What is Starmada? Anyone play other Space Themed games?

DorianGray · Post by **DorianGray** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 12:57 pm

Hi,

I've noticed a new product called Starmada on the site. What is it? Is it a new set of rules to model exceptionally large fleet battles to complete in a shorter time? Should be interesting if it is so I can now fight 40 + ship battles in less than 5 hours..

Separate question.

Does anyone who play the Fed. Com. system play any other space combat system or space game such as Battlefleet Gothic and Twilight Imperium? Federation Commander was my first space game but these two have caught my eye. One being more of a civilizational game that has tremendous dept and is apparently the most popular space boardgame by a huge game company (Fantasy Flight games)

I know most of the posters in this forum are hard-core SFB/FedCom die-hard loyalists but I was just wondering if they tried out other games too.

wedge_hammersteel · Post by **wedge_hammersteel** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 2:35 pm

This website will give you a little more information until someone who has played Klingon Armada comes along.

http://www.starfleetgames.com/starmada.shtml

Hod K'el · Post by **Hod K'el** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 5:48 pm

I play BFG & TI3. Would love to convert some of the BFG into FC as alien ships from the far side of the universe. Fighter conversions would be a nightmare (operation in this game system verses the other).

Full Thrust is okay for the fighter to fighter action, but not for ship to ship.

Babylon 5 Fleet Action is okay, but not as logical as FC...but FC is not as logical as SFB...and you can do so many more things in SFB as compared to FC...mines, SWACs, MRS, scatterpacks, fire per impulse which would be fire per subpulse in FC...

DorianGray · Post by **DorianGray** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:45 pm

Well it seems the problem with most space games in general is finding opponents.

At least SFB/Fed.Com. is actively supported by an active community and a company that makes new products every year. Battlefleet Gothic has basically been put on life-support by GW for the past 7 years with nothing new released.

oh well. Starmada seems like some weird alternative rule set by a unknown fringe company. Anyone have experience with their rules? seem best avoided.

terryoc · Post by **terryoc** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:56 pm

I've noticed a new product called Starmada on the site. What is it? Is it a new set of rules to model exceptionally large fleet battles to complete in a shorter time? Should be interesting if it is so I can now fight 40 + ship battles in less than 5 hours..

Starmada bills itself as "The universal game of starship combat". The full Starmada rules can be likened to a toolbox you can use to simulate the ships from any universe you like. The Star Fleet Universe, Babylon 5, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, whatever. Klingon Armada is the basic Starmada rules, plus special universe-specific rules, and enough ships to get you in trouble. I don't know how long a 40+ ship battle would take in Klingon Armada, but certainly it'd take a heck of a lot less time than in FC, and DAYS less time than in SFB

You do NOT need to buy the main Starmada rulebook to play Klingon Armada. Klingon Armada has all you need. That said, the main rules have things like terrain and other options you might want to try when you are familiar with KA.

Does anyone who play the Fed. Com. system play any other space combat system or space game such as Battlefleet Gothic and Twilight Imperium? Federation Commander was my first space game but these two have caught my eye. One being more of a civilizational game that has tremendous dept and is apparently the most popular space boardgame by a huge game company (Fantasy Flight games)

I used to play Battlefleet Gothic, it's basically WWI ships in space, simple system, a bit "meh..." from my POV. Starmada's better at that IMO. Twilight Imperium I've never played but heard good things about.

Kang · Post by **Kang** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 7:59 pm

Looks to me like a set of forms to fill in, without any of the 'real' feel of Fed Commander or SFB. Where's the romance in filling in a form? <ducks to avoid objects thrown by SFB veterans>

wedge_hammersteel · Post by **wedge_hammersteel** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 8:42 pm

I am going to try out Klingon Armada. I want to see how the multi ship fleet battles play out.

I have to put some real effort in keeping track of more than three ships in FC and not get them confused.

Dan Ibekwe · Post by **Dan Ibekwe** » Fri Nov 27, 2009 10:12 pm

(Looks around for objects to throw)

I've played Full Thrust occaisionally; it's fast moving, but does not have much in the way of tactical depth. I never really liked the written simultaneous moves.

Agents of Gaming's Babylon 5 Wars worked after a fashion, but was slowed down by a plethora of special rules for each weapon, and as many as five or six different weapon systems on each ship. Working out a 'to-hit' score could take five steps for each shot, which was less than ideal. It also had a vector movement system with vectors unknown to Sir Isaac.

Mongoose's A Call to Arms (they got the B5 miniatures games licence after AoG lost it) was simple and fast moving, but suffered from balance issues and perpetual re-writing. Its Second Edition cured most of the problems, and having got it more or less right, Mongoose promptly abandoned the game and dropped the licence.

