|
||||||||
January 2013
|
||||||||
Star Fleet Universe News THE BIG NEWS this month is the scheduled release of Reinforcements Attack on 21 January. Also to be released then will be Boosters 34, 35, 36, as well as the Nova Edition of Distant Armada and Alien Armada, along with both Nova and Admiral editions of Battleships Armada, and Captain's Log #46. Counters for Star Fleet Marines: Last Stand and Reinforcements Attack.
In other news this month, the second annual Platinum Hat International Online SFB tournament is its final round with two experienced captains facing off. More information is below in the tournament section, but you can always find the most up-to-date information on the BBS: http://www.starfleetgames.com/discus/. 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
Custom Decals for Starline ships Tenneshington Decals recently added a new decal set product, designed to work with the Starline 2500 Squadron Box #7 (Federation Reinforcements). This is in addition to their existing products, associated to the Squadron Box #1 and Federation Fleet Box. They have just released a new sheet of "windows" which can be used to detail any ship.
ONLINE TOURNAMENTS Rated Ace Tournament 39 is finished with Geof Clark winning in the TKR.
Judge Paul Scott got this finished in what must have been record time.
Congratulations to Geof, who will be running RAT 40! 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. 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 Starline 2400 USS Hope Medical Ship
|
||||||||
|
New Releases Communique #85 has been posted to the Commander's Circle. Recently Released
Captain's Log #45, Stock #5745, $24.95, 144 pages!
Klingon Armada Nova Edition, Stock #6101N, $16.95
Romulan Armada Nova Edition, Stock #6102N, $16.95
Star Fleet Marines Assault, Stock #2101, $34.95
Starmada Nova Edition rulebook, Stock #6120N, $16.95
Starline 2500 Romulan Fleet Box, Stock #30008, $149.99 (JV-Mongoose)
Starline 2500 Squadron Box 6 Kzintis, Stock #30010, $29.99 (JV-Mongoose) Starline 2500 Gorn Fleet Box, Stock #30016, $149.99 (JV-Mongoose) To be released January 2013 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 Outside, all along the surface of the Guardian, hatches opened and fighters lifted off. Four more gunboats were released from their moorings and joined the other two that were already deployed for combat. The twelve fighters took up a wing formation just behind the gunboats. Due to the design of the Tholian hangar bays, the entire strike force was outbound far faster than the Seltorian force had been able to form up.
Orrna checked to make sure her targeting systems were locked on the enemy ships. She tried to ignore the fact that the enemy fleet had enough weapons to make her survival a dim prospect at best. The only solace she had was that those weapons were likely focused on something that was a little more dangerous than her fighter, like the six Arachnid-class gunboats. She pulled her throttle back and turned off her booster pod to put a little more distance between the patrol boats and her flight. It never hurts to be out of range of the explosions.She began to spread her formation out a little. Their job, at least for now, was drone defense. Only after most of the drones had been dealt with would they think about taking offensive action, and considering how many drones were possibly stored on the Seltorian ships, it might be sometime before she could think about that. Then she saw the enemy fighters. They were spreading out in preparation of launching a wave of drones. She could not help but wonder how many would be targeted in her direction. Her escort Spider-IIIs slid out protectively and put themselves between the assault fighters and the Seltorian fighters, as they were trained to do. The Z-YCs, instead of approaching closer, chose to stay near their ships also, and a warning buzzer in her cockpit, accompanied by a bevy of warning lights, told her that the first drones had been launched. Orrna cycled through the communications channels as she waited for the drones to reach her best firing range, wondering how the battle was shaping up. There was not a lot of chatter on the channels, just several terse orders being passed from the Guardian to the escorts and the gunboat flotilla. Her squadron was composed of veterans, and needed no orders at the present. Then a horde of drones were inbound, more drones than she had ever seen in her life, and she had no more time for idle thoughts or idle actions. (Continue reading here) Ask Admiral Vanaxilth DRONES After an 11-year tour at the Academy, Admiral Growler has returned to active duty. His successor is Admiral Vanaxilth, a visitor from the Hydran Kingdom. Although well-versed in military theory, rumor has it the Royal Family had him sent to the Academy on the theory he would do less damage there, after his fleets were devastated by the Klingons.
Admiral Vanaxilth is assisted by Kommodore Ketrick and many staff officers, including Stewart Frazier, Troy Latta, Gary Carney, John Wyszynski, William Wilson, Ken Humpherys, Alex Lyons, and Terry O'Carroll. Andrew Granger asks: I am taking a Kzinti squadron into battle soon. I am not usually a Kzinti player and I am unsure how the percentages work. Could I get an example or two on how to fill the racks on a CM in Y175? ANSWER: Here is a quick example: Your Kzinti CM has two type-C drone racks and two type-B drone racks, for a total of 20 spaces of drones. It also has two 12-shot anti-drone racks, but these are not included in the calculation of drone percentages. Per rule (FD10.64), Kzinti ships can have 50% general availability, 30% restricted (and/or general) availability, and 20% limited (and/or restricted and/or general) availability drones. This means four spaces of drones can be any type, another six spaces can be restricted or general availability, and the other 10 spaces must be general availability. The Kzinti captain elects to fill the type-C drone racks with type-IM drones (general availability), and the type-B drone racks each with one ECM drone (restricted availability), one type-IM spearfish drone (limited availability). He also loads into his type-B drone racks two type-IVM drones with 1.5 spaces of explosive module and 0.5 spaces of armor module, sometimes referred to as the "8/18" drone (i.e., eight Damage Points and 18 points of warhead). Per rule (FD10.66), each of these type-IVM drones will count as one space of general and one space of restricted availability. Thus, the ship is using two spaces of limited availability, six spaces of restricted availability, and 12 spaces of general availability. The Kzinti captain could have taken more spaces of limited and restricted availability drones, but chose not to for tactical reasons. (Ask Admiral Vanaxilth continues here) 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. (End of F&E Q&A) ASK AUNT JEAN Q:How was your trip to Amarillo? Did Traveller: Prime Directive get finished? If you want more information, check out this page: http://www.starfleetgames.com/deckplanresources.shtml 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 Getting ADB to print the ship you want to add to your fleet can be done either or two ways.
The easiest is to drop a suggestion in the relevant topic, or send it to Mike West or Steve Cole, and hope for the best. Hey, people get lucky once or twice a year. It could be you The harder way starts wtih the easy way, but instead of hoping for the best, you work at it. Email Steve Cole every second or third month, post your request on the Forum once a month, and even call in on Talkshoe when you hear Steve Cole will be there and ask him for it. Persistance gets results, or at least gets an explanation why it won't happen. If you do some useful things like playtesting new ships and rules, your name-recognition factor goes up and Steve Cole thinks "He's a nice guy. Let's give him something." (End of FC Tactic of the Month)
SFB Tactic of the Month CARRONADE IN CLOSE Assuming you are closing on your target and do not plan to launch plasma torpedoes as a seeking weapon for tactical reasons (such as a receding target, or a target obviously ready to weasel), do not bolt your plasma-F torpedoes. The only time to bolt a plasma-F torpedo (from a plasma-F torpedo launcher) is if your target is at Range 6 or greater. Otherwise, it is almost always better to fire the (fully loaded) plasma-F torpedo as a carronade (assuming, of course, that your ship is able to use a plasma carronade). NEW MINIATURES! Starline 2500 Orion Battle Raider
Chef Steve on his trip at the Wolf Sanctuary
|
||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
