Developer Diary 11
Along with the new game name, we need a new logo for Noble Armada: Lost Worlds. I have two examples here. Do you have a preferences?
- Fiery Background
2. No Background
Name Found: Lost Worlds
February 9, 2018 | Author: HDIAndrew
Developer Diary 10
Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the name change for our new Noble Armada PC game, whether it was on this blog, Facebook or via Twitter. There were lots of good thoughts, but “Lost Worlds” was clearly the winner. We will officially be promoting it as “Noble Armada: Lost Worlds. A Game of Broadsides and Boarding Actions in the Fading Suns Universe.”
What’s in a Name?
February 7, 2018 | Author: HDIAndrew
Developer Diary 9
Our working title for the game has been Fading Suns: Noble Armada, but we’ve begun to have few concerns about it. The main issue is that our friends at Ulisses Spiele are getting ready to launch the fourth edition of the Fading Suns rule book, and we don’t want searches for the games to confuse one for the other. The idea is for the games to support each other, not get in each other’s way.
We are also getting a number of questions as to whether this is another version of our older Emperor of the Fading Suns game. The idea with a variety of different games set in the same universe has always been to shine lights on different aspects of the setting. EFS took the broad perspective, with you leading one of the most powerful factions in the Known Worlds along its rise to power. The Fading Suns RPG went the exact opposite route, exploring individual stories after the Emperor Wars ended.
Noble Armada is a combination of the two. You are a noble, commanding at least one starship and its battle-ready marines and crew. You venture to enemy space and lost solar systems, seeking to expand your house’s power and your own wealth. They are grand stories, but not on the grand scale of EFS.
Rechargeable Resources in FSNA
January 23, 2018 | Author: HDIAndrew
Developer Diary 8
Some games have a plethora of resources – wood, ore, money, population, time, hit points, mana, etc – that influence what actions a player can take. We used this to great effect in some of our previous games, like Merchant Prince and Emperor of the Fading Suns. I really liked having Reputation, Nobles and Singularities as resources.
The Noble Armada miniatures game only has a few – shields, crew, marines, thrust and so on. We have expanded this a bit for the Noble Armada PC game, and this generated a great discussion in the “Realistic Movement” developer diary.
Wooden Ships and Laser Beams: Combat in FSNA
January 15, 2018 | Author: HDIAndrew
Developer Diary 7
Combat is central to the player experience in FSNA. We knew that we wanted to emphasize what was most fun in the miniatures game – careful maneuvering for devastating broadsides.
At the same time, we wanted to take advantage of the PC platform – creating a more visceral, fast-paced experience. Transitioning from turn-based play to real-time allowed us to make combat faster and more frantic. Instead of carefully lining up each shot, choosing a target with care, players race into range. They fire their maneuver jets to twirl around in a deadly dance that protects their damaged sides and brings their full gun arrays to bear.
In some ways, the PC game more closely aligns with the “reality” of the Fading Suns universe. In many ways, the miniatures game more closely followed naval combat in the Age of Sails. Captains engaged in tense, deadly ballets at sea. They struggled to use their wind to bring their frigate’s main guns to bear before their enemies did the same.
The PC game follows the same basic idea but at high speed, befitting spaceships capable of flying at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour and firing lasers back and forth. At these velocities, one mistake can make all the difference between victory and ignominious defeat.
Upcoming developer diaries will continue to analyze the FSNA combat system. What RTS strategy game do you think had a good combat system?