|
|
2/19/2008 - Mongoose
has released new minis of the
Earthforce Hyperion Heavy cruiser (a
new sculpt that is supposed to be
easier to base) plus variants
(Command, Assault, and Missile
versions) plus they are selling ball
jointed flying bases (both large and
small versions).
Mongoose has
also mentioned that they are working
on another space game they hope to
release in 2009 but they don't
mention any more details. |

Small
flying base - ball jointed |
|

Earth Alliance
Hyperion Cruiser (new sculpt) |

Earth Alliance
Hyperion Command Cruiser |

Earth Alliance
Hyperion Assault Cruiser |

Earth Alliance
Hyperion Missile Cruiser |
2/12/2008
- A big announcement from Mongoose
(link): "After
a very successful number of years
producing miniatures for our Origins
award-winning game A Call to Arms,
Mongoose Publishing is announcing today
that we will cease production of this
range of models with effect from March
31st 2008. The
increasing costs associated with this
range combined with its sheer breadth
means that production of miniatures is no
longer commercially viable at this time.
As a result we have reduced our prices on
the miniatures by 20%, which will continue
until March 31st 2008, when they will be
removed from our catalogue. So, if you
have been thinking about that new Shadow
fleet or want to bolster the defences of
the ISA, now is the time! We
will still continue to support A Call to
Arms through Signs & Portents and book
releases." Additional
information on the background is in the Mongoose
Blog (link) "The
reality of A Call to Arms, despite its
popularity, is that a miniatures
production facility cannot be run on B5
alone these days. We had hoped to bolster
the capacity of the facility with Starship
Troopers (it needs 2, maybe 3 miniatures
games to run for the long term), but
rising production costs mean we simply
cannot continue to subsidise it. That is
the hard nature of business - something
can sell well, and still not be selling
enough. If the hole is not plugged in good
order, we risk losing the whole ship." "I
want to emphasise that we have not dropped
the game itself. We'll continue to support
it in S&P, sure, but if there is
sufficient demand, we will continue with
book releases as well, covering different
campaigns, variants and scenarios. We will
also keep running events for as long as
there is interest. In addition, we will be
using the rules for future games." 11/26/2007
- Mongoose has posted a State
of Mongoose 2007 essay on their
forum outlining what they have gone
through in 2007 and their plans for 2008
and beyond. Highlights for ACTA
and space games and miniatures include: "We
will be releasing just one rules book for B5:
A Call to Arms every year, usually
around summer, with the first being Powers
& Principalities. We are still
working out the contents of this tome, but
you can expect to see new ships (such as
the Omicron light cruiser for EA Crusade
fleets and the Vorlon Frigate), new fleets
(we already have draft lists for the Hyach
and Ipsha), as well as a wealth of new
rules such as fighting in hyperspace,
maybe a new rules sub-system for fielding
massive fleets, and a few other bits and
pieces we have had in the works for a
while. . . You
can expect to see new models from Powers
& Principalities begin appearing
in Signs & Portents throughout the
first half of the year. Other
books will be added to the range but, in
keeping with our promise, none will be
required to keep up with the latest rules.
The first is the B5: A Call to Arms
Painting Guide, written by Adrian and
featuring some of his superb models. This
will be an absolutely stunning book filled
with gorgeous models, and lots of handy
tips – whether you want to paint like
Adrian or put together an entire fleet on
Saturday morning so you can play in the
afternoon. This treat will be appearing in
March." Plus
a bit of interesting news on the future of
the ACTA game engine: "The
next phase for this game is to
‘deprovincialise’ it, by introducing
two new, different settings. We have
already proved that the basic game system
works in other genres (such as Victory
at Sea), and there is plenty more we
can do with space combat outside of
Babylon 5. The first, provisionally
entitled Emergence, charts
Mankind’s first manned explorations into
the Solar System, where the supernations
of the Earth compete for territory and
resources. It is a great deal lower tech
than Babylon 5, and we are working hard to
give each nation a distinctive ‘look’
with some really nice miniatures. We are
aiming to make the fleet lists compatible
with those in Babylon 5, allowing you to
switch between the two settings at will. We
have also just started negotiations on
another licensed setting for A Call to
Arms, one that will feature some
awesome space battles, spread across
several different fleets. Even though it
uses the same rules as the current CTA,
this game will play very, very
differently. The technology in this
setting is. . . different to that in B5! Emergence
has no solid release date planned, though
we are currently looking at the end of
2008 – that said, it could easily be
leapfrogged by the ‘other’ setting,
which I think some gamers will be prepared
to kill for. . ." In
addition, since the last update, the 2nd
edition rulebooks have been released and
had a number of problems with their
bindings and pages falling out.
Mongoose will replace any books with these
problems. More miniatures have been
released (pics at Mongoose's
ACTA page) including
the asymmetrical Gaim fleet, Psi Corps
Mothership, Drazi Claweagle Direct Assault
Frigate, Vree Xonn Dreadnought, Brakiri
Cidikar Heavy Carrier, Lumati Transport,
and the Ipsha War Globe. 8/9/2007
- Mongoose has released a bunch of
new minis and fleet boxes. A full
list will be posted with pics after GenCon.
You can see pics and full listings at Mongoose's
ACTA Page. The 2nd
Edition of ACTA is scheduled
for release on August 27th. Highlights
are new fleet boxes for pretty much every
race, Psi Corps ships (Hunter Experimental
Warship, Shadowcloak Escort, Nemisis
Advanced Destroyer, Fighter Carrier), ISA
Liandra Battle Frigate (correct size), EA
Olympus Corvette (corrected size), Drazi
Fireraptor Battleship, Narn Ka'Bin'Tak
Super Dreadnought and G'Vrahn Fast
Cruiser, Drakh Patrol Cruiser and Carrier
(resculpt), Vree Xeel War Carrier, EA
Firebolt Fighter, and a Jumpgate
miniature. Mongoose
also sold some very interesting asymmetrical
Gaim minis at their recent Open Day but
they are not on their release schedule
yet. 5/16/2007
- Mongoose is releasing several new
minis in May with one more on the way in
June plus A Call To Arms Second Edition
Rulebook and A Call to Arms
Second Edition Fleet Lists are scheduled
for an August release. Due out May
21st are minis of the Earth Alliance
Myrmidon LCV, ISA Blue Star, and the
Brakiri Kabrokta Assault Cruiser.
Then due out on May 28th are the Brakiri
Courami Dreadnought, Hurr Gunship, and the
Drazi Firehawk Advanced Cruiser. Due
in June is the mini for the Abbai Juyaca
Dreadnought.
|

