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December 2017
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Star Fleet Universe News BIG NEWS: SHAPEWAYS: DOUBLE RELEASE
Our store on Shapeways continued to expand with 50 new ships released on 26 November for the special one-day Shapeways sale and 29 more new ships released on 5 December. 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 Battlegroup South Netherlands located in The Netherlands. CO Koen van der Pasch reports that this group is active, running several campaigns. Check them out here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/battlegroup/battlegroup_SouthNetherlands.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
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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 Our seventh Internet SFB International Championship Tournament is underway. This is a single-elimination tournament using a standard tree. Eight first-round games are completed with BYE giving Peter Bakija an especially hard-fought round, according to reports on the BBS. Apparently a fourth high energy turn was the final straw for BYE.
Fleet Captain Bill Schoeller (winner of the 2016 tournament) is the judge for this tournament. As we did in Platinum Hat 2016, Tournament Marshal Steven P. Petrick will also "ride herd" on the tournament to ensure that games are played on schedule and the event does not drag. There will, inevitably, be some delays near the end when re-entries have to "catch up" to the initial entries. A firm hand on the helm will ensure that these are as minor as possible. People who do not get their next game completed in a set number of days will be disqualified and the player they beat (or a wildcard selected by the judges) replaces them. Deadlines may be adjusted by the Judge or Marshal to allow for a player's serious real life unexpected problem or issue.
Rated Ace Tournament 47 is up and going with one fourth round game waiting before the final game can be scheduled. Bill Schoeller is the judge.
SFBOL World League 2017 is nearly over with only one game left to decide the winning team. Will the winner be BCS or Orion Oldies in Bikinis? Peter Bakija is running this team tournament, where three-player teams play tournament games against other teams (the games are standard, one on one tournament duels, but your team gets points for advancing based on how the whole team does).
DEMOS AND CONS WITH SFU GAMES Star Fleet Battles and Star Fleet Battle Force are being demoed at Jekyll Island Comicon in the Jekyll Island convention center in Georgia on December 9-10, 2017. Ranger Michael Baker is in charge.
Siege of Augusta is the site of demos of Star Fleet Battles and Star Fleet Battle Force on January 12, 2018 in the Doubletree by Hilton in Augusta Georgia. Ranger Michael Baker is the Ranger in charge.
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://store.thegamershaven.net/ - The website is currently under construction. 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
F&E Strategy of the Month There are times when an important target is left tantalizingly close, such as a Klingon FRD park in hex 1407, yet defended with enough ships to ensure they can pin everything out, or nearly everything, within six hexes, the normal operational speed.
Yet, even when everything within six hexes is pinned, sometimes ships within seven hexes range can help. The key is to use them safely. To illustrate, it is Turn #4. The Kzintis have just defended their capital from a large Coalition raid, and a number of crippled Kzinti ships retreated from the capital to the Barony. The Coalition has retrograded to an FRD park in hex 1407, and has nearly enough ships to completely pin the Kzinti forces from the capital in hex 1406, counting on reserve fleets to respond to 1407 in the event that four or five Kzinti ships fight through the blockade. With the extra ships in the Barony, since repaired, the Kzintis could overwhelm the Coalition forces and gain entry with sufficient ships to fight past the approach battle. However, they cannot reach hex 1407 from the Barony. If these ships move first, the Coalition will not react to hex 1406, and the ships will be prevented from using a retrograde since they were not involved in combat. The Coalition will almost certainly cut them off from supply on the Coalition turn and they will be poorly positioned to assist in further capital defense. If instead the forces from the Kzinti capital in hex 1401 are moved first, they will be pinned, and then the extra forces from the Barony can assist in hex 1406, but will not help gain entry into the vital FRD park in hex 1407. The key is in the sequence. If forces from the Kzinti capital in hex 1401 are moved in small groups, perhaps even one ship at a time, the Coalition player is forced to make a decision each time to allow the Kzinti ship into hex 1407, or to pin the Kzinti ship in hex 1406. Once the first ship is pinned in hex 1406, it is a battle hex, and the full weight of the Kzinti Barony forces can be brought to bear knowing that Retrograde Movement is assured. Furthermore, the main objective is achieved, entry into hex 1407 with sufficient force to fight past the approach battle, and destroy some key Coalition assets. By necessity, this tactic will be used sparingly, since when used, it will likely deplete prospective reserve forces. However, when the target is important enough, and close enough, going one turn with meager reserves may be a price worth paying. A Call To Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month PLANNING YOUR BATTLE FORCE FORMATION Due to the movement and fire nature of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet some thought should be given to fleet formation and setup positions. [Unlike SFB or FC, there is only one firing opportunity per turn. You can fly right through the spot where the best enemy weapons are pointed and end your movement on the other side of the kill box without him being able to fire. This very different game system requires some very different tactics.]
