In my opinion, your podcast could not have come at a better time. The recent announcement of Heroes of the Resistance has revealed a divide in the community between the hyper-competitive group, and those who just want to fly Star Wars ships from the movies and other stories, whether it's a competitive game or not. I usually don't mind the hyper-competitive scene, but some of the disparaging comments about that expansion are perplexing and a bit aggravating. It's Star Wars! Let's just play with some Star Wars ships!

Okay. Rant over. Let's just say I'm really excited for the next episode

For a casual play podcast you sure talk about the tournaments a lot. Does that go down in later episodes?

In my opinion, your podcast could not have come at a better time.

You know, I've been hearing that a lot lately. I had thought about the idea for a while and it took me a bit to want to take action. Then, I kept seeing a bunch of threads or comments in threads here that showed there really is an undercurrent of players that are fed up with tournament play. Or maybe it's just wanting to play the game not in tournament mode and there being little discussion on it.

I was also trying to time it for the end of Store Championship season. A lot of people get burnt out after practicing for SC and driving to SC. So, I thought it would be a good time to actually do what I'd been thinking of.

For a casual play podcast you sure talk about the tournaments a lot. Does that go down in later episodes?

Yeah. Our first one was really just trying to talk about "what is casual play". Part of that deals with what we don't like about tournaments. We don't mean to bash them, but our frustration about them came out in the first episode.

We do bring up ID in Episode 2, but we only talk for 5 min or less about it.

'Casual' play can mean different things to different people. It can mean simply people who are new to the game, or only play once in awhile and just want to play with their toys. It can mean narrative play, which is just as hardcore as tournament play in some respects... the only difference being that the focus is on faithfully representing the world in the lore. That often calls for scenarios, campaigns, and restrictions on units, all of which are defined as 'casual' by a hardcore tournament player because it does not directly serve their need to hone their game in that particular tournament format. Even Epic play falls under the category of casual, for now... even though tournament rules are well defined for it. I attended the Epic event at adepticon.... it was literally two tables! But a lot of fun.

In my opinion, your podcast could not have come at a better time.

You know, I've been hearing that a lot lately. I had thought about the idea for a while and it took me a bit to want to take action. Then, I kept seeing a bunch of threads or comments in threads here that showed there really is an undercurrent of players that are fed up with tournament play. Or maybe it's just wanting to play the game not in tournament mode and there being little discussion on it.

I was also trying to time it for the end of Store Championship season. A lot of people get burnt out after practicing for SC and driving to SC. So, I thought it would be a good time to actually do what I'd been thinking of.

For a casual play podcast you sure talk about the tournaments a lot. Does that go down in later episodes?

Yeah. Our first one was really just trying to talk about "what is casual play". Part of that deals with what we don't like about tournaments. We don't mean to bash them, but our frustration about them came out in the first episode.

We do bring up ID in Episode 2, but we only talk for 5 min or less about it.

I was fine with it because it clearly demonstrated that you boys KNOW THE GAME and I like dat.

You are not just a pack of loser crybabies poo poo'n the Meta-Gam-Turnies stuff because you could not play well enough to compete in that RIDICULOUS Arena.

In my opinion, your podcast could not have come at a better time. The recent announcement of Heroes of the Resistance has revealed a divide in the community between the hyper-competitive group, and those who just want to fly Star Wars ships from the movies and other stories, whether it's a competitive game or not. I usually don't mind the hyper-competitive scene, but some of the disparaging comments about that expansion are perplexing and a bit aggravating. It's Star Wars! Let's just play with some Star Wars ships!

Okay. Rant over. Let's just say I'm really excited for the next episode

Thanks for listening!

I think there has been a quiet divide opening up for a while now. As the game grows and more people enter the tournament scene, it becomes more and more intense. More people are developing the metagame, and there are more people heavily invested in winning tournaments. This isn't a bad thing (it's almost definitely a good thing overall), but it does mean that x-wing events are increasingly intense, as opposed to casual. I think this filters down to tournaments below the store championship level, and pickup game nights, which people use to practice for tournaments. Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But I don't like the idea of that type of gameplay squeezing out players who aren't interested in that level of intensity. There should always be a space for casual play, or at least play that isn't specifically geared towards tournaments.

