New to ACTA - I'm excited!

[Hindsight]

I have long played Warhammer 40,000 and Warmachine at Game Kastle in San Jose, CA. For a long while I had asked "Do you have any White Stars in stock?" To which, they never did, or at least never did when I was visiting. On Sunday I finally found a White Star on the shelf, and my learning of A Call To Arms began. I am told there is play on Wednesdays, and I plan to visit tonight and check it out, but in the mean time, I wanted to get a feel for this place.

Firstly, my White Star.

I painted it with a mix of Citadel Codex Grey, and a smattering of Bleached Bone. Giving this a good time to dry, I used Warlock Purple to freehand a design scheme as close to the Google Image searches of the White Stars that I could find. Once the purple dried, I highlighted the hull with the same grey/bone mix, but I added a bit more Bleached Bone to make it a lighter highlight. Once this was dry, I washed the model with Future Floor Wax, to give the model a gloss. I always felt they shined on the show, and wanted this to be reflected (no pun intended). I painted the guns black, and highlighted them with Mithril Silver, before calling it a day. I am very happy with how it turned out. So happy that I am afraid to paint a second one, should I go on to build a fleet, just afraid the second one will not free hand as well as this one did.

So yea. I come from your established games, your 40k, your Warmachine, Fantasy, etc. I am used to having my games handfed to me, and I've never experimented with a game that didn't have its own magazine, and staff of webmonkeys pumping out hype generating content onto the web and into my brain. So how do ya'll get your news about this stuff? Is this the place to be? Is there some fan site for ACTA that my extensive googling failed to turn up?

I am excited about B5 again, having recently watched Crusade in its entirety for the first time, and watching The Lost Tales. I am now on Disk 2 of Season 2, in my rewatching of the original series again, for the sixth or seventh time. I want to get behind this game and be just as excited, but there seems to be so little on the web about it.

Lastly, I have a single White Star. How big is a starter force? If I did bite the bullet and buy a second White Star, and added a Minbari Cruiser, would that be a good starting force? How big is the average casual play game? Are the B5 Wars models mixed often with the Fleet Action stuff? If I want to play a fleet based only on ships I see on the show, am I going to be able to do that and have fun? Do I need expanded universe ships to be at all competitive?

Thank you for reading, any ideas and links would be appreciated.

 

[Foxmeister]

Lastly, I have a single White Star. How big is a starter force? If I did bite the bullet and buy a second White Star, and added a Minbari Cruiser, would that be a good starting force? How big is the average casual play game?

A typical casual game would be a 5pt Raid. Since you are playing ISA, a good starting force would be 4 White Stars and 4 Blue Stars. In order to use a Sharlin (Minbari Cruiser) you would either need to take it as a Tara'Lin (1 War pt which equals 4 Raid), or as an allied Minbari Sharlin (again 1 pt War) but you couldn't do this in anything less than a 5pt War which is a much bigger fleet.

Of course, if you don't understand the concept of priority levels, this is likely meaningless to you, so you should get the rules first. In general though, 1 War = 2 Battle = 4 Raid (at present anyway).

Are the B5 Wars models mixed often with the Fleet Action stuff?

It shouldn't be a problem as miniature size is generally immaterial.

If I want to play a fleet based only on ships I see on the show, am I going to be able to do that and have fun?

With an ISA fleet you can do this and be competitive, since your main "loss" is going to be the Blue Star.

Do I need expanded universe ships to be at all competitive?

For many fleets, yes.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Dave

 

[Lorcan Nagle]

If you check the player resources thread, you can find links to lots of useful stuff including campaign map generators, record sheets, fleet generators, reference sheets and printable terrain.

As for news and updates, the Mongeese post heavily on the site, if you look around you'll find we've just been given an open playtest for the upcoming sourcebook Powers and Principalities, they also produce a free monthly magazine in PDF format called Signs and Portents that contains ActA content most months.

In terms of fleet selection, army lists in ActA don't work on traditional points, but rather priority levels, which set the engagement at one of six levels of intensity: Patrol, Skirmish, Raid, Battle, War or Armageddeon. Each ship is rated to one of those levels, and it costs 1 point if used in a game at that level, and either more or less points if used at a higher or lower priority. The "average" game is 5 raid points.

