Star Fleet Universe

[Nerroth]

Though not without the odd mishap:

SVC: Sorry, I have become aware of an issue which makes the art I posted not usable.

[Nerroth]

The Federation light dreadnoughts, otherwise known as the "Splendid Cats", as 3D-modelled for Starline 2500.

[Weirdo]

Has anyone looked at the new Trek Heroclix yet? I picked one up out of curiosity, and was lucky enough to get a D7. This is an excellent ship. Detail is TMP-style and very good, size is also good, just a hair shorter than the Micro Machine D7s, though the hull is noticeably leaner. There's little to no drooping, flash, or deformation. Also, this may be the best example or parallel warp engines I've seen outside of a model kit. As soon as a secondary market opens up, I'll be picking up several more of these, for use as D6s alongside my MM D7s, and as all my Romulan KRs. Now I just wish Mongoose would give us their ship lengths in mm, so I can decide to go for their stuff for more Klingons, or stick with the Starline 2400 stuff(which I often find greatly undersized compared to Fed ships of similar classes).

[foxbat]

Nerroth, this is indeed some beautiful cover art. Better than in the old Decipher RPG.

[Nerroth]

More pics are starting to surface of painted 2500-series minis over on the FC and Mongoose fora.

And speaking of 2500s, the ADB BBS has a thread up for the (in)famous Klingon B10!


Also, another playtest file for SFB went up on e23 recently; looking at the Nicozian Concordance. (The after-action report thread on the BBS has a proposed cover, showing what their ships actually look like.)


EDIT: The Captain's Log #44 Supplemental File just went up on e23, too.

[Nerroth]

The errata file for A Call to Arms: Star Fleet has been tidied up a little; plus there's a new (free) introductory guide to the SFU over on e23, which may help explain the basics of this particular setting to those wondering what the fuss is all about...

[Nerroth]

In case you missed any of the hubbub over the last few months, there have been a number of unfortunate issues with the first wave of the Starline 2500 releases; higher-than-expected demand coupled with unforeseen casting issues with the wholesale dive into resin have led to certain delays, defects, and dissatisfaction over how the extended teething process has gone.

So, Mongoose and ADB decided to switch to a different setup for (most) future production; to use the same "high-low" divide (of resin big ships and metal small ones) seen over in A Call to Arms: Noble Armada:

Production Change of Star Fleet Models
You will be aware that the new range of Star Fleet models has had some problems with both consistent quality and in getting enough models out of the door in order to satisfy the large number of orders we received. For both of these faults, you have our unreserved apologies. Despite our trial runs in resin casting going well last year, we ran into a number of problems when scaling up to wider production runs.

We have therefore made the decision to alter the way we produce these ships. Larger models, such as the C8 and Condor Dreadnoughts, as well as the various bases and stations, will remain in resin. However, all smaller ships will be switched to metal production using systems we know extremely well. In one stroke, this will relieve the pressure on the resin casting team, bring this range up to our usual quality of service, and allow us to produce as many models required to not only service all existing orders, but make a convincing world-wide launch with models people can be confident in.

The process for this change is already well under way, and while production and shipping of the Federation squadron and fleet sets will continue, we are temporarily offlining the other box sets for just a few days.

We expect to be up and running with the metal Romulan squadron set by this time next week, with the Klingon squadron and Romulan fleet set a few days after that. By the end of the week after next, we expect to be in full production of not only the Klingon fleet set but the two Federation sets as well, which will at that time also switch to metal.

To give an example of the change this will have, not only will our casters be working with a material they have been using for the best part of two decades (at least), they will be able to produce (for instance) as many Romulan squadron sets in three days as have been ordered in total since the line was announced. This is obviously much, much faster than our current
methods.

Any remaining mail orders will now be given absolute priority, and we are expecting to be able to make a world-wide launch through distribution channels towards the end of March - we will keep you all updated when firm dates have been set. You will also now find that fleets such as the Gorn and Kziniti will be turned around much quicker. If you have pre-ordered either, you will see them within a month or so of the world launch.

Once again, our deepest apologies for the delays and hiccups, but I believe we have the measure of this now, and Star Fleet goodness will be pouring out of our warehouse starting next week.

_________________
Matthew Sprange

Mongoose Publishing
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com

SVC added this note over on the ADB BBS:

Matthew advises that for those who absolfreakinglutly want resin and nothing else, proceedures will be announced allowing you to get resin ships. If you have pre-orders on file and want resin and only resin, contact Mongoose ASAP.

Also, the free introductory guide to the SFU is now also on DriveThruRPG; plus there will be what should (fingers crossed) be the last-update-for-a-while-yet-honest errata update for the ACtA:SF rulebook.

[Weirdo]

Here's hoping the metal ships are of good quality. I've heard bad things about their B5 stuff, and have no desire to be burned, especially at their prices.

[Nerroth]

I haven't seen too many concerns over their metal ships for ACtA:NA; but that might just be a case of me not looking hard enough, so.

(I imagine there won't be a lack of online feedback for the metal 2500s as and when they appear, at any rate.)