One important thing to remember is whenever possible maintain a four-inch gap between ships because exploding ships in A Call to Arms: Star Fleet have a blast radius that will damage surrounding ships any nearer than 4". Command ships are usually the biggest and baddest ships in your battle force. Your first instinct might be to protect them by setting them up in the rear, but if you have multiple ships with the Command trait there is really no reason to hold them back. You should seriously consider allowing them to lead from the front. This holds especially true of dreadnoughts and battleships which tend to be able to use the Boost Energy to Shields! special action raising their shields score by at least three dice a turn. Typical screen ships, like frigates, destroyers, and light cruisers, will serve you better by setting up on flanks or slightly behind your big hitters. This enables them to use their weaponry in defense of the larger (or more valuable) target without the small ships become a more tempting target themselves. Developer's Note: This note was edited to reflect revised rules.
Kent Ing painted this F5S (Frosted Ultra Detail material, 3125 scale).
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New Releases Communique #144 has been posted to the Commander's Circle Click here to see our previous issues of Hailing Frequencies. Recently Released To be released in 2018
A new Starmada book for both editions.
Federation Commander Reference Starship Book
Traveller Prime Directive Core Rulebook
New starships for the 2500 (1/3125) range including Klingon B10
New starships for the 2400 (1/3788) range including heavy war destroyers and the jumbo freighter.
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
Bridge, Battle Station K7, Klingon Border
"Police cutter Peacekeeper is on the way back here," the operations officer reported. I cancelled the patrol for Peacemaker and we have Donitz parked inside the minefield. The Ghostlight squadron is on full alert, but I'm keeping all of them on the station, not flying patrols." "Very well," Commodore Thomas said. It was standard doctrine. A battle station had a lot of combat capability, but everybody knew that, and if the Klingons wanted to attack the station, they'd have to bring enough ships to get the job done. Normally, a pair of fighters were out on patrol somewhere at any given time with two more pairs on deck alert, but that was to deal with any random anomaly or a freighter that wasn't in its traffic lane; routine peacetime stuff. If there were going to be a fight, the fighter squadron needed to operate in a single mass formation. A pair of fighters, even four, would just get picked off. Two police ships and a frigate weren't a lot more firepower, but they were some help. If the Klingons were going to invade, Battle Station K7 (not to mention K6 and K5) was going to be very early on the target list. The three small ships he had would be hunted down and killed if on patrol; at least at the base they might have a chance. And they might give the base a chance. "You never know what the Klingons will do," the base commander mused to no one in particular. "I would assume they'll want us out of the way," the operations officer replied. "I cannot see them trying to bypass us. They cannot afford to leave an active base in their rear. Even if the first wave passes us, the second wave will have a whole fleet assigned to each battle station. That's what they did to the Kzintis and Hydrans. The battle stations went down, all of them, on the first or second day." "Any word from Janie?" the base commander asked. "Safe on Earth," the operations officer said. "She's settling into her parents' house in Des Moines." "My daughter is on Mars," the base commander said. "My son is on the Republic with the Sixth Fleet." "The Romulans aren't going to get involved," the operations officer said. "They have their own problems to solve." "At least that," the base commander said. "You and I may not survive this week, but given time to mobilize, Star Fleet can beat the Klingons. Two years, at most, and we'll send them packing, after we teach them to leave us alone." "I give it 18 months," the operations officer said. (Continue reading here) Ask Admiral Vanaxilth Looking over his files, the Admiral has noticed a large number of single questions on various subjects and has decided to clean out these "short subjects" in this issue.
