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Flames of War advice

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 00:22:00 No.14775914 View View Reply Original Report

Sup /tg/,

I'm a WW2 fag and I'm trying to start playing Flames of War. I have the rulebook and a Intelligence book, and with my group we are choosing our sides. I would like to know if its a good idea to invest in this game, how good is the game once you play some battles, and what is the tactical style of each faction

Pope !czGPU9ORJI

Pope !czGPU9ORJI Mon 02 May 2011 00:24:00 No.14775933 Report

Quoted By: >>14775954 >>14776812

i almost got into flames of war, wasnt a big fan of the miniatures though. if your going to play a game you better love the models.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 00:27:00 No.14775954 Report

Quoted By: >>14776812

>>14775933

I think most of them are really gorgeous, althrough the infantry will be a little difficult to paint correctly with that size

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 00:45:00 No.14776097 Report

Quoted By: >>14776812

BTW, Is it cheaper than warhammer?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:06:00 No.14776812 Report

Quoted By:

>>14775933
The models are what they are. If you like the look of Sherman Tanks, Panzer IVs, T-34s, etc. then the models are perfectly fine since that's what the actual historical things looked like.

>>14775954
I find paining 15mm scale infantry to be surprisingly easy. There are not that many details to worry about and your painting can be a lot more... impressionistic.

Also, with the exception of some SS cammo patterns, the paint schemes are usually rather simple. Once color for the uniform, another for the helmet and flesh color for the face and hands. Paint the rifles brown and metallic and you're done!

>>14776097
Anything is cheaper than Warhammer $40,000.

But seriously, it usually is. A box of 5 tanks may cost you $50 but you'll only be able to field maybe 15 tanks in a 1750 point Tank Company list anyway.

Infantry can be a bit pricey, especially for Soviet infantry hordes. Mechanized Infantry is also a bit expensive since you have to buy all the infantry AND all of their trucks or half-tracks.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:11:00 No.14776855 Report

Quoted By: >>14776900 >>14777660

The game is fine, but the miniatures are butt ugly and woefully overpriced. Check alternative ranges such as The Plastic Soldier Company (plastic T-34, Panzers IV, and gorgeous infantrymen) or Gaming Models (4$ Resin vehicles).

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO unknown.jpg, 173KiB, 1023x764

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:14:00 No.14776900 Report

Quoted By: >>14776908 >>14776922

>>14776855
Forgot my pic: on the right side, the Plastic Soldier's T-34, on the right, FoW's official model. When an alternative range is half as cheap and looks better than the official one, you know what's the right thing to do...

Guybrarian

Guybrarian Mon 02 May 2011 02:14:00 No.14776901 Report

Quoted By:

>>14775914

For a very, very generalized view of how each faction plays:

Germans: Sort of the Space Marines of Flames of War, in that they tend to have superbly trained, decent morale troops. They will often have very cool toys, and are a rather handy army. Their special rules are more army-wide, rather than unit specific.

Soviets: Big hordes of mediocre units, usually. Their rules focus on big hordes slowly advancing. They tend to have heavy stuff, if a little outdated. HOWEVER, they have one of the best medium tanks in the game with the Late War T-34/85, a gun that rapes all other mediums and can take on Tigers. I played against one of the GT finalists a few months ago, who raped my face with his T-34 horde.

Americans: They are, without a doubt, the combined arms kings. Great artillery rules, great infantry rules, and fast tanks: they are the ones who can bring the heat in arty.

British: The British are the most "stubborn" army. They live and die to hold the line. Their standard troops are more likely to stay in an assault than Fearless fallschirmjager or paratroopers. Cool artillery rules,and their infantry are pretty darn tough.

Questions?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:15:00 No.14776908 Report

Quoted By: >>14776923 >>14777113

>>14776900
Oops, meant 'on the left, FoW's official model'.

>shamefur dispray

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:16:00 No.14776922 Report

Quoted By:

>>14776900
Seen them in store, and...well, obviously there will not produce stuff like Italians or Hungarians in plastic, but Battlefront better start worrying when I can get twice as many T-34's or Panzer IV's for the same price and without the CONSTANT quality failings of malaysian factory. Or 130 infantry models for slightly less than half the price of same number of FOW ones.

Guybrarian

Guybrarian Mon 02 May 2011 02:16:00 No.14776923 Report

Quoted By:

>>14776908

Battlefront's models aren't terrible. They're decent quality, and hey, I don't have a problem buying from them. Heck, I can bring non-Battlefront minis into a tournament, so I mix and match.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:22:00 No.14776970 Report

Quoted By: >>14777626

>>14775914
>I would like to know if its a good idea to invest in this game

I would highly recommend it. I used to be a 40K player, but after trying out FoW I fell in love with the game.

