ACTA:SF vs SFB

[astronomypete]

Dear All, I thought I'd write a few thoughts about what AFTA:SF means to me and invite you to join in if you wish, or just ignore this post, as the ramblings of a man in his mid-life. (as in TLR)

I played SFB since the very first launch of the captains edition launch, and I played it right through college, and into my university days, but the guys I used to play with split and went their separate ways, across the country.

This left me with no one to play with... (yes I can hear your tiny violins) Until I went to the Stoke On Trent War Games group, with my friend from church. We'd play D&D, Warhammer, Warhammer, Warhammer, and other Games Workshop games. All the time I'd say lets play SFB, but no one was interested in playing due to the complex rules and energy allocation (something which I loved, I have to say) When the older generation left the group we were left in a room (one of eight) with some kids who had problems with reading due to dyslexia and numbers due to discalcula (sorry my spelling isn't great, I'm sure some grammar nazi will point it out), and my own son who has autism, and couldn't complete school. They are all really intelligent, but it left us not being able to play a game like SFB.

We were introduced into ACTA:SF at Salute this year, and wow, we've rapidly painted the ships, we've purchased black felt for the 8' x 6' table, and the other rooms keep sticking their noses in to see what we're playing, and asking how it compares to SFB as they used to play that back in the day (IE commanders edition, and federation and empire) and whilst we are still learning after just 4 weeks of playing, we've discovered that those people who have learning difficulties, get this game. They love it and want to play it more and more. So much so that instead of demoing Wargods like we normally do at Salute, we probably will demo ACTA:SF at next years Salute.

Well done Steve Cole and Matt, I know I've whinged about the Kzinti's and lead times, but guys this games great, and works well, it needs some tweaks to get it perfect. But from a person who had severe SFB withdrawal, this ticks all the boxes, like you wouldn't believe.

So thanks, for creating a great game, it really helps kids with learning difficulties with playing wargames, and hopefully when they get more used to it we can start doing some cadet games for SFB and have them improve their maths that way as well.

 

[Nerroth]

If it helps, there are other space combat games which ADB produce other than Star Fleet Battles; one in particular that may be worth checking out is Federation Commander. FC is more closely related to SFB than ACtA:SF in terms of game mechanics, but has less steep a learning curve for new players. Plus, it has more than a few tricks up its sleeve, so makes for a pretty interesting game in its own right.

You can get the First Missions preview pdf here, a lot of the game's Ship Cards are available for free over on the FC Commander's Circle, and the Reference Rulebook covering the rules needed to fly pretty much any ship in the Main Era Alpha Octant (that has been ported from SFB to FC, at least) is pretty much the only thing you'd need to actually pay for to get started.

(Of course, if you later wanted to invest in some of the other FC modules and boosters, with their handy laminated Ship Cards, that might work, too.)


Plus, FC is, for the time being at least, the primary port of call for the conversion process from the Star Fleet Universe into A Call to Arms (or rather, the primary filter between what you may know from SFB and what you see come out the other side); so may help show where many of the design decisions behind ACtA:SF have been coming from.

 

[Renny]

Well said, astronomypete. I think with all the bad vibes being thrown around about the game from time to time, it is important to remember that it is a good, solid product. And I will never get bored seeing Constitution class ships and D7's on the game table.

 

[mdauben]

I played SFB since the very first launch of the captains edition launch, and I played it right through college, and into my university days, but the guys I used to play with split and went their separate ways, across the country.

Heh! I started with the original ziplock version of the game back in college. Used to play with the school gaming club. Ah! Good times. :wink:

A couple years after college, I hooked up with a big group of SFB fanatics and we spent several years playing one-off games and ongoing campaigns. This was where I got into the big three ring binder version of the game. We had loads of fun, although most of our big fleet games took multiple sessions over days or even weeks to game out. I even got my name in one of the offical supplements as a play tester.

As all good things must end, I finally lost track of that group when I had to move to another state. I tried a couple times to get some new people interested in SFB, but the huge rulebook was always too off-putting and the learning curve too steep. So, my SFB gaming went on hiatus for a number of years.

We were introduced into ACTA:SF at Salute this year, and wow,

I just got exposed through the internet, but the promise of a simpler rules system, combined with the exciting new miniatures, made me jump in with both feet. I've already gotten one invite to an established group, and I'm optimistic about generating some local interest. ACTASF has really renewed my interest in gaming in the "Start Fleet Universe" again, and had got me spending money as fast as Mongoose can release new stuff!

 

[McKinstry]

Well said, astronomypete. I think with all the bad vibes being thrown around about the game from time to time, it is important to remember that it is a good, solid product. And I will never get bored seeing Constitution class ships and D7's on the game table.

I'll second that. I'm enjoying both the game and the models.

 

[AdmiralGrafSpee]

I have to agree. The game is really fun, and I love the Star Fleet Universe. Its so nice to get to play with these ships again. Because the weapon arcs and relative power of the weapons is similar to SFB, it really does feel similar in many ways.

While my group may not have the serious learning disabilities that astronmypete's group has, they do suffer from "being too lazy for their own good" - and so I knew that SFB never would have gone over with the crowd (e.g. if someone can't be bothered to actually right down how much Might/Will/Fate Aragon still has what are the chances they will do their energy allocation properly or keep track of their drones?!).

So ya, thanks Matt and Steve for this joint venture. We know it hasn't been easy but we appreciate it!

-Tim