Hi.
One thing I noticed about my copy of Klingon Armada is that the Starmada side of the ruleset included within is adequate for the task at hand... but in my view, doesn't quite have that Star Fleet Universe 'feel' to it.
For example, the sample ship diagram presented in 1.0 Starships is of a Victory-class heavy cruiser - a ship from another setting, which has a slightly different visual style to the ones Klingon Armada has to offer. Also, in 4.0 Combat, the weapons described for in-game examples are laser cannons, as opposed to phasers or other Star Fleet Universe weapons.
What I might like to see in a future re-print is the use of a sample ship diagram from KLA itself - say, a Klingon D7 or Federation CA - and describe phasers being fired as opposed to laser cannons.
(Indeed, if the same rules are to be included in Romulan Armada, the sample card could be of one of the ships in that work - say, a Romulan King Eagle or Federation NCA.)
Does this sound like the kind of thing that would be good to see... or am I overthinking things again?
KA, RA and the Star Fleet Universe 'feel'
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mj12games
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I think you may be over-thinking things... 
Klingon Armada is a supplement to the Starmada game -- not a separate game that uses the Starmada game mechanics. This may be a fine distinction, but it is an important one from the perspective of how the book is laid out.
The Starmada rules in KA are a direct reprint of pages from the Core Rulebook, and in fact are identical to what you would see if you downloaded the free demo from the MJ12 web site. I am reluctant to start making changes to these, even cosmetic ones like swapping out a ship card or changing "laser cannons" to "phasers" -- which, FWIW, wouldn't be as straightforward as you suggest, since phasers as defined in KA require the use of option C.4: Weapon Traits, and so would be unsuitable as an example in the basic rules.
One way to look at it is that the basic Starmada rules are meant to highlight the generic or "universal" nature of the system, while the rest of KA provides the SFU "feel".
Klingon Armada is a supplement to the Starmada game -- not a separate game that uses the Starmada game mechanics. This may be a fine distinction, but it is an important one from the perspective of how the book is laid out.
The Starmada rules in KA are a direct reprint of pages from the Core Rulebook, and in fact are identical to what you would see if you downloaded the free demo from the MJ12 web site. I am reluctant to start making changes to these, even cosmetic ones like swapping out a ship card or changing "laser cannons" to "phasers" -- which, FWIW, wouldn't be as straightforward as you suggest, since phasers as defined in KA require the use of option C.4: Weapon Traits, and so would be unsuitable as an example in the basic rules.
One way to look at it is that the basic Starmada rules are meant to highlight the generic or "universal" nature of the system, while the rest of KA provides the SFU "feel".
I'm finally getting a chance to really sit down and read through my copy of KA and start planning out some games with it.
The pre-plotted movement is definitely something I'll need to get my head around (I come from a SFB/FedCom background and lack the history with BFG, Full Thrust, and other games that lots of other folks seem to have). It's just different.
I can see the upsides; no energy allocation and (later) cloaking will really truly be hidden. I also see that this model will fit what my play group buddies were expecting a bit more (they assumed things like inertial movement and pre-plotting, so KA should be an easy learn for them).
I'm looking forward to trying some small fleet skirmishes in the next couple of months to get a feel for the game. I've got more than a few minis now, it would be nice to get them out on the board more often.
The pre-plotted movement is definitely something I'll need to get my head around (I come from a SFB/FedCom background and lack the history with BFG, Full Thrust, and other games that lots of other folks seem to have). It's just different.
I can see the upsides; no energy allocation and (later) cloaking will really truly be hidden. I also see that this model will fit what my play group buddies were expecting a bit more (they assumed things like inertial movement and pre-plotting, so KA should be an easy learn for them).
I'm looking forward to trying some small fleet skirmishes in the next couple of months to get a feel for the game. I've got more than a few minis now, it would be nice to get them out on the board more often.
Obvisously you don't come from a far-enough back SFB background or you'd be much more familiar with pre-plotted movement - and it's pratfalls.djdood wrote: The pre-plotted movement is definitely something I'll need to get my head around (I come from a SFB/FedCom background and lack the history with BFG, Full Thrust, and other games that lots of other folks seem to have). It's just different...
Commander, Battlegroup Murfreesboro
Department Head, ACTASF
Department Head, ACTASF
Played my first game the other day.
The movement rules are really quite simple. Most important aspect to remember is avoiding exceeding your thrust rating. Once that happens, you'll need to slow down before you can turn at all. That said, the chart provided in the book pretty simply indicates how much thrust you need to manuever.
As a side note, the thrust system lets you pick up speed fast if you want and disengagements can happed with startling suddeness.
As far as comparing game systems, you'll find that the weapon ranges far exceed typical ship speed. This means you'll be dishing out heavy damage long before you hit knife fighting range. Additionally, the ships have fairly little defense and are crippled or destroyed quickly. This means fleet actions will be over much more quickly than in SFB or FC.
Our game took about 90 minutes. A Klingon force reduced a Federation battlestation to slag and then took off having lost only a D7 and an F5 (thats more than a 2-1 VP advantage).
The movement rules are really quite simple. Most important aspect to remember is avoiding exceeding your thrust rating. Once that happens, you'll need to slow down before you can turn at all. That said, the chart provided in the book pretty simply indicates how much thrust you need to manuever.
As a side note, the thrust system lets you pick up speed fast if you want and disengagements can happed with startling suddeness.
As far as comparing game systems, you'll find that the weapon ranges far exceed typical ship speed. This means you'll be dishing out heavy damage long before you hit knife fighting range. Additionally, the ships have fairly little defense and are crippled or destroyed quickly. This means fleet actions will be over much more quickly than in SFB or FC.
Our game took about 90 minutes. A Klingon force reduced a Federation battlestation to slag and then took off having lost only a D7 and an F5 (thats more than a 2-1 VP advantage).
"Damn the torpedoes, full spe........[squarrk]"