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Thread: FFG to release Star Wars game similar to WoW?

  1. #1

    Default FFG to release Star Wars game similar to WoW?

    Saw this announced on the BGG news and found the page for the game on BGG:

    http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/103885/x-wing

    In particular I noted this: "Each ship type has its own unique piloting dial, which is used to secretly select a speed and maneuver each turn. After planning maneuvers, each ship's dial is revealed and executed (starting with the lowest skilled pilot)."

    Sounds a lot like Star Wars variant of Wings of War to me

  2. #2

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    I wonder how patentable game mechanisms are? I think WOW's system is pretty unique.

  3. #3

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    My guess would be that it plays very differently than WoW, but who knows when we will see the release to actually find out... after all FFG just got the license...
    Ken Head - "The Cowman"
    “You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams

  4. #4

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    Will be interesting to see this develop.

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    Well the last Star Wars ship miniatures wasn't around long. I guess that was ship minis with stat cards. Is this new one going to have "Click Bases"

  6. #6

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    I can add this further detail from FFG's site:

    To pilot your vessel, you'll use the movement guide that corresponds to the maneuver you've chosen for a given turn. First, place the starting end of the movement guide flush with the base of your craft. Then, simply pick up your miniature and place it at the end. Once you've established your position, you're free to determine attacks against any enemies in range. This simple mechanic delivers a wealth of tactical depth; make sharp turns, execute strafing runs, and wrestle your opponents for the best shot!

    I can also add that in Spring 2007 FFG proposed to develope a "Wings of War Battlestar Galactica" while they were designing a Battlestar Galactica boardgame. I started working on it together with two other authors, one of which had already made a "WoW Space" proptotype before, but the project has been cancelled. A license for a "Wings of War Star Wars" was asked by FFG instead, and we started again working on that. This product seems a quite natural conclusion of that very long process, apart for the detail that WoW authors are not involved any more.

    I'm interested to see how it developes too, as you may guess.

  7. #7

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    I wonder how patentable game mechanisms are? I think WOW's system is pretty unique.
    Not at all, as I've discovered over the years. Applying a mechanism to a particular subject - harder to say.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by greenalfonzo View Post
    I wonder how patentable game mechanisms are? I think WOW's system is pretty unique.
    Have you ever played Robo-Rally? It predates Wings of War by quite a few years, and the pre-plotting of movements (broken up into 3 consecutive phases) is a huge part of the game. To me, Wings of War always felt like a more complex aerial version of Robo-Rally; this is a good thing!


    Lugz

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiolillo View Post
    I can add this further detail from FFG's site:

    To pilot your vessel, you'll use the movement guide that corresponds to the maneuver you've chosen for a given turn. First, place the starting end of the movement guide flush with the base of your craft. Then, simply pick up your miniature and place it at the end. Once you've established your position, you're free to determine attacks against any enemies in range. This simple mechanic delivers a wealth of tactical depth; make sharp turns, execute strafing runs, and wrestle your opponents for the best shot!

    I can also add that in Spring 2007 FFG proposed to develope a "Wings of War Battlestar Galactica" while they were designing a Battlestar Galactica boardgame. I started working on it together with two other authors, one of which had already made a "WoW Space" proptotype before, but the project has been cancelled. A license for a "Wings of War Star Wars" was asked by FFG instead, and we started again working on that. This product seems a quite natural conclusion of that very long process, apart for the detail that WoW authors are not involved any more.

    I'm interested to see how it developes too, as you may guess.
    Hmmmm turns out I may have been dead wrong in my little assumption... They say that imitation is the purest form of flattery... but I think I might rather be reimbursed than flattered!!!
    Ken Head - "The Cowman"
    “You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams

  10. #10

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    The CEO of FFG wrote me giving details about their new game and asking me to better explain my words, to avoid any misunderstanding.

