The Uber Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon Thread!

[JasonPratt]

Instructions confirm, a bit oddly, that the Ork side is playable in multiplayer but not in skirmish.

(Also, a space hulk is drifting toward the planet -- does that mean tyrannids eventually? As DLC/expansion? The instructions only mention the orks as enemies vs the Imperium.)

Killed units are tracked. (From mission to mission?)

"Each unit as a maximum strength between 1 and 50, where stronger units have less base strength (for example, a Baneblade has 2 strength points, while most basic infantry have around 20) but more power per strength point." -- can't say I understand this concept yet. I suspect it refers to divisible power of a single unit: 2 super-strong Baneblades in a unit but around 20 much weaker infantry in a unit; the baneblade unit could be reduced in strength by 1 and then fight at half-strength, but it's hard to do that. It's relatively easy to reduce an infantry unit by discreet amounts, on the other hand, which reduces its combat power in a smoother descending curve (or replenishes it during reinforce.)

If so, this would be another (though subtle) difference from PGish game mechanics.

The landscape varies greatly across Armageddon, and has the
possibility to destroy an offensive before you even get to the enemy
lines. Different units have their own unique way of reacting to the
land, so be sure to consider how to use it to your advantage before
deploying your troops in order to get the best outcome possible.
4.1. CLEAR TERRAIN
Clear terrain is land that is reasonably flat and as a
result can be crossed by all types of units at the average
speed. This type of land is represented as wasteland,
ash and grass. In addition, the bases of Hive Cities are
treated as clear land for the purposes of army movement.
4.2. SEAS AND LAVA
Seas and Lava terrains are present in regions where there is a lot of
water or molten rock. Only aircraft and hovercraft are capable of
crossing either region. In addition, large walkers can cross water,
but do so at half speed. These regions are shown as Deep, Shallow,
Toxic and Thermal Water, as well as Lava Rivers and Lava itself.
4.3. MOUNTAINS
Mountain terrain is the representation of tall mountain ranges. These
are great obstacles in the path of any offensive, and are very good at
blocking line of sight (making the fog of war cover all of the regions
behind them). Only aircraft have the capability to cross mountains
– all other units will have to find some way around them. Mountain,
Volcano, Rock and Wall hexes are all considered mountains.

Not sure why there would be water differences if those differences make no difference? Large walkers maybe cannot go into deep water? What about toxic and thermal? None of those should affect aircraft, should they?

I like mountainous terrain affecting line of sight, though I question a total inability for land units to cross such terrain. Is that a rule importation from the tabletop? (I've never played tt.)

4.4. SLOPES, CRATERS AND HILLS
Slopes, Craters and Hills are major problems for any machine, and
as a result most units will be significantly slowed while crossing
them, including hovercraft. Gentle Slopes cannot be crossed by
any heavy equipment while lighter equipment is slowed somewhat.
Hills and Slopes are also difficult to see over, and will block your
unit's line of sight.

So... in this game a baneblade or titan (as examples of heavy equipment) cannot cross "gentle" slopes, much less hills? I don't think I'm understanding that rule correctly!!?

4.5. ROUGH GROUND
Rocky landscapes are shown in this game as 'Rough' tiles. Rough
tiles provide some cover to your units, but also slow your units
down substantially. All units are able to cross rough terrain, but
lighter units with tracks will do the best job in the region.
4.6. JUNGLES
In the game you will encounter three
types of jungle – sparse, normal and
dense. Sparse jungle slows your heavier
units down, but doesn't completely stop
anything from passing. Normal jungle is
harder to move through and blocks line
of sight better than sparse jungle. Some
heavy equipment will not be able to pass through Normal jungles.
Dense jungle is almost impossible to cross – only light infantry
and aircraft can do it. However dense jungle provides great cover
and blocks all line of sight.

Jungle terrain rules seem to make sense. Rough ground rules...  ??? For something on the scale of a titan or baneblade, that should be like rolling over gravel.

Also, I can understand swamps giving mechanical units of any kind severe trouble, but "Swamps provide no cover, and as a result are useless in a defensive line." I understand what those words mean separately, but when put together like that their meaning becomes gibberish. Maybe I'm not thinking of the right kind of swamps...

4.8. SETTLEMENTS AND FORTIFICATIONS
These terrains include settlements, ork camps, fortifications,
strongpoints, trenches, factories and ore mines. With the exception
of trenches, these terrains are unique in that only infantry can enter
them (not even aircraft can). They also provide excellent cover (but
block your line of sight). Fortification, Strongpoint and Trench
hexes also provide a defensive bonus for any units stationed there.
NOTE: Settlements, Fortifications and Trenches are the only
terrain types in the game that provide any specific defensive
bonus (other than cover). All other types provide either no
difference or a penalty.

