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Alan Trevor:

Actually, I took both yours and Richard Eitzen's as attempts at humor. I just seized the opportunity to cite another event in my long and checkered play experience that others might groan over. There are very few players of this game (as far as I am aware) who have not had their "I fired four fully overloaded photon torpedoes at Range 2 and rolled four sixes" moment.

It is not that random chance always strikes at that critical moment (although I admit that I alluded it was so), it is more that those are often the most memorable moments (like failing to crush, much less even cripple, a Gorn destroyer with 12 overloaded photons).

By Gregory S Flusche (Vandor) on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - 05:59 pm: Edit

I learned real fast when playing my Medieval miniatures. That a moral check of any kind was bad!. Yes my Knights had a 1 out of 6 chance to fail. Well guess what....sigh.

By wayne douglas power (Wayne) on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - 07:35 pm: Edit

Gregory,

For Ancient miniature gaming I use DBMM 2.1 version rules (I find these rules are best for 3000 BC to 1500 AD).

(I have still had that crazy odds of rolling several 1s in a row with a D6 for combat rolls).

By Steve Cain (Stevecain) on Friday, March 22, 2019 - 09:09 pm: Edit

SPP: Tuesday, March 19, 2019 - 01:08 pm I'm guessing that they skipped the formal charges on the gunnery crew and just introduced them to the Legendary Klingon approach. Or did they just stuff them into the Photon tubes and fire them as well?

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Thursday, March 05, 2020 - 03:11 pm: Edit

There is a range of "Juggernaut Empire" SSDs in various issues of Captain's Log, as well as on the Shapeways storefront.

I was curious as to whether or not any Andromedan players here had sent their chosen set of extra-galactic invaders up against an equivalent force of Juggernaut Empire opponents; and, if so, whether you find the differences in technology to have worked in your favour or not.

Unlike the split between Motherships and satellite ships, the Juggernaut Empire warships scale more "normally" from one hull type to another. But then, the same is true for the Souldra (another "strange" invading force which the Andromedans had to deal with), though the technological mismatches are even more pronounced in those encounters, for both sides.

Also, as noted by SPP elsewhere on the BBS, dissection beam damage works "normally" against Juggernaut electrostatic armour, in that said armour is no longer "there" to be repaired once it is sliced away by dissection beam fire. Which might put a premium on catching a Juggernaut ship out of whichever arc it happens to have its rotating shield set in at the time the DSB fire is being lined up. (That is, should the Andros actually have DSBs available to wield in the first instance.)

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Monday, November 30, 2020 - 02:58 pm: Edit

Hello,

I am picking up the game again after being away from it for awhile and am fascinated by the many new "toys." I had always been a fan of the Andromedans and have really enjoyed some of the new options in Module C3A. However, one that continues to puzzle me is the dissection beam. I am unable to come up with a situation where they are worth it. Each dissection beam replaces two heavy TRs, and it seems to me that doing 30-40 points of repairable damage is virtually always going to be better than 15-20 points of non-repairable damage. In addition, because the target has to be held by a tractor beam, you are potentially sacrificing a third heavy TR by using dissection beams.

Lastly, the damage that is scored is probably going to be less impactful. Since 5 - 9 are by far the most likely rows to come up on the DAC, you miss out on all the one-time hits on the other rows and instead end up having all the damage burn through hull boxes.

What am I missing?

Thanks.

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Saturday, February 13, 2021 - 03:33 pm: Edit

I posted the above question on dissection beams a couple of months ago and never heard anything. Thought I would refresh the posting.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Saturday, February 13, 2021 - 05:22 pm: Edit

John H. William:

I agree that you are potentially sacrificing a third heavy tractor beam, but that potential is offset somewhat that a satellite ship can grab the target in a light TR beam, and most large Andromedan Motherships (which carry the device) have a tractor beam (only the Conquistador variant does not).

From a standpoint, the damage is pretty good, and you do not need to narrow salvo (you want extra to hit die rolls) so that the target can be usefully and perhaps fatally damaged. You should consider that you only need one 10 or one 4 to usefully strip the target of a warp engine.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Saturday, February 13, 2021 - 05:23 pm: Edit

John H. William:

I agree that you are potentially sacrificing a third heavy tractor beam, but that potential is offset somewhat that a satellite ship can grab the target in a light TR beam, and most large Andromedan Motherships (which carry the device) have a tractor beam (only the Conquistador variant does not).

From a standpoint, the damage is pretty good, and you do not need to narrow salvo (you want extra to hit die rolls) so that the target can be usefully and perhaps fatally damaged. You should consider that you only need one 10 or one 4 to usefully strip the target of a warp engine.

Regular TR beams cannot do that.

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Saturday, February 13, 2021 - 06:26 pm: Edit

Ok. So in essence the DB is a high risk, high reward weapon. A 2, 3 or 4 or 10, 11 or 12 could be devastating, but that's only going to happen 33% of the time. Conversely, there's a 67% chance that its damage will be almost entirely hull boxes. Then you decide if that's a risk worth taking.

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Thursday, November 25, 2021 - 10:33 pm: Edit

Is there a good place to look at a detailed example of an andromedan "sneak attack" with sat ships? It seems like a limit of speed 10 coupled with a firing delay makes launched sat ships super weak.

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Friday, November 26, 2021 - 09:49 am: Edit

Hi Ginger,

I wouldn't say they're "super weak," but they do need to be used carefully to be effective. As you note, they are pretty helpless for the four impulses it takes for their fire control to activate. To counter this, you need to do a few things:

One, immediately begin erratic maneuvers (see G19.442). Since they're limited to speed of ten, they'll have plenty of energy for it. This will increase the chances that they'll survive long enough to fire.

