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Omega Playtest Rulebook version 3 feedback/discussion thread

 
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Nerroth
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PostPosted: Tue May 06, 2014 10:13 pm    Post subject: Omega Playtest Rulebook version 3 feedback/discussion thread Reply with quote

With version 3 of the FC Omega Playtest Rulebook now available, please post any comments, criticisms, or other thoughts about the latest revision to the file in this thread.

(Any topics on the broader issue of the Omega project for FC should be posted here instead.)
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Nerroth
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PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 1:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As noted elsewhere, the version 3 file includes a "bonus" Ship Card.

But there is one minor detail that is on there which I hadn't thought of when doing the main v3 file itself (to which the bonus card was added later on).

If you look at the Weapons Used track for the bonus ship, you'll see that the TM launchers are added in (they are absent from the equivalent tracks on the Maesron ships in the file proper, due to an oversight on my part), and that I've grouped them into a single box, like this:

[Y Z]


The reason why I did this was to show that the racks are paired, and that you can only launch from one rack per pair in a given turn. (I got the idea from how the rear-firing Plasma-Fs are shown on ISC Ship Cards, as shown here.)

Any future ships with an odd number of TM launchers would still list the "spare" rack separately, though it would still only be able to launch once every second turn.

So, were there to be a Ship Card for the Maesron CAF, the TM portion of its Weapons Used track might look something like this:

[X Y][Z]


Does that look like it might work?

(I'm not able to make the boxes look the same way here that they do over on the BBS...
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Nerroth
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 3:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

From the discussion thread:

Quote:
It says in the rules "you may pay the three Energy Points otherwise due in the Energy Allocation of the Third Turn during the Offensive Fire Phase (1E2d) of a given impulse in the turn." Does that mean the same as paying at the time of firing like the Tachyon Gun does or am I missing something?


Yes, it refers to paying at the time of firing. (Well, technically it's paying to have that time of firing, but the mechanic is essentially the same.)

Quote:
Also, can you look into disallowing implosion bolts from being able to use directed targeting. Technically, they don't overload but it's just a little too good as is.


Generally, the only non-overloaded weapons which cannot use Directed Targeting are those which spread their damage over multiple shield facings (like PPDs).

While the implosion bolt is a powerful weapon, its closest Alpha Octant equivalents (bolded -S or -R torps) can still use Directed Targeting themselves. But then, thoee weapons are much less accurate than an IB.

I might need more feedback on this one, to see how the Trobrin hold up in playtest with the rule as is stands.
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Garydee
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 23, 2015 7:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nerroth wrote:
From the discussion thread:

Quote:
It says in the rules "you may pay the three Energy Points otherwise due in the Energy Allocation of the Third Turn during the Offensive Fire Phase (1E2d) of a given impulse in the turn." Does that mean the same as paying at the time of firing like the Tachyon Gun does or am I missing something?


Yes, it refers to paying at the time of firing. (Well, technically it's paying to have that time of firing, but the mechanic is essentially the same.)

Quote:
Also, can you look into disallowing implosion bolts from being able to use directed targeting. Technically, they don't overload but it's just a little too good as is.


Generally, the only non-overloaded weapons which cannot use Directed Targeting are those which spread their damage over multiple shield facings (like PPDs).

While the implosion bolt is a powerful weapon, its closest Alpha Octant equivalents (bolded -S or -R torps) can still use Directed Targeting themselves. But then, thoee weapons are much less accurate than an IB.

I might need more feedback on this one, to see how the Trobrin hold up in playtest with the rule as is stands.


Okay, that's fair. Implosion bolts are more powerful than photon torpedoes and the fact that they don't need reserve power to fire on the second turn like in SFB makes them even more fearsome. I guess the only thing that keeps them in check are their firing arcs. If these weapons fired in the FA the Trobrin would have completed the "silicate plan" many year ago. Laughing
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Nerroth
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 24, 2015 10:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, the Trobrin do lack a certain degree of flexibility on a campaign level. As with the pre-war Klingon Deep Space Fleet, the Trobrin have a fairly notable gap between their frigate leader and heavy cruiser classes. While the Maesrons, Probr, and FRA have destroyers and light cruisers to help round out their respective star navies, the Empire has to make do with its "top-heavy" fleet instead.
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Nerroth
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 5:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I did a little playtesting with the FRA last night. One thing I'm noticing is that the Armored Cruiser is over pointed at 125. It seems to match up evenly with the 115 point cruisers from the other races. I think the problem stems from in SFB where it's a faster ship than the other cruisers(speed 29 vs. 27) and it's worth the extra points but doesn't have that speed advantage in FC. Just my two cents.


Which ship (or ships) did you test the CLA against, and how did the rules for either side settle in s far?

