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June 2016
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Star Fleet Universe News THE BIG NEWS: SHOPPING CART
New Shopping Cart Is Now Up
Amarillo Design Bureau is excited to announce a new online store is now available. It can be found at
This updates the look and feel of the old cart and will give you a better shopping experience. You can now add your reviews of our products and read what others think about them. While you will have to set up a new account (attempts to transfer the old ones didn't work) your account will remember your earlier purchases.
We have more items than almost all other companies and it's going to take us a couple of weeks to get every photo, description, and product added. It will be some time before all of the links from the website are reconnected to the new cart.
THREE NEW ITEMS
As promised, we released three new products, sending them to wholesalers in late May and to mail orders on the first of June.
Captain's Log #51 has the fiction stories Night Hounds (an Orion crime team) and Voyages of Discovery (the X-technology survey cruiser Sakharov takes a tour of the Omega sector). Federation Commander got a new empire, the Borak, with rules and four ships, plus scenarios and battle groups. Star Fleet Battles players got the files on the space manta, four scenarios, Platinum Victory, 22 battle forces, 16 new ships, and more. New material was included for Star Fleet Marines, Prime Directive, A Call to Arms, and Star Fleet Battle Force. Reports cover Star Fleet Warlord and Galactic Conquest. Federation & Empire got the Carnivons for the General War and revised slow-retreat rules. The Supplemental File was also released at the same time.
A Call to Arms: Star Fleet Book 1.2 Deluxe Edition was released on schedule with more art, a tactics section, expanded background, and full painting guides.
F&E: Minor Empires finally brought the Vudar, LDR, and Seltorians into the game system.
WEBSITE:
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: Each month we shine a spotlight on one of our battle groups. This month it is Battle Group HMCS Omega. This group, homeported in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, is reforming according to its CO, LJ LeBlanc. Their group has been busy on the video front, creating several YouTube videos. They game at two conventions and informally between those. Catch up on their activities here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/battlegroup/battlegroup_HMCSOmega.shtml
Do you have a battle group? Be sure to report your activities here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/battlegroup/report.shtml
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 The 2015 Platinum Hat Tournament is through! Paul Scott defeated Seth Shimansky to claim the coveted Platinum Hat. Our thanks to Fleet Captain Peter Bakija for keeping this tournament moving along. We will be starting the 2016 Platinum Hat soon.
Rated Ace Tournament 46 is moving along. Round two lacks only one game. Andy Vancil is the judge for this tournament.
DEMOS AND CONS WITH SFU GAMES
Chuck Strong announces free SFU Gaming at StratCon 2016 for those that need some face to face SFU gaming in their diet. This convention runs from June 18-25, 2016 in Richmond, Virginia. A ***FREE*** 1300SF secure conference room and reduced room rates at the Comfort Suites mean that there will be NO ATTENDANCE FEES to attend StratCon this year! There will be a $50 SNACK-O fund that entitles those who choose to participate full access to the SNACK-O bar for the entire week.
When making your reservation please ask for the StratCon rate coordinated by Dave Whiteside.
Comfort Suites at Virginia Center Commons
10601 Telegraph Road Glen Allen, VA 23059 (804) 262-2000 If you are planning to attend, please notify Ryan Opel on ADB's BBS or send a message to ADB on its page on Facebook and we'll get it to Ryan. This is a wonderful opportunity to attend a national SFU event at low cost.
This event is open to ALL SFU related games and other non-SFU games with prior coordination and approval of the StratCon committee.
Amarillo Design Bureau will be attending AMA-Con in Amarillo, Texas during July 23-24, 2016. Not only will we have a booth, but we will be running demos of Star Fleet Battle Force and Federation Commander. We are actively seeking people who want to help demo games there. Steve Cole will also be there and hosting "Meet with a Game Publisher" where you and he can discuss games, including those you might have in mind to produce yourself. ADB will also be giving away a challenged starship to anyone cosplaying in the Star Trek/Star Fleet Universe who stops by our booth and gets a photo taken with us. We are very excited about this! Help us spread the word! For more information on AMA-Con see: https://www.facebook.com/AmaCon2012/ or http://ama-con.amarillolibrary.org/
GenCon will be held August 4-7, 2016, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Ranger Randy Blair has four games on the schedule. Signups for these start May 15.
