The space dragon tail does not seem to be MCIDs as the rule would have to explicitly say so to be so (in my opinion) and does not otherwise seem to operate in the same way.


You only quoted half of (SM7.468) which also states that this happens when the ship is closer to the baby than the mother when between the two and NOT in the same hex row.

Kind of important...

By John Stiff (Tarkin22180) on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 - 08:42 pm: Edit

Thanks Steve.

By Robert Snook (Verdick) on Tuesday, June 05, 2018 - 05:10 pm: Edit

Shuttle landing question.
Per G25.222, shuttles in over crowded or destroyed bays cannot have cargo loaded onto them.
Per J1.662, shuttles cannot (do a few things) in a "destroyed" shuttle box. They could load and unload crew, cargo, or passengers.

Which is the dominant rule here?

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Tuesday, June 05, 2018 - 06:15 pm: Edit

Robert Snook:

In all honesty, (G25.222) for cargo points, (J1.662) for the datafiles or dilithium crystals, i.e., small items that can be carried by individuals, but not items requiring lifts and other equipment.

By Ken Kazinski (Kjkazinski) on Sunday, June 10, 2018 - 04:03 pm: Edit

Found the answer

By Ken Kazinski (Kjkazinski) on Sunday, June 10, 2018 - 04:46 pm: Edit

In module C1, SG2.65, page 28, there is a 1xCA-D (9xStingers).

As this should be a Dragoon should this be 1xCA-D (3xStingers)

By wayne douglas power (Wayne) on Sunday, June 10, 2018 - 05:08 pm: Edit

In the C1 module (SG2.65) same page and in the list of possible forces (one below the CA-D 9x Stingers) is 1xCA-R (3x Stingers) so this one is a Ranger with nine stingers.

By Ken Kazinski (Kjkazinski) on Monday, June 11, 2018 - 08:04 pm: Edit

Hi Wayne, yep looks like I had it backwards.

By Robert Snook (Verdick) on Sunday, July 01, 2018 - 09:31 pm: Edit

Is it possible for a captured base station to use their repair facilities on a ship of the capturing team, given that enough crew units are available?

By Richard Wells (Rwwells) on Sunday, July 01, 2018 - 11:45 pm: Edit

I don't see repair boxes in the list of (D7.54) operable systems so I think the answer is no.

Not official and all that.

By Marc Michalik (Kavik_Kang) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 12:01 am: Edit

Often rules such as this that don't appear to make sense on the surface, make perfect sense when you remember how short a time period a turn is in SFB. Then it all falls into place and makes sense.

In this case, would you expect to be able to begin using a captured base to repair ships a few minutes after capturing it? All of a sudden it falls into place and makes sense that you can't.

If you are playing a campaign, after the scenario is when it would make sense that you could begin using a captured base to repair ships.

By Robert Snook (Verdick) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 01:08 am: Edit

It is for a campaign, the Red Wyn Express, first scenario, so it does have some bearing on the rest of the campaign. We're still complying by having to wait 32 impulses after manning it enough to be above a minimal crew, plus what would be needed for the repair facilities (only 8 boxes remain).

By wayne douglas power (Wayne) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 02:00 am: Edit

I do not think a captured base station (in scenario) would have the right type of quick repair gear for a different empire ship.

By Eddie Crutchfield (Librarian101) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 01:21 pm: Edit

It would seem that the base would be able to do general repairs, but many things on a ship are going to be empire specific. ESG, cloaking devices, UIM, are just a few that would be parts specific.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 01:28 pm: Edit

Repair systems are not on the list of allowed systems that can be operated on a captured ship during a scenario in (D7.53). Further, even if you were allowed to use the captured repair systems to do repairs during the scenario, those systems would not be operable in a subsequent scenario under (G17.14). You would have to remain at the captured base for more thorough and permanent repairs, and the campaign (Red WYN Express) assumes you are departing as soon as you have what you need, not hanging around waiting for more "bad guys" to show up and express their displeasure at your presence.

By Robert Snook (Verdick) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 01:59 pm: Edit

Understood. That's kind of the way we were leaning, but mention of continuous damage repair being available at a 2 rating cast a bit of doubt for us. Thanks!

By Jeffrey George Anderson (Jeff) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 04:11 pm: Edit

I don't know if this will help or not, BUT...

Back when I worked construction, any job of large size had one guy whose sole job was to keep track of parts. Part of this was placing orders, but the other MAJOR part was organizing the parts bins.

That latter part is important when discussing this most recent subject.

A major part of field repairs are swapping out bad components with functional replacement parts. In a just-conquered base, who among the conquerors is going to know how things are organized? Who's going to know where to look for a particular part?

For this reason, based on one persons personal experiences, the ruling that the repair facilities in just captured bases can't be used by the captors is, in my 8-ball opinion, a good one.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 05:54 pm: Edit

I'm with Marc on this one. If it's a campaign setting, you'd have to hold the base for X number of CAMPAGIN turns with it connected to your supply chain, to replace everything in the parts bins, and then you can begin using the repair facilities. You "might" allow the captors to use it to repair the base itself before then, but not to fix damaged ships.