Two, be very selective about where/when you place them. Placing a satellite ship in the front arc of a battle cruiser is a death sentence. Instead, place the satellite ship behind or to the side of the target ship such that few weapons can be brought to bear or place the satellite ship next to a ship that has already fired most/all of its weapons. For example, wait until the target fires at the mother ship and then immediately launch the satellite ship. This gives it a chance to live long enough to fire itself. This has a second advantage. The threat of having a satellite ship launched may force your opponent to keep some weapons in reserve, reducing the number that will fire at the mother ship. If you don't launch the satellite, those weapons are essentially wasted on that turn.

Three, judiciously use pseudo satellite ships. They're expensive so you can't use too many of them, but they are a good way to keep your opponent off balance. Ideally, you will drop a PSS and your opponent will fire enough weapons at it to destroy a true satellite ship. Immediately after that launch the real satellite ship. By now the target will have far fewer weapons - increasing the chances of survival for the satellite ship. Another option is to launch both the PSS and the true satellite simultaneously. Your opponent won't know which is which and will have to treat them both as threats. Again, this will shift some of his fire away from the true satellite ship.

None of these options is fool proof, but they should help your satellite ships live long enough to do some damage of their own.

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Friday, November 26, 2021 - 11:44 am: Edit

I should have mentioned that because a PSS can't use EM, having the satellite use EM automatically reveals it as a true satellite. So if you regularly use a PSS, you may also need to think about when it pays to use EM and when it pays to keep things uncertain.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Friday, November 26, 2021 - 02:39 pm: Edit

>> place the satellite ship next to a ship that has already fired most/all of its weapons

Along the same lines, it can be also effective to place a satellite ship in a firing position into an enemy ship's downed shield, particularly if the enemy ship has turned away to protect that shield and no other friend ships can fire into it.

--Mike

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Friday, November 26, 2021 - 03:27 pm: Edit

Thanks! My brain was stuck in "line" mode. I wasn't thinking about different angles and hitting down shields.

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Sunday, December 05, 2021 - 03:54 pm: Edit

The DMX is a wee bit power hungry. 60 battery fades fast if you're arming everything and trying to do any decent level of speed. But when you have an EM the released power goes to it first.

How is an EMO best used when you need to gain power but don't want to leave it on the battlefield as an easy target?

By John M. Williams (Jay) on Sunday, December 05, 2021 - 08:15 pm: Edit

Based on your opening statement, I assume you are looking to drop PAs to shift power to batteries while still having an EM for later use. One possibility would be to transport it five hexes in front of you on the impulse before you drop PAs. Then, when you drop PAs, the power can go to the batteries. Once you've transferred the power, use another transporter to bring it back onboard. Since it was placed in front of you, it will still be within transporter range even though you have to wait eight impulses before recovering it.

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Sunday, December 05, 2021 - 09:53 pm: Edit

Thanks again!

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 - 05:22 pm: Edit

COQ vs RAV... Thoughts? The difference is the COQ has 2xTRH while the RAV has one TRH and 2xTRL. The RAV gives a little more choice in target selection at the cost of a little average damage and extra power. When would you choose which and why?

I'm going up against a Hydran ranger and will likely take the RAV to let me hit more fighters at once but I'm not a fan of the extra cost to arm. Sure there's tons of batteries but this will run dry if he plays it smart.

By John L Stiff (Tarkin22180) on Friday, October 21, 2022 - 11:19 am: Edit

Whichever Andro you decide on will face a tough opponent. I would recommend the COQ. The 2xTRH are better at range 4+. The Hydran's goal is to fire at range 3 or less. Do a practice roll for the Hydran and fighters at range 3. You will see that the alpha attack will cripple your Andro. Even at range 3, those fusions and gatling phasers will dish out a lot of damage.

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Friday, October 21, 2022 - 01:22 pm: Edit

We have a new player joining and will be doing a teaching battle instead of our duel so the Andros go into my back pocket for now.

I agree completely on range 3. My plan was to cripple fighters from range 8. TRLs + phaser-2s are good at that. It would have been a slow match as I cripple three every other turn while constantly maneuvering and displacing so as to avoid being cornered. Of course, if he used booster packs to try and keep up then I can cripple more of them with some lucky phaser-2 shots.

The big challenge would be power management. I have to go fast enough to keep away but can't spend too much or I'll drain myself dry.

By John L Stiff (Tarkin22180) on Friday, October 21, 2022 - 11:59 pm: Edit

Do you play with EM (Erratic Movement)? Fighters love to use EM while approaching.

Note that Fusion Beams do the same damage at range 3 as at range 10.

Are you using a fixed map? This favors the Hydran. A floating map favors the Andro.

One risky tactic for the Andro is to attempt to displace the Hydran away from you, allowing you to get closer to the FTRs.

The converse is true, displacing the Hydran toward you. A close shot while the Hydran Fire Control is disrupted is your goal.

In both cases, there is the chance that the displacement device fails. And you give up being able to display yourself away (Unless you have more than 1 displacement device).

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Saturday, October 22, 2022 - 11:29 am: Edit

We would have been using tournament rules so no EM.

The RAV and COQ both have 2 DisDevs. They would be used on myself. Displacing him is too likely to either fail outright or not move him far enough in the right direction. They're also much more likely to be needed for defense on a fixed map.