Tree is posted. Sorry for the delay

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 - 10:38 am: Edit

Due to my family getting sick, Fay[Klingon]-Cridland[Gorn] was rescheduled again for Friday, May 14, at 7 CST 5 Pacfic.

Hopefully this time, no one will get sick! So far I have not - but I suppose it's incubating in me as I write this since everyone else in my family got it...

By Norman Dizon (Ichaborn) on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 - 01:23 pm: Edit

Awesome Game between Bakija and AdmiralDZZI!

Now this is what Star Fleet Battles is All About!!!

You mean to tell me that the Crafty Gorn not only destroyed Two Weasels before they activated, but he also managed to shoot down a Scatterpack before it opened??!?

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 - 04:19 pm: Edit

Well, the first weasel got killed by the initial enveloper; the second weasel was preemptively launched to prevent me getting an anchor, and killed by a phaser. The third weasel was preemptively launched to continue preventing me from getting an anchor, and killed by a couple phasers.

The SP was launched from close range, and probably Dave would have been better off holding it on the ship, unloading it, and preparing it as a 4th weasel (he had already presumably unloaded some drones from it on T1, which were used to reload a repaired drone rack). I thought it was going to open on impulse 1, and put a lot of work into making sure I could run away from the drones with a maximum speed of 18, and not get clobbered by them, but then the SP didn't actually open till impulse 2, so I shot it down before it went off.

By Norman Dizon (Ichaborn) on Wednesday, May 12, 2021 - 04:30 pm: Edit

When you say "preemptively", do you mean if he waited 2-3 more impulses it would have worked? When exactly should those weasels have been launched?

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Thursday, May 13, 2021 - 07:40 am: Edit

"Preemptively" in this context (i.e. "Weasel launch in tournament play") is generally shorthand for launching a weasel before seeking weapons are launched, to prevent your opponent from getting a tractor anchor, and then hoping you can get into a better situation before the weasel benefits expire.

So I was coming in towards the Kzinti. He was moving speed 4. I was moving faster than that; I was 24 till I got to R2, dropped to 12 when I got to R2, and then dropped to speed 8 as soon as I could after that (i.e. 8 impulses). I was clearly coming in for an anchor (I had 70 plasma on the ship still). Dave knew this was a possibility, and had negative tractor allocated, but didn't know if he had enough (it turns out after the fact, he didn't). I get to R2. I don't attempt to tractor him, as trying that at R2 at this point is very likely to fail. He blasts me with disruptors and phasers at R2 (and rolls bad on the disruptors, missing with 2; if he had hit with those on 1-5's, I would have taken a dozen internals, which would have changed things a lot). Next impulse, I don't move, so he launches a weasel (which is his second, as he used one on T1 on my enveloper). This prevents me from trying to tractor him when I get to range 1 the following impulse.

Right, so I get to R1. He has a weasel protecting him. I have already used 7 of my 10 phasers shooting down drones this turn. I fire a P1 at the weasel, luck out, roll a 2, and kill it at R1. I'm now down to 2 useable phasers on my ship. I already used one of my 2 tractors (catching a drone), and need the other one to try and tractor him. I move to R0. His weasel explosion protection period (4 impulses) is about to expire, and if it does, I can attempt to tractor him. So he launches his 3rd weasel. He is just delaying me from grabbing him till he can possibly move out of the hex, and using up my phasers. I fire a P1 (my last facing one) at R0 at the weasel, which at R0 will kill it on a 1-4, but I roll a 5, and it survives. I move out of his hex. I'm now at R1, my #4 shield to his #3 shield (i.e. he is out of arc of my plasma S tube). I fire my last possible phaser as a P3 to kill the weasel. He is now still protected from an anchor for 4 impulses, I'm out of phasers completely, and he is currently out of arc of my important guns. He also can't possibly have a 4th weasel at this point, as his 4th shuttle starts as a scatter pack, and it takes 3 full turns to completely unload it to use as a weasel.

