Admiral Havoc approaches, places both hands on the sides of the dais, and clears his throat into the microphone.
"Cadets, today I am going to speak on perhaps the single most important item you will ever learn here at the College of Interstellar Strategy. While all of you seem to enjoy the simulator, and many of you regularly search to find new and innovative tactics to use against your opponents, what I am going to teach you today, if understood and applied properly, can perhaps propel you to a completely new level of play."
The crowd murmurs restlessly, the Admiral scowling silently until the noise subsides.
"I will forewarn you that for simplicity, I am going to refer only to Tourney ships in any examples I may use. However, these concepts can be applied to any type of combat simulation you may encounter. I will now display the outline of how to become a better Captain on the holoprojector. Please download this file to your personal storage to consider. I will supply examples after you have had a chance to absorb the basic material."
The holoprojector comes to life and the students immediately begin reading and examining the material shown.
Improving your combat performance requires four basic skills:
1) ANALYSIS
2) PREPARATION
2) SURPRISE
4) EXECUTION
ANALYSIS: You need to keep records of each scenario you play with notes
on tactics used (like the Victory at Origins writeups). Over
the course of time you will build a cache of knowledge to pull
from. Items to specifically pay attention to:
a. Speeds and energy plots when you win/lose
b. Maneuvering errors
c. Shield levels at game end (both parties)
You should also analyze the units used in an engagement with
attention paid to:
a. Damage potential for each unit
b. Combat power curves
c. General design strengths and weaknesses
PREPARATION: Once your analysis is complete, try to take care of every
detail you can BEFORE the engagement begins. Standard tools
of preparation include:
a. Average damage chart(s) / opponent specific
b. Turn 1 AND 2 strategies and EAF's
c. Assignment of guards
d. Contingency plans depending on enemy speed
and/or movement
SURPRISE: This is the one area I believe made the biggest difference
during my Victory at Origins. The unexpected can be your
greatest ally (or worst enemy). Most one-sided attacks are
the result of one player getting surprised by his opponents
actions. There are many types of suprise you can employ,
(and need to beware of), in SFB. These include:
a. Power deception
b. Movement deception
c. Going against 'the book'
Bear in mind, all of these can be used against you, so the
counters to these are:
a1. Plot your opponents EAF
b1. Be aware of max and min speed change options
of your opponent (and affect on his turn mode)
c1. Know 'the book' - but don't dismiss other
strategies.
EXECUTION: This is how well you meld the above principles together and
use them in actual combat. If you've done all the pre-game
analysis and your opponent hasn't, you should win (barring
incredible luck). The only time you know EXACTLY what the
situation is like is before the game begins. This is why turn
1 strategy is so important. However, execution is a fluid
science, demanding you pay attention to the dynamic aspects of
the game as they change. While the turn break is important,
in giving you time to analyze your options, execution is about
deciding where you want you and your opponent to be when the
end of the turn arrives, and making that happen. Execution is
not only about successfully employing a tactic, but is also
about recognizing when it's time to drop back and regroup, or
when it's time to throw caution to the wind and go for it!
But the ability to improvise when a good plan goes bad is
generally what makes an ace an ace. And that is something
that just can't be taught.
"Well, that's a lot of information. Any comments, anyone?"
Lord Kron stands up as the Admiral closes his arguments and addresses the podium.
"Havoc, your analysis is good, but not detailed. You menton 'power deception' and 'movement deception,' but fail to give an example for our students. Let me add to your comments.
"Power deception is the art of never letting your opponent know where your power is allocated. One of the most important aspects of defeating an opponent is plotting his power, knowing where his power has gone. This way, you can KNOW for certain that some things are not possible. If he doesn't have five warp available, he can't HET. Power deception comes into play when you do things to fool your opponent into thinking your power is elsewhere, so that he will make a mistake. For example, allocate reinforcement to a shield equal to your battery capacity. If your opponent fires, he may assume that you used your batteries for reinforcement and do something foolish, like attempting to tractor you with 2 points of power. Then you use your batteries (and allocated tractor, if you have it) to grab HIM instead, holding him for your drones, plasma, or suicide shuttles to make an impact.
"Movement deception is even more tricky. In general, there are only certain ways and places that a ship can move. But judicious use of speed changes to decrease turn mode, or a late-turn speed reduction to allow you enough power (or a low enough speed) to HET can surprise an opponent who has assumed, through plotting your power or your own actions, that you cannot turn, HET, or make some other brilliant move. But be careful with speed changes: every time you make one, you are locked to that speed for at least 1/4 of a turn, and your opponent knows it. Another speed deception is to use a standard movement plot for one turn, then start the same standard plot on the next, using an impuse 4 speed change to radically alter your movement scheme. This comes under the heading of lulling your opponent to sleep with repetitive motions."
Crossing his arms over his muscular chest, Kron returns to his seat amid low murmurs from the students.
"Excellent points all, Kron," Havoc replies. I had examples ready for these points, but I could not have stated the particulars any better than you already have," Admiral Havoc responds to the Klingon, nodding respectfully. "Very astute of you to choose deception as the heart of your examples, for it is the Captain who gets surprised that usually ends up with a gutted ship and a dead crew. In addition to movement and power deception, there are a myriad of other system related deceptions available. Pseudo-plasma torpedoes are an obvious item. However, one of the most interesting bluffs I ever saw successfully executed was by a Romulan fighting a Gorn. The ROM had spent his torps and was boxed in a corner with the Gorn closing with most of his torps on line. The ROM stopped and started TACing. The Gorn, assuming the ROM had weasels, launched his pseudos, but the ROM called his bluff and didn't weasel. The Gorn finally bolted and turned off. The ROM thanked him after the game, because he didn't HAVE any weasels armed."
The Admiral smiles as the students chuckle over his anecdote.
"Excellent example of deception," Kron grins. "Pity the poor captain who was suckered by it. However, it had to be set up the previous turn with an unknown point of power somewhere, to convince the Gorn captain that the weasel was being held on the prior turn. If this were not so, and the Gorn were plotting the Romulan's power, then the Gorn would have known that the threat was empty. But with the average Romulan war cruiser having six batteries, this sort of deception is not difficult."
Another Orion, this one going by the name Midnite, stands. "Since we're talking about deceptions, I'd like to relate a situation where I used deception against the good Admiral here in a face-to-face game. I was flying the Romulan Chicken Hawk PF-Tender with 3 Centurian PF's. Havoc had a Knight and a Lord Bishop. I launched 6 f-torps (3 were psuedo) at the Lord Bishop and anchored the Knight with the Chicken Hawk. Havoc assumed the plasmas were on the Knight since that was the ship I anchored, the Lord Bishop slipped into the torps to get a point-blank shot on the CH and took 60 points of damage for it's trouble.
"In this same game, the Lord Bishop performed an emergency decelleration to avoid my NSM (stopping right next to it before it could arm). I Kamakazied some crippled PF's into the NSM to do him some more ints. It was a very fun game."
"An interesting war story," Havoc winces. "So thoughtful of you to relay it to the cadets." He harrumphs and straightens his uniform.
"One thing to always keep in mind," Havoc continues. "Every option taken has a potential downside. As Kron pointed out, after you announce a speed change, your opponent knows with certainty your power to be expended to movement during that period, as well as your potential maneuvering options. A perfect example of a trade-off is electing to speed up enough to exceed your best HET speed. In most cases, this will result in your ship being able to react to your enemy. However, the enemy will know you cannot HET, and may be able to exploit that."
