|
Post by Falconer on Jan 31, 2010 14:37:23 GMT -5
[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=bgcolor,Blue][atrb=width,99%][cs=2]Federation | | [rs=27] | 3 x Heavy Cruiser | 6 x Shuttle | 3 x Command Cruiser | 3 x Light Cruiser | 3 x Dreadnought | [cs=2] | [atrb=bgcolor,Black][cs=2]Klingon | 3 x D6 Battlecruiser | 3 x Shuttle | 3 x D7 Battlecruiser | 9 x Drone | | [atrb=bgcolor,White][cs=2]Gorn | 3 x Heavy Cruiser | 3 x Shuttle | 3 x Light Cruiser | 9 x Plasma Torpedo | | [atrb=bgcolor,White][cs=2]Miscellaneous | 1 x Base Station | 1 x Planet Crusher | | 1 x Space Amoeba | | 1 x Planet | | [atrb=bgcolor,Red][cs=2]Romulan | 3 x Warbird | 3 x Shuttle | 3 x War Eagle | 2 x Nuclear Space Mine | 3 x Klingon/Romulan Cruiser | 9 x Plasma Torpedo | | [atrb=bgcolor,White][cs=2]Kzinti | 3 x Strike Cruiser | 3 x Shuttle | 3 x Light Cruiser | 18 x Drone |
The left column of this list is for ships, the right column for all else. Components in italics are for optional rules only.
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on Jan 31, 2010 14:55:51 GMT -5
IV. STARSHIP TYPES AND CLASSES This game includes some 13 types and classes of Starships. Each of these have certain special rules required to use them within the framework of the rules. (43.0) FEDERATION SHIPS Included in this game are four types of Starships used by the Federation. These include the Dreadnought, the Command Cruiser, the Heavy Cruiser and the Light Cruiser. (43.1) The Dreadnought is easily the most powerful ship in the game (about 50% more powerful than the Cruisers). While STAR FLEET BATTLES is intended to be a game of Cruisers, the inclusion of this ship gives players a feel for the more powerful ships. The Dreadnought is divided by the dashed lines into a Forward or Primary Hull and an Aft or Secondary Hull. Naturally, “forward” hits are scored on the Forward section and “Aft” hits on the After section. (43.2) The Command Cruiser is an uprated version of the standard Heavy Cruiser. The SSD’s for the CC and CA are on the same sheet, with modifications made (see 43.3) for the CA. (43.3) To convert the Command Cruiser SSD to a Heavy Cruiser SSD, mark off the following systems: Flag Bridge, Auxiliary Power Reactor, and the Phaser bank in the Secondary Hull. (43.4) The Light Cruiser is a rebuilt Hull that is over 100 years old. The ships originally fought in the First Romulan War, and these aging veterans are still filling a vital hole in the Fleet, performing missions that do not require a Heavy Cruiser. All hits which penetrate the Shields are scored against the Armor if this has not been previously destroyed. The Armor was installed in the ship before Shields were developed.
