Federation Commander

Hi.


I was wondering if those of you who have gotten the chance to break out copies of B2 and tried some games using the Middle Years ships within (and listed as appropriate for use from other products) could give some thoughts about your experiences with them?


One thing I was wondering was whether or not the MY ships made better or worse opponents, depending on which half of the Octant you were in - for example, do you get a more balanced fight between the Four Powers' ships, or when Romulan and Gorn ships square off, than if one tries a cross-Octant battle?

(And since they are stuck in the middle, how do the Feds, Tholians and Orions fit into the equation?)

Don't get blown up.

Also, make sure to keep phasers open for defense, unless the opponent isn't using seeking weapons. watch your energy too. It's more important now (well, then) than ever.

One thing we have found using Kzintis is that their drones will require a different mindset. At speed 16, they aren't liable to hit any moving targets.

And that brings up another point. You know the saying in FC, "Speed is life"? Well, perhaps that isn't so true of the MY ships unless you're facing plasma-carrying opponents. Against Kzintis and Klingons, the drones aren't much to be worried about.

I've been wondering about what would be the best use of drones at speed 16. Are they just an annoyance, or can they actually be used in a running fight?

One tactic might be to drop a wedge of drones in adjacent hexes and then speed past them to try and force an opponent to get between your ship and the drones. There would have to be some reason for the opponent not to simply turn away.

Oh well, just some thoughts.

We've tried the Mercy or Death scenario a few times and it is based on a fascinating premise. It seems to catch the flavor of the TOS era, er, I mean the Middle Years era. Ships are sent to rescue infected colonists. Aggressors are sent to try and prevent that from happening.

Speed-16 drones might just explain Kzinti 'Scream and Leap' tactics.

Scream, Leap (at the best speed you can manage), Tractor, Launch, Dinnertime...

Of course, running at speed-24 *and* having enough energy to tractor the target may prove to be frustratingly difficult...hence the scream...

If you're flying a Klingon, you can only launch 1 drone/turn. So keep launching from one rack, so you'll have an empty rack to take damage on. Alternatively, you can launch from each rack alternately, and take the other rack out of service to reload, giving you Kzinti-style infinite reloads.

The Klink D7 has way more power than the fed CA, so it can fly faster and get in behind the CA more easily. And it doesn't have to worry about rear-firing phaser-1s either.

That's what got me creamed last time...

terryoc wrote:The Klink D7 has way more power than the fed CA, so it can fly faster and get in behind the CA more easily. And it doesn't have to worry about rear-firing phaser-1s either.

Yeah, that's the problem with the MY Fed CA in FC, no rear weapons coverage, not even with the side phasers.

Wolverin61 wrote:

terryoc wrote:The Klink D7 has way more power than the fed CA, so it can fly faster and get in behind the CA more easily. And it doesn't have to worry about rear-firing phaser-1s either.

Yeah, that's the problem with the MY Fed CA in FC, no rear weapons coverage, not even with the side phasers.

You could try the OCA or GSC, then... or wait for the CAR in Briefing 91.

The key to using MY drones is that they are herders and and walls. Basically you use them to either direct them where you want your enemy to go, or to discourage them from trying to run you over.

One thing I'm looking forward to reading about is how people find some of the more unorthodox ships found in B2, when trying things like duels or squadron/fleet matchups.


Things like how the Fed OCA fares, or what use one gets from the Lyran BCE, for example.


Indeed, one interesting matchup could be a Kzinti CS up against a Fed GSC. Could the Fed ship rely on the ph-3s for drone defence, while using its spare power - and its photons and phaser-1s - to control the engagement, or is the Kzinti ship too much for the GSC to handle?

I've been wondering what other ship might match up well with an auxiliary cruiser...

The OCA is interesting, and good as far as the game. But I have to have background to play a ship. Why did it prove insuccessful? It was a lot better than the other CA, or even the CAR.

Let me launch one of my catchphrases now: What the antidisestablishmentaryenism? (considering the argument, that's the first time i've said that that made sense. Rightous! )

(Opps, used another catch phrase...)

The oCA was better described in Captains Log #38 (where a "GW-era" version was introduced).

Bottom-line, it was an old (if enlarged) hull design that was nearly at the extreme upper limit of what it could be pushed to. There was little room or capability left to expand or update it and military equipment always needs room to change to compete with emerging threats. If it can't, then it will be pushed-aside for something that can.

This happens with modern "real world" ships and aircraft too - there comes a point where the basic model is just not competitive with a newer one, no matter how much it is stretched or updated. There aren't any Boeing 707's in passenger service in the US anymore, even though it was stretched and re-engined and updated many times. The Knox-class frigates aren't in US Navy service anymore, even though they were fairly modern (the mission-needs changed and the hulls were considered not cost-effective to change to follow the needs; it was cheaper to retire them and build newer, different ships).

There are a lot of logistical and strategic aspects to ships and shipbuilding that aren't reflected in FedCom. Taken only as FedCom ship cards, the MY CA and the oCA aren't all that different. Looking at the aspects that FedCom doesn't model, they are significantly different.

Interesting.