"Something Big is coming"

By CaribbeanNinja, in Star Wars: Armada

3 hours ago, Darthain said:

And people are carting these out every week to play? Surely not.

I've also have never seen nor seen an announcement for an epic tournament within Toronto.

I've never played a game in a tournement. It looks fun, but casual gaming is fun too.

The fans want an SSD and many are willing to give up their hard earned cash to have one. I can almost gaurentee we will see one at some point, if not soon.

Personally I would love a SSD but I don't see how they can make it to scale. Just the base alone would have to get much bigger or maybe have two bases to hold it?

I dunno. But it does make me wonder why bases have shield tokens that go up to 6 and I think the highest number is what, the ISD at 4 in the front? If they go up to 6 they obviously anticipated larger ships or more powerful ships with greater shield strengths.

3 hours ago, Democratus said:

The bolded part is where this statement falls apart.

They could make an SSD that was only half again the length of an ISD and it would work fine. Just look at the size an ISD would have to be compared to the size of the CR-90 - and yet we have it.

"The bolded part is where the statement falls apart..." Sorry, I omitted the part about thinking reasonably when using the term "sliding scale." The point to which you'd have to scale down an SSD isn't really a "sliding scale" anymore; more like a scale that falls off a 3-story building. Sure you could scale the SSD down to just a few inches longer than an ISD, but it'd look ridiculous.

I got home recently, so I checked the length of the Armada ISD. It's actually 8 inches, not 6. That actually puts a full-scale SSD at 7.92 feet. Let's just call it 8 feet. LOL So it wouldn't even all fit on the mat at the same time. At full scale, it's ten inches taller than Shaq. Yup, even getting it through the door at your LFGS would be a pain and might require two people. The model would be so long and heavy it would probably require steel reinforcement to not bend or break under its own weight. Fitting it in your car would be questionable, too.

DI55sva.jpg

At half scale, it still couldn't fit on the mat if it was deployed facing forward, and even if it was deployed sideways, it couldn't ever turn around. It would still be 4 feet long and probably cost a thousand dollars. At 1/2 scale, at least it would correct the Home One's scale, though. LOL

Even if it was 1/3 scale to make it 2.67 feet long, it would be in both deployment zones at the same time. At this point, it'd probably be thinner than an ISD, which would really kill the illusion for most people. Even at this length, it'd probably still cost at least $300.

So how low do you want to go? 1/4 scale? 1/6? What's the point then?

Obviously FFG is making something big, and it's probably an SSD, so we'll have to see what they do. I'd love to play with a full-scale SSD. It could swipe entire fleets off the board with a single maneuver and the range ruler wouldn't even reach across its own width, but it'd be fun.

Edited by Knightcrawler

I think the secret (in my opinion) is height.

The small, medium and large stands add to the size difference. I have the feeling an epic stand would be similar to what we have seen with X-Wing size wise.

Even if the ship is thin and small, it being above the main level of ISD would in my opinion be good enough. My bet is somewhere around 20 inches will be the size, with a stand height of over 5 inches.

All speculation though.

3 minutes ago, Battlefleet 01 Studios said:

I think the secret (in my opinion) is height.

The small, medium and large stands add to the size difference. I have the feeling an epic stand would be similar to what we have seen with X-Wing size wise.

Even if the ship is thin and small, it being above the main level of ISD would in my opinion be good enough. My bet is somewhere around 20 inches will be the size, with a stand height of over 5 inches.

All speculation though.

That's a good idea. If it was "above" the battle, its scale being... so drastically off wouldn't feel quite so wrong. It might be taken as the SSD being "far away" from the battle. But if it ever maneuvered, it'd be a huge mess. And there'd be places where ships couldn't go for no reason (because of the stands). Also, having a huge ship up that high seems a bit precarious.

Adding more height would be problematic for actually seeing the game as well, particularly on high table places.

The other problem scaling it much is that really, it needs to be wider as well as longer than the ISD model, and the ISD is very wide. Otherwise it will look very wrong. The ISD is 8 long, but also about 6 wide.

Also I'm not entirely sure why not playing a tournament is a defense, I am more focused on who is actually going to cart this across town, I rarely play Armada at home (although my table does support it easily). I'd say we are talking, minimum, 20" for something like that, we going to get an over shoulder carry case included?

Edited by Darthain

Yeah and filming any epic games with a giant ship covering the battle wouldn't work very well... :(

*Edit*

Still hoping it's a Bellator as mentioned in a topic from a few weeks ago. That's more practical, looks cool, and is a triangle, but it's not very iconic.

Edited by Knightcrawler

Everytime I read this quote I have to stop and wonder why FFG wouldn't announce something for Armada and how they knew I was taking off my pants.

If it is an SSD, it is going to feel weird. I think we will be happy with it, but that won't make it less weird looking. A CR90 looks weird next to an ISD, so, we are somewat used to it.

