Federation Commander
Star Fleet Universe News

The BIG NEWS this issue is the release of Federation Commander: War and Peace, Booster Packs #28, 29, and 30, and SFB Module R12 Unsual Ships.

Jean continues to improve our page on Facebook, adding many new photos and other features. Mike Sparks has released another video on our YouTube page.

Joel Shutts, our new graphics director has been updating the website, doing covers for the new products, helping out around the company, learning more about the game business.

Our combined and reorganized website, www.StarFleetGames.com, continues to grow and improve. You are welcome to send us your requests, comments, and suggestions.

Our StarBlog has moved to a new URL but all links on the Federation Commander websites and the first site have been changed to match. The new site is http://federationcommander.blogspot.com

We are looking for a few good Star Fleet Ambassadors! Our marketing director can't be everywhere and that's where you come in! Do you go to gaming forums like Board Game Geek, RPG Net, or The Miniatures Page? Then WE NEED YOU! To get complete details of the Ambassador program, please see the Federation Commander Ambassadors category on the Federation Commander Forum.

Have you missed an earlier Newsletter? Click here to get caught up!

Download Transmissions

The latest Communique brings you more Ship Cards, scenarios, fiction, and more news from the Star Fleet Universe! It can be downloaded from the Commander's Circle.

We continue to improve the Commander's Circle. We have now uploaded all of the ships and scenarios as separate documents (the ships are organized by empire) so you can quickly see what is available. New FC Scenario Database and Master Ship Chart documents have been uploaded. Check it out!

You can subscribe to our newsletter in the Federation Commander page under Free Opt-In Newsletter.

FC Forum Recent Posts

The Federation Commander Site and Forum continue to grow as more gamers find it. All our our games have topics in the Forum. If you have any comments, questions, or requests for our Graphics Director, this is the place to let him know.

We have added sections to the Forum to cover all the games of the SFU. For new players, the Federation Commander Forum is a little easier to manage whereas the Legacy Discus BBS can be a bit overwhelming. Come see what the commotion is about and join the Federation Commander Forum now!

Don't forget our original (Discus-based) BBS where most product development takes place!

FC Tactic of the Month

IN PRAISE OF DRONES

- Cadet Manny Moreno, USS America

The greatest strength of drones is their power-to-damage ratio. For zero power, you get twelve points of warhead. No other weapon can hope to match that. While it may be discouraging that those twelve points are by no means guaranteed (particularly when you consider that phasers will always do damage up close), drones have much, much longer ranges.

Drones are such a good deal that the enemy cannot afford to let them hit. He must stop them, which means using weapons against the drone and not your ship.

Drones are also exceptional at controlling space and, more importantly, power. Outside of dedicated defenses (ADDs, phaser-3s, and counter-drones), each drone will require one point of power to stop. That is a two-point power gap: the point you did not spend, and the one your opponent did. In addition, there may be another point to tractor it when the phaser misses, and another point for a second phaser shot later.

(End of FC Tactic of the Month)

Café Press

Café Press is an online marketplace that allows the Star Fleet Universe to produce unique products such as coffee mugs, t-shirts, tote bags, and more with the Star Fleet logos, cover art, and other artwork used for our products. We have added tons of new shirts, mugs, and other products. Want something you don’t see? Please contact Joel Shutts (Graphics Director) with your request. Visit our Star Fleet Café Press Store for a complete listing of the products available.

SFB Tactic of the Month

LAUNCH YOUR SHUTTLES FIRST!

- Lieutenant Commander Loren Knight, USS California

Do not forget about (J1.66), which allows you to land a shuttle in a destroyed shuttle box and then use (J1.661) to protect vital systems on your ship during heavy combat. If you are closing with your enemy and you expect to exchange alpha strikes, and the damage is sure to hit shuttle boxes, then launch shuttles while you are closing the range. They can add to your strike (if you fire their phasers before or during the alpha exchange, they are less likely to be a target).

