May the Fourth

For those who live in the Twin Cities metro area, Fantasy Flight Games will be hosting a night of game demos with an X-Wing tournament on Wednesday, May 4th. Check it out.

May the Fourth (2016)

-Nate

Meet the Fleet, part 12

   

The VT-49 Decimator. An invention designed for the Massively Multiplayer Online RPG Star Wars Galaxies first expansion pack, entitled Jump to Lightspeed (2004). Word has it that they were trying to make "an evil Millennium Falcon".

I think the vessel looks suitably menacing, recalling both TIE Fighters with the front cockpit window and Star Destroyers with the sharp angular hull. A beast of a vessel.

We have yet to use it in a game, but it is ready for the next showdown (with Palpatine aboard, no less).

In other Meet the Fleet news, I ordered some engine glow stickers from eBay. I think they look great!

   

Meet the Fleet, part 11

   

Luke Skywalker: [on first seeing the Millennium Falcon] What a piece of junk!
Han Solo: She'll make point five past lightspeed. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've made a lot of special modifications myself. 

Ahhh, yes. Now things are getting serious here on "Meet the Fleet". This is one of the finest miniatures I own, of any type. The wonderful Corellian Engineering Corporation YT-1300 Light Freighter. In particular, the Millennium Falcon. The sensor dish moves, people. The sensor dish moves.

I love this vessel. In the game, I don't think we've ever used it as anything other than Han flying the Falcon. Maybe someday Lando will take her out for a spin, or Chewie, but they just haven't yet.

I have a great deal of affection for this vessel. In fact, I am wearing a Falcon T-shirt right now. This vessel represents a free-wheelin' ability to fly through RPG space with a whole cast of miscreants in tow. Jump into the gun turrets! Here come some TIEs! Glorious. Simply glorious.

Chewie. We're home!

Just finished reading this blast from the past trilogy: collectively called the Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley. Han Solo at Stars End (written in 1979), Han Solo's Revenge (1979), and Han Solo and the Lost Legacy (1980) pre-date anything else Star Wars not named Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker (1976) and Splinter of the Mind's Eye (1978).

Brian Daley would have been the only other game in town, besides Alan Dean Foster (who wrote one and ghost-wrote the other). 

What a great trilogy, especially for what it added to the canon at this early date: Z-95 Headhunter, Victory-class Star Destroyer, Marauder-class cruiser, the Corporate Sector Authority, Espos, houks, and more. Whole new areas of the galaxy explored and partially defined. Many new alien species, enough to know that you'd never meet them all, even if you were a dedicated space bum like Han.

All three books had a good amount of hijinks, fast paced action, and lots of twists and turns. I was surprised at how well they held up, description-of-technology-wise, being that they are almost 40 years old. 

As for hijinks: blowing up a secret Corporate Sector prison installation is pretty great. And when I say "blowing up", I really mean UP. Having to work with an undercover Corporate Sector agent and a bond company stooge while tracking down the roots of a slavery ring was pretty cool. Finding clues to an ancient treasure while helping out an old pal and evading perhaps the galaxy's best quick-draw artist also makes for a good tale.

The Millenium Falcon gets hot-rod upgraded, partially blown up, and mostly ripped apart. By the end of the trilogy Han needs some money for repairs, and thinks its a good idea to approach Jabba for a loan. All in all a very satisfying read. Better than the Lando trilogy (but Lando's odd tales still rate better than some of the bad Star Wars fare out there, past and present).

Meet the Fleet, part 10

   

[Darth Vader steps out of his shuttle on the Death Star.]
Moff Jerjerrod: Welcome, Lord Vader. This is an unexpected pleasure. We are honored by your presence.
Darth Vader: You may dispense with the pleasantries, Commander. I am here to put you back on schedule.
Moff Jerjerrod: I assure you, Lord Vader, my men are working as fast they can.
Darth Vader: Perhaps I can find new ways to motivate them.
Moff Jerjerrod: I tell you that this station will be operational as planned.
Darth Vader: [stops and holds up his finger at Jerjerrod] The Emperor does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation.
Moff Jerjerrod: But he asks the impossible! I need more men!
Darth Vader: Then perhaps you can tell him yourself when he arrives.
Moff Jerjerrod: [alarmed] The Emperor's coming here?
Darth Vader: That is correct, Commander, and he is most displeased with your apparent lack of progress.
Moff Jerjerrod: We shall double our efforts.
Darth Vader: I hope so, Commander, for your sake. The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am. [resumes walking]

The Sienar Fleet Systems Lambda-class T-4a shuttle. A beautiful ship, and this miniature has movable wings. What!? Awesome! Totally iconic, totally worth picking up for the collection. Nice job on this one, FFG.

We used this in a few games early on, but didn't think the ol' space cow was worth getting to know in a dogfighting game. Haven't tried the Emperor riding with the Royal Guard TIE/in escort, yet, but that could be cool.

Han: Keep your distance Chewie but don't look like you're trying to keep your distance.
Chewbacca: Ngyargh yargh.
Han: I don't know...fly casual.

Meet the Fleet, part 9

   

The last of the Rebel small-base ships. A couple of Z-95 Headhunters and the odd duck HWK-290, designed for a video game with low quality graphics (by today's standards). You can almost see the (few) polygons making up its strange shape. The pilot can't even look out the front window!

I mostly have these ships for the sake of completeness. I like the pair of Z-95s, but do not feel the need to get enough to run 100 points worth. Precursor to the good ol' Incom T-65.

All three of these vessels can also be flown by the Scum & Villainy faction. A good faction for the ugly HWK, I'd say. After a "Meet the Fleet" break of a few days, we'll dive into the large ships (then the huge ships). First up: the wonderful Lambda-class shuttle.

Meet the Fleet, part 8

   

Programming Note: I have so many more "Meet the Fleet" entries to get through that I am going to be spamming them over the next few weeks.

Oddballs. Prototypes. Test beds. Fruits of the Imperial Weapons Research labs.

TIE/D. TIE Defender. Three awesome solar panels. The big bad TIE space superiority fighter. Tough guy.

TIE/ph. TIE Phantom. Small ship with a cloaking device. Scary! Looks cool. Kind of like an inverse of the Defender.

TIE/ad. TIE Advanced x1 and the precursor, TIE Advanced Prototype v1. Flown, in my mind, only by Vader. I resist the idea that these craft ever formed full squadrons. I guess I could say the v1 model  (in ones or twos) may have been entrusted to Vader's select Inquisitors. I think (from examining film stills from the trench run) that Vader's TIE is the white one. The blue one came with the Raider-class corvette.

As for more, I am tempted to pick up one more TIE Defender. I'm good on the other stuff.