Federation Commander

Disruptors have that advantage because they lack the shock attack of empires that use multi-turn weapons. Photons and Disruptors produce the same damage over time, but the photons do it every other turn and can penetrate the PA panel banks while the smaller impact of disruptors cannot. The two ...

The problem here is that anyone using serious drones is also probably using disruptors, and those are actually tougher to survive, in my experience. If you're up against, say, Kzinti, and you're looking at an absolutely nonsurvivable drone wave, you can maybe disdev if all else fails. But disruptors ...

ncrcalamine's estimate of a BR's chances with that weapons loadout is probably pretty accurate, but I think a lot of choosing options mounts comes down to a choice of playing style. Disruptors can be pretty nasty on an Orion because if they manage to work in close, they can double engines and ...

About the only thing I can add to the answers here is that in Fedcom, drones and seeking weapons take some skill to use well, and until you get a little experience with the game, you likely won't get a lot of use out of them. So I'd say that your experience of drones is probably about par for ...

The F5W is a nasty piece of work. I know people who will argue that it's underpointed. I don't think it is, but I've shredded a few Fed ships with them.

The F5 is a bit fragile to be dueling with anything that packs photons. This is probably not the place to reopen the debate on the feasibility of ...

SFB tactics will frequently get you shot up in Fedcom. They are two different games. I never played a lot of SFB, and in none of the games of it that I played did I ever encounter Hydrans or Lyrans. I've seen quite a bit of both in Fedcom, as I know a fellow who likes playing Hydrans, and plays them ...

I like the Middle Years a great deal. Power tends to be a bit scarce as compared to the GW era, and this can force some interesting tactical choices. Someone mentioned the weaker flank and rear shields, and yes, those are a factor as well. This era can make for a real test of skill.

Recently, I spent a pleasant afternoon introducing some new players to Fedcom. In this case there were two players who were new to the game. I keep running into pairs of new players, and once again I fell back on the Doomsday Machine, which is an introductory scenario that seems to work awfully well ...

Leonard Nimoy attained something that I suppose every actor wants, but few ever get, which was an "everybody always remembers", as in everybody who sees it always remembers it. Sometimes a role can define an actor's career to the point that it becomes a problem for the actor afterwards, and maybe ...

The words defensive and offensive can be used in misleading ways, sometimes deliberately so. A surface to air missile is often referred to as a defensive weapon, since it is used for air defense. But suppose it is being used for air defense of an airfield or missile complex from which offensive ...

markgeorgetwo wrote:

s ounds like a very good and detailed battle.

If you're referring to my post, yeah, it was a nail biter, and I had intended to write a more detailed report on it and post it here. It led me to get really interested in Klingon vs Tholian tactics. It also served as a reminder ...

It was a closely contested fight between my Klingon squadron (A DWL and two D7s), and a Tholian squadron. I was sure I was done for when a mass of drones went sailing in through a down forward shield on the Tholian dread - where all those phaser 3s don't bear. Both squadrons were pretty shot up, but ...

How far would the Feds have to run before they were assumed to be safe? Do they have to make the Neutral ZOne, or do they have to actually cross back into Federation space?

Start at range 5. Both sides have paid pre-arming costs, so that plasmas and photons are both available on turn 1 if the last ...

DNordeen wrote:

Carronades are opportunity weapons. You use them when an opportunity presents, you don't really plan to use them unless you're taking on a drone thrower. They're good for taking down drones and saving your phasers for hitting back.

All weapons are opportunity weapons. It is the ...

storyelf wrote:

Basically feds with overload photons can be dealt with due to range issues and power demands on them, but I know from experience that even the slightest mistake can quickly cost you the game in dramatic style.

I agree. Actually, one reason I don't play Feds more than I do is that ...