Earth Alliance
Myrmidon LCV |

ISA Blue Star |

Brakiri Kabrokta
Assault Cruiser |

Brakiri Courami
Dreadnought |
|

Hurr Gunship |

Drazi Firehawk
Advanced Cruiser |

Abbai Juyaca
Dreadnought |

A Call To
Arms Second Edition Rulebook |
4/4/2007
- 3 more minis are now available, the
Brakiri Shakara Scout Cruiser, the ISA
Nolo'Tar Ranger Frigate and the Minbari
Troligan Armoured Cruiser. Rules for
these ships and many of the other recently
released minis are available in Signs
& Portents Wargamer - 43 which is
now available free for download here.
Also in S&P-W43 are rules for
Hyperspace and an A Call to Arms
2.0 preview.
|

Brakiri Shakara Scout Cruiser |

ISA
Nolo'Tar Ranger Frigate |

Minbari
Troligan Armoured Cruiser |

Signs
& Portents Wargamer - 43 |
| 3/19/2007
- 2 more miniatures have been
released, the Raiders Delta-V2
fighters and the Technomage Pinnace
(full rules for this ship will be in
Signs & Portents 43 Wargamer) |

Raiders Delta-V2
Fighters |

Technomage
Pinnace |
1/24/2007
- Mongoose has announced that
they are also making changes to their
moldmaking process and other areas to
improve the quality of their
miniatures. Fleet
boxes for 3 eras of Earthforce fleets
have been released, Early Years, Third
Age and Crusade Era, along with a new
miniature of the Earth Alliance Omega
Command Destroyer and the Narn T'Rakk
Frigate. |

Earth Alliance
Omega Command Destroyer |
|
Jan
2007
pak'ma'ra Fleet Box Set
pak'ma'ra Porfatis System Patrol Boats
pak'ma'ra Pshul'Shi Convoy Guardian
pak'ma'ra Urik'Hal Supermerchant
Feb
2007
Earth Alliance Tantalus Assault
Carrier Kit
Vorlon Transports
Vree Z'Takk Command Saucer |

