[Battlefleet Gothic: Armada] Warnavy Germanic: Flotilla

Lord_Asmodeus

Battlefleet Gothic Armada is space-based RTS fleet game based on the Battlefleet Gothic tabletop game created and owned by Games Workshop as part of the Warhammer 40k universe (namely the part with the giant spaceships)

Battlefleet Gothic is of course, being an RTS, not an exact translation like some other games (like the Blood Bowl games by Cyanide), and it is being made by Tindalos interactive.

The game is starting with the four main factions playable multiplayer, the Imperials, Chaos, Orks, and Eldar though the campaign only allows you to play as the Imperials, defending the titular Gothic Sector from a Chaos invasion by Warmaster Abaddon with Chaos and Eldar pirates causing trouble throughout the sector. In a departure from the way the Tabletop worked you will be allowed to customize individual ships armaments to your liking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dot-EdnkIkM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWteWul9cBE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DspNXEY1esc

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/01/21/first-look-battlefleet-gothic-armada/

So, who else is excited for this? Battlefleet Gothic is my favorite Games Workshop property and I actually have a decent fleet (Assuming I haven't lost any ships and get around to re-gluing the base on my Grand Cruiser) so personally I'm really looking forward to this game (and crossing my fingers super hard for an in depth ship/fleet painter)

Kadoken

I've never been totally interested in these types of games (my friend tried to get me in the sea version of Dystopian Wars and I was meh on it) but the game looks cool.

Though I thought 40k ships fought from a much farther distance away, but that might be a gameplay concession. I don't know much about naval battles in 40k anyway.

Lord_Asmodeus

I don't know exactly how they're planning on handling it in Armada though I assume they'll use a similar take as the tabletop did where it basically explains that the actual location of your ships is basically the center of the base/the top of the stand and not the actual model, and that the distances are like every centimeter is actually thousands of kilometers away, and so the models are just artistic license. So in "Reality" those ships are much farther away than they appear to be most likely.

Kadoken

Does 40k having dogfighting space ships? I know the Imperial Guard (or maybe Navy) have the equivalent of atmospheric warplanes like fighters and bombers.

Lord_Asmodeus

There are fighters/bombers and the like and they count as ordinance in the tabletop of BFG.

see317

Really liked the chaos ship transformations according to their allegiance.

Wonder if that will have any affect on the ships performance (maybe Khorne does more damage, Nurgle can take more damage before losing decks, Tzeentch ships move faster/more maneuverable that kind of thing).
Also wonder if the other factions will have similar versions of their ships for different fleet decorations/colors.

So many questions!

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

I don't know exactly how they're planning on handling it in Armada though I assume they'll use a similar take as the tabletop did where it basically explains that the actual location of your ships is basically the center of the base/the top of the stand and not the actual model, and that the distances are like every centimeter is actually thousands of kilometers away, and so the models are just artistic license. So in "Reality" those ships are much farther away than they appear to be most likely.

At least until you hit the "Ramming Speed!" button, anyway.

Lord_Asmodeus

see317 wrote: »

Really liked the chaos ship transformations according to their allegiance.

Wonder if that will have any affect on the ships performance (maybe Khorne does more damage, Nurgle can take more damage before losing decks, Tzeentch ships move faster/more maneuverable that kind of thing).
Also wonder if the other factions will have similar versions of their ships for different fleet decorations/colors.

So many questions!

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

I don't know exactly how they're planning on handling it in Armada though I assume they'll use a similar take as the tabletop did where it basically explains that the actual location of your ships is basically the center of the base/the top of the stand and not the actual model, and that the distances are like every centimeter is actually thousands of kilometers away, and so the models are just artistic license. So in "Reality" those ships are much farther away than they appear to be most likely.

At least until you hit the "Ramming Speed!" button, anyway.

I'm pretty sure those ships have Chaos Marks which should probably have some effect.

And yes, but you could only ram in base to base, and you'd have to pass a leadership test partly to convince your crew to actually send your 8 kilometer long metal cathedral slamming into the other guys ship, and partly to make sure you actually line up correctly to ram the tiny dot you can barely pick out with your eyes :P

Turkey

I am shocked Relic isn't making this.

stopgap

I just want to know what relic is doing. I feel that they have done the best by far with their access to the ip.

