[Nerroth]

Hi.

I was wondering if anyone here (who hasn't already seen the thread over on the Battletech forums...) was interested in any of the Star Fleet Universe series of games, such as Star Fleet Battles, Federation Commander or Prime Directive.

For those who aren't familiar with the setting, it's essentially a universe which took an off-ramp from the Star Trek franchise over thirty years ago, and has been developing down its own path ever since.


Speaking of PD, the GURPS version of the Federation sourcebook has just gone live on e23!


Also, there's a new squad-based ground-pounder game due out soon, called Star Fleet Marines: Assault. Looks like it could be fun...

[EmperorPenguin]

Yes!  I'm not an old gamer by any stretch, but I started serious 'gaming' with SFB back when I was 11 years old.  It used to consume many evenings and weekends.

There was something about the naval combat and the damage tracking that just sparked our young imaginations.  I have nothing but fond memories of that game, and on a recent readthrough it was maybe less complicated than it seemed at 11 years.

I don't have anyone to play with these days, but maybe the new Star Trek film(s) will change that.

Check out the computer-game version, Starfleet Command, for a reasonable real-time version.  As a fan of the game, I enjoyed it greatly.

[Nerroth]

If you want to find on-table opponents, it might be easier to dig up (or try out) Federation Commander, or maybe the upcoming marines game; either of which may be a less daunting way to bring people into the setting than SFB.

On the other hand, if you can't get anything going locally, there is an online client for both SFB and FC.


Actually, it would be interesting to hear if anyone has tried RPing with either the GURPS or D20M versions of Prime Directive. While they are handy for background data, I wonder how they pan out for those trying to actually play with them.

[Loki]

I used to play SFB (Shad-up or I'll GIVE you a burnock!!). The sheer amount of time any non-duel battles take finally drove me off. Never, ever try to play a carrier group battle with a seeking weapons race. Every impulse moving all those drones. Those lovely, lovely drones.

[Nerroth]

It's the wish to avoid those kind of issues in SFB which is keeping carriers out of "vanilla" Federation Commander. There will, at some stage, be a "Borders of Madness" optional ruleset, which will offer some form of carrier operations (exactly what hasn't been set in stone yet); but in the core FC game system, only the Hydrans (among the Alpha Octant empires) get any kind of fighters, and even then only have their casual Stingers.

[Nerroth]

The D20M version of PD Federation is now online, too; with a different style of cover art to that on the GURPS version.


Also, the Omega Playtest Rulebook for Federation Commander has a version 2 file uploaded to e23.

[Sec Guard]

Star Fleet Battles was the 2nd major gaming system i got into after Battletech, i really need to start playing again.

[Nerroth]

Check out the cover art for the upcoming SFB Module C3A Andromedan Threat File!

Both it and the print version of GURPS Federation should be out later this month, fingers crossed.

[Sec Guard]

Just did and very nice it is too.

[The_Gun_Nut]

SFB was the big table top tactial game I got into after Battletech (which is still tons of fun, even with it's deplorable ranges and non-realistic gameplay choices).

[Nerroth]

The print editions of SFB Module C3A and GURPS Federation started shipping today.

There's some info on what to expect from C3A in a recent blog post, too.

[bigity]

SFB was the big table top tactial game I got into after Battletech (which is still tons of fun, even with it's deplorable ranges and non-realistic gameplay choices).

My first game of Battletech my Atlas mech in the lance went down with a PPC shot (or maybe AC20) shot from a medium mech to the head in the first part of the engagement.

It was awhile before I played again but yea great game

[Nerroth]

For anyone here interested in Federation Commander, there is a file at e23 with playtest rules detailing five empires from the Omega Octant (a region of the galaxy "east" of the ISC, on the other side of a Void which makes getting to the Alpha Octant and back rather difficult; five Omega modules, and an Omega master rulebook, have been published for SFB already) at this link.

I mention it here, since the file has just been updated today (to version 2a); but also since one of the people working on it happens to be yours truly... ahem.


EDIT: Module C3A is now on e23.

[Nerroth]

Recently, the guys at ADB have been hinting now and then about progress on a "mysterious 'U' contract", taking care not to spoil the pot by discussing it publicly until the ink had been dried on it.

Well, now that it has, the other party to this contract has seen fit to post up this!


(There should be a formal press release posted on Wednesday about the new joint venture, and the three new product lines it will entail.)


EDIT:

A few quotes from ADB's side of the equation:

What it Means for ADB, Inc. and the SFU

THE BIGGEST NEWS IN SFU HISTORY
Saturday we signed a new joint-venture deal with Mongoose, which is one of the largest companies in the Adventure Game industry. They're famous for numerous product lines, including miniatures and roleplaying games. This deal includes three immediate elements, but the future is as open as space and as exciting as a supernova.

Something we have mentioned many times is that retailers only stock the top five or 10 companies (with the proverbial "one shelf" reserved for the other 40 hard-copy publishers, most of which are in less than 10% of stores). Mongoose is in 90% of the retail game stores in the US, Canada, the UK, and many other countries. This contract means that there will now be several first-class products in every retailer with logos on them for the Star Fleet Universe and for ADB, Inc. Each joint venture book will include advertising for all of our Star Fleet Universe products, giving us more exposure to the mass gaming market than we have had since 1982.

