I'm thinking March - April at Adepticon, is when we'll actually get news.
AdeptiCon
FFG will be at AdeptiCon, March 31st-April 3rd, running tournaments in the event hall and demos at our booth. You can find out what games we’re featuring and our tournament schedule on the AdeptiCon website. Badge registration is already open, and we’ll have more details about this incredibly special event in the near future.
I'm of the opinion Wave 3 will release filler ships...but I imaging it'll be a few months behind the latest x-wing wave.
Here's the thing, though. Assuming we have the usual 6 months from announcement to release, we'll have a minimum 8 months with no new content releases at this point. I'm hoping FFG is holding back the announcement so that we don't have such a long wait, but it's getting hard not to feel like a red headed stepchild to X-Wing and Imperial Assault.
Here's the thing though, you have no cause to make that assumption, no matter how many times you repeat it.
Secondly, consider the fact that Wave 3 will be released when it is ready. What if won't be ready for more than 6 months from right now? You want an announcement so that it will release in 6 months, but what if they announce it prematurely, like they did with Wave 2? Is that a better alternative?
Armada is a pretty different game from IA, and X Wing in terms of development, production, and overall marketability/consumer base. More goes into Armada, than the other two because it's a more intensive game. Realistically it should see slower releases.
First, six months is not an unreasonable assessment based on previous X-Wing and Armada releases. It's FFG's historic pattern. I'm sure Lyraeus would be happy to post his quote for the hundreth time to support that. Expecting less is illogical, even if it is what I hope.
I've stated in the past that I'm willing to wait however long. Wave 2 is awesome. Wave 3 can wait. I worry that others will thin the game stale 6 months from now with no releases, but I doubt it will be that way for myself. I would just like to see some kind of attention. A tactics article, a spotlight, whatever. I would just kinda like FFG to just check in on the game. Yeah, an announcement would be awesome, but not expected.
Third, IA is definitely a different development process and cycle. X-Wing is not. The ships aren't that different in scale, and the games are fairly similar in complexity. Regardless, it's simply the level of attention the two receive in comparison that is mildly irritating. X-Wing, however, is the golden child and IA is easy to produce, so I guess it is to be expected.
Thanks Truthiness. It would be the 5th time I think if I wanted to post it.
So here is the current models that FFG uses from the research I have done.
The have:
Miniature Games: X-Wing and Armada (in this category development is about 2 to 3 waves ahead of what ever wave is currently out, releases are generally twice a year with a 5-6 month gap. 2015 broke this mold where they got new waves out fast and furiously)
LCG's: All the LCG card Games and oddly enough Imperial Assault. (here they are about 1 to 2 cycles ahead with a release about once a month or so)
Board Games: This is a one shot setup. They build the games and send them out. Expansions follow on if they get good sales and I am willing to bet that they have expansions prepped to some degree to assist in getting them out fast.
RPG's: I have done little research here but what I can see is a 2-3 month window between releases.
I assume they need extra time to figure out the logistics of the SSD they're going to add.
My willpower is tested daily without news from FFG. I fully expect the Liberty style Cruiser, and I would prefer an official one from FFG. However, the one DA put together is just so beautiful. I have to daily resist buying it.
What is DA?
DA is a guy who heads an independent Aramada expansion project. The website is here:http://armadashipyards.com
You'll usually see the "DA shipyards" thread pop to the top of the forums every so often.
Kind of shocked disney and ffg hasnt shut him dow
Here's the thing, though. Assuming we have the usual 6 months from announcement to release, we'll have a minimum 8 months with no new content releases at this point. I'm hoping FFG is holding back the announcement so that we don't have such a long wait, but it's getting hard not to feel like a red headed stepchild to X-Wing and Imperial Assault.
Here's the thing though, you have no cause to make that assumption, no matter how many times you repeat it.
Secondly, consider the fact that Wave 3 will be released when it is ready. What if won't be ready for more than 6 months from right now? You want an announcement so that it will release in 6 months, but what if they announce it prematurely, like they did with Wave 2? Is that a better alternative?
Armada is a pretty different game from IA, and X Wing in terms of development, production, and overall marketability/consumer base. More goes into Armada, than the other two because it's a more intensive game. Realistically it should see slower releases.
First, six months is not an unreasonable assessment based on previous X-Wing and Armada releases. It's FFG's historic pattern. I'm sure Lyraeus would be happy to post his quote for the hundreth time to support that. Expecting less is illogical, even if it is what I hope.
I've stated in the past that I'm willing to wait however long. Wave 2 is awesome. Wave 3 can wait. I worry that others will thin the game stale 6 months from now with no releases, but I doubt it will be that way for myself. I would just like to see some kind of attention. A tactics article, a spotlight, whatever. I would just kinda like FFG to just check in on the game. Yeah, an announcement would be awesome, but not expected.
