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January 2019
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Star Fleet Universe News BIG NEWS: SHAPEWAYS
Our store on Shapeways continues to expand with over twenty new items released on 2 January.
Ships released for both 3788 and 3125 scales include: Federation Heavy Carrier (smooth and gridded), Klingon C8V Heavy Carrier (smooth and Aztek), Romulan KRT tug (with Klingon or Romulan pods), Neo-Tholian Heavy Destroyer, Gorn Heavy Battlecruiser, Orion Slaver. The Klingon Base Station, Tholian Base Station, and Romulan Base Station were released for Omni scale. You can check out the store 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. 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 Gator, headquartered in Waycross, Georgia. CO Mike Baker reports that this group is active, playing Star Fleet Battles, Federation & Empire, Star Fleet Battle Force, Star Fleet Marines, and Starmada. They support three conventions. You can read more about their activities here: http://skisgames.blogspot.com/
Read more here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/battlegroup/battlegroup_gator.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 Masters 2018 has all of the 16 Round 1 games played; two of the Round 2 games are completed. Andy Koch is the judge in this "just for fun" tournament.
Rated Ace Tournament 48 is being played with all of the first and second round matches completed and one of the four Round 3 games completed. Ron Brimeyer has volunteered to be the judge.
DEMOS AND CONS WITH SFU GAMES Christian Rekowski will be demoing SFB at Rapier Game Con 2019 in Jacksonville Florida on 2/9/2019 from 2PM - 6PM.
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: 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 While an F6 counts as a size-class-3 ship for a Battle Group (315.26), it has other benefits. Two D5s and an F6 will fill the size-class-3 slots, leaving the remaining three size-class 4 slots for a squadron of Lyran DWs (that get the leader bonus).
Now there are good things about that F6. 1. You get four of them for free. 2. You get to build a seven-point ship for five EPs in an F5 slipway, getting an extra "almost cruiser" out of a frigate build. 3. It costs exactly the same to upgrade an F5L to an F6, as it does an F5L to an F5W. So if you do find yourself in a situation of upgrading an F5L to a bigger hull, choose an F6. (But if you are going to upgrade an F5, make that into an F5W, as it costs two Economic Points to go to an F5W and three to an F6.) 4. Salvage. You will be able to get a 0.3 Economic Points more for a F6 than for an F5W.
The one drawback to the F6, of course, is that it is only three factors when crippled, thus being a seven-factor ship on the front, and a three-factor ship on the back. A Call To Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month At first glance, the Hit and Run Raid! special action does not seem to be all that great. You have to be within 4" of your target, and you have to drop the facing shield. In addition using this special action means you must take a power drain penalty.
But let's take a closer look. Through judicious use of movement, you can often arrange to use this special action with no return action possible. If all of the enemy's ships have moved, you can move your remaining ship (or ships) to within 2" of a target ship with down shields (or shields you expect to knock down during the attack phase) in such a manner as to enable you to drop a facing shield leaving no enemy ships in arc to fire through the gap. Since your opponent has already moved his units, he cannot move anything to a position that will let it take advantage of the gap in your defenses. Two out of six rolls on the die will generate a successful attempt. This gives you a 33% chance of inflicting a critical hit on your helpless target, and it can be done once for every transporter on board in addition to regular weapons fire. That is five times for a Klingon D7 or Federation BC, and if you are flying a Klingon C8 you have eight transporters! Or if you have a crippled ship that is limited to firing only one weapon system, and it can get within 4" of a valid target, go ahead and try for a critical-and-run raid. (End of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month)
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New Releases Communique #157 has been posted to the Commander's Circle Click here to see our previous issues of Hailing Frequencies. Recently Released To be released in 2019
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
"Wasn't this small arms locker checked only two days ago?" the ESS guard asked the ESS sergeant.
"Correct," the sergeant said, "but that was the regular, scheduled inspection. This is the random, monthly inspection. Didn't they teach you this in school? The random checks are done to make sure nobody borrowed a weapon and thought he could put it back before the next tenday check found it missing." "And of course," the private said, "the locker knows what's there or not, but it can be fooled, so we have to have a hands-on inspection to make sure nobody inserted a fake." "Like this one," the sergeant said, holding up a phaser. "This is not a real phaser. It's got enough electronics in it to close the security circuit and report the right serial number. We just caught somebody borrowing a phaser." "And the logs will narrow the suspect list," the private said, citing the manual, "but cannot identify a suspect, since the video won't show the difference in a fake and real weapon." "Correct," the sergeant said. "Let's go report this. It's going to mean a search of every compartment, starting with the Subject Race personnel." Four hours later, Junior Lieutenant Targis Ketrick was being led out of his cabin in handcuffs. "Fear not, little warrior, you will be safe," Ketrick said to the cat, knowing that the beast's penchant for tribble hunting meant that someone would take care of him. The ESS lieutenant and technicians finished searching his cabin. They checked Ketrick's communicator, found nothing in the usage log or recording section of any importance, and left it on Ketrick's bunk for the quartermaster to collect and inventory. Something is not right, the cat thought. It wasn't Servant who put that phaser in the locker, but that stupid little dwarf who comes in to clean every day. What's going on? (Continue reading here)
Ask Admiral Vanaxilth TACTICAL INTELLIGENCE
Hugh Bishop asks: When using the (D17.0) Tactical Intelligence rules, when is a Tholian web generator detected?
