Short answer: No, with a but...
Long answer: Yes, with an if...

Basically, the game is dying, at least locally around me. There is no local scene around me anymore. The usual state-wide FB group to ask questions and organize games is silent except for the occasional post about someone getting out of the game and looking to sell their collection. I've ran the CC three times locally, and we always had the full 6 plus a few people 'wait-listed.' My most recent effort to run a CC only turned up four interested folks, and two of them asked to quit about three weeks into it. The few local stores I've talked to are worried the Store Championships will bring in next to no attendance, and the most recent OP Seasonal Kit (which usually brought in 8-10 people) had two people show up, myself the TO, included.

Online, the game is also dying. The online community is toxic and there is absolutely nothing worth discussing. Armada isn't as 'solvable' of a game as some others, but there's only so much to talk about regarding old stuff and there aren't enough big events to report on. FFG's own support at the upcoming Gencon has the fewest seats set aside for Armada that they've ever provided, and it's going to be smaller than most of the Regionals (~40-50 people) that I used to go to a couple years ago. Between this and FFG throwing Armada absolutely no bones, it's very clear to see how important FFG regards their Armada line. In X-Wing and Legion and their other big properties, the dev-team members are well known, but with regards to Armada I'm not even sure that FFG has ever had a dedicated person (or people) as the dev team for Armada. I think they just pull people in from other projects and product lines when they make a new Armada product.



Will FFG release a new Armada product? Maybe. But even if the do, at this point I don't think it'll be enough to get my local community rebuilt, nor do I think it will be enough to reverse the toxicity of the online community and their general frustration/ill-will toward FFG, which I can sympathize with. Post-Asmodee FFG is very unlike Pre-Asmodee FFG.

9 minutes ago, AllWingsStandyingBy said:

Short answer: No, with a but...
Long answer: Yes, with an if...

Basically, the game is dying, at least locally around me. There is no local scene around me anymore. The usual state-wide FB group to ask questions and organize games is silent except for the occasional post about someone getting out of the game and looking to sell their collection. I've ran the CC three times locally, and we always had the full 6 plus a few people 'wait-listed.' My most recent effort to run a CC only turned up four interested folks, and two of them asked to quit about three weeks into it. The few local stores I've talked to are worried the Store Championships will bring in next to no attendance, and the most recent OP Seasonal Kit (which usually brought in 8-10 people) had two people show up, myself the TO, included.

Online, the game is also dying. The online community is toxic and there is absolutely nothing worth discussing. Armada isn't as 'solvable' of a game as some others, but there's only so much to talk about regarding old stuff and there aren't enough big events to report on. FFG's own support at the upcoming Gencon has the fewest seats set aside for Armada that they've ever provided, and it's going to be smaller than most of the Regionals (~40-50 people) that I used to go to a couple years ago. Between this and FFG throwing Armada absolutely no bones, it's very clear to see how important FFG regards their Armada line. In X-Wing and Legion and their other big properties, the dev-team members are well known, but with regards to Armada I'm not even sure that FFG has ever had a dedicated person (or people) as the dev team for Armada. I think they just pull people in from other projects and product lines when they make a new Armada product.



Will FFG release a new Armada product? Maybe. But even if the do, at this point I don't think it'll be enough to get my local community rebuilt, nor do I think it will be enough to reverse the toxicity of the online community and their general frustration/ill-will toward FFG, which I can sympathize with. Post-Asmodee FFG is very unlike Pre-Asmodee FFG.

This is pretty accurate. I'd include myself in that toxic community, which I'm mostly fine with. I try not to be rude toward other players (aside from @Ginkapo ), but my opinion of FFG is pretty low. Poor communication and unfulfilled promises really make me bitter toward a company(but hey guys, something big is coming in that next hyperspace report ...maybe).

And now I'm going to drive 250 miles to go to the first Store championship in my "local" area(only 1 in STL, no date set, going to KC this weekend for Game Cafe's). So whatever, I'm still playing their game even with my bitterness.

And why do I deserve your lack of respect?

1 hour ago, AllWingsStandyingBy said:

Basically, the game is dying, at least locally around me. There is no local scene around me anymore.

