoughts?

EDIT: Obviously the Clone Wars series does have at least some turbolaser batteries firing forward, as illustrated by mel's picture... but that's just very, very odd given the layout of the ship. And a column, echelon or wedge formation would make much better use of the available firepower.

I like to think there's some kind of significant reason why Venators did not survive long in the New Order while the older Victories did. The Venator had generous accommodation for starfighters, but Victories seem to be better equipped for general space warfare and surface subjugation. Could even come down to the Victories being better planetary bombardment ships.

I mean, the Empire's de-emphasis of starfighter quality must mean Imperial navy planners liked bigger and better armored ships. All that space in a Venator (and Acclamator actually) could be better purposed for crews, weapons systems, and launchers with ordnance. Rather than find new ways to make the old ships work, might as well build new ships that could do those jobs better (Imperator/Imperial) and retain the ships that already could (Victory). Reduced reliance on troops and pilots means the empire could concentrate on massive symbols of authority like Star Destroyers and Death Stars.

I don't like the idea of giving the rebels a Venator... in a GCW lens it is most likely they are to be found in Imperial Garrison posts and places like the Corporate sector. Rebels are more likely to get second hand separatist equipment through separatist holdouts and surplus on the rim. However the two Venator variants could be the original Clone Wars version and the updated II version that at least tries to give it some more practical modern armament for the standard Imperial doctrine.

I don't think two offensive structure upgrades would go amiss on this ship, then you could boost the starfighter command rating to around 5 (if you start at 3). Testing would need to see if it's too overpowered (activate 4 interceptors and Howlrunner in one turn! Four bombers and vader!). The II version could switch one of those upgrades for a missile.

One thing is evident though, the Empire only has one broadside attacker but the Rebellion is slated to have three by wave 2 (MC30, MC80, Assault Frigate). So giving the Venator heavier broadsides would not be amiss.

Diablo I think your Imperial Refit of the latest update is a good place to start for the Venator. Only comments I have are to drop the hull down to 8 (there is no reason this ship should be stronger than a VSD), Bring the front shields back up to 3 (again, no reason for the reduced front arc), and do something with the speed chart. Do we know the Venators were faster than Victories? If not, they should be the same speed, same maneuverability. The chief character of a Venator IMO is trading the Victory's forward weaponry for depowered armament, different arc distribution, and a greater potential for space fighter control (with 2x Offensive structures).

The reason to take a Venator over a Victory should be that greater emphasis in starfighter control. Victories are okay at this, but Venators should do this better at the expense of weaponry. Thing is, testing would be needed to see how powerful starfighter control can be abused. On the other hand if they end up underpowered in spite of this that flaw would be thematic, since a powerful Venator+Fighter combo would really be if the Venator was carrying shielded Arc-170s and Y-Wings into battle.

Venators are significantly larger than VSDs, hence the slight increase in hull value (partially compensated by a slight drop in shields). Also, Wookieepedia lists the Venators as "fast enough to chase blockade runners", hence the (again, slight) speed increase. As for the high squadron value, it's based on the ISD, which has 4 (despite a much smaller hangar and lack of a dedicated control tower) and very likely an Offensive Retrofit upgrade.

On the other hand I agree with you that the standard (non-refit) version should probably still be Imperial.

This is my current iteration of the cards:

At a glance, the normal version looks very powerful compared to a Victory - but remember that, in practice, it has already taken both the Expanded Hangars and the Enhanced Armament upgrades; the VSD could do the same or choose something else entirely. The refit version essentially removes both built-in upgrades and tweaks a couple of other things (defense tokens, engineering, weapons team upgrade). You could of course add those two upgrades back in, but then the cost escalates rather quickly!

Also note that I intend to give this ship distinctly different arcs from the ones we're used to: a narrow front arc (like a Nebulon-B), and a very broad rear arc (like a VSD's front one). That should also significantly affect its tactical value.

And here they are:

...and these:

I think with older weaponry it should boast more blue than red dice.

This is a really cool topic to read!

Quick question: will this be a medium or a large base ship? Seems like it could be the size of a Mon Cal, so might have a large base.

I am assuming it is done for Medium bases as that it the current available. Not sure how it stacks against the Mon-cal for size yet but i can see it being a large ship.

It is a neat topic. The trick is to not discount other ideas beyond your own when designing a ship card. Always a challenge.

Giraffe, I agree and disagree. We are always comparing the Clone Wars to our own World Wars and the technological revolution that took place in a very short time. Not an invalid view. On the flip side of the coin, there is little in the fiction that points to a vast upgrade in technology between the eras. Could it be that the changes are more ideological and doctrinal then technological? Anyway just a thought.