After the exchange, recover your shuttles into your damaged shuttle boxes and because of (J1.661) those boxes can take another internal hit on SHUTTLE. In the heavy damage stages prior to being completely crippled, each extra shuttle hit will likely protect against hits to your right warp engine and very possibly save a torpedo. It will not save an APR (#7 column F) because that is probably already gone once you started taking shuttle hits. The nice thing is that it requires no power unless you are moving too fast for a powerless recovery, so keep your ship's speed in mind when deciding whether or not to attempt this. If your enemy kills your shuttles, then he did not fire that weapon at you; so much the better.

(End of SFB Tactic of the Month)

F&E Strategy of the Month ESCORT THE ENGINEERS

- Captain Trent Telenko, USS Texas

Anytime the Engineer Regiment from Strategic Operations is on the game map and in range of enemy attacks or raids, they can and should be escorted. Rule (541.21) says: "They can have escorts except when using the SAF mission."

Since Engineer Regiments are escorted as military convoys, make sure that they have two carrier escorts plus additional consorts that include a scout and a CW or better ship. This will prevent raids from scoring damage on the engineers and the escort damage bonus (515.34) will take two damage points off the top of any special raid. The presence of the minimum of two consorts (in addition to escorts) will take any DNL raid off the small ship combat chart and place it into the normal combat chart.

Engineer Regiments are worth five Economic Points of infrastructure construction a turn. Over the course of a Federation & Empire game, that can build up to over a hundred Economic Points' worth of infrastructure, including minor shipyards, colonies, defense battalions, etc.

Make the effort to protect that investment and escort the engineers!

(End of F&E Strategy of the Month)

Mini of the Month

Every month we will feature one of our miniatures that has been painted by a fan. If you paint miniatures, submit pictures of your minis and they may be selected for the next Mini of the Month!

Klingon B9 Fast Battleship by Tony L. Thomas

New Releases

Communique #55 has been posted to the Commander's Circle.

RECENTLY RELEASED

Federation Commander: WAR AND PEACE, SKU 4108, $29.95

Booster Packs #28, #29, #30, SKU 4228, 4229, 4230, $9.95 each

SFB Module R12 Unsual Ships, SKU 5633, $27.95

TO BE RELEASED 19 JULY (AVALIABLE AT ORIGINS)

Squadron Box #28 Vudar, SKU #4328, $34.95

Squadron Box #29 ISC, SKU #4329, $34.95

Squadron Box #30 Andros, SKU #4330, $34.95

Border Box #10, SKU 4410, $99.95

SUMMER

Prime Directive Federation (PD20M)

SEPTEMBER

Star Fleet Battles Module Y3 Early Years III, Data to be determined

OCTOBER

Star Fleet Marines: Assault!, data to be determined

NOVEMBER

Captain's Log #42, SKU 5742, $19.95

OTHER PRODUCTS FOR 2010-2011, DATA TO BE DETERMINED

SFB Module C3A Andromedan Threat File, SKU TBA, $TBA

Borders of Madness #1

FC Booster Pack #93, #94, #95

Battlestations Star Fleet

Romulans PD20M, SKU 8734, $24.95

Prime Directive Federation (GURPS)

Federation Commander Briefing #3, SKU 4023, $TBA

Federation Admiral, data to be determined

Star Fleet Fiction

FOR THE GOOD OF THE EMPIRE

Part two of ten

SYSTEM STATION ZS39, 22 May, Y176

"Come in, Master Jeppe," Major Kehlen said to the Orion Pirate captain. "You have the reports?"

"Certainly," the pirate captain, an ethnic Orion, said. "I have them here in my briefcase, which your secret police insisted on scanning for bombs."

"They're only doing their jobs," Kehlen said. "Only forty-five reports? What happened to ... " he examined the labels on the other files "... our man on Zirkrek?"

"I don't know," the pirate said. "His report was not in the dead drop. The fact that my crewman was not arrested indicates its location was not compromised. I checked the local media sources but found no open reports of an arrested spy."