Kommodore Ketrick replies: If the web generator were refitted as a web snare, the answer is easy, i.e., it is regarded as a heavy weapon (D17.17). The lack of web generators on a known hull type would be revealed by what replaced them in many cases, e.g., phaser-3s on a PC+ replace the web generators. And of course the actual laying of web would indicate their presence. Other than the above, I do not see anything in (D17.0) that reveals their presence. Hugh Bishop asks: When using the (D17.0) rules, how are the internal systems of a ship, such as bridge, hull, sensor, etc., detected? We are playing a scenario and my opponent says that they are never revealed. This seems to be at odds with the hit-and-run rules where you choose a "box" to attack. Are these rules mutually exclusive? Kommodore Ketrick replies: Under normal rules you can look at the other guy's ship system display and this will tell you how many control systems he has, how many phasers, what their firing arcs are and etc. If you are playing under tactical intelligence, then you are going to identify a hull type and you will know the layout of most systems when you identify the hull type. If your friend is using a "totally alien never before seen ship" of his own design, then the closest rule you are going to have to cover that is (R16.1C). This rule for Jindarian asteroid ships pretty specifically notes that your boarding parties might have a hard time finding their way along the passageways of the ship. Thus if you wanted to capture the bridge and beamed over boarding parties to a location near the bridge, you might find the passageways from that point do not lead to the bridge. There is, however, no prohibition on launching a "hit-and-run" raid directly on the bridge, or any other system on the ship. Now if you are playing with hidden damage, then you can send a hit-and-run raid to destroy something, and find it is already destroyed (this would require you to be close enough to send the hit-and-run raid, but the target have enough ECM to cause a shift in intelligence gathering). Note that Level K allows the detection of any "non-standard modification" and such a modification might have included the installation of an extra control space, a hull box, a lab box, etc., not just an extra weapon. So, if you are playing with an entirely new SSD from an entirely new, never before seen empire the basic premise of (D17.0) would not provide much help. In a general sense, once you get to the Level L you would be able to say "I am attacking a ..." and name the system you want to raid. Marc Elwinger asks: At what range can you tell if a Stinger-2 has fusions loaded? ANSWER: If playing with Tactical Intelligence, you could detect this at level M, which would require an electronic warfare shift in your favor, prolonged observation, or a few other factors. See the table under (D17.3). If not playing with Tactical Intelligence, you would not be able to tell until the fighter fired its fusions. It would be possible to reach Tactical Intelligence level M from a range of 24 hexes with the right set of circumstances. These circumstances are left as an exercise for the reader. F&E Q&A
THE RANGE OF EXTENDED SUPPLY Q: I sent a ship to attack an Orion Pirate raider that was interfering in one of my hexes. The enemy sent a reserve fleet to the "Battle Hex", destroying my ship before it could fight the Orion. Can he do this? What happens to the Orion?
A: Well, by (504.35), battles with Orions are part of the Sequence of Play, so he can do it, as long as he is at war with you and able to send ships to the Battle Hex. Once the battle is resolved, the remaining ship could either retreat out of the hex or fight the Orion. Q: We do not understand how to handle crippled ships in a capital assault. What happens to a ship crippled during the battle? A: Step #3 in a capital assault (511.53) is done only once, to divide up the non-crippled ships. Any crippled ships at the start go into the static forces, as do any ships crippled during the battle. Q: Exactly when is a planet considered captured? Is it immediately upon satisfying the conditions of (508.22) or only after the entire Combat Phase is over? I'd say "immediately" because the rules do not have any provisos (e.g., "wait until the end of combat.") Here is why this is important: The Coalition attacks Kzinti SB 0902, planet 1001, and all border BATS. During the Combat Phase the Coalition "captures" planet 1001 first and then destroys all border BATS except for 0701, and then elects to resolve 0902 (which also has a defending Kzinti fleet) before 0701. After a brutal battle, the Kzintis retreat from 0902. If 1001 stops being a Kzinti supply point immediately upon capture, then the Kzinti must retreat to 0801. If 1001 stops being a Kzinti supply point only at the end of the Combat Phase, then the Kzinti fleet at 0902 must retreat to 1001 (assuming the Kzintis are not outnumbered at 1001). A: The planet ceases being in the control of the previous owner at the instant when there are no units belonging to that player in the hex and the capturing player has sufficient units to capture (or liberate) the planet in the hex. This is why it is important to select of the order in which you do resolution battles during the battle resolution in Phase 5. Q: When an SAF destroys a PDU (520.42), are the PDU's fighters counted in the destruction, or are they now homeless fighters? So if there is nowhere for them to land, they are now minus points? A: Yes, the fighters become homeless and must either find another home or become minus points per (501.42). Q: If an entire battle force is destroyed, do plus points (308.25) carry over to the next round? A: Yes, they carry over to the next round, but only for that system. See also (302.63). Q: Is there a limit on the EW generated by PDU's (317.2)? Can sixteen PDUs generate sixteen EW points? A: The maximum EW generated by any number of PDUs is four points of EW. Q: In a battle over a defended planet, I targeted and destroyed six PDUs and I got lucky with the SAF role. The defender now had 30 minus points. This means that on the next round I am unlikely to actually destroy anything, but will only "soak off" the minus points in regular combat. Can I still make an SAF attack to destroy more PDUs? If I do, will the SAF actually kill PDUs or just "soak off" minus points? A: You can make an SAF attack and the SAF attack goes directly against PDUs (not minus points); see (520.42). The SAF is outside the normal combat systems. Q: I am confused about engineer units functioning as SAFs. Rule (541.34D) includes the passage "if it survives the attack...". Is it not categorically impossible for a SAF to survive making its special attack? A: The "if it survives the attack" refers to damage applied during that combat round. So, if your opponent does not use Directed Damage on the engineer unit, it survives the attack. This is unlike the SAF which is eliminated as part of its attack. Q: Is there a limit on how many ships can land on a planet in a given combat round? Is there a limit on how many ships can land over an entire Combat Phase?
