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June 2012
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Star Fleet Universe News THE BIG NEWS this month is that Jean's trip to Amarillo during May as very successful and TRAVELLER PRIME DIRECTIVE CORE RULEBOOK is well on its way to a release before Christmas. (When you're trying to launch a book this important, the wholesalers demand the full four-month advanced notice. We usually give them only one or two months.) In other news this month, the second annual Platinum Hat International On-Line SFB tournament has been announced. You can find information on the discuss BBS. We're making a special effort to expand the player pool by allowing non-aces to enter without paying the $10 fee. WEBSITE: Our website, www.StarFleetGames.com, continues to grow and improve. You are welcome to send us your requests, comments, and suggestions. Joel Shutts, 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. One of our newest pages is for Starline 2500 where we display photos and 3d renders of the new starships. FACEBOOK: Jean continues to improve our page on Facebook, adding many new photos and other features. 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 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 JAGDPANTHER
DO NOT OVERLOOK THIS The Historical Miniatures Gaming Society is a big outfit, and has been around for a long time. They're always running events and conventions all over the US and elsewhere. Check their website (http://www.hmgs.org/) for information on this group and their upcoming events to find one near you. They allow non-historical miniatures gaming to have space at their events (although you should probably contact them before you just show up and start lining up starships on their tables). This may give you another opportunity to get together with SFU friends from around your region (as long as you are using Starline 2400 or Starline 2500 miniatures; they don't seem to understand cardboard counters). You can show them SFB, FC, Starmada, or A Call to Arms, and take a look at all of the other kinds of miniatures games out there. If you accidentally win one of their prizes (say, a box of Napoleonic miniatures) you can probably trade them to someone at your home game store or on a gaming forum for something more to your liking. Custom Decals for Starline ships Have you ever wished you could accessorize your Starline 2500 Federation fleet with your own names and hull numbers? Well now you can!
ONLINE TOURNAMENTS Rated Ace Tournament 37 is ready for the final round between Paul Scott and Marcus Giegerich. Stay tuned to our page on Facebook or to the BBS to find out when it will be flown. The judge is Kerry Mullan.Rated Ace Tournament 38 has all second-round games finished and over half of the third-round games are completed. Even one fourth-round game has a winner! Judge Peter Bakija certainly is keeping this one moving along. Good luck everyone! Andromedan Playtest Tournament has seen nine of the 16 scheduled games played. So far, there still have been two Andromedan wins and we continue watch this tournament with interest. Flying Deuces has seen a reminder go out. Paul Franz is managing this tournament. Winter 2012 FCOL Tourney has Round Four (the final round) matchups posted. There are eleven players competing and this round should be completed by the end of the month. Jim Dauphinais is the judge. Summer 2012 FCOL Tournament format is now being discussed. NetKill Patrol for the First Quarter 2012 is over. Brendan Lally has earned the right to be known as Sir_Tartan_Army. SFBOL World League has started. These teams of three players play to see which team is the best. Peter Bakija is running this tournament and as of June 7, the standings are: Top 4 teams: 1. Team Avengers: 18 with 6/9 games played. 2. Team SWA: 16 points with 6/9 games played. 3. Team Deception: 15 points with 7/9 games played. 4. Team Action Cats!: 14 points with 6/9 games played. DEMOS AND CONS WITH SFU GAMES Please send information to Jean via the email in her BBS profile, PM on the Mongoose or Federation Commander forums, or Message on Facebook. If you want convention support, please contact Mike Sparks at support@StarFleetGames.com. Your convention must meet a few simple requirements (one of which is being held in the United States due to shipping costs) which are here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/sfb/tournament/tourn_main.shtml 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: The latest Communique brings you more Ship Cards, scenarios, and more news from the Star Fleet Universe! It can be downloaded from the Commander's Circle. FC Forum Recent Posts
We are very pleased to see the medals, honor bars, and ribbons awarded to players being incorporated into their signatures. It is exciting to see lots of interesting conversations about a wide variety of subjects. Get in on the activity! While for new players the Federation Commander Forum is a little easier to
manage, the original (Discus-based) BBS is where most product development
takes place. If you have a proposal you'd like to see worked on, don't forget to
make sure it is mentioned here. It also has active F&E and SFB forums where
players run campaigns, Rated Ace tournaments and other SFB tournaments are organized (most FC tournaments are organized on the Forum), SVC's "My
Day" appears, along with current news and strategies dealing with Prime Directive, and each issue of Captain's Log is created. While less colorful
(no avatars or sigs), it is a vital part of ADB, Inc.'s communications. If you are in a duel, and are in danger to losing your ship to capture because of Marine combat, pay attention to how many Marines your opponent has. If at any point your opponent transports the last of his Marines over to your ship to cement his victory, use your "me-too" opportunity to transport some of your remaining Marines over to his ship!
