A Preview of the TANTIVE IV Expansion Pack for X-Wing (TM)

In an earlier preview of the Tantive IV™ Expansion Pack for X-Wing™, we looked at the different ways you can outfit your CR90 Corellian Corvette for battle. We looked at a number of the expansion’s upgrades, including the Single Turbolasers, Quad Laser Cannons, and Ionization Reactor, that can transform your basic Corvette into a powerful military force. We also looked at the rules for gaining and spending “energy” that drive many of these upgrades, and we saw how the ship’s new maneuver template promotes movement through space that differs greatly from that of the smaller starfighters that you’ll find around it.

Today, you’ll get more of a sense of the way the CR90 corvette plays in X-Wing as developer Alex Davy sheds some light on the ship’s design and how the expansion’s six missions provide you with opportunities to learn how the CR90 moves and fights, even as they combine to form a campaign that’s the game’s most epic Cinematic Play experience yet!

A 360-degree view of the CR90 Corellian corvette. (Click to view a larger image.)

Developer Alex Davy on the CR90 Corellian Corvette and Point of No Return

The Tantive IV is the iconic Rebel corvette that appears in the very opening scene of Star Wars: A New Hope. Rocketing through space above Tatooine, turbolaser blasts ricocheting off its shields, the Tantive IV screams onto the screen in the midst of a struggle for its very survival. Then, as the menacing bulk of an Imperial Star Destroyer appears in hot pursuit, with its vast bulk physically annexing the screen, the truly uneven nature of the Tantive’s desperate plight becomes immediately apparent.

While we were working on the missions that you’ll find in the Tantive IV Expansion Pack, we wanted them to convey the same feelings of dread and desperation that the opening scene of A New Hope evokes so well; we wanted you to know how it felt to stand among a beleaguered group of Rebels aboard a heavily-outgunned frigate. However, the Tantive IV was far from the only CR90 Corellian corvette in the Rebellion, and in our campaign, instead of fleeing from a massive Star Destroyer, a group of Rebel sympathizers must escape wave upon wave of the Empire’s seemingly endless supply of TIE fighters.

Fortunately, when it’s equipped for battle, a CR90 Corellian corvette is more than capable of holding its own against these starfighters. The corvette that’s coming to X-Wing boasts banks of turbolasers, the game’s most powerful primary attack to-date, and a brand new range ruler that extends to Range “5.” The crew of this corvette may find themselves in a desperate situation, but it will take every fighter in the Empire player’s arsenal to bring them down.

Meanwhile, the six missions that form the expansion’s Point of No Return campaign present the most cinematic X-Wing experience yet. While each of the missions can be played independently, they were designed with campaign play in mind, and that’s where they shine brightest. Winning or losing a single mission won’t end the campaign, but it will change the storyline and determine the mission that players will tackle next, ensuring that the campaign will never play the same way twice. The entire campaign culminates in a tense battle amid an Imperial minefield, as the Rebels try to run the blockade and escape with their Tibanna gas – as well as some new information that may prove vital to the Rebel Alliance.

By presenting a quick overview of the first campaign’s first three possible missions, we can quickly demonstrate how the campaign builds and how the results of its individual missions can impact the overall shape.

Mission One:

Things escalate quickly for a band of Rebel smugglers when their CR90 is intercepted by a patrol of TIE fighter pilots eager to enforce the Empire’s authoritarian directives. The Rebels must fight their way through the patrol, and they must also effect their escape before their ship suffers heavy damage. This mission pits a single CR90 against “Howlrunner” and five Black Squadron pilots, and it was designed to be a “training mission” of sorts, deliberately dropping players into the shallow end of the pool and allowing them to absorb the new rules for huge ships quickly and easily while battling against a familiar group of foes.

Depending on the result of the first mission, players will move on to one of two possible outcomes:

Mission Two-A:

In this mission, the Rebels have emerged relatively unscathed from their encounter, but they have provoked the ire of the Empire. While at a refueling station, they are ambushed by the battered remnants of the original TIE patrol, bolstered by an elite squadron led by Soontir Fel. Things look bleak for the CR90’s crew until a group of Rebel fighters springs into action in their defense!

Mission Two-B:

Crippled and venting oxygen, the CR90 flees to a secret orbital Rebel way-station to effect repairs. Before the repairs are complete, however, the Rebel base is attacked by a bomber squadron led by Captain Jonus! This forces the Rebel player into a dire situation as his CR90 must remain docked and motionless for two rounds as its engineers race through their repairs. Accordingly, the mission becomes a question as to whether or not the corvette can endure the Imperials’ punishing bombing run before making a break for hyperspace.

That’s just a glimpse of the six unique, linked missions developed for the CR90. In addition to the dynamic, new play experience that this linked series of X-Wing missions offers you, the campaign is also a great way to get a feel for the CR90, its strengths and weaknesses, and it will help players learn how to build squadrons of Rebel fighters that will complement this extremely capable gunboat in massive, Epic Play battles!

Thanks, Alex!

The new campaign from the Tantive IV Expansion Pack introduces you to just one of the play experiences you’ll be able to enjoy with your CR90 Corellian corvette. While you wait for your chance to dive into the exciting new challenges of the Point of No Return campaign, you can look at the Point of No Return Campaign Progress Sheet (pdf, 762 KB), now available on the game’s support page. Then, in the coming weeks, we’ll take a closer look at the Epic Play tournament format and explore how the CR90 might serve as the centerpiece for a couple of different squad builds.

The Tantive IV is one the most iconic of all Star Wars starships. Don’t miss out on your chance to field it in the fast-paced battles of X-Wing. Head to your local retailer today to pre-order your copy of the Tantive IV Expansion Pack!

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