Boxed sets unplayable

[animus]

So I'm looking at the EA Crusade fleet box set (gearing up for Christmas) and I noticed not one, but 2 Armageddon level ships. Hurm.... I guess Crusade Era fleets are expected to ignore low priority battles.

Isn't anyone looking at the box sets and comparing them to the rules with an eye to actually bringing in new players or encouraging new fleet acquisition? Personally, I think every starter set should be able to be played against any other starter set. Fleets can be added onto from there. This is how you grow a game and get people to buy into new fleets. I swear one hand doesn't talk to the other at Mongoose.

(I also wonder where the EA will be in a million years - it took the ancients millions of years to make Armageddon level ships; Earth went from no jump gate to Shadow level in a couple of centuries.... man.... )

 

[Burger]

it took the ancients millions of years to make Armageddon level ships

Who says?

Earth went from no jump gate to Shadow level in a couple of centuries.... man.... )

They had a little help

But I agree, box fleets shoud all be playable with each other. Currently quite a few are very top-heavy.

 

[Nightmares about Minbari]

All of the boxed sets for fleets that actually appeared in the series are based upon the ships actually seen on screen as the core of the fleet, and for some fleets this makes them a little light or heavy compared to others.

The Crusade era fleet box being top heavy is just a function of the crusade era fleet being top heavy, and that's a whole different discussion.

Given that the next edition of the game is under preparation, it would be, erm, overly optimisitic to hope that mongoose would re-do all of the fleet boxes for a six or nine month period, then have to redo them again for ACTA2.

Once the next edition is out, and the different fleets can be seen to balance against each other, then different fleet boxes might be more practical.

 

[animus]

I'm not optimistic that the fleet boxes will change at all. 2e will be a rule change. I can't see Mongoose retooling their production for its release. GW has the pockets and popularity to tweak their boxes for rules, but ACTA just hasn't the following.

 

[Nightmares about Minbari]

However the only thing that defines what is in the fleet boxes are the fleet covers, and when they run out, fresh ones can be printed which can include a different selection of ships. This is bound to happen eventually, but isn't economic to do before the previous run is out of stock (I'm just guessing here of course)

 

[MongooseMatt]

Funnily enough, this is precisely what we are thinking

Our goal with the first run of fleet sets was to give you a Good Deal - a whole bunch of ships for (relatively) little money.

We can certainly look to change that this summer, and we'll be working on some fleet combinations to see if we can do you a Good Deal _and_ give you a decent fleet. I can already see some problems - balancing Raiders and Shadows at the same (or even similar!) price point could be interesting. . .

 

[animus]

I think it would just be MUCH better to lower the strength of some of the ships and fix the "top heaviness" with rules - Nemesis down to War, for example. No fleet still in the galaxy should have more than one Armageddon ship, in my opinion.

 

[Nightmares about Minbari]

To Animas: Then the Warlock should be war and Nemesis should be Armageddon, Warlock was first, Nemesis should be tougher.

As to balancing the fleets, why not aim at multiples of a fixed amount?

EG raiders might be 1 x 5 points battle, shadows are 3 x 5 points battle

top and bottom end extremes, most fleets could be aimed at 2 x 5 points battle

Wouldn't be completly balanced, but would at least give everybody an idea what they were getting?

 

[animus]

Funnily enough, this is precisely what we are thinking

Our goal with the first run of fleet sets was to give you a Good Deal - a whole bunch of ships for (relatively) little money.

We can certainly look to change that this summer, and we'll be working on some fleet combinations to see if we can do you a Good Deal _and_ give you a decent fleet. I can already see some problems - balancing Raiders and Shadows at the same (or even similar!) price point could be interesting. . .

Wow... always blows me away when Matt chimes in. Very cool to know he's (you're) listening

I like the thinking of the change of the fleets (obviously since I started this thread). I'm sorry if I assumed less flexibility than really exists. I still think EA Crusade needs more lower PL ships not only for playability (my concern) but also to sell more models (Matt's concern).

I see no reason why Earth would make every ship, even the newest ships, Armageddon level. The Nemeses could be a Battle ship with just great technology. It's all about balance. You don't use a B-1 Bomber to guard a 7-11.

 

[Davesaint]

Funnily enough, this is precisely what we are thinking

Our goal with the first run of fleet sets was to give you a Good Deal - a whole bunch of ships for (relatively) little money.

We can certainly look to change that this summer, and we'll be working on some fleet combinations to see if we can do you a Good Deal _and_ give you a decent fleet. I can already see some problems - balancing Raiders and Shadows at the same (or even similar!) price point could be interesting. . .

I hope that you are considering adding more Hyperions into the Early EA Fleet box. All of the Varrient Hyperions except the Assault Hyperion disappear after the Early Era. It seems that there would be more of them in the early box.


Dave