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The latest Communique brings you more Ship Cards, scenarios, fiction, and more news from the Star Fleet Universe! It can be downloaded from the Commander's Circle.
We continue to improve the Commander's Circle. (Please make note that it is now at a different location.) We have now uploaded all of the ships and scenarios as separate documents (the ships are organized by empire) so you can quickly see what is available. Check it out!
The big news this month is our succesful trip to ORIGINS, the national game convention. While total convention attendance went down 20% (apparently due to the economy and people reluctant to spend money on travel), our sales were actually a little better than last year.
Our 30th anniversary customer appreciation sale continues, and has been extended through August 31st. All SFB rulebooks and SSD books (sold as spare parts) are available at half price. This is a good chance for SFB players to replace their worn-out books, and for non-SFB players to acquire these books (possibly for use with FC). This does not include orders through stores, non-SFB products, or components other than rulebooks and SSD books (and Captain's Logs #18 through #29), and ends August 09.
The big release in May was the FC: Reference Rulebook. This product has all of the rules from all of the FC products, all of them re-edited, updated, including all rulings and updates, and in alphanumerical order.
Our combined and reorganized website, www.StarFleetGames.com, continues to grow and improve. You are welcome to send us your requests, comments, and suggestions.
We are looking for a few good Star Fleet Ambassadors! Our marketing director can't be everywhere and that's where you come in! Do you go to gaming forums like Board Game Geek, RPG Net, or The Miniatures Page? Then WE NEED YOU! To get complete details of the Ambassador program, please see the Federation Commander Ambassadors category on the Federation Commander Forum.
Have you missed an earlier Newsletter? Click here to get caught up!
The Federation Commander Site and Forum continue to grow as more gamers find it. We have added a new section to the Forum called Web Requests. If you have any comments, questions, or requests for our Graphics Director, this is the place to let him know.
We have added a new Star Fleet Battles section to the Forum to discus everything SFB. For new players, the Federation Commander Forum is a little easier to manage whereas the Legacy Discus BBS can be a bit overwhelming. Come see what the commotion is about and join the Federation Commander Forum now!
Don't forget our original (Discus-based) BBS where most product development takes place!
THOUGHTS ON THE PLASMA HACK AND SLASH
- Cadet Anthony Cutcliffe, HMS Devonshire
The "Zero-Energy Anchor" is a tactic whereby plasma launched at one-hex range, against a ship moving at Speed 16 or Speed 16+1, will automatically hit its target before it can move away, without the launching ship having to spend power on a tractor beam. Alternatively, a target moving at Speed 24 or Speed 24+1 cannot escape the plasma if the launch is at Range zero. To take advantage of this, you need to end your movement so that 1. your plasma has the target in arc, 2. you are at one or zero hexes range, and 3. preferably, you are facing the weakest shield you can get to.
As an attacker, therefore, you can use a "plasma hack and slash" attack whereby you damage or drop the enemy's facing shield with direct-fire weapons, then launch plasma at the end of that same impulse. The plasma will then impact the ship on that weakened shield because of the "zero-energy anchor".
(Continue reading here)
Café Press is an online marketplace that allows the Star Fleet Universe to produce unique products such as coffee mugs, t-shirts, tote bags, and more with the Star Fleet logos, cover art, and other artwork used for our products. We have added tons of new shirts, mugs, and other products. Want something you don’t see? Please contact Eric Olivarez (Graphics Director) with your request. Visit our Star Fleet Café Press Store for a complete listing of the products available.
SFB Tactic of the Month
DO NOT GET LOST IN THE CLOUDS
- Lieutenant Commander Andy Vancil, USS Colorado
The Koligahr antimatter cloud generator is an interesting weapon because even if it misses the intended target, it will still affect a nearby hex. By understanding its scatter pattern, you can increase the chances that a "miss" will still be a "hit". Conversely, if you expect to be the target of an antimatter cloud generator, you can deploy your units in a way that minimizes the odds of getting hit.
Of course, if you are firing the antimatter cloud generator, you want to have a target hex that contains a lot of units. Conversely, if you are facing the Koligahr, you should avoid stacking your units in one hex. This term paper addresses some of the finer points of deployment.
Note that at Range 7 or greater, the antimatter cloud generator is more than 50% likely to hit a hex other than its target. In the case of a near miss, any of the six adjacent hexes could be affected. In the case of a complete miss, the antimatter cloud generator is still 40% likely to hit an adjacent hex, 40% likely to hit one of the six hexes on the Range 2 spine, and 20% likely to hit one of the six hexes on the Range 2 hex row.
(Continue reading here)
SPECIAL RAID DEFENSE
- Ensign Alan De Salvio, USS California
Conventional wisdom says that High-Risk Survey is a bad trade-off, but this logic applies to the early game when survey points are likely to net a province and exhaustion has not yet hit. To take an extreme case on the last two turns of the game, it may well be impossible for normal survey to net any new provinces in time to do any good, while High-Risk Survey can easily result in added income.
Additionally if a survey cruiser is crippled in the last turns, it need not be repaired. So take the risk, but only when it is so late in the game that normal survey is no longer worthwhile.
