'Fast' Cruisers...

[Maxwell Luther]

Finally picked up all the boosters for the Klingon Border/Attack sets and was looking at the Fed Fast Cruiser when I noticed it has the same turn ratio and uses the same amount of power to move. About the only real move difference is the extra 2 points of power over the regular Heavy Cruiser.

So what is so 'fast' about a fast cruiser? Did I get a misprinted or older version of the card?

[mjwest]

"Fast" is meant in a strategic sense, which isn't really represented in a tactical game like Federation Commander (or even SFB). It is the "fast" quality that allows it to get from point to point more quickly than other ships, thereby either getting somewhere before the target can get out, or allowing it to get in, attack, and get out before the enemy can easily react. This means that the scenarios it is likely to be seen in will tend to include the CF as a solitary ship, as it won't be operating with other "fast" consorts, but will instead be acting alone.

In purely game terms of Federation Commander, however, there is no appreciable different between a "fast" ship than a "normal" ship, outside its power curve and weapons arrangement. Tactically, it can move no faster than other ships (all ships have an in-game speed limit of 32 hexes per turn), and they aren't any more maneuverable than their "normal" counterparts.

[Maxwell Luther]

I see. So they're really more useful in a full campaign environment.

For mapped campaigns, I suppose you could give them a couple of extra hexes to move or react to movement while in an Empires Aflame, mapless style campaign I'm guessing you could let them move from the border to the Home systems in a single turn or something similar. Good to know, thanks!

As a sort of side question, when we're talking about how they can get somewhere faster on the strategic scale we talking travel at a higher warp speed than the standard cruiser is capable of or just a better endurance for traveling at Dash Speed?

[Scoutdad]

In Federaiton and Empire, ship have a strategic movement rate of 6 hexes.
X-ships and Fast ships have a strategic movement rate of 7 hexes.

[Dal Downing]

Finally picked up all the boosters for the Klingon Border/Attack sets and was looking at the Fed Fast Cruiser when I noticed it has the same turn ratio and uses the same amount of power to move. About the only real move difference is the extra 2 points of power over the regular Heavy Cruiser.

So what is so 'fast' about a fast cruiser? Did I get a misprinted or older version of the card?

Will have to check later hopefully but the CF should have 6 more power than a CA because they have the 18 Box Engines as opposed to the standard 15 box engines. Also you replace 2 power hungry Photons with much more power friendly phasers. That right there changes the way the CF handles tremendously.

[Steve Cole]

He's probably counting total power. In FC, power is power, doesn't have to be warp power to move.

[Maxwell Luther]

In Federaiton and Empire, ship have a strategic movement rate of 6 hexes.
X-ships and Fast ships have a strategic movement rate of 7 hexes.

Cool, that's what I thought. Thanks, Scoutdad. That means in my campaign, a Fleet will have a 1 Hex larger radius for interdiction, but may only use ships that are 'Fast' in that extended radius.

Will have to check later hopefully but the CF should have 6 more power than a CA because they have the 18 Box Engines as opposed to the standard 15 box engines. Also you replace 2 power hungry Photons with much more power friendly phasers. That right there changes the way the CF handles tremendously.

He's probably counting total power. In FC, power is power, doesn't have to be warp power to move.

I was using the Fleet side numbers (and potential stored battery power) in my example, so 23 power to 21. In Squadron Scale, its 46 to 40, so yeah, a difference of 6 points in that scale, which is not a huge difference, but enough to fire off a few more weapons, considering the replacement of Photons with PH1s, or for keeping acceleration going while maintaining the normal CA rate of fire.

[Dal Downing]

Ah since Fleet Scaling is a art this is a case where either the CF lost a point of power in the translation or the CA gained a point of power. Not a huge deal just one of the little side effects of having a faster game.