A White Star, for example is at Raid priority and belongs to the Interstellar Alliance fleet, so a good fleet at Raid level is 5 White Stars. If you go down that road I'd recommend a mix of White Star Is (with the scout ability) and White Star IIs (dropping scout to carry a flight of Nials)

The only Minbari ship availible as a standard choice for the ISA is the Tara'Lin training cruiser, which is a variant of the Sharlin War Cruiser. It's considerably more expensive than a White Star, being a War level ship. That said, 1 War level ship costs 4 raid points, so a valid 5 Raid fleet is a Tara'lin and a White star. It mightn't be very effective though.

There's one more wrinkle in the ISA fleet makeup - they can take 1 point of their fleet as allies, picking from the EA, Minbari, Narn, or League races. It wouldn't let you take a Sharlin or anything unless you're playing a big game, but if you really wanted a Minbari ship in there you could get one.

 

[Hindsight]

I found a Dakka Dakka review of the game, which I read, and it explained the priority system. I hope to get a demo in, or at the very least watch them play tonight when I head to my LGS. I assume then that all ships are balanced around these raid levels?

Can you balance a Vorlon ship? Do Minbari ships actually have stealth? If I fight a shadow, seeing as what I heard you cannot take Telepaths... how do you do so without dying horribly?

I like the idea of three White Star I's and 2 White Star II's. I guess there is more White Star painting in my future, but I can live with that, I just love the White Star. I'll have to pick up the Rule Book today and see about what I'd take if I did choose an allied unit. I would like to take at least one Minbari ship in my starter army, if not just to paint it =) Lot less freehanding on a Minbari craft. I better get married to the freehanding I did, as it looks like I have three or four more White Stars in my future.

Are there army builder resources for Army Builder 2? I see the old rules in there, but they seem to be point based, from way back. I refuse to upgrade to Army Builder 3, as their subscription service is not something I want to support.

I thank you both for getting back to me so quickly. The gallery thread here is amazing, and I guess I have a lot of reading to do here on the boards leading up to my visit to the game group tonight.

 

[Lorcan Nagle]

I found a Dakka Dakka review of the game, which I read, and it explained the priority system. I hope to get a demo in, or at the very least watch them play tonight when I head to my LGS. I assume then that all ships are balanced around these raid levels?

Can you balance a Vorlon ship? Do Minbari ships actually have stealth? If I fight a shadow, seeing as what I heard you cannot take Telepaths... how do you do so without dying horribly?

Ships are more-or-less balanced across priority levels, but it really works out when you look at a fleet level of balance. To take the Earth-Minbari war as an example, while the Sharlin was the principal line vessel for the Minbari and the Hyperion and Nova were for the EA, the Sharlin's War level and the Hyperion and Nova are Raid, so the EA will outnumber the Minbari 4-to-1 in that situation.

There's some criticism that the game favours swarm fleets - that it's a lot easier to do crippling critical damage to a small number of large ships than it is to utterly destroy a large number of small ships, so bear that in mind when selecting your fleet.

I like the idea of three White Star I's and 2 White Star II's. I guess there is more White Star painting in my future, but I can live with that, I just love the White Star. I'll have to pick up the Rule Book today and see about what I'd take if I did choose an allied unit. I would like to take at least one Minbari ship in my starter army, if not just to paint it =) Lot less freehanding on a Minbari craft. I better get married to the freehanding I did, as it looks like I have three or four more White Stars in my future.

The ISA are all about their White Stars! They have a heavier Gunship version, a Carrier, and fighters all using the same tech, as well as the on-screen White Stars and Blue Stars from the TV series. Bear in mind that the only fleet lists in the main rulebook are cut-down versions of the EA, Narn, Minbari and Centauri, and you'll need the fleet book for the ISA stats, but it does contain everything.

Another point to consider is that Mongoose take a "living rulebook" approach to the game. Powers and Principalities is set to contain some stat changes (notably to some Narn ships and the entire Gaim fleet list!) as well as rule changes that will be replacing those in the core rule/fleet lists, as well as new opitonal rules.

Are there army builder resources for Army Builder 2? I see the old rules in there, but they seem to be point based, from way back. I refuse to upgrade to Army Builder 3, as their subscription service is not something I want to support.

That's probably for Babylon 5 Wars, an older Wargame that was produced by Agents of Gaming. Mongoose uses the B5W minis and some of their stats and fluff as a basis for their own work, but there's no direct correlation between the two.

http://www.ibisfightclub.co.uk is a free web asset that lets you design your fleets and print out record sheets

 

[Hindsight]

As per the recomendation of using 5 White Stars as my army. Three White Star I's, and two White Star II's ( I think that gives me a few Nials too ).

