QWTs act like plasma Torps. So if he is still controlling the QWTs. Then yes they still track you. If he had released them then no.

By Marcel Trahan (Devilish6996) on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 - 07:43 am: Edit

Question regarding shuttles landing on a moving planet.

In scenarion Artifact singularity, the planet is moving at speed 5. Rules specify that a shuttle has to be moving in the planet hex at speed 1 on impulse 32.

Can a shuttle moving at speed 1 enter the atmosphere on an impulse that the planet is moving in its hex by being in the planet path or does the shuttle crashes?

Or does it has to place itself in such a way that the planet has to be at range 1 on imp 32, after the planet moved and then start landing procedure?

Marcel

By Jeffrey George Anderson (Jeff) on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 - 12:06 pm: Edit

WOW!

There's a rule (I can't remember the exact rule number) that says shuttles landing on ships have to match the speed and heading of the ship.

IMO, requiring a shuttle to match the speed of it would make sense for landing on a planet moving at FTL, but I'm NOT an authority on the rules.

By Stewart Frazier (Frazikar2) on Tuesday, December 17, 2019 - 06:20 pm: Edit

(J1.61)

By Sören Klein (Ogdrklein) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 02:27 am: Edit

Hi, there!

One quick question. This came up, when I meditated about my battleforce tactics for the Captain's Log.

Do ECM- and probe drones appear as normal (explosive) drones before they reach their target?

I guess ECM drones reveal themselves to the enemy pretty much instantly as they began transmitting their ECM.
But what about probe drones? I could guess that they transmit some kind of scanning beam that reveals them but FD6 has that happen on time of arrival at their target.

Mayby someone has a rule number for me, as I did not find any answer in either in FD6.0(Probes) or FD9.0 (ECM).

Thanks,

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Soeren Klein

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 12:35 pm: Edit

Probe and ECM drones are identified as any other drone. Of course, with ECM ones, a large part of that identification happens as soon as they start lending. Even then you wouldn't know exactly what it is, i.e. it's frame other modules, or armor.

Note FD10.423 provides additional rules for cases where one drone is both a probe and ECM drone. You have to declare where the ECM is going. You still don't declare anything else until it is formally identified.

By Sören Klein (Ogdrklein) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 03:15 pm: Edit

Ginger,

Thanks for the hint on drone identification and the constructions rules.

The thing is, in the ongoing battlefront scenario my two probe drones are pretty much useless under the scenario conditions. However, if they appear as a standard unidentified drone (a three meter object moving speed 20) I might use them to deceive my opponents into thinking it is a Type-IM explosive drone.
Question is, as probe drones collect data by their closest approach to the target (FD6.31), does my opponent has to ID it via lab scans?

Or has the probe drone an scanning beam that gives away the secret like the ECM drones lent EW-points, that have to be announced? If yes, when? Directly at launch time or at the end of the turn, when information gathering is determined?

A successful deception might force the enemy to use a phaser or two or to move evasively in response to an otherwise useless drone.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Sören Klein

By Sören Klein (Ogdrklein) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 03:44 pm: Edit

The only rule reference to the described question I can find is FD6.21, where it has the probe drone to behave like an ECM-drone and NOT impact on the target.

And of course the curious behavior of the alleged explosive drone being a deceptive probe drone controlled under FD6.22, but which would be forbidden under the conditions of the scenario.

But these two are the only rules I find that would prevent me from using the probe drones as deceptions.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Soeren Klein

By Gregory S Flusche (Vandor) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 03:57 pm: Edit

Oh a probe drone I am guessing could be sent out to a incoming plasma?

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 04:03 pm: Edit

I don't have the scenario for reference, but there is no identification outside of those set in the rules: labs, scout channels, and getting hit.

If it helps get past the "probes send waves," all drones have some sort of targeting and communication on board and active. Encryption protocols aren't broken with a simple scan, hence the need to dedicate a lab to determining what those signals mean and what's inside the warp speed box that's emitting them.

By wayne douglas power (Wayne) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 04:10 pm: Edit

Soren Klein:

It would need to be ID by labs as a probe drone.

The probe drone would be using normal guidance (FD6.21). Once it gets to its target and does not impact, and follows like an ECM drone (FD9.11) it will be known then.

By Richard Wells (Rwwells) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 05:30 pm: Edit

One could give away the fact that one drone in a stack is a probe drone through (D17.24). It might fool the opponent once if the probe drone also has an explosive warhead. Opponent manages to ID the rest of the stack and ignores the drone not IDed because it is a probe drone, the opponent gets a small surprise.

By wayne douglas power (Wayne) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 05:49 pm: Edit

Richard Wells:

(D17.24) would only ID the probe drone as a drone. Information from the tactical intelligence information chart (D17.3) A-L

By Richard Wells (Rwwells) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 06:39 pm: Edit

Wayne: If the operator of the probe drone requests information, that points out where the probe drone is. Asking whether a ship has Aegis when the probe drone is 3 hexes away deliberately gives away that a drone has a probe module.

By A. David Merritt (Adm) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 06:41 pm: Edit

Ahem, ECM Drones cannot be armored.

(FD10.443) The ECM module can, within the limits of other modules, be combined with any other module in the game except an (internal or external) armor module. ECM drones will not work with armor modules.