Vree Z'Takk Command Saucer |

Narn T'Rakk Frigate |

Earth Alliance Tantalus Assault Carrier |
|

pak'ma'ra
Porfatis System Patrol Boats |

pak'ma'ra
Pshul'Shi Convoy Guardian |

pak'ma'ra
Urik'Hal Supermerchant |

Vorlon Transports |
12/3/2006
- Mongoose has posted the following
information on the State of Mongoose
2006 for miniatures and plans for ACTA
on their message
boards:
What was only ever
intended as a sideline to the Babylon 5
RPG is still, to this day, our most
successful miniatures game – the
popularity of the system has taken us
fairly by surprise, and we have courted
the opinion of many gamers as to the
direction to take over the next few years.
Several new things
will be popping up in 2007. The first will
be a new wave of ships – you will have
already seen the Tiger Starfury, which is
merely the first. The Technomage Pinnace
is nearly complete, the T’Rakk has been
remodelled and is almost ready to go, and
we have oodles more on the way!
This will be
building up to a new second edition of the
game, tidying up all the separate rules
books and supplements over the past two
years. We will be releasing this as a
(small) hardback rulebook, and a (rather
larger) fleet book, with an expanded range
of counter sheets for those who are still
reluctant to pick up a paint brush.
Nothing too radical will be happening to
the game system itself (no, we are not
moving to a D10 system. . .), but there
will be all sorts of interesting bits and
pieces added and tweaked, including three
new fleets – the Gaim, the pak’ma’ra,
and the Psi Corps (the latter of which
also includes Earth’s covert divisions).
A section has also been set aside for ‘other
ships’, those that very much fit within
Babylon 5 but are not tied to any fleet,
such as the Hurr Gunship, the Lumati
Transport and the Ipsha War Globe.
We have already
started playing with this rules set, and
it is noticeably smoother. We are just
ironing out the last inconsistencies,
ready for its release in summer. However,
we will be previewing a lot of the new
rules and tweaks in Signs & Portents,
giving you the chance to comment on them,
before they are made official. A Call to
Arms has always been the most organic of
our games, with a great deal of input from
the players’ community itself – we
have absolutely no intention of changing
that.
Now
available are the Narn T'Rakk Frigate,
Earth Alliance Command Omega Destroyer,
and the EA Tiger Starfurries. 10/6/2006
- After printing problems and other
delays, the Armageddon supplement
has finally been released and is in stores
now. This supplement has 4 parts:
Part
One – New Rules
This supplement brings a new Priority
Level to your games – Armageddon,
allowing you to field the most powerful
ships yet seen in the galaxy. There are
also new rules for Stealth, Energy Mines
and Auxiliary Craft. Part
Two – The Earth Alliance
The Earth Alliance is blessed with an
abundance of ship designs. In order to get
the fleet list down to more manageable
levels, we have split the Earth Alliance
into three time periods spread across the
Babylon 5 timeline, replacing that found
in Sky Full of Stars – the Early Years,
the Third Age and the Crusade Era. Each is
a viable fleet list with its own selection
of ships. Part
Three - Armageddon
The other fleets of the game have not been
forgotten either. The Crusade Era brought
a rush of technologies for all races who
joined the Interstellar Alliance, though
not the co-operation Sheridan had hoped
for. From the powerful Narn Ka’Bin’Tak
to a re-jigged Victory, you will find a
host of new ships to take advantage of the
new Armageddon Priority Level. As a
special treat, we have also included new
lists for the Shadows and Vorlons that
also use the new Priority Level, and full
rules for using the ships of the Ancients. Part
Four – Scenarios and FAQ
Finally, we have included a selection of
new scenarios for you to test your
tactical mettle, in addition to the entire
A Call to Arms FAQ. Garnered from
questions raised by fans on our web site
forums, this chapter examines various
aspects of the game system and gives
definitive answers! The
first waves of related miniatures are also
available, the Centauri
Adira-class Royal Battleship, Earth
Alliance Marathon-class advanced cruiser,
Earth Alliance Nemesis-class advanced
destroyer, ISA White Star Gunship, ISA
White Star Fighters, The Ancients Box Set,
and the ISA White Star Carrier. More
minis will be released soon.
|
Nov
2006
Centauri
Liati Advanced Cruiser
Earth Alliance
Fleet Box Set - The Early Years |
Dec
2006
Earth Alliance Fleet Box Set - The
Crusade Era
Earth Alliance Fleet Box Set - The
Third Age
Earth Alliance Tiger Starfuries |

