New general war game between Ted Fay (Coalition) v. Gary Quick and William Jockush (Alliance Team)

House Rules:
-All supplements/expansions
-No special raids, other than blockade running
-No E&S missions
-No Diplomats or diplomacy
-No SFGs

Special Gameplay Procedures:
-Playing on Cyberboard.
-Most of the time we will play with special Email rules.
-No simultaneous decisions. It changes the game, but the phasing player will send an email with anything that might be revealed (e.g., a battle line). Non-phasing player then reviews and may respond accordingly. SoP is still observed, however.
-Batched operational moves. Additionally, operational moves will be moved by batch movement (several moves at a time) with the proviso that if the non-phasing player reacts to one move in the batch, then subsequent moves may be voided as a result of changing conditions. Generally we'll do our best to anticipate those moves that an opponent will want a reaction opportunity.
-From time to time we may play via Slack and/or SFBOL in live play. When this occurs normal procedures/gameplay are re-instituted (including simultaneously reveal).
-We are unconcerned with any inconsistencies the different play styles may cause.
-Dice to be rolled either on Slack (via slack app) or PBEM Games roller, though other reputable online rollers are acceptable.

The intention is to move the game along as expeditiously as possible, given that most of it will be by email (on account of my limited ability to do live play). We care more about convenience and game speed than holding to the normal gameplay procedures.

Have at it!

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Wednesday, June 21, 2023 - 04:49 pm: Edit

CT1 Eco: Normal builds (including TGA for D7C, D6M for D7, and D6E for D6), no ADS. Klingons convert D6-D6M, 2*D6->2*D6D, and D6->D6S. Swarm roll is a 2. Lyrans convert CA->DN and CA->CC. Build SAF, FRD. Both empires build convoys for colony duty.

CT1 Raids: All that is done is two BRs. Lyrans use APT to move the MMG to Home fleet. Klingons use F5T to send 4*EP to the WYN.

CT1 Operational: 1st move is FF in 702 moves along the Lyran/Kzinti NZ hexes and claims them - pending possible reaction by Kzinti BATS fighters.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Thursday, June 22, 2023 - 07:32 pm: Edit

With all the subtlety of a mace-in-the-face, mostly everything (both sides) ends up dog-piling on BATS 803.

Combat round 1: Coalition loses a BC to DirDam and cripples a DW. Kzinti take 18 fighters, cripple CC, take 1*SIDS voluntarily and then take a second SIDS due to a breakthrough G attack penetrating the defending G and scoring a defender casualty on the BATS. GO TEAM LYRAN!

Continues.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Thursday, June 22, 2023 - 07:55 pm: Edit

Combat round 2 : Coalition loses CC to DirDam, kills 6 fighters, and cripples another DW for -5.

In all my decades I've never scored a SIDS on a BATS by DirDam. But this time I did, as there are several benefits. That, and now I can say I did it once (and likely only once ever!) Lyrans take 12 fighters; BATS is now crippled.

Oh, and no captures either round.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Thursday, June 22, 2023 - 09:57 pm: Edit

Round 3: Coalition loses a CA to DirDam, cripples DW and -3. Alliance loses a BC to DirDam, takes 2 fighters, and kills the BATS for -3.

No pursuit. No retreat. (At least by the Coalition).

Need to do EoT file, and then it will be CT1.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Thursday, June 22, 2023 - 10:18 pm: Edit

Hey, no stealing our half of the turn!

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Saturday, June 24, 2023 - 08:16 pm: Edit

Kzinti econ, turn 1

Borrow 12EP
Produce 92EP, plus 2EP salvage
Available 106EP

Repair a crip CC for 2EP

Builds:
18 PGB 54 [4 on Kzintai; 2 on each other planet in 1401]
TGC 8
3FF 7.5
FFK 3
FCR 9.5
PT 0
PT 5
Scout pod (set) 6
Subtotal 93

Convert:
Kzintai CVS 5
Count CD 3
Duke CD 3
Subtotal 11

Spent 106EP
Balance 0
Accumulated 6 Wyn trade rights

By Sam Benner (Nucaranlaeg) on Saturday, June 24, 2023 - 11:26 pm: Edit

That's quite the investment into capital defenses - I usually find that non-Kzintai defenses are mostly 1 or 2 rounds of the Coalition dropping damage and the Kzinti taking it on the PDUs (because otherwise the Kzinti fleet is unable to be repaired or is unable to defend future rounds over the same planet). Have you spent that much on fixed defenses before?