I read somewhere that a Raid 5 Tournament with 5 White Stars was a Cheesie Army. What makes it cheesie? I just love White Stars! lol

I am reading the resources here, they are pretty cool. It'd be nice if that was referenced from some main site for the game, as I had to ask before I was pointed there. I guess it was labeled new player resources... but still.

EDIT - Also - One Last thing... does the White Star II stat line, use the basic White Star model, or am I just not seeing it on on the old AOG listing of ships?

 

[Foxmeister]

I read somewhere that a Raid 5 Tournament with 5 White Stars was a Cheesie Army. What makes it cheesie? I just love White Stars! lol

I wouldn't say that it's a cheesy fleet - it's just that the WS is probably right at the top end of its priority level for effectiveness, and has lots of advantages. To some, myself included, the ship is bordering on broken. The updates in P&P were supposed to address this, but to my mind they've gained more than they lost with their new special action.

Regards,

Dave

 

[Lorcan Nagle]

I am reading the resources here, they are pretty cool. It'd be nice if that was referenced from some main site for the game, as I had to ask before I was pointed there. I guess it was labeled new player resources... but still.

they're fan=produced resources and as such don't have official backing. It'd be a legal nightmare if there were links from the product pages.

EDIT - Also - One Last thing... does the White Star II stat line, use the basic White Star model, or am I just not seeing it on on the old AOG listing of ships?

It's the same model. Mongoose continue the AoG tradition of producing multiple variant ships that use the same hull design. It allows for some more variety in your fleets while reducing the number of minis they have to produce.

 

[Triggy]

I read somewhere that a Raid 5 Tournament with 5 White Stars was a Cheesie Army. What makes it cheesie? I just love White Stars! lol

I wouldn't say that it's a cheesy fleet - it's just that the WS is probably right at the top end of its priority level for effectiveness, and has lots of advantages. To some, myself included, the ship is bordering on broken. The updates in P&P were supposed to address this, but to my mind they've gained more than they lost with their new special action.

Regards,

Dave

Currently several have the opinion that the White Star is borderline too good but in the playtest rules it gets a very small downgrade (if it fires the Molecular Pulsars then it can only fire one Attack Dice of Improved Neutron Laser at the same time). The new special action shouldn't make that much difference actually but either way, once testing is complete, you shouldn't have any worries about being over or under powered - just take what you want to take and enjoy it

 

[Foxmeister]

The new special action shouldn't make that much difference actually but either way, once testing is complete, you shouldn't have any worries about being over or under powered - just take what you want to take and enjoy it

Not convinced of that - CQ9 is a 50/50 shot for ISA, so my gut feeling is it should be CQ10. Plus, I see no reason why you should allow Dodge when performing this SA when a regular "All Stop and Pivot" would negate Dodge.

However, as you say, it needs testing rather than thought experiments.

Regards,

Dave

 

[Triggy]

The new special action shouldn't make that much difference actually but either way, once testing is complete, you shouldn't have any worries about being over or under powered - just take what you want to take and enjoy it

Not convinced of that - CQ9 is a 50/50 shot for ISA, so my gut feeling is it should be CQ10. Plus, I see no reason why you should allow Dodge when performing this SA when a regular "All Stop and Pivot" would negate Dodge.

However, as you say, it needs testing rather than thought experiments.

Regards,

Dave

It's more that I don't see it being a huge deal as the ISA would simply move elsewhere normally rather than All Stop and Pivot! It's not intended as a big boon, but if playtesting says it's too useful then we'll rethink things

 

[katadder]

lol doubt it will ever be useful considering the manouvrability of a WS anyway but it does allow WSs to move a bit like in the show.

 

[Locutus9956]

Have to agree that the new Whitestar SA isnt really that big a deal at first glance since the things are so manueverable anyway it's not likely to get much use with ONE small exception.

Consider this. WS overuns target and then flies away full speed ending up say an inch or two from the table edge. Now it has to all stop/asap in order to not leave the table, without the special order it has to stop on the spot for 2 full turns thus giving it's pesuers 2 chances to 'catch up' Of course this isnt all 1 way though as in that situation if the whitestar tries said special order and fails it cant then choose to all stop so will have no choice but to fly off the table.....

