First, two caveats here. One: I am an experiencedl SFB player (but new to FC) while the Fed players are new to the game with about 10 battles or so total experience. They are good wargamers however. Each successive battle has been closer than the previous one.
Caveat two: The campaign has several house rules with significant implications: 1) most scenarios have started at the old SFB equivalent of WS III (everything armed and held at players decision). This is pretty much a wash as both Fed and Rom benefit. 2) as a campaign, we are playing with progression for key officers. One of the Fed players has, for all practical purposes, the ability to fire one spread of weapons per turn at -1 on the die. This is a major p.i.t.a.
3) Each race has one "special ability" drawn from SFB. Plasma races can use SFB-style "rolling delay" and fire envelopers. The Feds have a huge list of ships to choose from meaning they can take losses and still have good ships to fall back into for the next scenario. If I lose my K7R will be replaced with a KR or maybe even a WE.That being said here are what I have taken away so far:
1) Unless the scenario forces it, on a floating map the Fed player only gets to shoot photons if the Romulan wants him to. I have not made heavy use of cloak (due to campaign rules I've been flying a Kestrel), choosing instead to use speed and maneuverability. The KRT/K7R has a great power curve so I've been able to keep speed up even when re-arming and control the range.
2) When running at 24 a Fed CA only has 4 points of power. To date the Fed players have been hauling around full overloads meaning they have to choose between a few impluses of 24+1 or firing phasers. The Romulan power curve has let me keep plasma in the air and still unload phasers and accelerate with wide flexibility.
3) Plasma is very powerful against bases--as was true in SFB.
4) The Kestrel class cruisers have a huge problem making much use of the cloaking device against the Federation. Speed and distance (maybe with EM now and then) is just as effective and less expensive. The Eagle-class Romulans have a lot more use cases for cloak. I have yet to have the luxury of flying a Hawk (too early in the campaign).
5) When it can be used, however, the cloak is pretty effective against Feds. As long as you avoid range 0 they cannot get a better hit chance than 1-3 and even those that hit are halved. There is still a chance for hot photon dice to make it hurt the Rom badly, but hot photon dice have always been a factor when playing Feds.
6) Against waddling Feds getting plasma bolt shots is pretty easy. Honestly I've been trying very hard to use fine tune my use of seeking plasma and saving bolts for later, but I've seen many situations where I could easily get a range 10 shot with an S and and F and several P-1s and safely turn away due to the nice Kestrel turn mode to avoid the range-8 shot. In Hawks it will be even more compelling due to the FP arcs on the heavy plasma.
7) The strategy of focusing on the Fed's rear shields has been so-so as the new shield shifting rules really dumbs down some of the subtler benefits of good maneuver skills. This goes double for the elimination of the facing-phaser damage rules. In SFB you could get on a Feds tail, nip away at the weaker rear shields and kill his rear-firing phasers and then do all sorts of nastiness while he has to choose between either just taking it or HET'ing into plasma. (I am always happy when a DF race HETs. Worst case I HET away. Best case he eats some plasma for his troubles.)
A Federation ship cannot win a tractor auction if speed is high. In squadron/fleet actions this means that the Fed might end up trading a crippled Rom (which can still launch his plasma!) for a destroyed Fed. The anchor is still riskier for the Romulan as he is not durable, but if the Fed has fired there is no downside for having a ship run in and tractor it.