The rules are relatively well written and a lot of the concepts behind the game mechanics make a lot of sense.

>how good is the game once you play some battles,

Rather good. Once you know the basics of the rules it's easy to get into playing some battles. One thing you'll quickly learn is that terrain is a must in this game. If you have tanks that can see and shoot across most of the board, you need things like hills forests and buildings to block line of sight.

The scale of the battles also take on a very epic feel since the models are so small and you can fit more stuff onto the table. Compared to 40K it's more like entire companies are clashing over a large town and surrounding area compared to a couple of squads with a vehicle clashing over a small neighborhood.

>and what is the tactical style of each faction
That depends more on the type of company you're playing than the nation you're playing.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:25:00 No.14776989 Report

Quoted By: >>14777048

>I used to be a 40K player, but after trying out FoW I fell in love with the game.

because it's 40k with a few tweaks in the right place really, it's easy to switch over in both directions.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:27:00 No.14777009 Report

Quoted By:

>because it's 40k with a few tweaks in the right place really, it's easy to switch over in both directions.
Basically, this. Less variety, but more balance in FoW. I enjoy both games, to be honest.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:31:00 No.14777048 Report

Quoted By:

>>14776989
>because it's 40k with a few tweaks in the right place really

Perhaps. I never said it was anything more or less than that, just that I like FoW better than 40K.

The rules are highly similar in many aspects, but where the rules are different is what makes this game better in my opinion.

For one thing, hitting your target is based on how good your enemy is at staying out of sight. Any idiot can be aimed to shoot a rifle, but inexperienced troops will just walk into machine gun fire while veterans will be staying low and fining whatever cover they can.

Also, there is no such thing as getting caught in an assault the entire game. All assaults finish in the same turn they are started and tend to be bloody. And the defenders get to take free pot-shots at the attackers as they run towards their position.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 02:39:00 No.14777113 Report

Quoted By:

>>14776908
I actually like the Battlefront model better.

And yes, there are cheaper alternatives, but I tend to like to support the game itself by supporting the company that makes the models for it.

Also It's solid resin compared to hollow plastic, of course there wiill be a noticeable price difference.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 03:12:00 No.14777392 Report

Quoted By:

>And yes, there are cheaper alternatives, but I tend to like to support the game itself by supporting the company that makes the models for it.
I don't mind a hefty price tag, as long as the models are actually good (see: GW). But when a tiny, less than one year old British company can outperform Battlefront, something is definitely wrong.

FoW models may or may not look better (the differences aren't that significant anyway), but there's no reason such a price gap between similar range should even exist, given Battlefront hasn't the design or mold expanses of a company such as GW.

>produc nsubpar
Yes captach, Battlefront models tend to be sub-par.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 03:33:00 No.14777626 Report

Quoted By: >>14777751

>>14776970

How long lasts a medium-sized battle? (like, 1,5k at WH40k)

does playing with different nations feel different? Or more or less are the same but with little tweaks? (like, different space marine chapters)

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 03:35:00 No.14777660 Report

Quoted By:

>>14776855

OMG thanks for the links :)

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 03:44:00 No.14777751 Report

Quoted By:

>>14777626
A typical 1500 point game can last maybe 3 hours.

As for nations and playstyles, yes there are differences based on special rules. Even changing the timeperiod in the war effects the game play.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 03:48:00 No.14777796 Report

Quoted By: >>14777858 >>14778036 >>14778447

I was thinking about making an Italian army (probably Battaglione Bersaglieri from North Africa; I've heard they have a late war book but I haven't seen it). How well do they work?

..While we're on the subject, how the armies work in terms of tactics, etc. The 1d4chan article didn't really have much on the playstyles of the armies.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 03:54:00 No.14777858 Report

Quoted By: >>14777905 >>14778024

>>14777796

italy is pretty sub par in late war

<finnish player here gettan the best of both german and russian tanks

also KVs are just stupid

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 04:00:00 No.14777905 Report

Quoted By: >>14789024

>>14777858
Where exactly are all the minor factions hiding? I know there's a lot of them in Blitzkrieg, but where are they in mid or late war?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 04:15:00 No.14778024 Report

Quoted By: >>14778071

>>14777858

Its feasible to play with armies explained in different books?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 04:16:00 No.14778036 Report

Quoted By:

>>14777796

I have some Bersaglieri and I really enjoy them.
Though thanks to the updated book, they combined all damn squads into infantry/heavy machine gun/anti tank gun platoons. Though I guess it stays true to the fact that they had more guns than men...