Eastern Plight - Thu @ 1:00 PM - 5 hrs
During the Andromedan War, while your neighbors endure a shaky peace accord, an Orion pirate Cartel threatens to expose embarrassing war crimes committed by your Empire during the General War. As your cruiser roars to the Orion base to "persuade" him to keep quiet, you discover cruisers from your neighbors arriving as well. Western Plight - Fri @ 1:00 PM - 5 hrs During the Andromedan War, while your neighbors endure a shaky peace accord, an Orion pirate Cartel threatens to expose embarrassing war crimes committed by your Empire during the General War. As your cruiser roars to the Orion base to "persuade" him to keep quiet, you discover cruisers from your neighbors arriving as well. Survivor! - Sat @ 10:00 AM - 4 hrs A hostile entity made of pure dilithium has ravaged a caravan & your starship has been sent to intercept. Trouble is, other enemy starships are in pursuit of the monster's riches! Ally or attack? Survivor! - Sat @ 3:00 PM - 4 hrs A hostile entity made of pure dilithium has ravaged a caravan & your starship has been sent to intercept. Trouble is, other enemy starships are in pursuit of the monster's riches! Ally or attack? 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 Game Paradise. 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/gamers_haven.php
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
When upgrading a previously deployed mobile base consider using an LTT or two theater transports to transport newly built fighter modules to the mobile base during the Strategic Movement Phase. Under (441.421) they are considered set up and functional on delivery. While the transport(s) must remain in the hex until the next Operational Movement Phase, should the enemy come calling, your mobile base has a little more punch without affecting your command rating and adding one free attrition unit. Should your mobile base survive, it is then a functioning battle station with fighters. There is no additional economic cost for building the fighter modules as the mobile-base upgrade is reduced by the cost of the fighter modules plus fighters. There may be a strategic cost in using a tug, LTT, or two theater transports for doing so. The advantage to the light tactical transport or two theater transports is they can be included in a battle group saving your formation bonus for the tug. The enemy is unlikely to use directed damage on the transprts because of other higher value targets in the hex and the fact that they have already completed their task of delivering the fighter modules.
A Call To Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month ASTEROID OR DISASTER-OIDS? Many players of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet use terrain to control their opponent's movement or to provide coverage to their flanks. This is all well and good, unless your opponent happens to be a Romulan (or an Orion Pirate with cloaks). Most types of terrain completely block line of sight and some have potential penalties for passing through that are so severe that many people will spend turns going around rather than one turn going through.
So if you are on one side and your opponent is on the other, you can relax and take heart that you are relatively safe from enemy fire, right? Wrong! While asteroid fields and dust clouds can be of any size (up to and including the size of the entire map), most of us have created terrain pieces that are a few inches wide and about twice that many inches long. If your opponent is on one side of the terrain and cloaked, he may decide to uncloak on his next movement. When uncloaking, units may move up to six inches in any direction and make one turn in lieu of making a standard maneuver. If the terrain separating you is less than six inches wide, you may suddenly find yourself facing an unexpected opponent. One who has suddenly crossed an entire asteroid field without having to face the risk of shield damage from collisions with wayward rocks, or has crossed a Tholian Web you thought would protect you for another turn or two. So if you have a cloaking device, remember this tip and you will rarely have to worry about that bothersome terrain again. If you do not have a cloaking device, then make sure your terrain pieces are at least 6.1 inches in each dimension, and you will never have to worry about those pesky cloaking devices again!!!
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New Releases Communique #126 has been posted to the Commander's Circle Click here to see our previous issues of Hailing Frequencies. Recently Released To be released in 2016
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.
