|
|
|
We have completed a top-to-bottom review of the company operations, which has resulted in some internal changes you won't see (but you will see the effect) and some changes you will notice. We surveyed some players and determined that this newsletter, once a vital communication link, is just no longer that important to you. As it takes up a couple of days work every month, we're going to switch (for now) to a quarterly schedule to devote more time to products.
Al Beddow has been added to the company staff as Steve Cole's assistant. Since Al can handle things like page layout and errands that previously required the attention of Steve Cole, that will give SVC more time to spend on products.
Some long-lost products that got buried during the last two years of medical crises have been resurrected. These will include Fed Commander Booster #39 (now on the cart) and A Call to Arms: Star Fleet Book 3 (for which Al Beddow is doing the page layout). Daniel Kast says he is working on Starmada Rumors of Wars. Steve Petrick has finished the Orion MSSB (but is waiting for Steve Cole to find time to do the art, about 10% of which got done on the first day he worked on it). The F&E staff has been told to focus on CIVIL WARS as it must be done before we can do a revised core rulebook and complete the WARBOOK project. Mark Lurz has joined the team to get the Call to Arms ship roster packs complete and we should have the ones for Book 1.2 out during May. The others will appear over the next few months. The old ship roster cards have been removed from sale but those who bought them can still download them. The new cards replace the old ones and are not a free upgrade. Mike West has moved up a notch from excited volunteer to a staffer in charge of doing new SSDs for SFB; one of his recent designs are included here and he's at work on SFB Module C4R1.
We are looking into some very expensive new equipment to resolve some issues with key product lines but investing a year's profit in such things is a decision not yet made. We are reaching out to the industry looking for people who bought similar machines and can give us a non-salesman evaluation of their effectiveness. To hear the salesmen talk, their $50,000 machine can make game parts but it also can cook lunch. We're skeptical.
ADB has released Federation Commander: Booster Pack #39 with its collection of leader ships for the Romulans, Gorn, and ISC fleets. The set includes the following ships:
4239-391 Romulan Light Command Cruiser
4239-392 Romulan SkyHawk-L Destroyer Leader
4239-393 Romulan KF5RL Destroyer Leader
4239-394 Romulan BattleHawk-B Destroyer Leader
4239-395 Gorn Heavy Command Destroyer
4239-396 Gorn Battle Destroyer Leader
4239-397 ISC Destroyer Leader
4239-398 ISC Frigate Leader
The F&E staff was saddened by the sudden loss of Richard Eitzen last fall. His F&E Staff work helped make F&E a better game. Lawrence Bergen has been officially appointed to the F&E Staff team. He has been a strong advocate and contributor to the F&E community for over 20 years.
WEBSITE:
Our website, www.StarFleetGames.com, continues to grow and improve. You are welcome to send us your requests, comments, and suggestions. Simone Dale, our graphics director, continues to update the website, do covers for the new
products, shut down pirate websites, help out around the company, and learn more
about the game business.
FACEBOOK:
Jean continues to improve our page on Facebook, adding many new photos and other features.
If you haven't seen the 1,000+ pieces of art in the albums, you should drop by and visit. You don't have to be a member of Facebook to see our page, but if you are, please become our friend so you can get information in your newsfeed.
If you've already liked us on Facebook, but are not
seeing our posts, then remember to check your new "Pages Feed" on the left menu.
You can also go to our page and hover over the "Liked" button. Be sure that "Get Notifications" is checked.
TWITTER:
ADB has a Twitter feed. We are ADBInc_Amarillo. You'll find news as well as links to pictures. Check us out and retweet news of interest to your own followers. We're excited and our next goal is to get 400 followers. Help us reach that, please.
VIDEOS:
StarFleetGames has taken its act to YouTube and we now have a YouTube channel. Our goal is to create a video for the new product releases during each month. We have "In the Box" videos to show you what you will see when you unpack your new game. We have also done "Spotlights" on a single product or product line. So pull up a chair and join us at the movies! Our newest uploads are:
Star Fleet Marines Part 1
Star Fleet Marines Part 2
ADB Late May 2011
Starline 2500 Miniatures Review
Star Fleet Battle Force in the box
DOING VIDEOS OF THE SFU
A customer asked about posting "tutorial videos" for our games. We like it when people do that (and even give commendation medals) but you need to have us check the videos to make sure you aren't violating something somehow (or that you didn't make a rules error). Doing such videos to make money is not cool. Please drop us an email before you post the videos.
