**>> SPYNET BULLETIN **>> EARTHDATE 95.09.17 **>> AN H-by-A SERVICE **>> Compiled by Hazed plus a team of specialist newsdroids **>> your news and gossip and get paid good groats! **>> ALL CHANGE FOR PLANETS Tomorrow (Monday) is Change Day for planets! A new version will be going in that makes many changes to the way planets are written, linked, loaded and spun out - full details below. The TechDroid will be altering the planet numbering as we have warned you in previous issues of the news. All planets outside the Solar System will have 8 added to all their location numbers, including half-finished planets. Teleporting types, be warned! Fed will be unavailable for much of the day tomorrow while the changes are made. The TechDroid may want to make an early start, so the game will probably be closed down before the 8.30 morning reset. **>> GOODBYE, AUTOMATIC RESETS Speaking of resets... after tomorrow, the game will no longer close down each day for housekeeping chores to be done. Some of the things usually done at reset will be done on the fly; others will happen at Galactic Midnight (that's when the stardate clicks over to a new day). **>> NO MORE SYSTEM NAMES System and planet names will no longer be different under the new version. All existing systems will be renamed to match their planets. The exceptions to this are Sol, for obvious reasons, and Arena Space, which still houses StarBase1. **>> PSSSTTT... WANNA BUY A PLANET? Explorers will be able to go to the Planet Shop and buy themselves a planet. Right now, the standard mini-planets are not available, so you have to design something from scratch. To purchase your world, go to Slarti's and type where "planetname" is, obviously, what you want your planet to be called - 2-15 alpha characters. This sets up your workbench files, and marks you as the (future) Overlord of your embryonic planet. Take care to get the name right - you don't get a chance to change it! Planets don't come cheap... the cost of the planet includes the price to build the interstellar link. Eventually you will have to build that yourself. Meanwhile, Slarti's do it for you and include the price in their bill. This makes the cost of a new planet a whopping great 117,138,500 groats. Having bought the planet, you can go into the workbench and start inputting the data for your creation. You now get to the workbench by going or from Slarti's. **>> EXISTING EXPLORERS Anyone who has a half-finished planet will still have to go and buy a new world after tomorrow's new version goes in, because this will be the way to specify the name of the world, and you'll have to pay over the groats. To save yourself money, get your planet finished and linked tonight! **>> CHANGES TO EXPLORERS' WORKBENCH The flag for an unlit location has been changed from L to U. Why? Because L now means something different... There are two new flags in the workbench for you to specify the planetary orbit and the landing pad locations. This means you can now change the location number of these two places whenever you want - which removes the last of the "thou shalt not move the (whatever) location" restrictions. The flags are O for planetary orbit, and L for interstellar link. Existing planet-owners won't need to do anything; the TechDroid will add the necessary flags for you tomorrow. Another new flag, Z, lets you make a location teleport shielded. Speaking of flags, you can put a cleaning mobile on your planet with the new C flag. A cleaning mobile hoovers up any objects it finds that are not in their usual recycling range; otherwise, it acts just like any mobile. The workbench still asks you to specify a direction for all locations, but when a planet loads the game will remove any on ground locations. If you do have any moves on ground locations, the checker will complain about them, but it will not treat them as an error serious enough to stop the planet loading. The option in the workbench to add a planet into the game has gone. Instead, you link your planet in from the game itself, in just the same way as you bring it back after you've been making changes. The promotion to Squire will happen when the planet first comes online. Don't forget to sell all your factories and warehouses, and liquidate the company before you link you planet in, otherwise they'll get nuked when you promote to Squire. The option to Clear your workbench files is currently unavailable. That will be replaced soon. **>> CLOSED FOR BUSINESS Planets now load in and out of the game on the fly - no more waiting for a reset! There are two commands, and which do the obvious. You don't specify the number of days you want the planet to be offline any more, it will stay off until you bring it back online. Using the command closes the planet for business. The planet does not vanish from the game, but the exchange and the