To me, looks like the time is ripe for a good narrative event / campaign...

15 minutes ago, Babaganoosh said:

To me, looks like the time is ripe for a good narrative event / campaign...

FFG. Pluck. That. Fruit.

1 hour ago, Darth Meanie said:

FFG. Pluck. That. Fruit.

Haha; they can pluck if they want, but I'm already planning to run a killer narrative event at Gencon this august with the rest of the Shuttle Tydirium crew

29 minutes ago, Babaganoosh said:

Haha; they can pluck if they want, but I'm already planning to run a killer narrative event at Gencon this august with the rest of the Shuttle Tydirium crew

Where is there more detailed info about this?

42 minutes ago, Darth Meanie said:

Where is there more detailed info about this?

Right now we haven't posted details, largely because we are still working on the narrative rules and missions. But I can tell you that the main narrative event will be taking place on Saturday August 19, starting early in the morning (this is the day after the main competitive X-wing event's cut). I'm preparing the missions now, which are undergoing rigorous playtesting. We're aiming for four games during the day.

We'll definitely be doing a draft for unique pilots and upgrades, and we'll have a ban list of cards (cards will be banned for thematic or balance reasons). For example Emperor Palpatine will be banned for thematic reasons, and TLTs will be banned for balance reasons (they are too good in a generic-heavy environment). I expect that the draft and ban list, combined with the mission objectives will shake up the conventional metagame considerably for the narrative event.

We've got great prize support lined up. The main prize is the asteroid base from combatzone scenery, and we'll have other prizes as well. Scoring for those prizes will be based on completing mission objectives, destroying enemy ships, and preserving your own ships.

We'll be releasing all the details in the coming months, and we'll have a small promotional campaign before that. Keep an eye out and you'll see it on these forums. If you don't want to miss any gossip or miscellaneous details, you can listen to the shuttle tydirium podcast.

You should have an FFG/podcast lottery for guaranteed seats. I'd love to play.

11 minutes ago, Jeff Wilder said:

You should have an FFG/podcast lottery for guaranteed seats. I'd love to play.

Me too. It's probably the sole reason I'd go to Gen Con this year.

1 hour ago, Jeff Wilder said:

You should have an FFG/podcast lottery for guaranteed seats. I'd love to play.

There should be 40 seats. We are not sure how it will go and have even debated if the event will fill up. I am thinking it will, but there has been that concern.

One thing that's really cool about this is that if a Unique dies in a mission, he's a dead for the rest of it. Also, if one guy turns out to be really good, only one guy can actually fly him. A Unique is....unique.

I've started the play testing and we have made some tweaks already, but the missions are really good! I'm having a lot of fun with it and ships that are normally considered not good are pretty nasty.

Hmmm.....I can't seem to do multiple quotes from people on different pages.

6 hours ago, Embir82 said:

It is just anecdotical evidence. So I will make rebuttal with anecdotical evidence myself. There in Poland, at least near Warsaw, X-Wing exploded - last store tourney grouped so much people that there were no free spots left. And it hapens recently week after week, also ships sells instantly and regionals and store tourneys are popping up everywhere.
So no, X-Wing is not dying, it is in great spot right now - some people just have a problem dealing with reality that battles of vanilla X-Wing and TIE Fighters from 1st and 2nd wave are gone. There are many more options and interesting alternatives - hell, list building became art in itself right now.

First off, I find this funny. You talk about evidence and I'm just discussing things. I'm not trying to "prove" anything and you are talking about "evidence".

Next, I don't think anyone is saying X-wing is dying. If they are, I don't think they are the majority of the people who are concerned about the game. Even the podcast (so far from my listening) isn't saying the game is dying. So....I don't think you need to prove how great the game recently exploded in Poland.

The last portion of what you said is what brings up some thoughts for me: "...some people just have a problem dealing with reality that battles of vanilla X-Wing and TIE Fighters from 1st and 2nd wave are gone. There are many more options and interesting alternatives - hell, list building became art in itself right now."

