On 12/4/2017 at 9:04 AM, Gallanteer said:

The problem with recording that level of detail is longer downtime/book keeping instead of playing.

You ARE recording that level of detail, you're just doing it with physical dice and physical tokens and such. The app should be able to do it faster.

5 hours ago, Union said:

You ARE recording that level of detail, you're just doing it with physical dice and physical tokens and such. The app should be able to do it faster.

But in doing so would essentially negate the need for physical components, and FFG would lose money on lost sales

26 minutes ago, Majushi said:

But in doing so would essentially negate the need for physical components, and FFG would lose money on lost sales

If you're running a table-sized Surface, sure, but even on my tablet sized one passing it around doesn't work very well as a "game." You'd want the board anyway. You can already get some gridded whiteboard tiles or a large presentation sized pad of gridded paper from an office supply store and draw stuff out and proxy miniatures, print out cards etc. It's pretty easy to play IA with nothing purchased. People don't do it.

27 minutes ago, Majushi said:

But in doing so would essentially negate the need for physical components, and FFG would lose money on lost sales

Why does everyone default to this argument? Tokens are not what makes this a playable game. Dice are important but are, and will always be, trivial to proxy. Now the cards, this is the catch. There are hundreds of cards in the game and the text on those cards is absolutely a requirement to play the game. There is no way to get around not having that text and the app does not, should not, and will not supply that information.

9 minutes ago, McTavish said:

Why does everyone default to this argument? Tokens are not what makes this a playable game. Dice are important but are, and will always be, trivial to proxy. Now the cards, this is the catch. There are hundreds of cards in the game and the text on those cards is absolutely a requirement to play the game. There is no way to get around not having that text and the app does not, should not, and will not supply that information.

Which cards? The deployment cards? All the info relevant on those now are which dice they roll for attack and defense. Abilities have (mostly) been ignored or adapted for app play. Speed is irrelevant as the app ignores it and tells you how far they move. Figures become irrelevant if you track locations in the app. Damage tokens become irrelevant if you track damage in the app. The only real information you need on cards is the Hero stuff. And in the end, you can find all of this on the internet now.

If you remove the need to track things physically, you remove the need for the boardgame to be bought at all.

59 minutes ago, Majushi said:

Which cards? The deployment cards? All the info relevant on those now are which dice they roll for attack and defense. Abilities have (mostly) been ignored or adapted for app play. Speed is irrelevant as the app ignores it and tells you how far they move. Figures become irrelevant if you track locations in the app. Damage tokens become irrelevant if you track damage in the app. The only real information you need on cards is the Hero stuff. And in the end, you can find all of this on the internet now.

If you remove the need to track things physically, you remove the need for the boardgame to be bought at all.

By that argument the game is already dead then since you can track things physically with a pad of grid paper, some bottle caps and a bag of M&Ms.

1 hour ago, Union said:

It's pretty easy to play IA with nothing purchased. People don't do it.

But, enough. We disagree. The end. Have a nice day.

34 minutes ago, McTavish said:

By that argument the game is already dead then since you can track things physically with a pad of grid paper, some bottle caps and a bag of M&Ms.

But, enough. We disagree. The end. Have a nice day.

Yes, you could play this without the physical box (app only. Not if you want to play any of the other 6 campaigns released)

Who said the game is dead? I'm just saying that giving the players everything in the app is a disincentive to buying the box.

It's not supposed to be a game in its own right. It's supposed to be used in conjunction with the box.

But seeing as you have so "eloquently" ended this conversation, I suppose you must have said all that there is to say on this subject...

I think people are underestimating how much having to pick a device, locate the relevant buttons and tap it several times every single time a figure moves or takes damage or strain or a condition slows down the game compared to just moving the figure on the board picking up some tokens (that hopefully are organized) and plopping them down on the figure. Not to mention how much attention that takes away from the table and how much it breaks the flow of the game every time you have to stop playing to pick the device and mash on a + or - button. It might seem trivial, but it really adds up, and it makes the physical board game elements either trivial or redundant, and again it just makes you wonder why this couldn't just be a video game?

I can see the where desire to reduce token clutter is coming from, but there ways to do that on the table. I am very glad that most of the bookkeeping takes place on my super high fidelity 3D HD ultrarealistic ultrawidescreen tabletop with its real world quality physics engine and not on my 12" mobile device touch screen.

So I've just had time to go through a bit of the tutorial and I was curious, how long is it? Is it like a full mission? Is it the same mission that is in the campaign?

Is it multiple missions? I was wondering if its worth planning part of a game night around or not, thanks.

25 minutes ago, FrogTrigger said:

So I've just had time to go through a bit of the tutorial and I was curious, how long is it? Is it like a full mission? Is it the same mission that is in the campaign?

Is it multiple missions? I was wondering if its worth planning part of a game night around or not, thanks.