(44.0) NOTES ON OTHER STARSHIPS This game includes, besides the Federation, ships from four other races/states. These are the Klingon Empire, the Kzinti Hegemony, the Gorn Confederation and the Romulan Republic. The ships of each are described below. (44.1) KLINGON EMPIRE SHIPS The Klingon Empire is represented by the D6 and D7 class Battlecruisers, which use the same SSD and basically the some Hull. Klingon BC’s are divided into a Boom section and a main section. The main section is further subdivided into the Hull and superstructure, but this has no particular effect on the game. The SSD is for the D7 class ship (which is the more powerful one). To convert this ship to the D6 class, simply eliminate the two wing Phasers. Note also that the D6 ship is limited to a range of 22 hexes on its Disruptor Bolts, while the D7 may fire to ranges of 30 hexes. Both types have an Impulse Engine located in the Boom, which is marked as “AUX. BOOM ENGINE.” This Engine may be used for power, but may not be used for movement. It is intended to be used to move the Boom as a separate element from the Main Hull. Note that this Engine is required for Boom Separation (38.0). (44.2) KZINTI HEGEMONY SHIPS The Kzintis are represented by their Strike Cruiser and Light Cruiser. The Kzintis consider Drones to be their main armament, however, they also carry Phasers and Disruptor Bolts. The two Phasers in the Forward Hull are Offensive Phasers, while the other ten Phasers are Point Defense Phasers. No SSD is provided for the Kzinti Light Cruiser. Certain boxes on the Strike Cruiser SSD are shaded. These are eliminated to convert the Strike Cruiser SSD to the Light Cruiser SSD. (44.3) ROMULAN SHIPS The Romulans are represented in the game by three ship types. The Warbird is an old type from over 100 years ago. These ships were originally constructed during the First Romulan War, and some of those in use during the time of the game were built during that period. The War Eagle is a modem refit of the older Warbird, with additional equipment and a change to Warp power. The SSD given is for the War Eagle. To convert this to the Warbird, ignore (or cross out) the shaded boxes (representing the Warp Engines, Phasers, Transporters and Tractor Beams). In the case of both ship types, hits that penetrate the Shields are scored against the Armor. In these ships, Forward and Aft Hull hits are scored against the Hull boxes on the SSD. The ships are critically undersized, and despite the revision to the War Eagle class are not capable of standing up in combat to another Cruiser. However, when operated in groups of three and able to surround the opponent, they are assured at least one Plasma Torpedo hit since the target ship would be surrounded by faster weapons. Usually, one good burst of fire from any Cruiser will cripple a Warbird or War Eagle. Their one saving grace is the Cloaking Device. The Phasers on the War Eagle represent a further upgrading of the class, and have not been installed on all ships. Players should use or ignore these as they wish, to balance the game or try out the later model. The Klingon/Romulan Cruiser, however, is one of the most powerful ships in the game. The KR Cruiser was built on a Klingon D6 type Hull. To convert the Klingon Battlecruiser SSD to the KR, eliminate the Wing Phasers, the Security Stations, Drone Racks and one Disruptor Belt box from each Engine pod. The three Forward Phaser boxes are considered to be Offensive Phasers. The four Waist Phasers are still Offensive/Defensive Phasers. The two remaining Disruptor Bolt boxes are used as Plasma Torpedo launchers. The KR uses Gorn Plasma Torpedoes and all rules associated with them due to the lack of space in the engine pods. The Cloaking Device has been installed on this class. (44.4) GORN CONFEDERATION SHIPS The Gorns are represented in the game with both Heavy and Light Cruisers. There is no SSD for the Light Cruiser. Certain boxes on the Heavy Cruiser SSD are shaded, and are eliminated to convert the SSD to the CL. The Hull boxes in the central area of the Heavy Cruiser may be checked off for either Forward or Aft Hull hits, whenever all Hull boxes in the Forward saucer section and Alt saucer sections are eliminated. (44.5) BASE STATION The Base Station included with the game is an “average” Base of the type used as a frontier outpost by all five races. The Base is treated in every respect as a Starship, except that it can never move (as it has no Engines). Because of its massive size, it cannot be Tractor Beamed. The “TORP” box on the SSD is used as a Photon Torpedo on Federation Bases, a Plasma Torpedo on Gorn and Romulan bases and as a Disruptor Bolt on Kzinti and Klingon Bases. In all cases, the Phasers are assumed to be OFFENSIVE PHASERS. Facing for the Base may be arbitrarily established as a given direction, or the players may prefer to have the Base “rotate” each turn, changing its “forward” direction 60 degrees clockwise at the start of each turn.
