ACES 2 scenario rules
---------------------
Last updated: Dec 7, 1997
===== OVERVIEW:
Everything in this file boils down to a few concepts, most of which
you'll only need rarely, or only during scenario set-up.
INTRO
SIDES
RACES
SPECIAL DEPLOYMENT
OPTIONS
OFFICER OBJECTIVES
STRATEGIC SEGMENTS
NEW RULES
(Transwarp speeds (in other file), Simplified TacIntel, Phaser-5)
===== INTRO:
This is a two-sided fleet battle: Coalition vs. Alliance.
Those who don't care which side they're on or who arrive just before
start of scenario will be assigned a side.
The overall mission: to push the military front, the effective border
during this war, forward, or at a minimum, not to allow it to be
pushed closer by the enemy, all because of normal wartime economic and
resource considerations; secondary objective is to damage/capture
elements of the enemy's fleet without suffering the same to own.
A victory point battle, based on economic values, including capturing,
destruction, damage, crippling, disengagement, and special objectives
victory point bonuses.
-- no disengagement by acceleration
-- disengaging from the scenario by other means is irrevocable
-- a unit disengages from the scenario if it leaves the set of map
regions once present there
Emperor/President/Dictator/King/Fleet Admiral on each side (has his own
ship)
-- term Emperor used in these rules, but substitute as is appropriate
Some number of Admirals under Emperor's command, and some number of
Captains under each Admiral's command, determined by number of players
on the side
-- races must be determined top-down, because of racial restrictions
One 8-impulse segment each week, orders due by 18:00 Central (USA)
-- EA due with each segment #1 orders
-- whenever opposing forces are not close to each other, we may have
an accelerated schedule with 2-4 segments each week, all due at the
same time that week
-- the moderator will let everyone know in one set of segments'
results for the following week, if this situation arises
-- in that situation, break conditions may be specified between
segments that can cause remaining segments not to be resolved
that week after all, and everyone will be able to edit those
remaining segments' orders to be re-submitted by the following
week's due date
===== SIDES:
Coalition vs. Alliance main races, but some substitutes allowed.
Y186
-- General War ending, ISC soon to arrive (guess what we could do for
ACES 3)
-- some 1X Technology available, some simply by new rules for everyone
An amount of BPV is granted to each officer by rank.
-- Overall total BPV depends on number of players, not a single number
limit
-- Emperor may have Captains reporting directly to him, in which case
they count against his command rating
-- Emperor is his Admirals' (and possibly Captains') superior officer
-- Admiral is his Captains' superior officer
-- Emperor granted 180 BPV (one per side)
-- Admiral granted 130 BPV (# Admirals <= F&E Command Rating of
Emperor's ship)
-- note this risk: if the Emperor goes down, some Admiral needs to
have a Command Rating large enough to span the other Admirals,
or else those above the limit will be uncontrolled.
-- Captain granted 100 BPV (# Captains under Admiral <= F&E Command
Rating of Admiral's ship, per Admiral)
-- an Admiral does not have to have captains under him (but then he
cannot have a leader variant of a ship)
-- BPV limits do not including Commander's Options, which are optional
additional purchases at the discretion of each officer, to be coached and
coordinated by the Emperor and his Admirals, not do they include fleet
options, but they do include Pfs and fighters
-- the side with lesser total BPV (including all options) gets the
difference in BPV as victory points (automatically)
-- note that # of officers is limited by each superior officer's command
rating, but whether a ship is uncontrolled is determined by the number of
ships (note special nature of PF's below for command rating)
-- flatness/tallness of hierarchy up to the players
-- maximum flatness is most likely, in order to maximize total BPV, with
a little leeway to avoid uncontrolled units after some damage, but
who knows what they'll come up with
-- any officer can transfer a portion of his granted BPV to any teammate for
purchase of units, but he can't have granted BPV taken away involuntarily
-- 20% of BPV for commander's options transfers with the base BPV
-- each officer (other than Emperor), in combination with his peers, is of
limited race selection depending on his superior officer's race
-- a Captain or Admiral may have a fighter squadron or PF flotilla (or part
of one; multiple officers may together have one)
-- a Captain may have multiple ships, but an Emperor or Admiral may not
(other than PF's for an Admiral)
-- if an officer commands more than one unit, a "lesser officer" (non-player
sub-Captain who does not count for victory points) is commanding the other
units, with no effect on combat abilities
-- this applies at scenario start; reorganizations may result in penalties
-- may reorganize hierarchy during scenario, but only between turns, and must
be declared by the superior officer(s) involved to the moderator, in order
to take effect
-- if an officer dies by any means or is captured, the player is out of the
scenario
-- a transfer of command may occur if the casualty officer's unit(s)
remain, which is considered a reorganization of the hierarchy
-- an officer never dies by normal damage, only assassination, suicide, or
destruction of the unit he's on
-- command range is limited to 150 hexes for Admirals, but Emperor's command
is 1000 hexes (the higher level of interaction, the fewer details need be
communicated)
-- ships in excess of superior officer's command rating (at any time)
are uncontrolled (better review that rule; it's nasty!)