routes to and from the planet are closed. A new column on the list tells you which planets are closed for business. When the owner closes a planet, it seals the border so nobody can get into the system - not by hyperspace, by or by teleporting. If you are on a planet when the owner decides to close it, you will be asked to leave. As soon as the system is empty, and so long as there are no objects from the system in the recycle queue, the planet will close. If there's going to be more than a 5 minute delay while objects recycle, you'll be told how long it should take. Once the planet is completely closed, you'll get a message telling you. Factories on the planet will shut down when the planet closes. When the planet comes back again, factories will start up next time the owner logs into the game. If the planet you were on when you left is closed when you return to the game, you'll find yourself in the Meeting Point on Earth. Planets that belong to dead people disappear entirely as soon as they die. You won't see any more ownerless planets hanging around like spectres at the feast! **>> SOME INCONSISTENCIES When a planet is closed for business, you shouldn't be able to do anything with it, but there may be a few things that don't work as they should right away. A closed planet will still show up on the list - that will be changed soon. You may or may not be able to check your warehouses on the planets. The logic is that the planet is still there, rotating serenely in the heavens; but it has no contact with the rest of the Galaxy. If you spot anything that doesn't make sense about closed planets, please let us know. **>> MAKING CHANGES TO YOUR PLANET You can now make changes to your planet and have them take effect almost immediately, but you have to close the planet first. If you go into the workbench without closing the planet, the only thing you'll be able to do is list the files. There is no separate checker that checks planets when they load, there is just the checker in the workbench. If you make any changes at all... or even give a hint you might be considering making a change... the planet won't load back into the game unless you run the checker and there are no errors. There are still two things that the checker doesn't check, that might cause problems: events that move a player to a space location, and objects/mobiles where the possible recycling locations, or the movement path, includes both ground and space locations, so please check these yourself carefully. Once you've finished your changes, and the planet successfully passes the checker, open it by typing . The new files will be loaded in after a few minutes and you'll be told that the planet has opened for business. If your planet doesn't come online within about ten minutes, then it means something is wrong; go and run it through the workbench checker again. **>> OBJECTS AND MOBILES MOVING AND RECYCLING When the game fires up (which will now only be when the TechDroid makes any changes), all objects and mobiles will start at a random location in their normal recycle path. After they have been recycled, mobiles will also pop up in a random location before starting their usual perambulations. The workbench will still ask a plethora of questions about different location numbers for objects and mobiles. Eventually, this will be reduced to just a high and a low location, which will apply to the wandering of mobile mobiles and to recycling. **>> RESETTING THE PLANETARY ECONOMY Now that there are no more daily resets, some things about planets have changed. Tourist time is now converted to groats at Galactic Midnight, and that's when population increases are made. Stockpiles and deficits no longer get wiped out. Instead, they have absolute limits. Deficits will never go below 1,000 tons, but unless the deficits get filled they will never go away. The exchange will stop producing goods when the stock hits 10,000 tons, but if someone dumps on the planet the stock will go higher. **>> OTHER CHANGES is no longer a valid direction on the surface of a planet. Right now, it won't do anything - eventually, it will tell you what planet you are on. **>> ORDER OF BUSINESS Once tomorrow's new version is running properly with no bugs, the TechDroid will do some cleaning up work, which will include giving Dukes back their duchy balances and making sure they get the money they are supposed to from their planets. You'll probably see the results of this in about a week. After that, the TechDroid has a number of large projects to work on. Right now, it looks like this is the order in which he will tackle things, but it may change so don't take this as written in stone! - Explorers will buy standard mini-planets - there will be a number to choose from. They can link them straight in, or change them first. - The build system will be