(End of F&E Strategy )
Every month we will feature one of our miniatures that has been painted by a fan. If you paint miniatures, submit pictures of your minis and they may be selected for the next Mini of the Month!
Lyran Battleship by Lieutenant-Commander Jeremy Gray
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Communique #43 has been posted to the Commander's Circle.
RELEASED THIS YEAR
SFB Module G3: Master Annexes, SKU 5423, Price $29.95
Federation Commander: Border Box #8, SKU 4408, $99.95
Orion Dreadnought Miniature, SKU 0826, $9.95
Galactic Conquest Rulebook, SKU 5716, $19.95
Federation Commander: Briefing #2, SKU 4022, $19.95
JUST RELEASED
FC Reference Rulebook (5th Edition), SKU 4020, $14.95
Captain's Log #39, SKU 5739, $19.95
FC: Booster #91, SKU 4291, $9.95
Squadron Box #91, SKU 4391, $34.95
TO BE RELEASED IN 2009
FC: Borders of Madness #1, SKU 4051, $19.95
GURPS Federation, SKU 8402, $24.95
Prime Directive: Federation (d20), SKU 8702, $24.95
Federation Commander Hydran Attack, SKU 4107, $29.95
Star Fleet Battles Module C3A: Andromedan Threat File
DUTY, HONOR, EMPIRE
Act I: The Mission
Brigade Commander's Office, IKV Raidmaker
15 March, Y175
"What is hidden here?" Marine Lieutenant Rakarra asked, removing his eyeglasses and dropping them on the Brigadier's desk as he gestured at the mission orders.
"I do not understand your question," the Brigadier replied.
"Where is the other boot?" the Lieutenant asked, shaking the mission orders vertically, perpendicular to the desk, as if expecting something to fall from between the pages.
"What boot?" the Brigadier asked. "Did you have some question about your orders?"
"No disrespect, Brigadier," Rakarra said soothingly. "I simply want to know: What truth lies behind your words?"
"You question my honor?" the Brigadier bristled.
"Not in the least," Rakarra replied. "Brigadier, you know that I respect you as a commander and soldier, but when you look at me, you see a face covered in fur and you think I am ... unsophisticated. I am not.
"Nothing in these orders is a lie, but not all of the truth is here. I know that there is more to it. I can feel that this ship is now moving at a faster speed than it ever has, and friends in the engineering section tell me that it will take a month to repair the damage done to the engines in the last hour. We are going somewhere, and we are going there as fast as this ship can move. If you're going to put the fleet's primary commando cruiser out of commission, this mission is more important than any I have ever seen."
"The orders convey no such information," the Brigadier said evenly. "All missions are vital to the Empire."
"This one is different," Lieutenant Rakarra replied. "The orders do not convey any information other than for me to ready my troops for transfer to another ship and to take equipment for any and every contingency. I presume that sealed mission orders will be issued when I am on the other ship?"
"Indeed," the Brigadier said. "Do you have any question about the orders you do have? Other matters require my attention."
(Continue reading here)
- by Mike Filsinger
Trent Telenko asks: Do heavy electronic-warfare fighters get the ability to control twelve drones as a single-space electronic warfare fighter does?
ANSWER: Rule (R1.F7A) states that heavy electronic-warfare fighters gain the drone-control capability of two-seat electronic-warfare fighters, so they would be able to control twelve drones.
Follow-up question: How do drone control pods interact with heavy fighters? With single-space fighters, a single drone-control pod raises control capability to six drones and a second raises it to twelve. Heavy fighters already can control six drones. So does the first pod do nothing for them and the second bucks them up to twelve drones?
ANSWER: A single pod would increase the control capability of a heavy
fighter to twelve, a second pod would have no additional effect.
Michael Powers asks: Where do the drones in the bay of an F-111 come from (R2.F11)? Are they all purchased as "extra" drones via Commander's Options, or can I draw them from the carrier's reload drones?
(Continue reading here)
partial grids
Question: Partial grids (unlike a capital-centered main grid) normally store their EPs in a non-localized fashion (lost only when the last node falls). Tugs can transfer EPs to and from a partial grid. However unlike delivery to a main grid, the rules don't state where a tug needs to go to deliver/collect EPs to/from a partial grid. Can it do so just by being in supply range? Or being in a province? Or does it need to co-locate with any node (base or planet) in the grid?
Answer: The tug would have to be in the same hex as a base or planet that is part of that grid.
Question: Is it true that for a partial grid to use a satellite stockpile (located at one of its nodes) it would need to use a tug to "collect" the EPs from the stockpile then "deliver" the EPs to the decentralized grid as a whole?
Answer: The partial grid would use a satellite stockpile per (410.34) which allows it to use the resources of the partial grid to pay for expenses. A satellite stockpile within a partial grid is part of the resources of that grid. You do not need a tug.
(End of F&E Q&A)
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.
Alert 90622 Captain's Log 39 (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 90430 FC: Reference Rulebook (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 90416 B2MY (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 90302 FCRRB (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 90224 Starmada (Adobe Acrobat Required)
Alert 90223 G3 (Adobe Acrobat Required)
This month's new miniature features the ISC Battleship by John Schneder!
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