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September 2022
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Star Fleet Universe News THE BIG NEWS:
Captain's Log #51 is now available through the PDF stores. The issue supports Star Fleet Battles, Federation Commander, A Call to Arms: Star Fleet, Starmada, Prime Directive, Star Fleet Battle Force, Star Fleet Marines, and Federation & Empire. "Night Hounds" by Jon Berry is about an Orion cargo ship that is hired by the Romulans to make a delivery to the Gorn Neutral Zone. Little did they know they had hired a secret Orion Pirate special ops ship! Captain's Log #51 is available from the following sources: Warehouse 23: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/ADB5751CL Also available separately (and only as a PDF) are the Star Fleet Battles SSDs and Federation Commander ship cards, ACTASF ship stats (all in color), and Starmada (B&W) ship cards from this issue: Warehouse 23: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/ADB5751CL-3C See more news about decals from Tenneshington Decals below.
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 Hampton Roads, headquartered in Hampton, Virginia. CO William Phillips reports they play Star Fleet Battles and Federation & Empire. They also enjoy attending gaming conventions. Read more here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/battlegroup/battlegroup_HamptonRoads.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! As announced in Captain's Log #54, Jean Sexton Beddow's husband, Al Beddow has been appointed to take over the day-to-day of running the SFU Ranger demo team. He comes with a bit of experience both teaching various types of games as well as having been in quite a few demo teams (and ran/helped run a few). He is most familiar with GURPS Prime Directive but early on played ACTASF and spent Gencon 2012 demoing it in the Mongoose Publishing booth there. So, we are asking each of you to email Al at the address below with the following: - Name Al will add you to the Ranger group on the forum once he has this info, which will let you access our area there. He is looking forward to working with all of you to spread the news of the Star Fleet Universe! Current stats: We have heard from 22 of our Rangers and have three new ones! We are excited to see the Rangers becoming active as playing in person and cons once again start up. Jean Sexton Beddow Al Beddow Ranger Email: adbrangerhq@gmail.com FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/517647465103651/ ADB Forums: http://www.starfleetgames.com/federation/phpbb2/index.php ADB BBS: http://www.starfleetgames.com/discus/
JAGDPANTHER
Custom Decals for Starline ships
Tenneshington Decals continues to produce decal sets made to fit Federation starships in ADB's Shapeways 3788, 3125, 7000 "Elite", and 2500 "Prestige" scales. A wide selection of ships are available, with sets for the CVo operational ("flatbed") carrier, CVA heavy fleet carrier, CF fast cruiser, and DDF fast destroyer recently added. The 3788 scale decals are also great to use on ADB's metal Starline 2400 ships and the 3125 scale decals can be used on ADB's metal Starline 2500 ships. Tenneshington will also continue to offer their legacy decals for Starline 2500 ships as special orders, for customers wishing to match their existing minis. As with all of their products, the names on the ships are up to the customer and all sheets are custom-printed to order. Additional decal sets are available for shuttlecraft and to sets to detail any ship with additional window blocks, sensors, hatches, and even phaser scars. 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 .
ONLINE TOURNAMENTS Update to Sapphire Star IX: With Sapphire Star tournaments IX and X finished, XI is now running. The second Sapphire Crown tournament will kick off on 1 June with the four most recent winners.
DEMOS AND CONS WITH SFU GAMES Due to the COVID-19 virus, many conventions have been cancelled. We encourage you to check out Star Fleet Battles Online where there is a free demo version. It is a good way to hang out with others who play Star Fleet Battles and Federation Commander. Check it out here: https://www.sfbonline.com/index.jsp Star Fleet Battles games are played regularly in Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday afternoons at the Soldiery. Lee Hanna is the contact person. 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: This monthly magazine repeated much of the same information that Hailing Frequencies does. December 2019 was the last month it was published. Old issues can be downloaded from the Commander's Circle. Mini of the Month Kent Ing painted these specialty shuttles.
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New Releases EXTRAS FOR THE MONTH: You can look at Hailing Frequencies Extras here.
Click here to see our previous issues of Hailing Frequencies.