Under (J3.11), you can program a course for a wild weasel, and as a matter of habit, you should do this. If there is any chance that the wild weasel will not be destroyed, having a programmed course can be very useful. You never know when those plasma torpedoes might turn out to be pseudoes, or when your opponent might drop tracking on some drones. If you did not program a course, your weasel will be sailing off in a straight line, to eventually collide with a tournament barrier or be lost in the depths of space. If the seeking weapons do impact as expected, you did not lose anything by programming a course. F&E Strategy of the Month Demotivationals Throughout the month our graphics director places on the website various cards called Demotivationals. These are like postcards with an image and a phrase that is often used for humor. To see our previous Demotivationals click here. Mini of the Month Terran Empire Cruiser
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New Releases Communique #78 has been posted to the Commander's Circle. Recently Released To be released during May-June 2012 To be released during June 2012 To be released during July 2012 To be released during August 2012 To be released during September 2012 To be released during 2012 PDF SALES: ADB, Inc. continues its relationship with Steve Jackson Games and their e23 Warehouse. We chose e23 because they have a philosophy that agrees with ours -- our customers are honest and honorable and wouldn't aid people who want to steal our products. Furthermore, we know from experience how devastating a computer crash can be and want our customers to know that they don't have to worry about the loss of their e-products bought through e23. What do we have there? We have created a new page that allows easy access to our PDFs for sale on e23. From here you can see what we currently have posted and have links to those products. RECENTLY RELEASED ON e23 RECENTLY RELEASED ON DRIVE THRU RPG Star Fleet Fiction Commander Kollanda watched as his drone crews worked feverishly to reload the racks of the Maelstrom. As the last drone was cycled through the number six airlock and loaded into position on the rack, the lieutenant in charge of the reload crews stepped up to him and saluted smartly. Kollanda returned his salute and then checked the reload time on his PADD, comparing it to the reload time from the last fire mission.
"An excellent time, Lieutenant Ghant. The professionalism of your reload crews is commendable." "It's not like they don't have enough practice, sir," the lieutenant smiled. "True enough." Kollanda ran a hand through his gray-tinged buzzcut and returned the lieutenant's smile, feeling the youth's enthusiasm force away the weight of years of warfare that were hanging on his shoulders. Unconsciously, he straightened his back, taking care not to bump his head on the uncomfortably low ceiling. He was a tall Klingon, and it had taken years for him to get used to the ceilings that were not built for his race. "Continue your duties, Lieutenant. I can't stand around here all day admiring your reload times." Ghant saluted again and Kollanda returned the salute, still smiling as he watched the young Klingon turn around and walk off. His smile faded a little as he thought he caught a whiff of methane. Just my imagination. Everyone knows methane is odorless. Still, he could not help himself and turned to the nearest bulwark. He experimentally ran his left hand along the cool metal surface, and then lifted it to his nose, reflexively grimacing as he did so. I can't believe that after all these years I still think I can smell the Snake stench emanating from the very pores of my ship. The Maelstrom had begun life as a Hydran Ranger-class heavy cruiser, and had been "liberated" from its former owners when it was captured during the great Klingon assault on Hydrax. Unconsciously at the thought, his hand dropped and rubbed his left thigh. He had been a lieutenant when he was wounded during the battle that had led to the capture of the Ranger, but his wounds had not been severe enough to discharge him from active service. He had been assigned to the Ranger while he was recovering, along with most of the other walking wounded from that battle. The ship had been used as a prison barge for the first few months after its capture, while its shields, engines, and phasers were gradually brought back on-line. Seeing promise in the ship's sturdy design, his commander had embarked on a campaign to convince the local admiral to allow them to bring the ship up to Klingon standards. Conversion to a drone bombardment ship was obvious. It avoided having to rebuild the unique Hydran fusion weapons or to fit proper disruptors in their mounts. The Hydran ship's launch tubes were fitted with drone racks, and the shuttle bays with reload drones. The launch tubes were perfect for that purpose. Open the inner door to reload; open the outer door to launch. Given Maelstrom's stockpiles of drones, Kollanda laughed, I could do this all day. His previous commander had thought that the convincing would be the hardest part. Still, after getting the admiral's permission to proceed, it had taken over two years to get the needed components through the overburdened fleet supply channels. However, in the end, they had a ship worthy of service in the Deep Space Fleet. (Continue reading here) Ask Admiral Growler BASES Kerry E. Mullan asks: A question about multi-role shuttles and their drone costs. Rule (J8.531) states that 20 spaces of drones are available as 10 primary and 10 reload spaces and it states that some or all can be omitted to cut the costs of these drones. It also states that for special drones the 10 primary spaces follow the empire percentages.
