Return to SFB -- how to play?
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Return to SFB -- how to play?
Howdy all - and yes, I see the other topic by a fellow coming back, but I wanted a different angle on things.
Like the other lad (also a Jeff..), I played SFB "back in the day".. not sure exactly when, but prior to 1994 likely. I've got some stuff in a box, SSD's and some rulebooks and expansions, though which exactly I'm not sure. (ie: Commanders? Doomsday? Doomsday sounds familiar, so thats likely what I've got.) Blue paper covers? Ah wait..
Found some of my gear -- gray paper cover "Basic" book (inch thick book) and a booklet of SSDs; I've also got a few inches thick piles of SSDs from expansions and a few expansion books (Tactics, New Worlds III, New Worls I, etc.) All the stuff is copyright 1990 or 1991 -- what set does that make it?
If I've got the Doomsday, then I guess the rules/SSD's haven't changed much? Is the Masters Rulebook still a good idea to get, if I wish to return? At any rate, I'd like to play with what I've got 'as is' for now, to see if I can manage returning in the first place (I run my own small business and work full time, so I'm swamped.. but truly miss my old gamer days 
Now, to the point of my post..
I did find SF Online here: http://www.sfbonline.com/
The client looks a little outdated, but functional, and functional is all thats needed. Do people play there? From the website, it was hard to get a lot of details -- how many games are on at a given time? How many are open to new players at any given time? Can we 'spy' on existing games to see how they're going and catch up, without buggering up our own game? It also looks real-time, and I remember a 4 player 2-on-2 game used to take 6 or 8 hours (and a lot of cola!) -- I don't think I can arrange 6 hours in one sitting (no time to play Civ III..)
Back then, we occasionally would play via BBS -- exchange order details via BBS email with a game master who'd have the board and process orders, and email back the look of board afterwards in ASWCII. (If only digital cameras existed back then ;)
Do pbem games of SFB still occur?
I'm betting everyone is tight on time, so how do you manage to play games? What options exist?
jeff
You have Captain's edition if the oldest stuff you have is (C)1990. That's good because it means you don't need to upgrade if you don't want to. If you have any products of the "Commander's Supplement" or "Volume I, II, III" then those are out of date and no good.
The SSDs have barely changed at all since then (although many new ones have been added). The Master Rulebook is a good thing for practically anyone to have, but you don't need it. With the online errata, you (theoretically) have an up to date ruleset, but since 2000 ADB has been a bit lax about actually keeping the errata up to date.
SFB Online is very handy if you are short of a group. Most games played there are tournament style, but (especially if you want to schedule in advance, or play in a campaign) you can get "regular" games as well. The client is not outdated at all (the latest revision is only a couple weeks old) but if you are looking for the latest in 3-D accelerated graphics you won't find them
Sometimes (especially during peak hours, which are evenings in the U.S.) there might be half a dozen games going on, but usually there are just 1 or 2 and at off times, none. "Open to new players" isn't really a concept that applies to SFB, but if you're looking for a game, you can usually find one (though you might have to wait a little while). SFBOL is faster than the boardgame version at some things (semi-automated EA, automatic damage) and slower at others (some players have trouble moving their pieces, but mostly because it's harder to communicate with your opponent). Overall, it's about a wash.
Therefore, if you want to play scenarios, 6 hours is about what you'll need. However, if you don't finish, you can easily save the game and play it later. Some larger battles (700+ BPV) might take four or five sessions over two weeks to play, but it's easy to do that. One advantage of tournament-style games is that they go by pretty quickly. You can play a quick tournament game in 2-3 hours. The other advantage to SFBOL is that the sort of real-world disturbances that constantly impede the tabletop game happen less often. (Someone's late, someone has to leave early, the pizza comes, someone knocks the board over, an hour of arguing over rules, an hour of pre-EA conferencing and you get two turns done over the whole day).
I am utterly baffled as to why anyone would play PBEM when SFBOL exists (I guess if you really just have no ability at all to schedule an hour or two at a time, but don't mind if your scenario takes two years to play then it would be OK), nevertheless, people do still play it.
Of course, if you live in a reasonably large city, there's probably a group in your area playing SFB. If you post in the "players wanted" topic you can probably find them.
This is only a teeny reply (and barely a reply at that!) -- I wanted to get in here and let you know I much appreciated your detailed reply. The reason I didn't get back earlire is due to some machines failures and later, storm damage, taking me off the air (among more pressing things!)
Hopefully I'll be back in operation soon!
jeff
Sheap,
PBEM is free.
People play PBEM because you have a chance to really think about what you want to do. This is particularly helpful if you don't know the rules and have to look things up frequently. If you are new and make a mistake the moderator, if willing, can help you correct it before it ruins the engagement. For the advanced player it becomes an exercise in how far you can think ahead, which is a pretty good technique for improving your play. PBEM is also quite handy to play from work as it can take as little as five minutes a day to e-mail in your tourney orders. A tourney game with reasonable turnaround takes 1-2 months. Full scale multi-player fleet battles take 1-2 years, but can stall when players are late or due to moderator overload. I can't play SFBOL because I don't have large blocks of time I can devote to play.