**>> SPYNET BULLETIN **>> EARTHDATE 95.03.12 **>> AN H-by-A SERVICE **>> Compiled by Hazed plus a team of specialist newsdroids **>> your news and gossip and get paid good groats! **>> SORTED! The very irritating bug that was causing factory output to go to the warehouse even when your output was set to the exchange, or to a pipeline, has at last been stamped on. A new version of the game was put in yesterday late afternoon. We apologise for those that couldn't get on for half an hour or so while the fix was being put in - we thought this fix was important enough to do it immediately, rather than waiting another day. There is still an outstanding bug to do with factories: that of someone else's factories showing up in your company display. The Fed techdroids are still trying to track down the cause of that one, and any information you can provide to help will be gratefully received. If this happens to you, please take a capture and send it to Hazed. By the way, if this does happen to you, you can generally make it go away if you log off then on again. **>> OUTSTANDING THINGS Bella still intends to take a look at the way commodities are used by various builds, projects and by workthing consumption, but she's still waiting for Tellurian's promised table of requirements. Barberousse has been discussing with the other Senate members the idea that Bella should move directly to working on the Emperor election code, rather than continuing with the Secret Senator commands. Although a majority was in favor of the switch in priorities, it was not conclusive or overwhelming enough for her to agree to do so. As soon as the last factory bug has been nailed on the head, she will put in the code for spyrings. **>> ST. PATRICK'S DAY FUN AND GAMES A Celtic festival is never a half-hearted affair and the Irish will use any excuse for serious partying. When the pretext for that celebration is St. Patrick's Day then prepare to be overwhelmed with Gaelic exuberance as music and dancing spill out of every shop and pub into the streets of Anamford, a quaint little village on the planet Eirinn. From the St. Paddy's Day parade marching down Main Street to the cuisine offered by sidewalk cafes and traditional music sessions bursting from the pubs, the visitor will be immersed in Irish culture. Yet, amidst the gaiety of the celebration a lonesome lad pines for his lost love. She has been spirited away by the King of the Fairy Folk and only you can help rescue the fair damsel and reunite her with her true love. Your adventure begins in Anamford and weaves its way through an enchanted tale as you encounter events and people from Irish mythology. Decipher the riddles and puzzles to save our lovers and to find your very own "pot of gold" at the end of the rainbow. As if the planet weren't enough fun... Patty the Leprechaun will be visiting Fed DataSpace. If you can find the little green fellow, he'll grant your wish and give you groats! The fun starts on Friday March 17 and continues until the morning of Monday March 19. **>> APRIL FOOLERY What would April Fool's Day be without a special planet? This year, the honour falls to Kainaw, who has been press-ganged... erm... "volunteered" to write the planet that will entertain you and fool you. All we know about his work is that the system will be called Nowhere, and there will be a puzzle involving a dastardly plot to kidnap one of Fed's well known and loved characters! The April Fool's planet will be in the game from Friday 31 March to Monday 3 April. **>> CHANGES AFOOT (OR ANEQUIVALENT) Something strange has happened to one of the Game Hosts... Well, maybe not so strange given the circumstances. Biologists would probably not be startled. But when it happens, overnight, to someone you've got used to drinking with, well - it's a bit of a shock. We speak of the transformation that has overcome our dear, dear friend Caterpillar. No longer will it crawl over the bar, or sit on its mushroom and drum its many tiny little feet, or nestle into Hazed's cleavage. It has reached that part of a grub's life-cycle where it makes for itself a cocoon, and... well... doesn't do very much, really. Caterpillar has turned into a Chrysalis! Suspended from a twig, it just sits there. Communication with the ex-larvae is erratic; its telepathy is spotty at best, so it has been taking over the Chez Diesel sound system in order to express itself. Of course, Fed males being what they are, there is much speculation among the overly-testosteroned boys about whether Chrysalis will hatch into a she-type butterfly when it finally emerges! To add to the strange goings on that are going on... in a cloud of smoke and with a rustle of feathers, Phoenix has flown in to take her place as a Game Host. The Firebird is definitely a Very Important Person: Imperial Guardsmen prevent anyone from approaching her ship close enough for a careful examination, although it looks like a pyre of flames. She has grey eyes and is covered in flame-coloured feathers - are they her own plumage or a garment of some kind? Unless she chills out a bit, we may never know. **>> TRUE LOVE Kate and Varian have announced their engagement, and plan to wed on Saturday March 25 at 10pm eastern - venue to be announced. Although it's possible the wedding may have to be postponed, or even cancelled, if Chance carries out his threat to kill the bridegroom! As Kate's brother, he takes his protective role very seriously, and since he considers no man could ever be good enough for his darling little sis, he's determined no-one will get the opportunity to take her away from him. Hmmm, it all sounds a bit dodgy, doesn't it? Talk about keeping it in the family! Budwarp and Dierdre renewed their vows in a very touching ceremony yesterday evening, in the gazebo on Epini. Sir Windman and Lady Cheri would like to announce that, starting now, they will leave each others to roam the dark and empty Fed DataSpace on their own. The handfasting that united them will dissolves itself immediately as the news become available to all. (Gosh, it's nice that this News Bulletin can be such a public service!) **>> PLANETS AND DUCHIES It's all quiet on the planet front - no new worlds to explore, no great moving and shaking in the duchies. Brandy's Nexus and Bgg's Cafe are now Industrial worlds, and Budwarp's Epini is a Leisure world. He's building for Duke, so there should be some good markets for traders as his mad scientists use up all the planet's resources. **>> SPYNET REVIEW Congratulations to everyone who was promoted during the past week. The new Captains were Nickg, Shemp, Trista, Goddess, Fresh, Ghost, Deth, Lord and Deth. Rockin and Nickg were promoted to Adventurer. The Traders Guild's new members are Pantraid, Blip, Wildstar, Stratton and Foureyes. Anais, Pantraid, Xavier, Mzcreant and Wildstar made it to Merchant. Pulcherrimus solved the awesome JP puzzle. Brandy and Bgg were promoted to Industrialist. Budwarp also became, briefly, an Industrialist, then a Technocrat, and then a Baron. He's now frantically doing his builds hoping to regain his former rank soon. **>> 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. The current Federation Game Hosts are: Freya, Phoenix, Chrysalis, Lyrynna, Gazoo and Grannie. Their function is to answer questions, help new players get started, and make fun things happen. In the event of a problem or question, you can: * talk to Hazed or one of the Game Hosts in the game * a message to Hazed * send mail on your host system to the Federation team: on GEnie, mail FEDII.2 or use the option on the main Fed page on Delphi, mail FED2 or use the option on the main Fed page on Cris, mail FEDERATION2 You can buy a copy of the very excellent Idiot's Guide to Federation for the paltry sum of $15.95. On GEnie, type ORDER from any main menu page. On Delphi and Cris, send a check for $15.95 to: Leah Parker, 4543 La Crescenta Avenue, La Crescenta, CA 91214-2912. **>> BULLETIN ENDS