One solution is to have different gametypes for casual play like scenarios, campaigns, etc. that will not be used for tournament practice. Another solution is to talk to opponents before pickup games, and making sure both of you are on the same page.

'Casual' play can mean different things to different people. It can mean simply people who are new to the game, or only play once in awhile and just want to play with their toys. It can mean narrative play, which is just as hardcore as tournament play in some respects... the only difference being that the focus is on faithfully representing the world in the lore. That often calls for scenarios, campaigns, and restrictions on units, all of which are defined as 'casual' by a hardcore tournament player because it does not directly serve their need to hone their game in that particular tournament format. Even Epic play falls under the category of casual, for now... even though tournament rules are well defined for it. I attended the Epic event at adepticon.... it was literally two tables! But a lot of fun.

Thanks for listening!

I think there has been a quiet divide opening up for a while now. As the game grows and more people enter the tournament scene, it becomes more and more intense. More people are developing the metagame, and there are more people heavily invested in winning tournaments. This isn't a bad thing (it's almost definitely a good thing overall), but it does mean that x-wing events are increasingly intense, as opposed to casual. I think this filters down to tournaments below the store championship level, and pickup game nights, which people use to practice for tournaments. Again, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But I don't like the idea of that type of gameplay squeezing out players who aren't interested in that level of intensity. There should always be a space for casual play, or at least play that isn't specifically geared towards tournaments.

One solution is to have different gametypes for casual play like scenarios, campaigns, etc. that will not be used for tournament practice. Another solution is to talk to opponents before pickup games, and making sure both of you are on the same page.

One of the things that I love about this game is that there are so many different ways to play the game. Many people love the tournament scene and it's been growing. That's great. There are a lot of podcasts out there that go into that. I also love all the other ways to play the game.

I've known people that like X-wing, but really don't want to live X-wing. What I mean is that they don't want to have to keep up to date with all the latest and greatest. They don't want to think about their lists all day long. They want to show up and put some ships on the table and have a game. I've seen these players get edged out of the scene due to too many people playing tournament level lists. I know it just takes some conversation with your opponent, but I know some people that just refuse to play anything other than tournament level. I've seen casual players just get fed up when facing Stealth Soontir Fel or Palp Aces or Fat Turret or....any number of other meta lists. I just want those guys that are in the minority to know that it's OK to play other types of versions of the game. I've already received a couple of messages from players who felt like they were the only ones who felt this way.

Missions are out there and are a great way to play the same game, but differently. Ships become completely different in these missions. Maybe a Fat x is a terrible option in a mission. I know I've seen X-wings really shine due to their mobility. What is good changes due to the parameters of the game. It's really nice to try something different every once in a while.

Epic is also really cool. Lots of cool stuff to explore and try. Once again, different things work differently. Soontir Fel is not nearly the menace in Epic as it's a lot easier to kill him. Lots of cool toys and a whole different level of Strategy to learn when playing it. Lots of fun.

I still want to try running a tournament that is limited to only Generic ships. I just feel like that would be an utter blast.

I've known people that like X-wing, but really don't want to live X-wing. What I mean is that they don't want to have to keep up to date with all the latest and greatest. They don't want to think about their lists all day long. They want to show up and put some ships on the table and have a game. I've seen these players get edged out of the scene due to too many people playing tournament level lists. I know it just takes some conversation with your opponent, but I know some people that just refuse to play anything other than tournament level. I've seen casual players just get fed up when facing Stealth Soontir Fel or Palp Aces or Fat Turret or....any number of other meta lists. I just want those guys that are in the minority to know that it's OK to play other types of versions of the game. I've already received a couple of messages from players who felt like they were the only ones who felt this way.

The guys at my gaming club are mostly that kind of x-wing player. Most of them are into a long list of other games or board games. They consider me a competitive player, even though i love playing missions and different formats, and I've never even played in a regionals level competition.

This divide has existed with the 40k scene for awhile, and narrative based podcasts have been equally successful compared to the competitive based ones.

Dug episode 1 guys, thanks so much for taking the plunge. Once you actually got into the show things flowed pretty well and there were a lot of interesting things to talk about. Definitely looking forward to more.