A CALL TO ARMS
This is their well-known space combat game, designed for massive battles with dozens of miniature starships. The new joint-venture deal provides for the production of a series of beautiful hardback rulebooks that will bring together the ships of the Star Fleet Universe and the game system of A Call to Arms. This worked very well for the Starmada product line, and should work even better for the much more widely sold A Call to Arms series.

PRIME DIRECTIVE: TRAVELLER
One of the most popular RPG game engines in the industry is the Traveller series (produced, in various incarnations, by Game Designer’s Workshop and Steve Jackson Games), and the current “Mongoose Traveller” incarnation is the most successful ever. They have an “open license” and Jean Sexton’s team was already at work doing a Prime Directive Traveller version for that system. Our experiences with GURPS, however, showed that any RPG done by a publisher other than the original will have at most 10% of the sales of books by the original publisher. (Hence, our GURPS books are done to the design standard of SJG books, but sell only a fraction of the numbers.) Doing these books as a joint venture means every retailer will carry them.

STARLINE 2500
Our new joint venture deal with Mongoose includes a provision that they are going to replace (over a period of a couple of years) every existing Starline 2400 ship with a new computer-generated design. (We call this Starline 2500, but they plan to market it under another brand yet to be selected.) The first ships will appear in late 2011, and ships will then follow every month or two. This will include some entirely new ships. It may also, from time to time, including special limited-production (minor variant) ships available only for a short time, or as part of special offers.
This is truly exciting news. New production ships will be fancier, and those in the vocal and vociferous minority who constantly complained that our ships were “not good enough for the modern market” will get his wish. Everyone who has an extensive collection can keep it, or perhaps slowly replace it with new designs. (The existing 2400 line could be used for Early Years if you want, or the new 2500 designs could be used for X-ships.)

These ships will be done in resin using 1-3125 scale.

Also, there's a provisional look at one of the WIP 3D prints for Starline 2500 in this thread.

[Nerroth]

An early Q&A posted on the Mongoose blog:

Q&A on A Call to Arms: Star Fleet

The forums have been alive with news of our recent agreement with Amarillo Design Bureau was made public earlier this week, and a lot of questions have been raised. We will be having a 'big reveal' in 3-4 weeks time, including a look at the first miniatures, but for now there are a few things we can put to rest.

When is A Call to Arms: Star Fleet due for release?
We are currently aiming for (and on schedule for, though it is early days!) being in stores the first week of December. December is a 'short' month for distribution though, and if this is missed, we may delay until the first week of January. But we want December.

Star Trek or Star Fleet?
Star Fleet, which concentrates on The Original Series ships. However, in practice for the miniatures game, there will be little difference. There will be no characters from the TV show or movies, and no Excelsior. However, in return, we get a Trek universe that is internally very consistent, that has lots of opportunites for conflict, a veritable ton of ship designs, and the ability to add new ships and fleets to our heart's content. It is a good trade off. You will still be able to face down Romulans and Klingons!

What fleets will be covered in the main rulebook?
Fairly extensively, Federation, Klingon, Romulan, Kzinti and Gorn. There will also be a range of civilian ships and a smattering of Orion pirates and Tholians.

How long have you been planning this?
Quite some time! The rulebook was written some time ago and is now undergoing playtesting, and we started work on the miniatures about a month ago. Actually, this was relatively easy for us to 'get in to,' as we had already drafted a set of Trek rules when we approached Paramount for a licence a couple of years ago. That did not work out, but this will!

Babylon 5 was good while it lasted, but the licence expired - will the same happen here?
There are no term limits or dates of expiration in our agreement with ADB. Both companies are looking forward to this lasting for a long, long time, and there are various nuts and bolts built into the agreement that make it beneficial for both companies to keep pushing ahead with it.

Star Fleet Battles is all about power allocation - will this appear in A Call to Arms?
Yes. Sort of. Kinda. Remember, we abstract out in A Call to Arms as it is a fleet level game but in short, yes, useage of power will at least be acknowledged.

Why change the scale of the ships?
Because doing them this way will make them ten times better, and we started this with the intention of creating the best Trek gaming experience possible. The differences between old and new models won't be excessive and the rules certainly won't be affected. Anyone who used Fleet Action scale models in ACTA: B5 will know this! In any case, ADB will keep the older models in production for anyone who wants them. But we hope you will like the new models!

What will be released first?
All going to plan, on the first week of December you will be able to pick up the main rulebook, three squadron box sets (five ships a piece) for Klingons, Romulans and the Federation, and three fleet box sets for the same. All ships released in these sets will be available as singles in blisters for specialist shops and mail order, and there will be monthly releases thereafter, at a rate of 2-4 boxes a month, depending on content.

There will be a supplement for the rest, right?
We are currently looking at Gen Con 2012 for the release of this, working title We Come in Peace (Shoot to Kill) - that _will_ change! It will bring in more fleets and new ships for the existing ones, a bit like Fleets of the Fading Suns but bigger.

Does this mean the end of Noble Armada?
Not as far as we are concerned. Noble Armada, while sharing a rules system, has a very different feel, with different technologies and boarding actions going on all over the place! Also, as we now do all our ship modelling in-house, it is exceedingly easy for us to add new ships and fleets to Noble Armada. The short of it is, you keep playing, we'll keep supporting!

Also, the press release is up.