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A blog for all subjects related to the Star Fleet Universe from ADB Inc. Talking about the games, the background, or its relationship with regular <i>Star Trek</i>.
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R vs B Alliance Turn 7 in Review

James Lowry
United States
Sunnyvale
California
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The Coalition failure in the Second Battle of Hydrax has left me a lot more breathing room than I expected, but there's still a number of serious problems.

First off, the Coalition is in the middle of upgrading three BATS to SB in Alliance territory. This really surprised me, because of the expense involved, but while I can't afford letting them all go up, because of the expense of killing them later, I wasn't sure I could afford to take care of any the BATS now.

The Kzinti front was especially troublesome. Two of the three SBs were going up there, and there's another BATS behind them. The real problem is that they're all on the 'west' side, towards Lyran space, while my offensive has been directed towards nailing down the 'east' side, adjacent to the Federation.

In the end, the major Kzinti effort went to smashing the Klingon BATS/SB at 1202, though I made a stab at 1504, aided by Federation forces. On the Hydran front, another attempt sallied out to challenge 0416, and once that was pinned, several crippled ships transferred from the capital to the off-map area.

Kzinti Theater
Hydran Theater

The Klingon presence in Hydran space has become very attenuated, if I wasn't desperate to stop the SB upgrade, I would have cleaned them out of Hydran space.

Combats:
1705: Klingon: crip F5L; Federation: crip CA
1402: Klingon: crip F5L
1506: Klingon: crip 7xE4; Kzinti: crip FF, capture planet
1105: Klingon: dest F5; Kzinti: capture planet
1504: Klingon: crip 4xD5, dest D5; Federation: crip 2xFF
1603: Klingon: crip F5, dest D6; Federation: crip NCL, FF
1202: Klingon: crip D7, D6, D6M, AD5, 2xF5, F5E, E4A, dest 2xD5, BATS; Kzinti: crip CV, 2xBC, 4xCM, MEC, CL, CLE, FF, EFF, dest BC, CM, CLE, cap D5
0216: Lyran: crip DD
0918: SSC, both sides retreat
0818: Klingon: crip D7
0416: Lyran: crip CA, 3xCW, dest BATS, CA; Hydran: crip LB, dest DG, HR

Altogether, things are going well. Two BATS have been destroyed, and a lot of EPs have gone down the drain in the form of incomplete Starbase upgrades. The Kzinti have taken neutral zone planet 1506 again, and reclaimed 1105, all of this should start contracting the Klingon budget, as the EPs from conquests is fading. However, the Kzinti fleet still took a fair amount of damage, and there's only so far they can push before catching up on repairs.

A quick look at the numbers shows that Alliance ships are up from 191 to 214, but only because of released Federation ships being counted toward the total. The Kzinti are up 6 ships and the Hydrans are down 7. Meanwhile, the Coalition total is up from 333 to 346. This is entirely due to the Klingons; the Lyrans are down 12 ships from 100 to 88.
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3 Comments
Subscribe sub options Thu Feb 23, 2012 5:06 am
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Erich Vereen
United States
Leland
North Carolina
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"Admiral Kang. You stand before the council accused of incompetence in battle. How do you plead?"

"Guilty." It was the only word Kang could say.

The pounding of the stone was all the council needed to make the verdict binding. "For your disgrace, you shall not find death, either here or the battlefield. You will be retired in disgrace, forbidden from ending your life in any way other than natural causes. You will never be allowed to seek honor in battle again. Do you accept these charges."

Kang bowed his head in shame. "I do."

"So be it!" The council stood and left, their backs to the disgraced admiral who lost so much in so short a time.

----

Yeah... This has been a learning experience from hell for me. Of course, mistakes are expected, but I totally misfired over the last season. I knew in my heart I needed to take out the PDUs over the Hydran homeworld, but I was scared of the giant deficit that would pile up from all the fighters that would be taken as minus points. I knew that I should not attempt a fight in Kzinti Space, but I did anyway. I also should have known if I did not take the alliance homeworlds, thus depleting my forces, I would be in serious risk of losing the exact bases I lost.

Painful, but life experience. It's looking pretty bleak for the Coalition now, as there is probably no way to move forward with taking either homeworld. There's just too much to prepare for. Even with the Romulans coming into the war a few turns from now, the Klingon/Kzinti front is very weak, and the Lyrans are not going to be able to help commit forces on the Federation front easily on Turn 10.

There's a lot I've learned from this first game so far (although it is not quite over yet... close, but not quite). Here's a few things

1. Establish strategic cooperation points between the Lyran and Klingon forces. A couple of BATs in proper locations would have made things a little easier, as well as allowed better supply lines and more raiding points.

2. FOCUS! - Maybe this should be number 1 on the list. I've been all over the place since this game started. I was trying to do too much as quickly as I could. I should have focused on the Kzinti rather than trying to fight a two front war. If I could have completely destroyed the Kzinti Homeworld, taking the Hydrans would have probably been an easier proposition. As it is, I split my attention and lost big time.

3. Don't be afraid of minus points. You're going to get them, make the best with them. Send in big force groups to take out PDUS, the small force groups to soak through the fighter runoff. Rinse and hopefully repeat. Taking the PDUs down would have helped a lot in both capital fronts.

As it is, I can see things crumbling for the Coalition before Turn 10 when the Federation will finally be able to bear its fangs (no way I'm making the first move before then). I might be able to do a little damage with the Romulans, but I don't see the pointy eared ones making the big difference. ^_^
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  • Edited Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:06 pm
  • Posted Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:43 pm
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James Lowry
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Sunnyvale
California
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The first 6-7 turns of the game gives the Coalition several things to do. They are all quite doable, but not within the time frame given. Coalition play has to center around getting as much done in the least time possible in an effort to keep the entire war from collapsing.

Determining the initial goals of the Coalition offensives is important, and generally falls into one of two broad categories: Hydran First, and Kzinti First.

Overall, Hydran First is the preferred option, since it possible to completely bottle up the Hydran fleet after their capital is taken. The position of the Kzinti capital next to the off-map area means that the Coalition can expect to see a raid into the Kzinti capital from the Barony every turn.

On the other hand, some players say the Hydrans can be more or less ignored, as they just don't have the strategic reach to cause too much trouble.

And then there's the Mudslide, which avoids heavy defenses, and minimizes losses....

But the point is indeed, pick one plan and stick with it. I hope I can manage to do that in Second Wind.

Meanwhile, Turns 8 and 9 will probably be something of a comparative lull, as things hang in the balance, and we wait to see just what the Romulans shall do....
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  • Posted Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:38 pm
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craig grinnell


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The Romulans can save your butt if you use them right. Be agressive and drive hard and fast toward the Federation interior. Ignore the gorn. Just maintain a holding action there.

DONT ATTACK THE FED CAPITAL!!!! You will never be able to take it using just Romulan forces.

Speed and Violence is the key to saving the war for the coalition.

Good Luck...goo
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  • Posted Mon Mar 5, 2012 4:20 pm
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