changed, as detailed in previous news bulletins. Instead of buying investment points to promote planets, the owners will have to build facilities. - Explorers will build the links to their planets after they have purchased them from Slarti's, before they can add them to the game. The cost of buying the planet will go down to 10 meg, because the rest of the current cost is the approximate cost for the labor and parts they will need for the build. - Dukes will feed the population on their capital planet by tithing from their subject planets. - The Martians will start to attack planets, and the Dukes will have to defend their subject worlds against the fiendish attacks. **>> WHAT HAPPENS TO SENATORS? We have been getting queries from existing Senators, asking what happens to them now? The answer is: not much! Senators will continue to be in a state of limbo until the major projects listed above have been completed. Any Senators who want to continue to play the game will have to move to a different rank - either Duke or planet-owner. Drop some sendmail to Hazed if that's what you want to do. **>> SLOW EXCHANGES? We've been told by several people that exchanges are running much slower than they used to, and factories are running faster. We've been talking to the TechDroid about the changes he made to the exchange, and there is nothing that would have an enormous effect on exchanges... or factories! So we need some more information from you about what you think is running slower or faster. If you have captures of how your planet exchange used to run, which show that it is running slower now, please send them to Hazed (email FEDII.2 on GEnie or FED2 on Delphi). **>> FIRST ANNIVERSARY TONIGHT! Don't forget that tonight is Dierdre and Budwarp's first anniversary party. In case you've lost your invitation, here it is again: The Honour of Your Presence is Requested at the Celebration of the First Anniversary of Budwarp and Dierdre, Sunday, September 17, 1995, at 9PM Eastern, upstairs at the Admiral Bimbo Inn, Cove, Duchy of Epini Dress will be formal; bar, buffet, & dance floor provided. **>> WEDDING BELLS Last Sunday saw the wedding of the century, with Aja and Oxcart tying the knot (but we're not sure what the knot was tied in!). We were expecting our on-the-spot newsdroid to provide a full report of the occasion, but it drunk so much champagne in CDs after the ceremony that it's still lying in a drunken stupor a week later! We are pumping black coffee and motor oil into it, and hope to have it sobered up enough to write a report for next week's news. **>> FIGHTER'S SCHOOL Recently, that half-pint imp, Safari took the reins at a Fed Fighter's enclave. The following is excepted from a short discussion before the combat began... Syfari: Okays! I does basic fighting procedures, yes yes? Fighter #1: Um, should I have a ship with weapons, do ya think? Syfari: What one has to remember when hunting the Sol mobiles is that they move from West to East (left to right), then down to the West side of the next level. Syfari: It's reported that they can sometimes disappear as well. For instance, in the case of the Crypto mobile, this is often due to his peculiar habit of showing up the second the first shot hits in another battle within Sol space. Fighter #1: It seems that sometimes the Pirate and Crypto are making unprovoked attacks now... it this true? Fighter #2: They always have made unprovoked attacks. Syfari: The higher ones rank, the more apt they are to attack. The only new aspect of this is that they are reported to have the ability to fire twice as fast now. Syfari: Anyway, the main thing to remember when fighting mobiles, is move... fire... then move out! And if you're fighting someone in Sol space, expect Crypto to try to cut in. The phrase 'sitting duck' is quintessencially apropos in this instance. [Editrix's note: this method won't stop you taking any damage, because mobiles now retaliate as soon as you fire on them - but it will minimise your damage.] Syfari: Now... fighting a person is different. Especially when the person is higher ranked than you are. They can be foolish and try to spy you. You hope they do! Syfari grins. Syfari: If you spy someone while you're fighting them, all they have to do is set off a few 'C price soyas' and you're frozen. One of their friends slips in and fries you! Syfari smiles reminscently. Syfari points back up to the 'sitting duck' metaphor. Syfari: When fighting a person, it is usually best not to use macros. Macros make you predictable. Many peoples also like to sit in planetary orbits and pop in and out. While that is certainly safe... safe doesn't teach you how to fight. Fighter #3: And it can annoy your opponent. :) Safari: Be fluid and have a 'fire tl' or 'launch missile' macro ready. Syfari: Remember, you can't 'overlay' weapons.. i.e. you can't