I know how you feel. There isn't/wasn't much of a community around me for a long time. That might be changing, but I'm not sure how big it will ever get.

48 minutes ago, dominosfleet said:

The online community is toxic 

Not in my experience, although I have been ignoring the b*tchfest threads that keep popping up. I'm not sure that sort of thing is enough to make things "toxic" but I see where you are coming from.

48 minutes ago, dominosfleet said:

FFG's own support at the upcoming Gencon has the fewest seats set aside for Armada that they've ever provided

This is a point upon which we agree. Still, GenCon was the limiting factor on the size of the event (you can't create an event for more than 40 people) - perhaps they could have created two events, but then we're probably talking about two sets of 40-person Swiss rounds rather than a single 5-game marathon. I'm not privy to why they made the decision they did, which I believe left a large number of interested players out in the cold.

34 minutes ago, Ginkapo said:

And why do I deserve your lack of respect?

BOW DOWN BEFORE THE KING OF SWISS.

I just have to say we added two new players to our community and our face book remains an ongoing conversation of humor and list building.

You should all play more in Georgia right @GiledPallaeon @CaribbeanNinja @moodswing5537 ?

1 minute ago, jamie nasmyth said:

I just have to say we added two new players to our community and our face book remains an ongoing conversation of humor and list building.

You should all play more in Georgia right @GiledPallaeon @CaribbeanNinja @moodswing5537 ?

Similarly, Chicago is getting a new guy in every few weeks or every other month or so. It's not a huge influx, but it's a minis game with a solid learning curve, so.... I'll take what I can get?

Also I should come down to the ATL (told ya!) To either play some games or something something filter Georgetown Hoyas.

3 minutes ago, geek19 said:

Similarly, Chicago is getting a new guy in every few weeks or every other month or so. It's not a huge influx, but it's a minis game with a solid learning curve, so.... I'll take what I can get?

Also I should come down to the ATL (told ya!) To either play some games or something something filter Georgetown Hoyas.

Well I have a spare room if you were to come down and no kids the weekend of the store championship.....

I would do a better job running FFG’s community outreach if it was my lowest priority, I actively wanted the game to die, and I was only allowed to work in it while someone was kicking me in the ****.

Because whoevers doing it is so bad at it that at this point I’m actively impressed they still draw a paycheck.

1 hour ago, Ginkapo said:

And why do I deserve your lack of respect?

You know what you did Gink /glares

1 hour ago, jamie nasmyth said:

Well I have a spare room if you were to come down and no kids the weekend of the store championship.....

I can’t give you a room but I have couches and better access to the Vortex.

Any competitive RL game system stands on three support groups. The creator, FLGS, and the community. If any of the three doesn't support the game adequately, the others have to pick up the slack to make up for it. Trying to support with just the community is rare for a game system, though not unheard of (doubt it would survive retribution from the mouse though).

To gauge the support for the game from each we can only infer data.

FFG: obviously isn't putting too much into the game

FLGS: the store championship list as compared to last year will give us an estimate of support

Community: we as a community are pretty avid, if disorganized. The community is disorganized in the sense that we are not generally holding large events outside of FFG's OP structure.

The problem I see for FFG and FLGS, according to my napkin math, the average income from an Armada player is currently much lower than other game systems. Even two releases a year just isn't enough to justify supporting the game. For a smaller FLGS, as a function of table space, Armada is an even worse prospect. In the local meta, when it still existed, most of the stores are small enough that hosting an armada event with 12-14 players would nearly shut down the store. Regular casual play is going to crowd table space for more lucrative systems.

In FFG's shoes, I would exploring how to lower my costs going into Armada, or raising the amount of money players pay, both, or just kill the game. Any of which would result in what we are seeing now, needing time for reorganization.

For the FLGS, I'm not sure the situation can be salvaged without sacrifices from FFG to promote the game.

FFG can feel free to put up a release article to prove me wrong.

39 minutes ago, AdmiralYor said:

Community: we as a community are pretty avid, if disorganized. The community is disorganized in the sense that we are not generally holding large events outside of FFG's OP structure.

