Inter-Galactic News

Issue 50, August 1999

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Outer-Comm.

Captain's Log, DTR Long Island (CO: Captain John D. Frabartolo) Week 29/199

This week we have finished the geographical survey of this rock. Sure, it's not exactly boring to examine such an extremely unstable planetary body close-up but then again it is not what I joined the Explorer Corps for. My science officer, Specialist Simon Geoffrey, reports all tests complete and the exploration equipment packed up. We are ready to leave the 'peanut' as my crew have come to call this place. I will certainly not miss it, especially after the communication we received last night.
Actually we received two messages, and two good ones for a change. The first is the confirmation of my promotion to Commodore next week. Can't say I'm surprised. I'm also glad to see somebody approves of my hard work out here. Then again, the change to my paycheque is really negligible and I won't become an Admiral and drive the proverbial desk for a long time to come. So except for the nice uniform badges and a slightly more 'senior' air this promotion has little impact on my command.
The other message comes directly from the Ministry of Science, Education and Exploration. Like most really good messages it is very short: Operation Ra is 'Go' for Detinus Republic Explorer Corps Vessel 'Long Island', EEM registry 2871. My ship. Operation Ra: Jump into each and every known solar system in the peripheries and collect/confirm our astrophysical data on its sun(s).I cannot begin to describe how happy I am that my request has been granted. Ever since I took command of my own ship, ever since I purchased that rusty old Surveyor from that slimy second-hand dealer at KAS Rubis I have dreamed of such a voyage. Even among explorer crews only few ever get to see really unknown space, and those that do are usually tied up in a single system for months or years at a time. This time it will be different. Personally I proposed Operation Ra to the brass not because I was so much interested in the data to be collected, but rather because I wanted to get around.
I will begin my data collection in the DTR systems. When we are done here the Long Island will head for a major starport to properly refit for the upcoming mission. A set of stargate keys will be required, and a large number of system probes. During this refit time I hope to get entry permissions even into those systems that are not legally open to DTR ships at this time. I am not entirely sure about Falconian and Clan space and a few other selected systems but there is ample time to contact the respective governments before we set out and leave DTR space. And then? We will see...

32/199 SHOOTOUT AT OPPORTUNITY STARPORT

Opportunity - Starport security personnel at DTR Opportunity boarded and seized three starships by force this week. When the dust settled the question arose why this had happened in the first place and if bloodshed could have been avoided. 18 people were killed in the fights aboard AFT Demon Speed and AFT Flensburg. Only the personnel aboard SMS Hesperus surrendered to the police without a fight, believing the situation could only be a misunderstanding.
The colony governor of DTR Opportunity claims that because of the colony's violent past security is a more important aspect here than elsewhere in the Detinus Republic and that the police only followed their orders to the letter. The ships had landed without prior permission and the starport is considered a high security area so the police action was justified, although it may have been inappropriate. On the other hand it is a well known fact that Opportunity used to be, and still is, a highly frequented trade station and that its starport was supposed to be re-opened to the general public. Strict orders to seize trespassers by force may be a precaution against smugglers, slavers and other illegal activities but incidents like this are bound to happen. Apologies and condolences go to the relatives of the victims. The DTR will return the ships to their previous owners and is also prepared to compensate them for their loss.
- DPB, Babylon

More on The Great Profile Debate...

Most of what Ted Pratt wrote is quite exactly what I think. Only one (actually minor) point remains to be cleared up. Funny I am the one to disagree with the FET PD about the FET profile, but there you go:
FET is not a Mega-Corporation! Remember the incident when FET operatives stole a derelicted DOG Frigate that the CLN had captured and were in the process of auctioning away. When this deed came to light the FET explained that they are not a Mega-Corporation but rather a loosely organised cartel of some sort. All files I wrote for the DTR homepage refer to the FET as a Cartel. With that explanation the FET tried to stave off the CLN's attempt to make the affiliation pay for what a member had done, but I think it also makes sense IC: The FET starcaptains are supposed to be scoundrels, and this kind of people tends to act as loners rather than seeing the FET as a closely knit entity. This also reflects the actual in-game situation a lot better (at least as I know it).

Now how to play an Empire-Builder affiliation? As I see it most affiliations are Empire-Builders or are attached to an empire-builder power block:

DTR	Human empire, opposed to IMP and CNF
IMP	Human empire split into a power block with FET, SMS and GTT.
CNF	Human empire split into a power block with CIA and BHD. Seek to destroy the imperial power block.
DOM	Space gypsies, so to speak. An independent human government, they have no own territory but refuse to give up their own ways.
CLN	Alien empire, very warlike but seem to lack the required player base to play it that way.
DEN	Alien empire, seek to recover their former glory and recover their lost technologies.
FCN	Alien empire, no clearly set goals but very different from other affiliations to play due to lots of good and bad specials.
FGZ	Alien empire, seek to drive out all other races through war or treachery.
HVE	Insect state, very expansionistic but not an alien empire in the common sense. May reappear at any time.
HXM	Alien empire, had their homeworld destroyed in an ancient war and their promised new home was already being explored by DEN scout ships when they arrived, which prompted the Acrux war. This was won but attrition saw the HXM withdraw later, still in search for a new home.
KRL	Alien empire on the brink of extinction, only recently put aside centuries of devastating civil war and struggling to survive.
WMB	Alien empire, weak and low-tech they have no territory of their own and seek to live in symbiosis with more advanced cultures.

