going to play my first game tonight, couple of questions

[ohako]

Hi folks,

a) I think I'm either going to be playing my first :IO game tonight using my 'canon fleets', or I'm going to be 'GM'ing' others through their first game using my ships. One of those. Oh! It's semi-public at PicnicCon, if that means anything to anyone. So, I have a few questions

1) For HVAs, should they be sitting on a 4x8 base, or an 8x4 base? When I took all my pretty pictures I had them oriented 8x4, but on perusing this forum I might have them the wrong way around.
2) I have all the dice listed in the manual. Is that enough for just 1 player, or 2?
3) The Doomsday clock, the way it's supposed to work is it ticks down by 1 every turn, and players have the option every turn to tick it down 1 more?
4) So I have, let's see, 3 carriers, 3 frigates, 4 frame companies, 6 HVAs, 10 asteroids, and 1 ruler. I was thinking about breaking down the ships in 1 of 2 ways (for 2 players or 3)

4a) 2 players, player #1->2 carriers, 1 frigate, 2 companies, 3 HVAs, player #2->1 carrier, 2 frigates, 2 companies, 3 HVAs
4b) 3 players, and it's 1/1/1, 1/1/1, 1/1/2, 2 HVAs each

Does that sound like it would 'work' (that is, to not provide an unfair advantage either way), even though both layouts aren't strictly equal?

b) So, I made some ships, and they're pretty neat, but now they're all packed away in a beautiful little box and my desk is pretty lonely (eh, there's a few :RA mechs on it). I was thinking pretty hard about building some more fleets (again, reeeaaallly sloooowwlly), and I had this idea to make 4 fleets based on the 4 primary lego colors (and an obscure spaceship IP). I know this forum has mostly been about rules so far, but I would ask some strategy questions about fleet layouts.

Where would you put your spare pips?
1) Blue Fleet (carrier fleet): 1 capital ship with 2 catapults, 1 frigate with 1 catapult, 3 frame companies and the blue ace.
2) Green Fleet (normal? fleet): 1 capital ship with no catapults, 2 frigates with 1 catapult each, 2 frame companies and the green ace.
3) Red Fleet (rivalry fleet): 2 capital ships, with one having 1 catapult, 2 frigates with no catapults, 1 frame company as the red ace.
4) Yellow Fleet (doomsday weapon fleet): 2 capital ships, one with no catapults and 1 with 2 catapults, 1 frigate with , 2 frame companies and the yellow ace.

[CmdrRook]

Part A:
1. Hvas have a base 4 wide, 8 long, like a frigate. They roll a green d6 and have a carrier's turning radius.
2. Bring 2x the number of players white, red, and green dice, and 1x the number of assets +2 of blue, yellow, and black dice, just to be safe.
3. Yes, the Doomsday clock works identical to the ra version, ticking down once at the end of the round, +1 for each player who wills it, in order of standing.
4. That sounds like a good idea for your demo companies. No team is without frames means they're all on roughly equal footing.

Part B:
I basically consider point defense weapons another defensive system, they hit frames on 4s, and can aid in repelling boarders, so use them judiciously. I found support range to be the most difficult to apply, as you have very little say in how close you are to other ships for whole rounds at a time. Assault range is very flexible, but doesn't hold a candle to the amount of carnage a frame can wreak upon an unprepared ship.

My suggestions are:
keep support weapons on frigates if you're going to use them, supplement them with higher mobility and focus on keeping them at range. Orbit the battlefield instead of cutting through, but beware green aces.
Carriers should keep a mix of Assault and point blank weapons, or focus point blank if they're catapult heavy, as they are often contested by boarders. Defensive systems and frame vanguards also help, especially double catapult ships who can spare manpower.
Spotting is just as important as it is in ra, even more so since any ship can repair itself. Double yellow carriers are a sizeable threat.
The importance, flexibility, and unfiltered combat potential of Frames can not be overstated. They are the fastest unit in the game, have a carrier's health pool, hit hard, and can engage in an exclusive mini game to turn your opponents' assets against them. Balance for that, and plan to compete accordingly.
You will likely have to refuel them at least once per game, another aspect that will dictate when and how aggressively to use them.

Good luck! Tell us how the demos go!

[Shades_Corvid]

How it go?

[ohako]

well, I didn't actually get to play, because while I did schedule a time to do it, most everybody else

a) wasn't interested in a tactical wargame
or
b) had just finished playing Iron Dragon for 4 hours and needed a break

So I pulled out my pieces and people got to ogle them and such, and I tried to explain the rules to one person. I have another question:

It's a Trek trope for the Enterprise to sometimes 'target engines' or 'target shields'. When a ship takes damage, does the attacker decide what got damaged, or does the defender? Also, can a carrier take 4 hits, or 6 before being destroyed?

[ohako]

Oh, and one more question.

Say I have a carrier with an unlaunched frame company on board. I roll my 1 black die, and I get a 2. Does that mean I can launch my frames if I want, but they'll only have 2 fuel?

[Mantisking]

Oh, and one more question.

Say I have a carrier with an unlaunched frame company on board. I roll my 1 black die, and I get a 2. Does that mean I can launch my frames if I want, but they'll only have 2 fuel?

Yes.

[Shades_Corvid]

It's a Trek trope for the Enterprise to sometimes 'target engines' or 'target shields'. When a ship takes damage, does the attacker decide what got damaged, or does the defender? Also, can a carrier take 4 hits, or 6 before being destroyed?

As in RA Defender decides what they lose.

Any ship is destroyed after they lose all systems and all white dice as in RA.