============================================================= CCC OOO M M M M A N N DDDD EEEE RRRR O SSS C O O MM MM MM MM A A NN N D D E R R / S C O O M M M M M M A A N N N D D EEE RRRR SSS C O O M M M M AAAAA N NN D D E R R S CCC OOO M M M M A A N N DDDD EEEE R R SSSS BBBB RRRR III EEEE FFFF B B R R I E F Star Fleet Battles on Compuserve BBBB RRRR I EEE FFF B B R R I E F Quarterly Newsletter BBBB R R III EEEE F April 1, 1996 (no foolin') ============================================================= Editor: Jim Hart (Vandal) Contributors: Conrad Thonger (Seeker of Knowledge) Steve Rushing Sandy Hemenway (Firemane) All Game Moderators ============================================================= WELCOME TO THE NEW COMMANDER'S BRIEF Welcome, Commander, to this informational briefing. The war is going badly. Many fine ships and crews have been destroyed in the past nine months. This newsletter if for your eyes only, and outlines just how much death and destruction is going on out there in the galaxy... Well, enough of that. This is Volume 4 of the CIS Games Forum Commander's Brief, detailing all that is going on in the Star Fleet Battles corner of the Compuserve Games Forum. This is my first attempt at a newsletter of this type, having taken over the CB from Colin Hamwood. Thanks to Seeker for giving me the nod to get started. This edition of the CB will look a lot like the ones published previously. Since it has been nine months since the last CB, I decided to get something out quickly, then look at ways to spice up the CB later. I hope to get it out quarterly from this point forward. This issue contains elements that you are used to seeing, such as game reports and a list of player's CIS ranks. It also contains a new feature, a tactical analysis of one of the on-line games. I hope that I can count on Firemane to produce one of these for every issue of the CB (Hint!). Paul Watson has submitted an article (Ensign's Quarters) that might be of help to new PBEM players. It has some good advice for how to survive, both on the board and in combat. Since this is uncharted space I'm flying into, I'd be glad to take suggestions on how to improve the CB. I'd like to thank people who have already made some good suggestions, particularly Junker and Paul Watson, for thier help and good ideas. I hope you enjoy this version of the Brief. Feel free to make any comments on the CB, and any improvements you would like to see. Jim Hart ============================================================= VIEWING THE CB The best way to view the CB is in any ASCII file editior that allows a monospace font. The EDIT command in MS-DOS versions 5 and greater works well, as does the Notepad editor in Windows. Almost any editor will do, but monospace fonts will prevent column shifting due to spaces being compressed. Some sections, particularly the list of CIS ranks, will be almost unreadable in a non-monospaced font. Most computers offer either a system font or a Courier monospaced font. ============================================================= TABLE OF CONTENTS Since we don't have pages, I'm listing the line number of the beginning of the article. I hope this helps you find your way around. Article (Contributor) Line # ------------------------------------------------------ DUTY ROSTER (Seeker) 96 NEWS FROM THE FRONT (Moderators) 207 HR TOURNEY REPORT (Steve Rushing) 722 ENEMY MINE (Jim Hart) 899 A FEW CHOICE WORDS (Sandy Hemenway) 1018 GAME AID: CLOAK SUMMARY (Steve Rushing) 1504 ENSIGN'S QUARTERS (Paul Watson) 1579 ============================================================= DUTY ROSTER Thanks to Seeker for maintaining a list of the CIS ranks and points for all players. Information on how points are awarded are part of the SFB Play-by-Email rules available in Library 13 of the forum. Download file PBEMSFB.ZIP. Seeker does a good job of keeping up this these points, but makes no claims as to their accuracy or completeness. It is the moderator's job to report the results of games to Seeker, and often that does not happen. If you are moderating a game, please make sure that Seeker gets the final results, so that the players and moderator can get their rightful ranks. Here you go. See how you rate... STAR FLEET BATTLES: Player Ranking Alphabetical by Alias (As of March 10, 1996) CIS # ALIAS CIS RANK POINTS ------------ --------------------------- ------------- ------ 76167,336 AATLEMIDRM Leut 6 100117,3576 ACE Lt. Commander 10 74351,1515 AERO Lt. JG 2 71022,547 ALAN9 Cadet 0 76142,3035 ALZADO Lt. Commander 13 75773,1706 ASGAYA Lt. JG 2 71641,2657 BASIL DAOUST Cadet 0 102431,1444 BILL Cadet 0 75503,2055 BOB ELDRIDGE Lt. Commander 8 74267,37 BUCK OMEGA Cadet 0 73233,2512 BZRK Commander 16 72122,1151 CATWHOWALKSINFIRE Cadet 0 72072,3607 CLINTON Cadet 0 100241,752 COLIN HAMWOOD Lt. Commander 8 70031,435 CYBERSIM Lt. JG 2 71011,2454 DANCER Leut 6 100250,1666 DARRYL Cadet 0 72247,1153 DAVID RALEY Cadet 0 74072,110 DENNIS MENEAR Lt. Commander 12 72630,1236 DON OLIVER Cadet 0 75451,2302 DRAGON Leut 6 75042,11 A ELIZABETH WEIBERT Lt. JG 2 100657,1340 EWEN Cadet 0 72657,2203A FIREMANE Commander 17 71520,1115 FLYING GERBIL Leut 6 71554,515 FUZZFOOT Lt. JG 3 71001,426 G.P. SLAYER Captain 40 72350,3004 GENE CHRISTIAN Ensign 1 72657,566 GIMPY Ensign 1 73232,1520 GREGORY ERNEST Lt. JG 2 72357,3014 GRIFFON Lt. JG 2 74164,765 HAP HANNA Ensign 1 76432,1416 IRON MIKE Cadet 0 71601,1612 JEFF GAMBLE Cadet 0 76654,3137 JIM HART Commander 31 70733,174 JOE GEORGE Commander 16 74633,1710 JOHN HANNA Cadet 0 75720,2536 JOHN WILDMAN Lt. JG 3 102250,2112 JON RICHARDSON Leut 4 74243,1610 JUNKER Commander 23 71730,1251 KARPOV Cadet 0 74361,1570 KEITH Cadet 0 100425,251 KENNEY Lt. JG 2 73113,230 KEVIN LORIMOR Leut 5 100427,3061 LEGION Lt. Commander 8 71563,1377 MAGICAL HACKER Cadet 0 74170,3072 MARTY HUGHES Lt. JG 2 100304,2772 MASTER Cadet 0 72517,1031 MICHAEL D'AUBEN Cadet 0 72657,2203 MIDNITE Commander 31 76343,3311 MIKE SANCHEZ Ensign 1 100616,2131 NIC DAVEY Cadet 0 76004,2245 PAUL FRANZ Lt. JG 2 71534,3604 PAUL KOECK Leut 6 100115,3674 PAUL WATSON Lt. Commander 8 71202,431 Q Commander 20 103326,3274 RANTHARD Cadet 0 70253,1444 REG Cadet 0 102401,3631 ROBERT APRIL Cadet 0 88888,8001 ROBERT APRIL Ensign 1 71413,3571 ROSS LAURIE Ensign 1 72730,2226 SCHOON Cadet 0 72717,402 SCRUFFYBEARD Leut 4 74453,56 SEEKER OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS Cadet 0 74227,1662 SEEKER OF KNOWLEDGE Commander 28 73243,1704 SHANE AVERY Ensign 1 75033,1366 STEPHEN MCCANN Ensign 1 100720,304 STEPHEN REMME Cadet 0 75444,720 STEVEN RUSHING Lt. Commander 8 100074,3377 SY Cadet 0 73532,3331 THANOS Cadet 0 71202,431 THE DOCTOR Captain 47 100333,3652 THE PACIFIER Leut 4 75662,2073 THOMAS THEOBALD Ensign 1 74463,1731 TIM RIENDEAU Cadet 0 76264,2726 TODESKAMPF Ensign 1 100046,3532 TOM WATKINS Cadet 0 101555,1110 TONY MARYON Cadet 0 74761,3227 TOS Lt. Commander 10 100115,1654 TRELAYNE Ensign 1 73211,2755 VAN A HENSON Lt. JG 2 75042,11 VINCE WEIBERT Lt. Commander 8 71102,3145 VIRGIL CHAMBERS Ensign 1 102676,3432 WARREN BALABERDA Lt. JG 3 73614,1331 WHITE FANG Lt. Commander 9 70511,1476 XELLOG Cadet 0 ================================================================ NEWS FROM THE FRONT This is Edward R. Burrow reporting from the front lines of battle. In the past months, I've been all over the front lines of the Galactic Conflict, and I can tell you without fear of contradiction that this is the bloodiest, most intense fighting this galaxy has ever seen. Brave and honorable men and women of war fighting against all odds to overcome fearsome opponents. Alien overlords, bent uopn the decimation of entire civilian populations, kept at bay by the selfless sacrifice of our best and bravest. See in these pages just a few notes on the destruction and desolation that faces our favorite sons... (For notes on the HR Tourney duels, see the HR report.) Game: G48 Players: Jon Richardson (Klingon) Greg Shapiro (Lyran) Moderator: Steve Rushing Current T/I: Game complete after 7 turns Report: Game proceeded with long range fire on turn 1 followed by closing and overload fire on turn 2. Both ships lost a shield and took internals. On turns 2 and 3 the Lyran ESGs stopped Klingon drones. A series of punishing turns where both players took close range shots tearing down all forward shields. A late game Klingon SP hit Lyran ESG and both ships stopped at range 2 and began blasting. Eventually, the Lyran ship proven the more durable. Lyran wins after 7 turns. Game: G54 - "More than Meets the Eye" Double-blind scenario by Sandy Hemenway Players: Seeker of Knowledge - Kzinti CM/DW/FF (all with some damage initially) Bob Eldridge - Lyran CW/DW/FF (completely intact initially) Terrain: Small planet with three (3) moons Moderator: Firemane Current T/I: Turn 4 On Turn 1, the Lyran fires from range 15, doing 19 to Kzin Medium Cruiser's #6 shield. The Kzin returns fire - though strangely, he does no damage to Lyran. On Turn 2, both sides exchange massive alpha-strikes at range 4. The Kzin CM takes 7 points of damage to its #1 shield. Lyran FF takes 4 points to its #1 shield?!? Lyran begins defensing against large Kzin drone wave, using ESGs and close range phasers as well as tractors. For unknown reasons tractor attempts fail and ESGs drop for no visible reason. Three drones get through, stiking Lyran FF. It takes only 4 points of damage to its rear screen from these drones. Kzin hits t-bomb, taking 10 to #6 shields of all three of his ships. He hits second t-bomb taking another 10 to the #1 shields of all three Kzin ships. He then launches five (5) more drones from his C-racks. These catch the Lyran FF, doing 60 points - total of 48 internals. Lyran FF is left with a bridge and a deck of playing cards. Kzin alters course slightly to avoid any more t-bombs. On Turn 3, the Kzin fires minimal weapons to finish Lyran FF early in turn, as the other Lyran ships manuever away. At end of turn, Kzin fire multiple disrupters on #3 shield