As for the point cost, I agree that the lack of speed limits in FC (or the need to allocate warp power to photon arming) makes for a somewhat different dynamic than in SFB. But I'm not sure I'd be in too much of a hurry to adjust the point values just yet, without more feedback on how the playtest Omega empires are settling in to the game system.
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Garydee
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nerroth wrote:
Quote:
I did a little playtesting with the FRA last night. One thing I'm noticing is that the Armored Cruiser is over pointed at 125. It seems to match up evenly with the 115 point cruisers from the other races. I think the problem stems from in SFB where it's a faster ship than the other cruisers(speed 29 vs. 27) and it's worth the extra points but doesn't have that speed advantage in FC. Just my two cents.


Which ship (or ships) did you test the CLA against, and how did the rules for either side settle in s far?

As for the point cost, I agree that the lack of speed limits in FC (or the need to allocate warp power to photon arming) makes for a somewhat different dynamic than in SFB. But I'm not sure I'd be in too much of a hurry to adjust the point values just yet, without more feedback on how the playtest Omega empires are settling in to the game system.


I've tried the FRA against all of the cruisers in the playtest packet and against the Kolighar CA. The CLA Seems to be pretty even with the Maesron, Probr(a 122), and Kolighar cruisers. Seems to lose to the Iridani Galleon regularly(which it should) and gets curb stomped by the Trobrin CA(which it should). I think the rules do work well. The only complaint I have is with the implosion bolt. (which I go into detail below)


Last edited by Garydee on Thu Feb 26, 2015 11:41 pm; edited 3 times in total
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Garydee
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[quote="Nerroth"]
Quote:

I posted my reply in the version 3 feedback/discussion thread.

On a broader note, I imagine one thing to keep an eye on further down the line is how the Koligahr might take to FC, in terms of not being burdened by the need to allocate warp power to arm their heavy weapons they way they need to do in SFB.

But then, the same is the case for each empire with weapons that require warp power over in SFB, to include the Federation, FRA, and Baduvai.



I've tried the Kolighar using the rules you put up and I'd say that they're fine. They weren't the strongest faction in SFB Omega anyways so any boost they're given really doesn't hurt the game. However, there are issues with the Trobrin implosion bolt. The ability to fire every IB on the ship in two turns is a little too good. I've thought up to two house rules to combat this. Option one: You may only fire half(rounded up) of the IBs on the ship during turn 2 of arming. The other half you wait till turn 3. It's a little fiddly for FC but it approximates what a Trobrin IB can do in SFB. Option 2: You may fire the a number of IBs on turn 2 equal to every 3 batteries that the ship has. This approximates SFB very accurately. Unfortunately, this is even more fiddly than option 1.
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Garydee
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are using tachyon guns considered an overload? It's called a "psuedo-overload" in the rules. I'm not quite clear on this.
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Nerroth
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I might have to think a bit longer regarding what to do about the IBs.

As for TGs, the mechanic is broadly similar to an overload, in the sense that you can "top up" a shot (if within range of a higher arming level) at the instant of firing. But since it's not technically an overload as other weapons use it, the "pseudo-overload" tag is used instead.

Or, as (OE3.35) in the 2011 OMRB puts it:
Quote:
Tachyon guns have no overload function, although adding large amounts of energy into a given warhead can simulate overload effects.

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Garydee
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nerroth wrote:
I might have to think a bit longer regarding what to do about the IBs.


Thanks for looking into this. Btw, one ship that is getting too much benefit from the current rules is the Bolt Frigate in Module 2. It has 2 IBs and neither one can be fired in two turns because it has has only 2 batteries. In FC it can fire both of them in turn 2. Generally speaking, about half of a ship's IBs can be fired in two turns in SFB.
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Nerroth
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 13, 2016 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There was a question about certain Omega seeking weapons (over in SFB) elsewhere on the forum. Rather than derail that thread, I thought it better to address the topic here.


In SFB, a HEAT can be pre-programmed to change its target mid-flight. However, this cannot be done while the torpedo is in flight; it has to be written (in secret) beforehand.

Tachyon missiles in SFB may equip a re-programmable guidance module (RGM) from Y192 onwards; it allows a TM to be re-targeted once per turn. Unlike with HEATs, this can be done mid-flight; however, the controlling ship must be within eight hexes of the missile in question.

While the Vari particle splitter torpedo in SFB automatically splits into two, three, or four sub-warheads (depending on the initial warhead strength) after its eighth movement. The sub-warheads must have their targets pre-programmed prior to launch; only one of the sub-warheads may continue tracking the original target.


For the time being, I've left out the HEAT re-tracking rules, not least since FC tends to frown on "secret" or "hidden" orders. I would not be in a hurry to make RGMs available to tachyon missiles, either. The Vari are not yet in FC, so I haven't yet worked out how the PST would be handled here.
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