-- a flotilla of PF's (or any portion thereof) count as one ship for
command purposes... they pass command along among themselves
-- shuttles require no command
-- one scout per side does not count against any command limit (it can
operate outside the command structure)
-- an Admiral may take over the position in the hierarchy of the Emperor with
the Emperor's consent (in which case the Emperor is considered
incapacitated, which is not killed, not captured, but the player is out of
the game) or death or capture
-- a Captain may take over the position in the hierarchy of an Admiral in the
same way as an Admiral may of the Emperor
-- a sub-Captain officer may take over command of any ship or group of units,
but then the entire crew of that ship or those units is considered to be
poor (if already poor, then no additional effect)
-- does not apply for those officers helping a Captain to command the
Captain's other units from start of scenario (does apply for those
officers with other subsequent units)
-- Hit and Run raids against the area in which an officer is located can
attempt to assassinate him or to capture him instead of trying to destroy
an SSD box
-- must declare so before conducting the raid and before knowing whether
he's really there
-- if guards defeat the raid, the fact whether the officer is present is
not learned, but if no guards are encountered or they are defeated,
the fact is learned whether or not the raid is successful
-- an officer may move to another SSD area between turns (each EA, declare
his location), but if he is not in a control area with at least one
undestroyed box, the ship is uncontrolled
-- NOTE! This is one way in which standard SFB rules are changed,
rather than just added to.
===== RACES:
-- among a superior officer's direct reports, a minimum of 3/4 (round .5 up)
of BPV (not including his, not including Commander's Options) must be of
the same or of a "neighboring" race as he, with that term defined here:
-- Klingons & Romulans are "neighboring".
-- Lyrans & Klingons are "neighboring".
-- Federation & Gorns are "neighboring".
-- Federation & Kzintis are "neighboring".
-- Federation & Hydrans are "neighboring".
-- Orions of a cartel based in the home of a race and that race are
"neighboring". Other cartels are allowed, but are not "neighboring."
-- For option mounts on a single Orion ship, all but one must be from the
home territory of the cartel, and the other may be from the home
territory or an operating zone of the cartel.
-- For option mounts on a set of Orion ships of the same cartel within a
fleet, at least 70% of the option mount weapons (not spaces) must be
from the home territory of the cartel, at most 20% may be from the home
territory or an operating zone of the cartel, and at most 10% may be
from other races. The spirit of this rule must be honored, but integer/
floating arithmetic conversion may cause an exact percentage to exceed
20.0% or 10.0% slightly. For example, with 9 option mounts total on
multiple ships of a cartel, having 6 from the home territory, 2 from the
operating zones, and 1 other would be legal, even though the percentages
are 66.7%, 22.2%, and 11.1%. That's simply as close as you can get to
the limit with integers. You may choose any number (including zero) up
to those limits of operating zones' and other races' weapons.
-- Romulans, Klingons, and Lyrans may appear only in the Coalition.
-- Federation, Gorns, Kzintis, and Hydrans may appear only in the Alliance.
-- one ship, squadron, or flotilla per side may be of one of the following
races: Wyn, LDR, Tholian, Neo-Tholian, or Seltorian
-- LDR can only participate in the Coalition.
-- Tholians and Neo-Tholians can only participate in the Alliance.
