Ah these puns, they melt my.... ears away.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Friday, January 20, 2023 - 07:56 pm: Edit

To think that some brassy people are taking the golden opportunity to put out these puns is the silver lining for this cloud.

By Mike Grafton (Mike_Grafton) on Saturday, January 21, 2023 - 12:24 pm: Edit

Lead on!

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Saturday, January 21, 2023 - 02:37 pm: Edit

Trying times test the mettle of all good people.

By Jean Sexton Beddow (Jsexton) on Tuesday, February 07, 2023 - 01:35 pm: Edit

After checking with several suppliers (and all of them seem to be in the same situation we are), we found a site where we could purchase bases for our miniatures. The only problem is the slot for the peg is a shade smaller than the base of the peg.

There are a couple of options.

You can trim the points off the base of the peg, and it will fit just fine.

You can rock the base of the peg back and forth on a firm surface, and the points will curve up to fit. (I like this method since I can't chop off fingertips and such. )

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Tuesday, February 07, 2023 - 04:33 pm: Edit

Chopping off fingers bad.

Can leave the staff shorthanded.

(ducking frypan)

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, February 07, 2023 - 07:21 pm: Edit

Jean, talk to me tomorrow, I have a better idea.

In fact I have two better ideas.

By Jean Sexton Beddow (Jsexton) on Friday, February 10, 2023 - 04:43 pm: Edit

A Call to Arms: Star Fleet, Reinforcements One Is Now Available

"Captain, reinforcements have just shown up on our sensors!"

Need more ships for your preferred fleet? Want to add different fleets? Or are you looking for new foes? Then A Call to Arms: Star Fleet, Reinforcements One is for you! There are more ships for empires you enjoyed in earlier volumes: Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Kzintis, Gorns, Orion Pirates, Tholians, and Seltorians. The WYNs that were previewed in Book 2 now have a full-scale fleet you can use. We introduce the Frax, a simulator empire designed by the Klingons to provide an opponent for their officers going through their version of Star Fleet Academy. Remember the Juggernaut from Book Two? There is a whole fleet from the Juggernaut Empire! This unknown enemy from a faraway galaxy periodically sends ships marauding across the Alpha Octant. There is a new monster for your fleets to defeat: the deadly space tarantula. There are more civilian ships to protect and a fleet repair dock to fix those damaged ships.

New types of ships include advanced technology X-ships that add more power to your fleets. War dreadnoughts add depth to a squadron. The Juggernauts add a Shriek Missile. X-ships can carry new versions of plasma torpedoes. The new trait X-Ship gives those ships powerful advantages. Of course, there are rules for X-ships. There are seven new scenarios. One scenario is based on a story that appeared in a Captain's Log; we added it to this book. Finally, there is a consolidated index to all three books.

Reinforcements One has all the rules and information you need to play the game when combined with Book 1.2 and Book Two. Please note that you must have Book 1.2 to play this game. Some of the material assumes you have the expansion Book Two.

Get your PDF copy of A Call to Arms: Star Fleet, Reinforcements One from these sources:

Warehouse 23: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/ADBM30003
DriveThru RPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/361181/
Wargame Vault: https://www.wargamevault.com/product/361181/

Or get your copy in print: https://www.starfleetstore.com/a-call-to-arms-star-fleet-c-96/a-call-to-arms-star-fleet-reinforcements-1-p-1380.html

By Jean Sexton Beddow (Jsexton) on Friday, February 24, 2023 - 04:20 pm: Edit

Federation Commander: Gunboats Attack Now Available in PDF

"Captain, there's a flotilla of six gunboats headed for us."
"Shields up! Arm all weapons! Red alert!"

The small, scrappy gunboats make their way to Federation Commander. Weak individually, in a flotilla of six, they are a match for a cruiser and can damage a dreadnought enough that it won't just buff out. In some ways, they are eggs armed with sledgehammers.

This title includes a 16-page rulebook, including rules, ship descriptions, and eight scenarios. There are 15 new gunboats and a new monster. Banshees are found in hordes, looking for sites, preferably bases or anything slow-moving and poorly armed, to build breeding nests. There is a scenario for a solo player featuring these creatures. Be sure and defend your base, or you will have even more banshees to fight against! Of course, there are the images you need to create your own counters.

This product provides additional ships for use in Federation Commander. You will need one of the entry-point products (Klingon Border, Romulan Border, Academy) to use these ships. Either the Reference Rulebook or modules introducing more empires are useful for the ships from those empires.

This title is only available as a PDF.

Get it from these sources:

Warehouse 23: https://new.warehouse23.com/products/federation-commander-gunboats-attack
DriveThru RPG: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/427987/
Wargame Vault: https://www.wargamevault.com/product/427987/

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Friday, February 24, 2023 - 04:25 pm: Edit

You're forcing me to test drive my new (replacement) credit card.


Garth L. Getgen

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Friday, February 24, 2023 - 05:43 pm: Edit

I am delighted this finally made it out.

By Sebastian Palozzi (Sebastian) on Friday, February 24, 2023 - 09:50 pm: Edit

Got it--thanks! It looks great.