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on Jan 31, 2010 15:07:29 GMT -5
If you are interested in playing miniatures in place of the counters, all the figures you would need (with the exception of the Space Amoeba) are available from the current publishers of SFB. The ships that are indented use the same SSD as the ship above it. Sometimes they also use the same mini, in which case no link is given. Ships: Other Units: Decals:
|
|
|
Post by finarvyn on Jan 31, 2010 16:51:38 GMT -5
Nice thread, Falconer. I started to format the Word doc of the rules, but I see you've been busy as well! :-)
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on Jan 31, 2010 23:19:13 GMT -5
Yes, I did put a lot of work into this thread, thank you for noticing. (*bumped!*)
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on Jan 31, 2010 23:30:47 GMT -5
I guess it doesn’t really invite much comment, really. I’m just a really visual learner, so I like to lay things out in lists and graphs and thus commit them to memory. Although the section on ships, like the Designer’s Notes, comes near the end of the rule booklet, it is the part that really hooks me.
|
|
|
Post by finarvyn on Feb 1, 2010 13:26:40 GMT -5
I agree that Designers Notes are pretty neat. I like to get inside the head of a designer to see what helped them make certain decisons of design. I know that I tinker all of the time, and I often wonder if "real" game designers go through the same process as I do...
|
|
|
Post by Aaron on Feb 1, 2010 14:27:00 GMT -5
Just wondering if you knew that the guys that do SFB sell countersheets. The ones for Federation Commander are much better (and bigger).
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on Feb 1, 2010 14:56:19 GMT -5
Well, I purchased a Designer’s Edition (1979) boxed set, and look forward to playing it soon with the Pocket Edition (1979) rules. I just want to keep it as simple as possible for now; later, we’ll see. I’m intrigued, but I don’t see it becoming a major hobby; rather, more just a fun little board game. The Pocket Edition rulebook seems manageable to me. As far as counters, I was thinking of investing in a fleet of miniatures over time, but I would be open to new counters, too. Would it be doable, with what’s available for the current Federation Commander, to reconstruct the particular mix of counters from the Pocket Edition?
|
|
|
Post by hedgehobbit on Feb 2, 2010 12:48:23 GMT -5
One product they have which is called "Megahex" for some strange reason is a just countersheets with 1" counters. It has most of the major ship types so should cover what's in the pocket box. It's $20 which is high for what it is. That's true for most SFB stuff. store.starfleetstore.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=4501&Category_Code=SCR Being older, I prefer the bigger hex sheets. I also makes drones/shuttles/plasmas stand out better since you can use the smaller counters for them. You end up with less clutter. Does the version you have come with the templates for using miniatures? I have them but I forget what product they came it. I've got SFB stuff from 20+ years all jumbled together.
|
|
|
Post by Falconer on Feb 2, 2010 12:57:47 GMT -5
I don’t think so. It definitely seems to assume you are using the counters. But I’m not sure what you mean by templates. If I were going the Federation Commander route, I would probably grab Briefing #2 and Booster Pack #91. On the other hand, I don’t really have any intent to play FC—I’m pretty happy with OSFB—so all I’m really interested in getting is miniatures and maybe some mounted map boards.
|
|
|
Post by finarvyn on Feb 2, 2010 14:58:26 GMT -5
Yes, I did put a lot of work into this thread, thank you for noticing. By the way, I'm in awe of your tables. Doing tables like that is pretty tricky on proboards, unless you have some sneaky ninja table-fu tricks I don't know.
|
|
|
Post by aramis on Feb 3, 2010 19:02:42 GMT -5
The miniatures movement templates, properly called Turn Gauges, are linked to the turn-modes.
Turn mode 1 is 2" diameter, marked every 2" along the edge Turn mode 2 is 4" diameter, again, marked every 2" along the edge Turn mode 3 is 6" diameter, again, marked every 2" along the edge Turn mode 4 is 8" diameter, again, marked every 2" along the edge etc.
|
|
|
Post by hedgehobbit on Feb 4, 2010 11:27:06 GMT -5
I dug through my stuf and the Turn Guages (and other templates) came in Module W which had the map with 1" hexes. I couldn't find it for sale on starfleetgames.com and I think I bought it at a game store. Besides the turn guages there are a couple other things, the one I remember is the Klingon wing phaser firing arcs.
|
|
|
Post by aramis on Feb 4, 2010 12:31:15 GMT -5
The klingon arcs are in (IIRC) rule D4. Just run them to the nearest 15°, and add 5° to each end of the FX arc.
|
|