John Lerchey wrote:

> > Hi Starmada fans!
> >
> > I played my first Starmada game last night.  My buddy Tom
> and I each
> > designed a 1,100-ish point task force and went at it.  His fleet
> used
> > gzg NSL ships.  He made them slow (fastest ones other than hull 1
> > scouts were speed 4) with no shields, armor plating, and armored
> > weapons.  Most of his "guns" were "particle accelerators".  No
> frills
> > weapons that came in three classes, each with longer range and
> > increased damage ratings.  My fleet used brigade AmRep ships, done
> as
> > my religious fanatics - the Order of Man.  While he went for "brute
> > force sluggers", my ships were faster (average speed of 6),
> shielded,
> > ECM'd, and had no armor.  I used "laser" based weapons.  Similar to
> > his, but often with longer ranges, but less damage.  The "heavy x-
> ray
> > laser" halved shields, which was basicaly useless againts his space
> > tanks.  I also had a few missile destroyers (range 18, 4+, no range
> > mods, 2/1/1) which served me quite well.
> >
> > After we first designed out fleets, it struck us that they just had
> > too many guns for our tastes, so we agreed to change
> weapons tech to
> > -2, which made guns bigger, and fit our style better.
> >
> > My fleet suffered losses early, with my frigate screen
> getting wiped
> > out on turn 3, along with about half of my destroyers.  He lost a
> > couple of light scouts, and then I spent a lot of time
> hammering his
> > battle cruiser and heavy cruiser.  By the end of the game,
> my faster
> > ships were able to keep pace with his in reverse, and
> mostly out gun
> > him.  My ECM counted for a lot of missed shots, but OTOH, his armor
> > kept his ships around, seemingly forever.
> >
> > It was a great first game, and it won't be our last.
> >
> > Now, on to that pesky question...
> >
> > If I have a ship with Tachyon Detection and Ranging (TDAR), once I
> > achieve a lock on an enemy ship, do I lose the lock after the
> > following firing phase, or does the lock remain for as long as I
> want
> > it to? The rule is a little unclear.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > John

> I *think* you lose the lock. However, I never use TDAR so I
> wouldn't know.