Centauri Adira-class Royal
Battleship
|

Earth
Alliance Marathon-class advanced cruiser
|
|

ISA White Star
Gunship
|

ISA White Star
Carrier
|

Centauri
Liati Advanced Cruiser |

Earth Alliance Tiger Starfuries |
6/12/2006
- The July releases have been pushed back
to August, and now listed for a September
release is the Minbari Neroon Heavy
Assault Ship. A picture of the
Nemesis has bee released along with
previews of new miniatures during a
presentation at Kublacon.
|

EA Nemesis
Destroyer |
 |

Adira |
|

Vree ship |

Drazi Cruiser |

Whitestar Gunship |
5/18/2006
- Images of the rest of the June released
Drakh miniatures are now available plus
the schedule of releases through August
was posted.
|
July
2006
*Babylon 5: Armageddon
*Earth Alliance Marathon Advanced
Cruiser
*ISA White Star Gunship
*The Ancients Box Set |
Aug 2006
*Earth Alliance Nemesis Advanced
Destroyer
*ISA White Star Fighters
*Narn Ka'Bin'Tak Super Dreadnought |

Drakh Fleet Box |

Ancients Box Set |
|

Drakh Cruiser |

Drakh Carrier |

Drakh Mothership |

White Star
Fighters |
4/5/2006
- Signs & Portents 32- Wargamer
is now available from Wargames
Online and it includes articles first
in a new series describing the Dilgar War,
this month focusing on the Abbai, a sneak
peek at the Drakh, basic tactics for Earth
Alliance fleets, and hints on making a
space-based battleboard. The
April releases listed below will be
available around the 17th. The May
releases are scheduled for May 15th.
|
June
2006
Drakh Carrier
Drakh Cruiser
Drakh Fleet Box Set
Drakh Light Cruiser
Drakh Mothership
Drakh Scouts |

Drakh Light Raider |

Drakh Heavy Raider |
|
|

Drakh Scout |

Drakh Fast
Destroyer |

Drakh Light
Cruiser |
|
3/25/2006
- Matt Sprange of Mongoose mentions
the following things on the Mongoose
Publishing
forum: As
is the way of things, the new supplement
for CTA, Armageddon, has blossomed during
development. Originally intended as an
update to provide ships that appear during
the Crusade era (as well as bumping up the
power of existing ships, such as Shadows),
it has started to sprawl into a 'general
update' book. Matt
then asks for input on what the players
would like to see updated which results in
quite a bit of discussion. 2/13/2006
- The Dilgar Fleet Book is now in
stores and pictures are available of 4 new
totally new Dilgar miniatures set for
release in March. Also Mongoose has
posted the ACTA
Official Tournament Pack on their
website as a 692k pdf file
|

Dilgar Garasoch
Heavy Carrier |

Dilgar Kahtrik
Assault Ship |

Dilgar Mankhat
Dreadnought |

Dilgar Omelos Light Cruiser |
Here
is their current schedule for upcoming releases:
|
March 2006
Abbai Lakara Cruiser
Abbai Shyarie Jammer Frigate
Dilgar Garasoch Heavy Carrier
Dilgar Kahtrik Assault Ship
Dilgar Mankhat Dreadnought
Dilgar Omelos Light Cruiser
Drazi Sky Serpent Heavy Assault
Fighter |
April 2006
Drakh Fleet Book
Drakh Cruiser
Drakh Fast Destroyer
Drakh Fleet Box Set
Drakh Heavy Raiders
Drakh Light Raiders |
May 2006
Drakh Carrier
Drakh Light Cruiser
Drakh Mothership
Drakh Scouts |
1/2/2006
- The A Call To Arms
Starter Set is now in stores and
includes information on the War of Retribution,
the Narn/Centauri conflict. The
Drakh Fleet Book and Box Set are new
scheduled for an April Release. Gale
Force Nine has also released an
arc template and special action tokens
officially licensed for ACTA.
|

