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August 2020
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Star Fleet Universe News THE BIG NEWS: ADB Releases New Titles We've been busy here at ADB this month. Not only have we released new ships to our shop on Shapeways, we have released five PDF titles and started work on Captain's Log #54!
New to the PDF stores is Captain's Log #48. With its humorous story "The Battle with Tribbles," this issue of our long-running magazine is one of our more popular ones. Find links to the online store in the right column of Hailing Frequencies.
Federation Commander players luck out this month! We released two ship card packs and another for the LDR should be out by week's end. Tholian Ship Card Pack #2 has 14 ships! While the Tholian Police Destroyer was released in Hailing Frequencies in January 2020, the other 13 police ships are new to the game and only available in that pack. Lyran Ship Card Pack #2 has 10 ships plus the scenario "The Fleet of Outcasts" (Lyran vs. some enemy). The Cave Jaguar War Dreadnought, Lioness Heavy Cruiser, and Lyran-specific Small Auxiliary Cruiser have never been available anywhere before now! Find links to these items in the online stores section of Hailing Frequencies.
Star Fleet Marines gains two packs of empire-specific counters. For each title, each empire gets 140 counters for a total of 840 counters. On close inspection, you will find that while the types of counters are the same for each empire, the art for the counters is empire-specific. These traditional-style counters are designed to be easily distinguishable on the modern-style maps that Star Fleet Marines contains. Star Fleet Marines: Counter-Attack has empire-specific counters for the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Kzintis, Gorns, and Tholians. Star Fleet Marines: Counter-Strike has empire-specific counters for the Interstellar Concordium, Orion Pirates, Hydrans, Andromedans, Lyrans, and WYNs. Find links to these items in the online stores section of Hailing Frequencies.
Stay tuned for more releases next month! Captain's Log #54 should be available by the end of September, 2020.
ADB Releases Ships for August, 2020
On August 3, 2020, ADB released a total of 25 new items to its shop on Shapeways with over 2,200 items available in total. Notably, we added more ships in the 7000 Scale that is designed to allow you to play with multiple ships on a “regular” map with 5/8-inch hexes. Please note that all ships are available in both 3788 and 3125 scales unless specifically noted, and then they are only available in the scale noted.
The Gorns have their Heavy Destroyer Dreadnought in both the regular and refitted versions.
The Orions gain their Gunboat/PF Tender.
The Hydrans gain their Hun Fast Medium Cruiser. In the 7000 Scale, they get two collections: Legacy Cruisers Collection and New Cruisers Collection. The Legacy Cruisers Collection has the Horseman Light Fusion Cruiser, Traveler Light Hellbore Cruiser, Dragoon Heavy Hellbore Cruiser, and Ranger Heavy Fusion Cruiser. The New Cruisers Collection has two Mongol Fusion War Cruisers, two Tartar Hellbore War Cruisers, one Mohawk Fusion New Heavy Cruiser, and one Iroquois Hellbore New Heavy Cruiser.
The Lyrans and their wayward county of the Lyran Democratic Republic gain the Leopard-M Minesweeper. Note that LDR ships are only in the 3125 Scale. The Lyrans also get the same ship in a “refitted” version with aztecking in the 3788 Scale.
The WYNs gain their Orca-F Fast War Cruiser.
Empires from the Omega Octant continue to have new additions. The Logistics Base is the latest addition to Probr fleet. The Trobrin get their Small Station.
The Old Galaxy Pirates from the M81 Galaxy, the home galaxy of the Tholians, are a new addition. They gain their Pirate Raider.
Continuing to build the new Tournament Ships category, the 7000 Scale gets two more Tournament Collections with the ships that are used in Star Fleet Battles tournaments. The fourth collection contains the Romulan Tournament King Eagle, Romulan FireHawk Tournament Cruiser, Seltorian Tournament Heavy Cruiser, Frax Tournament Command Cruiser, Flivver Tournament Heavy Cruiser, and Vudar Tournament Heavy Cruiser. The 4A collection has the same ships with the FireHawk designed in the “cranked arrow” style.