-- any of these that are present are considered outlaws and/or advance
units attempting to operate with the races of that side
-- if units of the same race are on both sides (Wyns or Orions), they are
considered to be of rival factions, even if of the same cartel
-- note that some races are very limited by the special deployment rules
-- if someone doesn't have access to a rare race & its systems that is
in play, please speak up for a quick summary of its capabilities
===== SPECIAL DEPLOYMENT:
-- we use the letter and spirit of the restricted and limited ships rules in
all sections, ship descriptions, master ship chart, etc., subject to any
special considerations due to the scenario
-- all scouts count their economic BPV as combat BPV
-- no scout is required in a fleet
-- monitors, bases of all kinds, and FRD's not allowed
-- base stations, starbase modules, battle stations, mobile bases, ground
stations, defsats, complats, & suicide freighters not allowed
-- units marked as restricted deployment (such as Wyn 'N2' in Master Ship
Chart) are not allowed
-- MSS and MLS are allowed as Commander Options purchases
-- maximum of one EW fighter per squadron (12 normal or 6 large fighters)
-- Command Cruiser & Leader variants of other ships not available to Captains
-- units marked as limited deployment ('L' in Master Ship Chart) are only
allowed by the one "abnormal" ship/flotilla/squadron rule
-- there must be a bay/link to land/tend simultaneously all fighters and PFs
within the command of the owning officer's superior officer (within the
officer's "task force")
-- carriers require all their escorts (or any earlier/smaller valid ones),
unless one missing escort is counted as the one "abnormal" ship/
flotilla/squadron, even though it doesn't appear in the fleet
-- escorts do not have to match exactly
-- however, some escorts (and carriers, for that matter) cannot handle
certain fighters, per their descriptions
-- carrier escorts cannot be purchased without their carrier, unless as the
one "abnormal" ship
-- police ships not allowed, unless as the one "abnormal" ship
-- one ADB-published conjectural or 1X-tech ship, squadron, or flotilla per
side allowed OR one phaser-5 ship (no fighters/PF's may have phaser-5,
any or all phaser 1's on one ship may be replaced with phaser 5's) OR
one "abnormal" ship/flotilla/squadron
-- none of these is required to be selected
-- note that our X section rules are Advanced Misssions version plus a
few more explicitly listed by this scenario
-- "abnormal" can mean a missing carrier escort, limited-deployment, etc.
-- just being old does not exclude a unit from the scenario, but if the
description clearly states that all were converted, destroyed, etc.
by a date earlier than that of the scenario, it can only appear as the
one "abnormal" ship/flotilla/squadron
-- just having an intended purpose other than fleet combat strikes does not
exclude a unit, but if the unit was never used for the purpose, then it
is excluded (such as monitors, which always protect fixed locations)
-- SWAC's, A-10's, F14's, and probably others are limited as stated in
their descriptions as to which ships may carry them (notably CVA's)
-- freighters, auxiliaries, and transports, and their variants are
generally allowed
-- cargo (not mine, repair, or carrier) freighters and small cargo transports
are not only allowed, they're FREE if their combat BPV is <= 25
-- cargo Pods, cargo Base Modules, Support Pallets for monitors, and
Starliner Pods, which are primarily cargo, which have no weapons
in the general sense (including special sensors or fighter bays),
and whose BPV is <= 25, cost nothing to purchase (any unit(s)
needed to transport these modules are not free)
-- any "free" ships still fall under the command rating limits, but
may be controlled by any officer(s)
-- Q-ships are not revealed as such by tactical intelligence... the standard
freighter's SSD when called for by simplified tacintel (Han Solo & company
are very, very good at hiding those weapons, ref R1.7B)
-- tugs may not disengage with their pods by sublight evasion
-- no pre-start-of-scenario-deployed units (notably mines, shuttles, or
drones) allowed, even by hidden units initially located on a map
-- make sure to consider cargo capture, new phaser, ACES MegaMap, terrain,
objectives, simplified tacintel, and transwarp rules when selecting ships
and options
-- PF's:
-- usually appear in a flotilla of 6 PF's, including one leader and one
scout (even though normal ships' leader variants are not avaialable to
Captains... the difference is that PF leaders specifically only command
PF's, not full-sized ships with normal crews, battle computers, etc.)