Garth L. Getgen

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 07:01 pm: Edit

Well, utilizing a repair capability is one of those things that has issues.

Even today, there is a lot of "on the spot" repairs done well forward because the parts can now be manufactured on site. You can well imagine that the repair systems on repair ships and bases utilize that technology (although much more advanced) and that much like a phaser is a phaser is a phaser, the machinery that creates a replacement part is pretty much the same across the contiguous empires and can use the adjacent empire's programming.

There is some sense to this as you can not only be neighborly and repair your neighbor's ship that was damaged fighting off pirates, or monsters, in getting the convoy through in peacetime, but you can quickly manufacture the parts needed to patch up a captured enemy ship to send it deeper to the rear for refurbishment.

So a case could be made that what the repair systems need (after they, themselves, are repaired from whatever damage was done to them while you were capturing the installation) is essentially "raw materials" to fashioned into the desired parts.

Technology marches on, and a lot of U.S. equipment on distant stations in combat zones does not sit deadlined waiting for parts because a computer controlled spares system takes a block of metal and creates the needed part on site.

So I can see a quick visit to a captured base by a repair freighter with a convoy of other freighters to deliver the needed raw materials and a troop ship or two to deliver the new manpower to operate the base (and remove the old manpower to their temporary retirement homes until the war is over) as being feasible. Your problem is that taking a base intact (relatively speaking) is not easy, so probably not something included in the planning. So when it does happen, it is kind of a surprise and it takes time to gather what you need to put it back into operation. That is to say you do not have a whole new crew ready to take over a captured battle station just sitting around in a troop ship waiting to be called forward, or a repair ship and a convoy of freighters loaded with the necessities just sitting around. When you actually capture a base that it is logical to put back into operation, you have to gather these things as quickly as you can (diverting some of them for the location for the mobile base you were going to establish for your supply route, obviously), but it is still going to take time.

By Stewart Frazier (Frazikar2) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 08:20 pm: Edit

Hnmmm, the thing is, there is only enough time (20 turns if you're lucky) to move cargo before the Fed response (CA, 2 DW, NCA, NCL, or 3 FF) arrives …


On Turn 5 the Fed player rolls 6D3+9 to determine when the relief force shows (15-27) within 60 hexes of the BS, rolling one die to determine direction.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 08:26 pm: Edit

Stewart Frazier:

As noted, in the Red WYN Express scenario, I do not see the point, as it is a scenario, and any repairs accomplished would be temporary at best, and I just do not, under the rules, see any repairs being possible at a captured unit during a scenario because of (D7.54), i.e., repair systems are not listed as one of the things that can be operated on a captured unit during a scenario (one that was captured in the current scenario). My previous discussion was what it would probably take to make such a base operable in a campaign, not saying any of was doable during the scenario in which the base was captured.

By Michael Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Monday, July 02, 2018 - 09:43 pm: Edit

"Technology marches on, and a lot of U.S. equipment on distant stations in combat zones does not sit deadlined waiting for parts because a computer controlled spares system takes a block of metal and creates the needed part on site. "

Actually not so much. I set up the first war zone Mobile Parts Hospital and it did NOT make parts for the MRAPs & HMMWVs. This was in 2005 IIRC.

What it made is "one off" stuff. So if you wanted to mount a RPK machine gun on a toyota hilux, by ripping off the door and using the hinge mount for that mmg, they were your go to guys (the process is the "allied trades" machinists would make the prototype with lathe/ welding/ etc and then the MPH guys would measure it to get the formula for the machine to be able to make them in bulk. We made all kinds of stuff that way.

We maintained an enormous "Sprung" tent filled with spare parts to fix the vehicles.

I am now on an Afghan Aviation contract and NOTHING built in theater gets mounted on them. We order stuff from the manufacturer and maintain working quantities to account for lag time. Because Airplanes are special. We've had aircraft down for WEEKS waiting on approval to drill a 3 mm hole someplace. And it has to be reviewed by all kinds of engineers stateside.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Tuesday, July 03, 2018 - 04:02 pm: Edit

Michael Grafton:

Today's technology pointing the way to a future. Remember that in Star Trek the original series they had replicators for chow, but the "technology" we saw on the bridge was pretty much what we saw normally in the 1960s.

Star Trek The Next Generation showed us basically the touch screen technology we would all soon become familiar with, and the ability for any station to take on the tasks of another station.

It does not take much to imagine the mobile parts hospital being expanded on in future technology to what I was alluding to, given the background already included replicators.

By Stewart Frazier (Frazikar2) on Tuesday, July 03, 2018 - 07:21 pm: Edit

SPP, true, but it's a reminder that the clock IS ticking...especially when one considers the mechanics of actually moving cargo...

By Michael Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Tuesday, July 03, 2018 - 09:37 pm: Edit

I agree SPP, but we aren't there yet.

Not least because of the NDT (non destructive testing) any critical part has to go through. So it gets Xrayed/ Magnetic Particle tested/ whatever.

But yeah, the day is coming when a 3D printer can make many of the parts.