>> why is the escort SPM

My brain's first pass is usually that the SPM is the mauler. DOH!

--Mike

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Monday, July 19, 2021 - 05:06 am: Edit

Well, this is turning out to be an interesting turn. ZTO is done, and nothing in Kzinti space was touched; all coalition belligerents went to the Feds. A few border BATS were destroyed, the minor in 2403 captured, and (in the biggest news), 4th fleet SB destroyed. This was due to an odd combination of forward-deployed Fed fleets, reserves that were either out of range or pinned, and a lack of "real ships" at the base itself (the crippled ships noped out of there first round.) Needless to say, I took advantage of the opportunity... Other battles in the theatre included border BATS that were saved by reaction/reserves. At conclusion, most of the border BATS on the Klingon/Fed border are still intact, whilst the dead ones are/were on the Marquis border.
Up next is southern Fed space, where Fleet of the West is going after the 7th SB (along with patrol detachment) and various border BATS, while the Home Fleet is harassing Helvetia, but not actually violating Fed space. A Snipe is vacationing in 2913, and has been such a wonderful guest that the Orions have decided to secede from the Federation and go to a fully tourist economy. Klingons are also going after Arcturia, but otherwise leaving the heavy lifting down south to the eager-beaver Romulans.
Lastly, all the coalition ships in the HTO have piled into 0617. There is nothing else left in the theatre, and the Lyrans have blockaded the Old Colonies (which stopped a small reserve from joining the capital defense). I imagine this will get broken up next turn, though. (With whatever ships are left over after the capital assault...)

By Stewart Frazier (Frazikar3) on Monday, July 19, 2021 - 06:53 pm: Edit

why is the escort SPM instead of SPE?

Bureaucratic mix-up, when the SP module line was being set up, 'E' was reserved for the escort role, but when the escort module was actually started, they saw that the 'E' was reserved and didn't find out what it was reserved for and just used the next letter (which was 'M'). After that was found out, 'E' was reassigned to the next module, the PFT ...

Now, as for why the SK and SP module lines don't match, you're on your own ...

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Tuesday, July 20, 2021 - 02:24 am: Edit

SPM over SPE - I thought it was due to the Romulans not using a Latin based Alphabet

Tut....Aliens…..can't trust them to have a logical Alphabet!!

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Tuesday, July 20, 2021 - 03:36 am: Edit

Did you pat for all 12 fighher factors on the SUB?

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Tuesday, July 20, 2021 - 09:20 am: Edit

Well for 6 of them, yes, free fighter factors for the rest

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Sunday, July 25, 2021 - 12:40 am: Edit

Combat is mostly over on C10 - just 0617 remains. Damage up to this point (not including 0617):

Kzinti crippled: Z6M (3EP)
Fed crippled: CC CA 2DD SC 5FF (13.5EP)
Fed dead: 2CA DD 3FF 2FRD
Fed bases killed: 2PDU 2403, BATS 2301, BATS 2103, SB 2204, BATS 3016, BATS 3414, BATS 3212 7SIDS SB 2915

Lyran crippled: 2CW DWS DW DD FF (8EP)
Lyran dead: 2CW
Klingon crippled: D7 2D5 F5E 2F5 3E4 (11EP)
Klingon dead: D7 E4A
Romulan crippled: KRC 3KE SPB SP SPF 2WE SE K5L 2SKE 5K4 SNB 2SN (29.5EP)
Romulan dead: KRM FAL 2SP 4WE 4BH SK K4 2SN (and SN lost to Orion neutrality)

For those counting, that's 17 Romulan ships lost this turn. The Romulans overstayed two rounds at 2915 after not taking an opportunity to cripple the SB and lost 3 and then 5 ships. The Feds couldn't pursue, of course, but the damage was done.

The Federation lost only 3 BATS in the theatre and will only have a few ships unrepaired on the Romulan border. They don't have enough to make a serious push, and a lot will depend on the disposition of Klingon ships after this turn.

NW Fed space is interesting - there are a dozen Lyran ships out of supply and unable to retrograde in 2104, and the only Klingon supply route is through 1504. Again, disposition of Klingon reserves will play a huge role in what happens here in A10.

1607 is 6 rounds in, with the Coalition having abysmal luck this turn. Even with the Hydrans directing every round, the Coalition is almost out of uncrippled cruisers. With there being only a dozen more Coalition cruisers in the theatre but not in the hex, Hydrax is looking relatively safe for now.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Sunday, July 25, 2021 - 07:08 am: Edit

"For those counting, that's 17 Romulan ships lost this turn. The Romulans overstayed two rounds at 2915 after not taking an opportunity to cripple the SB and lost 3 and then 5 ships. The Feds couldn't pursue, of course, but the damage was done. "

Ouch - one of those decisions which 2 rounds later you think 'I made the wrong decision'

I assume the Roms dropped the damage - and the the dice then didn't come up?

