Rules/Turn question

[JeffK88]

My friend I finally got to play a game of FC, we are both old school SFB junkies, and was really looking forward to a streamlined game. The game went nicely and smoothly besides one thing that were both irritated with, and wanted too see if anyone experimented with optional rules. The fire sequencing, being able to only fire potentionally once every 4 moves, takes away alot from strategy/move/fire ideas. Like being able to HET when being chased to get a better range, you lose alot by having to delay your shots.

[Kang]

Hi Jeff and welcome to FC and to this forum! Glad you managed to do your first game smoothly.

What was your question?

[JeffK88]

Sorry was my message not clear enough?


Firing just seems way to restricted occurring at the end of the impulse after a ship has moved up to 4 times. Are the optional rules covering this?

[terryoc]

No, FC doesn't have any optional rules. Optional rules tend to split the player base. Yes, being able to fire only once every four impulses can be a nuisance, but not having fire decisions every impulse speeds things up. The net result is a very big emphasis on maneuver in FC. I heard somewhere the guy who has won the Origins FC tournament for the last few years is a fighter pilot.

[Savedfromwhat]

Hello Jeff,
To answer your question no there are no optional rules to include sub pulse by sub pulse firing. FC's biggest difference from SFB is the movement system (accell, decell, 4 move subpulse, baseline speeds) and the faster energy allocation. To change either of these systems would break a lot of the interactions with the game. I understand the frustration with the system compared to SFB where you might feel like you have more control over your impulses, but the impulses in FC do have a very chesslike feel that balances power with movement and timing, coming from SFB it definately takes some getting used to but in my experience is well worth it as I enjoy both games a great deal.

Saved

[Kang]

Sorry was my message not clear enough?


Firing just seems way to restricted occurring at the end of the impulse after a ship has moved up to 4 times. Are the optional rules covering this?

Ah, I get you. Sorry Looks like the other guys have fielded the question!

[Scoutdad]

Hi Jeff,

The other guys answered the questions first, but as one of the early playtesters of FC, I have to add my two Quatloos worth:

Our group came from 20+ years of SFB (and we'd played at least once a month for nearly the entire 20+ years!). Our first experiences with Fed COmm were rife with examples of units shooting past optimal range (Heck, sometimes they'd even shoot past each other) before the End of the FC Impulses presented us with an opportunity to fire. It was quite frustrating, buthte ability to luagh at hte other guy when he did the same thing made it bearable.
Eventually, we adjusted to the whole "only fire 8 times at Turn" thing and began to finesse our tactics. It does indeed take a whole new type of planning, but you will probably come to enjoy it as much as we now do.

Of course, after over a year of playing nothing but Fed Comm to get it ready for Klingon Invasion: Day One - we switched back to SFB. That was even more hilarious. The first of us to remember mid-turn speed changes received shocked looks from everyone at hte table... then when we final remembered that you could fire after every movement... Oh Boy!

Give it a go as is, you'll probably like the stream-lined rules.

[mjwest]

Firing just seems way to restricted occurring at the end of the impulse after a ship has moved up to 4 times. Are the optional rules covering this?

To simply answer the question, no, there are no optional rules. In fact, I don't even remember anyone asking about such before. Restricting the number of opportunities to fire is quite intentional. It is a deliberate design decision.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the structure of the FC impulse is more common than the structure of the SFB impulse. Most "move-fire" games I have ever played or seen allow for variable amounts of movement in any given impulse. Only SFB makes its impulse so granular that you have a "binary" movement each impulse. FC is (intentionally or not) simply following the much more common structure.

The other thing to keep in mind is that "sub-pulses" are not equivalent to SFB impulses. They are just a mechanism to handle variable movement within a single impulse. (In fact, some people simply dispense with sub-pulses and just do their movement free-form!) FC is simply less granular in its "move-fire" system than is SFB.

[storeylf]

The fire sequencing, being able to only fire potentionally once every 4 moves, takes away alot from strategy/move/fire ideas. Like being able to HET when being chased to get a better range, you lose alot by having to delay your shots.

You don't lose out on stategy etc, its simply different. It opens up other strategy/move/fire ideas etc that didn't exist before, whilst being more streamlined.

[DirkSJ]

The fire sequencing, being able to only fire potentionally once every 4 moves, takes away alot from strategy/move/fire ideas. Like being able to HET when being chased to get a better range, you lose alot by having to delay your shots.

You don't lose out on stategy etc, its simply different. It opens up other strategy/move/fire ideas etc that didn't exist before, whilst being more streamlined.

I will concur. "Different" strategy does not mean "less" strategy.

In fact I would argue there is "more" since you have more variables in movement and position between firings to take into account and thus a more complex firing solution to obtain.