Federation Commander

Dan Ibekwe wrote:

pinecone wrote:Oh, too bad

Piney, check this out; http://www.starfleetgames.com/discus/me ... teaser.pdf

Shouldn't the TRLs on the Mamba cards have 2 instead of 3 as the energy cost per turn?

i do believe tha has already been fixed.

The Mamba TRL has been fixed.

Pinecone: Even with Steve's teasers... there are not enough rules posted to enable you to play the Andromedans. Sorry, but with all the new systems and weapons - you're just gonna have to wait for W&P.

Yes, the weapons tables and the DD table is required ---

Wow, look away for a day and bam! 7 new pages of posts! My earlier concern has been addressed about how the Andros will burn power. For those wondering why the Andros would want to operate the engines at a lower output the answer is that this lets them use use the power in the batteries. In SFB battery power is kept track of seperate from normal power, but this is not done in FC. So in FC you can't use the batteries first for everything, since it is all just power and whatever is left over goes into the batteries. For the normal galactic ships this isn't concern, as you want to keep power in your batteries. Now, it should be very easy for Andros to empty the batteries now as they don't have to use the engines and in FC you only need "power" so the batteries can move the ship so there is alot of energy out of the batteries just for that. Have to keep space in the batteries for the panel dump!

There has been some talk about hit and run raids on power absorber panels. You should never get a chance to to a hit and run on an Andro, like any normal ship captain if he drops a shiled/PA panel facing you he deserves to just loose for that, lol.

m1a1dat wrote:Wow, look away for a day and bam! 7 new pages of posts! My earlier concern has been addressed about how the Andros will burn power. For those wondering why the Andros would want to operate the engines at a lower output the answer is that this lets them use use the power in the batteries. In SFB battery power is kept track of seperate from normal power, but this is not done in FC. So in FC you can't use the batteries first for everything, since it is all just power and whatever is left over goes into the batteries. For the normal galactic ships this isn't concern, as you want to keep power in your batteries. Now, it should be very easy for Andros to empty the batteries now as they don't have to use the engines and in FC you only need "power" so the batteries can move the ship so there is alot of energy out of the batteries just for that. Have to keep space in the batteries for the panel dump!

This was answered previously.

The various points:
- You NEVER have to move power to batteries at the end of the turn, the rules state a clear "may" not "must", true for all races
- For andros you do track battery power separate from normal power in FC
- Andros have a special rule that states they must use all generated power before using any battery
- Thus there is a point for low power mode, they may want to have very little generated power so they are allowed to touch their batteries

Scoutdad wrote:Pinecone: Even with Steve's teasers... there are not enough rules posted to enable you to play the Andromedans. Sorry, but with all the new systems and weapons - you're just gonna have to wait for W&P.

Oh well. If I must wait, then wait i will

Besides, who "wants" extragalactic invaders to try to conquer their galaxy?

storeylf wrote:

DirkSJ wrote:

mjwest wrote:The power for a canceled HET returns to whence it came.

Are they getting a special "don't need to announce" exception like stingers then to improve game flow?

For sanities sake I think you'd have to play like that even if the rule wasn't there. There would usually be no tactical reason not to declare and keep your options open given the lack of penalty, but the hassle of cnnstantly declaring HET and shuffling energy around woud slow things down to much.

I guess the 'ability' to HET at any time just adds to the 'alien' flavour of the Andros. Drool, drool....

QUESTION: Also just out of interest, given that battery power is critical to andros, does that mean you actually have to track it seperately, or like other ships is all power just 'power'.

ANSWER: Andro batteries are tracked separately on special tracks on the cards. They are not "just power" and there are no blue numbers on Andro power tracks.

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QUESTION: How much power is in an Andromedan ship's batteries at start?

ANSWER: I posted this rule in this topic. The Andro player picks anything he wants.

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QUESTION: , can TR beams be pre-loaded (4C2c) like other heavy weapons? If so, does this have any effect on the amount of power in the batteries?

ANSWER: Yes, they can, and no, they don't.

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QUESTION: : Also am I correct in assuming that any power left over at the end of the turn MUST be saved in batteries, unlike a Galactic ship, which simply loses any excess that cannot be saved?

ANSWER: Andros have special rules about power. They have to use what they generate.

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I take it that Low/High Power settings for PAs has been eliminated and only operate at full power ----

Answer: correct.

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QUESTION: Will there be a limit to the number of DD equipped ships in a scenario?

ANSWER: yes, two.

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QUESTION: I doubt you can specifically target full panels vs empty ones.

ANSWER: right, you target the bank, not a given panel. I'm not sure if you can target the bank more than once but I don't think so. Ask me tomorrow.

Ok, here's the "release schedule" for W&P, the boosters, and SFB-R12.

On 21 June, I will load a carton of W&P in the car and head to Origins. Staffers who are not going to Origins will have their copies mailed that day.

On 23 June, I will pass out pre-orders at the singalong. This will be the first time that anyone outside of the office holds a copy in his hands.

On 24 June, they'll be on sale in the booth.