The Admiral eyes the crowd thoughtfully for a moment, then asks, "Can anyone tell me what impulse is the absolute WORST to announce a speed change on?"
A young Orion, known only as Ensign MAX, takes the first bite. "Admiral, I would be inclined to say the impulse before the speed you're changing to doesn't move. It means you are stationary at your new speed for one pulse and give the movement advantage to you opponent.
"But I have a question I would like to pose, to you and to the rest of the Board." He pauses for dramatic effect. "Why is it so many experienced Captains plot a speed 16 to whatever split to be activated on Impulse 16? I understand that speed 16 keeps the speed 31 option open, however it is a crucially flawed tactic. On a tournament approach a speed 17-to-whatever, split on Impulse 17, is far superior. At speed 17, for the first 16 impulses, you move at the same time as a speed 16 opponent...but AFTER them, regardless of turn mode (Federation, Wyn and Gorn Captains, listen up). In addition to this, speed 17 moves on Implulse 17 ..... allowing you one movement pulse in which you know the opponents new speed.
"Have I missed anything, or is a speed 16 - whatever split on pulse 16 just the result of shoddy lack of attention to detail?"
Kron stands again. "I'll respond to the Admiral's question first, with my favorite answer. The worst time to change speed is pulse 20. If you change speed then, your opponent knows your exact speed for the rest of the turn, 12 impulses. Because of the End-of-Turn restriction on speed changes, you cannot change speed again for the entire turn. This gives the opponent a very long time indeed to plot your power and predict your movement."
"As for why so many captains use a speed 16 to mid-turn plot, it is because it is easy to do the math, and for no other reason. Laziness, I would call it. No ship in space has speed 16 as the top of a turn mode, but 17 is top of turn mode 4 for all turn class D ships, while 15 is the top of turn mode 3 for Class Bs. I often enjoy flying the Gorn cruiser in tourney, and take a speed 17 to speed 24 movement plot, with the change announced on 17. But since I usually do this on approach turns, seeing the opponent's moves is not much of an advantage. Once we get into close combat, tactics decide my speed and speed changes, not arbitrary numbers games.
"One thing that many inexperienced captains fail to do is examine their turn mode categories when plotting speed. I have seen many Klingon captains moving exactly as you said, speed 16, when they are much more maneuverable at speed 15. On approach turns, it rarely matters. But if you have plotted such movement and your opponent comes screaming down on you at high speeds, you could find yourself in combat much sooner than you anticipated. Not watching the turn mode is like not keeping your knife sharp: you may not have time to remedy the situation when you need it."
Showing up late for the tactics seminar (as is often the case), Junker is still standing by the door in the back as the discussion unfolds. When a break in the conversation comes up, he takes the opportunity to interject.
"I would have to say that there is no SINGLE worst time to alter your speed." A few heads turn to see who the speaker is. "It will depend entirely on the tactical situation at that particular time. Certainly there will be general rules, but as has been stated earlier, these are guidelines. NEVER stick to them to the exclusion of the situation at hand."
The former Orion Businessman walks to a nearby seat.
"If, as you say, the 20th segment of the energy cycle is the worst time to change speed, I would say that there will likely come a time that that particular moment will be the PERFECT time to change your speed... for that particular tactical situation."
He sits down, and after a moment adds; "Of course, as a general guideline, I would agree with your statement."
Heads turn in amazement at the strange creature who only now everyone noticed. Some are awed... some show outright panic as the Andromadan, with the help a universal translator, puts his 2 cents in.
"I agree whole-heartedly that movement deception and accounting for your opponents power usage or non-usage is key to being victorious..... but good luck accounting for Andromadan power with his enormous reserves. Add in unplotted speed changes and the Andromadan takes this to a new level."
And just as fast as he appeared the Andromadan departs and strangely enough, everyone who saw him described something a little different.
Ensign MAX stands again. "Well, doesn't that beat all. I say he looked like a mixture between the contents of a Pot Noodle and a yoguart.
"I feel it worth poinitng out that ALL Tactics are subject to interpretation and circumstance. Any meaningful dsicussion should accept this fact. No tactic is ideal, we can at best come up with ideas which are Good, Solid Flying. This, a sense of instinct and ability to reconsider / alter plans wins battles."
The Admiral again takes up the microphone. "Ensign MAX brings up a very valid point. But the 16-to-16 speed plot is generally seen on an opening approach, where there is rarely any advantage gained or lost. A 'cheaper' solution is actually to go speed 15. If you look at the movement chart for speed 15 vs. 16, you will see they NEVER move on the same impulse during the first half of the turn. The only time moving last is an advantage is when BOTH parties are moving simultaneously. But I applaud your analysis of the inefficiency of this plot. One point to add, is that if you are moving 17 to your enemies 16, and your 'scheduled' speed change is one impulse LATER than your opponent's, you can possibly alter your speed change with reserve warp to take advantage of KNOWING what your opponent's speed is going to be for the next 8 impulses."
"I am pleased to this healthy debate," he continues, "for you are all correct. The 20th impulse is indeed the 'worst' for changing speeds because it surrenders 12 full impules of foreknowledge to your opponent, while any other speed change only gives him 8. But, as stated, there may be very good reasons to make a speed change on that impulse in a specific tactical situation. But, remember, the point of this discussion is to help everyone see how to IMPROVE their ability to command."
"What we are really doing at the moment is analyzing a particular tactic -- speed changes. It is the ability to examine a tactic and determine its tradeoffs that will help one make better decisions during crunch time. And in that regard, our Andromedan visitor raises an interesting point. When you have a difficult piece of data to analyze, like an Andromedan power curve, for instance, how can you simplify the problem of attempting to track his unplotted speed changes? Well, in all areas, for unknowns, assume whatever will be the WORST for YOU. And then figure what is MOST LIKELY for him. For example, if you're flying a Hydran TLM and your plan is to anchor your opponent so you can blast him with Fusions armed after the turn break, if your opponent suddenly slows dramatically, freeing up a lot of power you can't isolate, ASSUME the power is in tractor, and determine if it will be enough to thwart your anchor. But then re-examine the situation and ask yourself where is it most likely that he put his power, if not into tractor. The answer might be shield reinforcement, to prevent you from creating a down shield to exploit with later Hellbores. Then, as Captain, you'll have to trust your instincts to determine whether heading in to carry out your anchor plan is the best move, or taking a range eight snipe, and turning off. There are no sure things, well, except perhaps for range 1 photons, in combat."
"It was also suggested that changing to a speed that doesn't move is worst. And in certain tactical situations that is true -- but in just as many cases, MOVING might be the worst thing. In fact, using reserve power to increase speed to NOT move could in some situations be downright wonderful. For example, if you have an enemy ship one hex behind your forward arc, but cannot turn, and your opponent, due to his turn and slip mode is 'locked' to straight, missing a hex might be a cheap way of bringing him into arc -- assuming, of course that HE's moving on that impulse when you miss.
"One of the points we have not touched on from my original treatise is analyzing design strengths and weaknesses. Someone - pick a tourney ship and give me a run-down on what you believe to be its strengths and weaknesses."
A hum from the back of the room draws everyone's attention. The Andromedan returns, moves to a chair, and sits. As he speaks, everyone notices that if they take their eyes off him and then look back, his form is different. He shifts like a changeling, never the same from one viewing to the next. But his voice is the same, coming as it does from the universal translator.
