Dear FFG,

[[A caveat here at the beginning for forum viewers: This is not an “armada is dead/dying” thread. This is not a “I’m quitting the game” thread. This is not a thread that is intended to be hyper-critical. Rather, this should be considered to be a reasoned post designed to provide some thoughtful feedback and ideas to make this game even better.]]

First off, I would like to thank you for the greatness that is Star Wars: Armada. Ever since I was a kid, I have had a (mostly) unconscious desire for a game exactly like this. This game is fantastic. I also want to extend my thanks and gratitude for Wave 5. It’s a very exciting time to be an armada player, with no real set meta and potentially hundreds of ways to build, deploy, and play a fleet. Thank you also for providing us with some new upgrades that provide support for deficiencies of past units. Some other company might just make a new model with no deficiencies and introduce an arms race power creep to continue selling models based on outdated clunky rules for a pay-to-win game.

Now that I have praised the game and the thoughtfulness of the developers in giving us plenty of new content that we will happily chew on for a few more months, I’d like to suggest some additional ways to make this great game better and more engaging, almost none of which really have anything to do with the game itself.

Let me be somewhat clear though: I don’t expect, demand, or feel entitled to any of the following . I’m an intelligent consumer and purchaser, and I have played and will continue to play this game for hopefully many more years. The following should be considered to be helpful suggestions and points of discussion:

1. Please be more open with the Community.

I’m just going to get the big one out of the way first. Part of the reason that I had gravitated to FFG games from prior suppliers of my addiction is because of the level of openness there (appeared) to be with the community. Like someone getting out of a bad relationship, I was pleased that there was some, any, communication between company and purchaser. However, I think there can be far more openness and communication.

I remember with the wave 3 and 4 release event that it was a lot of fun to discuss fleets with the community and follow the developing tournament results. We even talked about it across the table at the FLGS. That was great. The silence afterwards was not so great. We were very happy to hear about the Corellian Conflict and then shortly thereafter the announcement of wave 5. We were not so happy with the following silence that spawned a multi-volume thread attempting to predict first when we would receive some, any, news regarding the new wave, and then whether or not we would be able to receive the wave by the holiday season.

I say receive , because many of us went ahead and purchased much and more of the product through pre-ordering it, as it was helpfully suggested in each of the articles that were advertising the product. Don’t get me wrong, I know that pre-orders are great, and it’s not the practice of harping on it that I’m suggesting could use some work. But approaching the holidays, we all have limited resources. We’re buying for ourselves, we’re buying for family and friends and our communities. I, personally, would have liked either to know what would be in the sets ahead of time so that I could know what to buy, through articles that were spaced out… maybe more than all at the last minute after literal months of silence. Alternatively, it would have been nice to know that the wave would arrive by the holidays.

I realize that the convoluted release schedule could be a result of ironing out the kinks from the merger, last year’s factory explosion and subsequent port disaster, or it could have been the result of the shipping bankruptcy more recently. I know there are industry reasons for not admitting when product is delayed or when things won’t happen as expeditiously as we would like, but some openness would have been welcome. When it came down to the wire, I bet on wave 5, and I was not disappointed by the release. It’s been awesome, it released when the community predicted, I had it in time for the holidays. I have no complaints on that aspect. However, I could just as easily have not taken that bet, and spent my holiday money elsewhere, as I know some did.

2. Please give us more official written content.

Give us more things as a community to talk about. In armada, we are typically limited to the following: an announcement article that gives a general date we can expect to begin feeling anxious by, later preview articles for various aspects of the product, and a release day article that tells us that we can now purchase items.

This level of content is leaps and bounds ahead of what other companies do, with releases sometimes seeming to happen by chance and new models coming out with no word whatsoever beyond shadowy rumor from some dude who cruises websites all day.

I’m asking for more . Give me more content, please. A recent article series that you have been doing is inviting community leaders in the Game of Thrones LCG to write semi-official articles regarding the factions they love and their strategies. I also play the GoT card game, so I was not as salty as some members of this forum at another game receiving 4 fluff articles recently (likely with more on the way), but as a member of that community as well I was both surprised and pleased to receive additional content for that game.

Part of the reason why I watch streams of the World’s championship is because the community can ask FFG questions on twitch and they receive answers. There are interviews with developers. People can receive news, or bits of things to come. These tidbits are like Christmas to me, but only because it happens once a year. I think you should get the developers and producers more involved with the community. Whether it’s through a devlog, or interviews, or allow them to post on the forums, I know that I for one would love to hear what’s on the developer’s minds more often, or even just to see them play armada with community built fleets. I'd like it to be that its not just through unofficial back channel "this community member was able to sit next to an FFG employee and aggressively picked their brain because they couldn't escape" that we receive inside news about the game we love.