I'll say that everyone who has issues with the game right now are people who want to be flying battles with vanilla X-wings and Tie Fighters. That's really pushing all the various complaints into a niche that is unfair and not what people are saying. What people are saying is really not that they want to fly vanilla ships. If you think that, then you aren't really reading what people are typing (or listening to the podcast). What I see on these forums, heard (so far) in the podcast, and know from what people around me have commented, I can say the complaints are:

• The game is more about Power Combos at the moment. The game can be won or lost in what ships and upgrades you take. That's very different from how it used to be.
• It's less about how well you fly and/or outguess your opponent. If you have the right super combo, it is less important to outfly your opponent.
• The power level of the super combos has risen to such a point that more and more ships are pretty much considered un-competitive. As in...there are more ships on the No Fly List. The number of red dice that are thrown and thrown with accuracy is increasing significantly. The power creep really has risen in the past year.
• The number of free tokens or dice results that are handed out is on the rise. It becomes less important that you bumped or lose an action. The overall skill required has dropped.

Lastly....what's wrong with flying vanilla Tie Fighters and vanilla X-wings and having a chance? From inception, the game was supposed to have an internal balance that said all things are worth flying. Everything has a point cost and all lists should be relatively equal. That's a core concept of the game. You should be able to play the game at any point with any number of ships and have a chance to win. I understand there is some reason and not picking absolute nonsense, like 5 HWK's with no upgrades. Still, 4 generic X-wings should have a chance against any list out there....if flown well. That reflects game balance. If it's not the case, then it shows the power creep. I think that creep is getting bigger and the ships that are not viable are getting more numerous. If X-wing is not the case where you can't fly any ship in a game and be competitive, then we were sold a bunch of crap about this game at the beginning.

55 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

Everything has a point cost and all lists should be relatively equal. That's a core concept of the game.

I've been hearing this a lot lately and I'm curious about the second part (all lists should be relatively equal): has any designer ever mentioned that this is their vision for the game (list building is unimportant, you should fly what you want and still have a good chance to win against super tweaked lists ?) or it's just something people want to see?

58 minutes ago, LordBlades said:

I've been hearing this a lot lately and I'm curious about the second part (all lists should be relatively equal): has any designer ever mentioned that this is their vision for the game (list building is unimportant, you should fly what you want and still have a good chance to win against super tweaked lists ?) or it's just something people want to see?

That's a good point. I don't know if any game developer has actually said it or if any product says it. You said "or it's just something people want to see". I should say "again" on to that statement. It used to be true. Well, the Tie Advanced was weak, but that's about it early on.

If it's not something specifically said, it was surely implied. Everyone felt that way at the beginning, or at least everyone I came into contact with.

3 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

That's a good point. I don't know if any game developer has actually said it or if any product says it. You said "or it's just something people want to see". I should say "again" on to that statement. It used to be true. Well, the Tie Advanced was weak, but that's about it early on.

If it's not something specifically said, it was surely implied. Everyone felt that way at the beginning, or at least everyone I came into contact with.

I didn't play in the first couple waves, but my understanding is that generic x-wings were never actually all that good and tie swarm was "power" list from the start.

Just now, VanderLegion said:

I didn't play in the first couple waves, but my understanding is that generic x-wings were never actually all that good and tie swarm was "power" list from the start.

That was only the case at the large tournaments. I never saw anyone actually play a Tie Formation until.....late 2nd wave? No one did that around here. X-wings were awesome! You either had 3 or 4 of them lined up and they usually had PS advantage. They could rip apart some Tie Fighters in a pass! X-wings weren't really considered not that great until B-wings came around and really knocked them off most tables.

Hey guys! Ryan here from the podcast. I know this episode may not have been everyone's cup of tea, but Dee approached me wanting to express his current feelings for the game.

For anyone who listened to the whole thing, I LOVE this game. I wouldn't dedicate my time to the community making the podcast, nor would I continue to play it competitively if I didn't. But just because you love something doesn't mean it's without its flaws. I got into the game in Wave 5, so I really don't have that "Wave 3 nostalgia" people speak of.

