The next SFB module, August 2012
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As we mentioned in Captain’s Log, this is driven by the need to print counters for Reinforcements Attack. We have to print four single-sided sheets at one time. Those would be the reprint of FCDK, the sheet for Reinforcements Attack, the sheet for Marines 2, and a sheet for a new SFB module. (We might steal half of the SFB sheet for another FC project that I have in mind since 140 will surely be plenty for a new SFB module.)
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Please do remember that anything not done in this round is still being considered for next round. The next round is designed to have a longer cycle time to give us time for one or two meaty long-development modules.
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You’re welcome to suggest (or remind us about) other SFB products but do not mention non-SFB products here as this topic is ONLY about the next SFB module.
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the nominees are:
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C? New Worlds ?
This would start with the Borak, Peladine, and/or Nicozians, and/or the GenWar Paravians from CL28.
To those we would add updated rules, some new ships, scenarios, and of course, die-cut counters.
But we’re not idiots. We know that the product won’t sell without HOT new material, specifically, a new empire.
The leading option is General War Carnivons, perhaps based in the WYN cluster or off map or in F&E hex 0101. In any case, they’d have a real shipyard and real ships, not heavily refitted captured ships and freighters.
The Xorkaelians are really not an option as they need too many pages, having ships from all time periods.
If there is another option for a new empire, we’re not sure what it is.
This is the leading candidate because it’s the easiest to do (and Petrick really wants to do it).
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X2: Second Generation X-ships
We know that this would be the biggest seller, but we need something we can define to the point of printing the counters with confidence we won’t be designing our way out of painted corners, and we don’t want to hold FC Reinforcements Attack for next year. This will require scheduling more SVC time in the basic design phase.
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A new galaxy, or a new sector.
Perhaps based on one of the playtest packs already out there.
Or perhaps a new race module in the Sargasso Storm Sector.
In either case, this is probably just too big a project to do in the time period defined by the FC Reinforcements product.
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X1R2 AKA X2B
There is a topic in which people were discussing whether there are enough unpublished SSDs from this era to be worth a product. Steve Petrick is reviewing that topic but doesn’t think there are enough ships. (Defining enough as "enough interesting ships" rather than "enough ships that nobody wants but which slip through historical cracks." [Yes, you can see a little bit of Mathew Mongoose Marketing rubbing off on me here. We need ships that interest players, not engineers or historians.) This would not be that hard to do but is only worth doing if there are enough INTERESTING new ships to do. Please, any suggestion for new ships go in the topic for this product not in the module decision topic.
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R13
Nobody wants to buy a collection of 80 ships that nobody wanted but which somehow fit into historical nooks, cracks, and crannies. To do this product, we need at least 20 or 30 truly interesting and creative ships, not just "oh my gawd that’s so big and mean it makes everything obsolete!" ships. We’re not convinced there are enough of those. This would not be that hard to do but is only worth doing if there are enough INTERESTING new ships to do. Please, any suggestion for new ships go in the topic for this product not in the module decision topic.
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Omega 6
Petrick has a plan for Omega as follows:
Three modules, each covering seven empires, giving each 10 SSDs (base, two freighters, tug, pods, ground bases, 3 warships)
Three modules with new empires: 1 (Paravian, Nucian, Vulpa), 2 (Jindarian, Loriyill, Hiver unihive), 3 (Echarri, Scon, Zosman).
Three modules providing X-ships for 1/3 of the empires. If this is done after the new empires, 10 empires per module, 7 ships each)
We could do any of the first six.
We vaguely recall that Scott Tenhoff had an idea for a module focusing on the First Great War, giving every empire a bunch of cool wartime ships. Perhaps he would remind us of this, or perhaps someone else had an idea for an Omega product.
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Y4
There is a topic in which people were discussing whether there are enough unpublished SSDs from this era to be worth a product. Steve Petrick is reviewing that topic but doesn’t think there are enough ships. (Defining enough as "enough interesting ships" rather than "enough ships that nobody wants but which slip through historical cracks.") This would not be that hard to do but is only worth doing if there are enough INTERESTING new ships to do. Please, any suggestion for new ships go in the topic for this product not in the module decision topic.
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By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 05:02 pm: Edit

Here is why we are not going to set up a poll:

First, I want to read all of the commentary, the "I want this because of that" and "If it has this I want it but otherwise no so much" stuff. A poll doesn't give me that. Frankly, a poll is just about the most useless information I could ask for. The most profitable product for ADB may well be "everybody's second choice".