STARBLOG:
Our StarBlog has moved to a new URL
and all links on StarFleetGames.com websites have been changed to match. The new
site is http://federationcommander.blogspot.com
The blog covers all aspects of the company.
STAR FLEET'S LEGIONS EXPAND:
Star Fleet Legions isn't a new game; it is all of you who play any of our Star Fleet Universe games.
For a game universe that is 36 years old, it seems odd (but very gratifying) that the number of active players is growing, not diminishing. We can tell this by the number of people on the fan pages, the number of Rangers and battle groups, the number of new Starlist entries, and of course by the sales numbers.
Starlist is growing by an average of 10 new entries and five updates per month. There are 1,240 active names on the list (plus overseas, Canada, and those who last contacted us in 1991-2004). Not on Starlist? Fill out your application here:http://www.starfleetgames.com/starlist.shtml.
Battle groups have been forming up left and right. We started with one in Tennessee. Now there are battle groups in California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Washington. We've gone international with groups in Canada, England, and Taiwan. Battle groups are doing demos, tournaments, and game days in stores and conventions. Do you have a group you game with? Join us here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/battlegroup/index.shtml
How have these battle groups been forming? Usually through the hard work of a Ranger. Rangers run demos, start game days, contact conventions, reach out to stores, and promote Star Fleet Universe games. Do you want to be a Ranger? Start here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/rangers/index.shtml
Facebook Fan Pages
If you are on Facebook, you have no doubt heard of ADB's page on Facebook. Did you know there are fan pages galore? Fan pages are groups that are started and administered by fans. They are independent of ADB, so we may not know about all of them. These are ones we know about that support the Star Fleet Universe:
So join us on Facebook and get a fix of your favorite game there, too!
RANGERS:
As announced in Captain's Log #54, Jean Sexton Beddow's husband, Al Beddow has been appointed to take over the day-to-day of running the SFU Ranger demo team. He comes with a bit of experience both teaching various types of games as well as having been in quite a few demo teams (and ran/helped run a few). He is most familiar with GURPS Prime Directive but early on played ACTASF and spent Gencon 2012 demoing it in the Mongoose Publishing booth there.
They announce: We have big changes coming to the program. A new handbook, suggestions for demoing our games, and vastly improved rewards. All we can safely say about the (already approved) rewards is they will include ALL physical products and PDFs – but nothing on shapeways.com.
To kick all this off we are verifying everyone’s email, plus getting their handles on the Federation Commander Forum and BBS. Our official comms will be the hidden Ranger section of the Forum, which are for handling business, answering questions, providing links to resources, etc. The Facebook group will be our more public social space, but no one is required to join FB if they don’t want to.
So, we are asking each of you to email Al at the address below with the following:
- Name
- Email (preferably the one used on DTRPG/Wargame Vault)
- Forum Handle
- BBS Handle
Al will add you to the Ranger group on the forum once he has this info, which will let you access our area there. He is looking forward to working with all of you to spread the news of the Star Fleet Universe!
Current stats: We have heard from 22 of our Rangers and have three new ones! We are excited to see the Rangers becoming active as playing in person and cons once again start up.
Jean Sexton Beddow
Ranger Commandant
Al Beddow
Sergeant-Major for Ranger Operations
Ranger Email: adbrangerhq@gmail.com
FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/517647465103651/
ADB Forums: http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/phpbb2/index.php
ADB BBS: http://www.starfleetgames.com/discus/
AMBASSADORS:
Jean Sexton Beddow has succeeded in recruiting two ambassadors (Michael C. Baker and A. David Merritt) to carry the word of the Star Fleet Universe to other
websites. They (and Jean) were awarded the first ever "Star Fleet
Ambassador Badges" as well as appropriate medals for their service to date.
These ambassadors do not just repeat press releases; they answer questions,
encourage discussion, and help people find the relevant documents on our
website. Contact Jean Sexton Beddow if you want to volunteer for ambassador duty.
Forum
BBS
JAGDPANTHER
Take a journey with us to an ancient age, just one step up from carving game rules on clay tablets. The year 1973 was at the very dawn of the independent wargame publishing companies. Typesetting was done with a manual typewriter, print-on-demand meant the photocopier at the library, counters were printed on paper (and drawn by hand), page layout was done with scissors and cellophane tape, and two guys in a garage could turn out a wargame magazine that won two Origins Awards. The point was creativity, new ideas, and imagination. Production values would have to come later.