have a tl/missile/mag gun hit. Also, tl accuracy depends on your computer level. So, if you don't have a level 7 computer, missiles are the great equalizer. Syfari: Missiles hit 80% of the time and ignore shields. Missiles are a Merchant's best friend. Fighter #3: Yeah, but you have to fire them manually. Syfari: Yes, but what matters is that you hit what you're firing at. Fighter #4: Stupid question, but what is a 'tl'? Fighter #3: Twin lasers. Syfari: Speaking of computers, the difference in computer levels will be who hits whom first, if they both are on the same weapon. Syfari: Let's talk ships now. Fighter #5: You need ships? Syfari: First thing, most fighters advise not to get more than 10 shields. Fighter #2: I usually get more than 10 shields. Fighter #4: Why not more? Fighter #1: They eat power and do next to nothing. Fighter #2: If your shields get damaged below 6, they are useless. And shields often tend to get damaged in a prolonged battle. So I get 15-20. Syfari: Okay, there you have one view, which is certainly valid. But I'll now outline a fighting ship that was used by a highly successful Fed air-warrior: 80 hull/10 shields/2 tl's/Lvl 7 computer/446 fuel tanks/275 engine/spybeam Syfari: Another very successful fighting craft is the following, the NastyduGreen: 80 hull/10 shields/2 tl's/Lvl 7 computer/425 fuel tanks/380 engines/spybeam Fighter #2: I use 10 hull/0 shields/140 engines/Lvl 1 computer/625 fuel tanks Syfari: Guess Fighter #2 keep secrets to himself! Fighter #1 worries about Fighter #2 stealing his ship configuration. Syfari: One note about two ships I outlined... they gas hogs! Refuel often!! Syfari: If you run out of fuel while you have someone targeted, you lose the target. Syfari: One note about engines. If they get below the amount required to power your weapons and shields, nothing will work. So do NOT get the minumum engine required. Syfari: What that you say about engines, Fighter #2? If they get below 60%, they're useless? Fighter #2: Basically, it's 1/10th the barehull size (140 for an Imperial) plus whatever your shields and weapons draw. Syfari: Okay... there is one other philosophy for fighting... promoted by the late Glurg. It goes like this: Stay in one place and bombard them when they come in. Also, stay in a tight orbit around the sun... and move randomly. Your opponent not expect that! Syfari: Oh! One thing I forget to mention... REINSURE!!! Syfari: Any questions or additions? Fighter #6: Yeah, can I bribe someone to fight for me? Syfari grins. Fighter #7: How far will a mobile give chase if you run? Syfari: They not give chase. They'll follow their predetermined movement pattern. Syfari: 'Kay. One last thing. I wants EVERYONE to check regularly that they are indeed insured. If no other questions... Ladies and Gentlemens... START YOUR ENGINES! On a sad note... despite Syfari's admonition to reinsure, JP Instill went d-d during the ensuing melee. He has now tattooed the words DON'T FORGET TO INSURE onto his forehead, and has started his climb back up the ranks. Other participants in the fight were Greybeard, Oxcart, Tantras and Aja, with Syfari and Rchael watching from the wings in CDs. **>> PUBCRAWL NEXT WEEK Join Grannie next Sunday for a crawl round the pubs and bars of the Galaxy, visiting watering holes on many different planets. Start in CDs at 9.00pm eastern. **>> THE RETURN OF THE DUKE Advertisements have been seen on barboards from Ramius during past days, as he begins his search for homeless planet owners and those disenchanted with their present duchy leaders. We asked Ramius to share some of his thoughts on assuming the ducal yoke once again. Newsdroid: Eve Ramius. Ramius: Whaddup? Newsdroid: Senator, are you anxious to return to Dukedom? Ramius: Why yes, I am. Senator is a fine, exalted rank but I would like to put my talents to use again. Newsdroid: And what will be so special about your duchy? Ramius: Well, for one thing, it will be back to the 'old' way of running a duchy: A duchy for the people, not so much for me to make money from. Ramius grins and nods. Ramius: I am rather good at running a duchy actually. I was well liked as a duke. Newsdroid: Which duchies will you align with, if any? Ramius thinks for a bit. Ramius: Actually I have not yet decided. Until I do though, my tax status will cycle through all the duchies weekly. Newsdroid: With so many duchies, do you see a problem? Ramius: Well, somewhat of one yes.. Ramius: The problem is one of how PO's who wish to leave their duchies will tell their ducal leaders. It's rather disconcerting for a duke to get the news... but if the ducal leader does not make their presence known often, or at least often enough to show they care, then a PO has every right to leave. Newsdroid: What is your favorite color? Ramius: Favorite color... hmmm. Aquamarine. Newsdroid: Do