Also Italian tanks are shit. Vetted, but my god... don't count on them to go toe to toe very often.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 04:17:00 No.14778047 Report

Quoted By: >>14778489

What is the game scale? 1/72?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 04:19:00 No.14778071 Report

Quoted By:

>>14778024
From a fluff standpoint? Probably not.
Balance-wise? I think they're designed so any two armies can face off as long as they're from the same era (early, mid, or late.)

Anonymous

View Same Google ImgOps iqdb SauceNAO unknown.jpg, 79KiB, 400x566

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 04:32:00 No.14778225 Report

Quoted By: >>14778458

Is the second edition much different than the first? Are compatible first edition and second edition books?

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 04:55:00 No.14778447 Report

Quoted By:

>>14777796
>The 1d4chan article didn't really have much on the playstyles of the armies.

Because not many people on 4chan actually play the game.

As others have mentioned it depends a lot more on the kind of force than it does on what nation you play.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 04:56:00 No.14778458 Report

Quoted By:

>>14778225
Your intelligence briefings from 1st ed are still fine for use in 2nd ed with 2nd ed rules they will be slightly overcosted in late war so you might wanna use the dday books for that but if you are just having friendly games it dosent really matter

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 05:00:00 No.14778489 Report

Quoted By:

>>14778047
>What is the game scale? 1/72?

It is 15mm scale. Roughly 1/100.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 05:06:00 No.14778530 Report

Quoted By: >>14779695

As some one who has been playing for the last 3 months or so about two or three games a week. It really does matter more if you chose Tank, Mechanized, or Infantry. Than it does German, Soviet, American, British, Italian, Finish, Romanian, etc.
The Nations each have special rules which are neat and make them have different play styles from each other. for Example a Russian Tankovy (17 T34s) is Waaaaay different than Panzer Lehr (5 tigers); but not as different as a American Tank company and an American Paratroopers list for example.
Ya Dig???

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 07:01:00 No.14779695 Report

Quoted By: >>14780292

>>14778530

Gotcha. I'm looking forward to play with a mechanized axis army (gepanzerte panzergrenadierkompanie). I like those armored mechanized transports ...

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 08:01:00 No.14780292 Report

Quoted By: >>14780384

>>14779695
Those things are deathtraps for your troops. If they got shot up at the wrong time it would kill all the passengers.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 08:10:00 No.14780384 Report

Quoted By:

>>14780292
Unarmoured transports are the real death traps. Definitely hop out as soon as possible with those. Using the armoured transports properly is a tricky balance between getting them close enough that the armour was useful, but not too close that the half-tracks die. Usually I just take trucks and dismount after a turn of driving up a road.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 09:58:00 No.14781771 Report

Quoted By: >>14783068

Fuck Barkmanns workshop

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 12:14:00 No.14783068 Report

Quoted By:

>>14781771
Yeah.... I have a friend who uses him and I have to say he is a rather nasty special character.

Anonymous

Anonymous Mon 02 May 2011 21:56:00 No.14786827 Report

Quoted By:

Bumping

Anonymous

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Anonymous Tue 03 May 2011 02:04:00 No.14788819 Report

Quoted By:

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 03 May 2011 02:25:00 No.14789024 Report

Quoted By: >>14789805

>>14777905
Eastern Front has the Polish, Hungarian, and Romanians, as well as an Italian list.

Stalin's Europe for Late War has the Allied Romanians, and Hungarians.

Italians in Late-War I'm not sure on, but I believe their lists are found in the pre-Normandy splat books.

As far as Battlefront and miniatures go, I like their minis. But I know you can use anything 15mm scale in a tournament, and Battlefront actually encourages it.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 03 May 2011 02:28:00 No.14789063 Report

Quoted By:

u should use the toy soldiers models, half as cheap and better looking

they have infantry too

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 03 May 2011 03:35:00 No.14789805 Report

Quoted By:

>>14789024
Late War Italians are PDF only as far as I know.

Although they are probably going to play a big role in the Monte Cassino campaign book.

Also, how do the minor nations play in Late War? Part of me is tempted to try out a Romanian list.

Anonymous

Anonymous Tue 03 May 2011 03:51:00 No.14790019 Report

Quoted By:

>Eastern Front has the Polish,

Nope. The only polish lists (apart from Blitzkrieg) are for Western Poles, not the LWP, and availible as PDF.

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