That magazine was JagdPanther (Hunting Panther), created and run by the same Stephen V. Cole who later co-founded Task Force Games and then went on to found Amarillo Design Bureau. We found the ancient archives of this game company (which ran from 1973-1976, producing 15 magazines, about 50 games, hundreds of variants, and dozens of game reviews) and have placed them on Warehouse 23 so they are available to collectors. (Old issues have been selling on Ebay for over $100 each.) Issue #1, Issue #2, Issue #3, Issue #4, Issue #5, Issue #6, Issue #7, Issue #8, Issue #9, Issue #10, Issue #11, Issue #12, Issue #13, Issue #14 and Issue # 15 are uploaded.
Tenneshington Decals continues to produce decal sets made to fit Federation starships in ADB's Shapeways 3788, 3125, 7000 "Elite", and 2500 "Prestige" scales. A wide selection of ships are available, with sets for the CVo operational ("flatbed") carrier, CVA heavy fleet carrier, CF fast cruiser, and DDF fast destroyer recently added. The 3788 scale decals are also great to use on ADB's metal Starline 2400 ships and the 3125 scale decals can be used on ADB's metal Starline 2500 ships. Tenneshington will also continue to offer their legacy decals for Starline 2500 ships as special orders, for customers wishing to match their existing minis. As with all of their products, the names on the ships are up to the customer and all sheets are custom-printed to order.
Additional decal sets are available for shuttlecraft and to sets to detail any ship with additional window blocks, sensors, hatches, and even phaser scars.
For more information or to download the order sheet, check them out at www.tenneshington.com. Or if you prefer, email Will McCammon at: will@tenneshington.com or Tony L. Thomas at: scoutdad@tenneshington.com .
SFB ONLINE EVENT
"Massive Attack! (the Alliance vs the Coalition Tournament) has begun. It's a Fan-organized event in a round-robin format. A second event is planned, so get in contact with kapten.hardcore@gmail.com or visit the topic with the same name at the starfleetbattles.com/discus.
Due to the COVID-19 virus, many conventions have been cancelled. We encourage you to check out Star Fleet Battles Online where there is a free demo version. It is a good way to hang out with others who play Star Fleet Battles and Federation Commander. Check it out here: https://www.sfbonline.com/index.jsp
Star Fleet Battles games are played regularly in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday afternoons at the Soldiery. Lee Hanna is the contact person.
HAILING FREQUENCIES: This is our newsletter and will let you know all the news for all our games. You can subscribe here. Have you missed an earlier newsletter? Click here to get caught up!
COMMUNIQUE: This monthly magazine repeated much of the same information that Hailing Frequencies does. December 2019 was the last month it was published. Old issues can be downloaded from the Commander's Circle.
COMMANDER'S CIRCLE: We continue to improve the Commander's Circle. All of the ships and scenarios are available as separate documents (the ships are organized by empire) so you can quickly see what is available. The FC Scenario Database and Master Ship Chart documents are also here. Our newest project was suggested by our players and is uploading low-toner Ship Cards. The Commander's Circle is the best place to find free additions to Federation Commander!
Every month we will feature one or more of our miniatures. If you paint miniatures, submit pictures of your minis and they may be selected for the next Mini of the Month!
This is the 3788 Scale Lyran Java Tiger Heavy Command Cruiser (CCH) painted by Nick Samaras.
Help us pick the mini of the month on our page on Facebook. The mini with the most likes and shares will become the mini of the month. Vote for the ones you like!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
EXTRAS FOR THE MONTH:
217 SFB Romulan K6R
217 FC Romulan K6R
Cover/Counters for FEDERATION COMMANDER BOOSTER 37 & 38
Cover/Counters for FEDERATION COMMANDER BOOSTER 39
You can look at Hailing Frequencies Extras here.Click here to see our previous issues of Hailing Frequencies.