Can the Feds afford to repair 3 SIDS (i.e. I am guessing there are crippled ships there too - ships or SIDS???) as that means 4 rounds of pain at least next turn, to cripple it?

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Sunday, July 25, 2021 - 08:27 am: Edit

Dice were slightly Fed favoured in 2915, but even dice wouldn't have been enough. It is possible that I might have retreated before crippling everything in that case though...

I killed a couple of maulers and Karl mauled a couple of CAs, and Karl also directed a crippled dd. It was pretty close to just dropping damage.

The Feds can repair a SIDS or two. They'll probably repair CC CA, but it depends on whether I want those ships for offensive actions or not. The Federation has so much cash that field repairs there are not out of the question either.

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Sunday, July 25, 2021 - 07:26 pm: Edit

Yeah 7th SB did not go well after I missed the opportunity to direct the last SIDS and spent two more rounds propping up the line with cripples just to try to get a good roll and knock that base out. It never happened. But no, the rolls weren't way off or anything, just my decision-making skills.
0617 is still in progress and has been bloody, but yeah, the Hydrans rolling a 5 and 6 first two rounds with their biggest lines has helped to take the wind out of the coalition's sails. The Hydrans have been maintaining EW superiority (which has also been salt in the wound) so it does seem that Hydrax will stay intact this turn still. As much as I would like the Hydrans off the map given the Fed campaign, their fleet at this point is mostly CWs, with only 1DN, 3CAs and no CCs left. All the fighters may still create a pincount problem, I haven't run those numbers yet. Anyway we'll see what A10 brings.

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Wednesday, July 28, 2021 - 11:30 pm: Edit

The Coalition retreated from 0617 after 7 rounds of combat; the Hydrans also pursued.

Hydrans crippled: TG-S RN HN (5 EP)
Hydrans dead: LC DG 2RN

Lyrans crippled: 7CW (10.5 EP)
Lyrans dead: CLS
Klingons crippled: D7C 4D7 TGV 2D6 D5V AD5 6D5 6F5L 2F5E F5S (40 EP)
Klingons dead: 3D6D D6M D7 F5L

The Hydrans crippled an HN thinking they'd slow the loss of fighters (because I thought it'd be a long battle and I didn't want to start crippling HRs if I could avoid it), but that turned out unnecessary. The TG-S was crippled in form and the RN in pursuit.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Thursday, July 29, 2021 - 12:38 pm: Edit

What Hydran bases/PDU's was destroyed in 617?

Lots of crippled...but not much dead

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Thursday, July 29, 2021 - 02:19 pm: Edit

None - they're all gone save the SB over 0617, which hasn't taken any SIDS either. The Hydrans just lost a bunch of fighters.

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Friday, July 30, 2021 - 09:16 am: Edit

A10 Econ:

Kzinti get 41 EP; they build CVA 2CM 3FF and repair 2CC 2BC 2MEC 4DD DF 2SF 2FF with the help of the EPs the Feds have dropped offmap. They end with 1.775 EP and 3.5 EP offmap. 1704 is in its own grid and just repairs a SIDS.

Hydrans get 14 EP plus 8.25 from salvage and build RN 2HR and CU offmap. They repair RN TG HN and TR offmap, and end with 1.25 EP plus about 40 offmap. They really need to figure out what they're going to do with that...

The Federation gets 206 EP (for a total of 378.3 before spending anything) and builds CVA CC CA LSC 10NCL 2DE 10FF 2FFE FRD, activates CA DD 3CL 3FF and overbuilds 7NCL 10FF. They repair a few ships (CC 2CA DD SC 3FF) and convert 2CL into 2LSC, DD into DE, and CA DD into CVS DE (those two in 2915). They end with just 45.3 EP in their treasury.

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Friday, July 30, 2021 - 11:10 pm: Edit

Feds end with *just* 45.3 EP. That's all.
That alone is more than the Kzinti economy, mind you.

By Douglas Lampert (Dlampert) on Sunday, August 01, 2021 - 12:20 am: Edit

Well, they did overbuild 17 hulls for 120 EP. Tiny expenditures like that do get noticed even in the Fed budget.

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Sunday, August 01, 2021 - 12:27 am: Edit

Movement is nearly done on A10 - and a lot has happened!

The Federation went on the offensive in Romulan space, attacking SB 4015 and SB 3518 (both of which are likely to fall), as well as BATS 3817 and BATS 3317. The lone Romulan reserve in 3715 was pinned. SB 4015 is defended by 4 cripples, and SB 3518 by 19 cripples.

The Federation went on the offensive elsewhere, too. BATS 1813, Klomarth (1714 major), and Valoria (1514 minor) are under attack. A FF sits in 1415, which (along with the Hydran destruction of Klingon bases) means that the southern part of Klingon space will not be connected to the main grid on C10. 2014 and 1811 have fleets pinned against their bases.