of Lyran CW, doing 9 shield hits. Turn 4 is currently in progress. The Lyran turns to move behind Kzin fleet, which has turned to away to pass behind third moon. Moderator's Note: This is a double-blind scenario, where only the moderator knows all the details regarding what is going on. BOTH players have stated great frustration at having to deal with complete unknowns while attempting combat. However, each has also stated great enjoyment out of an utterly different kind of scenario, which could only work so well in a PBEM format. Game: G56 (tourney): Players: GP Slayer (Krait) Jon Richardson (KLI D7CT) Moderator: Struffybeard Current T/I: Presently finishing turn 4 Report: On turn 1 both closed rapidly. The D7 fired disruptors at range 15 for modest panel degredation and turned to run, launching 3 drones individually to cover its retreat. The Andro jumped past 2 drones and phasered the third. The D7 launched 3 shuttles near end of turn, 2 of which got phasered by the Andro. At end of turn, the D7 did small amounts of phaser damage to the Andro panels and the Andro dropped the D7s #3 shield with TR fire. A T-bomb placed behind KLI ship helped to keep it in the corner. The Andro performed a successful Hit & run raid on the D7's scanner at end of turn. On turn 2, KLI HET'd to face the Andro (who HET'd to run) and fired overloaded disruptors and phasers in several separate salvoes resulting in more leak points, and filling the rear panels. Two more drones were launched and a type VI drone from initial salvo impacted the Andro. The Andro dropped the front panels for energy dump at range 15, filling rear, and took 2 internals when the D7 fired P2s (neither of which hit any significant system). On T3 Andro returned for another pass, took 2 ovl disr at 8 for another leak, and, reluctant to come closer, displaced away. He then fired phasers at the D7 at long range without significant damage. On turn 4, The Andro again closed, destroyed 1 of 2 remaining drones. The D7 launched 3 more individual drones. At range 5 the andro unloaded with TR, and next impulse with phasers, to drop the Klingon's #6 shield and eliminate a P3. The D7 return fire finished off the Andro's hull boxes with leak. Now at the end of Turn 4, the Andro is running with drones in pursuit, moderately full front panels and intact rear panels. The D7 has 2 down shields. Game: G61 Players: Paul Franz (Tholian DD) Robert Bisping (Romulan WE) Moderator: Jim Hart Current T/I: Turn 3, Impulse 13 Report: On turn 1, the two combatants approached each other at medium speeds (that being about the best speeds these ships can make). The DD plinked the WE's #6 shield with disruptor fire. On turn two, the DD plinked again as the WE turned to close range to his smaller foe. The DD put on the brakes and Emer Decelled, using a snare to drop a plop of web beside him. He then waited for the Rom to launch the plasma-R. Launch it he did. The WE slipped around the web hex and tractored the DD. When the link was established, the WE launched the torp, then proceeded to push the DD out of its way, making it impossible to get his phasers on the same shield. The Tholian, in true Tholian fashion, adopted a defensive posture and fired its phasers at the plasma. The plasma impacted the DDs #6 shield for 36 damage, doing six internals including a phaser-3 and one of the ship's two disruptors. The WE also fired phasers at the DD's #1 screen, reducing it to 10 boxes. He then dropped the tractor and began moving away. But what's this? The DD launched. . . an MRS shuttle! This mighty warrior rushed to battle, scraping a few boxes off the WE's shield with it phasers and running to keep the WE in range for a second shot. On Turn 3, the WE launched a shuttle to go after the MRS and turned to the attack. The DD, weak shields notwithstanding, HETted to face his adversary and began to close the distance. (As the WE is only moving speed 8, he's not hard to catch.) The MRS, the WE, and the shuttle all fired simultaneously, destroying the MRS and taking 7 boxes off the WE's #2 shield, which the WE then turned towards the oncoming DD. At range 3, the WE decided to unload its phaser-1s at the DD, while the WE opted to wait until range 2. It was a poor option. The Romulan fire destroyed the remnants of the DDs #1 shield and half its Phaser-1s. The Tholian returned fire anyway, taking another 7-point bite out of the WE's #2. Current status: The DD is missing its #1 and #6 shields, all its hull, and half its weapons. The WE has taken some shield hits. Badly overmatched from the beginning, the DD fights on, without the support of its MRS. Can it succeed? Can it survive? Only time will tell. Game: G62 (SG1.0) Players: Drew Fentress (D5L) AATLEMIDRM (KZI CC) Moderator: Scruffybeard Curent T/I: Presently initial turn 2 Report: On turn 1 the Kzin closed rapidly, deploying a scatterpack (which launched on impulse 32) and 6 individual drones, ending turn 1 at range 5 from the D5. The D5 had launched 2 return drones and had kept to edge of map away from CC. On turn 2, the D5 unloaded with all P1s and OVL disruptors, doing 13 internals to CC. The CC continues to chase the D5 at speed 30, and the Klingon has HETted away and is ADDing the drones. Game G63 Players: Greg Schapiro (Klingon D7B) Steve Barcroft (Fed CAR) Moderator: Paul Watson Current T/I: Now turn 5 (Here's an interesting one. I got a report from both the moderator and one of the players. This shows you how perceptions of the same situation can be radically different. - Ed) Moderator's Report: So far this has been a textbook 'knife fight' from the Klingon. From turn one the D7B has not let the CA within 10 hexes and has picked away at his 1, 3 and 4 shields. The three drones (Curly, Larry & Mo) launched by the Klingon have been chasing the Fed for just under three turns and should fizzle out soon. To his credit, the resolve CA captain has been solid. A brave plan to perform a HET at the start of turn four was thwarted as the structural integrity of the ship was at risk. This maneuver could have given the Klingon a very bloody nose. Turn five starts in a interesting position with both ships facing (almost) opposite directions. Player's Report: This game has been a saber dance. For 5 turns the Klingon has hovered at range 10-15 and plinked away with phasers, doing light damage to the Fed's #1 shield and moderate damage to #3,4 shields. The D7 has launched 2 drones on 2, and 1 on 4 to discourage rapid Fed pursuit. At the end of turn 4 the Fed discharged 2 photons to space and on 5 has turned at high speed away from KLI (presmably to rearm his Phots), with KLI in pursuit. This is looking like a long one. Game: G64 Players: Rafy Greenblatt (Gorn) G.P. Slayer (Andromedan) Moderator: Junker Current T/I: Beginning Turn 4 Report: Turn 1 saw the Gorn turn away to open the distance, but the Andro screamed in at better than warp 3 to close to 50,000 kms. Then followed the inevitable ZAP! / POP!, as his TR's opened up and he immediately vanished, to reappear 60,000 kms away. Scratch the Gorn's #6 shield. The Gorn zapped a few phasers to scratch the Andro's front panels. Nothing serious, though. Turn 2 was the Andro's turn to run... from TWO enveloping Plasmas. Still at warp 3+, it wasn't too difficult. Of course, it's never nice to be TOLD where to drive your ship... and two envelopers will do a VERY good job of telling you where to go. Turn 3 was the completion of the "run-away" turn, as the Andro outdistanced the Plasmas (mostly), and turned back in at the end. The Gorn then turned away to reload. Turn 4 is just starting with both ships zipping along at high speeds. Gorn in front, Andro about 190000 kms behind. Game: G65: Andro Challenge I Players: Jim Hart (Gorn CCH and BC) Hap Hanna (ANdro Imposer with Energy Module) Moderator: Steve Rushing Current T/I: Game Over after 2 turns. Report: This game was the first in the Andro Challenge series, played on a floating map with full EW in play. First turn speeds were high and the Gorn fleet turned and ran away from the Andro fleet. Second turn speeds were again high as the Gorn turned and closed with the Andro briefly, launching 2-S & 2-F torpedoes. The Gorn then turned away again. The Andro Displaced over the torpedoes on impulse 26, putting him at range 5 off the number 5 shield of the gorn. The Gorn slipped and turned into the Andro, launching another set of plasma. The Andro used PA Mines on the plasma, revealing they were psuedo plasma. As the Gorn ships closed to range 1, the Andro fired at the BC and attempted to displace the CCH. The CCH shifted to ECM, resulting in a 2 shift and a failed displacement. The BC took 30+ internals from the Andro's fire. On impulse 32, the Gorns moved to range 1, launched 100 pts of plasma and fired over a dozen phaser-1s into the Andro rear PAs. The Andro conceeded as there was now way to stop the plasma from hitting impulse 1, and he knew it was real. Game: G66 Players: Greg Shapiro (Lyran BCH) Paul Watson (Orion CA+ w/OAKDISK) Moderator: Paul Franz Current T/I: Turn 2, EA Phase Report: The Lyran BCH and the Orion close to do battle. In preparation for this the Orion launched 4 shuttles and 2 ECM drones to protect two of the shuttles. The Lyran sensing a trap fired 4 Disruptors at one of the shuttles damaging but not destroying it. Game: G68 Players: Steve Rushing (Gorn CA) Ranthard (Klingon D7) Moderator: Paul Franz Current T/I: Turn 2, Impulse 3 Report: As the Klingon and Gorn close to do battle the Gorn changes speeds erractically trying to keep the Klingon off guard. The Klingon launches a shuttle which heads toward the Gorn. Not amused by this the Gorn launches a plasma-G at the Klingon. Klingon then unloads his weapons of death at the Gorn. At the same-time the Gorn fires his phasers at the Klingon. Both opponents suffer only superficial damage. In all of the confusing the Gorn launches two shuttles which start heading toward their target, the Klingon D7. Also, not liking stray