Lord_Asmodeus

"Well they're owned by Sega now, so maybe they're working on some space RTS sonic game :P

Lord_Asmodeus

No major news that I've heard but here's some new screenshots showcasing the Orks!

http://forum.battlefleetgothic-armada.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=50

TOGSolid

Holy shit that is gorgeous.

Lord_Asmodeus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfBjZTm8IV4

Lord_Asmodeus

Now a narrative trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl4hAD_xhn0

Edit: Also this!

http://steamcommunity.com/games/363680/announcements/detail/698424015498472135

We are thrilled to announce the beginning of pre-orders for Battlefleet Gothic: Armada!

In order to reward the commitment of players who will support us during the pre-order phase, and those who will join the community during the first couple of months following the game's launch, we decided to offer to these early adopters, for free, an additional faction - the Space Marines - which will be available to play a few weeks after launch.

This additional faction will be playable in battles played in both Multiplayer modes and in skirmish against the AI. Players who pre-order the game will also receive access to the Multiplayer Beta, that will start a few weeks before the official launch.

Finally, we would like to remind you that until Friday evening, Games Workshop has a place of honour on Steam with exceptional discounts. This is the perfect opportunity to pre-order Battlefleet Gothic: Armada (10% off).

The Ender

...The grognard in me does not like the depiction of the Ork ships.


Orks are supposed to be basically flung around space in roks and/or space hulks. I don't think the lore has ever specifically said that there is no ork armada... but it's pretty heavily implied.

Lord_Asmodeus

There's been Ork ships since at least 1999 when the tabletop BFG first started. And honestly why shouldn't they have ships? They can build buggies and tanks and giant titan-esque warmachines, ships just the logical step in Dakka.

bobAkirafett

Bolt enough armor plates to a big enough rokkit and you have a space ship.

WotanAnubis

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

There's been Ork ships since at least 1999 when the tabletop BFG first started. And honestly why shouldn't they have ships? They can build buggies and tanks and giant titan-esque warmachines, ships just the logical step in Dakka.

Ork machinery is creaking junk literally held together by magic dust and fairy dreams.

Like, I can accept a bunch of Orks all jumping onto a meteorite and slamming it into the next world they want to fight, but the idea of such a professional-looking, official Ork armada is...

I was about to say 'silly', but this is 40K. Perhaps I should go with 'not very Orky'.

taliosfalcon

I'm so torn on this, the screenshots/videos look awesome, then i look at the other games the developers made and they're all terrible and it's like..."oh..."

Lord_Asmodeus

WotanAnubis wrote: »

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

There's been Ork ships since at least 1999 when the tabletop BFG first started. And honestly why shouldn't they have ships? They can build buggies and tanks and giant titan-esque warmachines, ships just the logical step in Dakka.

Ork machinery is creaking junk literally held together by magic dust and fairy dreams.

Like, I can accept a bunch of Orks all jumping onto a meteorite and slamming it into the next world they want to fight, but the idea of such a professional-looking, official Ork armada is...

I was about to say 'silly', but this is 40K. Perhaps I should go with 'not very Orky'.

Ork machinery is surprisingly sophisticated and technology made from assorted scrap and literal wishful thinking. The fact that there is any consistent terminology in the kinds of Ork vehicles that exist shows they have at least some idea how to make different vehicles do different things, even if realistically they're all pretty unique, they still fall into basic categories, like "tank" and "transport". The same goes for the ships. Of course ships of a single class look similar, just like every battlewagon looks similar unless you go the trouble of converting it out of/with other stuff.

Similarly, a Kill Kroozer is a "class" of Ork ship, which is to say it's a very vague classification for a range of essentially unique vessels of generally similar size and capability. I don't think having actual spaceships with real guns and the like is somehow less orky than making Stompas and Gargants and every other vehicle Orks make. Sure it's just scrap thrown together, but when you throw the scrap together into a tank-shape usually using tank scrap then it's a tank. Similarly if you throw a bunch of scrap together in space into something like a spaceship, often out of pieces of blown up spaceships well then you just made a spaceship.

