Federation Commander

Did ADB come up with the new light cruisers before or after Wrath of Khan came out?

Before the movie

But remember there is significant changes between a certian Movie Ship and the NCL. One has a Super Structure added behind the Bridge Dome and a Pair of Engines Over the Saucer. The other has a Super Structure built above and and to the rear of the saucer with a pair of Warp Engines slung below the Saucer.

/sarcasm off

I really got into SFB in 1986ish. I always thought that the NCL was supposed to be the Reliant. I also thought that X-Ships were supposed to be ships from TNG.

Nope. Though of course nothing keeps you from seeing them that way in your mind's eye. After The Old Series, there's no direct correlation between any ship in the movies/later series and what's in SFB. Plus the timelines certainly don't match. First appearance of the NCL was less than 50 years before the X-ships (both were developed in the General War).

hedgehobbit wrote:I really got into SFB in 1986ish. I always thought that the NCL was supposed to be the Reliant. I also thought that X-Ships were supposed to be ships from TNG.

Wasn't the NCL first published in Expansion #3? If so, that was 1982, the same year as Wrath of Khan. When I bought Expansion #3, I had already seen Khan so, I guess, I just assumed that's what the ship was supposed to be. Back then I don't think they had a picture or mini so there was no way to know if the engines were on the top or bottom.

I'm trying to remember something I read 25 years ago. I have Expansion #3 in a box somewhere in my attic. I hope I don't have to spend half a day digging around up there when its 100+ degrees!

What makes it so hard to keep track of was that when something was added to the game is independent of when it appears inside the game. For examples, X-ships were in Expansion #1, two years before the NCL showed up. You can see the same thing now with the Early Years stuff. Showing earlier version of things that were, previous to that, something that wasn't available until later in the regular timeline.

Without a whole lot of digging, I couldn't add anything to the discussion on the timing of when the NCL came out.

Even if it was a case of happily coincidental parallel development, there are certainly hints in the fluff published over the years to encourage players to think of it as a certain movie ship (if they are so inclined). This would include hull# 1501.

So what is that ship on the cover of CL #37? That has the engines underneath just like the USS Reliant in the movie!

(Looks at the NCL miniature: hmm... yep... different... but WHEN did it first get published...?)

I believe those are Fed Frigates. (the NCL was published in 1982, see my previous post)

Back in the 80s, it seemed that SFB followed the developement of Star Trek as much as possible given their license. Another example besides the NCL, was the Feb battlecruiser which had weapon in its neck, something that wasn't in the old series but was in the movies. After TNG came out, the games started to diverge completely since TNG was so different from what had come before it.

Since then, SFB is expanding back in time with their Y modules and expanding outwards with their Omega stuff.

Expansion #3 indeed had a copyright date of 1982.

The ships on the cover of CL37 are the Federation frigates Rommel and Guderian. The Fed frigate does indeed have the engines mounted below its small saucer.

The miranda class in comparison the the Constitution is a Light Cruiser, not a Frigate.

pinecone wrote:The miranda class in comparison the the Constitution is a Light Cruiser, not a Frigate.

I agree, but I've seen the Miranda/Avenger class called a 'frigate' in books.

Yup. Before Okuda, Sternbach, & Co. gave it the name 'Miranda-class', it was known in fanion for over a decade as the 'Avenger-class Frigate'.

I wonder when the design of the NCL was changed, to give it the larger engines close to the saucer than the older version used to have...

Nerroth wrote:I wonder when the design of the NCL was changed, to give it the larger engines close to the saucer than the older version used to have...

When they started remaking Masters for the Starline 2400 Series. It was done for the same reason the Gorn Engines were changed and the D7 is now one piece. Its not so much that a decision was made to change the ship as it was a repeated request to change the ship by players.