Third, IA is definitely a different development process and cycle. X-Wing is not. The ships aren't that different in scale, and the games are fairly similar in complexity. Regardless, it's simply the level of attention the two receive in comparison that is mildly irritating. X-Wing, however, is the golden child and IA is easy to produce, so I guess it is to be expected.
Assuming we get an announcement for Armada in March at Adepticon, it could mean we have a much longer time in between waves than 6 months. Unless of course Wave 3 is already AT the printer as we speak, and simply not public yet. That would be really cool. I'd be unhappy if, despite a March announcement, we still end up having to wait until November or later for the product to hit shelves. At this rate, that's how it seems. I don't like a 1 wave per year frequency. I'd like it to be 6-7 months tops personally, but I get that people have different preferences.
Go look at Wave 3 of X-Wing.
Wave 1 was released at GenCon in 2012, that was August 16th
Wave 2 was released on February 28th (look at that it was over 6 months) while their Kessel Run event (same thing as our Sullust event) occurred in December. Oh to help you more, They previewed Wave 2 in September 2012.
Wave 3 was released on September 13th, WOW what a long wait there! You know. . . Wave 3 was not even announced until May 4th so that was 2 months from the time of Wave 2's release
Wave 4 was not even announced until February 7th! Talk about a wait and a half!
As we can see, there is still plenty of time for them to make announcements. If all you are is relying on an article to base your time line on, you will be disappointed I think.
They reject it because of ADHD and Armada lacking enough beer and pretzels. Playing a game for over two hours makes most dice tossing junkies cringe.
The problem with Armada releases in general is that they are in direct competition with X-Wing. I have noticed with myself and with my local gaming groups that there is a real split. People are either buying Armada or X-Wing and not both. Many are so invested in X-Wing they reject Armada not because its not a good game or they don't have interest but because they simply can't afford to collect both games. The same is true for me, since the release of Armada I haven't bought a single X-Wing Miniature, at this point I'm almost two full waves behind and that's entirely because Its just too expensive to justify trying to collect both.
So it doesn't at all surprise me that there is no Armada announcement and I would expect there will be none until after the next X-Wing release is well past its novelty stage. Then when Armada is announced you will see a lull in X-Wing and I suspect this will be the new process. They would be shooting themselves in the foot otherwise because if they have a wave of Armada and X-Wing out at the same time, I like many people are going to go for one or the other.
So we ASSUME fantasy flight will use the exact same model as X-wing.....why, exactly other than you liking that convenient argument. X-wing and the entire process of modeling and industrial paint was new back then, but but of course none of that matters because you have this rock solid point you are so smitten with. Path shut up already why don't you and save it....it is crap and you can't polish a turd of an argument.
Go look at Wave 3 of X-Wing.
Wave 1 was released at GenCon in 2012, that was August 16th
Wave 2 was released on February 28th (look at that it was over 6 months) while their Kessel Run event (same thing as our Sullust event) occurred in December. Oh to help you more, They previewed Wave 2 in September 2012.
Wave 3 was released on September 13th, WOW what a long wait there! You know. . . Wave 3 was not even announced until May 4th so that was 2 months from the time of Wave 2's release
Wave 4 was not even announced until February 7th! Talk about a wait and a half!
As we can see, there is still plenty of time for them to make announcements. If all you are is relying on an article to base your time line on, you will be disappointed I think.
FFG does what works. They define a process, work on it till it's right for them then start the release. I am not saying that they have to follow that style but they seem to be currently.
The reason I like this model is because it fits a trend. Having been Naval Intelligence, where we could tell you what each ship, aircraft, Missile battery, etc would be doing for a particular country every day and the reason it did not do something or did something differently can teach one to pick up trend analysis.
Edited by LyraeusThe question too is whether or not Star Wars Armada has sufficient traction at this point to even warrant a 3rd wave. There is kind of the assumption right now that Star Wars Armada is a successful game, but I don't really know that it really is. I mean I recall having trouble getting my hands on X-Wing stuff with each wave, often if you didn't pre-order stuff you would often not be able to get it. I recall waiting on Y-Wings, Firespray, Falcons.. they where always sold out all over the place, it was a real pain. With Armada the only shortage I have seen since release is dice. That could simply be because they where more prepared for Armada but it could be an indicator that the game is not selling as well as it should.
Without any hint of sarcasm, seriously?
I mean I know locally I had a hell of a time trying to get my hands on VSD's, CR90's, Imperial Fighter packs, and Rebel fighter packs in the months leading up to Sullust, and ISD's and the fighter packs since (not to mention knowing that GSD's were totally sold out for quite some time after the big Gencon fuss). I know of one local shop who usually has one of everything in stock because they sell for MSRP+ when the base prices for just about everyone jumped from $22 for a 'clam pack' to $29. But most others I heard have had issues keeping everything on the shelves (I remember going in to my not-so-LGS about a month ago and the only thing to be found was a single Assault Frigate).
