Holy Halo Batman!

[Dakkar]

If a ship overhangs the flight stand by like 6-8 inches, then placement issues become rather extreme.
"I'd be in boarding action range, but the least distrubance rule now means I'm 10" away..."  :-)

Then again, maybe they'll do a "lateral" displacement rule to compensate.

[Quickdraw]

Oh good call on that. They are rather long.

[Landlubber]

I can only assume that Spartan has done their homework with this, both for aesthetic and playability. So I'm not too worried about overly-large ships.

Plus, to me, it's a win-win situation: we're going to have a Halo tabletop game (win), and the models may be so big they're a bit cumbersome, meaning they'll look great all painted up on my hobby shelf (win).

 

[Landlubber]

Word on the Spartan forums is that the Halo fleet game and the ground game will both be shown the Salute gaming convention in the UK, which is on 25 April (next Saturday). So hopefully we'll see some pictures of both games after that event.

[Ruckdog]

Man, it sounds like Salute is going to be a good show to go to this year! I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for those pics.

[Quickdraw]

I saw this thread on the Spartan Forum.

http://community.spartangames.co.uk/index.php?/topic/13971-halo-fleet-battles/#entry251430

It has information directly from the latest email newsletter, which I didn't seem to get yet...
Looks good.

[Ruckdog]

Here is the email referenced in the link:

The Halo: Fleet Battles, The Fall of Reach two player battle box is the ultimate way for fans of the Halo Universe to recreate pivotal space battles between the stalwart forces of the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) and the relentless Covenant  armada. Developed in close cooperation with 343 Industries, The Fall of Reach puts you at the centre of the most pivotal naval conflict of the long Human-Covenant War, commanding massive fleets of deadly warships as they clash above the fortified human colony of Reach. Take humanity's last stand to the gaming table!
 
The Fall of Reach box contents include:
 
A full colour 100-page rulebook packed full of images and examples
Fall of Reach campaign guide
49 highly-detailed plastic ship models
25 custom Halo Dice
Fleet Commander Data Sheets
Flight Stands and Overlay Cards
Punch-out Scenery and Token sheets
Quick Guide reference sheets

Halo: Fleet Battles delivers an easy to learn, lore-infused, tactically-rich gaming experience that appeals both to experienced wargamers and fans of the Halo Universe.
 
 The Fall of Reach box will be available to pre-order from the Spartan Games Online Store later this week.

49 minis!? That's quite a few!

[Landlubber]

49 minis? AWESOME.

Fleet Commander Data Sheets? Interesting. I wonder if that means they're going to have something similar to what I was thinking, where fleets fight differently under different commanders (commander bonuses or something like that).

Available for pre-order later this week?? <sigh> how am I going to explain this to the wife....?   

[MajorMcNicol]

So, I used to work as a bus monitor for an elementary school, riding the bus after school to maintain discipline and create a positive atmosphere, etc.  I used to bring various cool-but-harmless books with me for kids to look at - like the Firestorm: Armada rulebook.  One of the 5th graders loved it so much, but always talked about it in Halo terms (he was a big Halo fan).  If only!  If only I could let him know about this development! 

[Landlubber]

And here we go!

http://shop.spartangames.co.uk/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=HFBB01

I'll be pre-ordering mine from Gamer's Haven tomorrow!

[Quickdraw]

That's just fantastic! I'll be preordering as well.

[Landlubber]

First pictures! This looks AWESOME!

http://community.spartangames.co.uk/index.php?/topic/13971-halo-fleet-battles-the-fall-of-reach-discussion-thread/

Pics start on page two. There is also a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI_Dn-39oWY

My inner fanboy is jumping and yelling for joy!!!!!

[Landlubber]

According to a post on DakkaDakka, this picture shows all the ships in the "Fall of Reach" starter box:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/s/i/at/at2/2015/4/25/337e2b47f18ca9b08a540d77d440cf32_50828.jpg

The massive Covenant assault carrier, which dwarfs everything else on the table, is NOT in the starter.

[Landlubber]

Spartan's latest blog post is dedicated to the Salute convention and the debut of the Halo: Fleet Battles models:

http://www.spartangames.co.uk/back-from-salute

A couple of takeaways:

-the large Covenant assault carrier that dominated the pictures of the fleet combat game will be available later this year

-the Halo ground combat game (as yet unnamed, as far as I know) will release in 2016. Scroll down to the end of the blog post to see a picture of one of the Spartan staff holding a Scorpion tank in the palm of his hand--gives a good idea of scale.

My friends, it is truly a good time to be a tabletop wargamer.

[Ruckdog]

Indeed it is! I think we have reached the point now where the Halo games rate their own sub-forum:

http://www.manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?board=41.0