This is a very interesting project. And my friend Gary is correct: I had already started something like it nearly a year ago by creating a bare bones map and went so far as creating a few planets in Photoshop, one of which is currently on the ADB site. You can view it here if you’d like:

http://starfleetgames.com/ArtGallery/images/Richard%20Smith/Emblems/T'Crit_final.jpg

My approach was slightly different though; instead of just a map, I had started compiling an actual book, with full color pages, system maps, planet art with associated text on the planetary “statistics” and governing bodies, starbases, and other natural or “man-made” stellar bodies. More or less a thematic gazetteer, if you will.

It was a personal project however. I had just started it because I’m a big nerd and like this sort of nitty gritty detail. It was put on hold to pursue other things. But in my head and what I managed to get on paper (or digitally, in InDesign) was something massive. To be properly finished off, I would have printed it as a booklet with an attached, folded stellar cartography map.

It would be broken down into chapters, beginning with a table of contents, a chapter on planet classifications, then proceeding on to describe all the planets in the Octant in alphabetical order, followed with a smaller chapter on stellar phenomena and man- made structures or item of ancient origins, followed lastly by an index.

This is a weighty project though. More a labor of love that I wanted to take my time on. Nothing that could be rushed.

It sounds as if many folks have had similar ideas and have already started to implement them. It’s great to see this level of interest that doesn’t directly involve flying space ships around.

If done properly and with care this could really serve as a supplement to a role playing game expansion into Omega.

By Troy Latta (Saaur) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - 12:18 pm: Edit

So what's being changed/ updated in the OMRB? Any rules changes that could be debated? ;)

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - 01:18 pm: Edit

Guys:

This was an idea (picked up on from Gary Carney's questions in doing the Omegan Master Rulebook revision), but I have spoken with SVC (I was using initiative, and . . . well sometimes initiative is a bad thing) and he has nixed the project.

Now, before anyone gets upset, he is not doing so to be "mean" or anything. He is doing so for game development reasons.

Right now there is no current plan or intent to do an Omega Federation & Empire game. However, SVC wants to keep that option open. And this means that he wants to be able to define where capital planets and other features are so that he can make the logisitics and other features of such a game work.

The upshot is that he does not want to be bound by decisions on locations made without considering that (possible) future product.

Again, no such product (or even project) is currently on the schedule or is likely to be in the next couple of years, but SVC does not want to be committed to things without having had the chance to design the game first.

Once more, my apologies.

By Daniel K. Thompson (Dkt0404) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - 04:04 pm: Edit

Terry:
Don't see how.
highest cost for the worb fighter is 13.
Barb-2 is 14 I think.
Vari are at 12.

They are all very simular in weapons and such except maybe the barb-2.

Actually makes me scratch my head more about why the X7 is 19 points.

Hey Steve, could you shine some light on this for us please when you have the time?

thanks!

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - 05:05 pm: Edit

Range of the weapon and flexibility. The fighters (by using pods) can decide to change the loading of the HCLs to exploit vulnerabilities on the target. You have to decide what charge you have loaded the pods with, but you can change a normal explosive shot to an implosive or enveloping shot.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - 05:09 pm: Edit

In re the Omega maps.

See "SVC's Ongoing Projects"

Sub Topic "The Omega Gazeteer"

By A. David Merritt (Adm) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - 07:30 pm: Edit

On the Drex; Oooooooooo that's a nasty ability, no wonder they are so costly.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - 12:05 pm: Edit

A. David Merritt:

Sarcasm noted.

Thank you very much, it was so incredibly helpful.

By A. David Merritt (Adm) on Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - 12:27 pm: Edit

Sorry, I was not intending to be sarcastic. Being able to change the specific arming type on a fighter is a big advantage, and is reflected in it's price. Based on what had been posted before your comment, they appeared to be overpriced.

I know I often make smart alec comments, and I do understand how it could be taken as such.

By Daniel K. Thompson (Dkt0404) on Thursday, August 25, 2011 - 07:07 pm: Edit

Steve:

Really? I hadn't realized that was how those pods worked. Acutally had wondered what the ammo pods where in the first place.

Does that mean they can reload their HCLs while in flight after firing too (assuming they have sufficent pods)?

Also, you mentioned the range of the weapon; do they shoot further than range 10?

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Thursday, August 25, 2011 - 07:24 pm: Edit

Daniel K. Thompson:

The rules allow the Drex to load their fighters, then load onto their fighters the ammo pods. The fighter can be loaded with one kind of shot, the pod can be loaded with another kind of shot. At the point of firing you can decide which type of shot to use. So if your squadron drops an enemy shield using standard shots (or someone else drops the facing shield), and your fighters have implosion rounds in their ammo pods (the fighters that have not fired yet), you can switch the loading to implosive rounds to cause more internal damage. If the pods had eveloping rounds, and the target had a down shield, you could switch the load to enveloping and get the Mizia damage through the down enemy shield.

But you have to have figured out the original loading of the fighter's hypercannons and the loading of the pods at the time of launch.

The ammo pods do not provide a second shot, only the ability to change what you have loaded in the hyprecannon at the point you fire it.

The ammo pods do not reduce the speed of the fighter, but cannot be hung on the normal pod rails (which would reduce the speed of the fighter) and function.

