Federation Commander

rexbinary · Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 8:27 pm Post subject: Ship card differences

Some of my ship cards have a value in the Counter field up top, although most of them don't.

Also on some of them the box for High Energy Turn is Pink and on some it's Green although they are the same ship.

Why or what are the differences about?

Thanks!
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Scoutdad · Posted: Sat Apr 02, 2011 11:08 pm Post subject:

Early versions of the ship cards had pink boxes for HETs... but those were superceded by a graphically improved green box.
(Actually, other than Jean... most of us complained enough about pink boxes that Steve chose to change them!)

IIRC, the real reason for the change to green was that some times the pink didn't print true, so the change was made to a color that was more likely to print correctly time after time after time.

Later revisions of the ship cards also had the class designation added to the Counter field.

Other than that... the cards are identical.
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rexbinary · Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 12:01 am Post subject:

Thanks Scoutdad!
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Jean · Site Admin Joined: 18 Sep 2008 Posts: 1733

Verifying the color of the HET box and that the counter information is there is part of my checklist of checking Ship Cards. Very Happy

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Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc.

mjwest · Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:16 am Post subject:

As it says in the very rules (7A5), creating the ship cards is an art more than a science. It has also been an evolution as things get added (and, in a couple rare situations, taken away). So, from the very first Federation CA ship card, to the latest Andromedan Intruder, what a ship card has evolved.

Some of the notable changes are: numbering the warp boxes, marine track, and frame damage track; the coloring of plasma warhead tracks; HET box (pink->green); ship designation; cloak cost; some notes.

Note that none of the actually change the actual ship. They are purely cosmetic. But, they have indeed changed over time.
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Jean · Site Admin Joined: 18 Sep 2008 Posts: 1733

My checklist for standardization is two columns of type and a lot of written-in notes. I don't do "rules stuff;" I just make sure that PH-1 is always PH-1 and not PH1. As Mike says -- the purely cosmetic things that make the cards look more professionally produced
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Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc.

Steve Cole · Site Admin Joined: 11 Oct 2006 Posts: 3828

First cards had "shuttlecraft" by the shuttles but this was omitted later as clutter.

Early cards had a note about marking weapons used that was later ommitted.

Jean standardized some of the "notes" as usually I just made up a new note any time I needed it. Thus, cards had

No probe launcher.

There is no probe launcher.

This ship has no probe launcher.

There is no probe launcher on this ship.

This ship doesn't have a probe launcher because it didn't need one.

and Jean picked one note that is now used for all.
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