shuttles too much the Gorn destroys the Klingon shuttle in a hail of phaser fire. As the plasma approaches the D7 the Klingon fires phasers at it to weaken it, Only to disocover that the plasma was a psuedo and a waste of phaser fire. As realization of this comes to the Klingon, the Gorn launches an Enveloping Plasma torpedo at the Klingon. Not to be faced down by the danger the Klingon decides to turn to the attack. He launches another shuttle followed by a drone. He fires a few phasers at the Enveloping Plasma that is rushing towards him. At the same time the Gorn decides it is time to run and force the Klingon to work for his victory. He turns away, firing his phasers as he goes. The Klingon seeing this decides to again unleash his weapons of death and phasers, and proceeded to reduce the Gorns right-aft shield to less than 50%. After seeing the destruction that he had wraught, the Klingon then faced the Enveloping Plasma which proceeded to eat away at his shields until it finally got to taste its target. the hull of the ship. It then proceeded to knock out part of the bridge and auxilary control followed by one of the two drone racks. Game: G69 Players: Federation CAR - John Woods (75121,634) Romulan KRB - Steve Barcroft (100130,2570) Moderator: Drew Fentress (102674,3351) Current T/I: Turn 3, Impulse 16 Report: Upon sighting the Federation cruiser on long-range sensors, the Romulan captain immediately switched to passive fire control, knowing that the resultant ECM shift would wreak havok the the accuracy of his adversary's photon torpedoes. The two ships closed obliquely, and at moderate speed. With a scheduled acceleration, the Romulan quickly reached range 15, where both ships fired. An enveloping type S torpedo was the Romulan gift to his opponent, while the Federation captain reciprocated with four phaser 1s, which only scratched the reinforcement on the KRB's #6 shield. With a pair of carefully-planned course changes, at the beginning of turn two, the Federation captain managed to bring his rear-firing phaser 1s into arc of the incoming torpedo, while ensuring that impact would not occur until after the warhead had degraded. Impact was minimal, particularly on the all-important #1 shield, which was specifically reinforced. Moreover, the CAR was now moving on a parallel course to the KRB, and turn two ended with the ships at range 19 of one another. Turn three was the Federation ship's turn to attack. It turned toward its adversary at maximum warp, and closed to range 15. Victory was not yet at hand, though, as Romulan generosity appears to know no bounds. The Federation captain was forced to break off his attack, and is currently being pursued by a 60 point plasma torpedo. Game: G70 Players: Greg Schapiro (Kzin) Tony Maryon (Gorn) Moderator: Jon Richardson Current T/I: Both ships closed range on turn 1... Kzin launched 2 'discouragement' drones at range 15 and fired 2 OVL/2 std disruptors at range 8 and turned away, for 30% damage to Gorn #1 shield. At range 5 Kzin fired phasers (3 P1s) and did 7 to gorn #2 shield and launched 2 more drones and a dummy SP. Gorn bolted LS F&S, fired facing phasers and did 13 internals (mostly hull, 1 drone rack and 1 P3), and used P3s to kill 1 drone. Gorn turned to pursue, and Kzin turned up inside to close. Gorn used remainder of P1s to kill all drones but 1 (which was tractored) and the dummy SP, and launched the other F&S (at range 3) on impulse 31. Waiting for new moderator to start turn 2, at range 3 with F&S at range 2 from Kzin. NOTE: This game is missing a moderator (Jon had to give in) and looks like an exciting game. Would anyone like to volunteer to moderate it and finish it up? Game: G71 Players: Hap Hanna (Andromedan Exploiter) Steve Rushing (Federation Bismark) Moderator: Jim Hart Current T/I: Turn 3, Impulse 10 Report: The Fed and Andy closed quickly on Turn 1, with the Fed under cover of an ECM drone, and launching others as he went, including a scatterpack. They closed to range 12, where the Andro put out a T-bomb to stop the scatterpack, tagged the Bismark for 13 hits on the #1 screen with 3 TRHs, then popped away. The Bismark turned and gave chase, running over and setting off the T-bomb all over his #2 shield. Turn 2 was a tail chase, with the Bismark trying to gain ground on the Exploiter and getting another drone out. Near the end of the turn, the Exploiter started coming around for another pass. On turn 3, the Fed turned to move away from the reloaded Andromedan. The Andy took one drone on his rear PAs and another on his front, both of which did 18 damage. With another drone staring him in the face, the Andromedan displaced away from the Fed, and the Fed HETted to go north. The Andy turned south, staying away from the Fed, and dropped his PAs, allowing a lot of power to refill his batteries. With panels back up now, the Andy is running from Fed drones while the Fed is desperately tring to turn around (at high speed). One drone intercepted the Andy and was destroyed with 2 phaser-IIs. Another one is coming. Does the Andy have enough phasers to kill another drone? Will the Fed EVER get turned around? Will someone PLEASE score an internal? For the answer to these and other exciting questions, stay tuned. Game: G72 Players: Joe Sanchez (Andro Krait) Gary W. Saupe (WYN BC) Moderator: Tos Crawford Current T/I: Turn 1, Impulse 28 Report: Both captains seem intent on destroying each other after all measures of peaceful diplomacy were ignored. Having found a WYN BC roaming unescorted outside the WYN cluster the Andro Krait swung in for the attack. Not wanting the Andros to have all the fun the WYN led with a long range seeking weapon engagement reminiscent of a shot across the bow. This failed to dissuade the Andro from his course. A show of force proved unable to stop the escalating hostilities as the WYN Cruiser got more direct with a pair of overloaded disruptors striking the Andros front defenses at 80,000 KM. This scored a leak to the Hull and sent the message loud and clear that the WYN intended to defend themselves if necessary. The Andro however had a different strategy in mind and dispatched the first two WYN drones while still at 20,000 KM using 4 P-2s as P-3s; obviously concerned about the impending duels affect on the power remaining in his battery suite. Unfazed by the destruction of his two drones the WYN Cruiser launched another two, lamenting the medium speed drones were never upgraded to a level that could keep up with the Andro clicking along at 280,000 KM / energy cycle. The first energy cycle currently draws to a close as the Andro announced his intent to displace barely 30,000 KM off the front shield of the WYN. Alpha strikes were exchanged and the WYN took the worst of the beating scoring only one more hull leak while sustaining heavy damage through his reinforced front shielding. Damage centered around his auxiliary Command and Control centers and caused the loss of two defensive phasers, a drone rack and a disrupter with minor damage to the port warp nacelle. It would appear the Andro is not intending to take prisoners. The successful displacement places the Andro 30,000 KM behind the damaged WYN although leaving the WYN with a Hellbore cannon and an offensive phaser unfired. This saga will continue to unfold as it becomes apparent that neither side will be willing to settle for anything less than annihilation. Is there no sense in supposedly intelligent beings today? I implore you stop this foolishness and make nice, nice. Tos Moderator in the name of peaceful coexistence. Game: G73 Note: Cancelled due to lack of rules on the part of one player. Game: G74 (Tourney duel) Players: Encoder (D7CT) Jeffrey Osborne (Kzinti TCC) Moderator: Steve Rushing Current T/I: Early in Turn 2 Report: On turn 1 the D7 launched a SP and turned away at moderate speeds, slipping along the edge. The Zinti was moving at speed 12 and was alternating straight and slip away for half the turn. The SP blossomed into 4 FAST and 2 medium drones. At the mid-turn mark the Klingon turned toward center and sped up to 31, while the Zinti continued straight. At the very end of the turn, the ships slipped out of their forward arcs. The Kzinti launched a shuttle of unknown type and four medium speed drones. The Kzinti fired his 4 disruptors at the 4 fast drones at 20,000 KM range, destroying two of them. As the second turn began, the Klingon maintained hi high speed, while the Kzinti sped up slightly and they both turned to engage as the Kzinti phaser-3's made short work of the two remaining drones. Game: G75 (tourney) Players: Killer WYN (AuxBC-HB/HB/disr/disr) Paul Franz (Krait) Moderator: Scruffybeard Current T/I: Presently turn 1 On turn 1, both ships started in low 20s, both turning to lower #'d hexes of mapboard. The WYN launched 2 drones at beginning of turn and hugged the xx30 mapboard line while the Krait continued direction E. At midturn, the Andro turned to D and the WYN launched 2 more drones. No fire yet. Game G76 Players Paul Franz ( Jindarian rock CA ) Rafy Greenblatz ( Triaxian CA ) Moderator Vince Weibert Current turn Turn 1 Imp 1 No action as of yet. Game: G77 Players: Xellog (Kzinti FF) Gary W. Saupe (Klingon F5) Moderator: Paul Franz Current T/I: Turn 1, EA Phase The warriors prepare for battle. ======================================================================= HR TOURNAMENT REPORT ---Steve Rushing Initial pairings for the tourney were sent out in June, 1995. Round 1 was slated to run three months, July 1 to September 30, but a couple of late games caused a one month extension. Details on the Round 1 games are listed below, sketchy as they are. Game 101: Paul Watson (Fed TCC) vs Dragon (Romulan TFH) Dragon had to withdraw early due to personal reasons, and GP Slayer flying an Andromedan Krait was substituted after being defeated by Firemane in HR 105. GP Slayer went on to win the battle against Watson with a decisive victory. Game 102: Steve W (Rom TFH) vs