We have a preliminary (not yet signed, but they okay-ed the draft) deal with Iron Crown to release a version of their "silent death" rules for the Star Fleet Universe. I don't have a lot of details of what they're doing and have no real knowledge of their game system. The product will be designed by them and produced by us.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 10:51 am: Edit

I answered my own question with this link.

This Silent Death?

By Todd Warnken (Toddw) on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 11:01 am: Edit

Silent Death is a game of space fighter combat. The focus is on fighters and gunboats though they do have corvettes, frigates and destroyers.

By Daniel E. Bivona (Admiraldan) on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 11:10 am: Edit

Would this mean that we could have SFU races fight Silent Death races (or Starmada races)?

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 11:18 am: Edit

DEB: yes
TW: They have cruisers and dreadnoughts, too.
LN: thanks for posting that.

By Ed Crutchfield (Librarian101) on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 11:23 am: Edit

Silent Death havent played in years. Have an original 1st convention copy somewhere.

By Daniel E. Bivona (Admiraldan) on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 12:59 pm: Edit

COOL!

By Paul Franz (Andromedan) on Tuesday, March 04, 2008 - 08:27 pm: Edit

I have not played Silent Death for years. But it is a Movement Points based movement game that you roll for initiative and the person with the worst goes first after movement is done (i.e. used up your allocation of movement points) then you fire. I forget how missiles and damage is resolved.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 01:19 pm: Edit

For those who do not know, Silent Death is a space combat system. Originally based on fighters, it works all the way up to super dreadnoughts. They will be designing the game as it is their game system (about which I know almost nothing) but they will be using our ships, technology, and history. "Creative" control rests with ADB while the "game system" is theirs to deal with. They understand fully that they have to produce a game system and special rules which will produce "more or less the same results" as SFB and FC. It is anticipated that each of their releases will match the ships in an FC product so that the miniatures boxes will sell with the new system. A key element of the project is that this is designed to sell SFU to THEIR customers, not convert SFB/FC players to this new system. The new products will have a topic in the BBS, a page of the website, and a page in Captain's Log to support them. Whether SFBOL wants to develop a system for them is up to Paul Franz and the outside designer to work out. It should be possible to play SFU ships against ships from their system, but this does not mean those ships or empires become part of the SFU.

By Michael Parker (Protagoras) on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 03:27 pm: Edit

Silent death is a (or was a) very fun Beer & Pretzels sort of fighter small craft game. They did have larger vessels but it was very fun at the level of fighters/gunboats.

If its done right it could be very cool!

By Tony Downs (Tony) on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 04:32 pm: Edit

so does this mean that the fighter and gunboat rules for SFB (and FC) are going to change? are we going to bring the Silent Death races into SFB? possibly as a new sector set?

this could all be very interesting depending on how it pans out.

By Scott Tenhoff (Scottt) on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 04:48 pm: Edit

Tony, I believe it's just using K-G1s/L-PFs/etc in the Silent Death universe, against their races.

So imagine taking an SFU G1 verses a race XYZ Silent Death gunboat.

It's just in Silent Death, a SFU G1 is going to have 2xMissile Launchers and a Lyran PF is going to have 2xDisruptor Cannons (or whatnot)

You won't see a Hydran Hellion with a Silent Death TurboDestructor, but with a Silent Death HB.

To my understanding.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 05:06 pm: Edit

It seems from what SVC said that SFB and all the SFU games will remain as they have always been but there will be a few new games with different game engines that use the SFU background. They will not drive future developement of the SFU background but will shape themselves to fit the current and future background.

So I believe SFB and F&E will continue to be the drivers of SFU background developement (and PD the diver for fill in material).

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 11:10 am: Edit

We do not plan to change anything in SFB or FC based on what is done in SD or Starmada or VBAM. They'll have to produce work that "fits" into the SFU.

By Peter Thoenen (Eol) on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 08:54 am: Edit

Tony: I am envisioning SD/SFU will be more of a capital ship combat game in the SD universe with fighters abstracted in a SFU way like SFB is now. Think way back to FASA's Renegade Legion Leviathan v. Interceptor.

