Stormcloud

[Kilofix]

Quick summary (no pics sorry):

 

Ok so rules are in the boxed game or in the iOS App for $6+ USD. Datasheets for flyers are free for download on GW Website - on the page for the model itself. The App also comes with all the Datasheets. The rules are standalone and have nothing to do with DftS. You can play 1vs1 or like 3vs3 models.

 

Play is as follows:

Setup the board with each opposing model on either end of the board or per Campaign / Scenario.

1 - Turn = 3 Impulses (like a sub turn).

In each Impulse the player whose model is at a higher Power (think current Speed) goes first.

The sequence of events is Maneuver then Shoot the Accelerate or Decelerate.

 

Maneuvers are a combination of Moves (moving forward the length of the model) or a Turn (rotation of up to 45 degrees) or a Slidslip (slide left or right the width of the model). It works abit like Xwing with using just a dice as the 1-Forward template.

 

So examples of Manuevers are:

Level Flight: Move - Move

Bank: Move - Turn - Move

Reverse: Move - Turn - Turn - Turn - Move

Snap Turn: Turn - Move - Move

Vector Turn: Sideslip - Move - Turn

 

Different models will have access to different Maneuver sets and different Manuevers have different Difficulty, that you need to roll to successfully execute, depending on the model and how much Power (I.e. What Speed) your model is at . Also, if you are (higher Power) Zooming then you make 2 Maneuvers and if you are Cruising (lower Power) then you make 1 Maneuver. I won't get into details but failing the Difficulty roll to execute a maneuver is bad (Crash, Spin, etc.).

 

If you fly off the board, you roll to see if you take Damage before flying back in.

 

After Maneuvering you shoot. Different weapons have different Arcs, different Ranges, different number of dice to roll to Hit and different thresholds to Hit, and different Damage. Head on gives you -1 and Tailing gives you +1. There is no concept nor differentiation between Dogfighters vs Attackers in Stormcloud. Everything rolls to Hit the same, only depending on their weapon stats.

 

Some weapons are straight line forward, some are 90 degree arc, some are 180 or even 360 degree arc (latter being like Tau turrets or Grot Gunner turrets, etc.).

 

If you Hit with anything, you do at least 1 Damage no matter what. But every model also has a Toughness stat. If your total Damage exceeds that Toughness then you roll on a Damage table and more bad things happen to your Target like Ammo Explosion, etc. So there isn't a case, where you can't damage your target.

 

Every time you shoot, if your opponent is also facing you, then they can shoot back (in your Turn, immediately after you shoot) if they are facing you but at -1 Hit. That makes head-on passes risky. Oh, also, Heldrake has its special where it Rakes the Target if it overflys it.

 

After shooting, you can Accelerate or Decelerate to go up or down 1 Power (I.e. Speed). Then it's your opponents Turn for that Impulse.

 

At the end of the Turn (3 Impulses), you roll for IWND to see if you regain a Structur (I.e. Hull) point. Each model has different Toughness and Structure point stats.

 

As a standalone dogfight game, it's quite fun in an Xwing way with fewer / bigger models. The Stormhawk has lots of guns up front but it doesn't turn that well. The Eldar jets turn very well. The Orks and Tau have Turrets. The Vendetta (yes - Vendetta, not Valkyrie) is slow but it's 6 LasCannons make it fearsome head on (and it also has Heavy Bolters to cover its side Arcs).

[Kilofix]

Still need more games to figure out tactics but it looks like:

 

The more maneuverable craft like Eldar, want to stay slow (Power 2-3) to make all their maneuvers Safe and then Reverse turn hard to maintain lead pursuit and keep their nose pointed at the opponent.

 

Whereas the Marine craft want to stay fast (Power 4-5) and use their double maneuver to Overthrust to extend a safe distance away before double Banking and coming around for Zooming head-on passes with their tougher armor and larger weapons.

[NTaW]

Thanks for this! Maybe I'll cough up the couple bucks for the app...

[Kilofix]

Art of the Dogfight - Corner Velocity

 

 

First quick visual and primer on Turning Circle and Turning Rate.