"Analyze a ship? Gladly!..... Lets take the Andro Krait TC..... Advantages...... Many. Disadvantages also quite a few but lets take the former first.
"The Krait is just plain FAST, being able to arm everything including the Kitchen sink and still outrun all opponents. The Krait has a turn mode of B right up there with the Klingon and Tholian but with a breakdown rating of 6 and that always useful Displacement Device which in my opinion makes it an equal if not superior to the Orion. The Krait has exceptional defenses which in the hands of a competent captain regenerate at a phenomenal rate. An opponent must arrainge to hit the Krait repeatedly with heavy fire to penetrate and this is very difficult given its speed and manuverability. The TR beam is a fearsome weapon... with a damage brackets that allow it to stay at relatively long range and is the only never miss direct fire weapon in the 9-12 range bracket. This added to the fact that they are the only FH arc heavy weapon in the tourney makes em even better. Too bad there are only 2. A captain who combines all of these advantages should be able to prevail most of the time.. Oh nearly forgot..... The Krait is unmatched in the reserve power category with a battery space of up to 30 points.
"Now the disadvantages..... The Krait is just plain fragile once the panels are penetrated. A volley that would just make a Hydran mad will probably cripple a Krait if it included a TR beam and a few batteries. About the only ship more fragile is the Orion. The Krait's Phaser battery is pathetic... It only has a capacitor of 6 and those are used to power ph-2's!!!! Against drone users this can be a dangerous thing. The Krait can but not to the extent of the Orion suffer from power shortages. The Andro captain must be careful not to waste power just because he has it. Going speed 31 when he doesnt have to be is wasting power he will need later. The Krait is nearly defenseless on the TR beam reload turn. If he gets cornered he might as well start digging the grave. All in all, though, the Krait is a good ship and when flown properly can deafeat any opponnent. This can be said of all TC's as well but for now we are talking about the Krait.
"Comments?"
Max stands again. "Since I have never managed it I would appreciate any theories on how the beat the Andro in a Kzinti. In this duel the Andro has another huge advantage .. the T-Bomb. How does the Kzinti pressure the Andro into using it without too much gain. What I really need is a drone launch pattern and then cooresponding ship movement which doesn't allow the hellishly fast opponent to "herd up" the drones into a nice big T-bombable stack."
"Admiral, I understand that you won the Galactic Championship in a Kzinti. Did you defeat any Andros, and if so, how?"
The great cat Alzedo stands to take up the topic. "As for the Krait being nearly defenseless on the TR's off turn, that's true, as long as you don't consider speed a defense or the opponent didn't transfer power over to you on a previous turn. "Offenseless," yes, but not defenseless. The phaser-II's beg to be fired as phaser-III against type four drones.
"I agree entirely with the Andro about its critical weakness. The poor thing is fragile. One mistake can send you to Valhalla.
Another advantage I see it having is simply its unusual functions. People who only play occasionaly don't know all of its tricks. If you haven't seen and played the panel clearing tricks before, they come as a nasty surprise. (thanks for the lesson Slayer).
As for attacking the Andro with the Kzin, spread out your drones. Launch them on different impulses, slide slip some of them, laucnch from an oblique course,... there are lots of things you can do that will help you against the Ando, but would hurt you against the Klingon. He only has six phaser-II's, so try to get the drone spread out enough to avoid the T-bomb taking out more than two or three, but close enough so the entire wave still arrives within 8 impulse (preferrable in a time span shorter than his turn mode so he can't use the off side phasers)."
Midnite takes the floor again. "As far as Kzinti vs Andro. I defeated A Krait in my very first PBEM game about 4 years ago. I put out a stack of 10 drones and followed them in with heavy reinforcement. The Andy made a critical error by firing on impulse 32 of turn 1 and then displacing on impulse 1 of turn 2. This put him out of sync so that his DD was off-line when his TR's rearmed. I herded him into the corner and killed him with direct fire."
A fresh Fed ensign, named Paul, stands up. "As for Max's questions, it has been a while since I flew the Kzinti TC , but the thing that I do remember about the Andro TC is that the T-bomb is not necessarily a dilemma for the GP ship . Do not be worried about stacking drones against the andro ship , the trick is to force him to use the T-Bomb when you want him to . With the kzinti ship this is made substantially easier due to the extra control channels .
Think about how many drones the Andro can be forced to deal with in one turn - as with any ship flying a fast game against the Kzinti , running in then stealing away to avoid the launched drones or a tractor attempt. As with any drone-reliant ship, timing is crucial, but with timing any TC, andro or otherwise, will have to deal with up to 16 drones in one turn - 8 drones on a pursuit path and eight drones on an intercept. Even if after taking out four drones with a t-bomb, leaving 8 behind and a further four launched from your racks is going to cause the andro headaches (you see now the reasoning behind the eight drones on intercept - he destroys 4 , you launch four) - It can be even better if the andro is forced to use his only T-Bomb on the trailing drones - running into a ship and dealing with eight drones in flight (especially if they are fast) can leave even a Hydran with stingers out looking a little toothless (even though the said hydran could probably take the Kzinti's best shot and still fight). To summarize , launching drones early in a turn against the andro gives the nippy little bugger too much time to plan an adequate strategy to deal with them: when possible use your individual drone stacks of four to either suck out his T-Bomb early and then launch your scatterpack of six fast drones or use a scatterpack of six spd20's to run interference for you while you wait for him to close prior to letting him deal with your rack launched drones."
The Andromedan speaks up. "Speed 20 drones are nearly useless agaisnt the Andro krait. Threy are best used to try to make the andy go whrere you want him to go but this is kinda iffy at best. You're welcome to try but I doubt your sucess." He grins a wide grin for the edification of those present who currently see him as a creature with a mouth.
Kron stands in response to Slayer's 'challenge.' With a smirk reminiscent of a feeding wolf, he speaks.
"Very interesting, Slayer, to wait to challenge me until AFTER you have heard my tactics. But, as I am often fond of saying, no tactical plan ever survives first contact with the enemy. And in deference to Admiral Havoc, I must say that often, it is not the ability to analyze, but to improvise, that wins. I have seen many a fair Captain devise many a great plan, then fall utterly to pieces when one aspect of it fails to work as expected. After that, they were unable to adapt, and their brilliant plan was as dust.
"As were the Captains in question, I might add.
"But if we could get off the subject of Andromedans for a moment," Kron says, with a repugnant grimace, "I would like to move on to another ship that I think deserves note. During the General War, I was never faced with one of these foes until Operation Calvary. When they came, it was with a call like thunder. I have become fascinated with them.
"I am speaking, of course, of the Gorn cruiser. There is a old Klingon proverb that says the bigger they are, the harder they fall. I have found this to be true of the Gorn. Of course, it's about as maneuverable as a bylaak in a straightjacket, can turn twice a week if the weather is warm, and has little drone defense, but it makes up for those weaknesses in many interesting ways.
"Its phasers all have 180 degree arcs, and wrap around the ship so that all angles are covered. The plasma is basically side-to-side. So despite the fact it it can't turn, you still cannot sneak up on it. The torpedo arcs seldom overlap, but two plasmas out each side are sufficient deterrent to most enemies. And the flexibility of the plasma torpedo, which can be launched, bolted, shotgunned, enveloped, or simply a ruse make it a wonderful ship for a master strategist.