Junker (Hydran TLM) Junker won a hard-fought battle. Game 103: White Fang (ISC TCA) vs Spencer Graham (Andy) Late in their game Spencer had to withdraw. White Fang was advanced but withdrew himself before round 2. Game 104: Mike Sanchez (Rom TFH) vs Tos Crawford (Kzinti). The battle was intense, but a mistake by Sanchez and a clever tractor ploy by Tos allowed the Kzinti drones to decide the battle. Tos advanced. Game 105: Sandy Hemenway (Hydran TLM) vs G. P. Slayer (Andy) A very close-fought game in which Slayer pushed Sandy's Hydran tp risk a second HET. The game was over in record time and Slayer was available to reenter the tourney and defeat Paul Watson in HR101. Game 106: Warren Balaberda (Gorn TCC) vs Joe George (LDR TCW). The sizeof the smaller ship caught up with it at the end, and Warren was able to overwhelm Joe and advance to round 2. Game 107: Paul Koeck (ISC TCA_ vs Bob Eldridge (Fed TCC) The battle was intense as the Fed closed to get his shot. But when the Fed got to range four, he found he had too few remaining weapons. The ISC advanced. Game 108: Seeker (Zinti TCC) vs Paul Franz (Andro) These two combatants went head to head for four months. The battle was still inconclusive when the time limit expired, but due to withdrawals, there were openings for both in round 2. Game 109: Stephen McCann (Klingon D7CT) vs Majead Farsi (Fed TCC) Stephen withdrew for personal reasons as his Klingon D7 was mixing it up with the Fed TCC. Farsii advanced. Game 110: Vince Weibert (Rom TFH) vs Greg Bradburn (Orion TBR) The FH was just no match for the double-overdrive Orion and his magical hellbores. Game 111: Jim Hart (Gorn TCC) vs Kevin Lorimor (Andro) A close game in which both sides gave and took significant damage. It went to the time limit, and Hart was given the nod due to Lorimor's disappearance. Game 112: Ross Laurie (Hydran) vs Lyle Miller (Kzinti) A long-running game, inconclusive after four months. Miller was advanced by judge's decision. Round Two The second round began in November, with a time limit of February 28. Again, some games ran too long and the limit was extended to March 31. All games have been completed as of this issue of the CB, and a lot of fun was had. The round 2 games were closer, harder-fought, and more elegant than their round 1 predecessors, as we suspected. Here are the brief reports. Game 201: Paul Koeck (ISC) vs Sandy Hemenway (Hydran) (Mod: Jim Hart) A four-turn rumble that finally ended with Hydran victorious. Koeck employed a strategy of strafe-and-run, but couldn't stop the Hydran from closing to range 1 in the end. Game 202: GP Slayer (Andro) vs Lyle Miller (Kzinti) (Mod: Bradburn) This was a 12 turn marathon game in which degradation was a major factor. The Andromedan resigned in what may be the most turns in a tourney PBEM duel. Initial damage was nearly equal, and both ships spent several turns trying to plink the other to death. The Kzinti's size eventually won out over the Andromedan PAs. Game 203: Majead Farsi (Fed TCC) vs Jim Hart (Gorn TCC) (Mod: Joe George) Farsi flew a nearly perfect game against Jim. Early turns went to Hart, as he stripped the Fed of shields but did no internals. The Chess match ended after extension with the Fed finally cornering the Gorn and doing him 30 internals as the time limit expired. Farsii advanced with the victory, but Hart also advanced due to the hard-fought game. Game 204: Paul Franz (Andro) vs Warren Balaberda (Gorn) (Mod: This game was quickly over, with the Gorn resigning after a failed initial battle pass. Game 205: Tos Crawford (Kzinti) vs Junker (Hydran) (Mod: Another fast-paced game, Crawford overwhelmed Junker's defenses and blew to victory. Game 206: Greg Bradburn (Orion TBR) vs Seeker (Kzinti TCC) (Mod: Hemenway) Despite incredible pressure by Seeker forcing the Orion to attempt (and succeed at) an incredible FOUR HETs, dice and tactics favored the Orion, and Greg advanced. (Editor's Note: A complete tactical analysis of this game is fictionalized in A FEW CHOICE WORDS later in this issue.) Round Three: Two alternates were selected to round out the field of eight. They were Paul Koeck-ISC and Jim Hart-Gorn. Game 301: Hemenway (Hydran) vs Farsi (Fed) (Mod: Vince Weiber) Hemenway won this game after the Fed got a range 4 shot and hit with only 2 photons. Sandy then got behind the Fed and ate him alive. Game 302: Bradburn (Orion) vs Franz (Andromedan) (Mod: Slayer) The Andy came to range 2, and did not live long enough to regret it. A failed displacement left the Krait right where the Pirate wanted him. Game 303: Hart (Gorn) vs Miller (Zinti) (Mod: Hemenway) Despite a poor bolt attempt from range 2, the Gorn was able to avoid the Kzinti drones long enough to turn things around, literally, and back into combat, running the Kzinti out of drones, then setting up an anchor attempt before the Great Cat gave up. Game 304: Crawford (Zinti) vs Seeker (more Kzinti) (Mod: Bradburn) Drone duel. Tos caught Seeker against the edge of the map and proceeded to rip him to shreds. In his defense, Seeker's mind was elsewhere most of the game. Round 4: Game 401: Hart (Gorn) vs Crawford (Kzinti) (Mod: Franz) Currently end of Turn 2. No internals. Gorn has weaseled his way out of the Kzin scatterpack. Plasma and drones are flying. Games 402: Bradburn (Orion) vs Hemenway (Hydran) (Mod: Weiber) Dance, dance, dance. That's the Elite Eight. These games are getting underway, and should be completed by July 1, 1996. HR Tourney II: The Sequel Editors Note: By July, there will be only 4 players left in the tourney. A number of you have expressed an interest in the tourney, particularly players who are new to the forum. I have discussed this with Steve Rushing, and we believe that we should start the next tourney after the current field is cut to four, which should be in July. This is not a call for participation, just a notice to look for information on HR-2 in the forum. This tourney started with a field of 24. I am hoping to get 32 players for the next one, possibly going outside of the forum to get players from the Internet to round out the field if necessary. Jim Hart would act as judge for the next round, giving Rushing a chance to participate. ====================================================================== ENEMY MINE ---Scenario for Playtest by Jim Hart I was looking for scenarios that are best played (or that can only be played) with a moderator. Greg Bradburn's Where Wisdom Fails was a good example of this, as is Sandy Hemenway's More Than Meets the Eye. This scenario is not quite as dramatic as theirs, but is also an example of a game that cannot be played without a moderator. I hope to put a scenario of this type in every issue of CB. I am looking for a pair of victims...er..uh..volunteers to playtest this scenario. I will moderate if I can get players. Any takers? --------------------------------------------------------------------- (CS1.0) Enemy Mine Scenario by Jim Hart, USS North Carolina II Towards the height of the General War, Blackfoot Pass again became an important route for the Federation advance into Klingon space. Unfortunately, the area had been so heavily mined from time to time during the war, and by so many different parties, that nobody really knew what was in there, nor could safely pass through it. In Y181, the USS Yorktown was given the mission of clearing the pass. While waiting at one end for a minesweeper to rendezvous and begin the operation, the ship detected a Klingon cruiser on the other side. Both ships had come to clear the pass, the Federation to pass through it, the Empire to mine it again, but so that they could pass through safely. Both were less than happy to see the other, and neither could successfully continue their mission until the other was destroyed. (CS1.1) Number of Players: 3. The Klingon player, the Federation player and the Moderator. (CS1.2) Initial Set-up: The game takes place on the Blackfoot Pass map. Klingon: D7C Devastator, WS-1, speed 10, any 01xx hex in the opening of the pass. Federation CC+ Yorktown, WS-1, speed 10, any 42xx hex in the opening of the pass. Moderator: One minefield (see below). (CS1.3) Length of Scenario: The game continues until all units belonging to the Klingon or Federation side have been destroyed, captured, or have disengaged. (CS1.4) Special Rules MAP: Use the Blackfoot Pass map. Any ship that moves off the pass is considered destroyed. SHUTTLES AND P/FS: Booster packs are not available. COMMANDERS OPTIONS: Each ship can have up to 15 points of Commander's Options, at owning players request. These must be reported to the Moderator prior to the beginning of the game. For this scenario, these points may be used to buy MSS shuttles. DRONES: All drones are speed 20. Players may use Commander's option points to buy specialty drones up to their racial limits, but may not increase speed. MINEFIELD: Prior to the beginning of the game, the Moderator creates a random minefield in the pass. There are 30 mines. No mine can be within two hexes of any other mine. For each mine, roll on the tables below. Type 1-4: Explosive 5-6: Captor Size: 1-4: Small 5-6: Large If a captor mine, roll type: 1: A, Speed 20 Type 1 drones. Roll 2d6 to set range. 