I attempted to do this. I finished the first mission and then it seemed like there were more tutorial missions. Only after I played through the second mission did I realize I was playing the actual campaign, whoops! I was planning on playing it through the first time with friends, not solo

19 minutes ago, FrogTrigger said:

So I've just had time to go through a bit of the tutorial and I was curious, how long is it? Is it like a full mission? Is it the same mission that is in the campaign?

Is it multiple missions? I was wondering if its worth planning part of a game night around or not, thanks.

There are two versions of the tutorial.

Assuming you told the app that you've played Imperial Assault prior to the app, this version of the tutorial skips the first mission of the campaign and jumps right into the next encounter.

My advice is to quit after the tutorial once you've finished it and start a new campaign.

The first mission of the campaign is an alternate version of the tutorial as it involves different map tiles, imperial groups and events (it's an actual mission).

So if I told the app I had never played IA before I would get to do one mission that is not in the campaign, followed by a variation of mission 1 from the campaign?

Is the first non campaign mission just a very laboured affair not worth it for a veteran of the game?

I also want to play the campaign with friends, but I have time this weekend so I thought I would familiarize myself with the system solo first to speed up the process next weekend when we play as a group.

The tutorial mission is actually a great way to learn how the app works, but as others say, start a new campaign once the tutorial takes you thorough the armory and XP sections, because the actual first mission is skipped if you keep going through the tutorial and that is definitely not to be missed.

13 hours ago, FrogTrigger said:

So if I told the app I had never played IA before I would get to do one mission that is not in the campaign, followed by a variation of mission 1 from the campaign?

Is the first non campaign mission just a very laboured affair not worth it for a veteran of the game?

I also want to play the campaign with friends, but I have time this weekend so I thought I would familiarize myself with the system solo first to speed up the process next weekend when we play as a group.

New Recruits Part 1: Training mission on Yavin 4

Overview of basic mechanics including moving, interacting, attribute tests, line of sight and attacking. The app does a good job keeping things interesting but certainly an auto skip if you're playing with an experienced gaming group.

New Recruits Part 2: Training mission on Yavin 4

Overview of the app, Imperial instructions, allies, medpacs. Little bit of freedom but still lots of hand-holding, I wouldn't call it a "real" mission. Probably not the best place to start with an experienced group that wanna jump straight into things.

Flight of the Freedom Fighter mission 1: Yavin 4

The first real mission. No hand-holding. Objectives, random Imperial spawns, events, etc.

Recommendation: Play New Recruits Part 2 solo to familiarize yourself with the app, avoid the tutorial entirely and jump right into the campaign the first time you get together with your gaming group.

----------

Legends of the Alliance Tutorial --> Have you played any version of Star Wars: Imperial Assault before? ( NO ) --> New Recruits Part 1: Training mission on Yavin 4 --> New Recruits Part 2: Training Mission on Yavin 4 --> Flight of the Freedom Fighter mission 1: Yavin 4 Campaign map overview --> first encounter

Legends of the Alliance Tutorial --> Have you played any version of Star Wars: Imperial Assault before? ( YES ) --> New Recruits Part 1: Training mission on Yavin 4 New Recruits Part 2: Training Mission on Yavin 4 --> Flight of the Freedom Fighter mission 1: Yavin 4 Campaign map overview --> first encounter

Flight of the Freedom Fighter --> Flight of the Freedom Fighter mission 1: Yavin 4 --> first encounter

20 hours ago, McTavish said:

Why does everyone default to this argument?

Because it's completely valid, though I admit it's low-hanging fruit here. FFG is selling a boardgame. This app is meant to increase sales of said boardgame. Based on the effect this had on D2E sales when RtL came out they know what they're doing, this model is proven to work. The further away from needing physical components the app gets, the less incentive there is to buy said physical components. It's really that simple.

That being said I don't think enough attention is being paid to Tvboy's point, which is the bigger issue: the more you have to interact with the app the more it slows down the play at the table. The experience becomes stilted as the flow of the game is broken while you switch between game interfaces. You are now splitting your attention and time across two interfaces, one physical and one on a device. This context switching has a real cost in both time and attention. Spending 90% of my time interacting with the physical pieces of the boardgame and 10% (or less) of my time with the app is preferable over spending 50% of my time with both interfaces. The more the app "stays out of the way" the better.

21 minutes ago, cdj0902 said:

Because it's completely valid, though I admit it's low-hanging fruit here. FFG is selling a boardgame. This app is meant to increase sales of said boardgame. Based on the effect this had on D2E sales when RtL came out they know what they're doing, this model is proven to work. The further away from needing physical components the app gets, the less incentive there is to buy said physical components. It's really that simple.

That being said I don't think enough attention is being paid to Tvboy's point, which is the bigger issue: the more you have to interact with the app the more it slows down the play at the table. The experience becomes stilted as the flow of the game is broken while you switch between game interfaces. You are now splitting your attention and time across two interfaces, one physical and one on a device. This context switching has a real cost in both time and attention. Spending 90% of my time interacting with the physical pieces of the boardgame and 10% (or less) of my time with the app is preferable over spending 50% of my time with both interfaces. The more the app "stays out of the way" the better.

