Firestorm Beta announced

[Zephyr Station 141]

Hello all,

The beta rules for Firestorm Armada will release on 6 May 2020.   See the announcement, and some ship sketches in the Warcradle blog post

https://blog.warcradle.com/blog/2020/warcradle-studios-diary-25

ZS

[Charistoph 121]

A considerable change to the Veydreth ships there. 

 

And the fighters seem to be more 3D than was presented by Spartan, so will they be raised like Dropfleet or will you be sticking with the tokens of yesteryear?

[Zephyr Station 141]

Stuart has said in the past that he was not a fan of micro-dice, so I would guess that they are more of a miniature, and not a token like we have in 2nd edition.

[Pok 2,710]

Oh heck, those veydreth and sorylian designs are so much more inspired than the previous sketches. I'm glad it's nearing testing phase for the possible release.

[murphy'slawofcombat 130]

how and when do we sign up for the Beta?

[Zephyr Station 141]

Details are still thin at this point.   May 6 is the release date.  If DW is any measure, it will be an open beta, with a web page to submit feedback.  That's my guess, at least.

[Brimat 176]

Those sorylian ships look sweet, now i am tempted to update my fleet.   

[Small Mek 53]

55 minutes ago, Brimat said:

Those sorylian ships look sweet, now i am tempted to update my fleet.   

Why update, when you can expand?
Unfortunately so far I prefer the more grounded versions, but if I know myself well enough, my opinion will change after I see the models in person

Until that time, I'm waiting for the 6th of May.

I wonder if the date is intentionally that close to may the 4th........ :D 

[Fluffhunter 42]

Its good to finally see the Firestorm universe brought back. I'm ready for rampant  and mostly baseless speculation about the future .

Does the new and prominent Veydreth designs indicate that they will have a more prominent role in the future of firestorm? I could see them becoming the backbone of a new consolidated faction of former minor races, as part of a move towards the new free for all setup of the background.

[Commodore Jones 529]

I'm not sure about the new Veydreth designs, they look like a weird hybrid of Relthoza and Oroshan.

[Charistoph 121]

To be fair, what comes out on the model does not always match what is presented in such previews.  Still, I had to double check that they were Veydreth.  These designs do not really match their older designs.  The older ones seemed bulky (in a good way) to hold the "star dragons" while these seem from another race entirely.

Of course time may have moved on.  One couldn't take the Sopwith Camels of WW1 and really compare them to the Harrier jets of more modern day.  Or how about the ships of the line 200 years ago versus the warships of today?  They may be incorporating more Relthozan and Oroshan tech in their ships.  It would make for an interesting story, at least.

[Pok 2,710]

Most of the minor races had aesthetics so poorly defined or generic it's not really a big loss to start completely from scratch. I like those, they make me think of Evangelion and the hoopfish from Subnautica.

[murphy'slawofcombat 130]

what it boils down to is  either you like them or hate them I find them different .  I did like the Spartan Terran's more to my liking . Warcradle is a new company and I must understand that their designs will be different .I just hope that they will not be too radical from the origenal design concept 

[Bessemer 340]

The new Veydreth remind a bit of the Asari ships from Mass Effect, only with the holes side-on. The Sorylian look a little closer to the V1 ships than the later ones.

[SageofLodoss 17]

Are thing still on this schedule or have things been affected by the worldwide issues?

[murphy'slawofcombat 130]

I am hoping that covid19 does not interfear with the beta test . although in my case it just might i have no one here in Pa who is interested in Firestorm . and the only game store is in Harrisburg . It is closed till further notice. I am hoping that things will clear before then so I can get up there and get things going .  

[Charistoph 121]

My local stores are supposed to open in May, but that may still be changed.  Even then, the nearest one was still high on Warhammers and Star Wars, so I don't know how far Firestorm may go.

[murphy'slawofcombat 130]

it does not look good here in Pa  Gov. Wolf imposed a little stricter rules here. i don't know when we will be opening up . guess i'll be doing things on my own. 

[Charistoph 121]

My nearest shop just posted saying they aren't even sure how much they will open, even if the governor decides to go full clearance.  They did a slow close where they shut down the game room and the hobby room, but leaving the shop area open.  Then they did just curb-side service till full shut-down, then they arranged for online gift certificates for the meanwhile.  They are talking about doing a reversal of the previous, with curb-side service, after installing some anti-bug measures.

As it is, only a couple counties have been hit hard in my state (Arizona has a whole lot of empty space with very few people living there), leaving the metropolises the ones that are any real concern.  Downside is that I live on the outskirts of the largest one. 

[Zephyr Station 141]

A good reminder to support your FLGS when you can, recognizing that we all need to be financially careful these days.

We have some local shops (Utah) that are still open, but I fear they need to open up soon, or they will go under.

 

[alextroy 582]

For those of you who didn't read the blog post, the Beta is delayed by COVID-19. They have said they will start sharing portions of the rules before the Beta, which has no definite start date at this point.

[murphy'slawofcombat 130]

Yes, I was very disapointed in the news when that came out ... I hope they do not put it off too long . 

[alextroy 582]

If you are looking for some Firestorm Armada content to tide yourself over until the Beta, join the Black Ocean Facebook group. Stuart is dropping tidbits of info like a broken faucet over there. A few teasers:

• 8 Factions include the Terran Directorate, Sorylians, Relthoza, Dindrenzi, Veydreth, Bakash, and presumedly the Aquans. No word on our mysterious 8th faction
• Ships have 6 Arcs of Fire!?!
• The Terran Directorate seem to have absorbed most of the human factions, including the Syndicate
• The Veydreth homeworld is Oroshon
• Apparently Energy Shields don't work on Kinetic Weapon
• Mines are not a big thing in the Storm Zone

And I am sure there is more I don't recall.

[Commodore Jones 529]

It's going to be hex!?!  

No!

HELL NO!

I am NOT going out and buying hex map mats, or drawing all over my starfield table cloths!

Edit:  Just remembered having to re-base over 300+ models with hex bases now too.  NOT!

This proves it, Firestorm is still following the good/bad/good/bad edition pattern.  v1.0 Good, v1.5 Bad, v2.0 Good, v3 Bad.

 

[Zephyr Station 141]

Actually, we're on the good side of that cycle.

v1 Good

v1.5 Bad

v2 Good

Spartan v3 Bad

WC v3 Good...?

Seriously though, they have never said that they were going to do a hex map.  That's conjecture from someone with a pretty big axe to grind, so I wouldn't take those statements as nearing reality.  For the hex bases, yeah, I can see that is an expense.  Let's see how it's implemented before freaking out too much.