GF9 Arc Template
and counter |

Earthforce Delphi
Scout |

Earthforce Apollo
Bombardment Cruiser |

Shadow Hunter |
Wargames
Online now has issues 28 and 29 of
Signs & Portents available for
free download which include the articles
'Argent’s Crusaders: Raiders with a
Cause' – alternative rules for Raiders,
including new ship variants, a new
personality and, a new ship - the lethal
Endgame Dreadnought. Plus 'Storm
Across the Void' a scenario where players
to face chaotic solar storms and gravity
fluctuations. 11/30/2005
- The Earth/Minbari War supplement
for ACTA is now in stores,
64 pages softcover. The Civilian
ships boxed set of minis is also
available. Due
now in December is the A Call To Arms
Starter Set. Instead of covering the
Dilgar War as originally planned, this set
will now focus on the War of Retribution,
the Narn/Centauri conflict. The
Dilgar War will now be covered in the
Dilgar Fleet Book due in January with
miniatures of the Dilgar ships to follow
soon after. Here is the current
schedule of ACTA releases:
|
Dec 2005
A Call to Arms Starter Set
Earth Alliance Apollo Cruiser
Minbari Federation Reinforcements
Box Set
Jan 2006
Centauri Reinforcements Box Set
Dilgar Fleet Book
Dilgar Fleet Box Set
Dilgar Jashakar Scout Ship
Dilgar Mishakur Dreadnought
Dilgar Thorun Dartfighter
Dilgar Tikrit Heavy Cruiser
Narn Regime Reinforcements Box Set |
Feb 2006
Dilgar Ochlavita Destroyer
Dilgar Rohrit Assault Ship
Dilgar Targrath Strike Cruiser
Dilgar Wahant Heavy Assault Ship
Mar 2006
A Call To Arms Tournament Lists
Dilgar Garasoch Heavy Carrier
Dilgar Kahtrik Assault Ship
Dilgar Mankhat Dreadnought
Dilgar Omelos Light Cruiser |

|
|

Dilgar Jashakar Scout Ship |

Dilgar Mishakur Dreadnought |

Dilgar Thorun Dartfighter |

Dilgar Tikrit Heavy Cruiser |
|

Dilgar Ochlavita Destroyer |

Dilgar Rohrit Assault Ship |

Dilgar Targrath Strike Cruiser |

Dilgar Wahant Heavy Assault Ship |
11/8/2005
- Mongoose's in house magazine,
Signs & Portents now has both a
Miniatures and RPG editions and both are
available for free from Wargaming
Online. Of interest to
ACTA players is in the new
issue 27 just released, there are articles
on fighting the Minbari and naming Earth
Alliance ships. 10/1/2005
- A Call To Arms products
are now available for download from Wargaming
Online (wargamingonline.com)
in the electronic PDF format. Wargaming
Online is a new service provided by Mongoose Publishing to introduce miniatures and board gamers to the delights of electronic rulebooks via the PDF format.
 9/27/2005
- Lots to update on ACTA. Sky
Full Of Stars is back from the printer
and is on the way to distributors and
should be in stores next week. A
limited number of SFOS were
available at GenCon Indianapolis in August
and they quickly sold out.
A
Call To Arms Revised Edition is
also on the way and it updates and replaces the original
boxed set. To play the game all you
need is the ACTA Revised Edition
boxed set and SFOS as an option to
expand the fleets and additional rules. The
Earth/Minbari War supplement is now
scheduled for November. Also for
release in November is the A Call to
Arms Starter Set: The Starter Set focuses on the Dilgar Invasion, a bloody era from the Babylon 5 universe’s history and covers the basic rules of the game in an easy-to-learn format. A number of scenarios are also included, each of which recreates a battle from the Dilgar Invasion – an ideal setting for your first few games of A Call to Arms. The book includes full rules for the ships which took part in this conflict, along with counters to represent them on the tabletop so you can begin playing immediately. Still
due in September are the
Abbai Matriarchy Fleet Box Set,
Earth Alliance Chronos Frigate box set,
and the Raiders Double-V Fighters.
Due
in October: Earth Alliance Apollo Cruiser
Earth Alliance Delphi Scout
Earth Alliance Orion Starbase
Earth Alliance Poseidon Super Carrier Box Set
Earth Alliance Reinforcements Box Set
Shadow Hunter
Vree Conglomerate Fleet Box Set |

EA
Orion Starbase |
Then
in November: A Call to Arms Starter Set
Civilian Ships Box Set
Dilgar Fleet Book
Dilgar Fleet Box Set
Minbari Federation Reinforcements Box Set
Space Liner
The Earth/Minbari War |

