Played a BattleForce space game(or as I like to call it, BattleFace) today. Pretty simple match, pitting a Federated Suns raiding force against a defending flotilla from Clan Snow Raven. Very simple victory conditions: If both FedSun troop transports get across the map it's a victory for them, if both are lost it's a Raven win, anything else is a draw. Both fleets set up in a rough line, with the Feds trying to swing their transports around the defenders while their gunships close in directly.
Raven fleet advancing for the intercept.
Forward, sons of the Suns!
One of the Suns Arondight-class gunships charged in to try and deal some early damage, drawing out an Arcadia and the Ravens' fighter complement. The resulting exchange was absolutely lethal, with the Arondight absolutely wrecking the Arcadia, while combined return shots in return destroyed the spaceball.
Things got mixed up into a furball for a bit as the transports prepared for their final course correction. A second Arcadia tried to swing in for a run on the troop haulers(with a Carrier close behind), but a demonstration of just how much of a freaking BEAST a Conquistador command ship can be, as even without any capital weaponry it was more than capable of demolishing the Raven attack ship, with a fighter strike finishing it off. The Clan vessel did deal serious damage in return, stripping away much of the Conq's armor protection and damaging the engine. Meanwhile, the second Arondight swung in and gave the Carrier a similar treatment, leaving the Snow Raven fleet with only a single remaining ship and most of their fighters.
As one-sided as the fight has been so far, the scenario was still all about the transports. Despite throwing plenty of firepower their way, spread-out fighter squadrons are much harder to kill than single DropShips, and plenty of vengeful Ravens remained to kill a Colossus with unkindness. Despite the FedSun rebuttal wiping out all but four of the Raven fighters, that was enough to render the action a pyrrhic draw.