2: B, roll 2d6 to set range 3: C, roll 1d6 to set range 4: D, roll 1d6 to set range 5: F, roll 1d6 to set range 6: H, roll 2d6 to set range Each mine can be set to accept certain types of targets (SC=Size Class): Explosive: Large Small 1: SC2 SC3,4 2: SC3 All ships 3: SC4 SC6 (shuttles/fighters) 4: SC2,3 SC7 (drones) 5: SC3,4 SC6,7 6: All ships All units Captor: Type A,D: Use Small Explosive Chart Type B,C,F: Use Large Explosive Chart Type H: 1-2: SC6 3-4: SC7 5-6: SC6,7 The mines should be evenly distributed along the pass. The moderator should first choose the 30 hexes, then roll information for each mine. All mines are automatic. Be sure to record the mine detection number (M6.1) for each mine. Though laid by many different races, all mines count as a single mine field for detection purposes. (CS1.5) Victory Conditions: The ship that survivies, wins. If neither ship survives, the game is a draw. (The moderator cannot win.) (CS1.6) Variations: Use ships of other races of approximately 150 BPV. If Hydrans are in the game, replace type B or F captor mines (not both) with type E. You can also experiment with Type G mines if on a plasma front, using the Type H settings. For a smaller variation, use war cruisers and 25 mines. (CS1.7) Balance: Give the Klingon speed 32 drones. Give the Fed an MRS. (CS1.8) Tactics: You tell me. Designer's Notes: This is a game that cannot be played without a moderator, and it could be a nightmare to run. There is a lot of information to keep track of, but it could be fun to watch. Most mines are going to be explosive, and that cuts down on the bookkeeping. Should be a great way to learn the minesweeping rules, don't you think? =========================================================================== A FEW CHOICE WORDS --- by Sandy S. "Firemane" Hemenway NOTE: The following is a fictionalized tactical analysis of one of the HR tournament games that Sandy moderated. The players were Seeker in a Kzinti TCC and Greg Bradburn in an Orion TBR. If you want to follow along with full details, a listing of the complete Sitreps for the game is available in the library for downloading (HR206RPT.TXT). Sandy analyzes the game in his capacity as Origins 'Gold Hat' Fleet Captain from 1988. Actually, the hat is blue. Admiral Sven Havoc watches the simulation from the comfort of his comfortably spartan office, sipping absentmindedly at the still fizzing glass of cola in his right hand. He shakes his head sadly from time to time as the battle plays out on his wall sized viewscreen, scribbling notes between moans and stifled expletives. He doesn't like what he sees, and as he forces himself to keep watching, his confidence in the Federation's chances against her enemies in the future quickly wanes. Finally -- mercifully -- the engagement ends. One ship a gutted hulk, the other still with unbreached shields. A casual observer might have thought the winner had done well. The Admiral knows better. He knows that if the cadets he is watching perform the same in REAL combat, it will be a very short war -- and one the Federation will NOT win. Putting his soda down, the Admiral organizes his notes and waits for the cadets patiently, knowing his first words should be ones both cadets will remember. He wants to make them count. But he is still not quite clear on what he will say when the door buzzer chimes softly. "Come," he says. The door swishes open and the cadets enter. From their expressions it is more than obvious who had won the battle. The taller, blonde cadet is sullen, his eyes downcast. He clears his throat several times, though it is clear to the Admiral the last thing he wants to do right now is talk about his performance. The second cadet, though slightly shorter, stands straight, and bears himself with almost brash confidence. The smirk on his face is impossible to miss, his brown eyes sparkling as he quickly brushes a wisp of dark brown hair back into place. "At ease, gentlemen," the Admiral begins. The officer almost has to stifle a laugh at the contrast this simple order brings out in the two. The already thin Cadet Seeker almost seems to deflate as he relaxes his chest muscles, while the tanned and muscular Cadet Roberts seems almost stiffer 'at ease' than he did while still at attention. The Admiral smiles evenly, noticing the flinch this illicits from his blonde pupil. He suddenly knows the best way to start his review of the combat he has just witnessed. Rising from his seat the Admiral turns away from the cadets, more to hide his own emotions from the cadets than anything else. It would not help his cause to have any of the students at the Academy see him giggle at his own diatribes. Gazing out the picture window of his office at the Academy grounds forty stories below, he begins his lecture with his back turned to both students. "In all my years of service in StarFleet, including my time as a student here, during my service on frigates, destroyers, and cruisers, as well as my last ten years working as an instructor, I do not think I have ever seen such a poor display of combat," he says evenly. "I honestly cannot recall FRESHMEN demonstrating such a poor grasp of basic tactics and strategy in a simple duel." Careful to raise the pitch of his voice ever-so-slightly, the Admiral continues. "Your planning was non-existent. Your execution miserable. And the only nominally reasonable parts of your performance were rooted in blind luck rather than any semblance of skill." The Admiral whirls around, facing the youngsters, stares Roberts in the eye and asks, "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" The pause is quite predicatable, and the Admiral soaks in the body language from both students. Cadet Conrad Seeker's jaw works up and down several times, though he doesn't utter a sound. He catches himself just before launching into a defense for his performance as awareness that he is not the target of the Admiral's wrath slowly reaches his conciousness. Wesley B. Roberts is equally surprised, and his complete shock is accompanied by a reddening of his face. The Admiral can only guess as to whether it is from embarrassment or anger. "Sir," Cadet Roberts finally sputters, "I... I WON the engagement, sir. I... did you... did you intend to direct your remarks to Cadet Seeker?" "I KNOW who I intended to direct my remarks to, Cadet. You didn't win the engagement. You simply lasted long enough for your opponent to do himself in. Had Cadet Seeker actually been attempting to hurt you at some point, you and your ship would be so much debris right now." "But I didn't even take any internal damage..." "Silence, Roberts! You will answer questions should I bother to ask them. Otherwise you are to keep your trap shut and listen. MAYBE, and I think this is a real long shot, maybe if you keep your mouth closed and ears open for a change, you just might learn something. Something which might one day actually save your life or those of fellow shipmates. Of course, I think I am being wildly optimistic about your chances of actually making it through the Academy and actually landing assignment to a space vessel. If so, your grasp of basic tactics and strategies will need a major overhaul." The Admiral pauses to let his words sink in. He notes Robert's bottom lip quivering slightly. he thinks. . The Admiral takes a quick sideward glance at Cadet Seeker. Though confusion still shows on the young man's face, a tiny smile flickers at the corners of his mouth. "And don't start grinning yet, Mr. Seeker. You'll get your turn in the hot seat soon enough." Conrad Seeker's face turns white as a sheet at this revelation, as the Admiral returns his full attention to Roberts. "Let us begin with your selection of Option mounts. Two Hellbores, and a single F-plasma in the nose, a drone rack and a phaser-one in the wing mounts. A reasonable selection, which can be effective against a number of opponents. Other than placing your phaser-one in the right wing - AWAY from your enemy on you initial attack pass, I cannot find any real flaws with your option set. However, selecting your option mounts was probably the last decision you made which was at least nominally intelligent." Wesley glares at the Admiral, breathing deeply to try and keep his growing rage in check. "Tell me, Roberts, what WAS your initial strategy going into the scenario?" Taking a deep breath, Wesley pauses to gather his thoughts. "Sir, my intent was to create a weak screen for my Hellbores to exploit with a combo of plasma and phasers, and then hit the Kzin repeatedly with a single Hellbore at regular intervals. Defensively, I planned to use my advantages in speed and manueverability to prevent his drones from impacting, with my rear arc phaser-threes as a final line of defense against the drones, should they get too close." "Hmph. So what did you do to this end on your initial run at the Kzinti? Nothing!!!" the Admiral answers before Wesley can open his mouth. "You didn't boost any of your power systems, leaving you with a far inferior power curve compared to your opponent. You launched a drone from 340,000km, ensuring the Kzinti HAD to know its target - and giving him a week to decide how he wanted to deal with it. You launched your F-torp from 120,000km and then TURNED away. He hadn't even launched drones at that point, but he had fired a pair of standard disrupters, meaning only two disrupters left plus inferior phasers. If you had half a brain you should have easily figured out that either the Kzin had not armed his disrupters and had nominal power left for shield reinforcement, OR he had powered his other disrupters and had NO shield reinforcement. You had the opportunity to move into overload range, with no realistic chance of the Kzin dropping any of your shields, and hit him with phasers and one overload -- followed by another overload once your engines were doubled. So why didn't you?" Wesley's eyes burn into the Admiral, furious at what he believes to be unwarranted criticism. "Sir, I was concerned about overloaded disrupters. Since I had not increased power output, I only had minimal power for shield reinforcement." "So you compound one error by committing another?!?" the Admiral breaks in. "You had an F-torp and a drone out to soak up phasers, and the Kzin had obliged by firing half his heavy weapons, and THEN you turned away. One of the first tenets of seeking weapon use is to follow them in. They do you next to no good if you are not close enough when they reach the enemy to take advantage of the fact he must divert fire power to deal with them." Wesley glances at the floor, finally beginning to realize that some of what the Admiral is saying was true. He SHOULD have known better than