PDF and EBOOK SALES: RECENTLY RELEASED ON Warehouse 23 Klegarine Military School, April Y183
"Come in, Cadet Killik. Sit down." "Very well, Commander," the younger man said, taking the indicated seat. "Do you know why you are here?" the Commander asked. "I did not, Sir," Cadet Killik said, "but may I assume from the evidence that we are to play chess? Standard rules, or the reflective game?" "Standard rules," the Commander said, picking up two pawns. "You won the cadet tournament, and I thought it important to teach you one further lesson." The Commander extended both hands, which had formed fists. "Excellent," Killik said, touching one of the Commander's hands and getting the black pawn for his trouble. The human game, imported a half-century earlier, was one of Killik's favorites, and he knew that the Commander was far below his ranking. "It is an honor to play you," Killik said. Cadets rarely had the chance to play ranking officers, especially not those who knew they were going to lose. The Commander was, apparently, rewarding the tournament victory by allowing himself to be defeated. "One thing, Cadet," the Commander said, moving forward a pawn in the classic opening. "When I press the clock button, you have only nine seconds to play, or you lose your move." "What?" the cadet exclaimed. "I have never heard of this variant." "Nine seconds," the Commander said as his finger hit the button on the clock. Killik made the standard response to the classical opening, and allowed the timer to run down to gain time to think. The game continued for less than four minutes before Killik was forced to concede. Ed Meister asks: I have a question regarding the plasmatic pulsar device. Say I start a scenario at Weapons Status-III and I paid the two points of power to hold it since I am fairly certain I will not get to Range 8 during the first turn. During Turn #2 energy allocation, I want to overload the plasmatic pulsar device. I know I have to pay the two points of power to hold it, but then do I have to pay the full eight points of power to overload it for a total of 10 points of power? Is it the same if I want to use reserve power? If I am holding it do I have to pay eight points of reserve power to overload it?
ANSWER: Although (E11.63) could be clearer, overloading a held plasmatic pulsar device only requires you to add the additional overload energy, two points (for one extra pulse), or four points (for two extra pulses). The energy requirement is the same whether you are adding the energy during Energy Allocation or by using reserve power during the turn. Francois Lemay asks: When an MRS lends electronic warfare to its assigned fighter squadron, does the MRS itself also benefit from the lent electronic warfare? ANSWER: William Wilson answers: By (J4.464), the MRS does not benefit from electronic warfare points it is loaning to its assigned fighter squadron and does not benefit from electronic warfare points loaned to the squadron by the carrier. Also note that the MRS does not get the electronic warfare points it generates if it is lending to its home ship either (J8.412). The MRS could be loaned electronic warfare points individually by a scout using a scout channel. James Everett asks: I have landed my ship next to a small ground base and captured it. How fast can I transfer cargo from the base to my ship? ANSWER: You can dock to the ground base under (P2.711), at which point you can use direct transfer (G25.23) to move 64 cargo points per turn. You could also transporters and shuttles to augment the transfer rate. Each transporter could move 10 cargo points. Each administrative shuttle could move 15 cargo points, but note that it would take a deck crew action to load it. There is also an eight impulse delay between launching and landing the shuttle, unless you are using the (J1.62) special landing procedure. Michael Calhoon asks: What happens if an Andromedan unit fires on the moray eel of space and in the same impulse, displaces more than six hexes away from the monster? ANSWER: Kommodore Ketrick replies: The restriction on the moray eel attacking units within six hexes of itself is based on the fact that units cannot attack the moray eel from more than six hexes range. It is not a limit on the actions of the moray eel. The fact that it can strike at a huge number of units in a single impulse implies both greater range and speed than is normally seen. (Recall that a moray eel can strike at a unit which fired at it from six hexes in Direction A, and on the same impulse strike at a unit that fired it from six hexes in direction D, although nominally having struck at the unit in direction A the unit in direction D is more than 12 hexes from the moray eel). While it seems pseudo-Vulcan logic, the moray eel can strike at such an Andromedan unit, and of course the Andromedans do gain an advantage in luring the moray eel further from the planet. They do not, however, avoid moray eel retribution.
