Federation Commander

As to Archduke's comment about purchasing because of seeing free samples available online...that's what the Communiques are all about. They provide free insights into the game and also offer user-printable ship diagrams.

I just wish I didn't have to have this same conversation every week. It tends to make me cranky and I don't like being cranky.

Mike West -

I suggest adding a locked sticky [READ THIS FIRST] topic on the main page of the forum with a few FAQ type questions and their brief answers, such as:
PDF's (nope, not anytime soon)
X-Ships (someday, but not anytime soon).
Why don't Klingon ships have photon torpedoes?
Etc. etc.

This would be kind of like the existing consolidation and CRUL threads in Rules Questions, just right up front on the doorstep.

I've seen lots of other php forums that do this to try and quell the storm of questions from new people. It's gets them the answers without the "old" members getting testy and might help keep the Games Overworked Designer 's blood pressure down a bit.

Plenty of people will ignore it, but quite a few will skim it and find what they want. I know it's the first thing I look for when I join a new group or forum. It's a more proactive approach than telling new people they should have searched before posting (which is always true, but often forgotten in the heat of "I need an answer").

I have toyed with this idea for a while. I will try to at least get something prelimary up this week.

Mike wrote:As to Archduke's comment about purchasing because of seeing free samples available online...that's what the Communiques are all about. They provide free insights into the game and also offer user-printable ship diagrams.

Actually Mike, I think First Missions fits the mold better. Baen's Free Library is the brainchild of author Eric Flint. Basically, they have some of their more popular authors give permission to post the first book or two of a series on the free library. The point is to get people interested and then buy the rest of the series and possibly other books by the same Author. So for example, David Drake put up "On Basilisk Station" as the 1st book in the Honorverse and Eric Flint put up 1632 as the 1st in the 16XX series. I read those two books for free and then went out and bought pretty much the rest of those series (which between them total something like 25 or 30 books right now).

Federation Commander:First Missions follows the same paradigm. Post enough of the game as a free download so people can see they like it and then get them to buy into the series.

Eric Flint is adamantly opposed to DRM. He actually writes a semi-regular column for Baen's free e-zine called "Salvoes Against Big Brother" where he discusses copyright enforcement and DRM.

Archduke Russell John I wrote:[So for example, David Drake put up "On Basilisk Station" as the 1st book in the Honorverse and Eric Flint put up 1632 as the 1st in the 16XX series.

I think David Weber does the Honorverse (which I haven't read).

junior wrote:

Archduke Russell John I wrote:[So for example, David Drake put up "On Basilisk Station" as the 1st book in the Honorverse and Eric Flint put up 1632 as the 1st in the 16XX series.

I think David Weber does the Honorverse (which I haven't read).

You are correct sir, Mea Culpas.

I can highly recommend the Honor Harrington series as an excellent read. There's also a game system out there, but something that involves "an easily understood vector mechanics systems to allow you to recreate the battles in the novels" strikes me as way too complicated. However, the books are great.

Thread highjack over.....

Sneaky Scot wrote:... the Honor Harrington series... There's also a game system out there, but something that involves "an easily understood vector mechanics systems to allow you to recreate the battles in the novels" strikes me as way too complicated...

The games is called "Saganami Island Tactical Simulator" or "SITS". It's produced by Ad Astra Games , which is owned by Ken Burnside - who worked for ADB for a time.

SITS (and it's cousins, Assault Vector: Tactical - or AV:T and Squadron Strike) all use a relatively easy to comprehend, 3-D vectored movement / targeting system. Through to use of tilt-blocks (allowing ships to be positioned in an attitude where they are rolled / pitched 30 and 60 degrees off plane (relative to the table top), combined with stacking tiles indicating the altitude (relative to the table top) allow you to maneuver / target / and fire in 3 dimensions.

It sounds and looks more complicated than it actually is. You have to walk through it 2 or 3 times to get the hang of it... but after that - the 3D movement is easy...
The hard part is learning to deal with vectored thrust...
Once you apply thrust is a direction, you continue to travel in that direction (until you reverse and cancel the thrust) or thrust in a second direction. After 25 years of SFB (and other space games) where if you didn't accelerate in a given turn, you didn't move... it's un-concerting to travel 7 hexes in direction A one turn, then turn 60 degrees (to direction B) and thrust 4 hexes and not end up 4 hexes in direction B [due to continued velocity in direction A].

For the first few games...
I was overshooting targets...
4 hexes thrust in A on turn 2 plus 4 hexes thrust on turn two leaves a speed of 8, which must be cancelled out or you zoom right past your target.
Add to this vectored thrust as you attempt to maneuver to "cross your opponents T", plus thrust in a positive / negative altitude and you really have to think your maneuvers out in advance.

And when I didn't manage to over-shoot, I was out of firing position...
I would wither be rolled to far to the right of left for my main batteries to bear...
Or I would be pitched up / down at an angle that left half of my main armaments pointed the wrong way...

Or my opponent would just flat-out, out maneuver me...
He'd come in perfectly...
Cross my T during the mid-turn firing phase, fire all weapons...
And then roll 180-degrees to bring the other broadside to bear in time for the end of turn firing phase!


All in all, though it's still a fun game and everyone should try it.
If you're going to Origins, Ken will be there teaching / demo'ing this system and you owe it to yourself to check it out.