to turn away when he didn't have to. "Furthermore, if the Kzin had not been such a complete idiot, he would have turned to pursue, the instant you turned away. By launching your F-torp at 120Kk, he had ample time -- and at warp three, he had more than enough speed -- to ensure your torp would hit in its second range category. With just a pair of p3s, he could have brought its warhead down enough where it wouldn't even get through his reinforcement." Wesley's head jerks up at this revelation. "That's right, Cadet. He had seven megajoules on his nose. He could have plowed right through your torp and been chewing on your butt, if he weren't dumber than you." The Admiral pauses just long enough to glance at Cadet Seeker, whose demeanor is more than morose at this point. "Don't look so glum, Cadet Seeker. I was actually moderately impressed with your energy plot. However, arming just two disrupters is a waste unless you have a plan of exactly how you intend to use them. You commanded your ship like an engineer. Good use of power available, but lousy tactics. However, I'm not through with Cadet Roberts yet." The Admiral is happy to see a glimmer of light in Seeker's eyes at the minor compliment. Being well aware of the youngster's psyche profile, he knows he cannot risk berating him too much. His ego is too fragile -- not yet hardened enough by the Academy to take the bruising. However, the other student before him has enough ego for all three of them. And before he is through, Wesley B. Roberts is going to be forced to re-examine his opinion of himself. "Now, as I was explaining, Roberts. By turning away when you did, you gave the Kzin every opportunity to turn in on you, getting an excellent shot at your rear shields, and then launching drones, with more available in only seconds. As it was, he opted to stay away from you, costing him the initiative, any chance to do damage, and delaying dealing with your torp long enough where he had no phasers to deal with you when you dove in on him. You were simply the lucky recipient of a serious tactical blunder." "Con-man, you launched two shuttles on your approach. Why didn't you launch any drones on the initial pass?" the Admiral asks the blonde cadet. Conrad swallows hard before answering. "I simply forgot, sir." "You forgot?" "Yes sir. I was up half the night studying for a subspace physics exam, and I wasn't in top form . . . " "Top form?!? Of all the things in the world to forget, son, you don't forget your primary weaponry. Would you forget to arm your photons if you were going into battle flying a Constitution class Heavy Cruiser?" "Er. . . no . . . no, sir." "Son, the reason we have you practice flying the enemies' ships is so that THEIR tactics and strategies will become second nature to you, so you don't have to waste time thinking about them in combat." The Admiral throws up his hands and then grabbs his soda from the desk and takes a large swig. "I'll get back to you," the Admiral snapps at Seeker, as he turns back to face Roberts. "After lousing up your initial pass so badly, your subsequent actions seemed -- well, rather desperate. Do you care to elaborate on exactly what you were hoping to accomplish being that you hadn't done a thing on your first pass?" "Yes, sir." Wesley says coldly. "Since the Kzin was behind me and had not yet dealt with my torp or drone, I decided it was an excellent time to dive in on him. Also, since we were 170,000km away from each other when I was able to double my engines, I was hoping he might not overload his disrupters, since he could not guarantee overload range. I launched a drone at one of the shuttles, assuming one was his SP -- obviously I guessed wrong as to which. My plan was simple - get in to about 40Kk, knock down a screen and then get out of overload range before his weapons could recycle." Cadet Roberts fumes internally. "Well, Roberts, you assumed one of the shuttles was an SP - but you ignored the fact neither had blossomed at first opportunity. Therefore, if either WAS an SP, it by definition HAD to be set to blossom on range to valid target. You then HETed your ship and moved close enough to the shuttles to trigger blossom - LONG before your drone was anywhere close to destroying either shuttle. As it was, your drone launch was a complete waste, and all you accomplished by HETing was to allow the SP to get close enough to trigger. "You also allocated 10 megajoules of reinforcement to your #1, and six more to your #3 shields. This MANDATES that a minimum of six megajoules of power will be completely wasted. Your enemy is NOT going to fire on multiple shields during one battle pass if he can help it -- excuse me -- he won't unless he's a complete idiot, or he's got enveloping weapons to take advantage of multiple weak shields. You DIDN'T overload either Hellbore, which could have been powered easily with the wasted shield reinforcement. As it turned out, you wasted the ten megajoules on your forward, and you were forced to HET to give him your #3 after firing your alpha, which prevented you from using your batteries to overload at least one of your HBs. "You plotted to HET immediately to dive in on your opponent after launching your drone, but gave no apparent regard to how you would get out after firing. Since you were still 160Kk away when you HETed, if the Kzin launches medium speed drones at this point, you would have been forced to deal with them prior to reaching your target. As it was, he waited long enough to allow you to get in a decent alpha, despite having no overloads. If Seeker had had the gumption to launch some drones, he could have dented your offensive output, or if you had been forced to use even a single tractor in drone defense, you wouldn't have had enough energy to HET to get out after your attack. "And Seeker - you put ten megajoules of reinforcement on your #6 shield, then immediately turn in on the Orion AFTER he had HETed. If you had looked at the intercepting trajectories, you would have seen that you did not need to turn torward the Orion in order to get him to set off your SP. He was already obliging you. And any thought you might have had about getting your SP drones between you and Midnite were equally ludicrous. He was going warp three, almost 50% faster than you -- which completely took all but your single fast SP drone out of the picture. YOU wasted that energy by your movement plot, negating your opponents own idiocy." Seeker gazes down at his feet, wishing he could hide under his smartly polished boots. Roberts stares angrily at the Admiral, grinding his teeth quietly behind tight lips. The Admiral takes another sip of soda and smiles at the two cadets. . "But, despite all of the gaffes on both of your parts, there were a few minor points that I must commend each of you on. Seeker -- the choice to put the heavy reinforcement up was excellent. Had you kept to your plan to present THAT screen to the Orion, he would not have had enough punch to breach the screen at all - meaning you would not have needed to spend power to reestablish your #1 shield after the battle pass was over. In fact, I must commend you on your energy management on both passes. You showed excellent judgement in allocating your resources against a very tricky opponent for the Kzin to deal with. I would heavily recommend you spend more time studying manuevering theories and strategies before entering the sim again. "Roberts -- your energy management was abysmal, but on the Orion you can get away with bad energy management, at least for awhile. Your actual attack run, however, was well executed, given the handicap you gave yourself with your energy allocation. You managed to get the Kzin's #1 shield, which is always a prime strategic goal, and you got close enough to take it down. You also managed to avoid his drones, though Seeker helped by launching so late. Your second HET was highly questionable, because it left you wide open for a 30,000km tractor, which you couldn't have stopped even at minimal strength. However, given the Orion's overall power curve, it was a reasonable gamble that the Kzin would not attempt to tractor you at 30Kk." Turning to the blonde cadet, the Admiral snorts, "You couldn't have known at the time, cadet. But with your batteries alone, when the Orion used his second HET to move away from you, you could have tractored him, and your drones could have easily overwhelmed him, winning you the scenario." Conrad looks up at the Admiral in stunned silence, then glance over at Wesley. Wesley rewards him with an evil grin, which illicits a groan and a stifled curse from Seeker. "Don't fret Seeker, if Roberts had been using his brain at all during the pass, things could have been much worse for you. He still had a psuedo- torp, which he didn't bother to use. It could have soaked up the rest of your phaser capacitors, since you chose to completely obliterate the first torp, denying you the information as to whether it was real or not. Also, since you had used so much of your phaser capacitor on the F-torp and drone you failed to deal with on the initial pass, you didn't have enough phaser firepower to deter a determined opponent. Had Midnite here chosen to stay on your #6 shield, you would have had only a single ph1 to add to your disrupters. Of course, since you only armed two standard disrupters, you could barely tickle the Orion's screens with that pitiful alpha." Seeing Robert's reaction to this news, the Admiral moves in front of the smaller cadet. "Yes, he only had two standard disrupters armed. You could have cruised into 500 METERS of him, and he couldn't have punched your shields. Of course, you would have had to deal with drones in order to do that -- and you didn't have ANY drone defenses ready when you dove in on him. Tell me, Roberts -- what does the sign say over the door to the simulator?" Roberts answers through clenched teeth, "Use your tractors." "And how much energy did you allocate to tractors