I totally agree with your and TVBoy's point about too much screen time becoming a detractor from the tabletop experience. Especially for those of us who have painted our minis, looking at the BOARD, assessing and imagining the fight... that's what RPG board games are all about! That's why I really feel FFG has hit this one out of the park. The App succeeds at freeing up the burden upon the games owner. Pre-App we had to be Teacher, GM, Villain, Player, and Voice Actor ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Now we don't have to GM(well, it's significantly less), and we get to be as surprised and delighted by the unfolding story as our fellow players. I don't have to read all the exposition now, my kids read it aloud sometimes too, and they LOVE IT.

The App rewards the person that BOUGHT the game, by making the communal experience of playing WITH people flat out easier for everyone, BUT without betraying the reason we bought it in the first place. Namely, to look at and play with little toy Star Wars figures and imagine ourselves embroiled in battles, intrigue, and mystery in a galaxy far, far away WITH OUR FRIENDS!

2 questions about the app...

1. Medpac's. In in Tutorial is says. A Hero can spend a medpac when preforming a rest action to recover 5. - Does that mean you recover your strain as well since it it a rest? or is it instead of the strain?

- Then is says An Allay can spend an action during its activation to use a medpac. Does that means that Diala can use an action to heal Fenn? Or does that mean like the Rebel Troopers can do that?

2. Have a question about the movement of imperial figures. Say you get to the bottom of the list of actions for the first action... then what? they have 2 actions so then do that one gain?

34 minutes ago, Payens said:

1. Medpac's. In in Tutorial is says. A Hero can spend a medpac when preforming a rest action to recover 5. - Does that mean you recover your strain as well since it it a rest? or is it instead of the strain?

- Then is says An Allay can spend an action during its activation to use a medpac. Does that means that Diala can use an action to heal Fenn? Or does that mean like the Rebel Troopers can do that?

2. Have a question about the movement of imperial figures. Say you get to the bottom of the list of actions for the first action... then what? they have 2 actions so then do that one gain?

1.When a hero Rests, he recovers all strain. In addition, by discarding a Medpack the hero also recovers 5 damage.

1b.If you read the next sentence it becomes clear: "... action, and an ally figure can use a medpac as an action. When a figure uses a medpac, it recovers 5dmg (damage)." The figure using the medpac recovers the damage.

2.You go through the list once and perform the first 2 applicable actions. If there are not 2 that can be performed, you perform potential non-action abilities at the end of the list and end the activation.

(The various threads in the Campaign or Rules threads would be better places for rules questions. Rules questions are not really on topic of this thread.)

sorry a1bert... been awhile since I have been on the forum and I should have gone looking for that thread.

Wow, everything got moved into the subforum already, that's amazing work!

On ‎2017‎-‎12‎-‎04 at 2:47 AM, Tvboy said:

The only thing I don't like about the AI right now is target priority, specifically that's it's very easy to make the Imperials waste attacks on wounded heroes instead of hunting down the remaining healthy heroes that have run away. I think when I do my next campaign, to amp up the difficulty I will introduce a new rule for the AI to completely ignore wounded heroes for targeting, engaging and repositioning unless all other healthy heroes are completely blocked off and the Imperials only possible targets even with "Move [infinite] to attack" would be a wounded hero. I've already tried this with the first mission and it makes it so much more challenging when all those bad guys start rushing the Rebel base to find that last healthy hero hiding by all the crates.

I agree. However I wonder if we could justify it with the imperial rule?

So I have played through the entire tutorial campaign in the app.
Overall the app is fantastic. Right now it only uses tiles and enemies from the core box. During my run I saw every type spawn and even saw 3 villains too. The game did use items from my entire collection in the armory. I was able to buy upgrades from expansions outside the core set when available. Team composition was important as usual. I loved how after each mission you selected an xp card from each tier. I can see how some might not like that, but it was never an issue with the heroes I chose. The last mission 3/4 heroes flipped on normal mode. It was frantic and fun. This has interjected a ton of fun into a game I love but rarely get to play. While I still love getting people to the table to play the full campaigns this will be a valuable tool in learning the Rebel heroes. As someone who has only played as the empire it was really cool to see how the rebels work. I look forward to future releases for the app.

On 12/7/2017 at 9:39 AM, Tvboy said:

The tutorial mission is actually a great way to learn how the app works, but as others say, start a new campaign once the tutorial takes you thorough the armory and XP sections, because the actual first mission is skipped if you keep going through the tutorial and that is definitely not to be missed.

Thanks.

HAd just done that first tutorial bit solo and now was on the ship thing looking through the weapons etc....was wondering how this matched up with the none tutorial starter point.

Something odd occurred during the first campaign mission:

Never played Imperial Assault, but I’ve got Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition and really like it. How do the apps compare? Is it a similar experience? I only play games solo btw.