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Z-E_9EiF7h4/V3HNjbTspII/AAAAAAAAAWI/mOqGBVaFrbg/s2048-no/IMG_1774.PNG

 

The two blue lines represent the turning capability of aircraft that are the least maneuverable - the StormRaven, StormHawk, Stormwolf, Orks, etc. They can only safely perform a 45 degree turn per Maneuver.

At Power 3 (lighter blue line) they can safely do 1 Standard Turn per Impulse.

At Power 5 (darker blue line) they can safely do 2 Banks each, in Impulse 1 and Impulse 2, followed by 1 Bank in Impulse 3.

You'll notice that Power 3 results in a smaller Turning Circle but slower Turning Rate as the nose of the aircraft hasn't turned as far as that at Power 5.

So if you need to get that nose around, run at Power 5, if you need to keep it tight, run at Power 3.

Also notice that at Power 5, you can almost keep aircraft that are on the amber and purple flight paths within your forward 90 degree arc (more on that later).

The other advantage of running these types of aircraft at Power 5 is that you'll use it to Extend away from more maneuverable aircraft (more on that later).

 

The purple line represents the turning capability of aircraft like the Heldrake that can safely perform the 90 degree Wing Over but only at Power 2.

The issue is that at Power 2, you have no Manuevers during Impulse 3, so you really need to Accelerate to Power 3 at the end of Impulse 2.

At Power 3, you can't safely perform a Wing Over, but you can still perform a Standard Turn during Impulse 3.

 

The amber line represents the turning capability of aircraft like the StormTalon, Dark Angels and Tau that can safely perform the 90 degree Stall Turn but only at Power 2.

The issue is that at Power 2, you have no Manuevers during Impulse 3, so you really need to Accelerate to Power 3 at the end of Impulse 2.

At Power 3, you can't safely perform a Stall Turn, but you can still perform a Standard Turn during Impulse 3.

Aircraft that can perform the Stall Turn have a similar Turning Rate as Aircraft that can perform the Wing Over in that the nose of the aircraft points in the same direction after 3 Impulses but the former's Turning Circle is tighter.

 

The green line represents the crazy tight turning capability of the Eldar and Necron aircraft that can perform 135 degree Reverse Turns or Split-S at Power 3.

 

Not depicted but keep in mind the Valkyrie and Vendetta can also Hover and spin 135 degrees on the spot at Power 2.

 

So what does this all mean? Corner Velocity is the speed at which aircraft can get their nose around the fastest. For less maneuverable aircraft this is at Power 5. For more maneuverable aircraft this is at Power 3. For some of the others it starts at Power 2 then you'd need to accelerate to Power 3 at the end of Impulse 2 for Impulse 3.

[Kilofix]

Art of the Dogfight - Intercept then Extending

 

Ok so say you've just intercepted the opposing aircraft head on but he's not dead yet. And you're in a less maneuverable aircraft like a Stormhawk while the opposing aircraft is more maneuverable like say an Eldar Hunter. What do you do?

 

Option A

You could try immediately turning around (see dark blue line in diagram below) but even at your best Corner Velocity at Power 5, the Eldar Hunter is going to have Angle of Attack on you (see green line in diagram below) before you even complete your turn.

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wdoswtAhKhM/V3FcqagZW7I/AAAAAAAAAVY/aZbAV986m4U/s2048-no/IMG_1769.PNG

[Kilofix]

So instead, you go with:

 

Option B:

Which is to Overboost (3 x Move and done twice per Impulse at Power 5) and extend your range away from the Eldar Hunter before turning around. The Eldar Hunter can still come around and chase you but he's disadvantaged by two things - he was at ideal Corner Velocity at Power 2, which means no double Maneuver per Impulse (slower) and he doesn't have Overboost. Even if he does Accelerate, by the time his nose comes around, you'll already be a long ways away (see the distance between the dark blue double check and green double check denoting positions at the end of Turn 1). By the time the Eldar Hunter has closed (keep in mind, he also has to subsequently decelerate back to his Corner Velocity at Power 2), you've already bought enough distance and time to turn around yourself.

