SHIP TO SHIP: An Introductory Board game of 3D Space Combat and Command in the Firepower Pass Universe continues to proceed through the development stages. I will be updating this diary monthly to keep you all abreast of the development progress. Thanks for your continued support!

• PRELIMINARY COMPONENT LIST - in the 8.75x11.75 glossy black box with clear plastic lid you will find:
  • 23x35 full-color poster-quality map
  • 40+ double-sided ship and terrain playing pieces, representing 12 classes of ships, planets, moons, asteroid fields, ion clouds and orbital installations, star forts, etc.
  • 100+ double-sided markers
  • Rules book
  • Scenario cards and pre-printed ship logs for each scenario, which may be reproduced as needed to play
  • Pad of blank ship logs for design-your-own scenarios
  • Master Ship log sheet detailing how to fill out the logs each of the for 12 ship classes
  • 2 10-sided dice
  • An Attack Chart detailing attack prerequisites and modifiers for range, electronic warfare and relative weapon-to-target scale
  • Two Squadron Engagement Level and Command Point Tracks, each can handle up to 3 squadron leaders and an overall commander's command point resources and engagement level. BTW Command Points are used for non-Attack related functions like Repair, Rally and Lock-On/Breaklocks (technically Target Solutions, but play testers preferred "Lock-Ons" for the drama...)
  • An Attack Track to keep track of Incoming Attack Dice; Interdiction Dice (which intercept Attack dice); and Critical Hull Damage percentages for any given attack

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  To download a FREE PDF 12-page copy of CURRENT TESTING COMPONENTS
  including the CURRENT CHARTS and SEQUENCE OF PLAY (last 4 pages)
  (Sorry, no editing permitted, and printing is at lo-res only)

  3.2MB - Download (ZIP containing PDF)

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• ATTACK CHART UPDATE

  SUBJECT TO PROOFING, FINAL VERSION

  This is the only combat reference in StS you will need other than the ship logs themselves, oh yes and the results of your die rolls of course. THIS IS NOT A COMBAT REESULTS TABLE SYSTEM! Combat itself uses a a d10 resolution system with a d100 crew results, and d100 damage location, You only need the 2d10 provided in the game to play, though more can make things go faster when many-die missile salvoes and point defense erupt!

  

  Also here is the new Dice Results track where you place your dice by value and the box it is in tells you what the result is in detail. It also shows you how to determine damage and if you need a second roll to determine severity, or if you can simply use the To Hit/Target Hull differential to deterine that:

  

  Designers' Note: Incidentally, the Firepower Pass combat system started out as a d10 system a many years ago, and was number-crunched into the current master Firepower Pass Combat Results Table. Ship to Ship goes back to the system's roots, dispensing with the CRT. With new Ship's Logs that will be available for download for free when available, those who prefer the Ship To Ship combat system will easily be able to adapt their Firepower Pass games to it.

• MAP UPDATE

  The latest version of the full-color 23x35 map sheet. This is likely the FINAL version, I went more toward a purple to accent the blue and green of the playing pieces.

  

• SHIP COUNTER UPDATE

  The playing pieces and the SAGA of PAINT: StS will include 40+ double-sided wooden playing tiles. It has been a long but successful journey locating the proper paint to use in the production of these playing pieces. The pieces begin as raw wood tiles but as this is a science-fiction game, I feel raw wood is not the appropriate texture for the pieces (now if it were a Space: 1889 style game, that might not be an issue). So the pieces must be painted. But the requirements were many: paint must be non-toxic; environmentally friendly; able to stick to raw wood easily with no primer; be durable enough to survive handling; and have a selection of colors that includes the "national" colors for this game, Blue for the Terran Confederation and Green for the Procyonese Concordat.

  I discovered milk-paint, and from a local supplier. Milk paint does all these things, and I especially like when you are done with the excess, you can throw it away in the garden! It is very inexpensive as well. Spray paints which come close to the requirements are close to 7.00 a can, and it would require many cans for the initial Limited Edition run being planned; Milk-paint is 15.00 for enough to cover twice as many playing pieces as planned for the initial production run!

  

• SHIP LOGS UPDATE

  I added an updated class to the Procyonese which I will be sprnkling throughout the scenarios. It is an up-missiled version of their System Patrol Ship class, Orton. Here are the ship logs for all classes as they stand:

  

• SCENARIO DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

  Scaled as an introductory game, originally I was considering limiting scenario size to a maximum 3 squadrons a side, each squadron consisting of from 2 to 5 individual ships. But the urge to test larger scenarios, close to the size of the original Firepower Pass scenarios (up to #7 so far but still planning to go to 8, 9 and 10) is very much there. Consequently as play testing of scenarios proceeds in the next months, I will be testing a limited number of 4 squadron deployments to see how it handles. I would have to redesign the Squadron Engagement Level/Command Point tracks to add the fourth squadron's tracks, but that is minor, there is space to do that. Here is the current Squadron EL/CP track:

  

  PLAY BY EMAIL and PLAY BY INTERNET OPTIONS

  I will be offering a Cyberboard gamebox of Ship To Ship (http://cyberboard.brainiac.com/index.html), Also a gamebox for a relatively new live-play-by-internet tool (also free like Cyberboard) called ZunTzu (http://www.ZunTzu.com). The gameboxes will be available for free download on the respective games' FREE Tabs, once the Ship To Ship section of the website here is officially launched.

