FT: Prospective Novice

I have seriously been considering making FT my next little splurge.  
However, before I do, I wanted to spill my guts about my weaknesses as a

gamer, and see if there's any hope for me.

First off, let me say that while I enjoy gaming, I have discovered I am
very 
good at getting my posterior delivered to me.  This includes all games
I've 
played, namely Battletech, Squad Leader (a LONG time ago), and
Centurion.  I 
confess I've never played DS II, the only GZG I own, which is why I
reserve 
my comments on it to vehicle design (B-Tech and Centurion taught me
enough 
there to feel confident).

My SPACE wargaming experience consists of a few rounds of Starfleet
Battles, 
played decades ago while I was in Jr. High.  An adult friend of mine 
introduced me to it (the same man who taught me Squad LEader, and thus,
the 
frustration er joy that is gaming).  Let me say now that any
observations I 
recount in this little tale are from those memories, and in no way 
constitute my current opinions on tactics/ships/etc.

Just like ground combat, I proceeded to get myself demolished time and
again 
in SFB.  In space, noone can hear you scream, but they CAN see you SUCK.

I played 2 or 3 battles, usually as the Federation (I'd always fall prey
to 
those pesky Klingon cloaks), and once as the Klingons (I never could
figure 
out how to use cloaking right).  But I continually drooled, like any
young 
teenage gaming nerd (read MUNCHKIN), over the Dreadnoughts.  I thought I

surely couldn't lose with something that big and nasty.  My friend
decided 
to teach me a lesson.

He set up a scenario where I had 1 Federation Dreadnought (I don't
recall 
the class etc.), and he had a handful of smaller ships, all of whom 
specialized in the launching of some sort of torpedo or drone or some 
ship-seeking self-propelled weapon of that sort.

>From the get-go I was in trouble.  I just couldn't defend against all
of 
these littler ships and their launched munitions at once, and soon I had
a 
very damaged ship.  It looked pretty grim.

Then I had the one stroke of brilliance I've ever claimed in wargaming 
(Nothing I've ever done as an adult gamer came close in inspiration).

At one point I put the pedal to the metal, so to speak, just to escape
the 
drones(?).  I was planning to jusdt run, retreat and admit defeat.  But
as I 
cleared the area of space where his forces swarmed, I realized that the 
advantage my ship had (In SFB rules) that I had not noticed, and that
was 
even more useful than more weapons and shields, was it's greater
MOVEMENT 
ability (ie thrust?).

Once well enough away that his drones would die before hitting me, I
turned 
around, picked up velocity in the other direction (Towards him), and
swooped 
in.  By the time I returned to the battlefield, I was moving to fast for
the 
drones to track me.  I laid a pretty heavy dose of hurt on one of his
ships, 
kept going, then turned around to do it all over again.

At this point, it was late in the afternoon, I had to go home, and my
ship 
had moved quite a distance off, so he claimed I had retreated and the 
vistory was his.  I'm convinced I could have made things interesting if
we'd 
kept at it.

Now I'm not saying that's the kind of tactic I'll rely on once I learn
the 
game.  But this gives you a taste of my limited experience.

So what does everyone think?  Will I make an OK spacer?

Brian

"The Irish are the only race of people on Earth for which psychoanalysis
is 
of no use."

				 - S. Freud

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