"The hull arrangement makes it difficult to damage, nearly as difficult as the Hydran. Internals that would seriously weaken a D7 can be laughed off by the Gorn. On the down side, however, the dearth of secondary phasers makes those Phaser 1s disappear at an alarming rate. But the arrangement is sound, since there is no other ship in the galaxy which can be flown backwards with near the same effectiveness as forwards. Many times, Gorns with weakened forward shields have simply turned around and attacked in reverse. The plasma arcs are not that much restricted, and the phaser arcs are unchanged."
"Power is also not a problem for the ship. Holding its weapons, it can move speed 30 with 4 points discretionary power. Of course, if it moves speed 30, it cannot turn until Tuesday, but that's a known problem. Even on rearming turns, its power consumption is low compared to many other ships. This gives it power for suicide shuttles and wild weasels without altering its combat effectiveness. Add to this the fact that it has two shuttle bays and can launch two at a time, and the effectiveness of the suicide shuttles is increased.
"It's weakness is in drone defense, which is the only way we were ever able to kill them in Operaton Calvary. Too often, they have to use primary phasers for defensive purposes. Since delivery of their plasma is their killing strategy, stopping to weasel is a serious problem, taking them out of the game for some time. I have seen some success with slowing to weasel for just a few seconds, then speeding back up quickly.
"Does anyone else have any comments on this thoroughly excellent ship?"
Kron looks around the room quizzically, his eyebrow raised in challenge.
Admiral Havoc nods in agreement as he listens to Kron speak. "Very good analysis Kron," the Admiral notes, bringing a grin to the Klingon's face that would frighten wolves. "However, though the Gorn TC is indeed a fine ship, I must point out that the Gorn is one of only two TCs that lack what I will call a tertiary system. Every race has some sort of heavy weapon, plus phasers. But only the Gorn and Fed TCCs lack a third system to augment these first two. The Hydrans have their fighters; Lyrans ESGs; Kzinti, Klingon and WYN have drones." The Admiral pauses a moment. "Of course it could be argued that with the Kzinti, the disruptors are the tertiary system." This brings a smattering of laughter from the auditorium.
"The Romulan, whose weapons most closely match the Gorn's has the cloak, as does the Orion. The Tholian has his web. The ISC might consider his rear F-torps OR his PPD his tertiary system. And the Andro has his displacement device. Can someone tell me what all of these 'tertiary' systems have in common?"
THEY CAN ALL BE USED DEFENSIVELY a hoarse voice shouts from the back of the auditorium.
The Admiral nods, saying, "I'd accept that assessment. However, that wasn't what I was really after."
As shouts erupts from other parts of the room the Admiral finally waves his audience into silence. "What I was getting at is in the very nature of having a tertiary system. It is something your opponent must take into account before planning strategies. Every factor one must consider when choosing a plan complicates that plan and thereby makes it more likely something can go wrong. The Gorn and Fed TCs don't have that third system to complicate their opponent's' planning. But this does not mean these ships cannot win. On the contrary, the absence of a tertiary system also simplifies the Gorn or Fed Captain's planning where his own ship is considered."
"Remember that when I first opened this discussion, we were talking about how to improve your performance. HOW you analyze will determine how valid your analysis is. It is important not to lose sight of the context of the analysis. I could spend a week discussing t-bomb tactics, but since t-bombs are in such scarce supply for tourney ships, it would only be appropriate to analyze how the Andro and Romulan TKE might use them, if you're doing analysis of tourney ships."
"Rather than ask for full analysis of each tourney ship, here is a question for you all. What is the 'achilles heel' for each TC?"
The Admiral smiles as the students turn to each other discussing this new poser in excited whispers.
"I will speak to this".....
The high pitched, reverberating voice belonged to Commander Weibert. Captain of the Tholian TCC "Justice", Weibert was a decorated warrior with many years of experience. A veteran of the early Klingon invasions, Operation Nutcracker, the General War, and the arrival of the 312th, Weibert now spent much of his time at the Academy as liason between the Holdfast and the "lesser" races.
"Please apologize my late arrival, but I was busy in the simulators teaching an Andromedan invader that he is not the most manueverable ship in the galaxy".
Hidden beneath the enviro suit which allowed him to survive in the frigid atmosphere of the academy, Weiberts internal glow shifted slightly from it's normal blue to a hint of purple fringed with red as he thought of the battle. Around the classroom, others gave more visible signs of satisfaction at the news.
"All of the tournament ships have a weakness, or at least an area in which they do not excel. Against different opponents those weaknesses will be more or less pronounced. As has been stated many times by many people, find that weakness and exploit it."
Federation - "The Fed TCC packs what is arguably the most potent DF weapons suite in the tourney. It is hobbled though, not by inaccuracy, as many would first state, but by lack of manueverability. This ship's poor turn mode and hungry power curve limit it's ability to come in for the close shot against a manueverable opponent."
Klingon - "Inferior captains, next ship!" The Tholian's crystaline body glowed red at the mention of his most hated and feared adversary.
Romulan - "This ship is very solid and provides a challenge for all except those skilled in the webdance. This ship has two soft points, none-the-less. It's command systems are not well protected and the captain often runs the risk of losing control of his vessel. Secondly, its rear firing weapons suite is weak."
Kzinti - "The Kzins suffer from narrow focus and an ammunition dependant weapons system. Although the ship can dance, it does not do so gracefully. The ship is best suited to run in and slug it out. If an opponent can avoid this while trading equal damage the Kzin will eventually run low on drones. At this point it becomes a Klingon with a weaker phaser suite. The problem of course is surviving that long"
Gorn - "Manueverability. It has none and it needs it to ballet and to run in for an anchor"
NeoTholian - "Without giving away too many trade secrets, this ship is far too power hungry. The war cruiser hull is far superior to this ship in all aspects except knife fighting"
Hydran - "Mizia, mizia, mizia"
Andromedan - "No, this ships biggest weakness is NOT the disdev failure. Any andro who intentionally gets himself into a 'roll a 6 and I die' situation has no room to complain. Rather, this ships weakness is also it's lack of options. This ship has to spread a battle out over at least 5 turns since it has no offensive capability on the reload turns. It cripples an enemy ship over two consecutive turns of knife fighting like most all other ships can. This becomes a weakness in that inexperienced captains will try to end the game faster by coming in too close and relying on the disdev to get them away only to fail, die, and whine about their bad luck when they should have been playing it more cautious"
Orion - "This ships obvious weakness is it's small size. If you can hit it hard on an unreinforced shield it will not be in much shape to continue the fight. Another problem is in the tendency to take power intensive weapon packages which limit the ability to fight without doubling"
ISC - "Slow and power hungry. This coupled with a lack of crunch can make it difficult to keep an intent 'close and hose' opponent from running through what you give him and getting up in your face. You have to rely on crafty manuevering and a little luck to keep him away. After all, ISC does stand for 'Is he Still Coming?"
"I have comment on the other tourney vessels, but perhaps others do as well"
Realizing he had been speaking for a while, Weibert motioned to the Admiral and relinquished the floor.
The BFC Commander, Junker, took up the talk. "I'd say that the Orion's OTHER glaring weakness (aside from it's ridiculously small size) is the "Power Addiction" syndrome of many of it's captains. It can be too damn tempting to double, even when it's not necessary, which will rapidly MAKE it necessary to double.
