===== Overview of Sections in This Document
* Overview of Sections in This Document
* Teams & Squadrons
* Ships
* Ranking Ladder & Points
* Battles
* Logistics
* Rules
* Twirling Aces Battle Points
* Previous Issues in Orders
* Links to EA and Orders forms
===== Teams & Squadrons
Each team chooses a squadron of ships according to the guidelines.
Each team must consist of at least 2 players, each player having his/
her own ship (or a number of PF's, INT's, or FTR's). The upper limit
on number of team members is simply whatever you can afford within the
squadron BPV limit and other guidelines. Coordination among multiple
ships is part of the point here, so no player is allowed to fly multiple
ships within a squadron.
Individual players can sit "in the pool", waiting for another individual
player to come along, so that a team can be formed. You are never
required to play as teammates with someone else; it's up to you.
This is just a service for the individual players out there. Send
email to others in the pool, if you are looking for teammates.
Once a team decides to retire a squadron, it no longer climbs the
ladder or accepts challenges. However, the team (possibly with one or
more members swapped out) can then build another squadron and start
up the ladder again. The retired squadron maintains its point total,
and becomes a milestone for active squadrons. Someday there might be
a tournament with the best all-time squadrons, but that's way in the
future, still.
===== Ships
The moderator must validate selections against the guidelines.
Instead of trying to list all abominations here, just understand that
abuse of intentions in the rules won't be approved (such as 6 PF's
with no tender, trying to argue that the tender was destroyed in a
recent nearby battle, or mixing PF's and INT's).
The racial make-up of a squadron is limited. Each unit must be of
the same race, or of a combination according to this list (no more
than 2 races can be on the same team):
* Klingons and Romulans can be teammates.
* Lyrans and Klingons can be teammates.
* Federation and Gorns can be teammates.
* Federation and Kzintis can be teammates.
* Federation and Hydrans can be teammates.
* Orions of a cartel based in the home of a race (has home territory
of that race's space) and that race can be teammates. If multiple
ships are Orion, they must be of a single cartel or of a set of
cartels with the same home territory.
3 or more PF's, 4 or more INT's, or 6 or more FTR's qualify as
a ship for purposes of each player's having his own ship, but there
must be carrier/tender capacity within the team for those smaller
units. (If a Hydran ship carries 2 Stingers, for example, they're
controlled by that ship's Captain and are not considered a separate
ship.) A full load-out of PF's or fighters for a ship is not required.
ADB-official, published ships are allowed, including simulator races,
unique ships, and conjectural ships, of any year. Whenever any
abnormal ships & rules are encountered, we'll make sure everyone
involved is educated before the battle is fought. (If production of
new modules picks up, even the moderator may have to be brought up to
speed on new races & rules.) If something outrageous just isn't
feasible, then please just choose other ships.
There isn't a specific year for the battles, as in tournament duels.
Equipment of all years is available, in any valid combination. Note
that taking an escort without a carrier is invalid, as is taking the
same unique ship for each player, etc.
The team has 240 BPV to spend, which includes any/all Commander's
Options. Normal limitations apply. (You could have 2 ships each
worth 100, and 20 BPV (20% is the limit for each ship) of Commander's
Options each, or you could have 2 ships with BPV of 150 and 90, with
no Commander's Options, or you could have 3 ships of 75 BPV each with
15 BPV total in Commander's Options, etc.)
Each battle, the ships start off fresh, with no damage carried over.
Before each battle, knowing the opponent and the terrain, a team may
choose Commander's Options all over again. THIS IS IMPORTANT to think
about! This provides you with lots of flexibility, if you plan. A
refit or drone speed upgrade may be considered part of the ship itself
(thus is in the basis for the 20% Commander's Options limit) when the
squadron is first registered, but then that refit or upgrade is present
for all battles, and cannot be given up to free up BPV. The other
option is to take the refit or drone speed upgrade as a Commander's
Option, deciding on it battle by battle. Anything that is not
a Commander's Option (such as: tug pods, fighters, PFs, & option mount
weapons) must be part of the ship and is not selectable per battle.
All drones are type-I (or VI) slow for the basic BPV. Upgrades may be
purchased from there.