Thomas Mathews asks: Can a fast patrol ship docked to a fast patrol ship tender transfer power to the fast patrol ship tender for the purposes providing extra power to the fast patrol ship tender? ANSWER: No, per (K2.44). (End of Admiral Vanaxilth) F&E Q&A
CAPITAL ASSAULTS Q: During a capital assault, after the defending forces are split, can (501.61) be used to transfer fighters from a carrier or FCR in one system to a carrier in another system? This question would also apply to PFs and G-factors since they transfer like fighters. I cite rule: "(501.61) BETWEEN ROUNDS: Ships and bases of the same empire in the same hex can transfer fighters between each other between Combat Rounds as long as the receiving unit has the capacity to hold the fighters. For example, a Federation FV group in the Reserve might give up its fighters to a CVB group in the Battle Force, allowing it to remain at full strength. Carriers which transfer fighters to other carriers are not in or supporting the Battle Force and cannot be attacked. In the case of Federation SWAC shuttles see (518.32)."
My opponent says that (511.54) would prohibit such transfer from occurring. I further cite rule: "(511.54) STEP 4: The Defending Player takes his static fleet and deploys it in the boxes of the first column in any or all of the system boxes; he can divide the ships or put them all in one system. Each ship/group can only be in one system. (Defense limited units must be assigned to specific planets.) These units cannot leave the system they are deployed in. If they do, they must retreat from the capital hex (if they can). Individual defending ships and groups can retreat from a capital hex [this is an exception to (302.72) which requires a simultaneous withdrawal by all forces], but they must all go to the same hex. Monitors (519.0) are assigned to the fixed defenses of whatever planet they are assigned to and must be included in the Battle Force (and they use a command slot)." A: A ship or base cannot per (511.54 Step 4) move from one static location to another. This is a political limitation not a limitation on the assets on such ships/bases. These are typically the things that are kept track of like coinage in the hex in question. There are only so many non-PDU fighters/PFs/Gs/etc. in a hex (which are not counted in this as they are not ships or bases by definition). They are freely exchangeable per (501.61) between rounds at the player's discretion. (511.54 Step 4), again, only limits the ships/groups. There is nothing in this rule limiting the coinage elements of the ships that are freely exchangeable. Q: I am confused by the capital defense rule (511.531).
A: Well, we all are. Q: Ahem, the capital defense rule requires the player to divide his fleet between static and mobile forces. While carriers must be divided as equally as possible, it has been ruled that a carrier in the static force could transfer its fighters to an empty carrier in the mobile force. How does this affect the original division of ships into static and mobile forces? Do we have to assume that the fighters on all static force ships count against the mobile forces where they will probably end up? A: That isn't necessary, and can't be done that way in any event. Fighters count as part of the ship they are on. Once the division is done, it is done, and a later transfer of fighters from the static to the mobile group has no effect on the division that was done earlier. Q: When dividing the ships into static and mobile groups under (511.531) what do I do about escorts? If I have one carrier with its usual escorts and one carrier that lost its escorts in combat, do I have to split up the escorts so that neither can form a legal carrier group? A: Rule (511.537) says that carrier escorts are counted as a base hull, so if you have five CWs, two CWDs (drone), one CWE (escort), and two CWGs (commando), you put five CW-hulls in each group. If you're careful, you can be sure to place the building blocks of a carrier group where you need them. In your example of the two carriers, you could keep the existing group intact by simply placing equivalent hull types in the other group. That said, it is theoretically possible to imagine a situation in which a carrier might not have enough escorts. (End of F&E Q&A)
ASK AUNT JEAN
Dear Aunt Jean, what's this PD20M Supplement that Steve Cole keeps hinting about in his daily records? A: When I did Prime Directive PD20 Modern, it was based off the PD20 book issued earlier. That book had left out various empires and species that were included in the GURP Prime Directive core rulebook. I don't think that the talked about RPG magazine is going to come about -- PD20M people wouldn't want to pay for the GURPS or Traveller PD information and the opposite is true for those gamers. People who play both don't want to have to pay twice for the same information. So we needed a way to get the PD20M players their information (Traveller PF will include it) and the supplement should be that way. It's a bit slow going as I haven't created lots of species before, but it will get done this year.
