there is alot of hate lingering around here...and well all know what hate leads too....

Don't get me wrong, I'm really stoked for the app (and so is my wallet, which can't really afford to get any more blister packs right now). But now that we know that the app is really coming, and it sounds like IA is following pretty much in lock step with the development cycle of Descent, what do we think about the future of the game? Descent had a small box expansion announced the day before the app hit stores, and of course there are the app campaigns, but people overlook how the app was/is pretty much the end of the Lieutenant packs and the Hero & Monster packs that Descent had.

The app may fuel a surge of the core box, but if it doesn't also fuel purchase of expansions, then that's it - no more expansions. To me, getting one more small box expansion, one blister wave to go with it, and maybe one more after that runs counter to those who say that IA will be getting content for years to come. Do people here think IA will follow suit with Descent, or is there some vision for content that I'm missing?

4 hours ago, VadersMarchKazoo said:

QUESTION: They obviously put together a really nice rule book to accompany the app. Will this be available in hard copy, perhaps print on demand? Have the other apps (Descent) had printed rulebooks or were they just web-based?

QUESTION 2: The second image in the article is a "3D" perspective of the tiles and door (as if it is a picture of the tiles on a table and not a 2D illustration (like the campaign guide maps). Is this what the app would actually look like?

Reposting this in case my edits were lost. Maybe stupid questions but any guesses here? Do you think the app will be a side view instead of a typical 2D birds eye view? The app "screenshot" shows physical pieces but the rulebook has examples that look illustrated- like the example of the deployment point icon. Any thoughts?

14 minutes ago, VadersMarchKazoo said:

Reposting this in case my edits were lost. Maybe stupid questions but any guesses here? Do you think the app will be a side view instead of a typical 2D birds eye view? The app "screenshot" shows physical pieces but the rulebook has examples that look illustrated- like the example of the deployment point icon. Any thoughts?

I don’t think the rule book pictures are screen shots. They’re just like those in the physical rule books.

I read through this thread, and I am not understanding something. Will you be able to play the Core Campaign with this app replacing the Imperial Player? Or can you only play the new App Campaign? It seems like they are going to release updates which will include booster pack figures and expansion tiles, but I would really want to be able to play the existing Core Campaign in a coop mode via the app.

9 minutes ago, totalnoob said:

I read through this thread, and I am not understanding something. Will you be able to play the Core Campaign with this app replacing the Imperial Player? Or can you only play the new App Campaign? It seems like they are going to release updates which will include booster pack figures and expansion tiles, but I would really want to be able to play the existing Core Campaign in a coop mode via the app.

At launch there will be a five mission campaign called flight of the freedom fighter. It is different from the core campaigns but makes use of core tiles and core imperial and mercenary figures. Future expansions will make use of additional expansions...whatever that means. So no, the app won’t run the original core campaign.

Just now, VadersMarchKazoo said:

At launch there will be a five mission campaign called flight of the freedom fighter. It is different from the core campaigns but makes use of core tiles and core imperial and mercenary figures. Future expansions will make use of additional expansions...whatever that means. So no, the app won’t run the original core campaign.

Ok thanks for the response. Not exactly what I was hoping for - but it’s still great to have the app. Hopefully the app campaigns will be interesting. Obviously they will release updates and hopefully make use of more expansion content and villains.

How many people plan on adapting the app missions to play them without the app? Would this even be possible?

3 hours ago, Pollux85 said:

Don't get me wrong, I'm really stoked for the app (and so is my wallet, which can't really afford to get any more blister packs right now). But now that we know that the app is really coming, and it sounds like IA is following pretty much in lock step with the development cycle of Descent, what do we think about the future of the game? Descent had a small box expansion announced the day before the app hit stores, and of course there are the app campaigns, but people overlook how the app was/is pretty much the end of the Lieutenant packs and the Hero & Monster packs that Descent had.

The app may fuel a surge of the core box, but if it doesn't also fuel purchase of expansions, then that's it - no more expansions. To me, getting one more small box expansion, one blister wave to go with it, and maybe one more after that runs counter to those who say that IA will be getting content for years to come. Do people here think IA will follow suit with Descent, or is there some vision for content that I'm missing?