Any WBP's desired must be purchased for 1 BPV each. The normal
load is 1 WBP per admin shuttle and 3 WBP per fighter, but fewer than or
more than that may be purchased.
You probably want to consider the weapon status, map, terrain
possibilities, and the fact that you can change options but not ships
between battles in choosing your squadron's equipment.
===== Ranking Ladder & Points
A squadron normally challenges another squadron slightly higher on the
ranking ladder, when its players are ready to play another battle. The
pace is up to you (within the limits of the system being able to handle
it). Notice that there is no penalty to sitting out of battle a while,
declining challenges. Your team just won't be advancing while others are.
When a challenge is made, the challenging squadron and the next
available squadron above it commence a battle. This is a guideline
that needs to be followed whenever possible, but it is not absolute.
If a squadron has recently fought the next two squadrons above it,
it is acceptable to skip them and fight the third above it. If a
squadron is at the top, or has fought all squadrons just above it,
it may challenge a lower squadron.
No squadron is required to participate in more than one battle at a
time. However, multiple concurrently is allowed, if desired, until
overall system capacity is reached.
Winning a battle works like in a tournament: whoever kills the other
squadron, or gets so far ahead that there's no hope for the other
side, wins. All disengaging units are considered destroyed. We don't
use Victory Points or Victory Levels from standard rules here.
Capturing a ship basically just kills it "kindly" (as long as it isn't
recaptured!).
Each battle provides an opportunity to earn ACES4 points, which are
used to determine the squadrons' ranking on the ladder. Thus, yours
might pass another squadron on the ladder without actually defeating
it.
Whoever wins gets a number of points based on the pre-battle point
total of the enemy, so that if you beat a squadron that's high on
the ladder, it's worth more. Take the square root of the number of
points, dropping fractions (as for EW shifts with ECM points), and add
5. Therefore, at first, a victory is worth 5 points, but later on
against a squadron with 39 accumulated points, a victory would be
worth 5+6=11 points. This is to reward the making of challenges
against higher-ranked squadrons.
The losing side gets 1/3 (rounded) of whatever points the winning side
gets, as recognition for participation. This is to reward
participation, even if your squadron is not faring well. If your
team abandons a battle, these consolation points are forfeited.
Speaking of forfeiting battles... this scenario is not the place for
flim-flam kinda-there SFB PBEM play. If you aren't willing and able to
participate consistently and with honor, then this isn't the scenario
for you. Forfeiting a battle means forfeiting your honor, and your
squadron's point total won't be advancing.
===== Battles
Once a valid challenge is made to an available squadron, a mutually
agreeable start date is set. (Otherwise, somebody forfeits.) Then the
following are performed:
* The moderator rolls for terrain.
* The moderator informs both sides of terrain and enemy ships (but
not Commander's Options, even if they would be visible).
* The challenging team selects its starting positions and weapon
status, and they announce them.
* The challenged team selects its starting positions and weapon
status, and they announce them.
* Both teams select Commander's Options for their squadrons and send
to the moderator.
* The moderator informs both sides of enemy Commander's Options that
are visible.
* Both sides send turn 1 EA forms to the moderator by the start date.
The map is a standard tournament map, complete with "wall" around it.
Any ship attempting to leave the map impacts on the "wall", takes
5 points of damage to the facing shield, and changes to speed 0
immediately. Any seeking weapon or shuttle that impacts the wall
takes 5 points of damage (as phaser damage for plasma torps), does not
move that impulse (that "ghost" movement counts for purposes of turn
mode), but it does not change speed to 0, as a ship does. If a
tractored unit impacts the wall, the tractor link is broken, also.
Terrain is determined randomly, once the battling squadrons are
determined, by totalling 2 dice: 2 = black hole at 2215,
3 = asteroids, 4-11 = no terrain, 12 = minefield. (Yes, it is
appropriate to exclaim "Craps!" when 2, 3, or 12 is rolled.) Thus,
there is about an 11% chance of having any terrain in any battle,
with asteroids twice as likely as either of the other types.
Asteroids are placed in the following hexes, and extend 1 hex in each
direction (so each patch covers 7 hexes): 0608, 0913, 1109, 0422,
0718, 1024, 1323, 1806, 2219, 3212, and 3627. Notice that they are
concentrated at the West end of the map, and are not very dense, so plan
accordingly.