on your first two battle passes?" the Admiral asks cheerfully. "None, sir." "None! Precisely your chances of winning against a decent opponent with the ability you displayed in that simulation," the Admiral snaps. "But, you got away with your suicide overrun, and survived your HET to get out. I will admit that once you were moving away from the Kzin, your manuevering was excellent. Seeker - your pursuit plot was also adequate." The Admiral pauses for a moment, and glances down at the notes on his desk. "Ah, yes. Roberts, tell me - on your rearming turn, what were you hoping to accomplish?" Roberts brow furrows at this question. "Excuse me, sir? I'm not sure I understand the question. I . . . I was hoping to rearm my Hellbores." The Admiral sighs. "Son, rearming turns are not simply for rearming. They are for positioning and planning, and looking for opportunities. You did none of the above while running from the Kzin. You completely ignored the fact that the Kzin gave you his down forward shield at 80,000km, which gave you the opportunity to fire three of your five ph1s into his ship for internal damage. You neven even noticed you had the chance." Wesley stares at the Admiral in disbelief. "Yes, it's true. And then when you finally started turning around, you were so intent on where the Kzin was that you turned right back into the medium speed drone swarm which was trailing you. You could have fired phasers then to kill the drones which would cause you the most immediate problems, and had them recharged by the time you got your second shot at the Kzin. But you waited to fire, so those phasers you used were not available when you did get the Kzin back into your Hellbore arc." The Admiral notices Wesley's color fading slightly, as his anger begins to subside. "Your drone defense was decent, though again you did not bother to power your tractors, and were eventually forced to spend your battery power to do so. This cost you yes another chance to overload your Hellbores - or at least one of them with reserve power. You also doubled only a single engine on this turn, leaving you with roughly equal power to the Kzin, and starting your run from only 90Kk away. He had an excellent chance to hit you with overloads and ph1s -- enough to tear down a rear screen and do a few internals. But lucky for you, Roberts, Seeker here apparently had no intention of actually causing you any damage. Because he put all of his power into shield reinforcement and speed." The Admiral turns to Conrad for a moment. "Seeker, your reinforcement was excellent, preventing internals. However, you again plotted high speed and armed two standard disrupters. You could have slowed to warp enough to let you arm two standards and two overloads, giving you the option to overload the others with battery power. You were on a rear flank screen and had a good chance at punching through and doing internal damage. Instead, you again went full defensive, except for the pair of disrupters. This was the one point in the battle where you power management failed you. And it was here you lost the battle." Seeker frowns as his eyes drop to the floor. "While your reinforcement was good, arming the disrupters was all but useless. And when Midnite started launching shuttles, you wasted power and phasers to kill them, as well as wasting a point of reinforcement when the first shuttle fired. You finally launched fast drones, but did nothing with your ship to put it in a position to take advantage of the fact his phasers were tied up dealing with those drones. And you waited just long enough in launching those drones that he was able to get you in arc of his Hellbores while dealing with them. And AFTER he fired, failing to do any more internal damage to you, you spent your entire arsenal plowing through his shuttle swarm. You overkilled the shuttles, firing full ph1s when firing them as ph3s would have been just as effective. You also tractored the first shuttle AFTER it had fired at you. You could have used your rear firing ph3s to kill it, saving your tractor to death-drag one of the other shuttles the Orion sent toward you. All-in-all, your shuttle defense was severely lacking, and your failure to inflict any damage on the Orion is what really hurt. Granted, the disrupters you fired missed -- but it would have not mattered one iota if both had hit. You fired on his fresh #4 shield, and degrading it by 25% was not going to be enough to gain any sort of tactical advantage. Remember Seeker, you were fighting an Orion, not an Andromedan. The Orion's shields do not leak." Seeker sighs, nodding his head slightly. The Admiral is pleased to see a glimmer of light in his blue eyes, though. "Back to you, Roberts. You mentioned you planned to hit the Kzin with an overloaded Hellbore at regular intervals. But instead you fired a pair of standard Hellbores twice - using almost all of their recycling time between firings. You failed to fire an overload because of abysmal power management, neglecting to plan your escape on your initial run - and failing to power tractors on your second pass. When you fired your second HB salvo, you held back your phasers - not a bad move considering you were facing a fresh #6 shield. However, you then failed to use all of your phasers to kill drones, leaving yourself with a drone in tractor when you were ready for power re- balancing." The Admiral pauses, setting his soda down. "Roberts, can you give me ANY explanation of WHY you would turn back toward the Kzin when you were just starting to rearm your Hellbores AND your plasma torp?" "I. . . I was trying to prevent myself from being boxed into a corner, sir. And I . . . I . . . well, my #3 shield was already weakened, and I did not want to give the Kzin an overload shot." "So you turned into the drone swarm, locking your ship into an intercept course?!? You made the exact same mistake only a minute before when you started turning around - so you decide to up the ante the second time by giving yourself only one out - HETing for a third time?!? Your plan at the beginning was to use your speed an manueverability to avoid the Kzins drones - and yet only seven cycles before their fuel would be expended you dive right in amongst them!! I certainly hope you go back and review the battle logs from this sim and re-examine your concept of 'avoidance'!" "Yes sir," Wesley answers softly. "Though I called you on it, Seeker, your choice to maintain a decent speed allowed you to stay on the Orion's butt - and you had your dream shot once he opted to dive into your drones. You had him dead to rights, and then let him off the hook." The Admiral is disappointed to see the disconcerted frown on the tall cadets face. "His heavy weapons are off line - his phasers have got to be tied up dealing with drones - and you're only 50Kk away when you get the chance to rebalance your energy. So what do you do? You overload TWO disrupters? It had to be obvious to you that you were clearly losing the combat at that time. You had taken a handful of internals, and had barely scratched the BR. You were running out of drones quickly, and had two down shields to worry about. Why didn't you go ahead and overload all four?!?" "Well sir, I didn't want to slow down too much?" "TOO MUCH?!?" the Admiral fairly screams. "You dropped to just a hair above warp two!!! What difference would it have made to simply stop so you could fire everything you've got, and tacwarp to keep him away from your down shields? If you had stopped, you would have had power to put to shield repair - tractors, completely recharged all capacitors. Heck, you might have considered beginning arming of a Suicide Shuttle. But even putting all that aside - you could have overloaded the other two disrupters with batteries once the BR HETed. But noooooooooo, you started plinking away at him like he was an Andro, two weapons at a time. You had him in your sights with all four disrupters and all four ph1s at a range of 40,000km! And you fired TWO standard disrupters - allowing him to move to 50,000km before you could fire again! What on Earth were you thinking?!?" Conrad looks up at the Admiral and takes a deep breath. "I guess I was thinking about a Mizia attack, sir." "Mizia?!? Mizia?!? Son, the Mizia concept doesn't work until you're doing internals! Orion shields don't leak! So, if you EVER consider a Mizia style attack in the future - make sure that your first firing has at least some possibility of actually dropping the shield!" "Yes sir." "Roberts, do you know how lucky you were? Do you realize that if your obliging adversary had actually gone ahead and fired his full alpha he would have equalled the internals you did to him? Oh, and that assumes you would have used your full battery capacity for additional reinforcement. If you HAD used your batteries you wouldn't have been capable of HETing for the FOURTH time! What a fool thing to do anyway. And yes, yes, I know that you pulled it off, and your fourth HET allowed you to get to point blank and finish him. But had you failed, HE could have overrun your butt with a phaser barrage that would have left you crying uncle. You also failed to consider when you did that last HET, that if you had failed and broke down - he was close enough to move to 40Kk - and depending on what facing you ended up with, he could have arranged to be out of your Hellbore arc. You would not have been able to even TAC your weapons into arc until after he got his shot. Again, depending on what facing you ended up with, he might have even been able to get to point blank - possibly on your down #5 shield before you could start moving. You risked everything on a chancey move, when you already clearly had the superior position in almost every measurable way. Why?" "I felt certain I could end the duel right there if I were successful, and I also did not think his chances of taking advantage of a breakdown were that good - especially given his performance up to