Federation Commander

Hello.


If you see any issues with version 2 of the Omega Playtest Rulebook, please post them in this thread. (More general discussions about FC Omega should go here instead.)

First off, there are a couple of last-minute niggles missed in the uploaded file. (I sent an update, but it was too late for this upload batch):

*The phaser rules on page 1 should have the weapon-specific letters ("W", "R", etc) capitalized, as they are in the weapon rules themselves.

*On page 29, the page title should be (7OZ), not (7OH).

Hopefully there aren't too many other issues to sort out...

Errata list, 4 August 2011:

Note: The letter "O" is presented in place of the Omega symbol used in the actual file.

*Page 2: DKeith2011 should be listed as Danny Keith. Sorry, Danny!

*Page 5: Some of the borders between the empires on the two maps don't show as clearly when printed in greyscale than in colour; apologies for the oversight.

*Page 13: In the first paragraph of (4OD3d), the words "the effect is" are duplicated.

*Page 13: The effect as noted in the Target Accentuator Firing Table indicated the number of consecutive movement sub-pulses' worth of effect (8); while this amounts to the two full impulses' worth noted in the rule, the link to the Firing Table should be made more explicit. (This error was a hangover from the SFB version.)

*Pages 13-14: The second paragraph of (4OD3d) is replicated in part across pages.

One other piece of errata for now; this time for Iridani target illuminators.

*Page 22: Add the following rule to (5OA):

(5OA2e) Target Restrictions: TIs cannot be targeted on units which are fully cloaked. TIs do not function if the firing unit, the target unit, or any hex within the direct line of hexes between the two, are within the confines of a nebula; or within five hexes of a black hole. Other appropriate restrictions may be noted at a later time.

This one was an oversight on my part:

*Page 29: The note permitting the FRA CR Throne of Ozymondas to equip a tachyon missile rack should refer to 2581, not to 2577. (The Throne brought a sample rack "back home" for study in 2577, but it took a number of years for the Aurorans to study the technology and successfully install it into any of their own ships.)

I've been thinking of a slight change to the way the tachyon gun arming track is shown on the Ship Cards.

Right now, the track goes like this:

Which allows for players to allocate between 2 and 8 Energy Points into the weapon, akin to how it works in SFB.


One thought I had was to re-number the second set of numbers, to indicate the "ready to fire" arming level instead.

So, it would read like:

So what you are doing in the second turn of arming is showing the result of adding both turn's worth of power to that point, rather than simply marking how many Energy Points were fed in on the second turn.


The other point I was thinking about is this: in FC, does the TG need all seven arming levels, or would four be sufficient?

Say, for example, if the arming track were pared down to this instead:

On the one hand, it would follow the precedent used by standard (and light and heavy) photons, in cutting back on the granularity seen in SFB.

But, unlike photons, the TG would end up with a notably restricted set of firing ranges, since each arming level is tied to a given range on the weapon table.



Is it okay to let Maesron (and Vulpa) players in FC retain all seven arming levels they get to use over in SFB, or is it better to trim things down and oblige them to deal with a more restricted set of options instead?

Things that I've seen:

Page 4 - 5th Paragraph "An attempt to invest it that year" should I assume be "an attempt to investigate it that year"

Sorry for not catching this errata entry before now...

Paul B wrote:Things that I've seen:

Page 4 - 5th Paragraph "An attempt to invest it that year" should I assume be "an attempt to investigate it that year"

In that case, I meant to use "invest" as an alternative to "invade" or "assault", since these were proper offensives rather than simple probes. But after trying (and, for now, failing) to find the meaning I was originally thinking of online, I may have used the incorrect term.

(I could have sworn I had read a book or file that used "invest" in this specific sense...)

Please replace:

The Maesron Alliance discovered the Andromedan occupation of the Ryn Nebula in 2595; an attempt to invest it that year failed utterly, as did a joint assault alongside the Probr in 2597.

with:

The Maesron Alliance discovered the Andromedan occupation of the Ryn Nebula in 2595. An attempt to mount an offensive there that year failed utterly, as did a joint assault alongside the Probr in 2597.

(With the correct grapheme instead of the "ae". This forum doesn't like my typing "Maesron" the correct way.)

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Also, I went to check the FC sales list on e23, and saw that the Omega Playtest Rulebook has reached 100 downloads!

I hope those who have taken a look at the file appreciate the fine work Rick put in on the graphical side of things, and find the rules and background portion to be of interest.

Once again, if there is anyone who has had the opportunity to try these ships and rules out for themselves, or has any ideas/comments/criticisms on how they are currently set up (or how you might like to see the FC Omega project move forward), please feel free to post your feedback here.