Large mines are placed in the following hexes: 0513, 0906, 0423, 1226,
1905, 2614, 2019, 2427, 3204, 3511, 3119, and 3925. Each is set for
all size classes. Each is set independently of the others with a
delay count that is randomly determined by the moderator ahead of
time by a single die roll minus 1 (therefore, 0 through 5). So, you
might risk going through the detection zone of a mine (at high
speed) with a 5/6 chance of safety the first time, but the chance of
safety dwindles from there. At speeds less than 6, a mine might not
detect a unit passing through its detection zone (which is range <=1
in all directions, resulting in a patch of 7 hexes), as per normal
rules. Note that each large mine explosion carries 35 points of
damage!
The starting location of the challenging squadron is chosen as any
hex(es) along any edge(s), with each unit within 4 hexes of all others
of that squadron. Then, the starting location of the challenged
squadron is chosen as any hex(es) along any edge(s) not having enemy
units along it, with each unit within 4 hexes of all others of that
squadron. In both cases, small units may be deployed with the same
restrictions, as per Weapon Status allowances. THIS IS IMPORTANT to
think about! Do not place your units close to a corner on one wall,
then discover that the Romulans are at range 3, unloading hundreds
of points of plasma on top of you on impulse 1. If this happens to you,
despite this warning, you deserve what you get.
Each squadron starts at either weapon status II or III, each separately
determined by the respective team, based on their confidence and on
their willingness and/or ability to yield the edge to the opponent.
Each team announces whether they choose weapon status II or III
when they announce their starting positions. To choose weapon status II
incurs no cost. To choose weapon status III costs 5 BPV of Commander's
Option points.
Weapon status II:
* Phasers energized and fully charged.
* Batteries, ESG capacitors (within G23.23 limits), and other energy-storing
systems are charged.
* Prior turns arming (but not the last turn) of multi-turn arming
weapons may be completed.
* One shuttle may be prepared for a special role (SP, SS, WW).
* Two turn's deck crew activities may be completed for fighter-carrying
ships, and one or two fighters may be deployed on the map within two
hexes, with carrier's speed on turn 0 <= max speed of deployed
fighter(s), and with same facing. All units must be within the
scenario's range of all others, still.
* Tholians may have formed a pinwheel, and have deployed a zero-strength
web around it.
Weapon status III:
Same as for weapon status II, except:
* All fighters may be fully armed; 4 fighters may be pre-deployed. All
units must be within the scenario's range of all others, still.
* Formal PF tenders may pre-deploy 2 PF's (as for fighters above).
* Two shuttles may be prepared for special roles (SP, SS, WW).
* Multi-turn arming weapons, which does NOT include disruptors or fusion
beams, may be fully armed, but any holding energy must be paid on turn
1. Weapons which cannot be held (e.g. plasma-R) do NOT have their
last turn of arming completed. No overload energy is "free."
* Each unit may pre-deploy one drone per rack or pre-deployed fighter
within 4 hexes, but only medium or fast drones. All units must
be within the scenario's range of all others, still. For launch delay
and drone endurance purposes, turn 0 impulse 28 is the launch impulse.
These may not be pre-deployed within 3 hexes of any enemy unit.
* The pinwheeling Tholians' web may be strength 10.
===== Logistics
Squadrons are now joining in the melee!
If you're interested, email the moderator to join. Have a team of
players ready, or you can sit "in the pool", waiting for another
individual player. If you're interested in helping moderate, should the
number of games grow large, let me know that, too.
We'll play as long as we continue having fun with it.
All players send text-based forms to the moderator with orders on a
frequent basis. The moderator sends out results, positions, damage
summaries, etc. as soon as is feasible after receiving all orders.
If a team cannot get orders in by the specified deadline, the team may
use one of their 3 time-outs, to avoid a penalty. Each deadline is
set to be 5 days after the previous segment's results are sent. If
some correction is made that changes the tactical situation, the clock
is reset, to preserve a fair chance at evaluating the situation. A
time-out buys another 5 days of time. Each round of waiting for info
from somebody lasts 5 days until penalties accrue.
The purpose of the penalty is not to cause anybody a disadvantage.