In my area we are trying to hold a second store and regional to expand us a bit and, if possible, develop some kind of event without FFG support.

55 minutes ago, AdmiralYor said:

Community: we as a community are pretty avid, if disorganized. The community is disorganized in the sense that we are not generally holding large events outside of FFG's OP structure.

Just FYI for my Hunstvegas, Pensacola, and Atlanta bruvs (and sisters ? ) , I'm trying to get games going in Birmingham, starting with the OP kits. If I can get more time to talk with Our FLGS owner, Ill let you know if I can branch out from that into non-OP kits.

Honestly, 1.5 waves a year is fine by me but just tell us what the @$"#+*!=!!!!!!! is going on. Give us a little article here and there to let us know you have plans for the game. Total radio silence is really pissing off the community. And if FFG is done with armada, then stop playing games and tell us that no more products are coming. SAY SOMETHING FFG!!!!!

1 hour ago, Rune Taq said:

Honestly, 1.5 waves a year is fine by me but just tell us what the @$"#+*!=!!!!!!! is going on. Give us a little article here and there to let us know you have plans for the game. Total radio silence is really pissing off the community. And if FFG is done with armada, then stop playing games and tell us that no more products are coming. SAY SOMETHING FFG!!!!!

I think you're reaching hoping for a wave this year.

I can't get games anymore. People are moving back into X-wing and the awesomeness that is 40k 8th Edition. I have a small collection that is sitting by, but unless there are major changes its going to end up a novelty game that we play for a change, rather than a game that people look forward to playing, which is a shame.

42 minutes ago, dominosfleet said:

I think you're reaching hoping for a wave this year.

I expect we will see something this year but another Christmas release. I real just want FFG to talk to us one way or another. Tell us it's been fun but we are done or hey armada fans sorry for the wait but this is what we are working on for armada.

3 hours ago, D503 said:

I can't get games anymore. People are moving back into X-wing and the awesomeness that is 40k 8th Edition. I have a small collection that is sitting by, but unless there are major changes its going to end up a novelty game that we play for a change, rather than a game that people look forward to playing, which is a shame.

Same here. Legion also took wind out of the sails pretty heavily. Our area was always more wishy washy, but now I can't get a game ever.

8 hours ago, rasproteus said:

BOW DOWN BEFORE THE KING OF SWISS.

Stop encouraging him

4 hours ago, D503 said:

I can't get games anymore. People are moving back into X-wing and the awesomeness that is 40k 8th Edition. I have a small collection that is sitting by, but unless there are major changes its going to end up a novelty game that we play for a change, rather than a game that people look forward to playing, which is a shame.

Kind of the same in my area, X-wing has been dead for a long time. But lots of people getting into for the first time or getting back into 40K. But we are not getting into Legion partly due to how they have treated the Armada group. It is not that they are not releasing stuff as fast as we would like, it is the total lack of respect for us, SOMETHING BIG IS COMING, but still have not filled us in on what that is, really no communication with us and that is the bigger issue. If you communicated with us and only released one wave a year no problem, but the lack of communication big problem. I know that different people deal with the different games, but it is hard to take that to heart sometimes when you see so much being released for the other games, they are getting updates and so on, if each game really has its own staff what is the Armada staff doing?

Quote

Is Armada dead? (Serious question)

No. (Serious answer)

Armada isn’t dead- a game representing Star Wars space combat will never die, regardless of if FFG stops supporting it or not

The game itself is as healthy and well-balanced as it has ever been. FFG has done a great job balancing the list building options and archetypes, keeping most viable without any of the balance problems X-Wing had.

For a game set in space, the sky seems to be falling fairly often.

5 hours ago, TTC said:

The game itself is as healthy and well-balanced as it has ever been. FFG has done a great job balancing the list building options and archetypes, keeping most viable without any of the balance problems X-Wing had.

No one has an issue with game balance tho. Thats actually part of the frustration. If Armada had more serious issues inherent to gameplay, we wouldnt be so annoyed with FFGs release schedule and inability to communicate. We’d just move on. But we want more, because the game is so good.