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January 2021
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Star Fleet Universe News THE BIG NEWS:
NEW PDF UPLOADS: We will begin our 2021 program of PDF uploads this week with Captain's Log #49. Thursday of next week you will be able to get GURPS Klingons 2021, the new updated version. (If you had the PDF version from Warehouse 23, it will automatically be added to your library.) Thursday the 28th you will be able to get the PDF copy of Star Fleet Battles: Module R4T - Tholian Will, with dozens of new Tholian ships (the hard copy with counters won't appear until sometime in the Spring). We will release another PDF every week or two all year long. NEW PRODUCTS ARE COMING: Work continues on the SFB Module R3 Countersheet Reprint/Upgrade, SFB Module R4T Tholian Will, SFB Module R4J Shadow of the Eagle, F&E Tactical Operations, F&E Civil Wars, ACTASF Book Two hard copy, and ACTASF Reinforcements PDF. We expect to send the counters to press before the end of January and to have news on the release of some of those projects in next month's newsletter. Most new products will appear first as PDFs so you can help us make sure they are perfect. F&E PDF RULEBOOKS: Players of F&E have long wanted the complete "warbook" of F&E rules in searchable PDF format. The problem is that most of the books have not been updated and if we upload a non-updated book to the PDF stores the savage reviewers trash our entire company ratings, and it takes a year to update each book. Because F&E players deserve to have a searchable complete rulebook, we will sell on our shopping cart non-updated copies of the rulebooks for Planetary Operations, Advanced Operations, Combined Operations, and Strategic Operations. These will be watermarked and the way the system works you won't get a free update when we eventually load updated books to the PDF stores, but if you want a searchable complete PDF now, you can have it. These will NOT have counters, color covers, or charts; they are just the rulebook PDFs. (Remember that the current Ship Information Tables are a free downloadable PDF document on the BBS.) BRITISH CUSTOMERS TAKE NOTE: New UK regulations require us to collect 20% Value Added Tax on all orders to the UK. The shopping cart software will start adding this to your order, so expect to see the higher prices. We understand that you have had to pay this tax on receipt of the package anyway, so this should be simpler for everyone. ADB Releases Ships for January 2021
On January 11, 2021, ADB released a total of 35 new items to its shop on Shapeways which has over 2,400 items available in total. Notably this month we released new ships for the Federation, Klingons, and Tholians along with the first three armored vehicles for the Lyrans. Please note that all ships are available in both 3788 and 3125 scales, except when noted. Check all these out here: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/amarillo-design-bureau-inc
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.
TWITTER: VIDEOS: Star Fleet Marines Part 1 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: STAR FLEET'S LEGIONS EXPAND: This month we feature Battle Group Hampton Roads, headquartered in Hampton, Virginia. CO William Phillips reports they play Star Fleet Battles and Federation & Empire. They also enjoy attending gaming conventions. Read more here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/battlegroup/battlegroup_HamptonRoads.shtml
Do you have a battle group? Be sure to report your activities here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/battlegroup/report.shtml
Do you want to see if there's a battle group near you? Check out the map here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/battlegroup/gather.shtml#US
Facebook Fan Pages
So join us on Facebook and get a fix of your favorite game there, too! JAGDPANTHER
Custom Decals for Starline ships Tenneshington Decals continues to provide custom decals for all currently produced Federation Starline 2500 miniatures. 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.
Jupiter IV Decals is a source of decals for the 2400 line and will do custom decals as well as all official SFB names. In the near future Jupiter IV will move into the 2500 line and will work to get every listed name on the Starfleet registry completed in both scales.
Their website is: JupiterIvdecals.com
ONLINE TOURNAMENTS The first Sapphire Crown Concluded on 26 December with Peter Bakija in the Gorn Emerging victorious over Jack Taylor's WYN Black Shark
Recruiting has begun for Sapphire Star VII with 10 signups to date.
DEMOS AND CONS WITH SFU GAMES 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 held weekly in Tempe Arizona each Friday at Game Depot from 2:00 -7:00 pm. Eric Phillips is the person to contact. Star Fleet Battles games are held regularly in Indianapolis, Indiana at Family Time Games. Anthony Harding is the contact person. For more information see: http://www.meetup.com/Star-Fleet-Battles-Indy/.
