Command Notes for Captain's Log #52 is closed.

Command notes submitted after this point will be considered for Captain's Log #53.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Thursday, July 20, 2017 - 04:40 pm: Edit

Everything in this topic has been cleared out, it remains open for new submissions.

By Steve Petrick (Petrick) on Saturday, May 04, 2019 - 05:39 pm: Edit

Command Notes posted after this date will be considered for Captain's Log #54.

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - 11:23 am: Edit

OK, here we go with a fun X-rules note!

Fun with Photons
Mike West, USS Texas
Photons with X-technology gain the ability to fire normal loaded photons in a single turn. However, they still retain all of the rest of their arming flexibility. So, to fire a photon in a single turn, a ship could:
- arm the photon with four points of power in energy allocation.
- arm the photon with two points of power in energy allocation and then use two more points of power at the time of firing.
- put no energy into the photon in energy allocation and apply four points of power at the time of firing.
Which path to choose would seem to be unimportant, but it's not! The best option is the second option. Why is that the case? Because it offers the most options. While it is true it doesn't really matter if you are going to fire it that turn as a normal load, if you have designs on making it an overload in the following turn, the second option is best.
Arming energy may only be applied to photons in energy allocation or when it is going to be fired. If you chose the first option, then you have a fully loaded photon and it must be treated that way. If you chose to not fire it, then the next turn it has to be held, which costs a point of power. If, however, you chose the second option, then you are in the middle of arming a normal load. You may still fire it this turn by adding the extra energy at the point of firing, but if you do not fire it this turn, you will not have a fully armed photon, so you don't have to hold it. What about the extra power though? Well, as it turns out you can always add overload energy during the end of turn process. So, if you add two points of energy at the end of the turn, you still have four points applied to your overloaded photon, but it is not an armed torpedo yet, so no holding energy is required. By using the second option, you still have four points applied to your future overloaded torpedo, but you save a point of power by not needing to hold it. Even better, you have the option to add four points of power at the end of the turn (if you have the spare power available), and that is not possible with the first option. (The third option is irrelevant to this, as, by definition, it was fired on that first turn.)

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Thursday, September 17, 2020 - 11:29 am: Edit

This isn't really much of tactic, but rather something to keep in mind ...

Protect That Bridge!
Mike West, USS Texas
Most gunboats have an incredibly small number of "free" hits and but a single bridge box. Fortunately, the defender gets to allocate damage they take as they take it. When allocating damage, it is very important to remember that the bridge box is not one of those free hits! Once the bridge box is disabled, then the rules of (5A2) will take effect. The most important results are in (5A2b) which says that direct fire weapons suffer a (4A4) penalty, and they also can't launch any seeking weapons! So make sure you really have no other choice before disabling that bridge box.

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Thursday, September 17, 2020 - 01:12 pm: Edit

Another one for gunboats.

Save Those Drones!
Mike West, USS Texas
Gunboats are not able to reload their drone racks. This means that once their very limited supply of drones is gone, the drone rack is effectively just a "free hit". It also means that if the drone rack is disabled, there is no point in repairing it, as there is no way to reload it.
So, when allocating damage to a gunboat, the current state of the overall gunboat and the drone rack must be considered before disabling a drone rack. Sure, if the drone rack is empty (or maybe only has a single drone left), it can be disabled to resolve damage. However, if the drone rack still has two or three (or all four) drones available, consider disabling a different weapon, or maybe even a power box, instead. As the drone rack requires no power, that means the gunboat can maintain some combat effectiveness longer by allowing for more power hits and other weapons that will no longer have power to fire them. A gunboat with just its bridge box, four points of power, and one or two drone racks can still move full speed and project combat power, whereas swapping those drone racks for heavy phasers and disruptors will not. And even if completely gutted, just having the bridge box and a drone box will allow it to still fire that drone.

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Tuesday, March 21, 2023 - 09:41 am: Edit

As a counter point to the above ...

Your Very Last Box
Assuming you don't have any drone racks with drones left, your last box should be a warp box. This will let you at least have a chance to limp away as long as everyone else ignores you.

And now for one in happier times.

Overload That Photon!
When flying a gunboat equipped with a photon, be sure to take the opportunity to overload the photon. On a Thunderbolt, it likely won't be possible to fully overload with +4 power, but it is definitely possible, and a good idea, to overload with +2 power. The really nice thing about the +2 overload is that, if it hits, it will take down a shield completely, allowing all other damage to be internals.

And one for the opponents.

Board That Boat!
When fighting gunboats with full ships, don't forget to board those gunboats. Whenever you drop a gunboat shield, if you have the opportunity, transport a marine unit onto the gunboat. Raids can't be done on gunboats, but this is a boarding action. This becomes a one-on-one marine battle at the end of the turn. If your marine survives and kills your opponent, you are guaranteed to capture the gunboat unless a full ship allied to the gunboat can transport over another marine unit and start the battle all over again.
This only has about a 25% chance of success, and requires that you can safely drop your own facing shield. But it will be very satisfying those times it succeeds!

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 - 03:16 pm: Edit

I forgot to note on the three above that they are each by "Mike West, USS Texas".

Also in Board That Boat, the odds of immediate success are about 22%, not 25%. There is about a 44% chance the fight continues, so overall chances of success will be higher than 22% (and higher than 25%), but I'm not gonna look up how to figure out the final number.

By Mike Erickson (Mike_Erickson) on Thursday, March 23, 2023 - 11:07 am: Edit

>> It also means that if the drone rack is disabled, there is no point in repairing it, as there is no way to reload it.

Not being familiar with FC, does disabling an FC drone rack automatically destroy any drones in it?

--Mike

By Mike West (Mjwest) on Thursday, March 23, 2023 - 05:03 pm: Edit

Yes, yes it does. Rule (5G5) covers reloads and says, in part, "If a drone ... is disabled, it loses all ammunition and when repaired is empty and would have to be 'repaired' a second time to reload it."

For the record, it works the same in SFB. If a drone rack is destroyed in SFB, any drones it still had are lost. And when repaired, it is empty and must be reloaded. The way it is reloaded is different between FC and SFB, but what happens when it is destroyed/disabled and repaired is the same.