**>> SPYNET BULLETIN **>> EARTHDATE 91.02.24 **>> AN H-by-A SERVICE **>> THE FEUD GOES ON... The extreme enmity between Blackmark and Samantha shows no sign of abating. You will recall that Samantha killed herself off last week, but she has returned and is now on her third incarnation. Unfortunately, her resurrection has lessened her hatred not one tiny little bit! We've completely lost track of who last killed whom, and who started it this time - and unless they do something more interesting than calling each other names and shooting each other, we shall not be reporting this feud any longer. **>> MORE KILLING! Adol has also been showing homicidal tendencies. Up to this point, he has been a quiet, law-abiding chap, but that changed last week. He got into a bar brawl with Jeefy - rumour has it Jeefy started it. Matters escalated, and when they were thrown out of Chez Diesel for chucking furniture at each other, they took to their ships for a fight to the death. No sooner had they met in space and started lobbing missiles about, but Pegasus rushed to the scene and started firing in all directions. They both ended up in hospital! Adol proved quicker than Jeefy at finding his way back to his ship, and by the time Jeefy left Earth orbit Adol had been to Venus to re-insure and was lying in wait for him. Result: one dead Jeefy! Having tasted blood, Adol is now keen to shoot something else - so we would advise you not to give him any excuse. Jeefy has returned to Fed Data Space under the name Inspector. We don't think he'll be picking fights with traders again in a hurry! **>> PROMOTIONS NEWS Russ and Merkin made GM last weekend. Merkin then went on to become an Explorer, closely followed by Occy. They will both start working on their planets shortly, joining Aeron and Piemur who are still working on their new worlds. Spacey made Trader, and Perchik and Rickenbacker became Adventurers. Congratulations to all of you. Don't forget to mail us with details of your promotions, then you too can have your name in the News. Fame at last! **>> HOW - AND WHY - TO CONTACT US There are often times when you need to talk to one of the Federation II staff. And, just like policemen, they are never there when you want them! So, depending on why you need to talk to us, there are various ways to leave messages. TYPO - You can leave a message for Our Illustrious Leader using the command. This leaves a note in the game log, and Bella checks for typo messages every couple of days. The origin of the command is to report spelling and typing errors you find while you are wandering around the game - but you can also use it if you have any suggestions for enhancements or changes to the game. Bella prints out all typo messages and will consider all suggestions. THE FED BBS - Fed has a category in Scorpia's games BBS. If you've got a suggestion that you want other people to comment on, there's a topic for suggestions - and if you have a question which you think other people might be interested in, upload it in the BBS so the answer is available for everyone to see. MAIL - the fastest way to contact the Federation II team is to mail them, using the FEEDBACK option on the Fed menu. If you are stuck and need help, we will respond straight away. If you think you have discovered a bug in the game, use the FEEDBACK option to let us know straight away. We may not be able to fix it immediately, but we will look into it as soon as we receive your mail. **>> AN EMBARRASSING SITUATION! Many of the richer players have invested in that wonderful piece of technology, a spybeam. These gadgets can give you endless fun watching other people! They are also extremely useful if you are helping someone - you can see what they are doing, and correct them if they go wrong. It wouldn't be nearly so easy to do GroundHog Duty without one! But they can sometimes get you into trouble. If you're spying on someone and you don't want them to know they are being watched, be very careful about replying to tight beam messages! If a message goes to the person you're spying on, it will be preceded by a slash - but in the excitement, you can ignore the slash, think it was meant for you, and reply to it... thus giving the game away entirely! **>> NAME THAT BAND! We asked you to come up with a name for the band formed by Otoole and friends. So far we've had two suggestions. Boris thinks the band should be called The Cacophony Express. Not very flattering! George's suggestion is The Fab Fed Four. If you can come up with a better idea, mail us - the best suggestion will win some groats. **>> LOVE IS IN THE AIR... It must be Spring or something. Everyone in Fed Data Space seems obsessed by weddings! Cyrielle and George have decided to tie the knot. Following their public indecency a few nights ago, I am surprised they can look each other in the eye, let alone contemplate marriage! Adol has proposed to Occy. She has turned him down - she feels (quite rightly) that marriage would cramp her style, and she is worried that potential suitors are after her vast fortune. Her refusal has not put Adol off, though - he seems confident the wedding will go ahead, and is throwing a bachelor party next Friday (29th) at 11.00 Central time. The party will be held in the Starship Cantina on Earth, and there will be a 5000 groat entry fee to pay for the food and contests. We don't know if Occy will be attending... On a slightly more sordid note, there seems to be a flasher in Fed Data Space! A man called Oxcart has been wandering around in a dirty raincoat, showing his credentials to all the women. Not a pretty sight! **>> CONTACTS The following information will appear at the end of every News Bulletin, so you don't have to read it if you already know it. In the event of a problem or question, you can: * talk to Hazed, Cryptosporidium, Bella or Clem in the game * leave a message in the game log * send mail with the Federation Feedback option from the main menu You can order a copy of the unexpurgated printed Idiot's Guide to Federation II by typing ORDER at any GEnie menu. Cost - a mere $12.95. Federation II has a category in Scorpia's Games RT. To get there, type M805,1 from any menu prompt and SET category 29. The Scorpia RT also has a Federation II library in the files area, Library 22. **>> BULLETIN ENDS