June 2009
Download Transmissions

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!

Star Fleet Universe News

The big event this month is the 30th anniversary customer appreciation sale, when all SFB rulebooks and SSD books (sold as spare parts) will be half price from June 1st through July 31st. 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 does not start until 1 June 09.

The big release last month 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!


FC Forum Recent Posts


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!

FC Tactic of the Month
SAVE THE MARINES


When a ship gets destroyed, it will normally take all of the crew (and Marines) with it. To save this valuable resource, if it looks like a ship is doomed, (badly crippled, or has a dozen drones incoming and no defenses) use Emergency Evacuation to rescue the crew (and the Marines). The ship will still be destroyed, but you'll have more boarding parties on the rescuing ship, which will be useful as Marine raid ammunition, if nothing else.
(Continue reading here)

Café Press
Cafe Press

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
WHITE ELEPHANTS MUST BEWARE OF HYENAS
When using bombers, you must use your ships to protect them from being tractored by the enemy. Bombers cannot do a breakaway maneuver to break a tractor lock upon them (they have no HET available).

They are extremely vulnerable to small ships or PFs swooping in at high speed, grabbing one with a tractor beam, zipping away at Speed 30, rotating the bomber to be out of its heavy weapon arcs, and destroying the bomber at their leisure (or boarding and capturing them).
(Continue reading here)

F&E Strategy of the Month
SPECIAL RAID DEFENSE


Raids are, due to the nature of raid movement, very difficult to stop or prevent. In fact, province disruption raids are essentially impossible to stop in most combat situations. Luckily, province disruption is not very painful. On the other hand, special drone and fighter raids can be very dangerous, particularly drone raids versus slow units and bases thanks to the ease at which drones can catch them (and the resulting doubling of drone factors). The most obvious defense is to pin out the raiders, but this tactic is typically difficult and under any circumstances uses an excessive number of ships (particularly in late General War with large raid pools), as most hexes can in theory be attacked from each of six adjacent hexes. So what can you do for raid defense? Use the old adage: "The best defense is a good offense."

Raids must be launched from a valid Strategic Movement Node (a node that can connect to the capital), or using on-map assets. The range of on-map asset raids is limited.
(Continue reading here)

Mini of the Month

Every month we will feature one of our miniatures that has been painted by a fan. If you paint miniatures, submit your pictures and you may be our next Mini of the Month!

Orion Double Raider
Mini of the month by Jeremy Gray.
Congratulations!

mini of the month



New Releases

Communique #42 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

TO BE RELEASED AT ORIGINS 2009
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

Star Fleet Fiction
SNAP COUNT Part 10 of 10



"The battle is nearly over," the voice of Beta said.

"I can see that," Crawford answered. "I count fifteen photon torpedoes, at least 30 more platforms able to launch two missiles apiece. I'm seeing missile launches from all over. You cannot run; you cannot survive this attack."

"I can see that," the voice of Beta said. "I must decide on my final act."

"What choices do you have?"

"Given the available firepower, I can destroy one of the smaller ships, or I can severely damage the fast cruiser which has been hounding me since this began."

"There is a third choice," Crawford said. "You could surrender. I would accept it and give you parole."

"You would give me parole?" the voice of Beta asked.

"Would you accept it?" Crawford asked.

"I would accept it if I were to surrender," the voice of Beta said, "but I cannot surrender. No decision matrix provides that result. I must try to escape so I can repair and return to battle, and failing that, I must continue to fight."

"Is surrender unthinkable?" Crawford asked.

"No," said the voice of Beta, "but my decision matrices cannot reach that conclusion. If you will excuse me?"

Beta sent the last of a series of transmissions to Juggernaut Gamma. The first had gone out when he got the transmissions from Juggernaut Alpha.




"Range 200 thousand," Donaldson called.

"Steady as she goes," said Captain Williams.

"Weapons locked," reported Lieutenant Kezlok.

"Range one-eighty," Donaldson said. "Closing."

"All ships report ready," Ensign Robinson reported.

"Alert!" Donaldson screamed. "Juggernaut is making a high energy turn! Range dropping ... 120 thousand."
"All ships, stand by to fire!" Williams ordered.

"Juggernaut, new course, straight for us!" Donaldson shouted. "Range 100 thousand!"

"All ships, on my command!" Williams said.

"Ninety thousand," Donaldson called. "Eighty..."

"Fire!" Williams ordered.

Bolts of blue flaming death roared out of more than a dozen launch tubes, most of them slamming into the forward armor of the Juggernaut. The damage was horrendous. Both of the wings were torn completely away, and the entire front half of the 'bridge' was peeled open like an orange. A few phasers stabbed back at Eagle but were barely able to penetrate the forward shield.
(Continue reading here)

 

Ask Admiral Growler
X-TECH


William T. Wilson asks: Ship A has tractored ship B at Range 1, neither ship is moving. Both ships simultaneously launch speed-32 seeking weapons directly at each other. Ship A wants to launch a wild weasel in response, but does not want to give B the chance to launch his own wild weasel.

So, if A launches a wild weasel (and is therefore forced to drop his tractor), does B find out about this in time to launch his own wild weasel? Of course normally B could not just react to A's wild weasel launch during the same step, but in this case he is not reacting to the launch itself, but rather to the tractor release, which might (?) make a difference.

ANSWER: Ship B can also launch a wild weasel under (G7.333).

Brook J. Villa asks: If I have a drone or shuttle tractored, then kill it while it is tractored, is the tractor link involuntarily released? Therefore letting you use the tractor again in eight impulses? (Over a turn break of course.) I could not find it in the rules; the only thing I found was an involuntary release of tractor as a result of a wild weasel launch, but nothing that said a tractor is released if the object of the tractor is destroyed.

ANSWER: Since there is no longer a valid target, the tractor is involuntarily broken. In any event, if you destroyed the held object, would you not have shut down the tractor?
(Continue reading here)

 

F&E Q&A
GENERAL QUESTIONS


Question: When are the Lyrans allowed to attack the Federation?

Answer: As per rule (602.14), the Lyrans are not allowed to operate in Federation space (i.e., invade the Federation) during Turns #7-#9, except for an expeditionary fleet. While nothing else is explicitly stated, it's clear that the intention is that the Lyrans cannot attack the Federation prior to Turn #7.

Question: When are the Lyrans allowed to attack the Tholians?

Answer: Rule (603.0) allows the Lyrans to operate in the territory of any empire that is in the war. They can never "start a war" with the Tholians on their own. The Klingons can attack the Tholians on Turn #7 or later (602.11) but the Lyrans are only allowed to operate in "Klingon, Kzinti, Lyran, and Hydran" territory (plus an expeditionary fleet in Federation space) during Turns #7 through #9, so the earliest that the Lyrans can participate in attacks on the Tholians is Turn #10, and then only if the Klingons have already started a war with the Tholians.

(Continue reading here)


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.

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)

 

NEW MINIATURES!

These are the "bronze" masters that Todd Boyce did for the Romulan Fighters. Due to casting problems, they won't be ready in time for Origins, but will be released later this summer.

Bronze romulan 1

Bronze romulan 2