[Nerroth]

A bit of wargaming history is now up on e23, with a pdf version of the original SFB Pocket Edition available for download.

Also, Mongoose blog up a spot-the-difference challenge, though they aren't telling which 2500-series Fed BC was (or were) cast in resin, and which is (or are?) the more recent metal counterpart.

Plus the first "official" online viewing of the 2500-series Lyrans should go live next week, all things being equal.


Oh, and Star Fleet Marines: Assault has a new launch window: April 2012.

[Brother Jim]

Awesome !!  I hope we get 15mm and 28mm figs for the marines.

[Nerroth]

SFM:A is scaled at the battalion level, with each unit being a squad of five (human-sized) Marines; so it might be more comfortable with minis scaled closer to those used in the likes of, say, Epic: Armageddon.

However, there has been talk about a future "one man, one counter" game called KRAG, which might be more suitable for larger miniatures once it gets up and running.

[StCptMara]

Thanks to Nerroth's cadet rules link earlier in the thread, this month my game group is going to use SFB
as our 5th Friday "Lets try this out!" game... those rules help alot with the learning curve then trying to
figure it all out from the Wall of Text Captains Box Rule Book.

[Nerroth]

Good luck with the test run!


The first WIP 3D samples of the 2500-series Lyrans are up; with discussion threads for the CA, CL and DN.

Also, if you want to throw your oar in over how the Neo-Tholians might end up looking in the 2500 series, feel free to pop in here.

[Nerroth]

Daniel Kast of Majestic 12 (the Starmada guys) has posted the current plan to handle the switch from the Admiralty Edition to the upcoming Nova Edition; and specifically, how it will affect the SFU collaboration:

Okay -- so if you've been paying attention, you know the new edition of Starmada is about six weeks overdue. I apologize for that, and I hope the wait will have been worth it. Besides, it was unavoidable, what with the new job, new house, and new baby on the way (OMG).

In the next week or so, pre-orders will begin for the hardcopy of Starmada: Nova Rulebook. Pre-order customers will immediately receive a PDF copy as well. In April, hard copies will ship to pre-order customers and retail stores.

How does this impact the Star Fleet Armada books?

Starting in June, an updated version of Klingon Armada will be released, followed in short order by updated versions of Romulan, Alien, and Distant Armadas. Battleship Armada will be released in both Admiralty and Nova versions.

For those of you who own the existing SFU books, there are some options if you are reluctant to buy the updated versions:

First, a short and easy-to-use update document will be available for free, allowing you to convert the Admiralty designs to their Nova versions. It will also include the relevant SFU rules so that, when combined with the basic Nova rules (also available for free) you will have everything you need to be up-to-date.

Second, if you can wait until they've all been updated, a PDF will be made available with all the ships from the first four SFU books (Klingon, Romulan, Alien, Distant) for one very reasonable price.
_________________
Daniel Kast
Majestic Twelve Games
www.mj12games.com

Also, in 2500-land, the first take on the Tholian DN is up, as is that for the hybrid TK5 Exile.


Oh, and if you have a look at this month's FC Communiqué pdf, you might see a special guest from another galaxy...

[Nerroth]

Mongoose have their first decal sheet for the Feds over here; plus a look at painted minis for the Fed NCL, NCA and NCF, the civilian Heavy Freighter and Armed Priority Transport, and the Mobile Base.

[Nerroth]

I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but there's been a lot of hubbub over the fate of the Gorn miniatures set for Starline 2500, as well as the way in which the Confederation's fleet plays in ACtA:SF.


In the one case, basically the entire first wave of Gorn ships is being re-designed as per Mongoose's request; you can see some of the newly-proposed designs (which still have to be approved by ADB, where input is being welcomed) here.

(For the time being, it seems that the pre-war hulls are being re-imagined as "scaled" hulls, while the wartime classes are getting a "wild" makeover.)


In the other, there's a discussion thread on the BBS (and on the Mongoose forum, but the BBS thread is where the main debate is happening) about what should be done to get the Gorn fleet up and running properly in A Call to Arms: Star Fleet.

(The big thing movement-wise is whether or not the Gorn heavy cruisers should lose the Lumbering trait, though the issue of trying to balance drones seems to be the most prominent bugbear for the game overall.)

[Nerroth]

The latest errata file for A Call to Arms: Star Fleet is up; Lumbering is indeed gone, which Gorn players (and DN users) should be in a position to appreciate...

[Nerroth]

Star Fleet Marines: Assault and PD20M Romulans are now up for pre-order!

(According to ADB, individual orders should start shipping out next week or so.)

The core rulebook for Starmada: Nova Edition (which ADB print on Majestic 12's behalf, as part of the agreement covering the Starmada/SFU conversions) and the 2012 update to SFB Module T are also up on the storefront now.


EDIT: SVC has posted a blog entry talking about how the concept behind Star Fleet Marines came to fruition.

[Nerroth]

It's starting to get a little bit lonely in this thread...


Anyway, ADB have posted up the first details of what will soon be their first Kickstarter project; Tribbles vs. Klingons.