Check all these out here: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/amarillo-design-bureau-inc
Don't forget to follow us: https://www.shapeways.com/designer/adbinc
WEBSITE:
Our website, www.StarFleetGames.com, continues to grow and improve. You are welcome to send us your requests, comments, and suggestions. Samantha Todd, 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 Sapphire Star: The Sapphire Star 5 Tournament comes down to a classic match up of Madjack's (Jack Taylor) Klingon against Kingzilla's (Seth Shimansky) Hydran in the final. Good luck to both of them. Steven Petrick is the judge for this tournament.
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.
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New Releases EXTRAS FOR THE MONTH: FC Scenario 8CM157 THE FAST AND THE FURRIEST You can look at Hailing Frequencies Extras here. Click here to see our previous issues of Hailing Frequencies.
Recently Released GURPS Federation Revised SKU 8402, $24.95 To be released in 2020
FC Federation Epack #5
GURPS Klingons Revision
Star Fleet Universe Index Captain's Log #54
SFB Module R13
The rest of the Starmada Unity Edition
A new F&E module to be named later
ACTASF Book 3
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 BOARDING PARTY COMBAT
Aaron Blanco asks: If two boarding parties board a small freighter, which has no boarding parties, they still have to roll on the Marine Casualty Resolution Table (D7.421) at the end of the turn to score a casualty (which must be satisfied by giving up a control space) to take control of the ship, correct? F&E Q&A
COMBAT: THE CRUCIBLE OF VICTORY Q: Concerning Flagship Escort Groups (FEG) in rule (318.42) and X-ships. I have a Kzinti DNH I want to escort. The FEG rule says I can have two escorts, one of which must be size class 4. The ad hoc rules say no BCH/DN can be an escort, and the SIT lists the X-cruisers as base hull type BC (heavy cruiser hull). I realize that the X-ship loses two ComPot for the privilege and loses its mauler special attack capability, if used as an escort. May I use an X-cruiser (BCX/CCX) as the large escort, and use a DW as the small one?
A: References for the escorts allowed in a FEG are (515.33-.34) and (318.421-.429). These are very specific in what can and cannot be used. A Kzinti BC by the SIT and the R section of SFB is listed as a heavy cruiser. The BCX and CCX are variants of this base hull and as such are allowed to be used as escorts within the other limits imposed by the above rules. Q: Rule (507.2) says in part: "...Command Points, admirals, and drone ships cannot be used in establishing the size of a Reserve." Doesn't that just mean that drone ships cannot extend the size of the Reserve Battle Force by being in the support line (up to 3 platforms) and thus avoid the command limit of the reserve fleet's flagship? Does it not mean that any number of drone ships could be part of the Reserve Battle Force if counted against the flagship's Command Rating? A: Exactly! The drone bombardment ships (309.0) can be part of the battle line up to the Command Rating of the flagship of the reserve, but there is no support echelon in a reserve fleet so you do not get to add three drone ships above the Command Rating and say "Oh, those? They're just supporting so they don't count." It should be noted that if the drone bombardment ship has scout capabilities then it could be put in the free scout location as part of the reserve.
Q: When is a Fighting Retreat (302.75) resolved? Is the retreat resolved immediately after the player's retreat or at any other time, phasing player's choice, or during the Combat Phase (Phase 5 of the SOP)? A: Fighting Retreat Battle Hexes are not required to be fought immediately once the parent Battle Hex is resolved. Fighting Retreat Battle Hexes are simply added to the list of Battle Hexes that must be resolved during the phasing player's turn in the order chosen by the phasing player. In the case of Fighting Retreat, simply note that the Battle Hex is to be resolved using the Fighting Retreat battle rules, and any other conditions that apply. Q: After the successful freezing of a target with an SFG (312.222), are the die roll modifiers in (310.12) recalculated before resolving SSC? A: Just like in a normal battle, force levels and modifiers are recalculated after SFG interactions are complete. This includes any SSC calculations. ASK AUNT JEAN Dear Aunt Jean, How goes the Traveller Prime Directive book?
A: My author is sorting information into the order that Traveller players expect it. Then we are going to work on skills so that we can do the careers. I'd say we are making progress!