I am a little unclear on the cost as it is stated that omission of drones is to cut the cost. I am taking this omission statement to infer that the actual drones themselves need to be paid for, or am I reading too much into it? As I am generally unclear in my statements I will use a detailed example to illustrate my stances. Stance A: Multi-role shuttle has a load of two type-IVM and six type-IM drones (with duplicate reloads). To simplify the example, I am just taking standard drones, no specials. So the type-IM drone costs 1.5 Basic Point Value and the type-IVM drone is 2.5 Basic Point Value. The total cost is (6x1.5+2x2.5 =) 14 points for the drones. Stance B: Multi-role shuttle has a load of two type-IVM and six type-IM drones (with duplicate reloads). To simplify the example, I am just taking standard drones, no special drones. Stance B is the drones do not cost Commander's Option Points and are free. So the type-IMs cost 0.5 multi-role shuttle each and the type-IVMs cost 0.5 multi-role shuttle each for a total cost of four Commander's Option Points for the 10 drones. So the basic question is do the drones themselves cost Commander's Option Points or just the upgrades? ANSWER: It is Y150. ( Ask Growler continues here. ) F&E Q&A COMMAND: WHO OBEYS WHOM? Q: When using Depot Level Repair (424.35) is it one ship total per turn or up to one ship per depot track per turn? A: One crippled ship per turn is allowed to be placed in each of the holding boxes for the Depot Level Repair. Each such ship must be appropriate to the specific Depot Holding Box. Q: Is it possible to remove your enemy's ownership of a neutral zone hex (503.62), and not claim it yourself, even if enemy ships are adjacent to the hex? A: If your opponent cannot establish ownership by this rule, then the hex is not counted. If you have ships adjacent to the hex, then they cannot claim it. Once war is declared, the neutral zone hexes are no longer "neutral"; they are just unclaimed income waiting for one side or the other to establish the requirements for claiming the income. Q: Tugs and LTTs can move monitor pallets between Supply Grids (519.43). Can a Klingon D5G or DWG (D5WG) move a monitor pallet between Supply Grids in a manner similar to theater transports being able to move tug pods from one Supply Grid to another? A: Yes, the D5G or the DWG (D5WG) can do this. Q: Rule (519.23) states that a monitor can be captured and then subsequently repaired and converted to the capturing empire's technology. If the monitor is captured with a combat pallet, e.g. SCS pallet, is the pallet also repaired and converted? A: Rule (519.4) discusses pallets and likens them to tug pods. For direction on this, see rule (305.44), which says a captured tug's pods are so damaged as to be unusable. So, a captured monitor's pallet would be unusable. Q: When the Hydrans attack on Turn #3, rule (601.162) states that the Hydrans are at a wartime economy. It also states that they receive their scheduled PWC, but cannot build other ships. That is pretty clear to me, but on the Hydran Order of Battle there is no PWC. My opponent and I disagree if the ships listed for Turn #1 and Turn #2 are PWC or not. A: The ships listed for Turn #1 and Turn #2 are the PWC. Q: Can a tug carry an allied FRD? A: Certainly, see rule (509.1F). Q: A starbase counter has PP on it. Does that mean it has three, or six, or twelve PFs? Or just what. A: Each P is one flotilla of six PFs which has 12 combat factors, so a starbase has 24 combat factors of PFs. Each PDU (battalion) has one-half P, or six combat factors. (End of F&E Q&A.) ASK AUNT JEAN Q: This is about the Precision Talent Tree for Fast Heroes, p50 of Prime Directive PD20M. Given the massive damage done by most ranged weapons in Prime Directive, +1 to damage doesn't seem to be a very useful bonus (+1 to hit on the other hand would seem to be very useful indeed).
Send questions to Jean at design@StarFleetGames.com and SVC will decide which one Jean will answer next. 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. We have new images of our next game Star Fleet Marines posted on our BBS topic page. 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 NEW MINIATURES! Starline 2500 Orion OK6
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