sysrkm
Posts: 112
Joined: 2/16/2005 From: Fairchild, TX USA Status: offline
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Hi Red, I found this program called Star Fleet Helper, here's the link http://www.darkshire.org/~jhkim/public_html/sfb/software/SF_Harmon.html It's a play aid though. The program my ex roomie had found a while back is called SFB Online and it's from Amarillo Design Bureau, the same folks that put out SFB in the first place. Evidently, this is an online version of SFB played over the web. It's a subscription service, and for me, it was over priced at $40 a year, but if you REALLY LIKE SFB, this might be something you would be interested in. Here's the link: http://www.sfbonline.com/ I've had my fill of SFB though, at least the paper and pencils game. I was a member of one three "A" playtest groups that ADB used to test the game, back in 1983 to 1987. I designed the Tholian Command Cruiser and helped re-write the tractor beam rules, after we found out that a small Orion ship could hold a starbase hostage if it decloaked and caught the starbase flatfooted. We took a bunch of our group to Origins in Dallas in 1984 (I think) where 4 of us made the final 8 for the Captain's Tournament and a buddy of mine finished runner up in the SFB demo derby. Problem was, Mr. Cole made sure that none of us won anything SFB related while we were there. IIRC, an Aussie won the Captain's tournament. My problem with the game is all the add ons that don't add on much for the money you're paying. Plus I've met Steve Cole, and he's not someone I'd have a drink with or shoot the breeze with. I think since 1990 he's just been trying to eek out a living by wringing every last little penny out of a dead franchise. And I could only imagine what it was like to be a kid and trying to be competitive at the game if you couldn't afford all the BS add ons. SFB makes a FAR better computer game because the computer won't allow people to take advantage of the rules as often as the paper and pencils game would. I really enjoyed Star Fleet Command 1 and 2, but SFC 3 dumbed down the game and that's when I quit playing. Good luck with the rest of your search. If you try SFB Online, please come back and let us know if it's any good. If someone tries it and it sounds good, I might try it myself. My youngest son (he's 9) likes Star Trek and it would be fun to find another game we could play together. Plus, I trust a computer to manage the rulebook a lot more than another human being. One other thing you might want to try if you're industrious, is creating an SFB counter set for Vassal. I've used Vassal to play Ogre GEV and am getting ready to use it to play SquadLeader. Vassal will only manage movement and counter stacks, you'll need the rules for SFB to play or at least be familiar with them. IIRC, Vassal will allow you to print Combat Resolution Tables onto the game screens, so that helps eliminate some clutter. Hope this helped some, and sorry it was so long. Regards, Rob
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