Wolverin61 · Post by **Wolverin61** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:24 am

Haven't played any of the other games mentioned, just SFB and FC, but I've been curious about other games and game systems myself. Lately I've been wondering about Squadron Strike. They used to have an article online where they played a Squadron Strike game of Federation vs. Cylons at Origins but I can't find it now.

OGOPTIMUS · Post by **OGOPTIMUS** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 1:30 am

I've played BFG and A Call To Arms. A Call To Arms always seemed like Gothic 2.0 to me. Pretty much the same game with different names for weapons and ships.

Fairly fun though. Easy to setup and play quickly a few times in one evening.

Scoutdad · Post by **Scoutdad** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 2:30 am

I've played SS; even helped convert a couple of the SFB ships over to SS format for the Cyclon v. everybody else game at Origins 08.

The 3D movement system used is a totally differnt animal, but it's not as bad as everyone would think at first... more or less. The play aids do 99.44% of the math for you so you can concentrate on playing.

And concentrate you do need to do for the first few games. During my first game, I was barey able to wrap my head around moving in all three dimensions at once... The second game was a bit easier. I knew the basics, but consolidating vectors at the end of end turn still threw me for a lood, as did determining the actual thrust direction when combining rolls and pivots with acceleration and pre-existing movement vectors... ARRRGH!
The third game saw a breakthrough on vector consolidation, but actually making the ship go where I wanted it to, at the speeed I wanted, the first time around still eluded me. I kept having to make sweeping turns to actually get where I should have been able to go straight to...

Some time around the 5th or 6th game, I had an ephinany and everything "clicked". I'm no movement expert, but at least now I can both determine how to get my ship where I want it and have a fair approximation of where the others guys ship will be, based on his previous vectors and his abiltiy to maneuver this turn.

As for the other mechanical aspects, shooting bearing to your target is a simple extension of the plotting reauirements... Determining which weapons bear is a bit more complicated than SFB or FC - but not enough to really be noticable.

The actual combat / damage rules are very easy.

And as previously stated, it can be adapted to any system you desire... you can even mix and match systems to have a Cylons v. Federation battle, or as was done at Origins '09 - Boneheads v Boneheads (B5's Minbari vs TNG's Kligons.) - all in 3D.

But to get back on topic... Klingon Armada. I've played one Fed Ca v Klingon D& battle - but I ran both ships. Yes Tony, a lot of it seems to be "fill out a form and fight", but if you're doing 3 or less ships a side - you'd be using FC anyway. I can certainly see where 2 or 3 or 4 people could do a 40 ship battle in a single afternoon.

While not as detailed as SFB (or even FC), it really doesn't seem to lose a lot of the flavor of the SFU - although that could be the F&E player in me talking.
I can see the progression of games:
Prime Direction - just a few personnel from one SFU unit.
Star Fleet Battles - one ship v. one ship.
Fed Commander - Squadron v. Squadron.
Klingon Armada - Task Force v. Task Force.
Fed and Empire - Everybody and everything v. everyone and everything else.

While each has a differnt "Feel", all are part of the SFU and therefore will have a bit of that SFU feel. Take it from someone who plays them all; Fed Comm doesn't have the same feel as SFB, although it's close. Fed and Empire doesn't have the same feel as SFB, although you can still see the roots of the SFU in it.

Give KA a chance, I think you'll find that it excels at what it's designed for; and does so w/o losing that jen ne sais quoi that makes it uniquely ADB and SFU.

Wolverin61 · Post by **Wolverin61** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 2:53 am

Guys, thanks for your explanations and comments on the different games and rule systems. The more I read about them, the more I think I should just stick to FC, for now anyway. Just now getting to where I feel like I somewhat know the FC rules enough to not get them confused with SFB anymore anyway.

djdood · Post by **djdood** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 4:37 am

I'm going ot be picking up KA, but I have a feeling FC is going to stay my main-vein.

Lawn Dart · Post by **Lawn Dart** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 4:57 pm

I picked up Fed Com a couple of years ago, but after I tried to demo it to a couple of gaming friends, none of them wanted to play as it sounded too complex/fiddly - even though they are big Trek fans. I just got Klingon Armada last week, and expect to run a demo game within a couple of weeks as the level of complexity is more what my friends are looking for.

It's not just about finding a ruleset that matches the size of the engagement you want to simulate, its also about find a ruleset of a complexity that your gaming group is willing to play.

Wolverin61 · Post by **Wolverin61** » Sun Nov 29, 2009 2:15 am

One thing about Starmada/Klingon Armada, they're not pricey like some other games.