"And as for the Hydran, while I agree with the our Rock friend that the mizia can really hurt it, I would have to say that it's big weakness is also the thing that it's most well known for: The fact that it NEEDS to get close to kill. Of course, once it does, it WILL kill, but the fact that it usually must get close limits it's tactical flexibility. (The two Hellbores help to reduce this weakness, but are not enough to compensate for it.)
Ensign MAX expresses a few thoughts:
"Federation ...... bad power curve on the re-arm turns, poor manuver, good chance of coming up empty handed if it Alpha strikes outside range 4 The Fed REALLY hates it when it's front shield is down, so shoot it in preference to any other.
Klingon ..... low number of hull hits makes the batteries and shuttles get blown off. Cannot easily fight an "in your face" opponent due to its comparative low Alpha Strike value.
Tholian .... power hungry, especially if you try and re-arm everything
Gorn ... poor turn mode does not compliment the R or L firing arc restictions. It can be possible to stay on one side of it (that can mean eating plama though).
WYN (the pig) .... I needn't point out it's manouvering disabilities (mostly off set by a speed of 27+). Has real trouble shaking off someone chasing it.
WYN (the shark) .... I can't think of any except the usual lack of comparative Alpha Strike punch (as per the Klingon) .... an all round great ship.
Hydran ..... A Hydran with a front shield shot off outside range 5 is going to die .... horribly. It's fighters are a huge amount of it's fire power and Disruptors kill them very effectively.
Lyran ..... The ESG is responsible for more of these dying than anyhing else. It has a tendency to get blown off at range 4, meaning it arrives at the party with less than expected. Otherwise ... a good all round ship.
Andro ..... I just hate them...... This ship has, in effect, less shielding than any other. Keep on it and keep laying in the damage. It is incredibly defenseless during its re-arm turn.
ISC ..... Big ship ..... but hates an "in you face" opponent. Use of Reinforcemet on the approach renders the PPD next to useless, once inside range 4, it's never going to be used again.
Orion ..... Low internals means it cannot exchange Alpha strikes with ANYONE."
The Admiral leans into the podium again. "I would like to ask our unexpected Andromedan visitor why he believes the Orion is more fragile than the Krait? I've seen many Orions win games where they've lost two or even three heavy weapons during the combat, while I have never witnessed a Krait emerge victorious after losing just one of its TRs. This is primarily because it takes FOUR turns to get a TR repaired and re-armed. Two for repairing and two for re-arming. Losing HALF of your offensive potential would hamstring any TC, though the disruptor races are best equiped to recover from unlucky Mizia shots. However, I am interested in Slayer's 'secret' Andro weakness. I'll not hazard a guess at this point, so all of you can consider what this weakness might be."
The Admiral nods in Slayer's direction and is rewarded with an ear-to-ear grin in return.
"I want to thank Commander Webert for his well stated position regarding TC weaknesses. Of course, I already mentioned the fact the Fed has no tertiary system to enhance its tactical options. Coupled with the problems the Commander stated, you are faced with a ship that is easiest to predict -- though hardest to counter. Without electronics, blunting the Fed crunch power is a difficult task for even the most experienced Captain.
"I will let Kron respond to your comments on the Klingon D7TC."
"Excellent assessment of the Romulan. Noticing the dirth of control spaces on the TFH shows you've done your homework. Though you didn't specifically mention the fact that the Orion actually has fewer control than the Romulan. Of course, de-controlling a TC is not exactly the basis for a full battle plan. However, it IS important to know these things before beginning combat, so if you happen to get a pair of control hits on an Orion, you can make that last AuxCon the target for your H&Rs."
"The Kzinti is perhaps the best overall designed TC. It has a minor shortcoming in having only five forward hull to protect its batteries. But the Commander is correct that in a long game, when the drones run out, the Kzin better have the game in hand already, or he's probably going down. One key to remember, is that most Kzin will have a total of 27 drones available, (after trading in for 3 type IVs). That's enough for five full launches from the racks, plus the SP. Running a Kzin completely out of drones is tough, but if the kitty-kats don't net some sort of advantage before the SP drones are gone, most TCs can takes them. With 20 weapons, it's nigh on impossible to Mizia this ship -- but with only 12 guards, you know SOMETHING is unguarded. (And H&Ring the p3s is a nice way to take out his phaser-one armor for future damage)."
"As with the Fed, the Gorn doesn't have that third option. Of course, the psuedo-torps and shotgun/enveloper arming modes of the plasma give him SOME flexibility, but like the Fed, he is a ship who if he doesn't get GOOD results from his torps, is usually up the creek. Oh, and the primary system to H&R on the Gorn TC is the ship's thermostat. If you ever can turn the temperature down a bit, they'll go right to sleep," the Admiral adds with a grin.
"I would not even consider trying to add to or rebut your assessment of the Tholian ship. Between the two of us, you, Commander, are definitely the expert on that ship."
"As for the Hydran, while Mizia is perhaps its biggest weakness, a much more subtle problem the Hydran has is its weapons arcs. If you can avoid the Hydran center-line, his in-close firepower drops DRAMATICALLY! Also, if firing at a Hydran from a rear arc, if you pay attention, you can 'target' his gattlings and 360 phaser-1, by not firing until you're out of the Hydran's FX arc."
"With the exception of losing a TR, the worst thing that can happen to an Andro is to lose a couple of batteries. Though he CAN repair them quickly, an Andro down even just two batteries can suddenly have incredible difficulty performing a dump. Frankly, without power in the batteries, the Krait cannot do what it must in order to win."
"The pirate would be wise to guard those three control spaces. However, the truly horrifying weakness of this ship, is a design flaw shared only by the WYN AuxTC. Who knows what that similarity is?"
"As for the Pacificsts, lack of crunch is magnified by its "I-wanna-be-born-Gorn" weapons arcs. While the PPD is a nifty weapon, you can't consolidate ITS damage by itself, much less the damage of your torps. Too many ISC Captain's end up dying, while their opponent ends up with 10 internals and 10 shield boxes left."
"A quick mention of the Lyran -- this ship is incredibly similar to the Tholian in that it has an excellent overall design, with a tertiary system that demands expert play. The power drain for the vessel is perhaps the worst of any TC."
"And the WYN -- well its weaknesses are not subtle -- though an untrained eye may miss the fact it has a 3-6 breakdown and NO HET bonus. But a subtle weakness of the ship is a mismatch between its weapons and its normal operating characteristics. Most WYN Captains find they must fly FAST (speed 24+) in order to be effective. However, it only has speed 20 drones. Trying to manuever and use its drone racks effectively is a herculean task, and unlike the Kzin, since it has only standard control rating, the WYN cannot keep lobbing drones, hoping to trap you between two stacks."
"I surrender the floor for more comments on the original 12 TCs, and encourage input on some of the newer designs, including the Seltorian, Jindo, and newer variant hulls of the older TCs."
Kron stands again:
"I would like to THANK our Tholian brother for his frank analysis of the cruisers' weak spots. His analysis of the Klingon, however, was somewhat, shall we say, lacking.
"Be that as it may, I must agree with the Tholian. A poor commander is often the death of the Klingon ship. The ship itself is one of the most balanced in the game, meaning that it has no overwhelming advantage to use. It therefore takes a very skilled commander to coax optimum performance out of it. Fortunately, unlike the Holdfast, Klingon space is full of excellent commanders.