    What I meant to say is that it is several years that space-themed WoW versions are being worked on. And that FFG in particular has pursued this idea, adding strong SF licenses to it, at least from Spring 2007 to early 2011. They did not give up, even if both the projects that they proposed in the past were stopped. So it is natural that they are finally bringing to the market a dogfight miniature game as the one that is now being announced, even if not in connection with us as previously planned. A game that fits quite well in the same market niche as a would-be "WoW Star Wars", I would say reading its description.

    What I did not mean to say is that, after giving up its idea of licensing WoW's game mechanics to develope its game crediting the design to Pier Giorgio Paglia and me, FFG is now using all or even part of our mechanics anyway without any license and without any credits. This would be of course something that I would never expect by such a company as Fantasy Flight Games.

    I have no way to judge the similarities of this game system with mine or with any other dogfight miniature game system, having never tried or seen it. I have been assured that this new design uses an entirely different system from WoW, and that game reports from GenCon will very soon make it obvious to everybody.

    Of course I would have preferred a Star Wars version of my game being released instead, but the agreement between the publishers failed for reasons I am external to.

  11. #11

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    Thanks for clearing that up Andrea. I think most of us here would have preferred a WoW-based Star Wars game. Will have to see what this new one is like.

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    Wow, look at that base!

    Looking at other pics, I guess they replaced the maneuver cards with the spinner thing?

  14. #14

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    I dunno, I grew out of my SW-fan-boy phase a long time ago (about the same time I heard the word "midichlorian" for the first time).

    A look at the picture in the link didn't get me excited either. Then there's the picture in Andrea's post: the base has exactly the same contents as WOW bases. Not copied? Hmmm.

    Well, it's WWI for me, nothing else! Thanks for that Andrea!


  15. #15

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    yeah, I'm pretty much the same. 'midichlorian' was a *ahem* interesting concept. Force-as-magical-infection didn't sit well with me, although I was curious why the Empire never tried innoculations. Or, ooo, fun scenario, calling off work cause you've come down with a bad case of the Force. I'm pretty sure I have done that, but I don't think it looked like that in the movie

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiolillo View Post
    Of course I would have preferred a Star Wars version of my game being released instead, but the agreement between the publishers failed for reasons I am external to.
    Given the reasons for the dissolution of all previous _SW_-licensed product, I think I know what the problem is -- and I know how this is going to work out.... :P

    (Hint: Guess who makes all the money from the license?)

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  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiolillo View Post
    The minis themselves look nice... the bases seem kind of clunky and awkward to me... and I am not getting anything out of the images that really tells me how a maneuver is performed... maybe they will release a demo video eventually...
    Ken Head - "The Cowman"
    “You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.” Robin Williams

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by petitbilbo View Post
    I dunno, I grew out of my SW-fan-boy phase a long time ago (about the same time I heard the word "midichlorian" for the first time).

    A look at the picture in the link didn't get me excited either. Then there's the picture in Andrea's post: the base has exactly the same contents as WOW bases. Not copied? Hmmm.

    Well, it's WWI for me, nothing else! Thanks for that Andrea!

    I'm with you Bilbo on this one! Total sympatico!

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Cowman View Post
    and I am not getting anything out of the images that really tells me how a maneuver is performed...
    Seems they are using plastic or cardboard panels to perform turns (as seen on the left hand side):



    And if thats a totally different combat-system I dont want to know how an exact copy looks like...

  21. #21

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    Looks suspiciously like a range ruler at the back of that image too...

  22. #22

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    Hmm looks very nice hope they do Boba Fett in Slave I in the future to I would certainly buy his miniature even if i wont go for the whole game

  23. #23

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    I agree with the Cowman on this, the mini's look nice but the bases are just clunky and gaudy looking. Way too much on them that detracts from the fine miniatures sat on them.

  24. #24

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    Might buy the minis, rip them off the bases, put them on new ones and use them with my home-brew SF fighters rules (or the SW WoW rules variant that was on the web a while back)

  25. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by petitbilbo View Post
    Lucas?
    Got it in one.