Maybe it comes with a special rule where if the SSD can't move and not hit another ship, the other ships must execute an identical maneuver to the SSD to prevent collision. Would take a ton of skill, but might work.

Just now, Battlefleet 01 Studios said:

If it is an SSD, it is going to feel weird. I think we will be happy with it, but that won't make it less weird looking. A CR90 looks weird next to an ISD, so, we are somewhat used to it.

Maybe it comes with a special rule where if the SSD can't move and not hit another ship, the other ships must execute an identical maneuver to the SSD to prevent collision. Would take a ton of skill, but might work.

Eventhough I wouldn't buy any, I'd be supportive of a Scum faction in Armada.

I don't think @xanderf's argument is one that is prohibitive. The Raider proves that it doesn't need to exist in canon in order for FFG to make it. I also don't buy the argument that crime syndicates can't have capital ships. Why not? Every reason that one might level against the syndicates having capital ships can also be levelled against the Rebellion. However, the Rebellion has been able to repurpose vessels on the secondary market and refit them for combat. Why couldn't criminal syndicates do the same thing?

The Star Wars galaxy is not like our modern world in which only states (mostly) enjoy monopolies on the use of force. Criminal syndicates can easily have extensive fiefdoms that they can seek to protect (and expand) with combat-refitted capital-scale vessels. Collectively, they also probably have more resources available to them to do so than the Rebellion, because they don't have to thwart their own resource-gathering cause by attempting to gain legitimacy (the way the Rebellion does). They are free to gain those resources by engaging in numerous markets (sentient-trafficking, racketeering, piracy and narcotics), which would be too costly to the Rebellion in terms of legitimacy to enfage in. The Empire is also less likely to crack down on the syndicates, and those that would provide them the hardware, than the Empire is to crack down on the Rebels and their suppliers.

In short: Armada could have Scum, IMO. That said, I don't actually think they'll do it.

I understand many wouldn't like this idea, but I have ALWAYS wanted Clone Wars factions and ships for Armada.

I grew up on the Prequels and the Clone Wars. Looking back now, I see many of the flaws of them, but my nostalgia for them is huge, particularly for the Clone Wars TV series. I was 7 when it first came on, and it was really something special to me. I wanted to recreate space battles like Bothuwai and Ryloth and Crystophsis, but looked all of the internet and found to my dismay that no one really made good miniatures of those ships.

Then I found Armada. I waa immediately hopeful that Prequel content would be seen, and was crushed again when I found out the FFG wasn't planning to do the Clone Wars era. I still bought into the game out of love for the Original Trilogy and of the mechanics of the game.

If this something big turned out to be a Republic and Separatists core set, my heart might stop. Sadly I know it probably won't be, but I do still hope.

(I know Mel has Preqeul ships but I can't paint and I want official stuff)

Its a 6 foot Super Star Destroyer, but here is the thing, the box it comes in acts as a table as well. So you got the model with a table OVER the star destroyer, allowing a huge fight amongst its size without it actually getting in the way of all the other ships

I only play Rebels because they are the closest thing to the CIS. Clone Wars era ships would melt my mind. Take my money FFG.

6 minutes ago, BaBaBaBen said:

I only play Rebels because they are the closest thing to the CIS. Clone Wars era ships would melt my mind. Take my money FFG.

Another dreamer like myself found.

ALL THE CIS. ALL OF IT. ALL OF THE MUNIFICENTS, ALL OF THE RECUSANTS, ALL OF THE PROVIDENCES'S. I WOULD BUY ALL OF THEM.

Phew I needed to get that out of my system.

5 hours ago, Knightcrawler said:

"The bolded part is where the statement falls apart..." Sorry, I omitted the part about thinking reasonably when using the term "sliding scale." The point to which you'd have to scale down an SSD isn't really a "sliding scale" anymore; more like a scale that falls off a 3-story building. Sure you could scale the SSD down to just a few inches longer than an ISD, but it'd look ridiculous.

I got home recently, so I checked the length of the Armada ISD. It's actually 8 inches, not 6. That actually puts a full-scale SSD at 7.92 feet. Let's just call it 8 feet. LOL So it wouldn't even all fit on the mat at the same time. At full scale, it's ten inches taller than Shaq. Yup, even getting it through the door at your LFGS would be a pain and might require two people. The model would be so long and heavy it would probably require steel reinforcement to not bend or break under its own weight. Fitting it in your car would be questionable, too.

DI55sva.jpg

Dude. You win. Also how do we make this happen? Anybody know Shaq?

7 hours ago, LiveWire X said:

Personally I would love a SSD but I don't see how they can make it to scale. Just the base alone would have to get much bigger or maybe have two bases to hold it?