Second, we collect information and watch discussions of this on three different forums (and get more by email and from other websites). Each group has a different population and different wants. A poll (if it were possible to do one in a way that produced results that meant something) on each forum would produce only the results for that forum, and the decision would be made based on a synthesis of all of the different polls, so the final decision will be different from some polls. People on a given forum could be (and historically have been) very upset when ADB "ignored the will of the people (in that forum)" and dared to consider what other groups might want.

Third, it's not "pick one" (the only thing poll can tell me) and it's not even "yes or no on each one" (which the poll could be organized to do with more trouble. The winner is going to be picked by numerous very soft and touchy factors. Which product takes too long? Which product will most people buy? Which product actually does something useful?

Fourth, the products aren’t equal. Some take more work than we have time for, but need to be mentioned so people don’t think we forgot them. Some cost more. Some open doors and others complete journeys. I’m sure that, on a "pick any one product and I will have it ready for Christmas" that X2 would be the miles ahead winner, but X2 cannot be ready that soon. X2 would win the poll but could not be picked and everybody would be upset that we didn’t pick the winner.

And it gets worse. A product name and one-line description means anything that the guy who votes for it thinks it means. We never did the "operational module" for SFB because no one could agree on what it was, and each micro-group that wanted it wanted a very different product. Not enough people wanted any one definition to make it publishable, so it never was and never will be.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, August 24, 2012 - 02:29 pm: Edit

You aren't likely to discover a new nation that took part in WW2 and went unnoticed until now.

Even Brazil sent a division of troops to Italy.

Are you really going to claim that Uruguay sent a panzer division to Stalingrad and nobody noticed until now?

By Joseph R Carlson (Jrc) on Saturday, August 25, 2012 - 03:42 pm: Edit

Are the Cyndarians mentioned in CL# 45 a possibility for C6? It seems they are extinct in the Alpha sector. Could they come from the Sargasso sector or be extra galactic. Perhaps they or a related species/empire are building the Juggernauts? An interesting scenario would a battle would between an updated Cyndarian robot ship and a Juggernaut. Two paths of destruction leading to a climatic battle.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Saturday, September 01, 2012 - 01:17 pm: Edit