The app didn't kill Descent. In fact they had to do a lot of reprints of descent since the app came out. What killed Descent was Runewars and the limited production capability of FFG. They can only do so much with what they have. TBH Descent is as complete a game as you can get. There is a lot to buy. I am not convinced Descent needs more SKUs. Legion of course is going to take resources to develop so I don't expect much, if any, attention outside the digital side for Imperial Assault for quite some time.

It's still so surreal coming onto these boards knowing that there's an announcement article for the app. Gah, so excited!

Some more musings:

- Like others have mentioned, I'm a little worried about the campaign being 5 missions long. That being said, we don't know yet if it's:

a linear campaign structure: same 5 missions in a row, can only progress once previous mission was won

or

It'll be similar to previous boxed expansions: next mission depends on the result of the previous mission, campaign is 5 missions long but more mission variety

- It's going to be refreshing seeing Han, Chewie and first edition Luke again (so many better options these days) and it'll be interesting to find out if Imperial figures are buffed when an ally is used (no threat level!)

- Love this rule:

Quote

If a regular ally survives a mission, it is promoted to its elite version and can be deployed again.

As a campaign player, non-unique elite Rebel figures are rarely used (maybe never?) so it'll be nice to get some use out of those deployment cards

- The announcement article features Biv (Twin Shadows) Verena (Return to Hoth) and even the Charged Ammo Pack item (Heart of the Empire). Those "future updates" seem very ready to me!

10 minutes ago, Armandhammer said:

It's still so surreal coming onto these boards knowing that there's an announcement article for the app. Gah, so excited!

Some more musings:

- Like others have mentioned, I'm a little worried about the campaign being 5 missions long. That being said, we don't know yet if it's:

a linear campaign structure: same 5 missions in a row, can only progress once previous mission was won

or

It'll be similar to previous boxed expansions: next mission depends on the result of the previous mission, campaign is 5 missions long but more mission variety

- It's going to be refreshing seeing Han, Chewie and first edition Luke again (so many better options these days) and it'll be interesting to find out if Imperial figures are buffed when an ally is used (no threat level!)

- Love this rule:

As a campaign player, non-unique elite Rebel figures are rarely used (maybe never?) so it'll be nice to get some use out of those deployment cards

- The announcement article features Biv (Twin Shadows) Verena (Return to Hoth) and even the Charged Ammo Pack item (Heart of the Empire). Those "future updates" seem very ready to me!

The article said they won't be using tiles and enemies from expansions. By the looks of things, items and heroes will be available from day one. (presumably much less work involved in adding the heroes than variations to all the maps/enemy events for all the different enemies)

Hi all,

I have a couple of generic questions about the app for those of you who are familiar with the Descent app. My apologies if these questions have been covered here already (I haven't had the time to keep up with the discussion).

1) Can the app be overruled or will that break the game? I mean, if the app makes a really stupid decision based on arbitrary settings, if the players collectively agree that there’s a better option for the Imperial deployment group, will it ruin the game if the Rebel players choose the more sensible option for the Imps? Basically what I’m asking is, does the app allow/accept cheating (or will it know if you defeat a Hero it didn’t “want” to target, for instance)? (I should mention that we play for story, themes, and Star Wars immersion, not to “win”).

2) How many campaigns can we expect down the road? Is it reasonable to expect one campaign per box expansion or will it be more like three or five or ten campaigns per box?

3) Do you need to be online for the app to work?

4) Is it fun?

1) 'Correcting' imperial choices would be the hard-hard mode. Target priority should cover most cases to begin with. If you mess up and don't mark a hero wounded, then you would want to fudge things to get back on track.

3) no.

1 hour ago, a1bert said:

1) 'Correcting' imperial choices would be the hard-hard mode. Target priority should cover most cases to begin with. If you mess up and don't mark a hero wounded, then you would want to fudge things to get back on track.

I'm sorry, I don't understand. Can the players cheat by for example targeting the wrong hero, or will the app refuse this if it had another target 'in mind' so to speak. In other words, are there any "invalid target defeated" or similar errors that can occur with the app?

27 minutes ago, angelman2 said:

I'm sorry, I don't understand. Can the players cheat by for example targeting the wrong hero, or will the app refuse this if it had another target 'in mind' so to speak. In other words, are there any "invalid target defeated" or similar errors that can occur with the app?