"But as to the ship itself, it is weak. It's only advantage is the UIM, and that is offset by the relatively weak phaser suite, a low-punch heavy weapon, and not enough drones to be frightening. It is more fragile than even the Orion and Andro, as the hull goes quickly and useful systems begin disappearing after only a minor shield breach. If it overloads, it cannot move. It's batteries die quickly. It can rarely afford to hold suicide shuttles. The strange dichotomy of the ship is that it is an excellent knife-fighter for in-close work, but has to find some way to get in close without taking serious damage. In short, it is a fine instrument that requires a master musician to play well.
"And yet, it triumphs as well as any other ship. This is a tribute to its commanders, and to the Empire in general.
"I would also like to make a point about the ISC ship, one of its weaknesses. The PPD is an excellent long-range closing weapon, but the rest of the ship's weapons are short-ranged torpedos. It HAS to hit with plasma to win: one PPD is not enough to finish a ship. So its weakness is just that. It has to get close to kill, but when it gets close, one of its weapons is useless. It requires a two-pronged attack that is more difficult to pull off, for both the closing game and the close game must both work. Much different than, say, a Fed, who can just pull into 20,000 and pull the trigger, win or lose.
"And a note about the Hydran. Much is said about the Stingers. One philosophy is to kill them first, as soon as possible, before they get in and kill you. It's a valid philosophy, but a poor one. If you expend your fire on the stingers while they are at range, then the ship can come in unpunished and deliver 130 gigajolts of damage at close range. And the ship can move any speed, while the fighters are limited to 15. My philosophy is to move fast, keep the fighters at range where they do 4-6 points damage each, and concentrate on the ship. Shoot the fighters with whatever you have left. Hold something back for them if you have to. But if you make them your primary target, then you will get what you deserve.
Kron sits again.
The auditorium speakers crackle to like and a gruff voice, obviously Klingon, and full of static comes through.
"I would like to say that it is possible to overcome the bully power of the Fed TC. It can be a weakness if a Federation player relies on it. Many Fed TCs have been killed by being over run by their opponent! They get a little complacent in their awsome firepower and can be surprised when the enemy turns or HETs towards them.
I'm not talking about over running a fully armed undamaged Fed of course. Only one ship is capable of that, the WYN Bus with gatlings. There are however ways to tone down the Federation alpha strike.
PHOTONS NEVER KILLED YOUR SHIP! It was the phasers that killed your ship, all the photons ever did was down the shields. You must induce him to fire his phasers at something else. This can be drones, plasmas, stingers or even your ship if he doesn't want to chance a range 8 photon shot.
Your other option is to attempt to shoot off some weapons before he pulls the trigger. This will probably involve firing your weapons at range 5 and hoping for a photon hit and a phaser or three when you roll the internals. Plan when to try this. It probably wont work without softening his shields up a little with range 15 disruptors or an EPT.
The last option is to meet the Fed on his own terms at range 1! I would just like to point out that this is not the prefered way to tackle the Fed and it certainly is not for the feint hearted. However there are times when a range 1 pass is your only real option. If you are in a corner and the Fed will cut you off sooner or later, a range 1 pass is a lot better than giving him an unanswered range 4 shot on your rear. If you have 100 points of plasma it doesn't really matter what damage you take as long as you have more in tractor than he does. If you have disruptors you MUST NOT give him a range 2 shot. You have to jump from range 3 to 1 so that your 40 points of disruptor fire is helped by 16 points of feedback damage from the photons. If you can arrange for him to fire at a drone or two and stay off his centre line you may even do more damage than he does. Even if you don't, you will have next turn to fire your remaining weapons whilst he must reload the photons. The Kzinti and Klingon can use drones to soak up a few phasers and the Lyran and LDR have ESGs to do more damage. WYN fish ships with 7 ph1s, 5 ph3s and 3 drones can realy mess a Fed up on a pass like this and it has the hull and phaser padding to make it bearable.
I submitt that the main weakness of the Fed is not the inaccuracy of the photon, the poor turn mode, the lack of a tertiary weapon system or the poor firing arcs. The main weakness of the Fed is it's predictability. Evryone knows it will overload and plod in your direction. Then it will hold overloads and chase you even faster. Evryone will plan for this, plot the Fed's power with more accuracy than most other opponents (it's certainly easier than tracking an Andromedan or Orion ship) and stay out of range if they can. If you can make him play your game the Fed is an easy opponent but if you find you have lost the initiative and are playing his game the above tactics can help you out of a difficult situation.
Respect the Fed and you can win. Fear the Fed and you Will loose.
Commander K5 Kralf. I.K.V. Gnasher. Somewhere in the Holdfast and looking for a way out. "Does anyone have a spare Navigation Officer? My last one made a bad carreer decision."
The transmission fades into silence.
"I must agree with my Klingon adversay" Weibert said, choking down to prevent his disdain from showing in his voice.
"I have always believed that the Feds primary weapons system is it's phaser array. Phasers are the strongest and most flexible weapons system on a star ship. This is something that Tholian engineers have known since before this galaxy's races took to the stars." Few noted the air of superiority in Weibert's voice or that this comment seemed directed to the Klingon contingent.
"The greatest strength of the photons is the THREAT of what they can do. This controls your opponents movement and gives the Fed initiative in the engagement. This can also be a weakness to the Fed against skilled opponents because since that threat is a known quantity it can be factored in to an enemy's battle plan."
"In the simulators, I have used underloaded and prox fused photons to great effect. These unexpected choices foul the enemy's attempts to trac your power and predict your speed. A pair of prox fuses won the Saturday patrol tourney for me at Origins 94"
The Tholian commander paused for a moment, both to savor the memories of battle and to allow others to think about what he had said.
"I will also speak to choice of meeting the Fed at range 1", Weibert continued.
"This is a tactic I have long used in 312th TC. By using web, I create a range 1 engagement, usually preventing anything closer than a range 5 shot before this occurs. At this point, fire is usually exchanged of the #2 or #6 shields. Average damage potential is about 104 for the Fed and 95 for the Tholian, including feedback."
"My advantage is that I have planned for this engagement by reinforcing the facing shield and powering the tractors. After the exchange, tractor the Fed and kill him on the next turn. Anything you can put between yourself and the Fed before the exchange, drones, shuttles, fighters will dull his alpha strike even more and increase your survivability"
"Once again, the big advantage here is doing the unexpected"
"Admiral," he continues, "I must admit that I am unsure what you are getting at in reference to a weakness shared only by the WYN and the Orion"
"In recalling simulator trials and more recently studying the schematics of the ships, I can find only the following"
1. "Both ships have only two labs. Although a definite weakness, this is shared by other race's vessels, most notably the Romulan"
2. "Both ships have very small phaser capacitors and only 4 offensive phasers unless they use option mounts. Only the Andro matches in this category and that ship is certainly an anomoly"
3. "Once you begin selecting option mounts, the ships susceptibily to mizia attacks increases dramatically, especially in the WYN. Many ships, however have this weakness"
4. "Lack of battle options. Generally a specific weapons suite ( options ) will require only a specific battle plan in these ships and forgoe any other choices. As such you are limiting your combat options and versatiliy when selecting an options package. Once again, many ships suffer from narrow focus other than these though"
"Please illuminate me as to your perceptions, sir"
The Tholian was puzzled. Although nobody could tell visibly. After all, what does a perplexed rock look like?