Anyway to the original poster and a few others:

A fairly 'average game' is about 5 points at raid level. In ACTA the Whitestar is 1 Raid point. It should be noted that the Whitestar is NOT a Minbari ship in ACTA though and is part of the Insterstellar Alliance (ISA) fleet. They DO have a variant of the Minbari Sharlin cruiser available to them but to be honest it doesnt tend to see much use as in most games you're better off using a number of whitestars instead. Still it's IS a sharlin model and thus very very pretty so I love em

As for using models 'only from the show' well you're limiting yourself a little there but not as much as folks think. The Bluestar metnioned by someone else IS seen on the show (albeit only very briefly right at the end of season 5), the NoloTar/Liandra is seen in legend of the rangers which despite it's general awfulness is, unfortunately, canonical. And the Victory if you ever play a game big enough to use it, is AWESOME. And also seen in one of the movies and of course, in Crusade (which I actually dindn't think was that bad (though I never liked the music) ).

Lastly, the '5 Whitestar Fleet'. Well I've got sort of mixed feelings here, yes it's certainly very good but theres a world of difference between very nasty and 'broken'. The original Gaim list was broken. The 10 Demos fleet is (currently, though from what I've seen of the playtest rules that may be fixed (aside from the potential issue with 'wolf packs') broken, The 10 Saggitarius fleet is broken.

The 5 Whitestar fleet is very very nasty. The Psi corps fleet is very very nasty. Minbari Stealth is very nasty. The 5 shadow scout fleet is very nasty (and incidentally will, for my money, utterly rape the 5 whitestar fleet every single time).

And so on.

It's not a problem specific to ACTA to be honest, it's prevalent in all of gaming, alot of folks are far too quick to call something broken or cheesy if it's a bit better than the average. Even if something is the best in it's class I still wouldnt call it broken unless it's truly so much better that it's giving anyone using a truly unfair advantage. As an example despite much whining I don't believe the current Eldar list in 40k is broken, it's just very nasty. The new Dark Elf and Vampire lists in WFB are also good but not broken. The new high elf list I personally think is but even there theres plenty to argue it isnt.

ACTA I actually think suffers from balance problems far less than certainly GW games but I dont think anyone can honestly argue that all the fleets in ACTA are indeed balanced perfectly or even close to it but I just tend to feel that we as gamers are far to quick to cry 'broken' rather than trying to think of new tactics.

This is I'll grant not a particularly valid argument for a wargame but if you look back to say, World War 2, did the allies spend all their time whining about how 'broken and overpowered' the Bismark was or the Tiger? No they though of cunning plans to overcome them. Now as I've said that was real life and not a game but even still what I'm trying to get at is alot of the time it can make for a more entertaining and realist game if the sides are NOT balanced and you have to think of more original tricks and tactics. And just because something is hard does not mean it's impossible or that Whitestars are broken. They're not. But they should still be boresighted...... <<hides>>

 

[Hindsight]

I appreciate all the comments. It looks like our local B5 group is meeting today afterall, so I will be visiting Game Kastle in San Jose to check them out. I'll have to buy out all their remaining White Stars... and I do have to admit... I will be buying a Sharlin... even if just to paint it and not use it in the place of the five WS list.

Has anyone ever tried to paint the Babylon 5 logo onto a White Star like Sheridan did? I haven't been able to find an image of that online, or I probably would have tried it already. What did you guys think of my White Star, for a first shot at painting a Starship? I'd love some local feedback.

I think I will be building the 5 White Star list, as soon as I can get my hands on five White Stars. Painting the second WS and the Sharlin should occupy me at least for a short while.

Again, thank you for all the comments. I am glad I stumbled upon these forums.

 

[noobdelux]

looks like we have another master painter on board

 

[Hindsight]

I'm flattered. No! I am definetly proud of the way this White Star turned out, but there are things I wish I'd done better. Certain patches of the organic design that look more like I sneezed on the model than proper freehand squiglies... but the nose looks exactly how I want it, and I am happy with the view from the front and top. I definetly cut some corners in areas that aren't as commonly seen.

I do appreciate the compliment very much though =)

 

[noobdelux]

there is a thread over in the painting forum called "what have you painted today"

lots and lots of different photos of painted lead

 

[CZuschlag]

Court Jester now finally has some heavyweight competition for Best Painted Fleet!

That is a sick, sick painting job. Wow.

 

[Triggy]

Agreed, it's one of the few paintschemes on a White Star that I've seen that truely matches the style of the show!!!

Welcome to the game and I hope you enjoy playing and collecting it

If you have any comments or questions, just feel free to ask them here, we're a pretty giving bunch (well, if you don't face me over a battlefield that is...)

 

[l33tpenguin]

Agreed, it's one of the few paintschemes on a White Star that I've seen that truely matches the style of the show!!!

I don't know... it seems a little off color to me...

No, I jest. It looks freaking amazing. The paint job truely deserves all the praise its getting