It's pretty rare for a couple non-critical internals to decide a
scenario. What the purpose is, is to make it cost something to take
extra time (other than the 3 time-outs). Each extra week spent in a
battle is one week less the other guys have to fight other squadrons.
Since running point totals are being kept, the more battles you fight
in, the more points you might earn. It's a compensation thing.
If both teams can get orders in more quickly than in 5 days, then
the whole battle will take that much less time, and the teams may
then play more battles, earning more points and getting more action.
Do NOT send a stream-of-consciousness mess as orders. Do NOT send a
message that says, "Oh yeah, one more thing... change the firing
sequence in that one part of my orders I sent already to one impulse
later." Instead, send a complete, updated orders file.
If both teams desire a slower-paced game, then that can be mutually
arranged. Perhaps a longer standard delay before the next deadline
is desired, instead of 5 days.
Once time-outs are used up, a penalty of the loss of one system box
per day is imposed. The cheapest system box, according to the Cost
of Repair, is always lost, for each ship whose orders are not in. If
it becomes apparant that a battle is abandoned, the remaining team
wins, and the abandoning team forfeits.
If a broken email server, illness, or other extenuating circumstances
exist, then speak up, as the moderator and other players will almost
always be reasonable about such things. Speaking up instead of just
not responding for weeks really helps keep players happy & satisfied,
in the long run.
Each segment of orders covers 8 impulses. THIS IS IMPORTANT to think
about! If you haven't played in such scenarios before, then stop to
consider that you do not get a chance to react to launched seeking
weapons, downed shields, t-bomb placement, etc. You may provide
several conditional orders each segment, such as "Fire PH3#1 and
PH3#2 at any enemy unit that reaches range 1 to me."
Include any ongoing orders in EACH segment's orders. The moderator
cannot afford the time to reconstruct vague references to previous
orders. Experience shows that inevitably, some of the old orders
and some of the new orders conflict with each other, anyway, so we
just avoid it.
We could use http://www.irony.com for die rolls. The results are
email'd to everyone involved. Usually, we don't in the interest of
saving time. If a really important roll is about to be made, a player
can request the service be used. However, I'm not about to cheat in
any way, and waste all of our time.
As standard gaming netiquette, please always include
"SFB ACES 4.##: " in your subject, with
"##" being your battle number.
If you disagree with an action or result, please bring the issue to
the moderator's attention promptly. It is the moderator's
responsibility to be reasonable, fair, and thorough, but also to keep
the game fun and moving along. If a dispute over an interpretation
of the rules and/or of orders arises, the moderator will make a
decision as promptly and fairly as is possible, and play will
continue with that precedent applied consistently for the remainder
of the game. We use PUBLISHED rules, with the PUBLISHED errata file.
No "Star Letter #98" tricks, and no "SVC/SPP said this is changed now."
Declare your speed plot for the turn along with EA. Default is a
constant speed for the turn. Declare repairs, guards, and deck crew
actions in EA, also.
It is fine to use "if...then..." conditions for movement and systems.
You'll notice that if someone wanted to get crazy, they could. As long
as it's clear, that's fine. Use pseudo-code, if you prefer. But if
it's not clear, the moderator has no choice but to try to match the
orders as closely as he can, maybe not achieving optimal results for
you. This is a big difference (can be considered good or bad,
depending on what you like) between face-to-face and PBEM. Giving
concise and clear orders is a great leadership skill. I hope we're
all accidentally improving ourselves as we play. :^)
Decide your priorities on boxes for damage, and list them in orders.
You can always give deterministic orders per impulse, which would
ensure you get done what you order. "Chase the enemy and fire when
close" leaves way too much leeway. The best is to be as clear and
concise as possible. The crew and computers of your ship will carry
out your orders as precisely as you specify them. The moderator
will NOT fly your ship for you (in an effective manner, at least!).
It's no coincidence that the players who consistently provide good
orders are the ones who win most often, whatever their tactical
expertise may be.
I hope you agree that to maintain complete neutrality and fairness,
the moderator has to go by what the orders are, not by what the
moderator thinks the intent behind them was. There's got to be a
line, or else the moderator would end up sitting down to play the
battles out alone for all the ships. This is a problem eventually
for just about every player, so don't be overly alarmed when it
happens. Learn something, and get it right next time.
