Federation vs. Klingon Playtest

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Rainer
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Post by Rainer »

MarkG88 wrote:So go across the border and "borrow when no one is looking" (since they left in terror) some Federation EPs hehe. :twisted: :wink:

-Mark
I'll see if I can find some (only slightly used) dilithium crystals. :wink:
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mwaschak
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Post by mwaschak »

Rainer wrote:
MarkG88 wrote:So go across the border and "borrow when no one is looking" (since they left in terror) some Federation EPs hehe. :twisted: :wink:

-Mark
I'll see if I can find some (only slightly used) dilithium crystals. :wink:
Ahhh, don't encourage him Mark :shock: !

Poor border planets are going to feel the pinch now.

-Jay
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Rainer
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Post by Rainer »

Basic thoughts regarding turn 1:

So far I have divided my fleet into three squadrons that will take a look at nearby systems. The transport fleets are ordered to load surplus colonists and will then (slowly) follow the scouting units.

The main reason why I cannot do much at the moment is that everything is more expensive at the local and (to a lesser degree) the regional levels.

Therefore the economy needs to be expanded ASAP. Trade could be an option but at the moment establishing trade links is simply too expensive. Productivity upgrades are looking like they will yield better results but are even more expensive in the short run. Let's see if the explorers can find a nice mineral-rich system or two - hopefully without a Fed outpost.

As for expanding the navy, I could lay down a F5 hull during turn 2 and another one during turn 4 which will then take a few months to finish. I might need the EPs for other things though as the Chancellor believes that there might be a security risk at one of my bases (minor objective).

To be continued...
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Post by terryoc »

Can you give us some examples of costs, or are you prohibited from giving us too much detail? I'm curious to know, for example, how much it would cost to get a trade fleet for trade, and how much it would cost to get a point of production.

It seems like losing a ship at this early stage of the game would be crippling, but I suppose that accidentally ambushing and destroying a Fed ship would send the Tension level through the roof :D

Do you have the option of moving RAW from one planet to another using transport fleets?
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Rainer
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Post by Rainer »

terryoc wrote:Can you give us some examples of costs, or are you prohibited from giving us too much detail?
I try to keep things vague for now as the start of this game has caused a lot of rewrites and revisions. The force lists also will receive a new update soon and that may affect costs.

If I really start to push the boundaries of the NDA, I assume that Jay will step in.
terryoc wrote:I'm curious to know, for example, how much it would cost to get a trade fleet for trade, and how much it would cost to get a point of production.
There are no trade fleets. Instead you will have to pay for trade links between friendly systems. As each empty hex increases the cost long distances are somewhat problematic.
terryoc wrote:It seems like losing a ship at this early stage of the game would be crippling, but I suppose that accidentally ambushing and destroying a Fed ship would send the Tension level through the roof :D
Killing a FF would not to be too bad tension-wise and you can always buy ships from home if there is a really pressing need. That is one area that is currently under discussion.
terryoc wrote: Do you have the option of moving RAW from one planet to another using transport fleets?
If you take a look at the map again, you can see there is quite a bit of distance involved between the various systems. At the moment it would not be even remotely cost-effective.
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Post by mwaschak »

Rainer wrote: If I really start to push the boundaries of the NDA, I assume that Jay will step in.
Indeed. No worries though.
Rainer wrote: There are no trade fleets. Instead you will have to pay for trade links between friendly systems. As each empty hex increases the cost long distances are somewhat problematic.
It is not far off from FASB Edition, but without the dependency zones. I will probably have to adjust the rules again but so far it has tested well.
Rainer wrote: Killing a FF would not to be too bad tension-wise and you can always buy ships from home if there is a really pressing need. That is one area that is currently under discussion.
Maybe we should up the tension for this while we are at it :twisted: .

Ship production discussion is high on our list at the moment. We need to make sure there is a sound economic reason to build locally at all and make that initial investment in a starbase or shipyard (accepting all the risk) worth it.
Rainer wrote: If you take a look at the map again, you can see there is quite a bit of distance involved between the various systems. At the moment it would not be even remotely cost-effective.
There is a lot of space on the frontier. RAW movement might be something we could put back in the optional rules here. I will try it out on the map and see if it "works".

-Jay
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Turn 1

Post by mwaschak »

Turn 1 results are in! While there have been no direct conflicts yet, both sides are moving forward with their agendas.

-Jay
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Post by terryoc »

Is this campaign double-blind, with you knowing only what your ships can see?

In the SFU, one of the most important functions of bases is that tracking the movements of ships. It's far from perfect, but it's enough to detect that something is there, and send a ship to go take a look. Stealthy ships (like Orions or cloaked Romulans) are much harder to detect, but ships which are using their own scanners to look for things that shouldn't be there (ships on patrols) are easy to spot by their emissions.

That might make an interesting optional rule for CM'ed campaigns. Ships which are trying to be sneaky might be harder to spot, at the expense of not spotting enemy ships as easily.
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Rainer
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Post by Rainer »

terryoc wrote:Is this campaign double-blind, with you knowing only what your ships can see?
Yes.

The first reports coming in from our forces indicate that we found a large empty planet (capacity 10) though it is not very mineral rich (RAW 2).

The Chancellor in his infinite wisdom has transferred a new transport fleet to the sector. The other two transport fleets are busy loading colonists and the new one will also do the same.

I am currently debating whether I should lay down a new F5 or attempt to get rid of my security problem first.

To be continued...
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Post by mwaschak »

terryoc wrote:Is this campaign double-blind, with you knowing only what your ships can see?
Indeed. Although the rules for double blind movement really work best with a CM.

Those are some good points about the starbase and long range scanning. As I recall there was also some means of tracking ships from the more advanced colonies that had long range scanners. To make a long story short, I wrote an optional rule so I can test this out :) .
Rainer wrote:I am currently debating whether I should lay down a new F5 or attempt to get rid of my security problem first.

To be continued...
It is a tough call. Were you thinking about requesting or building that F5?

-Jay
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Rainer
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Post by Rainer »

mwaschak wrote:It is a tough call. Were you thinking about requesting or building that F5?
I want to build it although it seems more likely that I will start the intel mission this turn and see if I can get some VPs. They would allow me to fill out my cruiser maintenance group if I want to request some ships.
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Rainer
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Post by Rainer »

We have finished T2 now and rule rewrites / clarifications are coming in almost daily.

After finding some more spare cash it seems that my Klingons are almost rich. Nevertheless I've decided to disband my ground troops to maximize income. As the transport fleets will be needed to colonize neutral systems for the foreseeable future I do not have the shipping anyway to invade someone else.

Therefore I've decided to upgrade the industry at Ge'rin and buy some intel points so that I can run the mission next turn.

One of my scouting groups also reported a large sensor blip moving towards Federation space. This could get interesting...

To be continued...
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Post by terryoc »

A big sensor blip? Could be a monster! Now, do you help the Feds kill it and reduce the tension level? Do you let the Feds deal with it by themselves and stir up trouble while they're distracted? Or do you offer to help, let them take the brunt of the monster's firepower then finish them off and blame it on the monster? :twisted:
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Rainer
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Post by Rainer »

I have decided to ignore it for now as long as it heads into Fed space. We'll see if any interesting opportunities will arise. :twisted:

Besides, a single F5W is the only ship in the vicinity at the moment. I don't want to risk it for no gain.
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Post by mwaschak »

Rainer wrote: Besides, a single F5W is the only ship in the vicinity at the moment. I don't want to risk it for no gain.
The bravest F5W in the entire fleet that is! I am curious to see how this one works out myself, especially with the new rule adaptations.

-Jay
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