Galactic Conquest(SFB)

[scourge101]

This book by Amarillo Design Bureau seems to be a nitch filler between FE and SFB.(2009)

It does require an SFB book for basic info such as ship available dates. Has anyone else read this? I am about half way through and seems to be a system of how complicated do you want to run a campaign game.

It covers everything from convoys, economics, etc....

[finarvyn]

Interesting, and I'll admit that I haven't even heard of it.

Can you give us a review, or more details than the first post? Roughly how many pages, is it well done, could I use Federation Space instead of Federation & Empire, that kind of thing.

[Falconer]

Very intriguing, indeed. Strange I hadn’t even heard of it, either (and I have been hanging around the ADB site a lot this year).

[finarvyn]

Sept 18, 2010 19:04:34 GMT -5 Falconer said:

Very intriguing, indeed. Strange I hadn’t even heard of it, either (and I have been hanging around the ADB site a lot this year).

I have, too, off-and-on. I know that sometimes a thread will pop up that talks about using SFB for a campaign game (sort of like F&E, I suppose) but I don't remember any chat about a published book that bridges the two.

[finarvyn]

Here is the SFB board I hang out in occasionally:
www.starfleetgames.com/federation/phpbb2/index.php?sid=41d31fadb0da7bde329175be1db341dc
I guess it's technically a "Federation Commander" board and not SFB, but it seems to be pretty official and has sections for SFB and "other" stuff like Federation Space.

However, this seems more useful for the current topic:
www.starfleetgames.com/discus/messages/12031/12052.html

Interesting how I forget about that second "discuss" area most of the time.

[scourge101]

Basic information : 106 pages, layout is like the commanders edition of SFB.

The overall feel seems allot like FE. It covers almost anything that could occur during a campain. The only issue is that it lacks some overall annexes, such as research and development is heavily used to gain access to better tech but there is no list of tech to research. You must read the given topic, say sensors, and dedicate research for advance sensors.

The economy can handle a complete empire from homeworld to border stations or easily lower it to a sector with limited resources. Trade routes and raiding are a big section of the book because it allows a player to handle not only his navy but a host of off map aux ships to defend planets and convoys. Many of the rules adjust with later years as basic tech grows. This represents better response times by escorts or better convoy formations.

The rules cover units that are better suited for strategic use such as Maulers, tugs, Ship construction, system limitations, and so forth. I will try to enter the table of contents to give a better idea at the bottom of this.

The big cookie in the book deals with the Andromedins galaxy gun. The idea is that they fired a neutron star at our galaxy and ripped whole sections of space apart, these become radiation zones on the strategic level and normally were they would set up their bases. I have seen these rules in play on some online boards. It does level the playing field on how they may invade nations at war for years.

The bottom line with the organization faults it is still a great tool for that campaign builder. They also included their own combat system to convert any ship into a attack/defense values from SFB though it is not FE at all.

A)General Rules
1 organization
2 scenario reports
3 combat intensity levels
4 status sheet
5 the map
6 squadrons
7 time scale
8 admiral voice
9 format of play
10 combat
11 victory conditions
12 legendary officers
13 fusion bombs
14 integrated aegis
200 unnavigable space
300 radiation zones

B economics
1 economic targets
2 trade routes
3 off map areas
4 commercial bases
5 moral and rebellion
6 aversion
7 system stability
8 Shipyards
9 scrapping / mothball
10 galactic bank
11 basic economics
12 eco exhaustion
13 restoration
14 surrender
15 orion pirates

C Strategic Operations
1 repair
2 strategic repair
3 defense forces
4 strategic minefields
5 sensors
6 cloaking
7 civilian targets
8 hidden units
9 special crew
10 foreign Tech
11 fronts
12 blockading
13 guerrilla warfare
14 espionage
15 sensor jamming
16 shock
17 research and developement
18 1st gen warp ships
19 1st gen x-ships
20 attrition units
21 2nd Gen x-ships
22 expedition fleets
23 crippled units
30 trade pacts
40 alert levels
50 troop ship
60 hospital ships

D Stategiv movement
E merchant Marine
Z Starting condition

[scourge101]

And yes there are no ship values or list all have to be generated.

I forget that some may not have many of the books for all ships/ races.

[Falconer]

So it sounds like these are someone’s house rules that got published, basically?

[scourge101]

yea a gaming group with ADB from what I read.

[putraack]

From what I understand, that's what it is: a campaign system for "make-your-own" empires. I skimmed it a few years back, and it didn't seem like my cup of tea. I have old Starfire for that kind of thing.

[hedgehobbit]

I've got this thing called the SFB Campaign Designers Handbook which sounds similar. It has tech trees and a psuedo-historical map (which is just the F&E map where everyone only gets their starting planet). It is old, from the Task Force Games era.

I got it cheap at a used book store but never really read it. I don't have much time for battles, let alone campaigns.

boardgamegeek doesn't have much info.
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/20512/star-fleet-battles-campaign-designers-handbook

[aramis]

I think (but since I have CDH, not GC) GC is F&E-hybridized with CDH... but I'm not certain.

[putraack]

CDH is more-or-less a toolbox of things you may or may not want to include when you design your own campaign. GC pretty much *is* a campaign structure, made with some of those tools.