"I applaud you on your attempt to divine my answer, being that no one else has even ventured to guess," the Admiral says, first grinning at the Tholian, then scowling at the rest of the auditorium. "However, I must confess my challenge was a bit of a red herring. The actual similarity between the WYN and the Orion that is subtle, will rarely have any actual bearing on the outcome. You see, neither ship has a probe."
"Probes," Junker cries. "Hmph!. Where's the profit in that?"
The Admiral smiles in response to the snickers from the audience. "But, much like your opinion of the Klingon's biggest weakness, the other similarity between the two ships is that both depend heavily on the wisdom of the Captain's choice of option mounts. I have witnessed Captains of both vessels select power-hungry weapon suites that worked fine on the initial pass, but grew progressively harder to operate with as the game progressed. The Hellbore is a favorite weapon of choice for many WYN and Orion Captains. For the WYN, this makes a great deal of sense to me, as his severe maneuvering handicaps will make it practically impossible to get onto a previously downed shield unless his opponent is an idiot.
"However, Orion's often take Hellbores and then ignore the very fact they are THE most maneuverable ship in the tourney, with apologies to the Andro. Captains who are good with disruptors are those who are constantly looking for a way to get back onto a down shield, or barring that, making their opponent PAY to keep that down shield away from them. Too many Orion Captain's simply double everything, put up reinforcement and take what shield the enemy gives them, then they rely solely on their Hellbores to finish the job -- their phasers becoming an afterthought. The photon and two Hellbore mix on the Orion is a favorite for robbing the Orion of his superior power curve, calling for up to 18 points of energy on final turn, if the Orion wants to overload everything."
"Hellbores," Junker observes, "are ALWAYS a good weapon... No matter what your maneuverability. Better, perhaps, for less maneuverable ships, but still the weapon of choice as far as I'm concerned. Though I'll usually only take one."
"Another typical shortcoming of the Orion Captain," Havoc continues, "is his 2nd option package. I've witnessed more than one Orion select his primary package and when asked what his secondary package was, he sputters for a moment and then says something like -- 'umm, oh, just change my disruptor for an F-torp, and keep everything else the same'. Then, upon finding out who his 2nd round opponent is, he starts looking at his choices and sees that a drastically different mix would be much better."
"I must admit, though, that MOST of the WYN Captains I've seen seem to give more thought to their mounts -- except for perhaps that PPD and 2-photon WYN I once met. The WYN knows he must take into account his LACK of mobility when selecting his weapons, while the Orion blithely dismisses the notion of trying to coordinate his weapons suite with the very fact he IS incredibly maneuverable."
"So, the similarity that usually matters most, is that the ship is at the mercy of its designer."
The Admiral pauses for a moment. "But I would like to add that the missing probe is not ALWAYS a meaningless system. Back in '88, I remember seeing a simulation that ended up with a Fed TC blowing up a Klingon D7TC with a probe armed as a weapon."
The Admiral nods his thanks to the Tholian Commander.
The speakers crackle back to life:
Admiral. [Seeth!] Your opinions if you would, on an option package for an Orion vs the Fed. I once had the honour to fight the worthy pirate Chuck Strong. My Klingon vs his Orion phaser boat. He used this package (4 ph1, 1 phG) against all opponents except the Fed. His complimentry package was 2 fusion beams in the wings, 2 plasma Fs and 1 phG. He loaded the fusions turn 1 with no engines doubled and held a SS or two. Turn 2 he overloaded the held fusions and charged the Fed with all engines glowing and power in tractors, speed and reinforcement. He fired a phaser or two at range 4 then over ran the Fed crossing off ther plasma to any damage and grabbing the Fed in a tractor and feeding him the lot at range 0 or 1.
This is an extreemly ugly way to tackle the Fed. Has anyone else had any luck with it? If not, what are the best packages against the Fed?"
The speakers again crackle to silence as the Admiral heaves his bulk to the podium, sipping his cola.
"Commander Kralf, there is no 'correct' package to take against a particular race. Rather, it is important for the Orion player to choose a primary package that he is most comfortable playing, then see who THAT package doesn't work against, and come up with a package he will go to against those ships. While I can see how the Fusion/F-torp Orion might work against the Fed, my initial reaction to that package is that the Fed should be able to win that exchange, since after the smoke clears, the Orion will take two additional warp hits (his impulse engine should be gone after an exchange of point-blank alphas). The Fed should do 110 on the FA, and 120+ if he center-lines the Orion. Even with 20 points of reinforcement, that's 60-70 internals on a ship that only has 75. Meanwhile, the Orion has GOT to get his F-torps on the same shield with his direct fire, or he's got no chance at all. While he SHOULD be able to do this, timing in close-in fights can get hairy. The Orion also HAS to center-line the Fed in order to get both Fusions in arc. Basically, the Orion has got so many MUSTS that if the Fed doesn't play along exactly as expected, the Orion can lose badly.
"Now, as to the question of what *I* might take against a Fed -- it would depend on whether I felt more comfortable knife-fighting or sabre-dancing. A disruptor/HB/HB/Drone/Phaser-1 mix is good for dancing. The disruptor has no protection - but can be repaired in a single turn. For point-blank attacks, I might consider a seeking weapon mix, like two F-torps and a gattling in the nose with drones in both wings. That's a perfect package for the zero power to weapons - anchor-the-bastard type player.
"But it is important to remember that for the tourney, you don't get to pick a package for ONE particular ship (unless your primary package works great against EVERYONE but that one ship). Back in '87, I remember an Orion who took an all Fusion ship just so he could hunt down Andros and kill them."
"Ah, yes," Kron reminisces. "The infamous Deth O'Kay and his fusion boat. How fondly I remeber his kind words to the Andro he defeated:
"Eat Fusion Tinted Death, you extragalactic Scum!
"Those were the days." The tall klingon relaxes into his seat, the fond smile on his face frightening some of the younger cadets.
Ensign MAX takes the floor again. "I've played a 2 x Ph-1 & 3x Photon Orion in the past. There are some real merits to this design against some ships, particularly the Fed & Andro.
"Against the Andro, get in and kill him. No more need be said," he grins.
"Against the Fed the big advantage is that the Orion can arm standard torpedoes under cloak. On the approach, hit range 8 on an impulse before he doesn't move and on the front screen. This can be tricky, but is usually possible. At this range the Fed will usually not fire, but you will. Take your chances with the dice and then HET and run away. The Fed has now lost his overload shot. You run close to a corner and cloak to re-arm.
"Watch the Fed closely. Under-run him and generally bait him. Use the map edge to control some of his movement. You want him to burn his HET, then it becomes easy. Try announcing de-cloak and then when he HET's to face you, re-cloak. When you get the chance, de-cloak outside of his overload range and sniper him with standards or proximity torps, unless you're behind him at range 8. Then you overload, but never to the detriment of your speed).
"This has worked for me on a number of occassions (3 in one tournament !!) but requires real skill of timing and manouver. Of course, he may fire at range 8 and hit with the lot .... in that case you're toast, but playing the Orion Tournament Frigate was never easy.
Any comments ....
From where he has been sulking in the corner, Vulpes, his pointed Romulan ears twitching in irritation, arises. "As far as Orion TBRs go, One aspect I look for in picking a suite (or rather a pair of suites) is to maximize the orions innate advantages in the primary suite.
"My preference is 1 Hellbore, 2 Disr, and 2 drone. Againsy many opponents the flexibility from turn-to-turn and the quick repair time for the disr make this ship one of the most unpredictable. Cloaking is easy and 2 drones racks can easily add up to a troublesome 4 drone swarm and really help to blunt the Zinti swarms.
