Essential Guide #11: One Month On
It's been a month since the relaunch of Age of Legends: The Essential Guide. A massive thank you to everyone who's become a paid subscriber!
To mark the first full month of Age of Legends: The Essential Guide I want to do a run-down of all of the content released so far, and give some exciting updates about mod development - and let you know what articles you can expect next month if you subscribe today.
Month One: Vong-Busting, Fleet Command, Guerrilla War
Essential Guide #1 was packed with tips for defeating the Yuuzhan Vong - generally regarded as the toughest faction to play against (unsurprising considering they nearly conquered the entire Galaxy in just 4 years!)
Then at the end of October I gave you an in-depth guide about organising your fleets, from the smallest flotilla of a junior Captain, to the vast armadas led by Grand Admirals. After looking at the tactics of space battles, we delved into the high strategy of Galactic Conquest maps, with a how-to guide about winning against overwhelming odds and defeating a superior foe. Paid subscribers then received six examples campaigns to try out using that startegy, from the Mandalorians to the Hutts-in-exile. (Subscribe today to unlock that article!)
Issue #3 focused on some of the more obscure scenarios available in the mod, from the Yevethans uprising against the Empire, to the Jedi Outcast campaign.
The new v1.32 release is out now, and if you haven’t had chance to try it (or you just want some more information) you can read more about the massive amount of new content that was included here. I also released the first faction in-depth guides, focusing on the new playable warlords: the Pentastar Alignment, Zero Command, and the Venator fleets of the Restored Empire.
Essential Guide #8 looked at what’s ahead for Age of Legends, and in this issue I want to provide more detail on that.
Development Update: Aerial Combat!
As subscribers know, the next release of Age of Legends, v1.33, will focus on the first major land reworks the mod has ever seen. This will involve a pretty much total re-balancing of ground combat, and the introduction of ground-based fighters and bombers.
Existing units will be totally reworked, with five different aerial unit types: airspeeders, fighters, bombers, gunships and transports. They will have a ‘rock-paper-scissors’ type mechanic, and each will have a clear and distinct roll above the battlefield.
Airspeeders - effective against infantry, light/medium vehicles and airspeeders. Ineffective against structures or heavy vehicles. Vulnerable to fighters and anti-air fire.
Fighters - highly effective against all other aerial units. Generally too fast to be effective against land units.
Bombers - effective against structures, and some slow-moving heavy vehicles. Very vulnerable to fighters.
Gunships - effective against infantry and vehicles, but ineffective against everything else.
Transports - they carry infantry or light vehicles around the battlefield, and typically have light anti-air defence.
All of this will be very carefully balanced. And most ground units will be able to fire (even if ineffectively) against aerial units. Long gone will be the days of airspeeders overwhelming landing zones, or a single gunship taking out an entire base.
Do You Miss The Expanded Universe Novels?
Well look no further. Each month or so I will be releasing a new short story set in the Legends/Expanded Universe continuity.
Why did some Jedi in the classic EU wield red lightsabers? That’s the question of Jedi padawan Sie Capri as she completes her training at Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Praxeum in What Does The Colour Matter? And before that I released this short story about Gilad Pellaeon, as he prepares the Empire for an inevitable, cataclysmic battle with the Yuuzhan Vong.
So, if you’ve enjoyed the first full month of The Essential Guide, please consider signing-up today as a paid subscriber (it’s just $5 a month, or a discounted $55 for a whole year!) Take a look here.
What’s Coming Up:
A new short story sequence focusing on an embattled Imperial garrison under siege from Phaeda in the last days of the Yuuzhan Vong War, and the Galactic Alliance freighter pilot running supplies to them.
A comprehensive guide to the Imperial Remnant roster across each era, and an in-depth faction guide to the New Republic in era 1, the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Endor. Don’t miss out!