While I can't speak for ICE, as a pretty regular SD player most of the fights are fighter / corvette based .... its really no fun moving up to capital ships in SD unless you are doing fun scenario's like a fighter raid on a cruiser or something .. I agree its still primarily aimed at the smaller scale.

Not sure how big a seller SD currently is but it def doesn't make sense for them to rewrite all 24 rules books to make use of SFU rules or would that drive current SD players to purchase more products (they already have 24 rulesets w/ miniatures). What SD folk would play and buy though is a higher scale system that is set in the SD universe but represents capital ship actions which I think SFU does well (hence my earlier interceptor v. leviathan analogy)

Still who am I, ICE isn't exactly as open as ADB is on their BBS so not sure what the folk over at ICE are currently thinking ... hopefully they brainstorm with current SD players on their forum or here on this one.

By Peter Thoenen (Eol) on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 08:58 am: Edit

As for where everything fits, I think folk are getting to worked up over this. People really need to think (in video game terms) licensed engines. Think SD, SA, and whatever that 3rd product is as Oemga, Triangulum, or Shield galaxies modules. E.g. they use the same SFU core rules BUT don't really interact* with the alpha quad or milky way.

E.g. just act like SD / SA / 3rd product arein some far off galaxy and if you want to do cross over fights, well there is always the masters or magic wormholes ;)

* Ja Omega has some interesting tie ins with alpha

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 10:36 am: Edit

Things like this begin as all things to all people. Everybody thinks that it will be done the way he envisions for his style of play, and there is no real agreement among the brainstormers on what is really going to happen. Or, people imagine it will include something they don't like and get all worked up in fear over the destruction they fear it will bring. Relax. Just relax.

By Peter Thoenen (Eol) on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 01:11 pm: Edit

Everybody is SVC, as you said, everybody is chatting out loud and brainstorming

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 01:29 pm: Edit

That's a good thing as long as brainstorming doesn't break down to just storming.

By Loren Knight (Loren) on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 01:32 pm: Edit

Oh, how about this way of looking at it. Silent Death and the other new deals will no more change SFB than SFBF did... which is not at all. It's just another game using the SFU background.

By Michael Bennett (Mike) on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 07:52 pm: Edit

Who is worked up over anything about any of this?

The SFBF analogy just doesn't fit, though. That is a card game. Completely different.

These other game systems use ships, minis, have their own basic rules sets, are played on maps (or freestyle), etc.

I think it will be interesting to watch it all unfold.

By William T Wilson (Sheap) on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 08:25 pm: Edit

I don't think anybody's worked up. I posted "hey, looks like ADB is giving up some creative control" because one of the three new systems covered some new territory that isn't covered by any existing ADB game. But SVC insists ADB isn't giving up any control, and I never actually said it was a bad thing in the first place, so, I don't think anybody's upset or looking to get upset. I'm certainly not

By Gary Carney (Nerroth) on Monday, March 10, 2008 - 04:32 pm: Edit

Re-posting from another thread, whre the issue of naming arose:

Might be better to drop the Star Fleet term altogether - if Federation Commander benefited from a 'new' name which didn't make people think of SFB (the way that SFBF seemed to do) then perhaps this new conversion might, too.


So, how about Silent Running, or Silent Eagle (referring to the Romulans' use of the cloak) or Wings of Silence?


Indeed, does the Silent Death name need to be incorporated at all - because if it's isn't, then a different type of name could be used which didn't seem like an awkward merging of the concepts involved.

By James Day (Uthor) on Monday, March 10, 2008 - 04:46 pm: Edit

Silent Death: The Star Fleet Chronicles

Then they could do different products for each historical time frame. General War, early years, Andro invasion, and so on.

By Phil Shanton (Mxslade) on Monday, March 10, 2008 - 09:23 pm: Edit

I like that James, it's better than what I was thinking:

Silent Death: Star Fleet Voyages