  26. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by Angiolillo View Post
    I have no way to judge the similarities of this game system with mine or with any other dogfight miniature game system, having never tried or seen it. I have been assured that this new design uses an entirely different system from WoW, and that game reports from GenCon will very soon make it obvious to everybody.
    I for one am pleased to see that, while the game has similarities, it does appear to be very much it's own game and will hopefully have a different and distinctive feel. I'm not worried that I'll feel like I'm buying the same game twice, and each will have it's own strengths. However I seem to recall Andrea you once made a reference to the effect of "standing on the shoulders of giants"; I hope the load now on your shoulders makes you feel proud.

  27. #27

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    Still in playtesting. The look may change in actual release. Too early to judge.

  28. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by Lugburz View Post
    Have you ever played Robo-Rally? It predates Wings of War by quite a few years, and the pre-plotting of movements (broken up into 3 consecutive phases) is a huge part of the game. To me, Wings of War always felt like a more complex aerial version of Robo-Rally; this is a good thing!


    Lugz


    ive played it and dont much care for it due to the overly random nature of the card draw for your movement. sure its similar to wow/wog but so are a hundred other pre plotted movement games. the big difference is having a fairly unique maneuver deck to plot from BY CHOICE that defines the performance envelope of the a/c, thats the brilliant part.

  29. #29

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    And even that isn't unique. All the cards do is provide an alternative system to pre-plot movement, a technique for simultaneous movement resolution that has been around for decades. But it does it very well (even if the three card play does introduce some weirdness)

  30. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by David Manley View Post
    And even that isn't unique. All the cards do is provide an alternative system to pre-plot movement, a technique for simultaneous movement resolution that has been around for decades. But it does it very well (even if the three card play does introduce some weirdness)


    ive never seen any other system that has the individuality between different units like wow/wog. the closest would be blue max but without the quickness of the card movement system it doesnt quite achieve wow/wogs playability.

  31. #31

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    Just about any preplotting system that differentiates between manoeuvrability would count. I first encountered such things in naval and air games in the early 1970s (wrote my first set of rules featuring such systems at school in the late 1970s so we could play games with my new 1/300 Skytrex models - I had a lovely Me410 as I recall). And they were based on systems I'd read about in magazines and books. So yes, it has been around for a long while.

  32. #32

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    Now that this game has been around for a while and some of us have had an opportunity to try it the biggest difference is now more obvious.
    NO THIRD DIMENSION.
    With WoG we have the option of climbing and diving, with this game, like most space combat systems the third dimension is ignored completely and all movement is in an abstract flat plane.

  33. #33

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rabbit 3 View Post
    Now that this game has been around for a while and some of us have had an opportunity to try it the biggest difference is now more obvious.
    NO THIRD DIMENSION.
    With WoG we have the option of climbing and diving, with this game, like most space combat systems the third dimension is ignored completely and all movement is in an abstract flat plane.
    Agreed about the lack of diving and climbing. It's a case of "In a flat galaxy a long time ago..."

  34. #34

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    Perhaps you noticed that all the combat in the movies was portrayed in two dimensions? With the exceptions of a few lightsabre fights and a chase through a city or two, I can't recall any space battle having three dimensions. Even the Death Star battles were pretty two dimensional. You could have been watching Dambusters or 633 Squadron, and the feeling would be pretty much the same as the bombing runs in Star Wars. Is it any wonder that X-Wing leaves this out? None of SW Fan Boys would miss it.
    Mike
    "Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
    "Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59

  35. #35

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    Thread necromancers at work...
    Voilŕ le soleil d'Austerlitz!

  36. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by David Manley View Post
    Just about any preplotting system that differentiates between manoeuvrability would count. I first encountered such things in naval and air games in the early 1970s (wrote my first set of rules featuring such systems at school in the late 1970s so we could play games with my new 1/300 Skytrex models - I had a lovely Me410 as I recall). And they were based on systems I'd read about in magazines and books. So yes, it has been around for a long while.


    not where the plotted card is used to move the unit around the board

  37. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marechallannes View Post
    Thread necromancers at work...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Oberst Hajj View Post
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    I like it, Herr Oberst. Esp. with the day of posting
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  39. #39

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    Someone call? >:)



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