Starting out with a description of your intent can be very helpful.
If you say, "I am doing whatever I can to kill the Fed ship A," then
that can take care of ambiguities through the segment.
It is usually a good idea to include "safety net" clauses, such as,
"Fire an OL-PHOTON at ship X if on the next impulse, X can leave its
firing arc or the range to X can increase beyond 8."
Using an impulse-by-impulse, step-by-step format is not required for
orders, but experience shows that doing so makes it more difficult
for you to overlook opportunities and dangers.
You don't need to write a dissertation, listing every possible
combination of events. You'll likely miss some possibilities, if you
try that approach. It's been demonstrated several times to be true.
We're all improving by experience. If you come up with any
suggestions to improve how we play, please speak up.
This is an "Easter Egg," buried in the ACES4 rules. Congratulations! If
you see this message, let me know at jlb@edsr.eds.com.
If someone discovers a mistake that isn't catastrophic for the scenario
that was made farther in the past than the previous segment, then we'll
let is stand. If we can't see it in a week, then it must not have been
very important. We do not want to delay overall progress for minor
glitches.
Because you submit orders for 8 impulses at a time, there will be many
situations in which an opportunity slides right by, you're surprised
by a Suicide Shuttle, etc. It's the same for everyone. Not only does
grouping 8 impulses together speed up the game, but it also allows each
of us to put whatever amount of effort each of us enjoys into playing
the game. And I'm sure there will be at least one week for each of us
where there's only time to submit obvious orders and let all the little
possibilities play themselves out.
===== Rules
Rules are the official Captain's edition, with ADB-published
errata (http://www.task-force-games.com/sfu/sfb/errata/erratoc.html
and http://www.task-force-games.com/sfu/sfb/errata/Errata.txt), and
using the scenario rules of this file.
The publishers of Star Fleet Battles, Amarillo Design Bureau, have been
issuing updated rules via email, rec.games.board newsgroup, word-of-
mouth, etc. These are NOT used in this scenario, as they are too hard
to verify for all players. If any are to be used, they are included
in this file of scenario rules. Don't bother arguing about what makes
sense, what you heard from the game designers, etc., just play by these
up-front-agreed upon rules.
Generally, the rules are in the Basic Rulebook, Advanced Rulebook,
Modules C1, C2, C3, C4, J, K, M, and the R1-R6 Modules. Rules in other
modules are generally excluded.
All sub-rules of stated rules are implied.
A Intro
B How to Play
C Movement
- excluding C1.32-C1.33 Pre-Plotted Movement
- excluding C2.3 Deceleration Due to Damage
- excluding C3.8 Directed Turn Modes
D Combat
- excluding D3.6 Leaky Shields
+ including D6.3 Electronic Warfare
- excluding D8.0 and D24.0 Critical Hits
- excluding D15.0 Ground Combat
- excluding D16.0 Advanced Boarding Party Combat
- excluding D17.0 Tactical Intelligence
+ including D17.9 Tactical Intelligence levels A-K are known
- excluding D20.0 Hidden Deployment
- excluding D21.0 Catastrophic Damage
- excluding D22.0 Energy Balance Due to Damage
E Direct Fire Weapons
F Seeking Weapons
FD Drones
+ including FD2.22, FD10-FD16 Drone Improvements & Construction (all
must be paid for; all basic BPV ratings assume type-I (or VI) slow
drones; any combination of speeds is allowed; restricted/limited
rules apply; reloads as proportional, as per the rules)
FP Plasma
G Ship Systems
+ including G13.6 Hidden Cloaked Units (33% BPV cost to choose this
advanced cloaking device, or the standard cloaking device may be
chosen without paying that 33% BPV cost) (official addendum is to
report distance and facing to hidden-cloaked unit each impulse #8
and #24 to each enemy unit, for a hidden cloak)
- excluding G21.0 Crew Quality
- excluding G22.0 Legendary Officers
+ including G24.0 Scout Functions (G24.35: note that economic BPV
is treated as combat BPV for a scout deployed with other units)
+ including G27.0 Romulan Cloak Decoy (max one small per squadron)
H Power
J Shuttles
+ including J4.9 Fighter EW
+ including J5.0 Warp Booster Packs
- excluding J6.0 Fighter Pilot Quality
- excluding J7.0 Dogfighting (use J4.51 instead)
+ including J8.0 Multi-Role Shuttles (J8.51 availability)
+ including J9.0 SWAC Shuttles (J9.31 availability)
- excluding J11.0 Fighter Pods
- excluding J13.0 Casual Bases
K Fast Patrol Ships (PF)
- excluding K6.0 PF Engine Degradation
- excluding K7.0 Death Riders
- excluding K8.0 PF Crew Quality
M Mines
- excluding M4.4 Captor Mines
- excluding M4.5 Sensor Mines
- excluding M5.0 Types of Mine Control Systems
- excluding M6.0 Minefields
P Terrain
+ including P3.0 Asteroids
+ including P4.0 Black Holes
- excluding other terrain types
R Races, Units (see list of modules above)
S Scenarios
+ including S8.3 Deployment Patterns (except that a carrier group
missing one otherwise-required escort is allowed)
X X Technology
- excluding all X Technology
If you purchase one T-bomb, you get one Dummy T-bomb with it. T-bombs
shown on an SSD are not present unless purchased, as per the rules.