"A pity," Kehlen said. "But losses happen. According to protocol, I will pay you for that pick up this time, but your payment will be reduced in future, of course."

"That is understandable," the Orion said, "although I may perhaps be able to avoid the data loss." He produced a data disk from his pocket. "This report contains what data I could acquire from Orion sources regarding the delightful Kzinti mining planet of Zirkrek. Not a lot of military data, of course, but some. Our own agents there had transcribed the arrival and departure of numerous cargo ships, and I have copies of some of the cargo manifests. There is one particularly interesting document regarding a short fall of dilithium in recent mine production. And there are some other odds and ends, personnel reports, local news publications, and some tavern gossip. Perhaps, combined, all of that will be of some use?"

"I will forward it to the appropriate offices," Kehlen said. "We shall see what they say."

(Continue reading here )

Ask Admiral Growler

plasma torpedoes

Frank Brooks asks: If a plasma torpedo enters the hex of its target on the impulse that it runs out of endurance, does it damage the target before it dies, or does it die without damaging the target?

ANSWER: A plasma-R torpedo that moves its 30th hex would inflict one point of damage, whether it entered the hex of its target as part of that move, or the target entered its hex as part of its move, or whether both entered the hex as part of their respective movements in the same movement segment. At the end of the damage during movement resolution of its 30th movement, whether it struck anything or not, it would be depleted and removed from the map. All plasma torpedoes are treated in this way, the only difference being the number of hexes they can move.

Frank Brooks asks: Rule (FP1.71) allows for a plasma torpedo to be launched after the launcher is destroyed. Is it possible to add energy to said torpedo before it is launched? Also, if you have started a torpedo and the launcher is destroyed, can it be converted to a fast load before launch or is the torpedo lost?

ANSWER: According to (FP1.71), firing after damage can only be performed if "the torpedo launch tube is destroyed while holding a fully armed torpedo." You cannot add energy to it once the launcher is destroyed.

Frank Brooks asks: Sabot plasma movement questions: Situation: Ship in hex 2115A, target in hex 2110.

Question #1: Ship launches sabot plasma at target on Impulse #2. Where is the plasma after movement on Impulse #4?

Question #2: Ship launches sabot plasma at target on Impulse #3. Where is the plasma after movement on Impulse #4?

Question #3: Ship launches sabot plasma at target on Impulse #4. Where is the plasma after movement on Impulse #5?

ANSWER: Rule (FP11.315) states that sabot plasma will always move only one hex on the impulse after launch. So for Question #1, 2112. For Question #2, 2114. For Question #3, 2114.

(End of Ask Growler)

F&E Q&APARTIAL GRIDS

Q: I think I may have been misinterpreting the stockpile rules. I've been assuming that a partial grid containing a satellite stockpile could use those Economic Points to pay for grid activities.

A: Your assumption is correct. The partial grid would use a satellite stockpile per (410.34) which allows them to use the resources of the partial grid to pay for expenses. A satellite stockpile within a partial grid is part of the resources of that grid.

Q: If a province is connected to two separate partial grids (of the same empire) may it deliver its EPs to one grid on one turn and the other grid on the next turn? Could it deliver 1 EP to one grid and the other EP to the other on the same turn?

A: Certainly.

(End of F&E Q&A) STAR FLEET ALERTS

These are the press releases we send to the wholesalers, retailers, and media. You can get on the mailing list for them by asking Marketing@StarFleetGames.com to add you to the list. (Obviously, they are free.) They are uploaded to the Star Fleet Alert page.

Alert 100621 More Origins Releases (Adobe Acrobat Required)

Alert 100615 Origins Releases ( Adobe Acrobat Required)

Alert 100521 June Releases ( Adobe Acrobat Required)

Alert 100405 April Releases(Adobe Acrobat Required)

Alert 100121 February Releases (Adobe Acrobat Required)

Alert 91229 New Year (Adobe Acrobat Required)

Alert 91221 Christmas (Adobe Acrobat Required)

Alert 91215 Schedule (Adobe Acrobat Required)

NEW MINIATURES!

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