The Inside Scoop on Gaming

I'm a big fan of HDI's Fading Suns line. So big, in fact, that when I bought this game at Origins, I had the opportunity to get any book from the system free. "Darn. I've got 'em all," I said. They gave me an extra handful of 20-sided dice to go with the game instead. So big that I bought a spaceship combat game for $55 in spite of not being a big fan of such games. Noble Armada had something extra going for it, though: it's 100% compatible with the Fading Suns RPG.

The components of the box are as follows: several 20-siders, 32 plastic ships (4 each of 8 different ships for 3 different factions) and stands, a stack of ship record sheets for pretty much all of the major factions, a rulebook, some counters, an introduction to the game world and RPG, and deck plans for two of the ships. All of these are well-done, although anyone removing the plastic ships from the sprues would be advised to take special care with the Decados Raider, since it's attached on one end by a tiny fin which is not nearly as strong the connecting piece of plastic. I now have one battle-damaged Raider and 3 intact ones.

The rules are fairly simple: in the demo at Origins, we spent less than 10 minutes learning rules. Combat itself can be lengthy, though, since even really maneuverable ships in Noble Armada don't really turn or stop on dimes. Stopping requires a ship to turn 180 degrees then apply thrust to deccelerate. Thrust is only required to accelerate or change direction: in space, a little thrust goes a long way, and it's entirely possible to be travelling in one direction while facing backward and firing on your pursuer. The game also includes guidelines for playing without a hexmap, although anyone wantint do do so would have to make their own firing arc templates as none are provided.

Out of the box, it's easiest to play out Hawkwood vs. Decados battles, although a few Merchant League freighters and escort ships are also provided. Record sheets are given for other ships, but those ships are not provided. I expect this problem to be remedied in the near future, and until then I can use other miniatures to represent Hazat or Inquisitor ships.

Noble Armada is also set up to be played on a 2-D playing field. Yes, space has an x, y, and z-axis, but it would be very hard to represent that in a game in which ships can accelerate such that they're moving 12 or more inches in a single turn. I personally have no desire to see Noble Armada turn into Mustangs & Messerschmitts.

In fact, I was only able to find one shortcoming in the game's rules: boarding. It's possible for a ship to grapple another ship and send troops over to board. So far, so good. The problem is that as far as I can tell, no rules are given for boarding that don't involve using deck plans. Since there are deck plans for only two of the 8 ships represented by the miniatures in the box, this means that players will have to design their own deck plans (which may not be very hard to do, but for $55 shouldn't be the players' job, either). Fortunately, the game's authors have said that they have definite plans to release a supplement full of deck plans in the near future. Let's hope it's in the very near future, as this is the only flaw in an otherwise outstanding game.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 4 (Meaty)

Noble Armada
Author: Ken Lightner & Chris Wiese Category: miniature Company/Publisher: Holistic Design, Inc. Cost: $55 US Page count: n/a ISBN: 1-888906-50-2 Playtest Review by Kevin Mowery on 07/06/98. Genre tags: none	I'm a big fan of HDI's Fading Suns line. So big, in fact, that when I bought this game at Origins, I had the opportunity to get any book from the system free. "Darn. I've got 'em all," I said. They gave me an extra handful of 20-sided dice to go with the game instead. So big that I bought a spaceship combat game for $55 in spite of not being a big fan of such games. Noble Armada had something extra going for it, though: it's 100% compatible with the Fading Suns RPG. The components of the box are as follows: several 20-siders, 32 plastic ships (4 each of 8 different ships for 3 different factions) and stands, a stack of ship record sheets for pretty much all of the major factions, a rulebook, some counters, an introduction to the game world and RPG, and deck plans for two of the ships. All of these are well-done, although anyone removing the plastic ships from the sprues would be advised to take special care with the Decados Raider, since it's attached on one end by a tiny fin which is not nearly as strong the connecting piece of plastic. I now have one battle-damaged Raider and 3 intact ones. The rules are fairly simple: in the demo at Origins, we spent less than 10 minutes learning rules. Combat itself can be lengthy, though, since even really maneuverable ships in Noble Armada don't really turn or stop on dimes. Stopping requires a ship to turn 180 degrees then apply thrust to deccelerate. Thrust is only required to accelerate or change direction: in space, a little thrust goes a long way, and it's entirely possible to be travelling in one direction while facing backward and firing on your pursuer. The game also includes guidelines for playing without a hexmap, although anyone wantint do do so would have to make their own firing arc templates as none are provided. Out of the box, it's easiest to play out Hawkwood vs. Decados battles, although a few Merchant League freighters and escort ships are also provided. Record sheets are given for other ships, but those ships are not provided. I expect this problem to be remedied in the near future, and until then I can use other miniatures to represent Hazat or Inquisitor ships. Noble Armada is also set up to be played on a 2-D playing field. Yes, space has an x, y, and z-axis, but it would be very hard to represent that in a game in which ships can accelerate such that they're moving 12 or more inches in a single turn. I personally have no desire to see Noble Armada turn into Mustangs & Messerschmitts. In fact, I was only able to find one shortcoming in the game's rules: boarding. It's possible for a ship to grapple another ship and send troops over to board. So far, so good. The problem is that as far as I can tell, no rules are given for boarding that don't involve using deck plans. Since there are deck plans for only two of the 8 ships represented by the miniatures in the box, this means that players will have to design their own deck plans (which may not be very hard to do, but for $55 shouldn't be the players' job, either). Fortunately, the game's authors have said that they have definite plans to release a supplement full of deck plans in the near future. Let's hope it's in the very near future, as this is the only flaw in an otherwise outstanding game. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 4 (Meaty)