  TARGET DATE

  In view of the scenario testing still to be completed, November of 2009. If it is sooner I will most definitely post it here! Have other questions about SHIP To SHIP and our progress? Email us!

I've got free samples of the PDFs!

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Description

Designed to easily control 15-20 capital ships a side (which can be 4-5 squadrons), while concentrating on squadron level tactics, Firepower Pass uses a unique command oriented system that allows units to attack as individual ships (i.e. at a tactical level) yet defend and maneuver in 3D as squadrons. Octagonal 3D movement tiles easily and elegantly depict the 2D vector of 3D movement.

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Features

• Individual capital ships; the capabilities of the capital ships are expanded by attaching LAC wings and escort groups for use in point defense or for launching independent strikes
• Individualized damage location tables right on each ship log
• Twenty(20) minute turns, but a side may hold the initiative for a variable number of turns (called an initiative impulse).
• Streamlined Formation displays reflecting the current Combat Commitment Level of the Squadron: a combination of staff pre-planning, tactical intelligence and analysis of that intelligence.
• Emphasis on prioritizing command resources during a turn
• Electronic Warfare influences every attack and defense
• Detection, Targeting Solutions (nick-named "Lock-ons") and Sensor Ghosts
• Rules for the influence of combat commanders on ship and squadron operations
• Gunnery and faster-than-light missile combat, LAC wings, escort groups, interdiction of missile strikes, boarding actions, and more!

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Game Contents

The downloadable Zip file (or you can order a CD) contain PDFs for all the files, including:

• Full color Rules
• Comprehensive Examples of play
• 11 original 3D Ship designs, depicting everything from Terran Cruisers and LAC Carriers through giant Procyonese Base Ships, rendered in Wings3D and Bryce.
• 140+ Plan View Ship pieces you can print and cut apart, named and ready for action; 100+ more with no names so you can Name Your Own!
• Templates for 3D movement Octagons, essential to play. Print them on card stock and cut apart, you only need approximately 18 to play any scenario (3 printouts). We are looking into clear plastic octagons as well as wooden ones for purchase separately, watch the accessories area to the left!
• Sheet of "Terrain" Octagons including Planets, and moons, Asteroid Belts and Ion Storms
• Seven (7) suggested scenarios, including the two issued as .pdfs after the initial Nov 2006 release ; complete with text detailing the progress of the war and following a series of officers on both sides who are promoted and demoted as the war see-saws between victories and defeats. Each scenario builds on the storyline of the previous, and each is rated for its overall complexity.
  Scenarios include:
  • Scenario Description
  • Table set-up map and approximate space needs to play
  • Tables of organization for both sides
  • "Historical" scenario result
  • Pre-filled Ship Logs, no need to print out & fill out, just print and play! Included in all versions in the download archive or on the accompanying CD, but also printed in the deluxe version.
• Ship logs are placed 4-up on a letter-sized or A4 page, one page per ship type, lined for cutting apart for play, a minimum of data needs to be filled in to use them (just the Ship Name, and crew values for the Ship, LAC Wings and Escort Group, provided in each scenario and on an overall Crew Rating table).
• Front and back Template for a 50 card Event Deck combining 4 of the major game tables, which prints on regular 10-up "clean-edge" Avery business card stock, or a lined version if you want to put it on card stock and print it yourself; or alternatively if you do not wish to make an Event Deck, there is an equivalent Event Table included. (I like the deck, it is actually much more convenient in play, you place a card directly next to the Squadron affected by it.)
• Charts and tables including: Combat Chronometer Chart (i.e. Time Track), Combat Results table, Damage Tables (what the results mean for different targets), Leader Casualty Results, Leadership value determination, Critical Hull Damage, Concussive Damage, Event Card Codes, Damage Definition Tables (how to mark damage)

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Regular Hardcopy version of the Rules book

Paperback edition 104 pages printed with full-color covers, coil-bound. Also includes a complimentary copy of the CD-ROM (above) for convenient printing of the components for play like logs, counters, markers etc; mailed separately.

In the book are:

• Complete full-color Rules & Examples of play
• 7 Scenarios
• Charts and Tables

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Deluxe Hardcopy version of the Rules book

AVAILABLE NOW!

Paperback edition 257 pages printed with full-color covers, coil-bound. Also includes a complimentary copy of the CD-ROM (above) for convenient printing of the components for play like logs, counters, markers etc; mailed separately.

This book is made from ALL THE PDFs, including

• Complete full-color Rules & Examples of play
• 5 Scenarios including pre-filled ship logs
• Charts and Tables
• Event Card Templates
• Terrain & Movement tiles
• Ship logs
• Ship Counters
• Markers
• Design-Your-Own Squadron kit including: Name Your Own Ship counters & overall Crew rating Chart for completing ship logs, varied by nationality, faction, and crew experience.