Relatedly, why PGBs? PDUs are more cost-effective for compot (9 points for 7EP vs 3 points for 3EP). I suppose it's at least harder to devastate Kzintai, but you're building those at max rate either way...

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Sunday, June 25, 2023 - 01:54 am: Edit

PDU are way too fragile for their cost. PGB have a much better ratio DefPot (vs. dirdam) to cost. They are also highly efficient for EW.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Sunday, June 25, 2023 - 05:16 am: Edit

Persanlly - I can see value in building a couple of PGB's over the other majors - but minors probably not.

A Monitor might have also been a modest compot boost for the capital.

The other issue is that it does in effet pin 60 Kzinti ships to 1401 - as there is no point in having less than a full line at those planets now.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Sunday, June 25, 2023 - 09:13 am: Edit

I fully expect a lot of the PGB to get killed. The main point is to be spending our money on something that will impact the early battles.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Sunday, July 02, 2023 - 11:37 am: Edit

AT1: Don't remember much details, but mostly he attacked Red Claw fleet so that he could retro and turtle up against the CT2 tidal wave. We exchanged a couple of ships.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Sunday, July 02, 2023 - 11:43 am: Edit

CT2: Mostly normal builds, but Lyrans build MB, FRD, SAF. Both build convoys to generate colonies.

During combat I blow up all the outer BATS (many of those battles using cripples from CT1), except for 1605 and 1705. I took planets 1105 and 1001. A reserve saved 1202. At 1202 his reserve managed to cripple 2*D5, D6V, 3*E4A against a small Klingon force, but no kills. I crippled his EFF on the CVS group to keep his compot low when he pursued. Damaging, but no ship losses.

The capital assault was a failure.  Sort of.  Even with a weak line he managed 112 compot with DB and fought me twice on approach.  I killed a BF (he put up all good ships) and a SAD (when he only put up carriers) for his efforts.  All he did is let the damage fall.  Since I only had 45 SEQ of Klingons, this actually did put a damper on my reserves.  On round 3 I went in anyway (after thinking about it) and faced I think about a 154 point line at Vronkett.  I killed 4*PDU with a mauler and he killed the mauler.  I took another 3*D5 in cripples after that.  He only had -2 because he had taken his extra damage during the approach battles on PDU fighters from Kzintai, so the homeless fighters could flow there mostly.
At this point, my reserves of good ships were getting thin.  I was still within my CT3 repair means (assuming a bit field repair).  So, instead of pushing it I decided to take what I had gotten and leave when there was only a small minus so that my other mauler could threaten his pursuit line.  He pursued with a good force, including putting a DN and a DNL on the line.  According to my calculations I had about an 11%, even after minus points, to burn the DNL using the mauler at BIR 8.  So I went BIR4.  He picked BIR 3 (he must have sensed what I wanted to do).  Rolls were like V2, C3, A4, or something.  He ended up killing the D6J (typical) and with my remaining 5 I self-crippled the mauler to prevent a breakdown roll.  I did have enough to burn an E4A, which is what I did.  I used the mauler so that even after fighters he'd have to cripple another ship, so he crippled a CLE after the E4A died.

So, an anemic capital raid.  But it did cost him 3 SEQ to my 2 SEQ loss (plus the loss of a SAD).  And I got 4 PDU at Vronkett (leaving 2*PGB).

Over at 902 I did have plenty to take the SB.  However, I was light on cruiser hulls, and decided there was no reason I had to take Count's SB on CT2.  Especially with some 150 SEQ threatening 1401 on CT3 (All of TBS went north, and about half of Far Stars went north).  So, instead of crippling most of Red Claw, I pushed off and bided my time.