By Jack Taylor (Jtaylor) on Sunday, February 26, 2023 - 10:48 am: Edit

Can someone quickly describe a gunboat? I guess it's something between a fighter and a PF.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Sunday, February 26, 2023 - 11:39 am: Edit

Understandable question, Jack. As the SFU universe has matured, they've adopted the term "Gunboat" for PFs and INTs. As I understand it*, too many folks from the outside were confused by the "PSEUDO-Fighter" designation so they adopted the new term to avoid that confusion.

(* Me. "Understand." There's a certain "Giggle Factor" in play there, THAT's for sure... )

By Alex Chobot (Alendrel) on Sunday, February 26, 2023 - 12:04 pm: Edit

“Pseudo-fighter” was dropped in favor of “fast patrol ship” a long while ago - otherwise, yes “gunboat” is a newer term being used more often, and as a handy umbrella covering both interceptors and PFs.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, February 26, 2023 - 01:29 pm: Edit

Fast patrol ships, interceptors, and skiffs are gunboats.

By Jean Sexton Beddow (Jsexton) on Monday, February 27, 2023 - 06:01 pm: Edit

We introduced Federation Commander in 2005. As you know, we've held the line on prices for Federation Commander titles. It has reached a point where we cannot. Ship card prices have gone up ten times what they originally were for us. Each map panel has more than doubled in price to us. Countersheets have nearly tripled in price to us. We just cannot absorb these massive price increases any longer.

We have reluctantly raised prices on the titles that were affected by these price increases to us. Where we can, we've kept the original pricing. This includes the prices on individual ship cards.

We hope you will understand that these price increases are necessary for us to stay in business.

By Jean Sexton Beddow (Jsexton) on Friday, March 03, 2023 - 03:32 pm: Edit

As you know, countersheets are essential for Federation & Empire. They have increased dramatically in price to us. All sorts of paper have gone up, as have the costs associated with color printing. Add insult to injury, lamination has increased dramatically on items as small as Federation Commander's ship cards, as well as on large items such as F&E's Large-Scale Map.

We have continued to try to hold the price to you for F%E titles, but for a few items, we have had to increase the price. We hope you will understand that these price increases are necessary for us to stay in business.

By Jean Sexton Beddow (Jsexton) on Wednesday, March 08, 2023 - 05:29 pm: Edit

As you know, all sorts of paper have gone up in price, especially the paper we use for the covers of rulebooks and SSD books, as well as for covers of the modules. Countersheets have skyrocketed in price as well. And what are SFB modules but paper and countersheets?

We have continued to try to hold the price to you on SFB titles, but for a few items, we have had to increase the price. We hope you will understand that these price increases are necessary for us to stay in business.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, March 08, 2023 - 06:59 pm: Edit

We have been selling stuff printed (for example) in 1992 and reprinted several times at increasing costs at the 1992 prices. We just cannot continue doing this.

By Jeff Anderson (Jga) on Wednesday, March 08, 2023 - 11:45 pm: Edit

Back in `92, I would have a decent dinner out for five bucks.

Similar meal now runs about thirty.

Appreciate you telling us; it is quite understandable.

(P.S.: PLEEEEAASSE don't raise prices six fold!! )

By Alex Chobot (Alendrel) on Thursday, March 09, 2023 - 11:55 am: Edit

I'm gonna keep buying

By Jeff Guthridge (Jeff_Guthridge) on Thursday, March 09, 2023 - 12:33 pm: Edit

Jeff, as much as I am having to stretch my hobby money as it is, I would much rather ADB make sound business choices so that they can stay around to support the hobby I enjoy.

Frankly, the fact that their pricing has remained so static is amazing in and of itself. I looked at an interesting offshoot product (the publisher escapes me at the moment) for RPG rules, and their super-nifty tricorder set had it's price fluctuate every time I looked at it. I mean it looked like a stock ticker!

SVC, Jean, no complaints from this end of the peanut gallery on charging what you need to stay in business! (even if I can selfishly wish there were shortcuts, discounts, and packages that would let me make it easier to gather the parts I don't have yet)

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Thursday, March 09, 2023 - 12:42 pm: Edit

From my perspective, the idea of prices for ADB products roughly tracking inflation is perfectly fine, expected, and healthy for a business.

I have no expectation that ADB needs to "hold the line" against external cost changes and retain cost structures from decades ago. Doing so makes meeting expenses for the business progressively more and more difficult, and also robs the business of capital to invest in new products.

So while I'm not instantly pleased to see the price of anything go up, be it a carton of eggs or an SSD books, that's just economics. If ADB has products I'm interested in using (and there are plenty since I was gone for decades) then I'll be looking to buy.

P.S. I felt the PDF versions of AO/SO/PO/CO were really too cheap given the amount of value in the products and competitive prices for other games. I would have paid more.

--Mike

By Joseph Jackson (Bonneville) on Thursday, March 09, 2023 - 04:21 pm: Edit

ADB should definitely raise prices. The products are worth it. I'll adjust my hobby fund to account for inflation and market changes.