you plan to marry? Ramius orders pancakes and salsa. Ramius: Perhaps. After my first and only marriage ended in a divorce, I have not even thought about it. But if the right lady comes along... Ramius smiles. Newsdroid: Rumor has it you are getting inquiries from your advertisements on the barboards. Does this reflect on the current ducal leadership? Ramius: It very well could. Some ducal leaders do not appear as often as they should and it's time there was a change from that attitude. **>> A SINISTER WARNING A scene from earlier this week... >SPYNET REPORT: Adventurer Balor has just entered Federation DataSpace. >Your comms unit signals a tight beam message from The Duchesse, 'Balor?' >Your comms unit signals a tight beam message from The Duchesse, 'Do an Ex of yourself please?' >You examine you image in your personal viewer: Dark of hair and eye, his black cloak swirls about his blood and ash colored battlesuit. The favor of the Duchesse hangs from his sheath... >Your comms unit signals a tight beam message from The Duchesse, 'Oh my god!' >Balor checks the sash. 'Nice touch.' >Balor grins and looks around. 'Time to finish what I started.' >Balor kicks at Devon's collie, 'Get along you mangy mutt.' >Your comms unit signals a tight beam message from The Duchesse, 'What are you going to do Balor? Are you staying around?' >Your comms unit signals a tight beam message from Balor, 'Long enough to get rid of Skye.' >Your comms unit signals a tight beam message from The Duchesse, 'We must speak further of this.' >You look in the mirror at your new outfit - Dark of hair and eye, his black cloak swirls about his blood and ash-hued battlesuit... a long scar accents the crimson glow of his left eye. You comms unit crackles with a message from Balor, 'On the day that Skye weds Lady Mara, I shall return...' Balor, the Fomorian warlord and assassin of Duke Sean, has returned to Federation space to finish his destruction of the Skye clan. Droids have seen his dark ship ravaging the ships of friends and allies of Devon Skye, along with a few innocent bystanders. (Of course, in Fed 'innocence' is a relative term... which might explain how many folks have come to 'innocently' marry their cousins.) Meanwhile, Devon has been searching for Balor in an effort to face off with his nemesis and end this scourge. Speaking of Devon, rumors seem to indicate Fed will soon lose that eligible (and dangerous) bachelor to the abyss... erm, bliss of marriage. That water nymph, Mara has apparently outlived her lover's pursuit. Where past paramours have previously perished from a plethora of perilous pleasures, Mara has prevailed with patience, passion and panache. :p There once was a fellow named Skye; Whose mates would mysteriously die. Quite often found dead In his arms or his bed... Will Mara actually become the first (and only one) of Devon's lovers to outlast the courtship interval and end the curse that has killed off his past ladyloves? Are the Tanarith milkmaids really being canned? Will Balor be there to catch the bouquet? Meanwhile, the boys of Fed are undoubtedly looking forward to Devon's bachelor party which is sure to be a wild one! And on a more somber note... Devin Jr., son of Devon Skye and Zarnaf, will be joining Fed in the near future. Time will only tell which parent he favors! **>> GOSSIP, SCANDAL AND LIES The rumor on the streets has Surfer making good use of his own famous (or imfamous if you will) spyproof room in the Ritz with the always newsworthy Amy. We're confident that Surfer can indeed afford the lady's stipend. When asked to comment on this, Surfer replied, "I am Scrumdidilyumptious!" Another hot couple frequenting Fed's dark corners is reported to be newcomer Admiral and the elusive, yet always sought-after Explorer Mara. When asked, didn't she find him a bit on the young side, the fetching Mara confided that she's researching adolescent education. **>> SPYNET REVIEW Alas poor Trader Capt... he went d-d. So did JP Instill, as mentioned in our earlier story, but he's working his way back up the ranks. Congratulations to everyone who promoted during the week. The new Captains were Zaknafein, Instill (back from the dead), Zylo, Rosalyn, Deek, Ladybeth, Tyreseus, Menua, Fighteer, Flick, Bethaven and Mooncrow. Instill, Menua, Amano and Bethaven made it to Adventurer. The Traders Guild welcomed Chironess, Spiff, Instill, Ladykiller, Menua and Critter. Chironess, Instill, Ladykiller and Menua made it to Merchant. Successful CEOs Redb, Skyslyder, Amy and Rchael were promoted to JP. Skyslyder solved the fiendish GM puzzle. Astrin advanced his planet, Ymris, to leisure and was promoted to Baron. **>> 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, Porcupine, Lyrynna, Grannie, Sparky, Zzzax, Geezer, Magneto, Syfari and Goblin. 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