Over to AT2.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Sunday, July 02, 2023 - 06:18 pm: Edit

Kzinti economy, turn 2

Survey 13+9=22 [3 survey ships]
Major planets 30
Minor planets 27
Onmap provinces 16
Offmap provinces 8
From last turn 11.65, but also 12EP debt
Interest 1.2
Borrow 10EP more, total 22EP
Available 101.45

Conversions
2CD (both CDR) 4

Repairs 7

Builds
CVS 12 (FFF)
2MEC 12
2FF 5
FCR 9.5
FFK 4
FKE 3
13PGB 39
PGB w/ENG (1502) 0
PT 0
Command point 5

Total spent 100.5
Remaining 0.95

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Sunday, July 02, 2023 - 06:24 pm: Edit

And yes, we are willing to lose valuable ships in order to slow down the Coalition.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Tuesday, July 04, 2023 - 12:07 pm: Edit

Alliance turn 2 combat is well underway. It looks like I underestimated just how difficult slow pursuit is for the fleeing side. I did one attack on the assumption that "no way is he going to want to burn through 69 fighters to get to the slow pursuit." It looks like the assumption was wrong! It would probably have been closer to correct if the Kzinti compot and EW matched the Klingon in this particular battle. It doesn't.

On the bright side, he is having to burn through most of those fighters. And we do have escorts for our slow carriers. Still going to be a nasty pursuit.

On the bright side, we are going to destroy BATS at 502 and 1707, and 1707 should not cost us much, if anything.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Tuesday, July 04, 2023 - 05:16 pm: Edit

Results in 1402:

Kzinti lost: LAV, CD, 2DD, 3FF, FFK, EFF, CL, spent 4EP on drones, and got only 4.75EP of salvage. CVS and FFK crippled.

Klingons lost: D6S and 29EP of crips. They did spend a little on drones.

Definitely not worth it for us. Though the crips are worth more than just the EP as they will slow him down, and he will probably end up field repairing some of them. We may also field repair the CVS.

We did better in the BATS assaults. We killed CA and D5 and both BATS, while losing a CC and getting an EFF crippled.

By Paul Shutter (Cusimanse) on Tuesday, July 04, 2023 - 05:32 pm: Edit

For your capital attack, PDUs cannot transfer their fighters anywhere unless the PDU is destroyed per 501.62.

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Tuesday, July 04, 2023 - 11:20 pm: Edit

That's true, but they can send their fighters to approach battles.

By Paul Howard (Raven) on Wednesday, July 05, 2023 - 02:41 am: Edit

The use (and self killing) of PDU fighters in an approach battle, from a planet that is unlikley going to be assaulted is a really good way making the attacking players pain that little bit higher.

Sounds like 1402 returned some of that additional pain though!

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Thursday, July 06, 2023 - 06:04 pm: Edit

Coalition turn 3 op move is well underway. There are pinning battles at the Duke's and Count's SB. There is an attack on Kzintai. It is enough to pin the hex and almost surely enough to devastate some planets. There is an attack on 1504 which will take the planet if it is not reserved. There is an attack on 1502. The outcome of that battle will depend heavily on what the Kzinti do with their reserves.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Thursday, July 06, 2023 - 07:04 pm: Edit

Reserves have been dispatched. Minor 1504 got a small reserve and will probably fall, though it's not 100%. Major 1502 got a big reserve and is safe, though if the Klingons win the approach, they might come and kill some PDUs. Kzintai did not get reserved and is in no danger of falling. The Coalition could devastate some planets here. Mostly it depends on how much damage their fleet is willing to take. Minor 1202 is not under attack.

The SB are safe, and the other two minors fell on C2.

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Wednesday, July 12, 2023 - 09:49 pm: Edit

Kzinti economy, turn 3

Income 68EP
From last turn 10.2, but also 22EP debt

Interest 2.2
Build 2MEC, FCR 21.5
Lots of repairs 42.5, using the shipyard slipways as repair sites (TO rule 455)
CVL>CVS 4, plus 1.5 FFF
2x(BC=>CC) 2 (CDR)
2x(EFF=>FKE) 1 (CDR)
2x(DF=>SDF) 1 (CDR)
FF=>FFK 0.5 (CDR)
PGB on Kzintai 3 (now 8PDU, 8PGB)
Free: POL, PT, PGB on 1502(ENG)
Activate DDV 3FFF

Remaining 0.5EP. No repayment or new borrowing.

By Richard Eitzen (Rbeitzen) on Thursday, July 13, 2023 - 03:39 am: Edit

I think there is a special exception that you can't CDR Kzinti FFs to FFKs (or variants).

By William Jockusch (Verybadcat) on Thursday, July 13, 2023 - 04:15 pm: Edit

I couldn't find that. However, I'm thinking you are ultimately correct, because FFK is a separate hull type from FF. At least I think it is. So I undid those two conversions and paid down 1EP of debt.