Recently Released
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
Ask Admiral Vanaxilth PLASMA TORPEDOES
Randy Blair asks: A King Eagle launches a shotgunned plasma-R torpedo and the following targets are available: Federation heavy cruiser, ground-based defense phaser-4, small fighter ground base, defense satellite, and the planet's surface itself. Are those all acceptable targets for the shotgun load? Rule (FP7.22) does not seem to give any restrictions on the target types.
ANSWER: The only restriction is that each torpedo must be launched at a different target. As long as you are within five hexes of the planet so you can target the ground installations and can launch at the defense satellite under its targeting rules, you would be able to select those five targets. Troy Latta asks: We would like to confirm rule (FQ1.563). Should that really be ECM or is it ECCM? ANSWER: Per the after action report in Captain's Log #29, the quantum wave torpedo indeed has three points of ECM. Mike Johnson asks: Does the Tournament King Eagle's plasma-R torpedo have any launching restrictions? I seem to remember hearing that it could track any target in the FA arc, but had to actually launch in the same direction as the ship. I guess the question is whether the plasma-R torpedo launcher is fixed as per (FP3.11). ANSWER: By (FP3.11), the torpedo must be launched straight ahead, as it is not a swivel launcher (only bases and advanced technology ships have swivel launchers for their plasma-R torpedoes). Josh Driscol asks: A WYN auxiliary tournament cruiser (with two B-racks and two plasma-F torpedoes in its option package) had six drones on the map, and launched both plasma-Fs. It was my understanding that you had to control the plasma at the time of launch, but my opponent argued that he could immediately release control involuntarily. ANSWER: The launch was illegal. In order to launch a plasma torpedo, you must have an available control channel on the impulse of launch. The WYN player would have needed to first drop control of two drones to launch the two plasma torpedoes. Now, he could have managed to get all eight seeking weapons on the board by doing something like this: Launch two plasma torpedoes and four drones on one impulse. On the following impulse, release the plasma torpedoes to their own tracking, and then launch two more drones. Or, with five drones on the board, launch a single plasma torpedo on one impulse, and launch the other one the following impulse, after releasing the first one. But with six drones on the board, he cannot launch his plasma torpedoes without dropping control of at least one of them. Brendan Lally asks: If I have six drones in flight in my modified WYN auxiliary tournament cruiser can I launch two plasma-F torpedoes from a range greater than five (like a passive launch) without having to use control channels? ANSWER: Nice try, but no, see rule (D19.224).
Lieutenant Kilgore asks: I blew up the Gorn ship before it launched its plasma torpedo. Can it still launch it? ANSWER: No. F&E Q&A
HEAVY QUESTIONS ON VHP PODS Q: Does the VHP overload Kzinti, Klingon, or Lyran LTTs under (517.41) because it uses the same rule (517.36)? Or is this not a weight issue? Rule (530.225) seems to indicate single weight but this implication of (517.36)-(last sentence) and (517.41) (last sentence) seem to conflict with that concept.
A: No, the VHP is constructed similarly to other pods that do not overload LTTs. Q: Can the Lyran VHP pod be mixed with other pods? A: No. The VHP is, based on (517.36), a pod that cannot be mixed with other pods. Q: Can a Lyran VHP pod (530.23) (which is a single weight pod) perform an R+R mission by being mounted on one tug with a Klingon VHP pod that is not overloaded? A: Yes, the ability for the Klingons and Lyrans to share pods allows for this, but since the pair are single-weight pods the tug would be overloaded. While VHP pods cannot be mixed with other pods, putting two VHPs on a single tug is allowed, but would be overloaded. Since they are on one tug, it would be a single "R" Fleet Transport mission (509.1-R). Q: The last line of (517.36) states: "The VHP pods in Advanced Operations use the same rule." Is this statement general to all nationalities of VHP pods from AO or specific only to the Klingon, Kzinti, and the implied Lyran pods? Please note rule (530.225) [which has been re-numerated as (530.23) since CL#36] does not mention carriage restrictions for any empire nor does it reference rule (517.36). A: This rule is specifically for just Klingon and Kzinti pods. That includes any Klingon pods that the Lyrans use or build.