I dunno. But it does make me wonder why bases have shield tokens that go up to 6 and I think the highest number is what, the ISD at 4 in the front? If they go up to 6 they obviously anticipated larger ships or more powerful ships with greater shield strengths.

The Liberty has 5 shields in the front.

6 hours ago, Mikael Hasselstein said:

Eventhough I wouldn't buy any, I'd be supportive of a Scum faction in Armada.

I don't think @xanderf's argument is one that is prohibitive. The Raider proves that it doesn't need to exist in canon in order for FFG to make it. I also don't buy the argument that crime syndicates can't have capital ships. Why not? Every reason that one might level against the syndicates having capital ships can also be levelled against the Rebellion. However, the Rebellion has been able to repurpose vessels on the secondary market and refit them for combat. Why couldn't criminal syndicates do the same thing?

The Star Wars galaxy is not like our modern world in which only states (mostly) enjoy monopolies on the use of force. Criminal syndicates can easily have extensive fiefdoms that they can seek to protect (and expand) with combat-refitted capital-scale vessels. Collectively, they also probably have more resources available to them to do so than the Rebellion, because they don't have to thwart their own resource-gathering cause by attempting to gain legitimacy (the way the Rebellion does). They are free to gain those resources by engaging in numerous markets (sentient-trafficking, racketeering, piracy and narcotics), which would be too costly to the Rebellion in terms of legitimacy to enfage in. The Empire is also less likely to crack down on the syndicates, and those that would provide them the hardware, than the Empire is to crack down on the Rebels and their suppliers.

In short: Armada could have Scum, IMO. That said, I don't actually think they'll do it.

Yeah, but entire PLANETS, bunches of them, paid for the Rebellion ships, and some donated their cities (Mon Cal). I don't think the scum syndicates had those resources. Sure, they could probably buy two or three star destroyers each, but why? Their focus is trade, piracy, and theft. They have no need for capital ships, and those things are expensive to run (look at Booster Terrik's red ISD from the X-Wing series).

Scum could afford capital ships, but not enough to worry either the empire or the rebellion, and it makes no economical sense for the scum to get them.

After seeing it once in the Age of Rebellion RPG (think it was in a Supplement book I was looking through), I wouldn't mind seeing something like the Assertor. Also a Dreadnaught.

Only thing is I'm not sure how big it's meant to be. But it seemed smaller than the movie SSD.

47 minutes ago, Tommy Blunderbuss said:

Only thing is I'm not sure how big it's meant to be.

Everybody seems to be taking big literally. . . why? Normally, when companies say they have 'something big' coming, they're using hyperbole. Furthermore, couldn't their 'big' be wave size, a new campaign, game feature, meta-changer, rather than model size? I assume people have thought of and discounted them, so why?

Big as in new factions like Republic and CIS?

Probably not but if it was...

1 minute ago, Battlefleet 01 Studios said:

Big as in new factions like Republic and CIS?

Probably not but if it was...

Yeah, #teamVenator, amiright? :D

Just now, GhostofNobodyInParticular said:

Yeah, #teamVenator, amiright? :D

I loved the Venator, but the Seps had my favorites. Loved Dooku and Grievous and the Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers.

Just now, Battlefleet 01 Studios said:

I loved the Venator, but the Seps had my favorites. Loved Dooku and Grievous and the Frigates, Destroyers, and Cruisers.

Venators are my favorite star wars capital ship, but the Providence and Munificent classes are pretty cool too. I think I ended up 'siding' with the Republic because of the Venator and the Clones.

The main reason, I think, why I don't care as much for the Separatist ships is because, other than the Providence Class, they're either too boxy (Munificent) or spindly/hump-backed (Recusant). Munificents are at least cool, but I really don't like the Recusant. It looks sickly.

I liked the Recusant because of the cool looking spine and engines. I loved the Munificent because of the huge turbolasers in the front, and the Providence, well, it had Grievous.

But I do love the Republic and the Venator too. I thought concept of dual bridges, one for helm, one for fighter support, was brilliant.

17 minutes ago, GhostofNobodyInParticular said:

Everybody seems to be taking big literally. . . why? Normally, when companies say they have 'something big' coming, they're using hyperbole. Furthermore, couldn't their 'big' be wave size, a new campaign, game feature, meta-changer, rather than model size? I assume people have thought of and discounted them, so why?

Context

If you haven't been reading, and just thought you'd pounce on somebody, there was talk of dreadnoughts like the Bellator. I joined in by mentioning the Assertor, though I doubt FFG would include a ship simply because it appeared in the RPG line.

Earlier in this conversation I even mentioned Thrawn. Not physically big, but big from the perspective of many Star Wars fans if he arrived as a commander.

Frankly, I'd be happy if the biggest miniature ever made for Armada was the ISD. But I am biased as that is my favorite capital ship.