Basil

A space ship is basically a less complicated Titan with fire out one end. What's in'erstellar travel next ter legs awer articulated arms wiv guns on, anyway?

Nuffin, tha's what!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whxcq4I0kAo

The Ender

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

WotanAnubis wrote: »

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

There's been Ork ships since at least 1999 when the tabletop BFG first started. And honestly why shouldn't they have ships? They can build buggies and tanks and giant titan-esque warmachines, ships just the logical step in Dakka.

Ork machinery is creaking junk literally held together by magic dust and fairy dreams.

Like, I can accept a bunch of Orks all jumping onto a meteorite and slamming it into the next world they want to fight, but the idea of such a professional-looking, official Ork armada is...

I was about to say 'silly', but this is 40K. Perhaps I should go with 'not very Orky'.

Ork machinery is surprisingly sophisticated and technology made from assorted scrap and literal wishful thinking. The fact that there is any consistent terminology in the kinds of Ork vehicles that exist shows they have at least some idea how to make different vehicles do different things, even if realistically they're all pretty unique, they still fall into basic categories, like "tank" and "transport". The same goes for the ships. Of course ships of a single class look similar, just like every battlewagon looks similar unless you go the trouble of converting it out of/with other stuff.

Similarly, a Kill Kroozer is a "class" of Ork ship, which is to say it's a very vague classification for a range of essentially unique vessels of generally similar size and capability. I don't think having actual spaceships with real guns and the like is somehow less orky than making Stompas and Gargants and every other vehicle Orks make. Sure it's just scrap thrown together, but when you throw the scrap together into a tank-shape usually using tank scrap then it's a tank. Similarly if you throw a bunch of scrap together in space into something like a spaceship, often out of pieces of blown up spaceships well then you just made a spaceship.

Well, Gargants & Stompas are a little different because they're totemic effigies to Gork & Mork, and presumably granted animation by those same deities.


I dunno; for some reason I just prefer the idea of Orks flinging themselves around on roks & riding around on hulks, and every once in a while snitching an Apocalypse by slamming a hulk into it, to the idea of them having full naval armadas.

But yeah, that's a grognardy complaint and it's not my fiction to set the rules for.


Crossing my fingers for the game - I do like my space navy battles.

TOGSolid

My mantra for this game has consistently been "please don't suck." I don't have high hopes but I can dream. Unfortunately we also all know what happens to overly ambitious dreams when exposed to the warp.

Syngyne

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

We are thrilled to announce the beginning of pre-orders for Battlefleet Gothic: Armada!

In order to reward the commitment of players who will support us during the pre-order phase, and those who will join the community during the first couple of months following the game's launch, we decided to offer to these early adopters, for free, an additional faction - the Space Marines - which will be available to play a few weeks after launch.

Litany of Litany's Litany confirmed in game

Lord_Asmodeus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63qOrP4WtFg

Chaos!

Gnome-Interruptus

I decided to pick this up because I am a sucker for the 40K IP, but I have fears that this will turn into another Regicide.

If the singleplayer is good, at least it will scratch my space battles itch, and keep me from ever returning to EVE.

Gnome-Interruptus

Ever since I heard about this game, I suddenly cannot wait for it to be available, and now I'm trying to think of some way I can do a gigantic multi-game campaign with other players that combines this with Relics Dawn of War series.

Gnome-Interruptus

Was really hoping the devs would put out a new video of Eldar / Orks / etc today.

The devs are still somewhat active on their official forums, and I signed up for their twitter, I just really want to find out what their official release date is.

Currently most of the dev / management team is at a games con somewhere, hoping we get more info soon.

Lord_Asmodeus

Yeah, I'd like to see a full roster/description for them. I hope that they'll have all of the Eldar ships (at least, all of the Eldar Pirate ships) including Battleships. I have no reason to believe they won't but I'd still like confirmation.

Astale

Aren't the elder pirate ships their own faction or something?

I ask this as someone who only has experienced 40k through video games, and not the tabletop.

Lord_Asmodeus

Astale wrote: »

Aren't the elder pirate ships their own faction or something?