I slow down to speed 8. He is still speed 4. We get to impulse 24 when we both move. He moves away from me so that if I HET at him in any direction, he'll only be in arc of half of my torps. so I slip somewhere, looking for a possible good firing solution that will get me centerlined (as I have an S and 2xFs to launch, but can only launch them at the same time if I am centerlined). I just decide this is about as good as I'm going to get, so I launch 50 (S+F) plasma at him. Next impulse I don't move, but I HET in the opposite direction. He speeds up to 10 at this point. I try and tractor him at R3 (just hoping to use some battery power, but it turned out to be irrelevant, as he used batteries to speed up, and the speed change to 10 was apparently a mistake based on misreading the impulse chart), which he defeats. I look at the impulse chart, see that speed 10 is very inconvenient for him (assuming it was pre-allocated), launch my last facing F torp. He can't turn, can't HET (as he used batteries to speed up), and all my plasma impacts his #3 shield over 2 impulses, doing 32 internals after a bunch of phasers shot up my torps.

So by string launching his weasels, he prevented me from tractoring him, messed up my attack run, and if his speed change had worked (which didn't due to an accident) or he just saved batteries to HET, my second F torp hits a different shield, and he is in much batter shape there.

I mean, he is slow, out of weasels, has a dozen internals, and another mostly destroyed shield, but it is still a game.

By Norman Dizon (Ichaborn) on Thursday, May 13, 2021 - 11:05 am: Edit

Thanks Peter. This makes sense.

Having the foresight to plan those Weasels is what makes SFB Great. They are not just automatically available on the fly. You have to energize them ahead of time and plan your tactics turns in advance.

I was thinking that Negative Tractor Power might have been an Alternate Tactic to avoid the Anchor, instead of Weasels, but you indicated that Dave did have Negative Tractor, just not enough.

Those Anchors are Deadly! Now I see what you mean by Instant Death by a Carnivon due to its Death Bolts.

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Thursday, May 13, 2021 - 02:29 pm: Edit

Yeah, I had plotted 12 tractor power in EA (and then had 5 batteries on my ship to potentially use). Dave had plotted 8 tractor power in EA and also had 5 batteries to potentially use. So if I just got to R1 and tried to anchor him, he could have defended up to 13 power, and I would have had to use 3 batteries to get him (11+3; I had riskily used 1 tractor power for drone defense), but then would have had him in tractor, would have clobbered him with 70 points of plasma, and then probably still had a couple P1s (that had otherwise fired at weasels) to follow up with.

So by launching the weasels before I launched the plasma, he used up my phasers, kept me from tractoring him (but once the third weasel was out, it wasn't really necessary any longer), and potentially saved himself from 20 internals if the speed chart had worked out for him to speed change, or he had saved 5 batteries for a HET (which he instead used for a speed change, which didn't help, which happens some times).

By Jack Taylor (Jtaylor) on Thursday, May 13, 2021 - 11:01 pm: Edit

MadJack (Orion) over CaptainRon (Archeo) in 3 turns.

Short quick game against an excellent opponent. Ron's dice honestly were horrible. I did not have many drones out there on the board but he was shooting 2 weapons at almost all of them. He finally felt like he had to force the matter but when he arrived at range 1 did not have the guns to really hurt me having fired so many at drones.

I was able to get him in a tractor and he used all his power to fight it but it wasn't enough. I still had enough for a bunch of phasers and his shields were unpowered.

Thanks for the game Ron!

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Friday, May 14, 2021 - 10:06 am: Edit

I'd also note that the Orion is a tough RPS matchup against the Archeo.

By Jack Taylor (Jtaylor) on Friday, May 14, 2021 - 11:33 am: Edit

T1. I doubled one engine and kind of corner dodged a little bit to build up a drone wave. I put a brick on my #2 and had a 16/31 plot going to 31 late. I am holding 2 suicide shuttles. I am mostly hoping to avoid getting shot inside range 6 and for him to use the caster. I can’t remember right now his exact plot but think it was 15/28 and he had 3 overloads. Late in the turn he fired 3 overloads at a drone and missed it. We ended about range 10. He did not use the caster.