Send questions to Jean at design@StarFleetGames.com and SVC will decide which one Jean will answer next.
(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. We have new images of our 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 FC Tactic of the MonthTO DIRECT OR NOT DIRECT? The directed targeting rules in Federation Commander allow general targeting of weapons or power. However, there is a cost to this; "skipped" damage points are lost.
Let's take this example. Score 30 points of internal damage on a fleet-scale Klingon F5 by directed-on-weapons, directed-on-power, and standard targeting. Directed-weapons: Ship crippled, but has some warp to leave the map. Seven missed hits due to lack of the right kind of internals.
Directed-power: Ship crippled, no power, but lives. Seven missed hits due to lack of the right kind of internals. Standard Targeting: The frigate blows up, every time, with damage points left over. So, use directed-weapons if you want to force a ship to leave, or directed-power if you want to capture it. To destroy a ship, use standard targeting. I must note that the above example assumes enough damage points to destroy the ship. Scoring fewer points on a larger ship will not destroy it, or completely disarm or disable it, no matter what dice you roll. In such cases, the ship is going to survive and you'd be better off to use standard targeting and score as much damage as possible. This is especially true if the ship is undamaged and you score only a few points. After the damage is scored, see how many boxes (and kind of boxes) are left and target the second volley according to your battle plan.
Many players discount or forget the option to narrow salvo.
If a certain amount of damage is needed from a volley, without which the benefit is minimal or none, then weapons should be fired in narrow salvo groups that match the needed damage. Examples include: destroying a fighter about to land, taking out a probable scatter-pack that will release on the following impulse, destroying a wild weasel before it exits the hex of the launching ship, or taking down a shield of an enemy ship so Marines can be sent over. In the above cases, there is a very specific goal that requires a certain threshold of damage points, and anything else is a waste of time. Take the scatter-pack example: it requires six points of damage to destroy a shuttle (eight points if it is an advanced type). Let's assume the firing ship is at Range 9 with two standard disruptors and two overloaded disruptors and no other weapons to fire. If it fires the two standard disruptors separately, it has a 44.4% chance to hit with both. If it fires them in a narrow salvo, it has a 66.7% chance to hit with both. Together the two standard disruptors will do the six points of damage necessary to destroy the shuttle, so in this case, the right move would be to use a narrow salvo. While there are situations which would be more complicated to resolve, the key to deciding to use a narrow salvo is to know how much damage is needed to achieve the goal and whether the goal is "all or nothing." (End of SFB Tactic 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. Here are the newest demotivationals since our last newsletter: To see our previous Demotivationals click here.
Facebook Highlight of the Month Daniel Thomouski Candernuderski reports: The boy is about to turn 7, so why not start now with a little Federation Commander? I wanted to keep the weapon systems relatively simple so he was given the choice of having us play as the Klingons or the “Evil Cat Aliens” (Lyrans, ESGs not in play). The scenario selected was our desperate attempt to keep the vile Moray Eel of Space from gobbling up the colonists on Random Colony-12345. I flew a squadron scale Leopard Destroyer and he was given a Cheetah Frigate. The BPV was a little higher than the scenario called for, but it helps when your wingman only just finished first grade! With a lot of coaching and gentle prodding, our vessels came into range of the monster and commenced firing. Things quickly started to go wrong when the boy would roll a 6 on nearly all of his phaser-2 shots and a 1 on practically every single Moray Eel bite attack on his ship. It was not long before his ship was a mauled hulk venting all flavor of materials into space while his Dad was left to pick up the pieces. Despite our best efforts, Colony-12345 now has a neon purple vacancy sign shining in the cosmos. Keeping things simple and moving along at a brisk pace, combined with the colorful ship cards kept him interested (at least until his ship didn’t “work” anymore!) I think he is ready to start Cordon Alpha in ISC War now…..
Mini of the Month Coming at you! Romulan SparrowHawk painted by Jon Woodland
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show our games and to teach potential players some basics. 