I ask this as someone who only has experienced 40k through video games, and not the tabletop.

The main Eldar fleet presented in BFG is mainly the Corsairs fleets (though this doesn't preclude them from also being Craftworld ships/fleets) but there are explicitly Craftworld defense ships as well, though only a few different kinds. I don't know if they would be added to the Eldar from the start (I sort of think they probably won't be)

Gnome-Interruptus

Looks like some internet trawling has turned up a possible release date:

Amazon is offering a boxed version on Mar 31( http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01B92MZZU )

Which means the online early access may be as soon as Mar 23

Lord_Asmodeus

Here's a preview of the game and a look at the combat in action

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw5V2O7jQJU

Gnome-Interruptus

It looks like the Multiplayer Beta begins this Thursday March 10th.

Super excited!

MrBody

SO glad they didn't decide to go with "true 3D" like so many space RTS games think are a good idea. I've never played one where the hassle of it is worth whatever additional options you get.

Gnome-Interruptus

Yep, as much as space is a 3D environment, all battles are going to be about either closing with the enemy, or creating distance, which can easily be represented on a flat game board.

The only time this gets in the way is if you are trying to create a 3D firing line, but I don't think that is worth the extra hassle and difficulty in controls.

MrBody

I remember this game from 2004, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident. The interface actually looked a lot like Gothic here.

It tried the 3D approach, but the interface handled it so horribly that the only effective movement commands were "close distance with target" and "increase distance with targets".

So it ended up going for 3D and ironically turned it into 1D.

Lord_Asmodeus

I really liked Nexus the Jupiter Incident...

Though I may have liked it a lot more if it was Imperium Galactica 3 like it was supposed to be.

But so far BFG is looking good. One thing I'm wondering about is how the guy mentioned that you start with Light Cruisers in the skirmish/multiplayer thing and earn renown for bigger ships, but Chaos don't have Light Cruisers as far as I know (though I think Eldar and Orks do, actually) so I wonder how they'll handle that.

Gnome-Interruptus

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

I really liked Nexus the Jupiter Incident...

Though I may have liked it a lot more if it was Imperium Galactica 3 like it was supposed to be.

But so far BFG is looking good. One thing I'm wondering about is how the guy mentioned that you start with Light Cruisers in the skirmish/multiplayer thing and earn renown for bigger ships, but Chaos don't have Light Cruisers as far as I know (though I think Eldar and Orks do, actually) so I wonder how they'll handle that.

We will find out on Thursday, but I think he meant you start with Light Cruisers, as in, those are what you start placing first?

It sounds like Renown is simply earned for the difference between the value of your fleet and your opponents.

Not sure where the multiplayer/skirmish starts out, but it would make sense if you had a limited battle value, but I doubt it would be so small as to eliminate a faction like that. So maybe it starts out where Chaos is limited to a single naked Cruiser, and other races have multiple Light Cruisers.

DarkMecha

Lord_Asmodeus wrote: »

I really liked Nexus the Jupiter Incident...

Though I may have liked it a lot more if it was Imperium Galactica 3 like it was supposed to be.

But so far BFG is looking good. One thing I'm wondering about is how the guy mentioned that you start with Light Cruisers in the skirmish/multiplayer thing and earn renown for bigger ships, but Chaos don't have Light Cruisers as far as I know (though I think Eldar and Orks do, actually) so I wonder how they'll handle that.

I really liked Nexus TJI too. I agree the UI wasn't so good but man the battles were fun. I found the sound effects and tactical depth memorable.

Also I find it rather nice to hear people enjoy space battles that take place on a 2D plane, given what I am developing. I share your feelings, the 3D aspect often doesn't do much to enhance the strategy of things. However I must say that I have the urge to buck that trend and develop a game where the 3D aspect does add true tactical depth in a fun way. I'd do it with my current one but I went with sprites because I don't own a 3D modelling package and 2D is way faster to develop than 3D.

Anyways, hoping BFG turns out awesome as I always love me some 40k and space battles.

MrBody

Is this really on track to be released this month? There's still no specific date on the steam page and no screenshots showing the other 2 factions.