On 28 June, Leanna will start shipping to wholesalers. The US wholesalers will have them by Friday, 2 July. A few stores will have them Saturday 3 July, but most US stores will have them by Friday 9 July.

On Tuesday 6 July, Leanna will ship mail orders.

(4S) TRACTOR-REPULSOR BEAMS

The tractor-repulsor (TR) beam is the primary heavy weapon of the Andromedan invaders. It operates by very rapidly alternating tractor and repulsion forces in millisecond-long bursts. The target is literally shaken to pieces on a molecular level. Only the Andromedans use TR beams. There are two types: the heavy (TRH) used on motherships, and the light (TRL) used on satellite ships. Only the Andromedans can use TR beams; they cannot be used in optional weapons mounts.

(4S1) DESIGNATION

(4S1a) SHIP CARD: Each TRH or TRL box on an Andromedan ship card is one weapon, each of which is armed and fired independently. Each weapon has a designated firing arc.

(4S1b) DAMAGE: TR beams are disabled on “torpedo� damage points. Each disabled TRH or TRL requires four repair points to bring back into service.

(4S2) ARMING PROCEDURE

(4S2a) ENERGY: TR beams require two turns to arm in a manner similar to photon torpedoes.
(4S2a1) TRHs required three points of energy on each of two consecutive turns. TRLs require two points of energy on each of two consecutive turns. The energy must be applied in this pattern, with the same amount in each turn.
(4S2a2) Each TR beam requires energy on each of two consecutive turns to charge (2+2 for TRL, 3+3 for TRH). All TR beam arming energy must be allocated during the Energy Allocation Phase of the relevant turn; non-allocated power cannot be used to fire TR beams.
(4S2a3) If the TR is armed on the first and second turn, it can be fired at any point during the second turn. If not fired during the second turn, the energy from the first turn is lost and the second turn’s arming energy is treated as the first turn of a new arming cycle. (The weapon cannot be held in an armed state.)
(4S2a4) A TRH can be armed as a TRL, and can be changed from a heavy TRH charge to a light TRL charge. If the TRH is given three points on the first turn and two on the second, it can fire as a TRL.
If a TRH is given two points of energy on the first turn of arming, it could be given two or three on the second, but would be fired as a TRL in either case. It might be given three points so that the Andromedan player would have the option to delay into third turn, provide three points of power (on the third turn), and fire the weapon as a TRH on the third turn.

To keep track of this, the arming track for the TRH looks like this:




In this case, “A� is the specific weapon, “P� means pre-loaded with two points of energy, the first “3� means pre-loaded with the third point of energy, “L� means loaded (second turn) with two points of energy, the second “3� means loaded with the third point of energy, and “F� means fired.
(4S2a5) A TR beam cannot be armed again on the turn it is fired; they are only armed during Energy Allocation. You would have to wait to the next turn to begin a new arming cycle.
(4S2a6) TR beams cannot be overloaded.
(4s2a7) TR beams can be pre-armed at the start of the scenario with no effect on the amount of power in an Andromedan ship’s batteries.

(4S3) FIRING A TR BEAM

TR beams are fired during the Direct-Fire Weapons Phase of the Sequence of Play. The player who owns the ship firing the TR beam uses the following procedure.

(4S3a) Step 1: He announces which TR beam he is firing (which must not be disabled), if it is fired as a TRH or TRL, and the target (which must be within range and firing arc). Other players can confirm this data (or show it not to be true) and point out any rule or condition which would prevent firing.

(4S3b) Step 2: The range (3A5) is calculated. If the target is out of range, the TR beam cannot be fired. The maximum range of a TRH or TRL is 25 hexes.

(4S3c) Step 3: One die is rolled for each TR beam. The result of the die roll might be modified (4A4) by various conditions, e.g., Evasive Maneuvering (2D4) or Orion stealth coatings (5L2). Cross-reference the adjusted result with the Range on the TR Beam Firing Table (as appropriate) to determine if the TR beam hit or missed. If it hit, score the appropriate damage on the facing shield of the target unit. If this penetrates the shields, use the (3D) Damage Allocation Procedure (for all damage of a given volley).

4S4) USING A TR BEAM AS A TRACTOR BEAM

Many Andromedan ships do not have tractor beams, but all Andromedan ships can use their TR weapons as tractor beams if they want to.

(4S4a) ARC: If used as a tractor beam, the TR weapon has a 360° operations arc, and is not limited to the firing arc of the TR weapon.

(4S4b) ENERGY: If used as a tractor beam, any energy previously given to that TR beam is available for use as a tractor (e.g., in an auction). Any energy not used is lost. A TR beam with no energy in it (never armed, or used as negative tractor) could be used as a tractor beam by applying power during the turn.

(4S4c) LIMITATIONS: A TR beam cannot be used as a tractor beam during a turn that it was fired, and cannot be fired during a turn when it was used as a tractor beam.

(4S4d) NEGATIVE TRACTOR: While negative tractor energy (5D6a) does not require a tractor beam, the Andromedan player has the option to use a TR beam which has energy in it for that purpose, in which case the weapon is considered “fired� and all of the energy in the weapon must be used immediately as negative tractor energy.