Recently Released
Federation Commander: Booster Pack #39, SKU 4239, $19.95
The Star Fleet Battles Module R6 Rulebook 2023, SKU 5617-2, $13.95
Federation & Empire: Advanced Operations 2022, SKU 3209, $39.95
The Star Fleet Battles Module R1 Rulebook 2023, SKU 5606-2, $7.50
Federation & Empire: Strategic Operations 2022, SKU 3211, $24.95
Cadet Training Handbook Reprint Edition, SKU 5620, $9.95
Federation & Empire: Tactical Operations, SKU 3216, $36.95
Starmada Battleships Armada Unity SKU 6135, $16.95
Star Fleet Battles: Module R2 Rulebook Revised for 2021, SKU 5607-2, $7.95
Federation & Empire: Combined Operations 2021, SKU 3207, $29.95
SFB: Module R4J –Shadow of the Eagle, SKU 5638, $17.95
SFB: Module R4T – Tholian Will, SKU 5637, $25.95
GURPS Romulans 2021 SKU 8404, $24.95
GURPS Klingons 2020 SKU 8403, $24.95
ACTASF Book 2 SKU M30002, $29.95
Tholian Master Starship Book SKU 5437, $24.95
SFB: Module J – Fighters! 2020, SKU 5604, $19.95
Distant Armada Unity, SKU 6134, $16.95
Gorn Master Starship Book SKU 5436 $23.95
Captain's Log # 54, SKU 5754, $24.95
Captain's Log # 54 SSDs, SKU 5754-2, $3.50
Captain's Log # 54 Supplement, SKU 5754-S, $4.00
PDF and EBOOK SALES:
Click here and you can see all of the products we have avaliable as PDF and Ebooks.
RECENTLY RELEASED ON Warehouse 23
Federation Commander: Lyran Ship Card Pack #3
SFB: Module R6 Color SSDs 2023
SFB: Module R6 B&W SSDs 2023
SFB: Module R6 Rulebook 2023
SFB: Module R1 Color SSDs 2023
SFB: Module R1 B&W SSDs 2023
SFB: Module R1 Rulebook 2023
Federation Commander: Gunboats Attack
Federation & Empire: Strategic Operations 2022 Rulebook
Federation & Empire: Advanced Operations 2022 Rulebook
Captain's Log #51
Captain's Log #51 Supplemental File
Captain's Log #51 Color SSDs
F&E Romulan Civil War Playtest Counters
Captain's Log #50
Captain's Log #50 Supplemental File
Captain's Log #50 Color SSDs
Captain's Log #34
Federation & Empire: Tactical Operations Rulebook
SFB: Module R2 Rulebook Revised for 2021
Federation Commander: Klingon Ship Card Pack #5
Federation & Empire: Combined Operations 2021 Rulebook
Federation & Empire: Planetary Operations 2021 Rulebook
Captain's Log #33
SFB: Module R4J - Shadow of the Eagle - Rulebook
SFB: Module R4J - Shadow of the Eagle - Black/White SSDs
SFB:Module R4J - Shadow of the Eagle - Color SSDs
GURPS Romulans Revised
Captain's Log #32
Star Fleet Marines Battle Manual
SFB: Module R4T - The Tholian Will - Rulebook
SFB: Module R4T - The Tholian Will - Black/White SSDs
SFB:Module R4T - The Tholian Will - Color SSDs
RECENTLY RELEASED ON DRIVETHRU RPG and WARGAME VAULT
Federation Commander: Lyran Ship Card Pack #3 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R6 Color SSDs 2023 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R6 B&W SSDs 2023 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R6 Rulebook 2023 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R1 Color SSDs 2023 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R1 B&W SSDs 2023 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R1 Rulebook 2023 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Federation Commander: Gunboats Attack (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Federation & Empire: Strategic Operations 2022 Rulebook (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Federation & Empire: Advanced Operations 2022 Rulebook (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Captain's Log #51 ( DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Captain's Log #51 Supplemental File (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Captain's Log #51 Color SSDs (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
F&E Romulan Civil War Playtest Counters ( DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Captain's Log #50 ( DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Captain's Log #50 Supplemental File (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Captain's Log #50 Color SSDs (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Captain's Log #34 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Federation & Empire: Tactical Operations Rulebook (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R2 Rulebook Revised for 2021 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Federation Commander: Klingon Ship Card Pack #5 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Federation & Empire: Combined Operations 2021 Rulebook (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Federation & Empire: Planetary Operations 2021 Rulebook (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Captain's Log #33 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R4J - Shadow of the Eagle - Rulebook (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R4J - Shadow of the Eagle - Black/White SSDs (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB:Module R4J - Shadow of the Eagle - Color SSDs (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
GURPS Romulans Revised (DriveThru RPG)
Captain's Log #32 (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
Star Fleet Marines Battle Manual (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R4T - The Tholian Will - Rulebook (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R4T - The Tholian Will - Black/White SSDs (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
SFB: Module R4T - The Tholian Will - Color SSDs (DriveThru RPG or Wargame Vault)
RECENTLY RELEASED ON AMAZON - KINDLE
For the Glory of the Empire
SHUTTLES
Mike Kenyon asks: Rule (J1.635) says that enemy shuttle launches are part of the same rate as friendly launches (not landings) on a ship. If I have an enemy shuttle aboard and both of us want to launch on Impulse #4, who does? Does the host ship or the enemy get right of way out of the bay?