Technically you're off to a good start. Levels were good enough to hear everyone clearly -- that is often an issue with new 'casts. As time goes on and you all get more comfortable, I'm confident the little things will tighten up and you'll eventually be on par with the biggies that have been doing it for a while.

I had to laugh when you guys mentioned drafting the unique pilots and no one else getting to use them. I'm the organizer at my local store, and I just posted up the rule set for our upcoming league starting next week. Night One is actually a Squadron Commander draft! Each player's Squadron Commander is the only unique pilot available to him throughout the league, and of course, that pilot is not available to anyone else. The league rules can be found here (pdf). I thought you cats might like to take a look.

Again, great job, fellas. With the ability to get straight into the show from here on, and continuing to improve & tighten things up, I have no doubt this will soon be a very good podcast!

Josh

Wow lots of feedback! Hopefully I won't forever be known as a cranky droid. I swear I'm perfectly calm most of the time.

I figured I should stop by since I'm supposed to know stuff about the game now that I talk about it weekly. I'm glad people are enjoying the podcast so far. Episode 1 was an experience, and I think we'll get better each week. We have a ton of ideas for the show and lots to talk about, but we tried to keep the time down to a reasonable length. That's not always easy since there's so much great content to discuss.

In the coming weeks we'll get to introduce some fun segments(at least fun for me) and hopefully discuss some of the things listeners are curious about. If you have ideas, throw them out and we'll tear them to piec...I mean, thoughtfully consider their merits...

Wow lots of feedback! Hopefully I won't forever be known as a cranky droid. I swear I'm perfectly calm most of the time.

Oh, come on! I just thought of a great new nickname for you: J-bot!

It's great to listen to an X-Wing podcast that doesn't focus solely on the meta and competitive play, so keep up the good work. I've been running an X-Wing league for a couple of years now and even competitive players enjoy a change-up from standard dogfights. Events like Dagobah Dave's Star Gladiators, Vidla Crucible and Death Star Trench Run have been quite successful and Epic matches are getting more traction here locally.

After receiving permission, the Star Gladiators scenario (aka Hunger Games) has been revised and includes new optional rules for Forced Alliances, Double Activations, an Event Card Deck. It's a blast to play and allows 4-6 players to control one ship which often results in some surprising results.

I've also been in process of converting the TIE Fighter PC game campaign into a series of X-Wing missions with a branching storyline. It's tedious and will require extensive playtesting but it should be worth it in the end.

Anyways, cheers to your efforts. Looking forward to hearing more in the future.

Episode 3 recorded. Mother's Day might mess with the release of Episode 2, but we hope Jake will get it out soon.

Managed to listen to the first half so far, hsve to squeeze the rest as well. Quite enjoyed it. One small critique, some references you do not get when not active reader here as well (eg math debate).

Managed to listen to the first half so far, hsve to squeeze the rest as well. Quite enjoyed it. One small critique, some references you do not get when not active reader here as well (eg math debate).

Gotcha. Myself and Babaganoosh hang out here all the time, but Engineer Jake and Jonathan never do. So, they keep us honest with that type stuff.

Hope you like the second half and also hope you like Episode 2! Just released on Tuesday. Episode 3 is being edited and we record the 4th tomorrow night.

Managed to listen to the first half so far, hsve to squeeze the rest as well. Quite enjoyed it. One small critique, some references you do not get when not active reader here as well (eg math debate).

Gotcha. Myself and Babaganoosh hang out here all the time, but Engineer Jake and Jonathan never do. So, they keep us honest with that type stuff.

Hope you like the second half and also hope you like Episode 2! Just released on Tuesday. Episode 3 is being edited and we record the 4th tomorrow night.

AWESOME SAUCES MY STAR BRAHS!

Chad you is a mean-ass old man!

Chad you is a mean-ass old man!

Tie Phantom?!?!?!?

Did I go on enough about my hatred in the latest episode?

Chad you is a mean-ass old man!

Tie Phantom?!?!?!?

Did I go on enough about my hatred in the latest episode?

Yup... now you guys are all in TIE Defenders...

Well, except J-bot. He's HWK-290 the Slayer!

Great job on this podcast. Halfway through episode 2. Keep it up.