Scatter-Packs Seth Shimansky asks: In tournament play, can scatter-packs have more than one target but not be set on random? Can two drones be targeted on each Hydran fighter and two on the ship? ANSWER: In tournament play, just as in regular play, the drones must be targeted per (FD7.31), either on the primary target, or randomly. The primary target can only be one single unit, object or hex. If targeted randomly, the size classes the drones will accept must be specified. If a scatter-pack with six drones were set to accept size classes 3 and 6, and the Hydran player had both fighters on the board, then you would end up with two drones targeting the ship and two drones targeting each fighter. Follow-up question: During Impulse Activity, what am I putting in the notes to launch a scatter-pack? Target or targets, range of deployment and damage done to the shuttle for deployment. Anything else? ANSWER: Rule (FD7.31) specifies the four pieces of information you must specify: What is the primary target? What is the maximum range from the primary target at which the drones will release? How much damage to the shuttle will trigger early release? Will the drones be targeted on the primary target or randomly? Follow-up question: Does (FD7.333) mean a scatter-pack can deploy at Range 2? ANSWER: Yes, a scatter-pack can deploy as close as Range 2 from the primary target. Weapon Status Fred Werenich asks: Weapon Status-III allows for various actions to take place on a hypothetical Turn #0. For example, a unit at Weapon Status-III may be assumed to have launched drones on Impulse #28 of Turn #0. So far, so good, but drones can only be launched at a target up to 35 hexes away. So, if the unit starts in a numbered hex within 35 hexes of the enemy, there is no problem. But what if the unit were not on the map on Turn #0? For example, in (T6S1.0) Shopping Trip, the Orions arrive on Turn #1 or later. Could any of these units be targeted by the WYN forces? ANSWER: You cannot target units that are not on the map. Wild Weasels Brendan Lally asks: Impulse #X: the target ship has an active wild weasel on the board one hex away. The seeking weapon has moved into the same hex as the target ship while tracking the wild weasel. The target ship makes two impulse activity announcements: 1. A speed change to Speed 5 (moves next impulse while the seeking weapon does not move)
2. Announces raising of fire control. Do either of these actions void the wild weasel in time for the seeking weapon to damage the target? ANSWER: The speed change announcement does not void the weasel. The weasel would be voided when the speed change actually takes effect, which is at the beginning of (6A2) of the following impulse. However, the announcement of raising active fire control does void the wild weasel immediately. The only time you can announce raising fire control without voiding your wild weasel is during the explosion period. Even so, the seeking weapon will not impact on the current impulse. It may or may not impact on the following impulse, depending on where the ship and seeking weapon move. Tractor Beams Pete DiMitri asks: If the (G3.36) procedure is resolved in the first place by the difference in size class, meaning that the random and written procedures were not needed or used, does the ship moving next impulse have to declare its movement? For example: A Federation heavy cruiser and destroyer are tractored. Pseudo-speed of the heavy cruiser is 16 and the pseudo-speed of the destroyer is eight. Both are scheduled to move on Impulse #24. The destroyer is smaller so the heavy cruiser clearly moves on Impulse #24 and the destroyer will move on Impulse #25 (assuming the tractor link is maintained). Does the destroyer have to declare on Impulse #24 what direction it will move on Impulse #25? ANSWER: Both ships declare their movement for the next impulse. The destroyer declares first because it is slower. The result of the two declared moves is calculated. If the net result is that they move one hex (or remain in the same hex), both ships will conduct their move on Impulse #24. If the result would be that they move two hexes, then the destroyer's movement is delayed because it is smaller. Tugs and Pods Francois Lemay asks: Can the pods on a tug be targeted individually as opposed to shooting at the tug? ANSWER: No, see (G14.11) and (G14.113). Ubitron Interface Modules Seth Shimansky asks: In tournament play, if a disruptor on a ship with a UIM (Klingon TD7C or Lyran TCC [if not used yet]) is destroyed, and then repaired, does it get the UIM back? ANSWER: UIMs are not destroyed by damage to the disruptors they control. If the disruptor is repaired, then yes, it can use the UIM if it is available. If the UIM got destroyed, either by being used (on the Lyran TCC), a hit-and-run raid, or burnout (which does not apply in the tournament), it could not be repaired during the scenario, per (D6.522). Comets James Everett asks: How is damage from entering a comet's tail resolved? Rule (P16.31) says "Any unit which enters one or more tail hexes during a turn resolves damage under (P13.1) as if it entered a dust cloud hex." Under (P16.311), it says ³One die roll for damage is resolved during the Damage During Movement Stage (6A3) of every impulse of the turn in which the ship enters a tail hex.² But there is no die roll in (P13.1). ANSWER: Kommodore Ketrick replies: I confirm that this is an unnoticed rules error at this point. The writer apparently confused the die roll for the nucleus (an asteroid hex) with that of the tail (a dust cloud). There clearly is no damage die roll, but the apparent intent is that you are going to take a point of dust damage every impulse you are in the tail irrespective of your own ship's speed because the rule requires that damage be rolled for every impulse, i.e., a cloaked Romulan warbird will take damage every impulse and be exposed while moving at Speed 1/sublight. However, this clearly cannot apply to a unit at Speed Zero (otherwise you could not hide in the nucleus). (End of Admiral Vanaxilth) F&E Q&A
CONTROLLING THE GEOGRAPHY Q: A Kzinti province contains several Lyran ships and a Kzinti minor planet with 2PDU and a monitor. We believe that the planet and PDUs do not stop Lyran control of the province, vs. disruption, but are unsure if the monitor changes the status or not as it is tied to the planet.