By wayne douglas power (Wayne) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 07:11 pm: Edit

Richard,

Understood.

I am not certain if tactical intelligence is used in the scenario (it is an Commanders Level optional rule) ?

By Ginger McMurray (Gingermcmurray) on Sunday, December 22, 2019 - 10:29 pm: Edit

A. David, you are correct. I'd just read a sentence about probe drones with armor and gotten the two mixed. A better example would have been, well... any other module.

By Sören Klein (Ogdrklein) on Monday, December 23, 2019 - 01:33 am: Edit

Thanks for the advice, everyone!

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Soeren Klein

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Monday, December 23, 2019 - 03:39 pm: Edit

Soeren Klein:

If it is not clear from the previous, you can launch a probe drone as a drone. It will seek its target as a drone, and unless you have ordered it to then follow the target, it will simply go inert and be removed from the board.

The only way the opposing player will know definitively that it was a probe drone is if he labbed it. Otherwise he might assume that it was a "slug" drone (no explosive module, just impacts and is removed from the board).

In short, your opponent knows (without labbing it) everything he would have known about any other drone: What launched it (which can tell him that it must be a type-I drone, i.e., it it came from the launch rail of a size-1 fighter it almost certainly is not a type-IV or type-V drone). But he will not, during the scenario, know if it was a probe drone or a slug drone.

After the scenario he can check your records to learn what your drone loadout was, and when you launched which drone.

But in game, he will only know if was a probe drone if he identified it, or it started doing things only a probe drone can do.

As to ECM drones. The ECM drone does not start lending ECM on launch. There is a four impulse delay (FD9.12) between launch and lending, thus an ECM drone launched on Impulse #1 cannot lend ECM until Impulse #5, and may be later if it has not reached its "target."

You can get a strong indication that a given drone might be an ECM drone if it (for example) hangs around the unit that launched it even it it is not lending ECM yet, or if it has been launched at a unit friendly to the unit launching the drone.

If there is an ECM drone on the map lending ECM, then everyone knows this is happening. BUT you might not know which drone is the ECM drone without identifying it. This happens when a swarm of drones is launched BY A SINGLE UNIT (emphasis, not shouting), and four impulses later you are told that the swarm of drones is protected by an ECM drone. That means one (1) of the drones in the swarm is an ECM drone, but you do not know which one unless you identify it. Obviously an ECM drone orbiting a base or traveling with a ship is an ECM drone. Note specifically that if you tried to fool your opponent by launching an ECM drone and a probe drone to follow your ship, he will know immediately which is the ECM drone and which is the probe drone because the ECM provided by the ECM drone would not benefit the probe drone, it would only benefit the ECM drone and your ship.

I hope that helps.

By Gregory S Flusche (Vandar) on Sunday, December 29, 2019 - 09:13 pm: Edit

Towing a sublight ship.

G7.321 says the combined move cost of the ships.

SfBOL gives a move cost of 1 for all sublight ships.

Is this a Glitch?

If I am towing a SNS with a WE. Move cost 1.o and .333. =1.333 move cost are is it 1.0 + 1.0? for 2?

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Monday, December 30, 2019 - 10:58 am: Edit

Good question, Vandar. I'd guess it's a glitch. Why? If not, then the rule should work both ways and a cruiser could tow a FRD as easily as the separated boom from a Klingon E3.

If it were me, I'd just go ahead and do calculations based on towing costs from Annex #7L unless I hear a formal ruling that says otherwise.

By Eddie E Crutchfield (Librarian101) on Monday, December 30, 2019 - 05:16 pm: Edit

On the SSD for the Snipe S it says the towing cost is 1/4. Movement cost is listed as 1, since it only has impulse power, and impulse power only moves you 1 hex It looks like a mistake.

By Gregory S Flusche (Vandar) on Monday, December 30, 2019 - 07:51 pm: Edit

Wow it says that on my SSD sheesh. So I will need to adjust by hand speeds.

By Marcel Trahan (Devilish6996) on Monday, December 30, 2019 - 08:03 pm: Edit

I have a question regarding MRS shuttles.

When you buy a drone/Pl-D MRS, does it comes loaded with 2 space of drones which you could ugrade or 2 Pl-D (Which would make a total of 22 space of drones/Pl-D including the 2 on the MRS)?

Or, do you have to use the drones/Pl-D from the 20 spaces that you can have with the MRS?

Marcel

By Marcel Trahan (Devilish6996) on Monday, December 30, 2019 - 09:30 pm: Edit

When equiping a ship with outstanding crew and a legendary weapon officer. Example are for a 100 BPV ship.

Do you pay 50% of the BPV of the ship and 15% of the BPV of the ship (100 BPV +50 for outsanting crew + 15 for LO for a total of 165)?

Or, do you pay 15% of the adjusted BPV of the ship for outstanding crew? (100 BPV ship + 50 for outstanding crew = 150 + 22.5 for LO for a total of 172.5)

Or, do you pay 50% of the adjusted BPV for legendary weapon officer? (100 BPV ship + 15 for LO = 115 + 57.5 outsanting crew for a total of 172.5)

in a simple phrasing, do outstanding crew and LO stack up or are they calculated separately?

Marcel