Author Topic: Recommended starting ruleset?  (Read 3195 times)

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Offline Harbinger (OP)

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Recommended starting ruleset?
« on: June 19, 2012, 12:08:52 PM »
18 years after purchasing Starfire and Imperial Starfire (3rd) I've convinced some gamer friends to give it a go.  Over the years, I've managed to collect:

- Starfire 3rd
- Imperial Starfire 3rd
- Extra Map-pack
- The Stars at War
- First Contact
- Crusade
- Alkelda Dawn
- Sky Marshal #1
- Starfire 3rdR
- Legacy CD (ISW-4, SM #2)
- Ultra Starfire

So, based on what I have, I figure I can either play:
1.  Starfire 3rd + Imperial Starfire 3rd
2.  Starfire 3rd + Imperial Starfire 3rd + SM#2
3.  Starfire 3rdR + Imperial Starfire 3rd + SM#2

What would people suggest? I'm unsure how well 3rdR works without the UTM (still kicking myself I wasn't checking the website during that period).
 

Online Steve Walmsley

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Re: Recommended starting ruleset?
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2012, 12:38:03 PM »
18 years after purchasing Starfire and Imperial Starfire (3rd) I've convinced some gamer friends to give it a go.  Over the years, I've managed to collect:

- Starfire 3rd
- Imperial Starfire 3rd
- Extra Map-pack
- The Stars at War
- First Contact
- Crusade
- Alkelda Dawn
- Sky Marshal #1
- Starfire 3rdR
- Legacy CD (ISW-4, SM #2)
- Ultra Starfire

So, based on what I have, I figure I can either play:
1.  Starfire 3rd + Imperial Starfire 3rd
2.  Starfire 3rd + Imperial Starfire 3rd + SM#2
3.  Starfire 3rdR + Imperial Starfire 3rd + SM#2

What would people suggest? I'm unsure how well 3rdR works without the UTM (still kicking myself I wasn't checking the website during that period).

I would reccomend Starfire 3rdR + Imperial Starfire 3rd + SM#2. The UTM is good (not an entirely unbiased opinion) but I played quite happily with combination 3 (and 1 & 2 at some point) for many years before the UTM was available.

Steve
 

Offline Paul M

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Re: Recommended starting ruleset?
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2012, 01:10:20 PM »
Option 3 is probably your best bet, if you have the 3rdR rule book you might as well use it.  It really depends on what your personal preference is.
 

Offline Edsel

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Re: Recommended starting ruleset?
« Reply #3 on: June 19, 2012, 07:08:31 PM »
Of the options given I'd also go with number 3.
 

Offline Harbinger (OP)

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Re: Recommended starting ruleset?
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2012, 09:52:42 AM »
Thanks folks.  So I'll try to parse through SM#2 to understand all the changes and the follow-on SM#2 errata which is a bit hard to understand since it's written in conversational form.

Glad to know I don't necessarily need the UTM - I was concerned there might be subtle incompatibilities.

Ad Astra!
 

Offline Paul M

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Re: Recommended starting ruleset?
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2012, 10:11:24 AM »
The advantage to the UTM is that instead of having to check out 3rdR, Crusade, Imperial Starfire, SM2, Alkeda Dawn, ISW4, and Insurrection and then sort out which one is the correct form of the object you could look in one place and get the information you want.

Also even if the rules don't change...for some systems different parts of the rules are in different places.  PCF are outstanding for this: 3rdR has some of the rules, Imperial Starfire others, SM2 has other parts and I think there are changes in Crusade and ISW4 covering higher tech PCFs.  And not all changes are very clear...for example the Q capacity of small craft with respect to the csp cost of an airmobile PCF.  Marvin is apparently willing to sell the UTM and I think it would be worth exploring that option just to save you a lot of hair pulling as you try to sort out exactly where the exception to the rule is stated.
 

Offline Harbinger (OP)

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Re: Recommended starting ruleset?
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2012, 11:01:49 AM »
I send Marvin an email last week regarding the UTM.  I'll try again in a few months.  In the meantime, I'll get my game going. . . .