-- a flotilla must (for our scenario) have from 3 to 8 PF's (with #7 and #8,
if present, not receiving EW lent to the flotilla)
-- a casual tender may be arranged for 1-2 PF's with a mech-link refit
-- one 3-PF flotilla may have the leader and scout
-- however, if a fleet tries to get 2+ non-full flotillas with leaders
and/or scouts, I'll hit the gong (to avoid cultural and age
discrimination charges: that means to stop whatever it is you're doing,
and you have to stand there and be humiliated)
-- multiple officers/players may be involved in a flotilla
-- note that PFs are limited to 1 plasma torp + 1 plasma bolt per turn,
or to 2 plasma torps per turn, player's choice each turn, regardless
of the number of plasma launchers present (ref FP8.26)
-- may not be given extra boxes with Commander's Options points (ref Z13.2)
===== OPTIONS:
commander's options point limit per ship (20% BPV)
-- cannot increase this, such as by under-allocating for another ship,
except by rules (minesweeper's purchase of mines, 'D%' drone ship, etc.)
may spend commander's option BPV points to add (only these) systems:
-- (no other modifications allowed)
-- 1 shield box in each direction: 2 pts
-- APR: 4 pts, AWR: 6 pts, BTTY: 7 pts, IMPULSE: 6 pts, WARP: 8 pts
-- CARGO: 2 pts, HULL: 2 pts, ADMIN SHUTTLE: 6 pts, TRAN: 2 pts, TRAC: 6 pts
-- if a ship has 3 or more weapons of a type (ignoring subtypes), one more
of that type (and no better than best subtype present) can be added at
cost of ((2 * Orion option mount cost) + 1) BPV -- one per ship max
-- firing arc follows analogous weapons on that or other ships of same hull,
needs moderator approval
-- the single added weapon must have a type and arc combination:
* no better than any of the other 3 (or more) of that type, and
* ever be mounted in the proposed position on that hull type with that arc
-- Note also that you might not be able to have the maximum width arc by the
"no better than the others" rule, but rather have to have a narrower arc,
because that's the arc when mounted in the desired position.
-- in any case, maximum total # boxes added to a ship is (7 minus its size
class)
-- each set of shield boxes (1 per direction) counts as 1 system box
-- one or more phaser-1's may be replaced with phaser-5's: 5 BPV each
can "downgrade" a unit (such as foregoing a refit of a ship) or a system
(such as ESG capacitor) that's normally required by the year of
scenario, but only 2 ships, squadrons, or flotillas total in the fleet may
be downgraded in any way
must have 100 full cargo boxes per fleet (to force tugs/freighters/Q-ships/
modifications, which provide supply to the fleet for this limited strategic
thrust)
-- Ref G25.0 for cargo rules
-- this cargo is fuel, parts, and various other non-combat supplies, though
they may be useful for special Map Region objectives
-- additional cargo boxes may be present/purchased that can be used to store
commander's option purchases of extra combat supplies
-- specified Orion cargo boxes count as 0.5 box for the 100 box requirement
-- cargo boxes in excess of 100 may be declared empty at start of scenario
-- each space (not box) of cargo is worth 0.1 BPV to enemy if captured, 0.05
BPV if destroyed, and 0.025 BPV if the unit it is on disengages
-- every cargo box, save those special Orion ones, holds 50 spaces of cargo,
which is 5.0 BPV of cargo capture potential, while those Orion cargo boxes
hold 25 spaces each, which is 2.5 BPV of cargo capture potential
-- a Hit and Run raid against a cargo box may be declared before it is
performed to be an attempt to capture the contents, in which case the
cargo box itself is safe in any result; otherwise, it is (by default) an
attempt to destroy the box and its contents
-- a successful Hit and Run raid to capture cargo carries off 5 spaces of
cargo, which must be stored
-- a BP or crew unit can "hold" cargo until storage space is available,
but only 5 spaces' worth at a time per BP, or 10 per crew unit
-- cargo can only be transported from an enemy unit with the 10-space-per-
action normal procedure if the unit has been captured
-- these "cargo units":
-- must participate in strikes
-- can immediately disengage, if they want to
-- might be important in achieving an objective to be discovered in any
of the map regions
-- do not fall under the BPV limits at all (but they still count for
overall BPV of the fleet)
-- get normal commander's options, which do count for balancing purposes
-- rules restrictions still apply such as "a ship can only purchase extra
drones if it is armed with drones"
-- must fit into your command structure, or else be uncontrolled
===== OFFICER OBJECTIVES:
If an Emperor is captured, 100 victory points awarded to the capturing side.