We have a great number of community content producers. I personally follow at least 2 armada podcasts, 2 or 3 article producing blogs, and there are numerous forum fixtures who provide thoughtful analysis and creativity while also entertaining me to no end. I think in armada we have only had a handful of ‘fluffy’ articles. Mayhaps recruit some of these fixtures for front page article posts, a la Game of Thrones?

Long story short, I’d like more content beyond the announcement, preview, and release article formats. There is tons out there, but you have to go looking for it. I’d like to see and hear about the game I love from an official source. The community is great, and I’m very proud of some of our discourse, but we talk ourselves in circles a lot, and we’d all love more content I think, even if it’s just a narrative of a Corellian Campaign from a forum fixture that’s been doctored up with some diagrams and art.

3. Please iron out the rules issues.

We have a dozen+ page thread in the rules forums just about how Rapid Launch Bays works (#teamorange). Some people are still not quite sure how fire control teams works, from last wave. People build their lists without some upgrades or objectives in mind because they’re terrified that a TO will rule the rules interactions differently than they have practiced or planned. This is in my mind, difficult to accept as a player, but easily fixed.

Again, we understand that the rules issues have recently been switched over to a new team and process. There will be growing pains, and we get that. Again though, this can be rectified a bit more by some more openness. We need to know when an FAQ is coming for the various rules issues that have been highlighted by the community as troublesome. Before the worlds 2016 championship, there were still outstanding rules issues from the previous wave that hadn’t been highlighted and resolved. If I remember correctly, it was only a week or two before the travel had to occur that people who bought tickets months in advance found out how certain upgrades worked.

One of the reasons that I and a large number of people in the community love this game is the competitive aspect. We know that you support this playstyle with the kits and the larger competitions. My gaming group and I at the FLGS have no problem house ruling or interpreting cards or rule interactions; in a competitive setting though, we need guidance, and it really should not be that difficult to determine and provide.

It is well known that the game is playtested. When playtesting the various upgrades and ships, these issues should be immediately recognized and dealt with either by changing the wording of the upgrade to make it more clear, or be accompanied by an FAQ upon release. I would be happy to see an FAQ for Wave 5 and the Corellian Conflict within the next few weeks, as we are currently knee deep in the Regional circuit, but it needs to happen at least within the next few months so we can begin preparing for Worlds in May.

Another potential advantage of being more open and tying the developers more to the community would be that these rules issues are resolved quicker. It would be extremely helpful, I can’t tell you how helpful, is if we could get quick resolution of rules questions through some mechanism that can be collected and kept by the community to make sure that there is a uniform standard of rules understanding across the community.

I want to thank you for reading this essay, and appreciate the many gifts that you and the FFG team have given us across this and many other games. I, and possibly we if other members of the community would agree with me on some of these points (though I wouldn’t presume to speak for them), are passionate about this game, and want to see it grow and experience success just as much as I am sure you do.

Thank you again,

“Eggzavier”

Holy wall of text Batman!

I second the (friendly and respectful) request for more frequent, or at least quicker, rule updates / clarifications / FAQs.

That's how constructive criticism looks.

#teamorangerhymerswitheverything

Up to the top of mainly usless topics to make it more visible for FFG

This first post is essence of community pains. Good Work Egzavier.

I'd really like an updated FAQ whenever a new wave releases. Nothing says you can't update it again after awhile but the months of waiting on some rulings is killer

Is team orange the one where you CAN attack after deployment?

Is team orange the one where you CAN attack after deployment?

Both options let you attack after deployment.

#teamorange is the one where you get to attack immediately after deployment, and this counts as your activation.

#teampurple is the one where you deploy unactivated, and are therefore free to attack in the squadron phase, or by being activated by another (or even the same) ship.

Is team orange the one where you CAN attack after deployment?

Both options let you attack after deployment.

#teamorange is the one where you get to attack immediately after deployment, and this counts as your activation.

#teampurple is the one where you deploy unactivated, and are therefore free to attack in the squadron phase, or by being activated by another (or even the same) ship.

#teamorange really should be #teamgreen.

I remember the days when you could write to Games Workshop and it seemed like they had an entire team who would write back and clarify your queries...

im deliberately avoiding hangars because of that fiasco. Either interpretation is fine for anti-bomber screens, as they dont care if they attack now or later they just want to be in the way, but Purple leaves bomber strats wide open for interception for they can attack.