Kzinti space is also full of Alliance aggression. 50ish ships from each side are in 1707, opening the way for 9 ships to hit SB 1509. The Kzinti are poised to take 1202, 1504, and 1506, and there's a Kzinti fleet pinning 25 ships in 1001.

On the other hand, the Hydrans declined to move, deciding that anything they might do would be to their detriment.

Overall, there are about 21 battle hexes including 3 starbases that the Alliance are likely to kill. The Coalition's only unpinned reserve is in 2517 where it can do almost nothing of use.

By Karl Mangold (Solomon) on Sunday, August 01, 2021 - 10:59 am: Edit

Well a counterattack was inevitable, particularly after the Romulans' poor showing in the CT10 offensive. What I hadn't planned on was the Federation willingness to risk ships; many of these objectives, particularly in Klingon space, are not lopsided "sure-thing" type of engagements. While this is totally something I would do, I'm not used to having my own game played against me. Sam, fresh off of a 3-day cross-continent move, pulled this strategy out of thin airfor AT10. It will be interesting to see how things play out.
From a wider lens, the shenanigans in Klingon space might have been prevented if there were still not so many SEQs tied up in the HTO. Then again it's hard to say if it would really be *that* different if the Hydrans were working on an off-map shipyard; it's still the fleet that keeps SEQs occupied, and at the moment the Hydrans can only build a few hulls a turn anyway.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Sunday, August 01, 2021 - 11:52 am: Edit

Yes - seems it's tough on the Coalition at the moment... and that's a shed load of overbuilds.

The Fed 311 SB not being crippled is probably the singular major issue for the Romulans now - as I bet the Feds could probably pin the Romulans out from the hex for a turn or 2 and repair it fully?

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Sunday, August 01, 2021 - 04:02 pm: Edit

Hydrans with 0617 tie up a lot more Coalitionthan those without a capital or onmap base.

There's also the loss of captured Hydran EPs (0617in particular).

The Hydrans with a shipyard in 0617 with minimal income still produce more than they do (for six turns) offmap.

Once you box the Hydrans into the SW corner or so, it should take siginifcantly fewer ships to keep them bottled up.

The extra EPs from the Hydran front should amount to more repairs/conversions/overbuilds for the Coalition. It's not huge, but sometimes they need everything they can get.

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Sunday, August 01, 2021 - 04:04 pm: Edit

The Tholian Menace.

With the SE Klingons cut off, now is the time for the Tholians to show their true colors and invade the Klingons. After the Ceasefire, they could quadruple their terrotpry!

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Sunday, August 01, 2021 - 04:16 pm: Edit

The Federation might be able to pin out the Coalition in 2915 - they only have about 30 uncrippled ships in range as it stands, but could get upwards of 50.

However, that doesn't mean that the Romulans can't cause a lot of trouble for the Federation - committing that many ships to protect the SB means that 3611 may not have enough ships. 3611 hasn't been attacked at all, but it may need significant reinforcements if it's to stand.

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Sunday, August 01, 2021 - 04:28 pm: Edit

If the Coalition doesn't take away a lot of Fed EPs PDQ than the Feds will continue with overbuilds to enhance their production (and/or continue with extra carrier conversions). If I recall, the Feds have built more or less a CVS a turn in addition to their yearly CVA, so their fighter groups are going to be a real problem over time if the Feds also can build extra ship SEQs.

Also, if the Coalition is having problems now, it is only going to get worse when A12 rolls along.

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Tuesday, August 03, 2021 - 12:10 pm: Edit

Combat rages on A10. There has been civil unrest in the Federation since Orion declared neutrality, and with the fierce Romulan attack on SB 2915, much blame is being place on the Romulans.

The war hawks within the Federation's bureaucracy began calling for an overwhelming response immediately, and with the destruction of SB 3916 and a fierce battle over SB 3518 that response was given.

The Federation has issued a statement to the Romulans demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities or they will visit this devastation upon even Remus and Romulus. The spokesman for the Federation, however, was a Vulcan; it's unclear at this point whether that was a incredibly obvious misstep or intentional provocation.

In 3518:

Federation crippled: DN+ 3CA CVB CVS CVL 3DE 2FFE (everything in the hex, 20.5EP)
Romulan dead: 2ke sp 2bh 2sn
Romulan bases: 7SIDS

The Romulans rolled extremely well; I shouldn't have directed a ke on the first round. Nevertheless, I'm still happy with 7 kills and 7 SIDS.

The Federation has cut off the 3 western-most provinces, including all the Romulans in Federation space. It's unlikely that that will be a significant development, as the Romulans have 11 EP from salvage alone in the partial grid.

Meanwhile, the Federation have failed to cut off Southern Klingon space from the main grid - a failure to account for 1714 as a supply point for an F5 in 1813 to retreat toward. This is huge for the Klingons, but not a disaster for the Alliance, as they're still denying the Klingons 13EP.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Tuesday, August 03, 2021 - 01:48 pm: Edit

3518 sounds like a win for the Feds.