Since we're a weekly podcast we like to diversify our content so that we're not talking about why Predator is a great card and why Paratani is still on top every episode. That would get boring and repetitive. But just know that I'm reading your feedback and I'm hearing it. We have a lot of amazing things planned for the podcast this year, and I hate being a downer. I'm arguably the most recklessly optimistic person on the podcast (what with all my "Feelings" Dee loves so much), and I WANT to inspire people to play the game.

All of us are just a bit salty and burned out, but I'll do better.

Love all you guys.

Just Podcast Better, Ryan.

Nah, it's fine. I still love the show, first X-Wing podcast I got into. I just think that normally, the three of you kind of balance each other out on subjects. You, Ryan are kind of the "golly-gee guys, this sounds fun - oh man I'm gonna make Talonbane Cobra work!" while Dee is usually the more dour "Oh, I dunno ryan. Doing some math and that sounds a little too good - and all this text I might need some new glasses because I feel old" and then Dallas doesn't talk as much but usually he manages to balance things out or refocus them (Note to people who don't listen to a lot of Mynock. I'm exaggerating. For comedy). This one Dee and Cody kind of built up a head of steam early, and I think for a lot of us who are more optimistic or comfortable about the game are like "Oh hey, it's the same song and dance we get all the times on the forums/reddit/other podcasts" and kind of tune out, while the people who are more concerned, conflicted or even afraid are like "Oh man, these Mynock guys are saying the same thing I say all the time, this is great!". Dee said his peace, just maybe he was a little behind the curve - and he didn't necessarily say anything people didn't already "know". Plus, unlike with the forum, it's not like I can just pop into the podcast and be like "Oh my god guys Y-Wings were in ANH for like 10 minutes, tops out of a 2 hour film. Once you cut out all the EU mentions after where most of these ships come from there's not really any ship which has a lot of exposure - if nuCanon doesn't count anyway", or any of the other discussion points and responses - as we can see even in this thread. Something maybe for listeners to think about, and the hosts to think about "planning" future episodes.

(Seriously loved the Epic podcast prior - even if I knew more about epic like 50% of the time without ever owning an epic ship)

26 minutes ago, UnitOmega said:

Just Podcast Better, Ryan.

Nah, it's fine. I still love the show, first X-Wing podcast I got into. I just think that normally, the three of you kind of balance each other out on subjects. You, Ryan are kind of the "golly-gee guys, this sounds fun - oh man I'm gonna make Talonbane Cobra work!" while Dee is usually the more dour "Oh, I dunno ryan. Doing some math and that sounds a little too good - and all this text I might need some new glasses because I feel old" and then Dallas doesn't talk as much but usually he manages to balance things out or refocus them (Note to people who don't listen to a lot of Mynock. I'm exaggerating. For comedy). This one Dee and Cody kind of built up a head of steam early, and I think for a lot of us who are more optimistic or comfortable about the game are like "Oh hey, it's the same song and dance we get all the times on the forums/reddit/other podcasts" and kind of tune out, while the people who are more concerned, conflicted or even afraid are like "Oh man, these Mynock guys are saying the same thing I say all the time, this is great!". Dee said his peace, just maybe he was a little behind the curve - and he didn't necessarily say anything people didn't already "know". Plus, unlike with the forum, it's not like I can just pop into the podcast and be like "Oh my god guys Y-Wings were in ANH for like 10 minutes, tops out of a 2 hour film. Once you cut out all the EU mentions after where most of these ships come from there's not really any ship which has a lot of exposure - if nuCanon doesn't count anyway", or any of the other discussion points and responses - as we can see even in this thread. Something maybe for listeners to think about, and the hosts to think about "planning" future episodes.

(Seriously loved the Epic podcast prior - even if I knew more about epic like 50% of the time without ever owning an epic ship)

I read all of that in Rick and Morty voices and it made me happy. I WILL PODCAST BETTER!