REPLIES AND OTHER DISCUSSIONS OF THE NEXT SFB MODULE AND THE ONES AFTER THAT.
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GENERAL COMMENTS
One interesting item came up in the recent SFU On Call phone-in; the need to balance the need for warships (units that are more fun or interesting to actually fly) and "targets" (logistical elements that a given star empire needs to operate, but which would not necessarily be ones you'd want to fly into a pitched battle). [YES, SVC SAID THAT.]
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I note that J3 and K2 are not on the list of possible nominees
SVC ADDED THEM TODAY.
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When do you need to make the decision on which SFB modules are next?
SVC: I SHOUD HAVE MADE IT MONTHS AGO.
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Are you at a point to discuss your preliminary observations?
SVC: SOON, BUT THAT DISCUSSION WILL BE WITH SPP AND JEAN.
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Last night SVC said he wants to add more empires rather than just add more ships. I think C6 and an Omega modules goes that direction.
SVC: that was expressing a preference for the three new empire modules for omega over the three new ships for existing empires modules. It did not really apply to a choice between K2 and C6.
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K2: No X-PFs. Frankly, even phaser-1s are not likely for empires that currently use ph-2 as they cost more. It’s not clear to me that there is enough good stuff here, but maybe there is.
No XP-Refits.
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possible ideas
CA-PFT with 6 PFs and no scout channels.
SCSs with 12 PFs and no fighters.
the "missing" Romulan K1.
some workboat variants.
Make an Orion "Marshall" PF. (Legal Orion, no stealth, no doubling, not optional weapons.)
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Xander is officially reprimanded for suggesting that the next update to X rules might make the no-PFs rule go away.
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K2 is a product that SVC really wants to do. What's in that one? I dunno, but SVC seems to think he can fill it up easily enough.
SVC: DID I SAY THAT? WOW. I WONDER WHAT I MEANT.
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Espionage. For some reason I really find the idea of a purpose built spy ship interesting. Always have. PFs are not the best choice for this, but I'm throwing it out there anyway.
PFs ARE TOO SHORT RANGE FOR THIS.
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> Police Duty. Take a PF and exchange some of its guns for more utility. Obviously this would be post-GW.
ACTUALLY, the original idea for PFs was police duty, and a variant of the leader class might work for that.
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> Rescue. Faster than a freighter, more economical than a FF or DD. Basically a PF leader with slight modifications (this one might have been done already).
NOT IMPLAUSIBLE, BUT SORT OF BORING
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> Bombardment. For those races with drones.
PF RANGE IS TOO SHORT.
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> I keep picturing a PF towing a heavy missile (type-H?) into close range and then releasing it.
PLEASE LAY DOWN UNTIL THIS IDEA PASSES.
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> Mini-Maulers! A joke. 100% not serious. Unless some else says they like it.
GUARDS, I WANT THIS MAN OUT OF HERE!
Anyway, K2 isn't even on the list. I should probably just drop it.
IT IS NOW.
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What we need is a PF flotilla that combines to form a giant robot, Voltron-style.
NO WE DO NOT!
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J3
Heavy superiority fighters from Captain’s Log.
Fed DVA in CL38
Klingon C10V in CL36.
Direct-fire weapons to replace drones on fightes.
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OMEGA
The current Omega ships are, generally speaking, middle years and there are plenty of General War equivalent units that could be done. There are also lots of missing bases and transports and general units. I am a little unhappy with Petrick’s draft for the three "new ship expansions" which each provide seven empires with seven targets and three gunbuggies. I’d prefer to see more gunbuggies than targets, but I know that for full campaigns some targets are needed and maybe that’s how many we do need.
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Realistically, how many more modules would be needed to finish Omega, not in the sense that nothing more could be published, but that all the races, including the 6 that have not been published yet, would have all the basic units, able to fight campaigns?
SIX, NINE IF YOU COUNT X-SHIPS
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MODULE C6: NEW EMPIRES SIX
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First, it should be noted that SPP proposed this as C6 but SVC tried to avoid assigning a number in case we do something else as C6 and use this idea for C7. So much for that idea.
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I'd note that (in addition to Xander's 1-hex races) the Kzintis, Lyrans, Romulans and Feds have all had internal politics that would result in local ship modifications. Take the Kzinti civil wars, for example.
SVC: THERE IS NO REAL WAY TO INCLUDE THAT KIND OF THING WITHIN THE CONCEPT OF PETRICK’S IDEA FOR C6. THAT WOULD BE AN INTERESTING IDEA, ALTHOUGH I DOUBT IT WOULD ACTUALLY BE NEW SHIPS.
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How about including an alternate history with Module C6 in which the Carnivons, Paravians (and perhaps the Borak & Peladine as well) did survive as Empires into the era of the General War. This would be a true parallel universe that coexists along with the standard StarFleet Universe.
SVC: GENERALLY SPEAKING, I DON’T LIKE ALTERNATE UNIVERSES BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY OF THEM. CAN WE REALLY SUPPORT THE EMO-VULCANS, THE KLINGON EASTERN MARCHES (AKA: NO THOLIANS), THE SHADOW UNIVERSE, **AND** THE "EMPIRES NEVER DIE" UNIVERSE? REALLY? ALL OF THOSE?
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By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, July 25, 2019 - 10:23 am: Edit

Note to myself to process this.