Those are the capacities for the ship to carry T-bombs.
Each ship may spend up to 20% BPV for commander's options. These
points cannot be transferred to another ship. The squadron as a whole
is also under the total BPV limitation.
Instead of holding Tractor Auctions, state how much power you are
willing to spend (for positive or negative tractor in each
circumstance), then you'll actually spend the minimum required to win
(or you'll spend it all and lose). For auctions held during EA,
indicate where any unused tractor energy should go.
Please note what weapons (if any) are to be used in defense, what
threats will trigger their use, how many will be triggered in each
case, and in which order they're to be used.
Declare (to the moderator) the target of a SW (drone, plasma torpedo,
seeking shuttle) when it is launched.
The default damage trigger for a Scatter Pack is 1, the default trigger
range is "maximum", and the default time delay is "minimum".
Maximum speed is limited by the lowest speed you traveled in the
last 32 impulses... +10 (+5 or +15 for some) or x2 (x3 for some),
whichever is higher, is your maximum. No speed changes before impulse
4 or after impulse 28, or within 8 impulses of another speed change
(unless nimble, then 6 impulses).
The maximum speed of a ship at any point in a turn is determined by
its available warp engine and impulse engine energy at the start of a
turn (unless using D22.0 Energy Balance Due to Damage, but we're not).
A mid-turn speed change cannot enable a ship to exceed its maximum
speed even during part of a turn. If a ship's maximum speed is 17
because it has 8 warp and 1 impulse, and a movement cost of 0.5, it
cannot move faster than 17 during any portion of the turn (such as 19
for a while then 15 for a while). If some warp or impulse energy is
being used for another purpose, then the maximum speed is reduced
accordingly.
While a unit is EM'ing, it cannot launch anything and it cannot
guide seeking weapons. There are 4 ECM for the ship, but also 4 NECM
("negative" ECM) applied to systems the ship itself uses, also.
Erratic Maneuvering increases Turn Mode by one, unless the unit is
nimble. Shuttles and PFs are nimble.
A cloaking device, if powered, can be turned on once during a turn,
and it can be turned off once during a turn, in any combination.
Decide whether to arm a photon torpedo with a proximity fuse during
energy allocation of the second (or any subsequent, if held) turn of
arming.
Hold (with 1 point of energy) an armed SS or roll (with 1 point of
energy) a charged WW, during EA. Otherwise, previous energy is lost.
A seeking weapon must move straight forward on its first movement
after launch, unless it HET's. (It cannot turn or sideslip.)
The ships' DAMCON rating is the number of Continuous Damage Repair
repair points generated each turn, and it is also the total number of boxes that may be repaired with the CDR procedure during the battle.
Only ONE system box may be accumulating repair points at any time, but
another may be started on the same turn that one is completed.
The only way to tell a real vs. pseudo plasma torpedo is to let it
impact.
