Federation Commander

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for a space combat game set in the Star Trek (Starfleet) universe and Ive pretty much narrowed my choices down to either Federation Commander or Starmada/klingon Armada.

My dilemma is this:

Federation commander seems to suit the size of battles I would like to play (1on 1 duels or squadron level) however I'm concerned that although less complex than SFB it could still be complicated enough to put off the people I usually game with. I've had a look at the demo version of starmada and in terms of complexity it seems to be much more what I'm after however from what i can make out seems to be aimed at larger battles between massed fleets of ships.

Can anyone with experience of playing Starmada/Klingon Armada tell me if the mechanics are capable of providing a decent game at squadron level and at a push 1 on 1 duels? (Maybe with a little moding)

You'd have a third option by the end of the year (or perhaps early next year), when A Call to Arms: Star Fleet is up and running...

Although, in terms of scale, ACtA would be in broadly the same league as Starmada, in terms of complexity; I wouldn't necessarily suggest either would be optimised for duels, but they would be handy in larger squadron encounters.

(From what I've seen, at any rate; I haven't had a chance to play Starmada yet, and while I used to play one of the older Babylon 5 versions of A Call to Arms, I haven't been able to try the current Noble Armada edition.)


Have you tried showing the First Missions PDF to any of the people in your local gaming group? It's missing a few features from the main game, but is still enough to help them see that FC isn't quite so scary, after all...

FedCom might be a better choice for just 1-2 ship battles per side. Starmada seems to be geared more towards larger fleet battles. I think that FedCom captures the flavor and feel of Trek battles while keeping them easy to manage.

I would second the First Missions demo suggestion. It's a great product that allows you to play a few FedCom battles before committing to buying the whole game.

Garrett

I would recommend FedComm as well. The First Missions freebie is very nice to get started with. You can play with as much simplicity (or complexity) as you or your friends desire.