Send questions to Jean at marketing@StarFleetGames.com and she will answer as soon as she can. 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 MonthPLANETARY ASSAULT Planetary ground bases (5L9) cannot be attacked from outside Range 5, while their own weapons have the normal 25-hex maximum range. When ships are attacking a planet defended by ground bases, the defender will always get a chance to fire first, possibly disabling weapons on the attacking ships before they can fire. The attacker can mitigate this by finessing the range.
On the turn you intend to attack the ground bases, set Baseline Speed 24. Have the ships perform evasive maneuvers. Approach so that your ships reach Range 9 at the end of an impulse. This is just outside overload range for the defenders and the plus-two die-roll shift will hurt the defenders too. Drop evasive maneuvers and accelerate to 24+1 and continue straight towards the planet. During the next Offensive Fire Phase, your ships will be at Range 5 and able to fire. This should work against most weapons except plasma torpedoes (fired as bolts) and phaser-4s. With these weapons, going from Range 8 to Range 4 will work as these weapons cannot be overloaded and are no better at Range 4 than Range 5, whereas most ship-mounted weapons will benefit. Range 3 or closer will make the defenders' phaser-3s more effective, and they will often have a lot of them. Do not get too close until the number of these is reduced. If at Range 4, try to place your attackers relative to the planet so that the defenders are firing at a split shield boundary, and the defenders' fire can be divided over two shields. The attackers' fire will not be split, since the ground bases have only one 180-degree shield.
It is easy to be consumed with the campaign/strategic wisdom of fighters and fast patrol ships being attrition units, and treat them as throwaway distractions that are lost when they are damaged, even in tactical battles. In contrast, it is important to remember that fighter repairs are some of the most efficient uses of your few Repair Points. F&E Strategy of the Month Adding colonies co-located with existing bases is a long-standing practice as a way to help protect them with additional PDUs. Engineer units can add a PDU to a planet or colony by (433.32). In addition to the ability to add a PDU, they can add an extra PDU above the normal limits of (433.424) and (446.32). Using the engineer unit to add that extra PDU above the limit of (446.32) gives you that much more additional ComPot when the enemy does attack or raid the base.
A BATS and a colony with three PDUs has a ComPot of 21, plus 24 fighters, or a total of 45 or 250% greater than a BATS alone. The presence of both a colony and a base gives you the option to stay an extra round or two and cause additional damage to your opponent while he is trying to kill your base and PDUs. You also benefit from the electronic warfare points generated by the PDUs. (End of F&E Strategy of the Month)
A Call To Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month Do you hate it when the Klingons flank your clumsy Federation cruisers, only to hit you from the side where your photons cannot bear? Then it might be time to play games with the Klingon player's head.
Keep some small ships, preferably three battle frigates or war destroyers, to the rear and one side of your cruiser line. Normally you would move your small ships first, saving your cruisers until they can line up a photon target. Instead try moving a cruiser or two into an exposed position for the Klingon to flank them. Make sure the ships you sent use the Boost Energy to Shields! special action. It is possible the Klingons will sense a trap, and move more small ships first to force you to commit your small ships before moving his cruisers. In this case you have a choice. You can have your small ships stay together, use the Overload! special action, and move them closer to the cruiser line but stagger their fore arcs (say 12 o'clock, 10 o'clock, and 9 o'clock). If the Klingon tries to flank anyway, he takes some overloaded photons or he stays out of the small ships' forward arcs. This is called "area denial." Or you might send your small ships off to the side in a J-turn hoping to get behind some unsuspecting Klingon, but this is somewhat risky, as he may just turn and beat up your small ships instead of the cruisers. If the Klingon is unwary, he may take the bait and try to flank your cruisers at close range. If he is within 12" of your small ships, use the Overload! special action, move up on his flank, and let him have it. Three battle frigates/war destroyers with overloads can kill a typical Klingon cruiser or can easily cripple a heavy battlecruiser. Sometimes the threat of overloaded photons can encourage the Klingon to change his movement plans to avoid an obvious trap. Or you can set up a trap and plan to take advantage of him seeing it and reacting to it. At the least it has him reacting to your moves, which is never a bad thing. (End of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month)
Mini of the Month Christopher Albrecht painted this Drex battlecruiser (3788 Scale, White Natural Versatile Plastic).
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show our games and to teach potential players some basics. 
