From: atra@galaxy.ucr.edu (wayne wallace)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: SFB: photons & warp use
Date: 11 Jan 93 23:25:34 GMT
Organization: University of California, Riverside

In article <1993Jan10.153246.1996@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> epwong@nyx.cs.du.edu (Elliott Wong) writes:
>>	Move speed 31 while holding 'Normal' torps and park next to your
>>victim, er honorable opponent.
>
>>	Next turn do a "Halt and Catch Fire" and expend 20 points on
>>photons. (I always imagine Scotty throwing this big switch labeled "warp
>>shunt" from "Move" to "Kill" ;-)
>
>	Holding normal torps takes one point per torp. You can switch
>from normal loads to overloads?! And warhead strength for putting in 5
>points per torp would be what? 16?

It appears you need to read the rules a bit closer... why do you think the
photorp is referred to as the "dial-an-overload" weapon?

It works like this: You start off a scenario (let's say "duel" with fed ca
and klingon d7) being able to (at weapon status 3) hold standard loads (on
the fed, of course) for 1 pt each. As long as you have warp energy available,
you can overload them at any time during the turn. Do the following on your
EA form:

under batteries discharged, write down the number of batteries you have.
under recharge batteries/reserve warp, write down the same number.
under total power used, write down your total power + number of batteries.

This means:

1) you can still only spend as much power as your ship puts out, since you
recharged the batteries as the same time you discharged them, leaving you with

(Warp power - points of battery power, + 1 for impulse) = total allowable hexes
of movement.

On the fed ca, with, what, 30 warp, 4 impulse ? you can move 27 hexes during
the turn (26 warp after recharging batteries, +1 from impulse) minus house-
keeping charges like shields and life support and fire control, of course.

With your four batteries, you can (please read the reserve power section in
the rules) make unannounced speed changes, fire uncharged phasers, overload
standard weapons, etc. The reason you are using warp power for batteries is
because photon torpedoes require warp energy to charge. (note that they require
standard energy (impulse, APR, batteries without warp energy))

So: you find yourself at range 1 to a klingon, and as you announce your
intention to fire 4 standard loads at him, he gleefully points out that you
cannot do so. in return, you smile, and announce that you are firing four
10 point overloaded torpedoes. (1 point of energy for overloading produces
2 points of warhea damage on a photorp)

Alternately, if you wanted to save two points of energy for a speed change
or shield reinforcement, you could announce that you are firing four 9 point
overloaded torpedoes. Fractional accounting allows you to use half points of
energy. You just allocated 1/2 point of warp power to each photorp tube.

Other ships tend to be luckier in the overload situation, as they only
require battery power to overload a weapon, and in the case of disruptors,
fire the uncharged weapon as a standard load, or an overload if the klingon has
more than three batteries :-)

When all (well, most of them) of the basic rules are known, you gain quite a
bit of flexibility, and aren't always locked into a bad situation.

Wayne


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