[BFG] Ordinance

[Comrade-K-Rad]

To be honest, you should probably shotgun your torpedoes anyway.  Unless you are massing them for area denial, which IMO is a waste of their potential.  If you're one phase to hit firing then there is no worry for fighters to ever intercept them.

[horizon]

Fighters on CAP iirc only take off one torpedo

Nope, they take the whole marker down.
Thus use a small wave of torps to eliminate the CAP, the big wave to damage.

Torpedo's at shotgun range are what your friend needs.

[connahr]

point blank firing torps is the best way to use them

when its that close i just use them in the shooting phase

[Lord Duggie The Mad]

Point blank is fun innit.  It's probably already been mentioned but effective range for single turn strikes can really be extended to 40cm , given the right conditions.

If there aren't fighters running around and you can get a salvo within 10cm directly in front of a cruiser, they will have to take some serious action to avoid ploughing into them.  Defensive fighters being launched later in the turn after all.

I think I shall go back to the old variable salvo sized market - looks so much cooler. 

[Mallich]

If there aren't fighters running around and you can get a salvo within 10cm directly in front of a cruiser, they will have to take some serious action to avoid ploughing into them.  Defensive fighters being launched later in the turn after all.

Good idea. This is probably made even more effective by the rules for massing turrets - the 2010 FAQ emphasizes that ships move one at a time, and so cannot mass turrets while moving.
I'd expect that it would be much riskier trying to do the same trick with assault boats / bombers. A single enemy escort could be steered into the cloud of aircraft and remove them all, dying in the process. Probably beardy.

EDIT: Critical hits scored by (for example) boarding torpedoes can be repaired in the end phase, so dealing damage in the movement phase robs them of the opportunity.

[Lord Duggie The Mad]

A single enemy escort could be steered into the cloud of aircraft and remove them all, dying in the process. Probably beardy.

I did that once in a small convoy scenario recently - there was a salvo of something like four torpedoes headed for my heavy transport so I sent a little firestorm into it, shot down two torpedoes and managed to brace against the other two.  Indeed, it would seem that the Emperor does[/i] protect.

Beardy at the time?  I didn't really think so in this case - protecting the convoy after all, and I was clean shaven.  I may have been enjoying a bit of wine and cheese at the time though  .  Nevertheless, you have a valid point; ad adsurdum one could use a single escort to engage a stonking great wing of attack craft but then we would probably look poorly on said player, or just split the 'cloud' into a few smaller waves.

[Mallich]

...ad adsurdum one could use a single escort to engage a stonking great wing of attack craft but then we would probably look poorly on said player, or just split the 'cloud' into a few smaller waves.

Offtopic: It would probably depend on the context, and on how many times the trick is done. An imperial escort sacrificing itself to protect a convoy transport could be a selfless and heroic event if it happened as a 1-off event, and the 15-20 pts tyranid drone ships are supposed to act as living cannon fodder for their hiveships, mindless extensions of the hiveship's will.

[AndrewChristlieb]

I do the sacrifice move at times, big waves are for shotguns, anything over a turn away needs to be multiple smaller waves.

[connahr]

i often try to fire torps in a evenish spread in my first turn, then hold back until later

although most of the torps miss the other player can end up crashing their ships into each other (or other torps), did this once playing against my girlfreind (the only other person within 20 miles that play gothic.....and we have to split my fleet between us) it was rather funny, one cruiser ended up flying into a salvo after dodging one, and an escort crashed into her other cruiser

basically torp are fun

i just realised this was a moddeling/painting thread

for torp markers i use the arrows from risk (1 cheveron=one torp strength) i think this works quite well cause the top launchers on imperial ships are stacked in 2 colums, so the torps wouldn't really be in a straight line, so i use two of the large arrows (which have 3 cheverons each)

i'll try and get a pic of this up at some point

[horizon]

i often try to fire torps in a evenish spread in my first turn, then hold back until later

although most of the torps miss the other player can end up crashing their ships into each other (or other torps), did this once playing against my girlfreind (the only other person within 20 miles that play gothic.....and we have to split my fleet between us) it was rather funny, one cruiser ended up flying into a salvo after dodging one, and an escort crashed into her other cruiser

That is impossible.
Ships cannot crash into eachother.

The only time a ship can 'crush' is when someone uses the All Ahead Full special order is issued and ramming speed is announced.

[connahr]

oh

i thought that if two of your own ships ended up moving into each other then it counted as a collision of sorts

i'll have to remeber that in future

[horizon]

Page 6 of the rulebook. 3D or no 3D.

[Lord Duggie The Mad]

I'm sorely tempted to buy some of that shapeways stuff for my own fleets.  Would anyone be able to comment on what it's like as a material to work with?  Is it akin at all to forgeworld's resin?

[Markconz]

I'm sorely tempted to buy some of that shapeways stuff for my own fleets.  Would anyone be able to comment on what it's like as a material to work with?  Is it akin at all to forgeworld's resin?

Frosted Detail (FD) and Frosted ultra detail (FUD) are comparable from what I hear. I don't have any though. Definitely recommend it for bigger pieces like the cruiser.
The White or Black Strong and Flexible is quite grainy so better suited to smaller pieces like the fighters etc. It needs a good base coat or two, or sealing with glue like PVA mixed with water, before painting.

All my ordinance in this thread was black strong and flexible, worked well enough for me, though in hind sight just going with white would have been ok given that I spray coated them black anyway in the end! All pieces I washed with PVA glue mixed with water first.

[Lord Duggie The Mad]

Much obliged, Markconz, thank you.  I saw the cruisers he has listed and definitely want to get my grubby mits on those.  Thunderhawks and tyranid ordnance is a must too.