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Rebel Defiance Campaign 2: Round 1 Results

19 Aug 2013 - 13:08 by TALON

FirstStrike News | comments (0)

Greetings Troopers!

The Rebel pilot glanced over his Y-Wing Starfighter's instruments once more to check all the boards were green and that his systems were all at full operational readiness. He then glanced over his shoulder to his gunner sitting behind him who gave him the thumbs up that all was good back there too. In a few moments they'd find out if the intel they'd been provided for this mission was on the money or not. Then as if in answer to his unspoken question, a number of flashes of light and a blur of motion flared up in the void before him. A convoy of Imperial Bulk Freighters entering the edge of Kessel controlled space, just as the Bothans had promised. But no escort Frigate to accompany them? That was unusual. Especially if the cargo was as valuable as they suspected. That's when a flurry of smaller craft jumped out of hyperspace.

Hyperspace capable Imperial starfighters? That could only mean TIE Defenders. Suddenly the pilot was only too happy that they had the Alliance's brand new A-Wing Interceptors covering their backs. With the order from their squad leader given, the pilot guns his engines and the Rebel strike group moves in for the kill...

And so it begins...

The second Rebel Defiance First Strike Campaign got underway this week with smaller numbers of players than we'd have liked, but I think more will join as this thing gets going. The decision was made to play this week's matches on co-op maps with bots to bolster the numbers. Not ideal, but with the majority of this week's maps having co-op versions it was all good with only Escape From Hoth having to be substituted with Imperial Convoy Raid. As we get more players we'll switch to the bot-less Conquest maps.

Still, a fun time was had by all, and even after the official campaign games were over people still hung around to continue playing rounds into the wee hours. Also don't forget you do not have to be registered to participate, just turn up on the night and you'll be assigned a team to play for. So feel free to have a taste before you decide whether you want to commit to signing on for the campaign.

So now down to business. How exactly did these first matches go?

ROUND 1: IMPERIAL CONVOY RAID (KESSEL)

While on a fleet re-supply run to the Outer Rim an Imperial convoy came under heavy attack from a Rebel hit and fade strike group just on the outskirts of Kessel controlled space. A squadron of the Empire's new TIE Defender heavy starfighters were on escort duty resulting in a fierce skirmish in the depths of space as Rebel bombers swooped in to strafe the Imperial Bulk Freighters. At first the Empire's starfighter screen appeared to be holding as the advanced fighters tore through the advancing waves of Rebel Y-Wings, but the small swift and deadly A-Wing Interceptors started to leave their mark on the defending fighter craft allowing some of the bombers to get to their targets. Just as it looked like the Imperial forces would be victorious the freighters started to erupt into fiery blossoms of golden light in the darkness of the void. The Emperor will not be pleased.

ROUND 2: ENCOUNTER AT MOS ENTHA

Investigating a downed starship over Tatooine suspected of having ties to the Rebellion, a battalion of elite Imperial Sandtroopers moved in to the sleepy town of Mos Entha under cover of night. Seeing the flaming wreckage of the vessel in the center of town they decided to flank around the rear of the ship once sensors detected the presence of unauthorized lifeforms in the area. Engaging forces in the south of the town it became evident that these were indeed Rebels and the Imperial troops were then free to use lethal force to pacify the area. The initial firefight was fierce and hard fought, but the Imperial forces were successful. However while their forces were engaged here, other Rebel units were securing other areas of the town. The Sandtroopers swiftly moved to intercept, and before long were able to stamp out the Rebel presence in the region.

ROUND 3: NULL SENSOR STATION

Before a powerful new Imperial sensor listening outpost can go online, a heavily equipped Rebel armoured platoon is dropped into the area with orders to neutralize the station before it becomes operational and potentially exposes all their activities in the sector. The Rebel forces get off to a fantastic start, swiftly occupying the tactically crucial landing pad complex before moving on to the installation itself. They managed to hold out against the full force of an Imperial counter attack successfully for some time, even probing the facility entrance with daring sneak attacks. However once the surprised Imperial forces stationed there finally got their act together in the face of this dangerous threat, their defensive armoured divisions finally broke through and re-secured the landing pad. Following this success rather than push forward to the Rebel staging area, the Imperial commander made the risky decision to hold their position and fortify their defenses at the landing pad, forcing the enemy to come to them. It was a gamble that paid off, as against an entrenched enemy the Rebel forces fell foul of heavy weapons fire which made short work of their armour finally defeating them. Though it was a very close call the gamble paid off.

