Battlefleet Gothic Armada

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Developed by Tindalos Studios and published by Focus Home Interactive (the same guys behind Blood Bowl, Mordhiem, and Space Hulk Deathwing), this game recreates the old specialist tabletop, pitting the different factions of Warhammer 40,000 in brutal space warfare.

Plot

Nothing really new, just a rookie admiral fighting Failbaddon's attempts to get the Blackstone fortresses. When you discover the plot unfolding and run to tell the Imperial Navy about the looming Chaos tsunami, the Inquisition immediately shocks your balls to be certain of Heresy-free before you're promoted to sector fleet command with more promises of continued balls-shocking if you feth up. Grimdark abounds.

Oh, and it seems they got the same voice filter they used in Retribution to make Abby sound like himself, as well as Alpha Legion animation style which of course is gonna be highly exploitable for Youtube videos and whatnot.

Gameplay

So far it looks like a mix between Star Wars: Empire at War and Sins of a Solar Empire (Fitting, as there have been Battlefleet Gothic mods made for both). The game allows you to customize different ship classes with upgrades, which allows for limited personalization of fleets and specialization into different styles of naval warfare. As it's still in beta there may be balance changes and bug fixes pending that will change how the game and different factions play by release.

Tactics

Depending on the chosen faction, gameplay will encourage a certain tactical doctrine based on archetypal strengths and weaknesses but given that customization is limited and ships have mixed loadouts, [Imperial and Chaos] fleets will have some viability at all engagement ranges and mission types. As things stand now, Chaos is better suited to sniping at range and the Imperial Navy is better suited to brawling. Introduction of Ork (assumed assault specialists) and Eldar (assumed ranged/hit and run specialists) fleets at a later date may force Chaos and Imperial Navy both to build as less specialized, hybrid take-all-comers types to avoid bad matchups, but that is pure speculation.

Since changing ships and upgrade/skill loadouts consume limited in-game resources, players will most likely have to commit to a certain 'fleet build' in all game modes, with the leveling of new admirals and different builds within the same faction a likely time sink.

In the TT game, ship collision required a Ramming special order and was not automatic. In BFG: Armada ship collision is automatic and there is a maneuver resource that allows even very large capital ships to quickly turn and accelerate, making ramming a highly effective (albeit limited use) damage-dealer.

Point defense turrets are the default defense mechanism against torpedoes, bombers, and boarding craft. As ships take damage, they lose defense turrets in proportion to their health. This limits the effectiveness of the aforementioned tactics, especially at extreme ranges or against massed, undamaged ships. Late-game, however, when formations have likely broken up and as ships sustain damage, these become powerful offensives.

Imperial Navy

Love Nova Cannons? Certain cruisers can be fit with these murder guns, allowing you to mass enough firepower from very far away to wreck minor ships with coordinated volleys. That aside, Imperial weaponry is high-alpha but low-medium ranged and heavily favors broadsides. Heavy armor but no special resistance to being boarded (aside from limited crew and favour upgrades) means that Imperial ships prefer close-ranged shootouts but may struggle against dedicated assault fleets. Favours (specializations) include Navy, Inquisition, Mechanicus, and Astartes.

Chaos

What is this? Marks other than Khorne and Nurgle?! EXTRAHERESY! Ships aren't as tough as their Imperial counterparts but are faster, have longer range, and more powerful lances. Standard tactics basically involve playing keep-away and throwing out Deathclaws every 90 seconds to take advantage of the game's critical hit system, which can cripple an Imperial player with bad RNG. Alternatively, you'll want to really improve your lances and hit Imperial ship's from outside their sensor range.