Star Fleet Battles games are played regularly in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday afternoons at the Soldiery. Lee Hanna is the contact person. Games are held in Spokane, Washington on an irregular basis. Contact them to see if there's a game scheduled. They meet at The Gamer's Haven, 2114 N. Pines St., Suites 1 & 2, Spokane Valley, WA 99206, (509) 443-5992 http://www.thegamershaven.net/ Download Transmissions 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.
FC Forum Recent Posts
The Federation Commander site and Forum continue to grow as more gamers continue to find them. All of our games currently have topics in the Forum. If you have any comments, questions, or requests for our Graphics Director, this is the place to let her know. Come see what the commotion is about and join the Federation Commander Forum now.
Mini of the Month Randell Keeping painted this Omni Scale Jumbo Auxiliary Cruiser.
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New Releases EXTRAS FOR THE MONTH: F&E COUNTERS - HEAVY WAR DESTROYER VARIANTS
Federation & Empire players will welcome this Play Value Extra: A sheet of counters for all of the Heavy War Destroyer variants! Players of GURPS Prime Directive will be happy to know that Jean Sexton Beddow has updated our Klingon Empire Manual and she wanted you to have these updated weapons tables right away.
You can look at Hailing Frequencies Extras here. Click here to see our previous issues of Hailing Frequencies.
Recently Released SFB: Module J – Fighters! 2020, SKU 5604, $19.95 SHAPEWAYS:
We’re now offering some of our miniatures and some new designs on Shapeways. You can check out the store here: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/amarillo-design-bureau-inc?sort=newest
PDF and EBOOK SALES:
RECENTLY RELEASED ON Warehouse 23 Ask Admiral Vanaxilth FIGHTERS
Scott Tenhoff asks: If I have a remote-controlled fighter, and I want to beam the pilot aboard to fly it, can I do this?
ANSWER: The errata for (J15.12) states that a remote-controlled fighter cannot be converted back to a manned fighter during the scenario. Scott Tenhoff asks: Can I board any enemy remote-controlled fighter via (J1.86) and (D7.61) with my boarding parties to try to capture it? Or does it have to be uncontrolled or captured in a tractor beam to try it? ANSWER: Fighters cannot be boarded (J4.42). Jeff Wile asks: It appears the Kzintis never developed a two-seat electronic warfare fighter for attack shuttle squadrons. Assuming a multi-role shuttle assigned as the 13th fighter as per rule (J4.464) can control drones launched by an attack shuttle, and the rules do not appear to have barred multi-role shuttles from interacting with attack shuttles, what about adding a two-seat fighter from a later type of fighter? After the advanced attack shuttle electronic warfare fighter was deployed (Y172), could the remaining attack shuttle squadrons have a single two-seat advanced attack shuttle electronic warfare fighter assigned to them as its one allowed (J4.43) electronic warfare fighter? ANSWER: Kommodore Ketrick replies: The only attack shuttles that would have been around in Y172 would have been museum pieces or display models. There would have been no operational squadrons of them. I took a moment to take a quick look, and not even the earliest Kzinti carrier [the DDV (R5.56)] operated a "squadron" of attack shuttles. The reason is obvious in that the attack shuttle could not control its own drones (R5.F1), requiring another platform to do so. Even if you attached a multi-role shuttle to such a "squadron," that would only have allowed six drones to be controlled at one time, if the squadron is operating independently (six out of 26 possible type-I drones including the two the multi-role shuttle could be armed with). If the multi-role shuttle were destroyed (it would be the prime target in such a case and it is easily identifiable being the only "shuttle" in a "fighter squadron"), the squadron's drones would be useless (and any in flight would be lost at that point). The Kzintis began experimenting with fighter squadrons after they developed the advanced attack shuttle (able to control its own drones). Such advanced attack shuttles would not have worked with attack shuttles because they can only control their own drones. (An advanced attack shuttle can only control a drone it launched itself, as with most fighter types.) So having a "mixed" squadron of attack shuttles and advanced attack shuttles would not be workable (I know you did not suggest such, I am just making the point now). Operationally, attack shuttles simply were not suited to being used as fighter squadrons from carriers. However, some argument might be made for using them defensively (from planetary bases, and perhaps from hangar bay augmentation modules), but even so the advanced attack shuttle came into service so quickly that the attack shuttle would have been phased out long before the electronic warfare fighters showed up.