So for this first round of battles the Empire has achieved two victories to the Rebel's one, the unadjusted scores are 25 and 20 respectively. The Rebels had two non-registered players on their side this week for all 3 rounds giving them a penalty of 3 points, so the results after the first week are as follows:

Imperials 25

Rebels 17

This gives the Empire an early lead, but obviously it is still all to play for. The Rebels need to bring their 'A' game next time, and have more registered players attending to avoid the penalties they suffered this week.

Next week there will be no games as I'm away and Twigs will also not be in attendance. By all means turn up and have a few community games instead next Sunday if you wish, get some practice in for when the Campaign resumes the week after on Sunday the 1st of September, where the battle to control the Galaxy will continue on:

Escape from Hoth

Tatooine: Mos Espa

Bandomeer: Refinery Assault

So now the Galactic conflict is just commencing, lines are being drawn in the sand, but who will end up victorious?

If you feel you have the skills to help out either faction in its quest to rule the galaxy, head on over to:

Rebel Defiance Campaign Registration

To register for the campaign and restore order/freedom to the galaxy.

Until next time...

See you on the Battlefield Troopers!

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Battle of Hoth: Echo Base Update

16 Aug 2013 - 11:08 by TALON

FirstStrike News | comments (0)

Greetings Troopers!

It has been quite a while since we had a development based update, so I thought it was high time we got this out to you people to show you were we are at with our work on The Battle of Hoth. It has been a slow slog, life has a tendency to get in the way of long term projects like this, such as myself having the joyous arrival of a baby girl last Christmas, believe me she has been taking up a lot of my time these past 7 months.

That said, work does still progress, and this update will show you some of the less glamorous locations within Echo Base which will help fill in the gaps and flesh out the massive location which is a bustling Rebel Outpost. Where do the Rebel personnel sleep? Eat, receive briefings? At the initial concept blocking out stage we looked to the Dorling Kindersley book of Star Wars Complete Locations for inspiration where movie reference wasn't enough and to help fill in the gaps. Following are some of the results.

First up, the Briefing Chamber. Once we distilled the massive cross section illustration of Echo Base now to the key locations seen in the movies and the essential other elements we wanted to feature, this location stood out as a must have. Effectively a large arena featuring a projector screen and a nice juxtaposition of prefab elements and carved out ice chamber, this could prove to be a striking location to look at, but also an interesting one to battle in, with wide open spaces, but also minor pockets of cover in the form of the chairs in the center of the chamber, not to mention the podium on stage. You'll be dodging more than rotten tomatoes if you take up position up there.

With the Bunk Room, or Standard Personnel Quarters we are looking at just a standard generic room that can be scattered around the base. Within these you might find hidden pick-up items, or just a respite from the battles going on within the base.

Then we move on to our final location of this update, the Pilot Ready Room, a last place for pilots to catch up on their battle plans or relax prior to jumping in the cockpit. This room features a number of elements that will be familiar to Star Wars fans. The centerpiece is a holographic projector based on the one in the briefing room on the Rebel cruiser known as Home One or the Headquarters Frigate, which featured in Return of the Jedi. Additionally there are holographic Chess tables (which can be programmed to show tactical data as well as animated Chess pieces) and couches similar to those seen within the main hold of the Millennium Falcon. This mishmash of items can easily be justified by the prefab nature of the base. All the materials they brought in to build the base will most likely be modular living space components from their ships, and there has always been a bit of a thrown together nature to Rebel Alliance tech reflecting the various cultures thrown together to form the Rebellion.

Well I hope you have enjoyed this look at what we're currently working on. Next up we'll have the more easily recognisable key location of Hangar 7, so keep your eyes peeled for that one.

Finally, don't forget that this weekend sees the opening round of the new Campaign this Sunday. Numbers are still pretty low so the event might get postponed for a week or two to allow more people to join. If you want in on some epic First Strike Star Wars multiplayer action sign up today at Rebel Defiance:

Rebel Defiance Campaign Registration

Until next time,

See you on the Battlefield Troopers!