A: There is only a limit on the number of ships that can land on a planet (521.39). They would have to survive the combat round before landing. Q: If multiple ships land in a single round, does the (521.393) bonus accumulate? A: No, this bonus is for the "G"s (Marine battalions) that come from that specific ship only. (End of F&E Q&A)
ASK AUNT JEAN
Dear Aunt Jean, will there ever be figures in your shop on Shapeways for Prime Directive? A: We certainly hope so, but right now the most demand is for ships. Still, we have done the space dragons and several other "living monsters," so we are making progress in that direction.
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 MonthSPECIAL SENSOR TACTICS Special sensors can be important systems for your fleet.
On defense, use them only in serious cases.
The 21 Wasp and three Bumblebee fighters a Maghadim assault carrier can operate after Y189 can together launch no less than 48 mass driver missiles in a single turn. Those weapons can reach out to Range 10, or 24 missiles can reach out to Range 15. (That happens when using the extended range option from alternating magazine racks.) With each standard missile warhead causing five points of damage, a trio of fighter squadrons can inflict a maximum of 240 points of damage at a single target within standard range (or 120 points at extended range). That kind of output is enough to overwhelm the defenses of most Andromedan motherships (or, really, anything else including a dreadnought), if the Maghadim are in a position to apply all of that force effectively.
But there is a more clever opportunity when you combine the alternate missile percentages permitted to the Maghadim fleet with the missile stocks the Maghadim assault carrier can carry. In that case, another lethal option becomes available for anti-Andromedan work. According to (ME2.422), Maghadim carriers can take one-third of their mass driver storage spaces as special warhead types. With 400 spaces to work with on the Maghadim assault carrier, that leaves 133 spaces for types like the charged penetrator missile. Since Maghadim fighters can launch any mass driver missile type, one could elect to prepare an entire wing of fighters with charged penetrator missiles, i.e., load them for bear (or maybe rhinoceros). Note that this will require deck crew actions to swap out the initial loading of the more generally available mass drivers for the more limited reloads in the stockpile, and the Andromedans may be pressing the issue while you are taking the time, but if the time is available it is well worth the effort you spent preparing the ultimate attack. If all three squadrons were able to score hits by these charged penetrator missiles on a given Andromedan target, a total of 48 damage points would be scored against the facing power absorber panels, with 96 points of damage being marked as internal damage. (This is at standard range, of course. You might score 24 and 48 points respectively at extended range.) Even a Dominator would be at a severe risk were it and its satellites unable to sufficiently counter such incoming missile fire using their phasers, tractor beams, displacement devices, and electronic warfare defenses. In short, that kind of firepower is not something anyone can ignore. Alternatively, a mix of missile types, to also include the kinetic slug missile (which, although scoring only three points of damage, takes five points rather than three to shoot down) can provide a more complicated set of problems for an opposing mothership to try and deal with. Since Maghadim fleets are only allowed to take a single carrier at a time, and are severely hampered in terms of ship numbers and resources by the time Wasp and Bumblebee fighters enter service, the opportunity to fully press these advantages would be limited during the harsh period of exile. But they may offer a key means of providing additional muscle when joining the efforts of Operation Unity, and in the subsequent campaigns to liberate the former Maghadim territories from Andromedan holdouts in the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. (End of SFB Tactic of the Month)
Facebook Highlight of the Month
Mini of the Month This is Randell Keeping's Juggernaut Heavy Cruiser (Smooth Fine Detail Plastic).
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show our games and to teach potential players some basics. 