I've been avoiding this thread for a while, didn't feel like anyone needed to remind them that they can -all- be pretty, or that when it comes down to it, I'm a greedy rat. I'd like to know just about what ships we may or may not be seeing. The models, the stats, the upgrades, I really don't care. I'd just like someone to be able to come out and say, "Rebels is a pretty cool guy." We heard it from X-wing, but X-wing is X-wing. There's enough new ships that Rebels could give us a whole wave by itself, not to mention some of the notable gaps left by the Original trilogy and 'accepted' EU so I'd just kinda like an indicator to know where they're headed. Because I'm nosey.
Edited by VykesTechnically they did mention armada in the playmat news release, even had a picture of an armada game on the endor mat.
Confidence is high.
I got my wave 2 stuff not so many weeks ago.
Well stores not having Armada on shelves is hardly an indicator of anything. Stores are limited to the supply in the store and how the store manages its stock. Online stores are the true indicator of availability as they are only limited by the availability of products from the suppliers which is a direct indicator of how much of any product has actually been printed. They do not need to depend on what they store in their warehouses, they can effectively sell a product they don't have, order it from the supplier and have it sent directly to the customer which is a common practice at least in Europe.
I don't know, even the FFG Game Center has trouble keeping some of the expansions in stock (notably the squadron packs.)
I'm pretty confident that, considering it's release has been hailed as a wild success by numerous sources, they will continue to make products for this obviously profitable line.
Portland keeps regularly stocked but even the 3 stores I frequent run out of squadron packs, and ships. It is not the hottest seller but people who come in become pretty loyal pretty fast
All my wave 2 stuff is still in boxes! I need to save for storage before Wave 3 
Where I am we ran out of both Imperial Squadron and Gladiators. Had to wait till they printed and shipped again. I am expecting the same for Rogues and maybe one of the ships.
Not selling like Xwing, but doing well.
I don't know how relevant X-Wing's release schedule is to Armada. I started playing X-Wing shortly after the Tantive IV and GR-75 were announced, but shortly before Imperials Aces was announced. I had new product hitting shelves every few months, but it wasn't always a full blown wave. Maybe it was an aces pack, maybe it was a huge ship, maybe it was a full wave.... then maybe it was the Most Wanted Scum and Villainy pack.... It didn't matter what their "wave" schedule was... there was plenty of new stuff to keep me drooling for more. So to say stuff like X-Wing had 8-12 months inbetween waves... is not exactly the same thing... because there WAS plenty of new product news... at least during the time that I played.
You also had the dockworkers strike which really slowed down several product releases for X-Wing, which for now (AFAIK) has been resolved and isn't really a factor for Armada releases going forward.
And for the record I'm not complaining about it... I'm just pointing out that it's been awhile. I'd like to have product more frequently but it's not up to me.
Well stores not having Armada on shelves is hardly an indicator of anything. Stores are limited to the supply in the store and how the store manages its stock. Online stores are the true indicator of availability as they are only limited by the availability of products from the suppliers which is a direct indicator of how much of any product has actually been printed. They do not need to depend on what they store in their warehouses, they can effectively sell a product they don't have, order it from the supplier and have it sent directly to the customer which is a common practice at least in Europe.
It was one of the biggest selling games (for Distributors) of 2015... We had that announced last year at some point... Right after X-Wing being #1, and Warmachine coming in the spots afterwards...
Armada is really struggling in my area. X-wing, espescially the Imperial Veterans announcement is winning back players or outright keeping them away from Armada. Our X-wing league nights get turnouts of 8-12 people regularly, the X-wing store championships are nearly sold-out (lack of space!). Armada league nights get 2-4 people. The 2 recent Armada tournaments had 0 players.
I'm not trying to paint with one brush here, but after the massive wave 2 delay (fiasco?), combined with X-wing TFA core set and then Gozanti, plus the Wave 8 and Imperial Veterans announcements. Its almost nailing Armada's coffin shut.
THEN add to that our weak Canadian dollar AND the upcoming 'online price adjustments'.....The only songs on the radio here is "all my money is going to x-wing".
all that being said, personally I might be more content with one Armada wave release a year. Afterall, i'm buying X-wing too.
As a UK-player, I too can report that Tournament attendance seems awfully thin for a lot of the upcoming events. I've not yet seen a Tournament with more than six attendees (at least on the Facebook page) and most are 2-3 max.
Not saying that this means anything, just that it's making me sad that there seems to just not be very much interest currently in competitive games of Armada. I'm not sure to what extent that means the game is successful/unsuccessful financially.
Edited by jhoxAs a UK-player, I too can report that Tournament attendance seems awfully thin for a lot of the upcoming events. I've not yet seen a Tournament with more than six attendees (at least on the Facebook page) and most are 2-3 max.
Not saying that this means anything, just that it's making me sad that there seems to just not be very much interest currently in competitive games of Armada. I'm not sure to what extent that means the game is successful/unsuccessful financially.
I've attended 10/12 player events and seen 14 player events in the UK.