Archive through August 08, 2011
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Star Fleet Battle Force: Battle Force Q&A:
Archive through August 08, 2011
Double-post, I know, but am I correct in thinking that there is a preset system in place for determining how many VPs a given ship card is worth? I ask because I've noticed that the ships in the base SFBF game seem to follow these four rules regarding VPs... These rules can be applied without a single exception to the ship cards in base SFBF, though many of the playtest cards in the Captain's Logs do not follow them...
1: Free hit, phaser (all types), photon, disruptor, drone and plasma (all types, including R) buttons are all worth one Victory Point each.
2: Fighter buttons are worth two Victory Points each.
3: Optional weapon buttons are worth two points for the first such button and one point thereafter.
4: Cloaks and webs are worth two points on dreadnoughts and one point on anything smaller.
Am I correct, or is this only a coincidence of epic proportions and is SFBF just using the "that looks right" system like SFB?
There is a forumula. You're pretty close.
If a ship is under 'wild weasel' or 'erratic maneuvers' protection...can it (if a carrier) launch a fighter strike?
The argument goes - the rules say that a ship 'cannot attack' if under those protections, but the rules for fighter use defined ship-based and planet-based fighters as 'fighter attacks', as their own things (outside of an attack the ship makes with its own weapons).
(For our match, we ruled 'cannot attack means cannot attack - put those fighters away', but wanted clarification)
If a ship is under a WW (namely Romulan or Orion), can the WWed ship cloak, or as for tholians, reweb on their turn while WW is active
Cloak yes, web not.
Hey SVC, heres a good one for you, i know that in a tourney, if an opponent stays cloaked for N turns, and a judge is called over, that after 4 turns of cloak, the judge rules Non-Agressive, and declares that player the loser... Is there a situation with in SFBF where if during End Game one player sits on a cloaked Romulan / Orion??
Another question, During the Andro Dominator being on the field, can it be attacked by the PF Flotillia just as any other ship or not?
I've had an opponent sit on a cloaked ship for a very long time in the endgame. Didn't help him much, because he never drew any plasma cards, so I toasted him anyway.
Yeahhh...having played many, many dozens of games of SFBF, I can't imagine a "camping" cloaked player really benefiting themselves much. Sure, seeking weapons can't hit a cloaked ship, but the fleets tend towards moderate size, and as long as you maintain a balanced fleet, there are SOOO many direct-fire cards that come up, that cloaked-and-hiding ships tend to die very, very quickly without other targets on the board.
May I ask - were you playing with basic or advanced (formation) rules? And - I hope (because it's the only way the game feels balanced) - mixed fleets, not homogenous fleets, yes?
@ A.David i didnt know if anyone would be checking it or not..
@ Xander yes, mixed fleet, and basic game...i have yet to play the advanced game, as i dont understand the rules
Kenneth - my group actually played with the 'Basic' rules for a long time, too, until we decided to jump up to the 'Advanced' rules.
It does change the game a bit, for the better.
We did it in two steps - first, the 'advanced' hand management (and basic fleet formation), and then the fleet formation, later.
That keeps it pretty simple - hand management is simple to learn, in that you basically draw up to 7 cards to start, then just put two face down in your 'reserve'. You have the same 5-card hand as the basic game. However, when you need to draw new cards at the start of a turn, you can choose to draw from the general deck...or your reserve. Additionally, when you want to 'discard' a card (either changing out cards during your action step, or end-of-turn discard), you can choose to put them in either the general discard pile or your reserve hand...you can have up to three cards face-down in your reserve.
Also, you get a nice new twist in that, if you drain your hand of cards, and come under attack or something before you can draw them up, you can pull immediately from your reserve.
So this provides two new play paths to go down...keep your hand full of 'defense' cards, and put the great attack cards you get into your 'reserve'...so any time someone attacks you, they are hitting a brick wall, and you never have to wonder if playing a defensive game when you'll get good attack cards...as you've been putting them in your reserve all along. Or keep a good mix of cards in your hand that can double as attack or defense (phasers!), with a killer 'evade' card in reserve (wild weasel, 'disengage', etc) that you can fall back on when you run out of cards in your hand in a particular fierce attack. Or, heck, put the 'disengage' in reserve and bait an attack by blowing your entire hand in a MASSIVE strike against one player...an empty hand a sure invitation for the next player to attack you, although you've got that "get out of jail free" in reserve...
Lots of cool stuff the advanced hand management provides, it's worth using.
And the advanced fleet management is actually kinda cooler in how it changes the game, and not much more complex, itself.
I like keeping an enveloper in the reserve. Then when I pull an R or a good-sized S I know I can make good use of it.
@ Jean its kewl, i figured i would post the question here, and if it got answered thats good, if not, i could always call dad (tony a.k.a. scoutdad) and ask him, which i did at one time, and got the answer i needed regarding the Lyran playtest card ESG and a TB card
@ Xander thx for the input on this subject, it really helps to have input from other players, and to hear how things happen
@ Troy i did somethin kinna like that, i had 2 envelopers, and BOTH Rs, and a high Dmg S, uncloaked the Battleship (Imeriousus) and fired a salvo at the Imperitor taking it out after voiding the cloak the turn before
I have played and demoed SFBF quite a few times since it came out and this is the first time this situation has come up.
A six point plasma S with an enveloper was fired at a ship. The ship hit it with three points of phaser fire. 12-3=9 points of damage. That is how we have always done it. He said it should be (6-3)x2=6 points of damage.
The first couple of sentences on page 11 Resolution agree with my interpretation of the rules, but I would like an official ruling.
Offhand, I'd say the 12-3 is correct, the damage comes off the doubled number...
We've also always played that it's 12-3.
Think of it this way:
The phase reduces the damge of the incoming warhead by 3 points... well, the incoming warhead is a 12 point warhead now.
In SFB, you pay the cost to envelop a torp and it exits the tubes at doubled strength. Incoming phaser fire reduces the damge of the doubled warhead, not the original torpedo damage. I can't imagine that SVC and co intended for SFBF to function any differently.
Quick question in regards to Orion Optional Weapon Mount. After consulting with staff member on hand at the house, and him not sure about this: Can the Orion ships use their Opt weapon as a Ph-G or even use it as a Ph-4 or are those techs reserved like the PL-R to certain ships only?
I am sure some one will come along and say yea or nay to this but a strict reading of the rule on Page 12 states.
"... A WPN button can be used to fire any weapons card EXCEPT a Plasma-R torpedo, which is simply to large for the small Orion Ship to mount..."
Since there is not a Gatling Phaser Weapon Card or a Phaser 4 Weapon Card in the game I would say no. Both of those weapons are effects based on having the Ph-G or Ph-4 Weapon Button on the Ship Card.
This is just my opinion but that is the way I have always played them.
well, reason i asked is i know the planet cards and the station cards have Ph-4s on them, and didnt know if the optional would be too small to fire it, or if it could be used to fire one, as in the case with a PL-S (which requires use of 2 OPT boxes) and the ph-G is just a Ph-3 with x2 damage
In SFB, no ORION unit, with the minor exception of Federation defense stations in the Orion home system, is equipped with a phaser-4, including their bases. So my gut answer is an emphatic NO! As for the phaser-G, my gut instinct is probably not, but there are some ph-G's in Orion hands. YMMV.