From: Brian Bilderback <bbilderback@h...>
Date: Thu, 01 Nov 2001 18:56:53 -0800
Subject: FT: Prospective Novice
I have seriously been considering making FT my next little splurge. However, before I do, I wanted to spill my guts about my weaknesses as a gamer, and see if there's any hope for me. First off, let me say that while I enjoy gaming, I have discovered I am very good at getting my posterior delivered to me. This includes all games I've played, namely Battletech, Squad Leader (a LONG time ago), and Centurion. I confess I've never played DS II, the only GZG I own, which is why I reserve my comments on it to vehicle design (B-Tech and Centurion taught me enough there to feel confident). My SPACE wargaming experience consists of a few rounds of Starfleet Battles, played decades ago while I was in Jr.High. An adult friend of mine introduced me to it (the same man who taught me Squad LEader, and thus, the frustration er joy that is gaming). Let me say now that any observations I recount in this little tale are from those memories, and in no way constitute my current opinions on tactics/ships/etc. Just like ground combat, I proceeded to get myself demolished time and again in SFB. In space, noone can hear you scream, but they CAN see you SUCK. I played 2 or 3 battles, usually as the Federation (I'd always fall prey to those pesky Klingon cloaks), and once as the Klingons (I never could figure out how to use cloaking right). But I continually drooled, like any young teenage gaming nerd (read MUNCHKIN), over the Dreadnoughts. I thought I surely couldn't lose with something that big and nasty. My friend decided to teach me a lesson. He set up a scenario where I had 1 Federation Dreadnought (I don't recall the class etc.), and he had a handful of smaller ships, all of whom specialized in the launching of some sort of torpedo or drone or some ship-seeking self-propelled weapon of that sort. > From the get-go I was in trouble. I just couldn't defend against all Then I had the one stroke of brilliance I've ever claimed in wargaming (Nothing I've ever done as an adult gamer came close in inspiration). At one point I put the pedal to the metal, so to speak, just to escape the drones(?). I was planning to jusdt run, retreat and admit defeat. But as I cleared the area of space where his forces swarmed, I realized that the advantage my ship had (In SFB rules) that I had not noticed, and that was even more useful than more weapons and shields, was it's greater MOVEMENT ability (ie thrust?). Once well enough away that his drones would die before hitting me, I turned around, picked up velocity in the other direction (Towards him), and swooped in. By the time I returned to the battlefield, I was moving to fast for the drones to track me. I laid a pretty heavy dose of hurt on one of his ships, kept going, then turned around to do it all over again. At this point, it was late in the afternoon, I had to go home, and my ship had moved quite a distance off, so he claimed I had retreated and the vistory was his. I'm convinced I could have made things interesting if we'd kept at it. Now I'm not saying that's the kind of tactic I'll rely on once I learn the game. But this gives you a taste of my limited experience. So what does everyone think? Will I make an OK spacer?