What if....just a passing thought on scale.

So I'm brand new to Armada - just got the core game for Christmas after the huge sales that were going on. I had actually decided to pass Armada up due to the cost but...here we are. :-)

One of the things that put me off was the "relative scale" that FFG introduced. The CR90 is a beautiful model but it's just too big. That didn't bother me a lot...but it didn't make me want to jump on the bandwagon either. Even if it was half the size it currently is, I'd have been happier.

But now to my surprise I find that FFG has released this "flotilla" concept -- and they are now seemingly going to "true scale" or at least "sorta in scale" rather than "relative scale". The Gozanti are just beautiful - and seem to be in scale.

So I know it will never happen....but I wish FFG would release flotilla size models of the CR90. It seems like they started down the path of "we don't care about scale" and now are backing off from that and that's making the earlier decision to make the CR90 so big seem a bit odd.

Tsalt and Mel both have a variety of alternate sculpts available in the 1/7000 range, which brings those ships in line with the Imperial Star Destroyer for direct scaling

You can search them both on shapeways.

But we won't see revised versions from FFG. Too many rules changes are involved.

First and foremost, welcome aboard, admiral of House Caldwell!

This is kinda an interesting notion for me, because in a really weird way I guess I can flip flop on it. Now, I like the relativistic scale and the 'true scale' stuff can go suck a lemon if that's supposed to limit my fun. I think that if I had my preference, the CR90 would be just a liiiiittle bit shorter, maybe 3/4 to 2/3rds of its current size. Because if there's one thing I -don't- want to get smaller, it's the fighters. And I like them looking small but distinct, so making the CR90 smaller would make fighters all the more awkward. Unsurprisingly, I love my fighters.

For the record though, the gozanti are my least favourite looking cap ship model, and only a bit better than the horrendous wave 1 X-wing (not disrespecting FFG, the new fighters and cap ships are gorgeous! When they can step stuff up that dramatically I gotta give 'em credit!). Seeing a flotilla option (with existing models, mind you) might actually be a fun little expansion bit. Refit CR70's or maaaybe some CR92 Assassins.. something like that with a bit of card and a plastic tree.

I wouldn't buy them as the relative scale works fine for me, but if you want them, you can get them third party.

Honestly I would not buy it now (I am mostly a Empire player), but I do think that they should have been flotilla's from the start. With the amount of damage they do and can take there has to be more than one ship, I think, I also do not think they should be able to damage other ships by ramming them, but that just may be me.

First and foremost, welcome aboard, admiral of House Caldwell!

This is kinda an interesting notion for me, because in a really weird way I guess I can flip flop on it. Now, I like the relativistic scale and the 'true scale' stuff can go suck a lemon if that's supposed to limit my fun. I think that if I had my preference, the CR90 would be just a liiiiittle bit shorter, maybe 3/4 to 2/3rds of its current size. Because if there's one thing I -don't- want to get smaller, it's the fighters. And I like them looking small but distinct, so making the CR90 smaller would make fighters all the more awkward. Unsurprisingly, I love my fighters.

For the record though, the gozanti are my least favourite looking cap ship model, and only a bit better than the horrendous wave 1 X-wing (not disrespecting FFG, the new fighters and cap ships are gorgeous! When they can step stuff up that dramatically I gotta give 'em credit!). Seeing a flotilla option (with existing models, mind you) might actually be a fun little expansion bit. Refit CR70's or maaaybe some CR92 Assassins.. something like that with a bit of card and a plastic tree.

I actually had the same thought about the fighters. Here is a horrendous thought that would never really happen, why not scale all the other ships up to match the blockade runner? It would never happen, but this thought reminds me of a conversation a friend and I had a few years ago about if ffg released an x-wing scale ISD. Good luck bringing that one to the hobby store game room.

-smirks- if the Tru-scale sortswere so fervent about it, that would be a hilarious 'alteration'. Make all the ships bigger according to the fighter models. Still like it?

Yep, while X-wing scale ships can all look interesting and fun for being 'about the right size' it's a luxury.

I feel the relative scale really works well. The obvious problem with true scale is the sheer size of the largest capital ships in the fiction. To correct this, making the big ships bigger would be a solution, but rather costly money-wise. The nice part of this though would be that the smaller ships wouldn't need to be shrunk down so much as to obscure their details.

The relative scale is obviously a compromise, but ultimately appears the be the best choice for playability and providing visually pleasing models on the table.

I feel the relative scale really works well. The obvious problem with true scale is the sheer size of the largest capital ships in the fiction. To correct this, making the big ships bigger would be a solution, but rather costly money-wise. The nice part of this though would be that the smaller ships wouldn't need to be shrunk down so much as to obscure their details.

The relative scale is obviously a compromise, but ultimately appears the be the best choice for playability and providing visually pleasing models on the table.

Thats one of the first things I have to explain to new players familiar with Star Wars. Yes, a Corellian Corvette can fit inside a Star Destroyer. No it' can't be to scale because the ISD would take up half my office...

If FFG had started with an ISD and MC80 (Home One), and then released other ships in scale resulting in flotillas, or even CR90 squadrons, I'd be happy. No complaints.

CR-90 is a favourite Rebel ship and appears in all its resplendent glory in X-Wing. So a smaller, less detailed version in Armada wouldn't matter.

But that was not the way they did it so I'd not like CR-90 flotillas now. But only from the practical and economic point of view of having to alter the scale of other ships. It's wrong to just pick on the CR-90 when every other ship is out of scale.