5/31/11

STARSHIP!- Battle of the Belt



Here are a series of  shots of the two Starship! games I ran at Kublacon this past weekend. I was originally scheduled to run the game once, but thanks to the enthusiasm, the over full signup sheet (and a special shout out to Roderick of the Kublacon staff for securing me another table) I was able to run the scenario twice.   Thanks again to everyone that came to play, looked on, and for all the nice comments!
The first battle in action, yours truly powered by coffee
EMC fortress Rowell defends the rocks!

Brilliant asteroid station! A suprise piece made for me by the talented Peter Grose.
 The planet can be seen below

S'Tang invasion fleet!

The EMC Fleet move to stop them.
The first battle started with the EMC line breaking class 5 pulling a "Leroy Jenkins" and charging right into a well deployed CAP of EMC fighters, leaving his two class 3 support ships in his wake.   All I can say is that it reminded me of a nature show I once saw, where a capybara runs though a piranha infested pond. The Line breaker was destroyed in a turn!
 
EMC Carriers Lilith and Medra launch fighters, while S'Tang Energy Torps race in.
With the S'Tang Line breaker destroyed, the EMC fighters race towards
their next victim.
 
 
After the Line breaker went down, The S'Tang retaliated by destroying the Fortress , which lasted almost 4 turns much to the amazement to all of us (due to godlike repair rolls by her captain).  Unfortunately for the S'Tang, they could keep decent fleet cohesion, and the EMC fighters took down two more of their ships  despite attempts to counter with Mecha.  This battle ran to a conclusion in about 4 hours with only one S'Tang ship remaining. I think the EMC lost only the Fortress.  Kudos to Dylan, who brilliantly stepped in as CAG for the EMC. 

Second Battle of the Belt- S'Tang keep formation, and protect my coffee!
 

S'Tang Battle ship caught 3 tactical and one anti matter torp from the EMC flagship,Empress Eulalie. that equates to 7d6 of damage.. or in simpler terms, that big boom you see.
 
EMC fighters take heavy losses from S'Tang class 4 missile ship as they come in, only to then be
jumped by Mecha! Out of 27 squadrons, only 7 made it in to hit ships, and only 3 of them got out.
 The Second battle of the Belt went much differently. The S'Tang, learning from the last battle, kept tight formation and covered each other, holding back while the EMC fighters came screaming in. When they did, they were met with 36 salvos of missiles which ripped through them before they could get close to any ship. Once close, the S'Tang they counter launched their Mecha ( which although slow, are well armored and perfect for ship defense) who surrounded the fighters and destroyed all but 7. After the furball was over, only 3 squadrons of EMC fighters lived to tell the tale, but not for long.


Without fighter cover and having closed within Plasma inferno (think plasma carronades) and Mecha range, the EMC valiantly went toe to toe with the S'Tang. Captain Farin of the EMC battle ship Yarmouth is to be commended for taking multiple heaving beatings, yet managed to keep his ship up and firing  broadsideafter broadside into the enemy, while protecting the flagship. Unfortunately, no one was protecting the carriers which quickly went down to a flanking action from the S'Tang class 3 ships, and Mecha. Soon the fat lady was singing and the Yarmouth, the Hussar, and the Empress Eulalie went code Omega. Only the S'Tang Carrier , who pulled back after launching, was undamaged; the other ships were venting badly, and probably would not have made it another turn or two.

This battle lasted about 3 hours with a totally different conclusion than the first. As a designer, this gave me great joy ( and assuaged my fears that I poorly designed the S'Tang fleet)!

Sorry this was a bit long, but I had many requests to give a blow by blow. Enjoy!

13 comments:

  1. Looks like you guys had a great game. Wonderful to see Starship back on the table.

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  2. Good stuff! Wish I could have made Kubla to play.

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  3. Twas an awesome scrap up! Looking forward to more Starship action.

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  4. One of the best space simulation miniatures game systems I have ever played. It was easy to learn, logical, and had quick resolution. I really can’t convey to you how much I liked the game. Thank you again and please let us know the next time you host a game.

    http://reinwood99.blogspot.com/2011/06/kublacon-round-upfinally.html

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  5. Thanks Gents- it was great to have the game out again, and I was very happy with all the positive feedback! A huge thanks to all that either played or just came to look. If all goes well I'll be running another game or two at the next big convention in September!
    Cheers!

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  6. In the second battle the EMC launched their fighters way to early, allowing them to be shot at for a couple of turns before they even were close to attack runs. At least from my spectators viewpoint ;)

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  7. G'day, Starship! seems fun, and the minis nice. could you please email me a link to a website selling this game, Scale creep has no minis :(

    borkai_scott@hotmail.com

    Cheers

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    Replies
    1. borkai- I'll ping you off line. The minis are no longer being cast, I am afraid, but I may have a few S'tang left over that I'll part with.

      cheers
      Thomas

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  8. Great paint job, any idea if there is still S'Tang stock kicking around somewhere...I'd love to collect a fleet.

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  9. If Borkai is not interested I will happily pick them up.

    M.

    m_productions99@hotmail.com

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  10. Sorry M- Mr. Borkai got them all.

    Cheers
    Ths

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  11. Where can I get the StarShip! rulebook ? Very hard to find!

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    Replies
    1. Posa, I am currently working on the Revamp of the rules, and am keen on play testers. If you are interested, please contact me at foss1066@yahoo.com and we can talk more about it.
      Regards,
      Thomas

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