Federation Admiral Public Update

[mwaschak]

Yeah, I can't see any way to meaningful contribute at this point .

-Jay

[MarkG88]

Wow talk about blog flamewar 101

[mwaschak]

So there it is guys. I won't be discussing FA over there as far as I can help it until things are calm again. I will likely keep the Ajax Expanse updates there. I think those are getting read anyway.

-Jay

[Shadow Warrior]

It did make me laugh to read the assertion that F&E is a perfectly fine scenario generator for SFB/FC.

Then I read the comment that Galactic Conquest is a fine and usable campaign system whereupon my sides split and my head fell off.

[Charles Lewis]

It did make me laugh to read the assertion that F&E is a perfectly fine scenario generator for SFB/FC.

Then I read the comment that Galactic Conquest is a fine and usable campaign system whereupon my sides split and my head fell off.

[gambler]

*scratches head*

It did make me laugh to read the assertion that F&E is a perfectly fine scenario generator for SFB/FC.

Then I read the comment that Galactic Conquest is a fine and usable campaign system whereupon my sides split and my head fell off.

*scratches head some more*

Given that I think I'm the person you're attributing those comments to, I'd assert that I asserted nothing of the sort.

I said:

"And F&E is hardly an easy campaign system to use, at least if your goal is to create SFB battles in a more meaningful context."

(Take note of the word 'hardly', please.)

I also said:

"Now there's Galactic Conquest which is a whole 'nother beast. "

Admittedly, I didn't explain GC in more detail, but given the context at the start of the paragraph:

"Other than Federation and Empire (and Federation Space before it) there was no real set of Campaign Rules for SFB for quite some time, at least not that you could go out and buy and play with your local group."

I assumed that people would get that I meant that GC didn't fill the niche of an relatively simple campaign system to create SFB battles in a larger context.

In no way, shape or form, was I suggesting that either F&E or GC were suitable for the campaign niche that FA will inhabit.

I will say this. As the owner of the VBAM first edition books, I'm inclined to think the truth lies somewhere between "FA needed tons more editing" and "FA's quality is exemplary". For me, VBAM 1st edition was not easy to read, had numerous 'mental hiccup moments' (where I have to stop and go back to try to figure out what I just read actually means), and poorly written sections. To be fair, I found mental hiccups in SFB Captain's Edition and it's the rare game that doesn't have some, but VBAM 1st edition was a particularly tough slog for me. I did offer, when playtest calls went out by ADB, to read FA just for those kinds of issues but was told they wanted gaming groups, not proofreaders: which is certainly fair.

One of the issues may be a different 'level' of clarity expected by the VBAM community and the 'wargame' community. When reading VBAM, it struck me that it's really a Role Playing system masquerading as a space campaign system/strategic war game. Well, not precisely, but a moderator running the game seems to be assumed to be a normal mode of play. I've noticed that most role playing games are far looser in their rules, precisely because a gamemaster is present to 'fill in the gaps' or make a ruling if necessary. An SFB/FC gaming group is likely to be made up of rules lawyers that prefer the rules to be airtight and completely unambiguous. Many wargamers are like this, and the SFU community very much so.

Obviously everybody reads things differently, and what seems obvious to one person might lead to reading incomprehension by another (witness the misperceived comments attributed to me ).

I am greatly looking forward to Federation Admiral and for that matter VBAM 2nd edition. Both are auto-buys for me. And please keep up the Ajax Expanse.

[Shadow Warrior]

Hi gambler

Was not having a go at your comments at all, in fact I totally agree. It was SVC's assertion that F&E was a perfectly fine scenario generator for SFB/FC that made me laugh, not your comments. I am 100% in accord with you that Galactic Conquest is a complete shambles of a campaign system, with enormous holes and immense prior knowledge required.

[terryoc]

Federation Admiral, a campaign manual designed to work
with Federation Commander, will be released this spring. It will
also work with Star Fleet Battles, and will provide players with
everything they need to create their own campaigns at any level
(strategic, regional, or local). This will be one of the largest books
we have ever released, and we’re very excited about it.

This quote above from Communique #61, the January 2011 edition of the free Federation Commander newsletter.

Briefing #3 (commando ships, transports, survey ships,
police ships, ground bases, specialized freighters, and much
more) will be released this year

Briefing #3 is intended, AFAIK, to support Federation Admiral by introducing ship cards for specialist support ships needed for campaigns. A few ships of the types to be included have already been previewed in Communique, such as the commando ships (military hulls converted to carry a battalion of ground troops, with shuttles and transporters to get them down to the planet, for "commando raids"), troop transports (special freighters embarking 2-4 battalions), police ships (many standard police ships have already been done, so I don't know what else is to be done. There are quite a few police ship variants in SFB though).

[mwaschak]

Awesome. Thank you for the update! It is nice to be on the schedule.

I believe there are even a few new preview ships in this Communique we need to dissect for campaign use.

-Jay

[Shadow Warrior]

Some welcome news for once.

[terryoc]

This from the latest "star fleet alert" retailer press release which you can find at http://starfleetgames.com/Alert_110125_Schedule.pdf

MARCH
Federation Admiral: This will be a very large book of campaign rules, designed to work with Federation Commander, but they will also work with Starmada and Star Fleet Battles. Stock #4080, $TBA.

[Shadow Warrior]

March? No way! That is beyond awesome.

[mwaschak]

Yeah! I am pretty excited myself.

Plus, there is more 2e development each day too.

-Jay

[MarkG88]

cool beans

[prader]

Will Federation Admiral contain rules for "activating" and creating (new) non-player races not already seen in canon FC/SFB along with guidelines on designing new technologies, weapons, ships, etc for them and ways to research those technologies?

Say instead of being "the Federation", I want to be "The Terran Republic" with an emphasis on "Trade with all, alliances with none" and in addition to, or instead of, Photon Torpedoes I want to develop an "Anti-Matter Torpedo" that does less damage than Photons but is more accurate out to longer ranges and fires two or three times per turn and then I need to design a ship to put it on.

And perhaps instead of running into Kzintis, Klingons, Romulans, or Gorns I encounter the Ur-Quan Hegemony with their Pulse Energy Howitzers (or whatever) and "Hellfire" 2nd generation fighters.

Will I be able to do that?



Edit: BTW, you guys rock. I'm the one that had an ordering issue for VBAM Campaign Guide, Companion, Menagerie, and something else last summer and Tyrel was all over it. I remember thinking to myself "Now THIS is how a company, that wants its customers to keep coming back, takes care of business." Superb customer service. Thank you.