**>> SPYNET BULLETIN **>> EARTHDATE 91.07.07 **>> AN H-by-A SERVICE **>> THE GROAT-WINNER! We are pleased to announce the result of the special Independence Day competition. At the start of prime-time on July 5, the game was reset and the following people appeared on the levels list: Deathhawk Ueshiba Atheeenai Enhancer Logan Elex Neuromancer Jim Oddball These names were put into Hazed's battered space helmet, and a totally fair and impartial droid drew one out. And the lucky winner was... LOGAN! He wins the prize of a geniune solid-silver groat minted around the time of the American Independence. Congratulations, Logan - please mail us your address and we will despatch the groat to you with all speed. **>> THE DUST SETTLES... As the dust settles over the Free Fed last weekend, we're pleased to see that many of the new players who tried the game out have stayed with us. The weekend was certainly a success, with the game being completely full for much of the weekend. There were a few problems, but considering the load on the game it all ran remarkably smoothly. It was gratifying to note that the game didn't slow down at all under the weight of bodies flying backwards and forwards. **>> HAPPILY EVER AFTER Last Sunday Our Illustrious Leader conducted a very moving ceremony in Chez Diesel to join Catrina and Rezrov together in the bonds of holy matrimony. They were married in "real life" the week before, but since they met in Fed Data Space, they wished their union to be celebrated there. Russ stood in as father of the bride and gave Catrina away. Wizard served as Rezrov's best man. At a riotous party afterwards, the bride's bouquet was caught by Hazed (who was dressed as a wedding cake) and the garter by Piemur. The two Squires both vehemently deny that they are planning to become romantically involved, and are not daring to speak to each other for fear of starting rumours! A very big congratulations to Catrina and Rezrov from the Federation II team. **>> NEW GOODIES FOR SQUIRES Over the next few weeks, Bella will be introducing the controls that let Squires play around with their planet's trading exchanges. Initially, you will be able to change the stockpile level for each commodity - ie, how much the exchange would like to have in stock - and the markup for the whole planet - the percentage that the exchange adds or subtracts to the base price when working out buying and selling prices. These controls will use the command - already used to specify many variables for factories. The planetary economies will be introduced slowly, a bit at a time, to ensure that each part works as it should before proceeding. The first commands will go in some time this week. **>> NEW GOODIES FOR EVERYONE Last week we mentioned that Bella was thinking about removing the ability to paint spaceships. An impassioned plea from a keen decorator has made her change her mind, at least for the time being. So instead of removing it she will fix the bug that stops you from examining your own ship (or anyone elses if they are in the vicinity). It's been pointed out that the main reason the paint command isn't used that much is that it is very expensive. So the price will be reduced to 750 groats - the same as buying clothes. Hopefully this will banish forever all those manky grey hulls! **>> GAMBLING NEWS Fortunes can be made on the roulette wheel in Chez Diesel. Fortunes can also be lost! Last week we reported that Harry had lost 600 of his hard earned trader points on the wheel. After sitting around in desperation, contemplating the awful prospect of having to do those jobs all over again, he decided to chance his luck one more time. He had 49 points - and he managed to increase them to 1350, enough to make Trader! Fickle Dame Fortune must have smiled on him. Perks is convinced he has a system to beat the croupier droid. He was explaining it to another hopeful gambler today. We will have to wait and see whether it works or not! There are rumours floating around that Hazed, Squire of Scratchwood, cheats at roulette! We refuse to believe them. If we find out who is spreading these scurrilous lies, we will shoot them. Our Illustrious Leader has already reduced the message that un-interested bystanders get when someone is gambling to a mere two lines, but she is going to cut the text even further so it only takes up one line. **>> MEMBER OF THE MONTH Piemur has been voted Member of the Month in the MPGRT (where Fed has a category and a library). This means that for the month of July he will be worshipped, have flowers stewn in his path wherever he walks, his slightest whim will be granted without a moment's delay, and all shall hang on his words and applaud his every utterance. Then, when the month is over, he will be stuffed and mounted in the Hall of Fame, along with previous Members. Congratulations, Piemur! **>> PROMOTIONS NEWS We have three new adventurers - Trag, Deathhawk and Altasren - and three new traders - Harry, Dolphin and Bridgette. Well done all of you. Deety made Merchant last week. Congratulations. Well done Freya, who cracked the hideously dangerous JP puzzle - and lived! Catrina and Rezrov, fresh from their honeymoon, both solved the GM puzzle. One assumes they assisted each other. Don't forget to mail us if you would like your promotion mentioned in a future news bulletin. **>>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, 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 the new MPGames RT. To get there, type M1045,1 from any menu prompt and SET category 14. The Federation II Leader in the bulletin board is Occy (Mail ID: OCPAC). Topic 1 of the Fed category contains the Federation II policy statement. The MPGames RT also has a Federation II library in the files area, Library 5. **>> BULLETIN ENDS