"Its a "finesse" package.
"Its running mate is often the "bruiser" package of 2 Photon, Ph-G and 2 fusion whose startegy is fairly direct." The Romulan smiles at the Andromedan and re-takes his seat.
Weibert noticed that none of the cadets were stepping forward to volunteer assessments of the weaknesses of some of the less popular tournament vessels.
In an effort to generate some discussion on these ships, he spoke.
"I think we have assessed some of the more mainstream cruisers, lets take a closer look at some of the underdogs" he began.
"First the Seltorian. An unspectacular cruiser from a worthless culture." Inwardly, Weibert seethed at the thought of the wretched bugs and their tretchery. "The Green Wind cruiser is hampered primarily by it's weapons suite. First, it's secondary weapon system is basically a disruptor unless used against Tholians. As such, it, like the Gorn and Fed, has no defensive capability. Secondly, the PC is arguably the worst direct fire weapon in space. All the accuracy of a photon with damage potential of a disruptor. The versatility of the second shot is lost due to the ships poor manueverability."
"And yet they managed to chase you out of the galaxy," Kron remarks. Weibert glares at him and continues his exposition.
"LDR - This ships weakness is its lack of versatility. It is the consumate 'close and hose' ship. At the same time, it cannot afford to fight adancing battle. Usually, the captain points the ship at the enemy and uses it like a seeking weapon. This narrow focus makes obvious to the enemy what your tactics will be and allows him to plan for it"
"Romulan King Eagle - Some would say this ships weakness is small phaser cap and lack of drone defense. Others would say that trading two S-torps for an R-torp is short change. What this boils down to is basically a small number of weapons systems. This means that each time a weapon is fired, your options are decreased more rapidly than on ships with more systems"
"Romulan KR - Underpowered. Why anyone would choose to fly this is beyond my understanding"
"Archeo-Tholian - CLASSIFIED"
"WYN Black Shark - This is a very powerful ship, one which many experienced players have flocked to. If it has a weakness, it would have to be mediocrity. It does all things pretty good, but nothing very well. Is this a weakness or a strength? I guess it depends on her captain. It is the only thing I can find fault with in an otherwise excellent ship"
"Any comments"
From the previously quiet section of the auditorium stands a young, shaggy Lyran. Scruffymane clearly shows the scars of rising through the ranks to command in the Far Stars Clan of the Lyran Empire.
"Commander Weibert," he began, "I would like to add to your comments on the 'non-mainstream' ships. I agree with your assessment of the TKE in that trading 2 S torps for an R is a bad deal. Since it is clear that you will be facing R torps (and little else), most tourney ships have enough shuttles to last them through as SSs until they can corner it. Another option is to eat the torp outside range 10 with some reinforcement in order to overrun. The boatlike turn mode does not allow the TKE to maneuver away and, despite armor, it has little capacity for taking internals. Using the cloak in non-firing turns detracts too much from speed. After all, taking 20 internals in most non-war cruiser hulls will hurt but not cripple; 20 in the TKE is serious." Also, since the tactical options of this ship are limited it is not difficult to prepare."
"The Seltorian is a different issue. Despite your obvious prejudices against the cockroaches (and I wouldn't want them in Lyran space either) this ship has advantages. It is a fast ship. The 'tertiary disruptors' you scoff at, aside from their excellent ability to remove web, are capacitance weapons, and do not detract from speed on an initial pass, which is always a plus in my book. In addition, as reinforcement cannot be applied when fired it can be a good way to drop a shield before direct fire phase. I agree that the PC offers the worst of all worlds with poor targetting and poor damage, along with a delayed firing rate making a second shot difficult. The leaky capacitors make the weapon moderately expensive to use.
"I think the ship is really a close and tractor ship; if you can get to tractor range, the extra energy and multiple firing weapons can be devastating."
"The Jindo TC, whilst having arguably the best heavy weapon in the game with the MRG, is limited tactically. Although it has excellent drone and plasma defense in defensive mode it is vulnerable to pseudotorps. However, the most glaring weakness is in being overrun. It has no P3s to protect its main phasers and the MRGs don't fire concurrently due to firing arcs. There is little disadvantage to closing with this ship as its primary weapon does not improve nearly to the extent most others do with dropping range."
"AT - not much padding and no FA protection for the phaser 1s. Must centerline to get all disruptors fired concurrently, but this is not such a major problem as phasers are this ships prime weapon anyway. Little RA firepower or defense but the 30 point rear shields help this immensely. Weapons systems are power-hungry, so difficult to maintain speed if you want to fire/reload all weapons. Doesn't knife fight as well as the NT."
MAX takes the floor again, an eager glow in his eyes. "The Black Shark is (in my opinion) the best tournament cruiser available. It has the strengths of the Klingon without the fragility and the benefits of the Kzinti without the dependancy on drones. An excellent ship. The fact that you can tailor it slightly to get the most benefit from it, depending upon your playing style, is the big advantage over both of the above."
"Very nice of you to bring these 'overlooked' ships up, Commander Weibert," the Admiral acknowledges with a nod. "Though I am forced to agree with your generally bad assessment of the Seltorian, the truth is, having only seen it in play a time or two, I would like to reserve my judgement on this ship. While I agree with the problems surrounding the weapons, I believe if a Captain can develop strategies that can allow him to fully utilize the one major plus of the PC, (multiple firings), he could do well. And for knife-fighting, the PC can be very versatile with regards to the hack and slash. In a knife fight, the ship has the potential to drop one shield with its initial pulse (if fired before impulse 20), along with phasers. Then it can 'soften up a 2nd shield on 32 for a phaser hose on 1. But, I too find the ship lacking."
A young cadet named Rick stands.
"The 12 impulse delay of the PC is one of the little nuances of the ship. The problem with knife fighting probably won't be the delay as your critical impulse just becomes impulse 21 instead of 25 with disruptors. It does mean that the first volley must be used before impulse 9 which USUALLY isn't a problem knife fighting. The Seltorian is a better knife fighter then the disruptor ships IF it can keep the range at 2 or 3. The shield cracker is also a very useful knife fighting tool since it prevents your opponent from blocking your H & R raids. At range 2 or 3 the Seltorian can essentially rip down 2 shields per turn compared to 1 for disruptor races and therefore you will come out ahead in the end.
"But I couldn't agree more about the ship's weakness being its turn mode. However, a D turn mode doesn't always elliminate the possibility of sabre dancing as the ISC TCA does a fairly effective job as a sabre dancer."
"True," Havoc grins. "A point I am attempting to prove in combat. As for the LDR, I find its major weakness to be a lack of phasers. While the gattlings are nice, the ship has no padding to speak of and suffers the Lyran/Hydran Mizia headache. While I believe a superior Captain MIGHT be able to sabredance with the ship, I believe its size will catch up to it against other disruptor races -- though it might be just a bit stronger than the Lyran TC versus the plasma races because of the gattlings."
"As for the KR -- I haven't ever seen anyone take this ship -- so perhaps there are more smart Captains out there than we realize."
"While the WYN Shark is a well-designed ship . . . "
A pretty brunette hurries onto the stage and whispers into the Admiral's ear. He nods and she scurries off.
"I regret that I must adjourn for the moment to take care of important matters outside of CIS. I will return shortly."
With that, the Admiral bounds off the stage.
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