ANSWER: I sent this to Kommodore Ketrick who replied: This is one of those obscure questions that hardly ever comes up (so it does not seem to have a previous answer), but apparently it now has come up. There are other considerations.
Yes, rule (J1.634) is pretty specific that enemy shuttles landing aboard a ship do so at their own rate and irrespective of the rate of the ship they are landing on. Thus Andy Vancil could launch or land a shuttle from his ship on the very same impulse that you are landing aboard it. Your shuttles are, of course, then governed by (J1.52), i.e., they cannot take off for at least eight impulses (same, of course for Andy's shuttle).
So the crux does become that at least eight impulses previously you landed a shuttle in Andy's bay. Now both your shuttle and one of Andy's shuttles are trying to leave the bay, and under (J1.635) the "normal rules" apply, so only one shuttle can take off. We are assuming a normal bay, no Catastrophic Damage Impending Destruction, no minelaying, etc.
Toss a coin. Or roll a die, odds you get to launch, even he gets to launch.
Josh Driscol asks: On Impulse #1 of Turn #3 a voided wild weasel is recovered by tractor. Is the first opportunity to begin charging the shuttle as wild weasel again with reserve power Impulse #2 of Turn #4?
ANSWER: You have to service the shuttle (one deck crew action) before you can begin preparing it for another mission. It has been previously ruled (Captain's Log #32) that you cannot apply power to start arming it until it has been serviced, even though it is going to be used for the same mission. However, if both your informal deck crews are available, you could put them both to work on the shuttle (starting on Impulse #2 of Turn #3), and have it ready to start charging (with reserve power) on Impulse #18 of Turn #3. You could then launch the wild weasel as early as Impulse #18 of Turn #4.
Follow-up Question: If the ship were Hydran and it used two deck crew actions on the shuttle after recovering it, could it be started with reserve power on Impulse #17 of Turn #3?
ANSWER: As noted above, anyone could do this, but since you cannot start servicing the shuttle on the impulse it lands (J4.8172), you would have to wait until Impulse #18 of Turn #3.
Follow-up Question: In Module T-2000 it says that deck crews can repair fighters but not administrative shuttles. Can they even be used to service admin shuttles in a tournament game? Obviously deck crew repair of fighters and reloading fighter weapons rules are used, but the rules in (J1.865) - (J1.869) use deck crew actions for servicing admin shuttles also. Without deck crews how do the other empires' tournament ships get their admins serviced?
ANSWER: The restriction is on repairing, not servicing. Deck crews (formal or informal) can service shuttles, including unloading a scatter-pack, reactivating the weapons on an inert or aborted suicide shuttle, etc.
(End of Admiral Vanaxilth)
CARRIERS AND GROUP THERAPY
Q: Can I send prime teams to sabotage the "inner escort" of a carrier group?
A: Yes, you can. The rule prohibits sabotage of the "escorted" unit but nothing says that the "inner" escort is "being escorted."
Q: Are the B10's fighters (436.0) considered a squadron, or hybrid? I say "hybrid" since the SIT doesn't call it a carrier.
A: The SIT for the B10 does classify it as a single ship carrier, so the fighters are their own squadron for that single ship carrier and have the appropriate cost.
Q: Do both the UH and CV have oversized squadrons?
A: Yes (318.8). Filthy, methane-breathing squadrons.
Q: I am trying to manage my carrier groups honestly within the rules (515.2) in the face of an opposing player who delights in picking off escorts. To keep the carriers alive, I added an extra escort to many groups, such as CVL+CLE+CLE+FFE but when the FFE was destroyed, my opponent said I had to drop one CLE from the group as the rules did not allow a group without a light escort. I protested that the group CVL+CLE+CLE+Empty was valid as long as it consumed four command slots.