Effects of being crippled (S2.4) (50% of internals destroyed, others):
can fire probe as weapon, can use emer life support, lose
nimble status, loss of HET bonus(es)
Effects of being uncontrolled (G2.0) (all control spaces destroyed):
turn mode class one higher, no HET, no Quick Reverse, no
mid-turn speed changes, no EM, no Emer Decel, impulse 1-16
tacs lost, fire/launch at only one target in one impulse per
turn, half drone control ability, no tractor, no lab id, no
ECCM, no WW launch, no scout functions, no mine functions, no
Aegis, no UIM, no DERFACS, no SFG, no DisDev, no Flywheel
===== Twirling Aces Battle Points
There are ACES4 points, which are used to rank squadrons. In addition,
there is another points system that emcompasses all Twirling Aces
scenarios, known as Twirling Aces Battle Points.
Basically, Twirling Aces battle points are good for 2 things: a sense
of accomplishment, and potentially seeding players for future
scenarios. They do not directly affect ACES 4 at all.
An individual can earn Twirling Aces battle points by damaging enemy
ships singlehandedly in any ACES scenario. Approximately crippling a
destroyer or finishing one off from the point of crippling earns 0.5
point. Shield damage does not count. Also, anyone who actually
participates in a battle earns one point. The points may be awarded
at the end of each battle in ACES 4.
===== Previous Issues in Orders
The following are some issues with orders we've had in the past, and
how I've tried to resolve them fairly. I really want to keep everyone
happy... that's a struggle between being forgiving on orders
problems, so that PBEM doesn't ruin the game, and *not* being
forgiving, so that whoever didn't have orders problems doesn't get
disadvantaged. If you have suggestions, or enhancements to the
following, I'm listening. The best thing anybody can do is to provide
clear & concise orders consistenly every segment. Send them early, if
necessary because of your schedule.
Movement:
* maximum speed due to warp restrictions (C12.38) exceeded
-- reduce to maximum speed, then resolve energy balance as below
* incorrect calculation of speed cost for intended speed plot (C12.21)
-- increase/decrease speed at least critical time range of turn,
or resolve energy balance as below, if it's clear that the speed
plot is more important than another use of the energy
* lacking a speed plot
-- constant speed
* failing to pay EM energy in EA when EM announced impulse 32 of
previous turn
-- pay EM energy in EA, resolving energy balance as below
* failing to pay braking energy
-- attempt quick reverse
Energy:
* total energy spent exceeds total available
-- take energy from items that seem to have least priority in orders
* for any energy imbalance in general, use these priorities:
-- (results vary, depending on power curve & systems of ship)
-- life support, normal shields/reinf panels, AFC
-- arm multi-turn arming heavy weapons that previously commenced cycle
-- charge phaser capacitors
-- maximum reserve energy
-- move at most recent speed, retaining EM/no-EM
-- arm other heavy weapons
-- faster movement, if legal
-- leftovers into general reinforcement
Weapons:
* firing with no chance to hit, due to ECM, for example
-- fire, as ordered, since it doesn't break any rule
* firing when out of firing arc
-- delay firing until legal, unless obviously not desired at the
later time by another order
* not firing when moderator thinks it would be good to fire
-- don't fire, as ordered, since it doesn't break any rule
* firing at other than optimal range
-- fire, as ordered, since it doesn't break any rule
* "fire weapons when in range"
-- fire all possible weapons as soon as possible
Launches/Systems:
* launching a shuttle or seeking weapon while performing EM or
otherwise illegal
-- delay launch until legal, unless obviously not desired at the
later time by another order
* not launching WW when moderator thinks it would be good to do so
-- don't launch, as ordered, since it doesn't break any rule
* 8-impulse delay before next use or one use per turn violated
-- delay use of system/weapon until legal, unless obviously not
desired at the later time by another order
Rules:
* player attempts to break a rule
-- if for the current segment, moderator corrects actions, achieving
desired result if possible in another obvious, standard manner
-- if for an older segment, leave it, unless devastating to scenario
* moderator attempts to break a rule
-- if for the most recent segment, correct it, re-evaluating
everyone's conditional orders
-- if for an older segment, leave it, unless devastating to scenario
===== Links to EA and Orders forms
Blank Energy Allocation Form
Blank Segment Orders Form
ON-LINE submission forms for players of this scenario:
ON-LINE Energy Allocation Form
ON-LINE Segment Orders Form
the Twirling Aces moderator Jeff Buchmiller at jlb@edsr.eds.com