Great discussion everyone, thanks for all the ideas. Diablo, thanks for the cards!

Liberator: since you add the red dice to your attack pool, you're still limited to blue range, no? I'm not putting my squadrons in that arc

Speed: I like how it can move 3, but only in a straight line. You've need a dial to turn it a measly 45 degrees. Try not to run it off the table

Overall an excellent job.

Liberator: since you add the red dice to your attack pool, you're still limited to blue range, no?

Speed: I like how it can move 3, but only in a straight line. You've need a dial to turn it a measly 45 degrees.

Overall an excellent job.

On the subject of the base and ship size, I've made the bases medium as I don't have a template for large size (or the correct dimensions to design my own). I'm afraid that'll have to wait until after Wave 2 is released.

That said, at 1100m the Venator is halfway between the Victory (900) and Home One (1300), so medium could work. The borderline-case Interdictor (600) works better as a small ship on account of its shape, so I could see the same logic applying here. Also it would be weird to have the medium range span only from 700 (AF2) to 900 (Vic), while small spans from 150 to 600 and large from 1100 to 1600. Anyway the one true test is just to look at it - from Mel's and Rhinoviru3's photos I don't think it looks out of place on a medium base, but I'd reserve judgement until we've seen a large one too. Or we could just ask them what they think

You have inspired me to contimplate reviving my old MC40a topic.

I think medium fits especially with Motti around.

Anybody have some ideas for the Sentinel Landing Craft now that they are available? I am thinking a great excuse to finally get my planetary assault scenario made.

Anybody have some ideas for the Sentinel Landing Craft now that they are available? I am thinking a great excuse to finally get my planetary assault scenario made.

Those are tricky - even more so than the various shuttles and boarding craft, as they are not really intended to interact with other ships. Regular stats aside, any abilities will probably have to relate to scenery elements: obstacles, deployment zones, map edges, etc. I have some specific ideas... but not great ones so far.

That said, at 1100m the Venator is halfway between the Victory (900) and Home One (1300), so medium could work. The borderline-case Interdictor (600) works better as a small ship on account of its shape, so I could see the same logic applying here. Also it would be weird to have the medium range span only from 700 (AF2) to 900 (Vic), while small spans from 150 to 600 and large from 1100 to 1600. Anyway the one true test is just to look at it - from Mel's and Rhinoviru3's photos I don't think it looks out of place on a medium base, but I'd reserve judgement until we've seen a large one too. Or we could just ask them what they think

Utterly incredible work, DA. I'm 100% with you on your logic for the batteries, and this is *exactly* what I wanted from the Venetor in terms of Armada. Kudos!

Size is good, Mel's is placed on a medium base and it looks gorgeous :3

Hello my name is Michael aka Captain Gideon and I just joined today.

I have the Armada game and mod most of the expansions(so far)I still need to get/pre order the Wave 2 ships I bought some off ebay but I won't get them until they're released.

I've taken part in one game so far and I'm planning on doing an Armada game for my Birthday in August.

I'm making a special request of the people who make Custom Cards.

I recently lost my Beloved Cat of over 15 years about a week or so ago her name was Yuki and I would like to have made up 2 ship cards using her name.

I would like to have a CR90 Corvette A named Yuki's Pride and I would like to have a Nebulon-B Escort Frigate named Yuki's Glory.

In this way I can remember her everytime I play Star Wars Armada and I would be very grateful for this.

Thank You

Michael

Welcome Cap'n,

I recognize the username from the A&A Forumini. Good to see you here too!

Sure, I'll make a couple of title cards for you. Any particular wishes regarding abilities?

DiabloAzul I'm glad to be here as well.

To answer your question I don't know since I'm not well versed in the game I just don't know but I leave it to you and I do thank you for doing this.

Michael

Being that they both share a similar namesake, I would aim for both their titles to feed off one another.

Super ressource this thread.

I i were to wish for some shipcards I would love to have some the ships from the original trilogy:

- Braha'tok-class gunship - Usefull for skirmish scenarios. Ugly but in the original trilogy.

- Rebel Medium Transport - In two versions: A transport version: I think this one is needed for scenarios for example a rebel convoy with frigates and corvettes escorting a number of transports. And a beefier combat retrofit version with a squadron value of 2 and and electronic warfare capabilities (build-in overload pulse) and carrying defensive retrofit and weapons team upgrades ( 2 slots?) with sensor team and flight controllers as obvious options.

And some of the ships from rebels:

- The Pelta Frigate (Phoenix One) - Nice to have an alternative frigate to the Neb. Looked great in the season 2 premiere of rebels.

- Arquitens light cruiser - The game is currently lacking more Imp. small ships for scenarios.

Agreed.

Cards for the Counselor Class would be nice as well.