Space
Liner |
8/4/2005
- The latest updates from Mongoose:
A Sky Full of
Stars, the new hardback supplement for A Call to
Arms, has just gone off to print and to celebrate we have posted the page containing rules for the Shadow Omega, probably the most powerful vessel within the Earth Alliance fleet.
A Sky Full of Stars is due for release at the end of August, though pre-release copies will be available at
GenCon.
The Shadow Omega model will be available in two weeks time.
The
pdf of the Shadow Omega stats is at http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/ctashadowomega.pdf
Due
in September is the Earth/Minbari War
supplement which is a 128 page softcover
book twenty scenarios to play through the chronology of the War, older Fleet Lists for both the Earth Alliance and the Minbari Federation matching the vessels of that time period and over a dozen new (or failed prototype) ship variants. There are several famous commanders, unique personalities and even some unique ships—like the fearsome Black Star—to test your skill with or against in the War Campaign or in friendly games.
6/29/2005
- Another update from Matt Sprange about
the future of A Call To Arms:
"We are currently on stand by for some very good news for A Call to Arms but while we wait, I think it is time for me to let you in on what is happening after Sky Full of Stars.
First off, the now near-legendary Sky Full of Stars will be released this August. Joining it will be an all new counter pack with _every_ ship featured (and, yes, they will be numbered this time!) and a Revised CTA box set that will contain updated rules making the basic set compatible with Sky Full of Stars.
YOU WILL ONLY NEED ONE OR THE OTHER! If you have the basic set already, Sky Full of Stars will give you all the updates you need. If you haven't got the game at all yet, the revised box set will let you play the game on an even level with those who have Sky Full of Stars - all you'll be lacking are a few 'cool' bits and the extended fleet lists.
After that, A Call to Arms will be going into overdrive.
Between now and the end of the year you will see;
The rest of the Fleet Box Sets
Orion Starbase
Chronos Frigates
Earth/Minbari War supplement
Delphi Scout
Double-V Fighters
Dilgar Fleet Book
The complete Dilgar Fleet
Shadow Hunter
An introductory booklet featuring counters and scenarios set during the Dilgar War
Apollo Cruiser
And, knowing us, we will likely slip a few more bits and pieces in. One change we are making is that all the new releases will be produced as box sets available via retailers. However, if you are after single ships, you will still be able to get them from our site.
As we move into 2006, look out for the Drakh, Gaim, Pak'ma'ra and more, each with new models and a complete fleet book.
Upcoming
releases listed on Mongoose's
website are:
|
July 2005
Drazi Freehold Fleet Box Set
Earth Alliance Shadow Omega
August 2005
A Call to Arms Counter Sheets
Earth Alliance Orion Starbase
Sky Full of Stars
Vree Conglomerate Fleet Box Set
September 2005
Abbai Matriarchy Fleet Box Set
Earth Alliance Chronos Frigate box set
Raiders Double-V Fighters
The Earth/Minbari War |