The app is a companion app. You won't play the game in the app, you play the game on the table, physically moving figures, rolling dice, exhausting and readying cards and keeping track of damage, strain, and conditions for each figure.

The players can cheat how much they want, because they keep track of damage and positions and tell the app when any group is defeated (a hero or imperial group) and when each rebel group has finished their activation.

When it is the imperial turn to activate, the app will tell you which group activates, and gives an AI instruction list of what the figures do. There are of course events (including Perils as mentioned in the rules).

Thank you

I wonder how thematic and time-period consistent the app missions will be. I do hope there won't be an abundance of Nexu running around inside Imperial installations or Royal Guard watching over trash compactors. Also, and this is just my personal preference as someone who liked the idea of time periods, it would be nice to be able to get item cards from certain blister packs into the mix without the characters from them showing up. In other words, Ancient Lightsaber, yes please. Obi Wan appearing after his death as an ally, no thanks.

Overall, I am very excited about this. My IA purchases will not be sitting almost completely idle for much longer!

1 hour ago, Master Wang said:

Obi Wan appearing after his death as an ally, no thanks.

1

You will be able to choose if you want to bring him on a mission or not, so you'll have at least that. Though I think that there will be some text explaining why he's there alive

9 hours ago, Armandhammer said:

- It's going to be refreshing seeing Han, Chewie and first edition Luke again (so many better options these days) and it'll be interesting to find out if Imperial figures are buffed when an ally is used (no threat level!)

Sure thing! It will be interesting to bring one of them on missions. And without (I assume) threat level, we won't "exactly" know what is the cost we are paying to bring them, so they might see more game time!

1 hour ago, Master Wang said:

I wonder how thematic and time-period consistent the app missions will be. I do hope there won't be an abundance of Nexu running around inside Imperial installations or Royal Guard watching over trash compactors. Also, and this is just my personal preference as someone who liked the idea of time periods, it would be nice to be able to get item cards from certain blister packs into the mix without the characters from them showing up. In other words, Ancient Lightsaber, yes please. Obi Wan appearing after his death as an ally, no thanks.

Overall, I am very excited about this. My IA purchases will not be sitting almost completely idle for much longer!

43 minutes ago, Mortalo said:

You will be able to choose if you want to bring him on a mission or not, so you'll have at least that. Though I think that there will be some text explaining why he's there alive

FFG should better avoid contradicting the "mouse" when it comes to what's canon and what's not! However, what I can totally imagine is encountering the Force ghost of Obi-Wan and getting a reward or a boost for upcoming mission.

2 hours ago, Master Wang said:

I wonder how thematic and time-period consistent the app missions will be. I do hope there won't be an abundance of Nexu running around inside Imperial installations or Royal Guard watching over trash compactors. Also, and this is just my personal preference as someone who liked the idea of time periods, it would be nice to be able to get item cards from certain blister packs into the mix without the characters from them showing up. In other words, Ancient Lightsaber, yes please. Obi Wan appearing after his death as an ally, no thanks.

Overall, I am very excited about this. My IA purchases will not be sitting almost completely idle for much longer!

I think part of the wait for this was having it go through Lucasfilm approval. Hopefully keeping everything thematic was part of that approval process.

34 minutes ago, IanSolo_FFG said:

Sure thing! It will be interesting to bring one of them on missions. And without (I assume) threat level, we won't "exactly" know what is the cost we are paying to bring them, so they might see more game time!

Bottom of page 19 offers a potential clue:

Quote

This window also tracks which allies they have gained and how many deployments remain for each ally.

My best guess: allies don't influence Imperial behaviour at all. They probably act like a powerup to help increase the overall high score (fame), hence the limited amount of times you can bring them to a mission.

Too bad they didn't remove the heroic system and extra activation tokens when playing with less than 4 heroes. They could have easily changed the difficulty depending on the amount of heroes. Having extra activations make some missions just too easy but I also don't want to make new players controlling more than one hero

Hey FFG, I just wanted to say thanks! This app is really great news for me. I'd been frustrated with the lack of co-op/solo among your Star Wars suite of games but better late than never!

I wonder about spending surges to heal strain...if you have no strain, can you still spend a surge to heal damage?