Q: Rule (530.23) gives the Lyrans a maximum limit of one VHP. The online OOB charts (711.3) PRODUCTION NOTES gives a max limit of two Lyran VHP. The online 2008 SITs show a limit of one. Which is correct? A: This rule is correct, only one VHP for the Lyrans. 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 MonthSHIFTING THE SHIELDS Shifting five points of damage from one shield to another can certainly be useful. However, it can also telegraph your intentions for the next turn, depending on which shield you shift to. Also, depending on the situation, it could result in five extra internals next turn. You might be better off reinforcing or repairing the damaged shield. You surely are not planning on showing that weak shield next turn, anyway.
That said, if you can safely do it, knock yourself out. If in the current situation you will not take more internals, and it does not matter too much if your opponent knows where you are going next turn, no problem, go for it.
Old-series Romulan ships have a primary offensive weapon in their plasma torpedoes, and secondary offensive weapons in . . . nothing. Their warp-targeted lasers are only useful defensively! As a result, their ships retain all of their offensive potential under passive fire control - and under (D19.221), the seeking plasma torpedoes can be launched under passive fire control.
"But wait!" you say, "There are so many things you cannot do without a lock-on your target!" However, this is not really applicable, here. Transporters? You do not have any, so it does not matter. Tractor beams? S-tractors and W-tractors are quite useless offensively or defensively. ECCM? Your torpedo has three points already built in. And so on. You don't need to worry about what you don't have. Given this, Warbirds and other sublight Romulan ships should go ahead and leave their fire controls off pretty much all the time. After a single turn using this, advantages abound. Under (D19.31), they receive an electronic warfare bonus of two points of ECM, but also under (D19.33), any ship attacking them suffers a five-hex range penalty! All that for no loss of offensive capability at all, and power saved! (End of SFB Tactic of the Month)
Beginning in Y174 Romulan carrier group density can be increased by converting SparrowHawk-Bs to FireHawk-Bs or NovaHawk-Bs and in Y175 SparrowHawks can be converted to FireHawk-Ms.
The SparrowHawk-B to FireHawk-B conversion gains you two points of combat potential and two points of command rating for three economic points and does not cost you any carrier production slots because the fighter group(s) of the carrier(s) converted do not increase. The same applies to the NovaHawk-B giving you three additional combat potential and a command rating nine ship over the FireHawk-B's command rating of eight, but at the cost of four economic points. The SparrowHawk to FireHawk-M gains you six points of combat potential for four economic points. The SparrowHawk is treated as an ad-hoc escort under (515.34) meaning that it loses four points of offensive combat potential. The conversion of the SparrowHawk to a FireHawk-M means the FireHawk-M is now a true escort with the added benefit of being a minor two-step conversion under (437.0). As you can build four to five SparrowHawks a turn and up to two more with minor shipyards, you can convert one or more of these ships during construction depending on the location of your war cruiser minor shipyards and minor conversion facilities under (450.0) and (431.34). Both the FireHawk-B and FireHawk-M can be repaired at a battle station. Also the NovaHawk-B can be repaired at a battle station as it qualifies for the plasma repair exception under (420.423). Obviously, this paper builds on the ideas presented in the two previous papers of the same name. (End of F&E Strategy of the Month)
A Call To Arms: Star Fleet Tactic of the Month A Call To Arms: Star Fleet's I-go-you-go initiative system rewards shooting first and disabling an opposing ship before it can fire. Dreadnoughts are great for this, because they pack a lot of firepower onto one hull and can do "in one go" what smaller ships would need two or three "goes" to do. That gives the opponent less time to react. Most dreadnoughts also have the Command +1 trait, so you will win initiative (and fire first) more often!
On the other hand, the movement initiative system rewards having a larger number of more maneuverable ships like frigates. Also, a ship which fires all of its phasers in an "alpha strike" is vulnerable to seeking weapons as it has no phasers left to fire. The solution is to balance one or two big ships with smaller ships. The smaller ships will act as "initiative sinks" during the Movement Phase, and can use their weapons during Defensive Fire to protect the dreadnought against seeking-weapon retribution. In general, move your dreadnought last and fire its weapons first.
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