Author Topic: Starfire?  (Read 6140 times)

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Offline Alfapiomega (OP)

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Starfire?
« on: December 03, 2013, 08:56:33 AM »
Hello everyone,

I have been around the forums for some time now and I was poking around this Starfire thing and I finally decided I could give it a go.

On the other hand - how to start? Is it worth the time and money investment? I guess questions to both questions is a big fat YES. However from what I checked I would have to buy the entire pack digitally (and some parts aren't even digitally available) for some 50 USD and I am a bit unwilling to do so if I am unsure if I will have fun. I not big into pirating and I buy every game I like but I like to test them first before I do the investment. "Support the good ones, let the bad ones rot" could be my motto.

So is there any way how to test out the game? See a bit into it, maybe try it out before actually buying the whole?

Thanks in advance for any ideas :)
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Offline Erik L

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Re: Starfire?
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2013, 08:58:17 AM »
Hello everyone,

I have been around the forums for some time now and I was poking around this Starfire thing and I finally decided I could give it a go.

On the other hand - how to start? Is it worth the time and money investment? I guess questions to both questions is a big fat YES. However from what I checked I would have to buy the entire pack digitally (and some parts aren't even digitally available) for some 50 USD and I am a bit unwilling to do so if I am unsure if I will have fun. I not big into pirating and I buy every game I like but I like to test them first before I do the investment. "Support the good ones, let the bad ones rot" could be my motto.

So is there any way how to test out the game? See a bit into it, maybe try it out before actually buying the whole?

Thanks in advance for any ideas :)

Best bet would be to find local players that have Starfire and see if they are willing to teach you to play. Or maybe a local convention has a Starfire game running that will welcome new players.

Offline Alfapiomega (OP)

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Re: Starfire?
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2013, 09:10:40 AM »
Best bet would be to find local players that have Starfire and see if they are willing to teach you to play. Or maybe a local convention has a Starfire game running that will welcome new players.

I would usually do that but the problem is that brief internet search shown noone around here that would play Starfire in Czech Republic / Prague. I guess it may be because the game is quite old and not even distributed here at the moment... :-/
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Offline Paul M

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Re: Starfire?
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2013, 09:47:24 AM »
Well do you have a group of people who would play it near you?

Solo play isn't exactly its strong point.  You can read Starslayer's and mine ongoing campaign to get a feel for the system...though it is continously getting held up (mea cupia maxima) but we should get past the log jam soon.

Either of us can answer questions you might have.  I'd recommend getting...I'm not sure what is the actual system at the moment but Galactic Starfire is available (4th Edition) and it may be upwards of 6th Edition right now.  Getting the 3rdR stuff is probably a lot harder than something more modern, but the advantage is then you can use starfire assistant.  My feeling is that program makes large empires do-able otherwise paperwork will cause the game to collapse fairly rapidly.

The "Games In", a store in Munchen (http://www.games-in-vlg.de/), would be a good place to contact if you wanted something sent to you.  I know the people there and they are efficient and good at that thing.

It is about the best system I know of for playing small fleet (10-50 ships depending on your preference) actions.  The ships are not as detailed as in other games (starfleet battles, full thrust, etc) but you can run them with a lot less effort.  Vassel can be used to play the game online as well.  So with vassel plus 3rdR+SM2+Imperial Starfire and Starfire assistant an email game is also possible.

If you are a really good EXCEL specialist you may be able to work up spreadsheets but as I found out that works only to a point and really you need a database program.  As much as I like 3rdR I can't help but suggest you at least consider the more modern versions (assuming you can find away around the paperwork issues) because they are much easier to get a hold of.  Though it may well be that you can get PDF versions from Marvin Lamb (the head of Starfire Design Studios, the official starfire person).

I would be stunned and amazed if you can find anyone playing the game at a convention.     
 

Offline Erik L

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Re: Starfire?
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2013, 09:58:49 AM »
I would be stunned and amazed if you can find anyone playing the game at a convention.     

Actually, the last time I played Starfire was at a convention. GenCon 2001? Something like that.

Offline boggo2300

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Re: Starfire?
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2013, 02:41:08 PM »
Actually, the last time I played Starfire was at a convention. GenCon 2001? Something like that.

That was more than a decade ago Erik.

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Offline Erik L

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Re: Starfire?
« Reply #6 on: December 03, 2013, 02:49:00 PM »
That was more than a decade ago Erik.

Matt  (Do we all feel old now?)

What's a decade or two among friends?

Tack on 2 more decades and you've got my entire gaming history. And probably most of the rest of the members here. :)

Offline Paul M

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Re: Starfire?
« Reply #7 on: December 03, 2013, 03:10:32 PM »
Ok let me add "now" to that statement!

I'd be stunned and amazed if you could find someone playing that game at a convention, now.  It would be great to see mind you.
 

Offline Erik L

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Re: Starfire?
« Reply #8 on: December 03, 2013, 03:50:58 PM »
Ok let me add "now" to that statement!

I'd be stunned and amazed if you could find someone playing that game at a convention, now.  It would be great to see mind you.

I agree. It all seems to be cards, rpg's and board games.

Offline Ghidorah

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Re: Starfire?
« Reply #9 on: December 04, 2013, 08:34:52 PM »
At the SDS forum there is a free set of 3 x Quick-start rule sets.   They give you a feel for the tactical side of the game.  Each is a 4 page download but 2 of the pages are hex grids.   There is some talk on consolidating the three 'Quick-Start' sets into one 9 or 10 page consolidated set.   Reading newbie posts on the forum might help you decide.   Don't read the Fan Fiction - some of that stuff is so good it might unfairly persuade you to get the game !

As with all grand 4X games, once you have a well established empire it can bog down a little (or a lot) but using some of the 'time decompression' ideas can help,  where in Aurora the same can be said for waiting on time for your computer to process a time increment.   Both can certainly get massive but some of the better fiction comes from the 'True Empire' time of the game.

If you have a very dedicated group, this game can shine; but the Solo rules have gotten better over the years as well.
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