MBS Podcast Episode 9

[Ruckdog]

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2016/08/01/episode-9/

In Episode 9, Greg and Andy go after a topic both of them have been looking forward to for quite a while: naval videogames! Later, they do an in-depth review of Fantasy Flight's Star Wars Armada miniatures game. Finally, Greg asks Andy a few questions about his impending trip to Gencon!

Naval Videogames: 52 Min

Landlubber’s Musings: 2 Hr 10 Min

Star Wars Armada Review: 2 Hr 17 Min

Ruckdog’€™s Report: 3 Hr 29 Min

Andy's Pre-Gencon Thoughts:3 Hr 35 Min

 

[Quickdraw]

Nice discussion of naval themed videogames.

One of my favorites is the naval combat from Empire: Total War. It is set from 1700 to 1799 so it's definitely the age of sail. Naval combat reminds me of what I think Sails of Glory must be like. When the fleets join battle they face each other directly from a good distance away. You're able to array your ships in various formations, the line being the obvious choice. As the ships come into range they will fire at each other automatically or you can select ships for one or more of your ships to target and they will break formation and follow/target that enemy ship. The game features different cannon shot that you can use, boarding actions, and even magazine explosions. One of the hardest things to get the hang of is the wind direction and maneuvering a line of ships. It's surprisingly difficult and ponderous to move a whole line of ships.
Overall I think they did a great job with the ship to ship combat and it's worth a run if you like grand strategy style games. The rest of the game is fantastic also.

Listening to your descriptions and explanations of Star Wars Armada gave me a pretty similar experience to Greg. I sort of wrote it off when it came out but it sounds really good.

[Ruckdog]

Glad you enjoyed the episode! The Total War series is one I have not played, but its been on my list to try for ages. Sounds like they captured the intricacies of Age of Sail combat pretty well. As for SW Armada, you should definitely give it a try sometime! As I said on the show, I really wish I had more opportunities to play it, as it is a lot of fun.

[Dakkar]

Into the Armada segment now, and dang it, you guys are making me want to play. Its that dial/advance planning element I really liked from the FFG demo at Adepticon.
What's kept me away is the "only 2 faction" element, the costs, and the perceived balance issues I've heard (that Empire way outclasses Rebels). Given that the GC finals were Imperials, and the last store tourney had NOT ONE Rebel player, that latter concern may be true.