A: Yes, it's legal, if you use a command slot for the missing escort. Rule (515.35) prohibits CVL+CLE+CLE as a three-ship group but allows it as a four-ship group.
Q: A Kzinti battle force has the following carriers (plus escorts): CVL (4.5 fighters), CVE (3 fighters), 2CV (6 fighters each). For these ships, how many ship equivalents (501.91) of fighters are there?
A: You can do this two different ways. One is to count each carrier separate: CVL = 4.5 fighters = 0.77 ship equivalents (SE), CVE = 3 fighters = 0.5 SE, 2x(CV = 6 fighters = 1.0 SE). You then add them together (0.77+0.5+2x(1.0)) to come up with 3.27 SE. You need to consider each group separate before adding them together. Anything less than 0.5 is dropped.
You can also, with fighter types of all the same kind, just add up all the factors and divide by the standard squadron size for that type, six in this case. So, in this example, we would have (4.5+3+2x6) = 19.5 and divide that by 6 for 3.25 SE. Anything less than 0.5 is dropped.
Note that the parenthetical (6-8) refers to the squadron size for the unit in question. A Federation CVB with an F-15 squadron would have a standard squadron size of 8 and would only count as one SE instead of 1.33 SE when counting for SE calculations.
Q: In the case of a tug or LTT (515.0) using a borrowed allied carrier pod, which empire provides the escorts?
A: The empire that provided the tug or LTT.
Q: The rules say that a tug with a carrier pod can be escorted as a carrier. Is there a rule saying that a tug with a carrier pod and a battle pod cannot be escorted?
A: There is no such rule, but of course, the carrier pod must be one that actually has enough fighters for the tug to be classified as a carrier-tug.
Q: Does (or should) rule (517.36) apply to the Lyran KVP (and KVH) for purposes of mixing with other Lyran K-type pods?
A: Yes, all the restrictions on the Klingon pods with weight restrictions carry over to those pods when they are being used by the Lyrans.
Q: What if the Lyran tug borrows a Klingon VAP (or VHP) pod (517.13); would (517.36) apply? Also, what if a Klingon tug borrows the Lyran KVP or KVH pods does (517.36) still apply?
A: Yes, in both situations.
(End of F&E Q&A)
In this section we will provide links to various web pages and items that we think you will find "cool".
We have recently updated the look and design of the Rangers Page, check it out here: Rangers Page
Here are links to various flyers you can use to advertise your Demos and Game Days: Ranger Resources
Here are links to the new pages of Starline 2500 miniatures pictures.
Starline 2500 Battleships page
Starline 2500 Federation Miniatures
Starline 2500 Klingon Miniatures
Starline 2500 Romulan Miniatures
Starline 2500
Traveller Prime Directive
Call to Arms Star Fleet
We have also uploaded new Xander wallpapers to our Wallpapers section on the website: Wallpapers
We have new images of our game Star Fleet Marines posted on our BBS topic page.
These are the press releases we send to the wholesalers, retailers, and media. You can get on the mailing list for them by asking Marketing@StarFleetGames.com to add you to the list. (Obviously, they are free.) They are uploaded to the Star Fleet Alert page
Alert 190709 CL53 (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 190309 Distribution (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 170327 CL52 (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 160531 Cart (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 160518 Captain's Log #51 (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 160317 For the Glory (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 150331 Captain's Log #50 (Adobe Acrobat Required)
REPAIR
Ensign Jim Hart, USS North Carolina
One of the biggest changes between Star Fleet Battles and Federation Commander is the speed at which systems can be repaired. With the ability to repair one weapon (of any type) or one power system (again of any type) each turn, ships in Federation Commander can really get back into the game quickly if they were only lightly damaged. Consider that a Federation heavy cruiser that has a photon torpedo disabled on Turn #1 can repair it at the end of that turn, start re-arming it immediately, and fire it on Turn #3. In Star Fleet Battles, a photon torpedo lost on Turn #1 could not be repaired and re-armed until Turn #5.
This is even more evident with plasma torpedoes. A plasma-S torpedo launcher destroyed on Turn #1 in Star Fleet Battles would be available to launch a fast-loaded plasma-F torpedo on Turn #6, whereas in Federation Commander it's ready on Turn #3. This means it might be to your advantage, when taking a plasma torpedo damage point, to take the plasma-S torpedo launcher instead of the plasma-F torpedo launcher. Both are repaired in the same amount of time, but the plasma-S torpedo launcher will be available to fire (as a fast-load) one turn sooner than the plasma-F torpedo launcher.