T2. I double both warp, allocate a HET, have a 31/19 plot, hold suicides, overload both hellbores, 4 in trac, and a brick on my #4. I have lots of power. There is no way he can avoid range 8 early in the turn so I figure I can start to scrape off some shields. He doesn’t have disruptors for 8 impulses either since he fired them impulse 32 last turn. He decides to evade at speed 30 to the upper left corner of the map. Pretty early in the turn he turns his #4 towards me and we are at range 8. I am suspicious about a brick so fire 1 hellbore direct fire and hit for 9, of which he blocks 7. I keep the other hellbore thinking I will still get range 8 (maybe less) and wanted to make sure he did not get brave and turn back around at me somehow. Late in the turn I see shield #3 at range 8 and shoot 4 p1 and the other hellbore. I roll ok with phasers and hit with the hellbore. He takes 20? on his shield 3. Late in the turn he fires the caster trying to catch drones. Somewhere here I HETED to show him my bricked #4 and we end the turn around range 10-12. I have also launched 2 more drones so there are 4 of them on the map.

T3. The logical choice here would have been for me to run and re-arm. I could probably do so without response and maybe even without doubling warp. I think he must see that and probably won’t put much in disruptors in order to pursue me and recharge the caster. He probably did use some batteries turn 1 for reinforcement too. I decide to try chasing him and see how it goes. I double 1 warp and plot 26 all turn. I charge some stuff. He plots 21 all turn and arms 2 std disruptors and recharges the caster. Early in the turn he fires the disruptors at drones and misses. He then uses like 6 phasers and a tractor beam to deal with 4 t-1 drones (after already missing with 3 overloads at drones t1). He starts to come towards me but then thinks better of it and runs towards the upper right corner. I turn it around and chase. I see range 8 on his #4 around impulse 24 and fire 4 p1’s and score 4 after a poor roll. He decides to HET back towards me late in the turn here. I think if he wants to he can keep the range open to range 2 but decides not to. He moves straight towards me and I move straight towards him and we end the turn at range 1 shields #2’s facing each other. I tractor him and launch a drone and shuttle at range 1. We exchange fire. I fire 7 P-3 and roll terrible again for 24. He fires the fist and 6 p1 at me, rolls decent for 39. I end up taking 7 internals after 2 reinforcement.


T4. He sees that if I can maintain the tractor beam I can rotate him into my hex and he might take 42 damage from the sui and drone on a 4 point shield. Then I would fire hellbores and p1's through that hole. He fights with all his might. 32 power!!!, leaving just 1 for life support. Shields down. I can still make 44 power so still have 12 left to abuse him with. He concedes the game here.

By Jack Taylor (Jtaylor) on Friday, May 14, 2021 - 12:44 pm: Edit

If I am reading the NK reports correctly (definitely an "if")- the Archeo vs Orion matchup is reasonably equal when 2 Aces are playing each other. It is skewed some in favor of the Orion when the whole universe of players are included. That's not hard to imagine, playing web is hard!!

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Friday, May 14, 2021 - 01:11 pm: Edit

Sure. But the Archeo is a top contender - if - expertly flown. However, I think it remains true that the Orion is one of the few ships that can deal with the web due to its superior turn mode and power curve.

By Andy Koch (Droid) on Friday, May 14, 2021 - 02:39 pm: Edit

Remember Steve Tummey?
He was flawless in the Archeo.

By Jack Taylor (Jtaylor) on Friday, May 14, 2021 - 05:11 pm: Edit

Anyone know what Steve Tummey's callsign was/is?

By Jack Taylor (Jtaylor) on Friday, May 14, 2021 - 06:06 pm: Edit

I haven't used the package yet but one of mine is labeled wrong.

In the tree it is FgF1d/HgHBB- the first one should be FgF1f. Probably a typo.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Friday, May 14, 2021 - 11:28 pm: Edit

SummaryJudgement (GRN - Graham Cridland) v. Sir_CatWhoEatsPhotons (KLI - Ted Fay) Game Update:

We got through three turns.

T1: He plots 16/26. I plot 16 all turn. He's top of map, I'm bottom. He turns in (dir C) and accelerates. I turn away (dir B) until late in the turn when I turn back in (dir A). He launches one enveloper from B tube and then turns off. We end range 12. I fire 4 standard disrupters towards the end of the turn, but roll 5/5/6/3 and hit with one, which sticks for 3 on the #3.