Follow-up question: The Master Fighter Chart in Module G3 indicates that mega-packs were developed for attack shuttles. ANSWER: Kommodore Ketrick replies: Module G3 is in error. There was no mega-pack developed for the attack shuttle. Also, the Federation had no B-17M, B-25M, or B-29M. William Wilson asks: Rule (J4.34) states, in part, "Fighters do not have to eject or discharge their weapons before landing on a ship which has fighter facilities for that type of weapon." However, I cannot find any rule that does require them to discharge weapons before landing on a ship without facilities for their weapon, unless they have surrendered. Additionally, other rules (J4.896) and (J13.0) provide options for fighters operating from places that do not have the appropriate facilities. Is (J4.34)'s statement meaningless, or have I overlooked a rule about discharging your weapons before landing? ANSWER: After digging through all of the shuttle (J1.0), fighter (J4.0) and even the docking rules (C13.0), I can find no requirement that a fighter must discharge its weapons before landing, unless it is surrendering (J7.73). Ken Kazinski asks: How does the Carnivon death bolt interact with the mega-fighter (J16.0) and electronic warfare fighter (R1.F7) rules. Are they the same as type-I drones for this? ANSWER: Kommodore Ketrick replies: Death bolts do not interact with (J16.0) or (R1.F7) at all. Death bolts are not carried by any size-1 or size-2 fighter [see (FD20.15) and Annex #4], so adding a mega-pack to such a fighter does not add death bolts. Adding a mega-pack to a size-3 or size-4 bomber only increases speed and adds two points of damage (J16.249); it does not add additional weapons to a bomber, and so would not increase the number of death bolts (or disruptor cannon charges for that matter) carried by such a bomber. As (R1.F7) is the rule for converting size-1 (and only size-1) fighters to electronic warfare fighters, death bolts have no interaction with that rule because no size-1 fighter is armed with death bolts [see (FD20.15) and Annex #4]. William Wilson asks: Does the effect of switching a warp booster pack on/off happen immediately, or on the next impulse as a speed change normally would? By the rule, this is not considered a speed change under (C12.0), but it is announced during the speed change step. This could affect whether the shuttle takes double damage from direct-fire weapons on the impulse of announcement, as well as whether it can land under its own power that impulse on a ship moving faster than its non-doubled speed. Note that when "dropping" a warp booster pack, (J5.22) explicitly states that it takes effect immediately, but there is no statement either way regarding the non-destructive on-off switch. ANSWER: Warp booster packs are actually turned on or off during the 6B8 Shuttle & PF Functions Stage, not the 6A4 Final Movement Actions Stage. The Sequence of Play makes it clear that this takes effect immediately. Francois Lemay asks: A fighter is facing direction A and its target is in direction B. It launches a plasma-F torpedo. Can this torpedo be facing B or must it face A? ANSWER: Most fighters do not have swivel mounts, so (FP3.11) is the operative rule. The torpedo must be launched in direction A. A drone, on the other hand, could have been launched in direction A, B or C, assuming the target was right on the hex row in direction B. Kommodore Ketrick adds: The only plasma fighters with "swivels" are heavy fighters and bombers and are noted as such in their entries (e.g., Romulan Tribune heavy fighters, Gorn Bombers and G-30/G-32 heavy fighters, Inter-Stellar Concordium heavy fighters). All other plasma-armed size class-6 units (at least those with rule numbers and thus mainline service) have fixed FA launching arcs; there is no rule excepting plasma-armed fighters from the restrictions of the FA launching arc. (End of Admiral Vanaxilth) F&E Q&A
IT'S ALL A SETUP! Q: Rule (601.12) requires that the Kzintis keep a CC and five other ships in the two border provinces to "guard against the Federation." Could the Kzintis replace the CC with a DN for the purposes of (601.12)? Obviously the DN couldn't leave those Marquis provinces until such time as the original CC would be normally released, but it would protect the DN from the Klingons.
A: The CC is the personal ship of the Marquis and as such needs to stay as he is staying in his territory. He would not leave unless the Klingons invade. You cannot swap his ship. That is why the rule specifically says the CC, not a ship of at least nine Command Rating Points. Q: In reading the Gorn Confederation Setup (706.0), the off-map section says to see (506.5) for activation. There is no rule (506.5) in the new 2010 rules. Where can I find this rule? A: Please see the F&E 2010 errata page for Revision 0 rulebook at on the website, which has this rule.