If an Emperor dies by any means, 20 victory points awarded to the enemy.
If an Admiral is captured, 25 victory points awarded to the capturing side.
If an Admiral dies by any means, 5 victory points awarded to the enemy.
If a Captain is captured, 5 victory points awarded to the capturing side.
If a Captain dies by any means, 1 victory point awarded to the enemy.
Any officer may commit suicide, but between turns only (presumably to avoid
capture).
If a ship is captured and an officer aboard it has not escaped or died, he is
captured, also.
Exchanges & releases of officer POWs are allowed, if transfer back can be
arranged.
===== STRATEGIC SEGMENTS:
emperors position everyone initially within strategic zones
-- all units must be positioned in one of that side's staging areas, unless
positioned by hidden deployment rules within a Map Region
each strategic segment, which has no impulses but which proceeds in lock step
with combat segments of any & all battles:
-- note: could start some battles sooner than others
-- Emperor determines strikes, staging transfers, and spy activity (all
defined here)
-- at least 100 BPV (not including commanders' options), but no more than
500 BPV (not including commanders' options) _must_ be moved from one
or more staging areas into one or more (adjacent for each unit) map
regions, forming one or more strikes (a term without a specific meaning)
-- if this is impossible due to BPV in staging areas, then as near as
possible to that range of BPV must form one or more strikes
-- all BPV of a side in all staging areas considered for this rule
-- up to 100 BPV (not including commanders' options) may be transferred from
one staging area to another (adjacent) staging area, in addition to any
strikes performed, but only involving units not striking this segment
-- units participating in a strike enter an adjacent map region on the near
half of the near edge at any speed up to their maximum safe speed
-- weapon status limited to 1 (0 for hidden unit) until any enemy unit
specifically detected by simplified tacintel rules (SimpTacIntel level A)
(or by standard hidden unit rules), or the unit participates in a strike
-- how long it takes each unit to prepare for battle should be considered
-- an Emperor may, in addition to moving units, gain spy information (which
is the simplified TacIntel info 1 level better than direct ability to
observe for one strategic zone of his choice) by spending 5 BPV
-- second use in same strategic zone learns same level of info at that
time, not two levels better than direct ability to observe
-- enemy Emperor learns that it is used, but not on where or what it
learned, unless he chooses to spend 5 BPV to find out via counterspying
-- this must be declared immediately upon learning of spy activity
ship involvement
-- all ships must be committed to the map regions in strikes; it is too
costly to allow many enemy ships to penetrate the border, politically
especially but also economically... besides, those are fleet orders since
each side is convinced it can succeed
-- any ships that disengage from the scenario are assumed to head for home
or to go into hiding nearby (strategically speaking) until the warships
clear out, which will be quite a while; this explains why disengagement in
any direction costs you victory points: chickened out & lost territory,
and/or cost your side the use of warship, crew, & materials for "quite
a while"
-- two ships per side may use hidden deployment (ref D20.0) in any legal
terrain hexes of any map regions, as initial placement instead of in a
staging area (in this scenario, there are asteroids and a nebula)
-- if enemies within detection range of each other, they detect each other
at that point (at the start of the scenario), so they might run or
start to fight before any reinforcements arrive
-- hidden units do not require command; they can operate outside the
command structure for the duration of the scenario (special equipment
is installed on them)
===== NEW RULES:
Transwarp speed
-- see other file
Simplified TacIntel
-- (each group of ships near each other and at similar speeds &
headings is one force; by moderator's discretion with suggestions
from players)
-- (S levels are strategic levels)
-- ranges are given as (range for active scout/range for any ship
(even PF)/range for any shuttle)
-- S1 (1500/1000/500): total movement cost, explosions/heavy weapons
fire, mean current speed of force rounded to nearest multiple of
32, per force
-- you will know this info, but not where the forces are at all
(you're detecting an energy resonance, which is unidirectional)
-- speed of force within a staging area is always reported as 64
-- S2 (300/200/100): number of ships, any shuttles as "some # of
shuttles", per force
-- cannot extend into enemy staging area without spy information
-- you will know this info, but not where within the range the
units are (you're detecting an energy resonance, which is
unidirectional)
-- S3 (225/150/75): S1 info, S2 info, and movement cost per ship all
reported at a location within 50 hexes of actual location of all
units of force, of detected units' players' choice, per force
-- declared location may be changed each impulse, but by default it
remains the same (though it may be required to be moved due to
movement of the units beyond a range)
-- if reported location is unspecified, moderator will go with most
recent, if possible, or select a new one by: range 0-max in a
random direction... note that it can be a tactical error to fall
back on that!