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xqJLs0ZOSkU/V3Fe4LtlGqI/AAAAAAAAAVs/XhdUcsIzgLM/s2048-no/IMG_1770.PNG

 

Keep in mind though that the StormTalon and Dark Angels can also Overboost while having somewhat good Turn Rates but they will still be limited by their initial Power 2 Corner Velocity.

 

 

Next post coming - So what do you do as an Eldar Hunter in a head on intercept?

[Kilofix]

Art of the Dogfight - Creating Offset before Intercepting

 

So what do you do if you're an Eldar Hunter approaching a heavier armed and armored opposing aircraft like a Stormhawk?

 

Diagram first .... maybe self explanatory ...... will type description and cautions tomorrow....

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HFFqGPqUFfQ/V3HXRPCJ9cI/AAAAAAAAAWo/kPQBCAmLxPQ/s2048-no/IMG_1776.PNG

[Space Truckin]

Ok wasn't interested until I read this post and looking at the diagrams etc.

 

How does the scale feel with the actual models?  

Considering picking up the app and making cardboard cut outs as proxies since I don't own any fliers.

Seems like this would play out better on a smaller scale using Epic minis or something BFG sized.

[Kilofix]

Ok wasn't interested until I read this post and looking at the diagrams etc.

 

How does the scale feel with the actual models?  

Considering picking up the app and making cardboard cut outs as proxies since I don't own any fliers.

Seems like this would play out better on a smaller scale using Epic minis or something BFG sized.

Definitely need the whole table. Not sure if cutouts will work since movement is kinda based on the size of the model (see below) and it may not sync with the weapon ranges.

 

http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-B09CjTGrc_8/V3Kt5_qHZTI/AAAAAAAAAXA/CRg_twwnqb8/s2048-no/IMG_1778.PNG

[Space Truckin]

Ok thanks for posting that.  Makes much more sense now.

Was hoping for something smaller - that could be x-wing sized ya know for a  quick game of flying around the kitchen table.  

[NTaW]

Since all Flyers are sold on the same base they should all have the exact same movement, excepting of course scenic bases that may be larger in size. Ranges of weapons and how to work out damage is vastly different to 40k. For example assault cannons are 10" (fixed straight ahead) and lascannons are 20" (90 degree arc forward/45 degrees each direction of centre). I think cutouts would work just fine; heck if you did nice printouts on Flyer base-sized paper or card that could be real nice...though I'll always prefer models.

 

Being able to play on your kitchen table I'd say depends greatly on your table. Mine was purchased explicitly knowing that we'll be running epic X-Wing/40k on it so at its smallest it's 5'x3.5' (extendable to 7' long): plenty of space I'd imagine for two Flyers to duke it out. If you're playing on a smaller table with cutouts I'd wager you could just make them equally smaller and enjoy.

[Kilofix]

Played 5 player FFA.

 

Standard 6 tile Realm of Battle was sufficient space.

 

Started with everyone in a corner then straight up FFA.

 

Lots of maneuvering and shooting but eventually:

 

Crimson Hunter had Nephilim dead in his sights with only 1 Structure Point on the Neph, but the Hunter missed all its shots. Then Ork Dakka hit Crimson Hunter, caused Wildfire, which shot and blew up Nephilim.

 

Then Razorwing hit Crimson Hunter, which was at full Sturcture, with Damage that was below Toughness, rolled Falling Leaf; Hunter took the Spin (confidently but unfortunately, because;) and Crashed.

 

Vendetta then hit Razorwing, massive 8 Damage, rolled Critical, caught on Fire, and blew up the next Damage roll.

 

Left Vendetta and Ork Dakka. Vendetta was just Hovering and turning on the spot. Ork Dakka was circling and trying to get angle. Dakka, tried Red Manuever, failed, Spin, Crashed.

 

Vendetta was last standing.

 

Lots of terrible Spin and Damage rolls this game, but was tense and fun. Shame I forgot to take pics. We had an extra Heldrake too but no sixth player.

[The Rogue Gamer]

I keep looking for a video battle report but can't find one. Would live to see this played and maybe convince some in my gaming circle to give it a go.

[NTaW]

Next time I play (really unsure of when that will be) I can try to take pictures at each Impulse but doing a video is beyond my capabilities.

 

It's a really fun game though.