(There are still a few things to get ironed out between now and the KS launch; the main place to see said ironing is over here.)

[Nerroth]

My FLGS got something in this week:



(The one on the right, that is; the errata file, updated as of the 16th of May, I printed out myself.)


Errata aside, the actual content isn't bad. Along with the rules, there is a fairly detailed background section; including new information on the Gorns, Kzintis and Orion Pirates that had not been published before. (The Gorn background was also added to the last Captain's Log, while the Kzinti data seems set to be added to the next one.) The one thing I'm surprised wasn't included was a map of the Alpha Octant, but Mongoose do have one posted on their product page.

My FLGS also got the Federation and Klingon fleet and squadron boxes; I'm fairly sure these are the metal ones, but there is no sticker sayng one way or another. Actually, given the ship selection in the Klingon squadron and fleet boxes, I would imagine a pair of players being well able to go in for one of each, then dividing up the units to create two reasonable-sized Klingon forces (or one Klingon and one Kestrel-series Romulan force, for that matter).

[Nerroth]

Mongoose have uploaded the first edition of their new A Call to Arms Journal to DriveThruRPG; while it would be of relevance to both current editions of the game, those into ACtA:SF might particularly note the inclusion of revised rules for scouts, as well as preview stats for several scout variants in order to make use of them.

[Nerroth]

The Nova Editions of Klingon Armada and Romulan Armada are now up on e23. (I'm not too up on how differently they work relative to the older Starmada Admiralty Edition rules, though.)


Also, ADB have a new thread up over at the BBS, asking for people to post their preferences regarding which new module for Star Fleet Battles they should select for publication.

If you have a BBS account, an interest in SFB, and a particular interest in one type of new module you'd like to see in print, now's as good a time as any to add your $.02; though it might be an idea to go over the thread memo to get a sense of where things currently stand.

[StCptMara]

I got to sit down for a demo of CtA:SF at GenCon...it seemed more approachable for new people
then SFB. I am thinking I am going to try and get some stuff for it in the forseeable future.

That said: I *STILL* want to learn SFB....I was sad that there was noone playing it at GenCon
that I could find.

[Nerroth]

Origins is (usually) better for finding SFB players; hopefully, ADB will be going back there next year. (Even if they won't be, the BBS has a sub-section covering various other conventions that might help.)

So far as A Call to Arms: Star Fleet goes, hopefully the pdf will finally make it onto DriveThruRPG in the not too distant future; though exactly when it gets the go-ahead has yet to be determined.


If you are having trouble rounding up would-be SFB players, have you considered taking a look at FC? It's not as in-depth as SFB rules-wise, but does offer more detail than ACtA:SF or Starmada for each ship; which might make it easier to get into.

[StCptMara]

The problem is: there are no SFB players in my area. It is complex enough that you need vet players
to show you how to play....

[glitterboy2098]

regarding the ACTA:Starfleet game.. has anyone heard anything about the Neo-tholian redesigns? one of my suggestions made the shortlist of recommendations, and being a big fan of the SFB tholian aesthetic, i'm naturally curious as to whether any info has come out yet.

[Nerroth]

No word on the new Neos as of yet; I imagine that the best place to look out for will be the Tholian sub-section of the Starline 2500 development area; it's likely to be the first place where any provisional 3D images (ones which SVC deems fit for outside consideration) will be posted.

[Garrand]

I've been away from Battletech for several months, but came back to the forum to see what is up. Wanted to mention that I picked up SFB: ACTA as well as the Romulan fleet box, and a pair of CLs for Feddies. Of the minis I got, the metal ones were pretty good, requiring only a little clean up. The Klingon D-6 (Romulan KCR in this guise) has very little gluing area for the warp engines, so I added brass plates to reinforce the join.

Of the ships I received, 2 were in resin: the Romulan Condor dread, and one of the Texas-class CLs. The resin casts were pretty dire, with the Condor requiring extensive clean up not just of flash, but gobs and lumps where there was (probably) mold damage. THe CL suffered from mod shift and is pretty unusable IMHO. I picked up a metal version of the same, which was almost flawless (usual concerns when working in metal). So I was really turned off by the resin models. Not knocking resin in general (I'm a plastic modeler too, mainly tanks, and work with a lot of resin aftermarket, so very well aware of what it is capable of and how to use it). But I'm going to shy away from Mongoose resin for the time being...

Damon.

[Nerroth]

Did you get your miniatures in-store, or via mail order from the Mongoose website?

(If you're in North America, it might be worth ordering the Starline 2500s from ADB, or asking your FLGS to do so; they generally double-check each mini they get in from Mongoose before listing it on their own storefront, so have that much more of a chance of catching any potential issues before getting the mini to you.)


Good to hear that the metal ones worked out, though; at this point, the line is more or less entirely in metal for new orders. The only resin ships still in production are the really large ones, like the Klingon C8 or Romulan Condor; though it's not clear whether or not that whole clear resin "cloaked Romulans" (or potential for "cloaked Orions") thing will still happen or not.


Also, it might be worth emailing Mongoose about that DOA resin CL; they may be able to do something for you about it.