-- A (150/100/50): location, size class, speed, launching/firing of
weapon, any drones as "some number of drones", active WW appears
to be a ship, per ship or group of shuttles
-- B (75/50/25): race, shield/PA status & level, fire control
detected, EW, tractor, active WW, strength of
web/plasma/ESG/explosion/discharge of weapon, number of shuttles
(on map, not in/on ship), per unit
-- C (30/20/10): tran/probe activity, hull type, shuttle
size/type/#boxes, modules/pods, total damage, foreign
alterations, owner race of generic unit, aegis, mount
firing/launching, which system box used, heavy weapons (other
than in shuttle bay or concealed), mine rack/ESG/SFG/
mauler/etc. (unless concealed), # warp energy generated, balcony
& shuttles on it, phaser-5's (unless concealed), individual
drones (on map)
-- D (15/10/5): phasers, destruction of weapons, type of
ship/shuttle/PF/module, strength of each shield, power system
count
-- E (8/5/3): concealment panels, dummy weapons, SSD including damage
-- F (E plus shift): total crew count (2 BP as 1 crew unit, etc.)
-- EW adjustment not possible at strategic levels, 2 standard EW
shifts needed to shift by 1 simplified TacIntel level; can't gain
> 1 shift (in the direction of more information)
-- number of damage points inflicted will be known by the unit causing
it, but the amount of shield reinforcement, number of shield boxes
destroyed, and specific internals will only be known when at the
appropriate simplified tacintel levels
-- for some rules (such as D17.2211 Cloaked Targets, K2.633 Repair
Bays), the standard tacintel levels need to be mapped to simplified
tacintel levels: A->A, B->B, {C,D,E,F}->C, {G,H,I,J}->D, {K,L}->E,
M->F
Type V offensive phaser (PH5):
-- Energy cost to fire = 2.
-- 2 points of standard capacitor is present for each.
-- 2 points of overload capacitor is also present, tied to each
phaser.
-- Can fire overloaded by scenario overloaded phaser rules.
-- Can fire rapid-pulse mode (4 PH1 shots in a turn, as PHG fires 4
PH3 shots, but must be at seperate targets or with a 6 impulse
delay at same target) with 4 total energy (first firing of turn
determines whether rapid-pulse mode). One point is actually
spent per pulse, not 4 energy regardless of number of pulses.
Energy is drawn from either standard or overload capacitor
(must be specified) when fired. Can charge and fire fewer than
4 pulses, also.
-- Cannot be fired in both overloaded and rapid-pulse modes on a
single turn.
-- Overloaded and rapid-pulse firings have a range limit of 7.
-- 8 impulse delay between firings, except 6 impulses between two
rapid-pulse mode firings at same target and no delay between
two rapid-pulse mode firings at different targets.
-- Uses 2 spaces in option mounts, if installed there. Otherwise,
no extra space within the hull structure is needed (weapon
bulges out more).
Die Damage at Range 8- 12- 18- 23- 41- 61-
Roll 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 11 17 22 40 60 90
1 10 10 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1
2 10 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 0
3 10 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 0
4 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 0 0
5 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 0 0
6 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 0 0 0
-- Overloading phaser-5's:
-- double energy, 1.5 times damage (round down)
-- each phaser is independent and has a separate overload capacitor
tied to it equal in size to its normal arming energy amount,
which is destroyed and repaired with the phaser
-- no holding cost for any capacitor
-- can only get energy out of an overload capacitor by firing
overloaded or discharging fully that phaser (no transfer to any
other capacitor/system) (except rapid pulse mode of phaser-5's
provides a way)
-- overload energy must be allocated; cannot provide it with
reserve energy