Q: Rule (600.31) provides that up to six ships of an unreleased fleet may move operationally within that fleet's zone each turn. Are ships of unreleased fleets allowed to move strategically within their deployment zone? If so, is that counted within the limit of six? A: See (600.315) in the 2010 version of the rules. This provides for the Strategic Movement you are looking for. It is within the six-ship limit specified in (600.31) and is within the total Strategic Movement allowed by (204.0) for that empire. Q: Why does it state in several places in the rules and scenarios that you can place one item in the main effort sector. What does this mean? A: If one is playing an existing sectorized scenario (Winds of Fire, Maelstrom, Gale Force, etc.) then certain capabilities and rules are only assigned and/or used in the main effort. Q: The Marquis has CLs assigned as carrier escorts. Is this a mistake? Should they be CLEs? A: No, they're CLs used as ad hoc escorts. Carriers were a fairly new thing, it took a while to work out what a carrier group was and the Kzintis had not built enough escorts yet. Cool Stuff on the Website In this section we will provide links to various web pages and items that we think you will find "cool". We have also uploaded new Xander wallpapers to our Wallpapers section on the website: Wallpapers STAR FLEET ALERTS 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 FC Tactic of the MonthPOINT-BLANK MISS If you are moving with a base speed of twenty-four and your opponent launches a drone at you at pointblank range (in the same hex), immediately buy an acceleration point and the drone will not hit you.
This works because rule (4F2c) says that a weapon launched in the same hex will not impact until the next movement phase. It gets better. Rule (2A5) allows the target ship to move first and you can use that movement to exit the drone's hex before it can move (and before it can impact). As an added bonus, if your ship moves into a hex the drone is not facing, you will force it to turn around the slow way, as rule (4F3e) prevents the drone from using a High Energy Turn unless it will hit (which it will not, because you moved). The corollary of this is to not launch drones when in the same hex as your target when the target is moving with a base speed of twenty-four.
While some advocate choosing the largest target you can destroy (the infamous exploding frigate ploy), and others targeting the largest target you can cripple (and saving the rest to dent/remove a shield on another target), there is an alternate, especially now that explosion strengths are so low.
You should look to get rid of the capability of the most effective enemy you can in one go. So if you can ruin a destroyer, kill a frigate, or just annoy a cruiser, you probably want to ruin the destroyer. But, there may be a time where you have the option of taking out a key target from their contributing lineup. This is where you destroy that escort frigate between your incoming drone wave and their main combatants/carriers, or that pesky scout that keeps loaning electronic warfare to the ships getting up into your face. It can be especially amusing to destroy or cripple a carrier that is soon to launch its reloaded fighters. Often times you just need to do a certain amount of damage to make that annoying unit "mission ineffective." The point is that you need to evaluate what is the best way to apply a given amount of firepower to hurt the enemy or help any follow-on attacks. (End of SFB Tactic of the Month)
The Federation in the early war does not have a whole lot that they can do to really mess with the Coalition. While the Klingons and Romulans are busy flipping Neutral Zone planets, all the Federation can do is send their own diplomats to make it a bit harder on them, but this can cost the Federation and their Allies some extra income in the early game. But there is something that the Federation can do to help even out the income gain the Coalition can get from these actions. If you look at the map closely, you will notice that any Strategic Movement path that can connect the Klingons to the Romulans (and by default the Lyrans) must go through or adjacent to hex 3116. This is assuming the Klingons hold Minor Planet 2715. If the Federation places one or more ships in hex 3116, then any potential Strategic Movement path is cut thus denying the Coalition any diplomatic income for at least three turns (#7, #8 and #9) that could be gained by having diplomats in each other's capitals. Leaving the ships there after Turn #9 will be risky since they will be vulnerable during the Romulan invasion, but Turn #10's diplomatic income could be denied as well.
This gives the Coalition the choice of either accepting the loss of the extra income, or they activate the 6th Fleet early and clear the Strategic Movement path. They could also set up an MB closer to the Romulans to re-establish the path, but the time that will take means the path would not be re-established before Turn #9 at least, and is probably not the best use of an MB. Also during the early war, the Federation has a shortage of survey ships in the off-map region. Since the three CVLs and one COV get pulled from survey duty, they have four unused slots they need to fill. If the Federation uses their diplomatic income from Turns #2 through #6 they can start converting mothball CAs into GSCs. Converting two of the mothballed CAs will allow the Feds to replace all four survey ships in just two turns (one activation and one conversion on Turns #7 and #8). Otherwise it will take until Turn #12 to field all four missing survey slots, as we all know that the CVLs and COV will not be getting sent back to survey duty! (End of F&E Strategy of the Month)
A Call To Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month 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.
(End of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month)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!!!
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show our games and to teach potential players some basics. 