Repair capabilities might also make a difference in your decisions about directed damage. If you kill a disruptor, it will be back next turn. If you kill the power needed to arm the disruptor, it might be longer before the disruptor can fire again, or limit your opponent in other ways. However, there is a trade-off. Since power only costs three repair points to repair, the average cruiser can repair a point of power and a hull box. That hull box could save you from another power or weapon hit on the next volley.
Fast repair also makes it imperative to keep pressure on a lightly damaged enemy, and to not leave cripples hanging around. They can become dangerous, even deadly, if given just a turn or two to do repairs.
(End of FC Tactic of the Month)
ANDROMEDAN PLANETARY INVASION BLITZ
Captain Scott Tenhoff, USS California
While the Andromedans can beam satellite ships directly to planets [rule (G19.416) explicitly says so], they can also be beamed directly into the atmosphere/low orbit over a planet and immediately begin low-atmospheric flight [rules (P2.4112) and (P2.80)] by going Speed 1.
Doing this will allow any satellite ships to fire at any ground base which is on the hexside where they are flying (possibly after any such ground base fired on the mothership at Range 5). While tractor-repulsor beams add five hexes to their range under (P2.544) and maulers to lose 25% of their damage, phasers only add one to their die roll. This allows a Cobra/Viper with four phaser-2s to deal 20-24 points of damage on average with its phasers alone. This is enough to damage a ground base, but probably not enough to destroy it. It is enough, however, to drop a shield and allow a hit-and-run raid against any heavy weapon.
A Terminator/Asp can use its mauler and definitely destroy a ground base (every time it can fire while power is available) because they can choose the damage output of the mauler.
Deploying to flying/low-orbit allows any satellite ship to be protected from ground bases on hexsides adjacent to your target, and also gains the atmosphere effects for any enemy ship firing at it. When all of the ground bases are destroyed on your target hexside you can then fly to the adjacent hexsides and start over or be picked up by your mothership to be repaired.
(End of SFB Tactic of the Month)
DIPLOMATIC OPPORTUNITIES
-Ensign Richard Eitzen, USS Florida
One gambit the alliance may try is to delay the Romulan entry into the war. If the Klingons do not deploy their D7N in the Romulan Capital, consider sending a Federation prime team there on Turn #10 to assassinate the Klingon diplomat! While the chance of success is low, it is worth the effort, as if successful it will delay the Romulan attack. In such a case the Federation should strive to keep the Klingons from being able to send a replacement diplomat on their next turn.
On the Hydran front, now that Minor Empires is a consideration, it is important to send both Hydran diplomats to Demorak, as otherwise a successful assassination of a Hydran diplomat at that location will lead to the Lyran Democratic Republic joining the Coalition, adding many ships and additional economic income to the Coalition's efforts.
(Ed of F&E Strategy of the Month)
ASTEROID OR DISASTER-OIDS?
-Commander Tony L. Thomas, USS Tennessee
Many players of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet use terrain to control their opponent's movement or to provide coverage to their flanks. This is all well and good, unless your opponent happens to be a Romulan (or an Orion Pirate with cloaks). Most types of terrain completely block line of sight and some have potential penalties for passing through that are so severe that many people will spend turns going around rather than one turn going through.
So if you are on one side and your opponent is on the other, you can relax and take heart that you are relatively safe from enemy fire, right? Wrong! While asteroid fields and dust clouds can be of any size (up to and including the size of the entire map), most of us have created terrain pieces that are a few inches wide and about twice that many inches long. If your opponent is on one side of the terrain and cloaked, he may decide to uncloak on his next movement.
When uncloaking, units may move up to six inches in any direction and make one turn in lieu of making a standard maneuver. If the terrain separating you is less than 6" wide, you may suddenly find yourself facing an unexpected opponent who has suddenly crossed an entire asteroid field without having to face the risk of shield damage from collisions with wayward rocks, or has crossed a Tholian Web you thought would protect you for another turn or two.
So if you have a cloaking device, remember this tip and you will rarely have to worry about that bothersome terrain again. If you do not have a cloaking device, then make sure your terrain pieces are at least 6.1 inches in each dimension, and you will never have to worry about those pesky cloaking devices again!!!
(End of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month)
|
|