that point," Roberts says coldly. The Admiral cannot suppress his grin at the response. "I see. So you had decided by this point that your opponent was an idiot, so you could be one too?" Wesley bites his lip as the Admiral waves a hand to let him know he does not expect an answer. "In all honestly, I must admit I am not being entirely fair with you in that regard. Part of the job of a starship Captain is to discern the ability and personality of his opponents in combat, and thereby gain an edge by accurately predicting his tactics. Given Seeker's performance up to that point, I cannot dismiss your argument. However, I will warn you that it is rarely a good idea to assume your opponent is an idiot. Many of the craftiest Captains will make minor errors and pass up obvious standard tactical options to fool their adversaries into getting careless. Remember this the next time you are winning an engagement." "I will sir," Roberts smiles. "And as for the final end to your battle, I would have to say you finished well, Wesley. You managed to inflict as much damage as possible while still avoiding internals in return, thanks in part to your wonderful use of Mizia prior to enery rebalancing. Seeker - by the time he grabbed you with the tractor - you didn't have a prayer. However, I commend you for doing everything you possibly could to hurt him. Had he erred anywhere in the end game, you might have breached a shield. As it was, your failure to accumulate any appreciable shield damage or gain a clear positional advantage with your drones during the first two passes is what really led to your demise. Your mistakes when you finally did take the offensive were magnified by your earlier shortcomings. Anything to say in your defense?" "Not really, sir. Though I will work hard on my offensive tactics and planning." "Very well. And you Roberts - anything you wish to add?" Roberts looks the Admiral square in the eye and a tight smile pulls at the corners of his mouth. "I will consider your comments carefully, sir. And I expect I will be better next time out for having done so. However, there is one point which you mentioned in one of the first lectures of your I attended here at the Academy - 'the only true test is combat - the only valid result is victory'. Your words, sir. Are they still true?" The Admiral nods. "Yes, they are still true, cadet. However, let us see how you do in your next simulation before we decide whether my critique has been a bit too harsh. Satisfactory with you, Roberts?" "Yes, sir," he responds crisply. "And I won't disappoint." "I hope not. Both of you - dismissed!" As the door swishes shut behind the cadets, the Admiral retakes his seat and swivels around to gaze out the window at the setting sun. . ============================================================================= GAME AID: CLOAK SUMMARY CHART This game aid, submitted by Steve Rushing, is a table that lists the chance of success for retaining and reacquiring a lock-on to a cloaked ship. It tabularizes the formula from the G13 rules sections into a single table. Cloak Summary Chart Speed of Cloaked Ship 0 1-4 5-8 9-12 13-15 16-17 18 19+ =============================================================== 0 | 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | R 1-4 | 0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | a 5-10 | -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | n 11-15 | -2 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 | g 18-20 | -3 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5 | e 21-30 | -4 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 | 31-40 | -5 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 | 41+ | -6 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 | |============================================================== Notes: A roll of less than or equal to the number in the chart is the roll on a single d6 required to retain lock-on to a cloaking ship. Chance of re-acquiring lock-on to a cload ship is six less than the number on the chart for each range/speed category Chart assume no EW shift and a 6 sensor rating. Fire at Cloaked Ships: Range is doubled if no lock-on. Range is +5 unless firing ship has tractor to cloaked ship. (+1 per impulse of fade during fade period) Each weapon rolls on the chart below. Roll Result Note ====================================================================== 1-2 |Weapon does normal damage | During fade period, subtract 5 from| 3-4 |Weapon does half damage | roll and and the number if impulses| 5-6 |Weapon does one-quarter damage | of fade. | ====================================================================== Events that Void a Cloak: ========================================================================== Landing shuttles or P/F voids cloak for impulse before, during, and after. Use of transporters Terrain-induced damage Damage from explosions or mines Damage from ESG Being in Web ========================================================================== When cloak is voided, all units gain a lock-on and must roll to retain it when the event that voided the cloak has ended. Restrictions on a Cloaked Ship ========================================================================== Fire Control is off Cannot determine the shield status of other ships May not use Erratic Maneuvers May not use Passive Fire Control A WW used during fade-in would be voided by raising fire control unless during the WW's 4-impulse burst phase May not use labs for seeking weapon ID or information gathering ========================================================================== Next Quarter: Since we have so many tournament duels on-line, next quarter's play aid will be a list of average damage for each tourney ship by range bracket. (I already have one, so don't bother sending me yours!) ========================================================================== ENSIGN'S QUARTERS ---Paul Watson Over the last few months we have seen many new players join the forum. Many are experienced SFB players to whom PEBM is new while to some both are new (and sometimes daunting) challenges. This column is largely aimed at the latter. Many new players are hesitant to start a game until they feel they have grasped all of the rules of SFB. In many cases this is unnecessary and arises largely from not knowing what a friendly bunch are on the forum. Additionally the recent work by Junker to formalise the PEBM rules has removed much of the ambiguity of playing on CompuServe. One of the main services the forum offers to players is advice. If you have a query or do not understand a particular rule, post a 'to ALL' thread in section 13, or if it is about a game you are currently playing send a private message to you moderator. Try to make the message as clear as possible and give rules references where you can. Here's an example. I don't understand Sublight Tactical Manoeuvres please help. This is a bad question, because it requires too broad an answer. It also shows that you may not have read the related rules sections. A broad question like this is likely to be ignored. Try this: I have been looking at Sublight Tactical Manoeuvres and do not understand how I can combine these with Warp manoeuvres. I have read C5.1, 5.2 & 5.3 but am unclear on how energy is allocated to get the maximum TAC movement. I am flying a FED CA+. The latter should give you the answer you are after and possibility more. The First Game When you post a challenge make it clear what rules you want to avoid. For example SG 1.0, Basic rules, No EW, Andros, CDR, Tractors or Mid turn speed changes, is perfectly valid as it lets your prospective opponent and moderator know what level you are comfortable to play at. If you are new to a section of rules but would like to try them, put that in the challenge. FFFor example, say that you are new to EW but would like to try. Once again you will get a game you are prepared for which will improve your knowledge and enjoyment of the game. Once you have found a opponent and moderator it's worth letting them know any times you cannot access CompuServe i.e. Weekends (as you logon from work), Tuesdays (Wife's night out, Drill practice etc.) and vacations. With this information you moderator will be able to adjust to your availability and you will avoid delay of game penalties. Break Conditions One area which still causes some misunderstanding are break conditions. Those that are used to face-to-face play can adjust their game on an impulse by impulse basis. In PEBM, breaks give us 'similar' control. Yes 'SIMILAR' not the same. As we use SOP's to communicate to the Moderator we should consider PEBM as plotted play. When a break condition is called (e.g. Break on Turn) the break occurs after the movement phase of the Impulse (6A4). That is when BOTH players have completed their move (if they both move on that turn). In a Break on turn this could allow a (last) firing opportunity (6B6 or 6D) or allow previously plotted movement to be adjusted. This has a more drastic effect when a Break on Firing condition occurs. Once again the break does not occur until after the relevant impulse action (6B6 or 6D). This only allows the breaking player to react to being fired upon within the remaining actions of the Impulse i.e. if a drone was launched (6B6) the breaking player could fire a phaser (Direct fire weapons - 6D) at it, as this action follows the Launch Seeking Weapons stage (6B6). (Editor's note. Depending upon the movement order of preference, you might be able to adjust your movement on a given impulse in reaction to your opponent's movement on that same impulse. This can happen if you, by Order of Preference, move after your opponent does.) Well that's about it. Let me know if there are any areas you need help of if you have any tips for others starting out. One thing to bear in mind is that we all have a common goal to enjoy ourselves and promote the game (much to the delight of ADB and TFG !!).