If you do not use the loading of the pod, you do not lose it, so when you go back to the carrier you just have to reload your hypercannons, not spend extra energy reloading the pods.

The above is all listed in (OJ2.4).

Fighter Light Hypercannons have a range of 12 hexes. This is listed in (OE16.34).

By Daniel K. Thompson (Dkt0404) on Thursday, August 25, 2011 - 09:07 pm: Edit

Nifty

Thanks for explaining that. I'd missed the range 12 as well.

By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Thursday, August 25, 2011 - 10:33 pm: Edit

The Omega Master Rulebook is new on our storefront: http://store.starfleetstore.com/merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=S&Product_Code=5670&Category_Code=SOM

Young Warrior! You think you know Star Fleet Battles, with all of its tactical twists and turns. But you do not! To truly understand the game, you must understand all of the game, including the ships, empires, history, weapons,and tactics of the wild and unpredictable Omega Octant! Only then can you truly know Star Fleet Battles.

And to truly know the Omega Octant, you need this rulebook, which includes:

Every rule, chart, scenario, and ship description from all five Omega Modules.
PLUS an extensive Omega tactics section.
PLUS an updated Sequence of Play listing, including the entire Alpha Octant,the Simulators, and the Magellanic Cloud.
PLUS completely updated Annexes and new Master Ship, PF, and Fighter Charts.
PLUS all ship descriptions, rules, weapons, and scenarios for the Omega Octant that were published in Captain's Log.
PLUS the "lost" history section originally written for Module Omega Four.
PLUS each carrier as needed has an updated Escorts and Fighters Table.

This product is an updated rulebook for the five Omega Octant Modules of STAR FLEET BATTLES. You must have SFB Basic Set and the SSD books and counters from the Omega modules to use this material. Some material will also require Advanced Missions and other modules.

By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Friday, August 26, 2011 - 01:02 pm: Edit

The Omega Master Rulebook is now on e23: http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=ADB5670

By james lee boyce II (Postalpanzer) on Sunday, September 11, 2011 - 02:11 pm: Edit

Another destroyer battle taught 2 to play used loriyill ffl vs maesron dd no points for drones. Loriyill has so many phasers it has a real problem re arming them. The loriyill missed with the first 6 fireballs fired but all the phasers fired 1s and 2s were rolled. The maesron hit with its first 4 tachyons the first volley took down a shield and hit a l warp and a r warp that hurt it more than the three weapons it lost.

By Alex Lyons (Afwholf) on Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - 01:44 pm: Edit

I wonder when speed 30 Omega units will be released, that would be really nice

By Jeffrey C Hillebrandt (Darknova) on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - 12:50 am: Edit

My big question is when is the next Omega product going to be printed in the first place? I'm just getting back into SFB, and the Omega Sector has pretty much my whole interest and attention right now.

By Alex Lyons (Afwholf) on Wednesday, September 28, 2011 - 03:49 am: Edit

My group pretty much uses everything, alpha/omega/LMC/simulators all mixed into one giant game. it gets some unique matches.

By Charles Gray (Cgray45) on Friday, October 14, 2011 - 05:12 pm: Edit

Has their been any consderation of an "Omega SSD" pack for those just getting into the setting and who want to pick up the OMRB but who don't want to purchase the SSD modules as they exist since that would also include the now-redundant ship descriptions.

By George Duffy (Sentinal) on Friday, October 14, 2011 - 05:35 pm: Edit

The release of the 'Basic Set' SSDs is a big step toward having other module SSDs being converted to PDF sales.

Give it some time and see how well this is received first before asking for the Omega release
(Believe me I too eagerly await an eventual PDF format for all SSDs)

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, October 14, 2011 - 06:29 pm: Edit

I think it very likely that one of the omega books could be the second or third or fourth SSD book released.

I won't remember that in the morning so maybe somebody should tell Jean, Steve P, and Leanna.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Saturday, October 15, 2011 - 02:13 am: Edit

Actually, I was thinking that e23 might be a good way to make some of the existing Omega playtest SSDs from various Captain's Logs (and which haven't already been published in the five modules) available to new players; at some point in the future perhaps.

These units, such as the four Vari torpedo ships in CL23, have entries in the OMRB already; they'd only need the SSDs to be playable.

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Saturday, February 25, 2012 - 01:07 am: Edit

Just a note for anyone so interested; the four Omega SSDs in the recent e23 release of Captain's Log #20 are a set of civilian ships used by several empires in the Octant; the Small and Large Freighter, Passenger Liner and Express Boat. Each was originally built by the Mæsron Alliance; but as time went on, they were gradually adopted (through fair means or foul) by the Vari, Koligahr, Trobrin, Probr, Iridani, Worb, and Federal Republic.

So far, there has been no published module with these four units included; so for now, if you want them, here is where they will be.

By Peter D Bakija (Bakija) on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 12:25 pm: Edit

So is there any likelihood of a new Omega module coming out in the nearish future? I'd still like to see the late war era ship module (i.e. the one that got beat out by the PF module. It seems likely that no progress has been made on, like, the often mentioned but never seen empires, nor on, like, Omega X ships or anything. Which is all fine and reasonable. But as the late war era ships probably don't require much in the way of rules, that should be a particularly significant undertaking. Anyone?

By Peter D Bakija (Bakija) on Friday, May 04, 2012 - 03:40 pm: Edit

("shouldn't be a...")