I do wish they'd update FAQs more. Its a PDF after all, not that hard to update it again. Wait a week or so after release, fix the MAJOR issues people found (Hangar bays, armed station dice) and fix the really confusing or obscure ones over time. Rather than gather data for 2-3 months then fix it all at once, possibly causing more issues (dont even get me started on the current Xwing FAQ and illegal red moves.... i swear they didnt even attempt to think how that would play out)

Is team orange the one where you CAN attack after deployment?

Both options let you attack after deployment.

#teamorange is the one where you get to attack immediately after deployment, and this counts as your activation.

#teampurple is the one where you deploy unactivated, and are therefore free to attack in the squadron phase, or by being activated by another (or even the same) ship.

#teamorange really should be #teamgreen.

I gave my reasons as to why I did not use Green.

I'd also not mind quicker responses to Rules questions. The few questions I have asked usually aren't replied to very quickly.

I remember the days when you could write to Games Workshop and it seemed like they had an entire team who would write back and clarify your queries...

I remember those days with FFG, too.

But that was last year.

And this is This year.

There is only one.

Hi, FFG, you aren't doing what I want, so I am going to rant on the forums, where no ideas from players are going to get answered.

Keep up the good work.

Hi, FFG, you aren't doing what I want, so I am going to rant on the forums, where no ideas from players are going to get answered.

Keep up the good work.

I don't think this would qualify as a rant, or at least not as bad a one as others have posted.

This is a copy of an email that I have sent to FFG, posted on the forums and edited for context (forums v. email correspondence).

I've got no beef with them, they make excellent games.

I'm just hoping that at some point we can take it to the next level.

Think of this as a "wish list" of sorts.

This is how one does constructive criticism and I find your points extremely well made and the respect for the game and FFG comes through consistently. This is the kind of thing customer relations reps smile at and happily pass on to higher management* rather than just laugh at and delete because the sender is clearly unhinged.

Take note, whiny noobs.

Well done, Eggzavier.

*I was a customer service manager for just shy of 9 years, so trust me on this one.

im deliberately avoiding hangars because of that fiasco. Either interpretation is fine for anti-bomber screens, as they dont care if they attack now or later they just want to be in the way, but Purple leaves bomber strats wide open for interception for they can attack.

I do wish they'd update FAQs more. Its a PDF after all, not that hard to update it again. Wait a week or so after release, fix the MAJOR issues people found (Hangar bays, armed station dice) and fix the really confusing or obscure ones over time. Rather than gather data for 2-3 months then fix it all at once, possibly causing more issues (dont even get me started on the current Xwing FAQ and illegal red moves.... i swear they didnt even attempt to think how that would play out)

You shouldn't have to gather data for 2-3 months to answer a rules question. Rules interpretations should not be based on how they would affect the game, they should be based on how the rules are written. If a particular card is broken or not performing as desired, then the rules need to be changed, not the interpretation for that specific card.

For those born in the generation of never having read anything of substance:

I can haz uniform game xperience plz?

(a.k.a bump out of solidarity)

Hi, FFG, you aren't doing what I want, so I am going to rant on the forums, where no ideas from players are going to get answered.

Keep up the good work.

By your response it is very apparent you didn't read it. This is not a rant by any means. Be more mindful of what is, a helpful, constructive, and well thought out message from someone who clearly enjoys Star Wars Armada to those that are in charge of making said game.

Well done indeed Eggzavier.

Eggzavier,

Thank you for your well-written critique and call to action on FFG's part. You may not get a direct response from them, but don't let that discourage you. I wrote something similar to FFG on the CardGameDB forums regarding their lack of concise tournament rules for the Call of Cthulhu LCG. They never replied to me, but during the next tournament rules update they directly addressed all of the concerns I had brought up. This means FFG is listening to well-constructed and respectful critiques of their shortcomings.

Remember, there are employees within FFG who love these games and champion them for us. Providing a clear laundry list of concerns from the player base definitely helps them focus their attention on the issues that need to be addressed.

Much agreed. This is a well thought out list of things that you feel that FFG could improve upon - a list that I am inclined to agree with. Many kudos and props unto you for being articulate and well-reasoned.

/signed

Excellent post, Egg.

Hi, FFG, you aren't doing what I want, so I am going to rant on the forums, where no ideas from players are going to get answered.

Keep up the good work.

There's always THIS guy ^^^^^

Not gonna lie, usually they're in the right. But aside from the request for articles and more communication I thought the OP was reasonable.

Most especially about the turnaround time on rules. Some of these things remind me of Christmas presents that require batteries, but turns out you're all out of batteries and the stores don't open up again for three months.

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