Earth
Alliance Shadow Omega Miniature |
6/4/2005
- Mongoose has posted the following
information about the future of A
Call To Arms and the supplement, Sky
Full of Stars:
"A Call to Arms has built up a large fan-base of very dedicated gamers and we have been pondering over the past few months just how to best serve you chaps. There are plenty of things we can do, some things we shouldn't and some things that are an absolute must.
We are therefore planning to have a 're-release' of the game this August, starting with the following;
RULES UPDATE
This is a sticky one we have been puzzling over. For a start, the Sky Full of Stars does represent a quantum shift for CTA, making it a much more fully rounded game. On the other hand, however, we don't want to leave people high and dry when they have invested in the core rules. Thus, we have elected to do the following;
If you have CTA already, the Sky Full of Stars supplement is all you need to get all the new juicy stuff that expands the system.
If you have not yet bought into the game, the main box set is about to be reprinted. We are going to take this
opportunity to update the rules to Sky Full of Stars standard. Basically, this means that any rules (or ships!) modified in SFoS will be so modified in the reprint of the core rules. You will still be missing the expanded fleets, additional rules, etc, from SFoS but you will be playing to the same core rules and standards as the SFoS players - you will even be able to take basic CTA fleets and fight against SFoS players with no disadvantage! You will be able to tell the revised box set apart from the original by new cover art (and a big Revised legend). Expect to see this sometime in early August.
The aim, as I said, is to get everyone playing the same game with the same set of rules.
A NOTE ON SKY FULL OF STARS
Development on this one has accelerated and we have been gathering all your comments both here and via email. The layout is looking fantastic. It is gonna be a good 'un. . .
There will be a
separate counter pack released in August to cover all the new ships in
SFoS.
WORLDWIDE INTERNET CAMPAIGN
Come August, we are going to be running a web-based Internet campaign for A Call to Arms. Basically, you will have the chance to pick your favourite fleet, play games down your local store or club and have the results recorded across the world on the web site. You will be battling for a recently discovered system far out on the Rim, whose implications could be shattering for the entire galaxy. There will be lots of special events and scenarios for this campaign, the Mongoose Infantry will be getting involved and there will be a tournament here at Mongoose Towers!
NEW MODELS
We have a stack load of these coming out this year - space stations (the Orion is first!), Double-V Fighters, Apollo Cruisers, Delphi Scouts and many others. And yes, the Dilgar will be following.
PLASTICS
These are very much on the cards now but will not likely surface until much later this year. First up will be EA ships, but more will follow if they prove popular with you chaps.
NEW SUPPLEMENTS
A range of short supplements will be following the Internet campaign, starting with one detailing the Earth/Minbari War. We are going to be concentrating on specific engagements and fleets with these books, while adding a great deal of 'source' material (something I feel CTA has always lacked when compared to the RPG). However, these really will be optional and none will be necessary to keep 'up to date' with the core rules.
In short, the future is looking very rosey for fans of A Call to Arms and we are determined to expand this game up to the next level, giving you new options, new models and (hopefully) new players as we increase the game's visibility."
It
is later mentioned that Sky Full of
Stars will be a 200 page hardcover
book retailing for $35 US/ £25
5/7/2005
- Listed in Mongoose's release
schedule for August is the Orion Starbase
miniature. When questioned about it
on their forums, Matt Sprague said:
"From the Orion Station onwards, we have news minis for B5 coming out every month (sometimes a batch!). Expect to see the Delphi, Cronos, Apollo, Double-V and, oh, oodles more!
We are also investigating a box set of EA plastics. If all goes well here, expect to see them for all the five major fleets. . ."
3/15/2005
- Supplement 3 is now back from the
printers and is shipping to
distributors. It should be in stores
within the next couple weeks. In
this 48 page supplement, you get articles on topics such as advanced refits and other duties, allowing you to gain rewards in campaign games that are specific to your
fleet, plus advanced fleet lists for the Drazi and Vree fleets.
2/15/2005
- Mongoose Publishing has now made
all the products in the A Call to
Arms line available as a PDF
download from DriveThruRPG.com.
The basic ACtA rules on PDF
go for $34.97 and that 6.76MB file
includes all the rules, ship information,
and ship counters from the boxed
set. Also available are the ship
counters as a separate product, Supplement
1 and Supplement 2. Please
note that these PDF files from DriveThruRPG.com
are Watermarked PDF files to signify that you are the owner. A small message is added to the bottom of each page of the document containing your name and the order number of your
purchase which will be used to identify
the perpetrator in the event that they are
found to be illegally distributed. 2/7/2005
- Supplement 2 is back from the
printers and it shipping to distributors
so it should be in stores in a week or
two. It contains:
Fleet Carriers - New
rules for using Fleet Carriers in the
game, making ships such as the Poseidon
_really_ shine.
Narn Gorith Fighter -