T2: He plots 24 all turn. I plot 16/26 (imp 4). I sideslip and mess around to force the torp to go down to 44, and then I eat it without firing at it. 7 damage to each shield (8 to #5 and #3), all of it sticks. I then give chase and he runs. Gorn decides to keep his torps in the tubes, but I'm careful to keep my options open so that if he launches I can get out of dodge. We end up at range 5 at some point and we exchange fire - 4*ph-1 at my #5 and 4*ph-1 at his #5. Rolls are average for him and slightly below average for me - he does 13, I do 12. We continue to maneuver, but when he doesn't launch torps I decide to risk turning in and get my disrupters in arc again on his #5 and fire 4 standard disrupters (at range 5 again). I hit with 3, bringing his #5 to 3 boxes (my #5 is also at 3 boxes after his phasers). Near the end of the turn I launch 2*speed 20 drones. I then turn off and head for the north map edge and he trundles along in roughly direction F.

Turn 3: I'm at range 6 or so. After serious thought, I elect for another speed plot. I go 26/15 (imp 20). He plots 26/13 (imp 13). This turn is also about maneuver. I decide to risk turning into him as by now I can command the center of the map and can still turn off if he launches. He does not. We maneuver around a bit, but he turns inwardly (dir F) to bring his torps to bear (still B tube, but now it could be 2 F torps). So, to give his phasers something to do, I launch 2 fast drones. I manage to get to range 5 and fire 5*ph-1 at his #3 over two separate impulses, doing slightly below average damage at 16. His #3 shield is now at 5 boxes. I do not fire disrupters. He does not launch. He labs the drones successfully, but rolls 5-5 with ph-3 at the medium speed drones, forcing him to fire 2 more ph-1 as ph-3 to kill them. He kills the fast drones with ph-1.

The famed Klingon turn mode now serves me well (just 3 at speed 15). We end the turn at range 7, with my #2 facing his #4. I'm in hex 1815E and he's in hex 1115F. EOT I discharge no disrupters, revealing that I never powered them on T3.


Coming up on turn 4, it's still anyone's game. My shields are all damaged and my #5 is in tatters. However, his #3 and #5 are both in tatters, which will make maneuver difficult for him. On the other hand, he will have a full load of torps on turn 4, which makes him a dangerous lizard indeed.

To be continued next week at a time TBD, depending on RL work schedules.

By Randy Green (Hollywood750) on Saturday, May 15, 2021 - 09:22 am: Edit

Now that sounds like a goooood game.

By Graham Cridland (Grahamcridland) on Saturday, May 15, 2021 - 12:06 pm: Edit

It is a good game. Neither player has really committed to a lot. I've been keeping plasma hot, mostly thinking that since he ate the first enveloper I could be a bit conservative. And you'll note that the Klingon hasn't armed an overload in three turns.

But at the end of turn three, the Klingon is in chase position, while I can point to my full plasma tubes and the lack of drones on the map. Should be interesting.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Saturday, May 15, 2021 - 04:15 pm: Edit

So far, half the first round games have concluded. Anyone see any problems with concluding the other half by the time limit?

By Graham Cridland (Grahamcridland) on Saturday, May 15, 2021 - 06:01 pm: Edit

Steve:

I am out all of this coming week. I anticipate that Ted and I should conclude no later than Sunday, May 23. However, getting it done sooner than that is going to be difficult, as I am at a conference this coming week (with the wrong computer along, among other problems.)

We had intended to be done before that, but illnesses on both ends delayed our start.

G

By Kenneth Lin (Old_School) on Saturday, May 15, 2021 - 07:53 pm: Edit

Steve Tummey's callsign: SteveT

By Peter Bakija (Bakija) on Sunday, May 16, 2021 - 06:10 pm: Edit

2.4 bakija (GRN) vs romwe (HYD)

Tuesday, 5/18, 7:00pm ET.

By Seth Shimansky (Kingzila) on Sunday, May 16, 2021 - 09:34 pm: Edit

1.01 RamonS ZIN The_Hood LYR
Any word on when this game will be played?

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Monday, May 17, 2021 - 10:49 am: Edit

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Quote:

And you'll note that the Klingon hasn't armed an overload in three turns.

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