so, can we have a "system update"

[H]

from someone in the know, kinda like, for you B5 acta players, here is whats different?
blah
blah
etc

and heres whats the same

and here is what you always wanted but it never quite seemed to pan out, so now to get it you need to buy this new game....

when i started reading a new edition of one of the games i play, this was like page 5 bringing the old user up to speed so they could skip to relevant sections of the new rules. .... now maybe this exists in the book, until i get to read one, i won't know...

 

[Greg Smith]

What's the same:

Movement: 100% identical.

Shooting : works the same - you roll AD, compare to hull, factor in traits. Traits are a little different though. Shields are factored in before you roll damage. Ranges are a little longer. Most weaponry is in the side arcs, which means fleets don't approach head on. There is no boresight arc anymore.

Damage: you still roll to see if you get a critical/satndard/or a bulkhead.

Criticals are different. They have progressive tracks. The effects are similar though. No hits will take out all your weapons in one lucky shot.

Traits: There are many familiar traits. And some new ones. A few work just the same but have new names. No beams.

Boarding: this an important part of the game. Boarding is conducted by grappiling enemy ships. It is possible to capture and immediately use an enemy ship.

Special Actions: they work just like they always did. A few have vanished. There are a couple of new ones for boarding and shields.

Fighters are very similar. Heavy fighter weaponry is one-shot and needs to be reloaded by a carrier. Light fighters can't damage shielded ships.

Stellar Debris is pretty much the same.

Scenarios and Campaigns are very similar.

Fleets & ships: it is points based. It is possible to upgrade troops on ships. The fleets have similar ships (explorer, frigate, galliot, destroyer, cruiser etc) but with differing weapons and speeds.

Anything specific you want to know, ask away.

 

[H]

Many thanks Mr greg

the Boarding. Has it become a key component of the game and a more appropriate way to win, or is it difficult to pull off, with a relative risk/reward approach. I have seen it mentione in more threads in a couple of weeks than it ever was for B5.

mostly sounds like improvements, but would hate to see a scenario where it becomes boarding, counter boarding and counter counter boarding.

 

[starbreaker]

Boarding is decisive - you can immediately start using any ship you capture, and you get half value in VPs for destroying ships, versus full value for captures. It's not especially hard to pull off if you're pursuing it as a prime strategy (ie taking galliots and upgrading troops) but a careful player can limit the impact, mostly by launching counterattacks against weakened targets. Shooting galliots to death after they've grappled but before they've offloaded their troops also works pretty well IME - there is a brief window of opportunity to do because of the turn sequence.

 

[H]

mmmmmmm, am I concerned or not here?

 

[starbreaker]

Couldn't tell you. If you're expecting Babylon 5 you're out of luck. If you're expecting Fading Suns with a high importance of boarding actions, careful maneuver, and broadside weaponry, the new ACTA does a pretty good job. It's less detailed than the old Holistic version but plays much faster and handles more ships without straining.

 

[Greg Smith]

Boarding can be a key component. I have played several games where boarding didn't happen at all. A single boarding action may not win the game, and in fact might tie up a ship for several turns that might otherwise be shooting.

I will bring my book along to the tourney on Saturday, so you can have a look.

 

[H]

Boarding can be a key component. I have played several games where boarding didn't happen at all. A single boarding action may not win the game, and in fact might tie up a ship for several turns that might otherwise be shooting.

I will bring my book along to the tourney on Saturday, so you can have a look.

most gracious god sir, most gracious.

 

[lastbesthope]

Boarding can be a key component. I have played several games where boarding didn't happen at all. A single boarding action may not win the game, and in fact might tie up a ship for several turns that might otherwise be shooting.

I will bring my book along to the tourney on Saturday, so you can have a look.

Indeed, I agree with Greg in that boarding doesn't always come in to play, unless you're in a tourney and trying to maximise VP differential for tourney points, in my experience boarding only becomes important when someone starts it and then you have to counter attack and or wade in too. Until someone 'flinches'and boards, you can quite happily keep pounding away at each other with guns.

LBH

 

[Rick]

It may sound simplistic, but the 2 games play quite differently. I've discussed the 2 games with a friend of mine as we've been playing both - ACTA: B5 could benefit from the new critical system, but apart from that, they are 2 different games. Because you can use boarded ships immediately, boarding can swing the game in your favour if done well!

 

[Clanger]

Boarding is important part. It is not just gaining an extra ship, it is denigning the oppenent a ship as well. It is quite powerful capturing ships in a game.

Losing an initiative sink is bad, gaining one is even better .

 

[locarno24]

Losing an initiative sink is bad, gaining one is even better

Not so much of a big deal now. With boresight gone, initiative sinks are less of a gamebreaker than they were, especially since you can 'jump' another ship with grapnel lines - meaning you ideally want to move first in some cases.

The fact that grapnel guns mean you can board an intact ship is a big deal compared to ACTA 2E. It's also important because of the shields mechanic - ships in NA can take quite a kicking without suffering permanent damage. Actually hurting big ships with light vessels can be very difficult and the ability to swarm a heavily armed dreadnought with troops rather than try and match it in a gunfight (heavy meson cannon, you say?) is rather tempting.

I don't think it's a compulsory part of the game, but it's a lot easier to make it a core strategy than it was in ACTA 2E - where....what? A load of patrol points of breaching pods, I guess, was about your only bet. Here, a galliot squadron packed with elite marines instantly makes even dreadnought crews nervous.

 

[Greg Smith]

ACTA: B5 could benefit from the new critical system,

Da Boss did an adaption of this based on an earlier playtest version of the crits.