19 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

That was only the case at the large tournaments. I never saw anyone actually play a Tie Formation until.....late 2nd wave? No one did that around here. X-wings were awesome! You either had 3 or 4 of them lined up and they usually had PS advantage. They could rip apart some Tie Fighters in a pass! X-wings weren't really considered not that great until B-wings came around and really knocked them off most tables.

Even then they were still good enough to be considered as a one point downgrade in a Worlds winning list. They really only got into trouble when generics stopped being viable. And at the moment I'd even say they are in a better spot than B-Wings, purely because there is one very viable configuration in Biggs (and, to some extend, Tarn).

2 hours ago, heychadwick said:

That's a good point. I don't know if any game developer has actually said it or if any product says it. You said "or it's just something people want to see". I should say "again" on to that statement. It used to be true. Well, the Tie Advanced was weak, but that's about it early on.

If it's not something specifically said, it was surely implied. Everyone felt that way at the beginning, or at least everyone I came into contact with.

I can't really comment about how stuff was like before I started playing, but since I joined the game in Wave 6 list building has been a pretty big part of the game. I started with Scum and tried different things, and every time I chose not to bring Brobots it felt like I had to first dig myself out of a hole of my own making in order to win.

That being said, what I feel has increased a lot during my time playing is the gap between competitive and casual squads. A year back I could take Brobots against a casual squad and, even if I would still win probably 80% of the time, it still felt like a game, with both sides doing meaningful stuff. Now, if I bring Dengaroo or Parattani against a casual squad, it's going to get absolutely murdered by mechanics it has absolutely no response to.

.

5 minutes ago, player346259 said:

X-Wing has the squad building and customization element built into the core rules. Arguing that you want to be able to take any junk squad and still be able to beat people who actually did their homework and spent a lot of time optimizing their squads is an utter nonsense.

Yes, it was maybe that way right at the beginning when there were almost no customizable options. But if you had any prior experiences with customizable games you would certainly see that it won't and can't be that way always. The game's design was explicit right from the start, there is no fraud being pulled by the developers.

I understand that many X-Wing players probably don't have previous experiences from CCGs or LCGs, but that is kind of on them. It's not the game's or game developer's fault.

I call crap on that. The game has a point system for a reason. It's for game balance. I've played MtG and all that before and I've played other mini games. This game is more along the lines of other mini games where the intent is a balanced point system where the same amount of points should be equal. It's supposed to be very different than MtG. It's changed and become more like MtG, though, and away from the points being a balanced system. That's where you are getting people that are unhappy with the direction of the game.

3 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

I call crap on that. The game has a point system for a reason. It's for game balance. I've played MtG and all that before and I've played other mini games. This game is more along the lines of other mini games where the intent is a balanced point system where the same amount of points should be equal. It's supposed to be very different than MtG. It's changed and become more like MtG, though, and away from the points being a balanced system. That's where you are getting people that are unhappy with the direction of the game.

I mean, even in the early waves if you built a list badly, you'd lose. There just weren't as many options.

.

1 minute ago, Panzeh said:

I mean, even in the early waves if you built a list badly, you'd lose. There just weren't as many options.

Yes, but what was considered a crap squad was different, as well. 4 Generic X-wings weren't crap back in the day. I don't think it should be considered crap when you have the 100 pts system.

3 minutes ago, player346259 said:

Yes the game has the point system, but nothing prevents me from spending those points on completely inefficient and wasteful way.

Hell, I can probably build a 50 points Horton Salm.

Should I be able to beat players who actually spent those 50 points in a much more efficient and reasonable way and optimized their squads to get the most of them?

Also there are synergy effects in good squads, where the combined effects are creating more value than just basic sum of points.

How do you dare expecting that a complete non-synergistical junk squad should be allowed to be better than carefully built synergistic ones??

Yes, you could be really stupid and build things like 5 HWKs with no upgrades. I've said it before and I'll say it again. There are bad builds that don't fit into the 100 pt system. Still, the idea of what is good vs bad has shifted considerably. Taking something like 4 generic X-wings....the standard workhorse of the Rebels...shouldn't be a bad option or a bad squad. It wasn't in the first few waves. It might have had a slightly uphill struggle, but it was still viable.

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