A: In (519.111) Monitors are limited to the planet they are deployed on until relieved by PDUs totaling 12 combat factors. They are tied to the planet and as such do not exert a sphere of influence beyond the system of the planet they are located at. They cannot contest a province as such. Monitors are more like a PDU in this respect and as such fall under (430.25) where they cannot affect the province that the planet is in. Q: According to rule (446.12) a colony can be started only during Operational Movement. I also assume it could be started if the tug were in the target hex at the start of the turn and didn't move, as I believe the term "Operational Movement" is just defining the phase in which a colony can begin construction in. In the 2010 rules, (509.1-X), this also allows start of construction to be in the Strategic Movement Phase. Which is allowed? Only in Operational Movement per (446.12) or during both the Operation and Strategic movement phases per (509.1-X)? A: As (509.1-X) is more recent and more specific on the transport operations rules being combined into one rule to rule them all, allowing the colony to start in either shall be allowed. Granted, you would have to have a strategic movement node at the location of the colony to be able to start in the Strategic Movement Phase.
Q: The ISC War rules make no reference to the Kzinti bases on the Lyran border being destroyed. There is reference to the other bases being destroyed in the same area in (625.E433) and (625.E442) for both the Federation and Klingon border and Lyran bases on the Kzinti-Lyran border, respectively. Is this an oversight? One would think, with the ISC's extensive planning that any bases there would have been destroyed/removed also. A: This was an oversight, the Kzinti bases along the Lyran border were also destroyed at the end of the war. CHANGE TO READ: (625.E433) Kzinti Base and Planet Disposition: All bases along the Klingon-Kzinti and Lyran-Kzinti Neutral Zones were destroyed except for a newly built BTS at 0904 ("Rampart"). Q: I have a question about diplomats and the Tholians. The rule states that Tholians won't do trade deals. Can you use their nodes to strategically move diplomats if they haven't been attacked? Rule (503.31) says they will attack and try to destroy any foreign unit which enters their territory; does this trump (540.144) diplomatic ships cannot be pinned by neutral ships? A: Per (540.11) the Tholians do not use diplomacy. As such, it would be difficult to imagine that the Tholians would recognize any interstellar protocols for diplomatic safe passage through their territory as they would be highly suspicious of any foreign entity within their space that they didn't invite to serve Tholian interests. Foreign diplomats and their assigned transport units that enter Tholian space without permission of the Tholian player may be attacked by the Tholians under (503.31); the restriction of (503.34) forbidding Federation, Klingon, and Romulan units still applies in this case. Tholian territory is defined as original Tholian space under the control of the Tholians or any territory that is annexed and controlled by the Tholians. Q: The Planetary Operations rulebook has colony cost as 2+2+2 (2 EP each for 3 turns) but the SIT (2015) has colony cost as 1+1+1. Which is correct? A: Colony build cost was corrected in CL#37 and is now 1+1+1 (and has been for several years). All Q&A/Rulings files from all issues of Captain's Log are free on the BBS. (End of F&E Q&A)
ASK AUNT JEAN
Dear Aunt Jean, where does Traveller Prime Directive stand? A: It is on hold until I finish GURPS Prime Directive. I need to get that book's information correct so that I have it right for TPD.
Send questions to Jean at marketing@StarFleetGames.com and she will answer as soon as she can.
(End of Ask Aunt Jean ) 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 MonthFILL THEM UP When placing power in the batteries of Andromedan ships, some players may be tempted to fill the batteries up "evenly," placing equal power in each battery.
However, you gain more flexibility by filling up the batteries one at a time, so that you have a mix of full and empty batteries, with only one partly filled. If you then receive damage to your batteries, you can choose whether to take that damage on a full battery or an empty battery, depending on the tactical situation.
You may anticipate a power absorber cascade, in which case you keep the empty battery; alternatively, you may be short on power, so you keep the full one.
In a battle where you don't need shuttles to do things like scatter-packs or suicide missions, get them out there anyway and let them fly as a seeking-weapons defense escort. This can be particularly important in a battle at a base, where the offensive and defensive fleets may be all but motionless and shuttles could be protected from seeking weapons by minefields. Be sure to keep the shuttles far enough from the base to earn the small target modifier. Shuttles can completely take over the onerous duty of protecting the key minesweeper from the base's seeking weapons, releasing a real warship to offensive use.
A defensive shuttle swarm has other uses. Real fighters could pass through the swarm on their way home, letting it clean them of any pesky seeking weapons following them. While no shuttle needs to be going head-to-head with a fighter, a pursuing fighter may think twice before approaching a group of six or eight shuttles, as their massed phaser-3s can wreck a fighter. Shuttles have few damage points, but since they do not stop firing their phaser-3s until they are destroyed this makes them quite durable in their own way. Obviously the more shuttles you can launch the better. To maximize the use of their phasers, try keeping them in the same hex. If your opponent destroys some shuttles for you, just smile. Even admin shuttles are attrition units; if they die while drawing fire that could have been brought to bear on your ships, they died for a good cause. (End of SFB Tactic of the Month)
Facebook Highlight of the Month Funny for today ... It’s a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater. (Thanks, Barton.)
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show our games and to teach potential players some basics. 
