We played with 4 ships each.
Feds: BCH, CA, OCL, FF
Klingon: C7, D7, D6, F5
The game lasted 6 turns, and we managed to do it in 4 hours, versus 4 ½ - 5 hours for a 3 ship per side battle that lasted 8 turns.
We used the new drone rules, and 3 ship limit. 32 drones were fired at range 18” or above. 7 locked on, and only one evaded defensive fire to hit a ship. Once inside 18”, of 37 drones fired, one hit a target. The Feds did roll better than average on their ADD roles, and none of them lost any ADD ammo. One Klingon ship used up it’s ADD. We thought that the new drone rules were a significant improvement, though the Klingon player still thought they weren’t quite right.
Photons: The Feds fired at 10-13” (couldn’t keep the range open at 15”); of 12 Photons, only 3 hit (2 shield hits, one penetration). The Feds then tried to back up 4” and reload. They succeeded in reloading, but had no targets because the Klingons were all able to maneuver onto the Feds’s flanks outside of the FA arc. Only one Fed ship (OCL) was able to fire a second Photon salvo, and that was accomplished by a suicidal point blank shot against the F5 a turn later. Naturally he was hit from behind by 2 Klingons and badly damaged.
The BCH was unable to fire it’s reloaded torps for 3 (!) turns because he could not get any Klingons in FA arc. They kept dancing on his flanks…
The BCH later did try to back up 4” and use a HET behind a D6 in order to get it’s Photons in arc. Naturally he blew the roll and took 2 Impulse Criticals.
We ended up with a Fed CA and FF destroyed, the BCH crippled, and the OCL one point away from crippling. Neither were able to escape and I conceded the game. The Klingons lost an F5 and D7.
Things we’d like to see changed:
We both thought the Klingon cruisers were too maneuverable. They are Turn 4 and Agile; the F5 is Turn 3 and Agile. We both thought that the cruisers ought to be Turn 4, with no Agile. They have no trouble running circles around the Fed ships; the Feds have a low chance of actually getting to use their Photons a second time.
Being restricted to 4” backwards movement while trying to back up and reload was grossly inadequate. The Klingons had an easy time positioning themselves on the Fed’s flanks and avoided the Photons. We think that allowing a ship reversing to make one 45 degree turn at the end of it’s move would greatly help balance out the grossly superior Klingon maneuverability. Increasing allowed reverse speed to 6 would also be helpful. The Feds simply could not back up fast enough to avoid be flanked repeatedly.
As for the High Energy Turn, a 50-50 chance of blowing the roll seems too high. Certainly we thought there ought to be a bonus for the first one, and a second bonus for Agile ships. Agile ships ought to have an easier time doing a HET than a BCH. Say a +2 to the roll for the first HET, +1 for the second (if Agile). Otherwise a HET is very risky indeed; far more so than the other SFU games ACTA:SF is based on.
We looked at the situation, and concluded that backing up didn’t help the Feds much. Nor would have trying to blow through the Klingons and keep going while reloading…the Klingons would have just turned around and easily gotten behind the Feds and that’d be all she wrote.
The Klingon player thought that Photons should automatically reload (taking a turn to do so), allowing the Fed ship to have a special action during the reload turn. Being able to go APE or Boost Shields during the reload turn would have been rather helpful. A simple check box to indicate the Photons are reloading would do the trick. This would be a good thing for the Plasma ships as well.
I’m not convinced that the Feds are competitive versus the Klingons frankly.
Feds: BCH, CA, OCL, FF
Klingon: C7, D7, D6, F5
The game lasted 6 turns, and we managed to do it in 4 hours, versus 4 ½ - 5 hours for a 3 ship per side battle that lasted 8 turns.
We used the new drone rules, and 3 ship limit. 32 drones were fired at range 18” or above. 7 locked on, and only one evaded defensive fire to hit a ship. Once inside 18”, of 37 drones fired, one hit a target. The Feds did roll better than average on their ADD roles, and none of them lost any ADD ammo. One Klingon ship used up it’s ADD. We thought that the new drone rules were a significant improvement, though the Klingon player still thought they weren’t quite right.
Photons: The Feds fired at 10-13” (couldn’t keep the range open at 15”); of 12 Photons, only 3 hit (2 shield hits, one penetration). The Feds then tried to back up 4” and reload. They succeeded in reloading, but had no targets because the Klingons were all able to maneuver onto the Feds’s flanks outside of the FA arc. Only one Fed ship (OCL) was able to fire a second Photon salvo, and that was accomplished by a suicidal point blank shot against the F5 a turn later. Naturally he was hit from behind by 2 Klingons and badly damaged.
The BCH was unable to fire it’s reloaded torps for 3 (!) turns because he could not get any Klingons in FA arc. They kept dancing on his flanks…
The BCH later did try to back up 4” and use a HET behind a D6 in order to get it’s Photons in arc. Naturally he blew the roll and took 2 Impulse Criticals.
We ended up with a Fed CA and FF destroyed, the BCH crippled, and the OCL one point away from crippling. Neither were able to escape and I conceded the game. The Klingons lost an F5 and D7.
Things we’d like to see changed:
We both thought the Klingon cruisers were too maneuverable. They are Turn 4 and Agile; the F5 is Turn 3 and Agile. We both thought that the cruisers ought to be Turn 4, with no Agile. They have no trouble running circles around the Fed ships; the Feds have a low chance of actually getting to use their Photons a second time.
Being restricted to 4” backwards movement while trying to back up and reload was grossly inadequate. The Klingons had an easy time positioning themselves on the Fed’s flanks and avoided the Photons. We think that allowing a ship reversing to make one 45 degree turn at the end of it’s move would greatly help balance out the grossly superior Klingon maneuverability. Increasing allowed reverse speed to 6 would also be helpful. The Feds simply could not back up fast enough to avoid be flanked repeatedly.
As for the High Energy Turn, a 50-50 chance of blowing the roll seems too high. Certainly we thought there ought to be a bonus for the first one, and a second bonus for Agile ships. Agile ships ought to have an easier time doing a HET than a BCH. Say a +2 to the roll for the first HET, +1 for the second (if Agile). Otherwise a HET is very risky indeed; far more so than the other SFU games ACTA:SF is based on.
We looked at the situation, and concluded that backing up didn’t help the Feds much. Nor would have trying to blow through the Klingons and keep going while reloading…the Klingons would have just turned around and easily gotten behind the Feds and that’d be all she wrote.
The Klingon player thought that Photons should automatically reload (taking a turn to do so), allowing the Fed ship to have a special action during the reload turn. Being able to go APE or Boost Shields during the reload turn would have been rather helpful. A simple check box to indicate the Photons are reloading would do the trick. This would be a good thing for the Plasma ships as well.
I’m not convinced that the Feds are competitive versus the Klingons frankly.