So, mechanical units (including aircraft?) can enter trenches but not settlements or ork camps. And they can provide cover bonuses but maybe a defensive penalty.

"Toxic and Thermal rivers work the same way as their standard counterparts."

They have no toxic or thermal effects, like their standard counterparts?? (The manual has so far not explained at all what makes toxic or thermal water special.)

The Grope Weed, Shifting Sand, and Helsreach Monster terrains are nifty.  Seems like the heavies ought to be able to neutralize the Monster terrains though (not simply ignore their nearby effects).

Some units can spend movement points on special abilities, like recon units (apparently) being able to move one, recon farther, then retreat, all on the same turn.

[JasonPratt]

Let me clarify that although I'm confused and somewhat incredulous about some of the terrain rules, I still have reasonably good hopes for the game. I got a legitimate thrill out of seeing Iron Legion kit in the upgrade/purchase screen. 

Also there's a mission editor, and I for one look forward to someone lightly hacking the PzC / Arma files to bring us an alternate history where some Ork Roks fall on Europe during the rise of Hitler and Stalin.

[fabius]

Blow you? I hope that came from your phone's autocorrect.

Please considerate it an exclamation of exasperation rather than a personal or open invitation.

[JasonPratt]

Incidentally, while aircraft are not mentioned in the unit categories (for some unfathomable reason  ), they are mentioned with some frequency in the terrain explanations.

For that matter, submarines seem to be briefly mentioned in the terrain explanations, though whether that's referring to 'proper' submarine or submersible land units I can't figure out yet.

It occurs to me that the differences in water types would make a big difference in how marine units are affected, but since the manual is mostly written with land units in view (and an occasional nod to aircraft like fairies over in the corner of the yard who disappear when you look in their direction) that would explain why the author(s) don't bother to talk about water terrain effects much.

[Gusington]

Ok fabius...I'll hazard a guess that English isn't your first language.

[undercovergeek]

Unsure of fabius' origins but its a well known saying over here and no it has nothing to do with what mrs g does for me, err you, us?!

[tgb]

Unsure of fabius' origins but its a well known saying over here and no it has nothing to do with what mrs g does for me, err you, us?!

I believe it originated with that noted early 20th century explorer and navigator, P.T. Sailor, who was heard to exclaim "Well blow me down!" by several members of his crew.

[Staggerwing]

I thinks yer right.

[tgb]

Sailor was an interesting guy.  He was said to be extremely fond of rum, and when he had too much he would entertain other patrons at the bar by stuffing his ever-present corncob pipe full of spinach, and then suck the spinach whole through the stem.  This usually caused his face to turn red until steam came out of his ears.

One rumor was that he did this one night at a formal dinner for an admiral and his wife, and because it stayed on his record, he was never commissioned a ship of his own.

[Gusington]

I like rum too.

[panzerde]

I like rum too.

How do you feel about olive oil?

[tgb]

Sailor's career was further derailed when we ran afoul of the notorious Oyl crime family, run by brother & sister Olive & Castor.  The Oyls controlled the waterfront, and ran several illegal operations there, including bootlegging, loan sharking, and prostitution.  Finding himself heavily in debt to the Oyls, and with no means to pay the debt off, Sailor was forced to work it off by regularly taking part in illegal, bare-knuckle, boxing matches, often facing off against Oyl muscle and hit man, Boris "Bluto" Ivanovich.

[JasonPratt]

Due to this problem he started living under an alias "Captain Strong" while investigating where his alien seaweed 'spinach' wa0s coming from. Being a goodhearted sort, he just wanted it cultivated and sold at minimum cost to help bring all humanity to good health.

But problems ensued. Sure the seaweed gave him the strength to literally swim through the air by flapping his arms properly, but it was also as addictive as heroin.

That was around the time Superman got involved.



...wait, y'all didn't know I was serious? This legitimately happened. In pre-Crisis continuity.

[tgb]

Towards the end of his life, Sailor finally came out of the closet as a gay man with the publication of his autobiography "I Yam What I Yam".  In it, he revealed that his long-time roommate and companion, Aaron "Poopdeck Pappy" Grossman was not his biological father as he had been telling people, but more of a sugar daddy, and that he was called "Poopdeck" for a reason.

[Lord Zimoa]

Join us for the Warhammer live stream!

On the 26th of November, the day of its release, we will be playing Warhammer 40,000: Armageddon live during our weekly Twitch streaming session! Our very own Iain McNeil, will guide you through the game, playing one of the over 30 nail biting scenarios as he tries to save Armageddon from the Ork invasion. This will be the first time we are showing live gameplay of the game, so be sure to drop by on the 26th at 20:00 CET / 14:00 EST!

The stream will be live here:

http://bit.ly/RqB5FT