Surprise the Republic fleet with the
Narn's own space superiority fighter. . .
Severed Dreams - This
scenario allows you to play out the battle
for Babylon 5 when Clark sent his forces
to take over the station.
A Second Look at the
Nova - A small change to the Nova and why
we did it.
Shaking the Stars -
Continuing a Narn theme, new loadouts for
Energy Mine weapons.
EarthForce Explorer
Division - A background piece on those who
truly extend the frontier.
Shadows and Vorlons
Fleet Lists - This is what many people
have been waiting for - all new and
advanced fleet lists for the Shadows and
Vorlons. The Younger Races once again have
something to fear. . .
Captain John J.
Sheridan - Fancy using the Man himself in
your games? Full rules provided.
Beacon Locks - If you
enjoyed the rules for fighting in
hyperspace in the last Rules Supplement,
you might want to try these out.
Earth Alliance Variant
Missiles - Giving some punch to Earth
shipping.
Skin Dancing - A new
tactic for Minbari fighters and White
Stars to try. . .
And a sneak peek at
Rules Supplement 3 (the last before the
renowned Sky Full of Stars is released
this Summer) - Drazi and Vree fleet lists,
along with Into the Fire, another scenario
based on the TV series.
1/22/2005
- Supplement 1 is now shipping to distributors
and Supplement 2 is now at the
printers. Mongoose
has also announced plans for a major
supplement called Sky Full of Stars
due out in July:
Part One - This will
only be 2-3 pages in length and will
collate all the little rules tweaks to the
basic box set
Part Two - Advanced
rules - some of these you have seen
previewed, some will appear early in the
Rules Supplements and others will be all
new stuff. This will include things like
Space Stations, Boarding Actions,
Planetary Bombardments, Fleet Carriers,
Scouts and more.
Part Three - Revised
fleet lists, they will iron out some
niggles and every fleet will a) have some
minor changes to many ships and b) get
several new variants. The new Shadow and
Vorlon lists will be there, every race
will get Space Stations and the League
will be broken apart into individual
races, though there will still be rules to
ally them.
Part Four - Scenarios,
lots of them, both historical and
otherwise.
Part Five - A more
detailed campaign system, plus some
variants.
Other Stuff - Scattered
throughout the book will be painting
guides, tactics and background
pieces.
Following Sky Full of
Stars, we will concentrate less on
hardcore rules and focus more on
background and areas of conflicts, as well
as exploring different things to actually
_do_ in your games. So, we will have a
supplement concentrating on the
Earth/Minbari War, for example. We will be
having a Dilgar season later this year,
backed up by miniatures and a supplement .
There may be the odd 'technical' based
supplement with specific rules, variant
ships or scenarios, but they will become
the minority rather than the totality.
1/9/2005
- More information on Supplement 2
which is now available for pre-order:
Rules
Supplement 2 presents more ways to expand
your games with articles on using Fleet
Carriers, the Earth Alliance Explorer
Division, Beacon Locks and Skin Dancing.
You will be able to play the scenario
featuring the moment when Babylon 5 broke
away from the Earth Alliance in Severed
Dreams and we present the advanced fleet
lists for the Vorlons and Shadows, making
this one Rules Supplement you will not
want to miss! All this and much more
packed into 48 pages!
Previews
of many of these rules plus previews of
the Bakriri, Drazi and Vree fleet lists
have been posted on the Mongoose
Publishing
Forums. Also
mentioned on the forums, they have enough
material for the next six rules
supplements, including the following
topics:
|
Advanced
League fleet lists
Boarding Rules
Planetary Assaults
Called Shots
Scouts
Telepaths vs. Shadows
Famous
Captains/Admirals |
Variant
ships for pretty much every fleet
Mines and minesweepers
Ranger ships
More Stellar Debris
Advanced
Strategic Targets (and possibly
advanced campaign rules)
The Dilgar!
More scenarios (historical and
otherwise - oh, and a solo mnission
too!) |
12/1/2004
- The Victory class Destroyer can now be
ordered directly from Mongoose plus
it is available as part of the ISA Fleet
Box (2 Victory's, 9 White Stars, and
enough Nial and Starfury Fighters to fill
the hangers).
A
Call to Arms Supplement 2 has been
listed for a March 2005 release, just
after Mongoose hosts an "Into
the Fire" Tournament on February
26th. See their website for more
details on the tourney including a
downloadable set of Tourney Rules. 11/15/2004
- Mongoose has posted a pdf of
replacement pages for Book One - Rules
from the ACtA boxed
set. This 734kb pdf file
of 12 pages can be downloaded from Mongoose's
ACtA page. 11/6/2004
- A Call to Arms Supplement 1 is
now listed on Mongoose's
website for preorders. It is
scheduled for a February 2005 release with
a price of $5.95.
10/6/2004
- From Matthew Sprange on the Mongoose
Publishing
Forums: Come
this January/February, we are going to
start releasing the Call to Arms Rules
Supplement. This will be a small 32
page booklet, packed full of new ships,
new variants, tactics, revisions,
scenarios, background pieces - the whole
nine yards! On top of that, if it proves
popular, we may even make it a monthly
release. . . However,
we are going to need some help on this,
specifically with the articles. So if you
have been toying around with some new
rules in CTA, or have a
wizzy scenario you want to unleash upon
the world, or even just want to give
others the benefit of your tactical
experience, drop me a line at msprange@mongoosepublishing.com
and we'll see what we can do!
9/15/2004
- Mongoose Games website now
lists A Call
|