The following affiliations are not empire-builders (for a change):

AFT	Truly neutral traders with a good reputation who have almost universal access rights. Attractive for players who don't want to participate in empire building, or want to explore on their own an be left alone. Far better choice than IND for that matter.
DNA	Actually hard to classify. Sort of an anti-empire, the DNA is a loose association of primitive low-tech races and sympathisers trying to work against the oppression and exploitation of low-tech races by more advanced cultures. To this end they employ a wide variety of actions ranging from policy to bribery to straight terrorism and spectacular suicide missions. These guys are not trying to build an empire, instead they are trying to tear down other empires.
IND	Rarely truly independent, these positions have refused to join any of the other affiliations. Usually they are just undercover operatives for another affiliation and thus never trusted. (A little like RIP but not yet proven criminals and with no special abilities whatsoever.)
RIP	Criminally and outcasts. Untrustworthy trading partners but I fail to see why they should not be used as a mercenary force and are not allowed to trade.
SQM	Survivors of a fallen alien empire they have set up a small trading enterprise in competition to the AFT. They are not nearly as big or well-reputed as the AFT but unlike the AFT the SQM deal in unique artefacts and high-technology items that they have scavenged. Unlike AFT the SQM also don't appear to get around much; instead they largely appear to rely on the sales market of their only colony.

As you can see IMP and CNF are the only affiliations which have sub-affiliations for certain tasks. This is not the case for the DTR and DOM who also are human nations, and certainly not for any of the alien empires. The reason for this is the original game setup: Originally all players with exception of the DTR belonged to IMP (even the AFT traders). Instead of a race/nation players were to choose one Mega-Corporation/Cartel/Association of the imperial side (FET, SMS, GTT, AFT, SSL) who were rivalling each other, or you could be the police force between them, the IMP. The sole role of the DTR was to give the IMP something to do as they would hardly fight their own Corporations.
When the CNF was put into the game it, too, came with a number of sub-affiliations. The CIA and BHD remain to this day while the DIE and RAT have vanished. Things have changed in BSE. In the list above I have twelve different nations, all with different goals and motivations and trying to make up the game board between them. The AFT, DNA, RIP and SQM resemble empires in their organisation, and every IND player who is not working for one empire or the other basically represents his own little empire. Most of these factions have to do all duties under one banner - exploration, trade & transport, warships, blockade runners, etc.. Only two of all these factions have sub- affiliations, and while this provides the whole faction (power block) with an overall wider range of special abilities and ship types it also drains players from the core affiliation (IMP & CNF) and hampers co-ordination.
I dare say one of the reasons for the success of the DTR is our extremely high grade of organisation, which is made easy by the fact that we do not have to co-ordinate any sub-affiliations who pursue their own goals rather than contribute to the power block. In this environment of nations rivalling each other the purpose of the sub-affiliations has vanished. They must co-operate with their core affiliation in order to keep up with other, more compact powers and cannot afford to compete against each other in any destructive way as it was supposed to be when the game started.
Many of the problems Ted Pratt perceived (like, why do the SMS maintain a strong warfleet and generally why are especially the specialised affiliations doing things that are not part of their profile) stem from this integral difference between the early game setup, where affiliations from the imperial power block faced off against each other, and how the game is run today, where lots of different races and nations are available. The solution to the problem is obvious: Since IMP/FET/SMS/GTT and CNF/CIA/BHD basically act as one party in the game, the "only one affiliation per player" rule should not apply within these power blocks. Of course they would become too strong and versatile if a player could run his explorers as FET, build ore production colonies under the SMS banner, colonies as GTT and defend it with IMP warships.
But how about this: Each player in FET/SMS/GTT is also allowed to have IMP positions (in IC terms they *are* IMP), and a similar rule for the CNF. Think about it. None of the Corporations would maintain a warfleet (as IMP they get +10% space combat bonus and the CNF even 15%!) and the core militaries/police forces would be as strong as they should be. On the other hand SMS and GTT ships would really be what they should be: Explorers and civilians only. With the FET I'm not so sure as mercenary work perfectly suits their profile but that would be up to the players.
Concerning colonies, IMP and FET would only need colonies for shipyards and as affiliation HQs whereas the more productive (but not as well defended) civilian colonies would be the bulk of imperial colonies. Generally I think this rule removes a lot of the drawbacks associated with the narrow specialisation of the sub-affiliations and gives them an opportunity to play the game as they see fit. On the other hand as a dedicated IMP player you can concentrate on military or police pursuits while protection of the home systems is done by those parts of the IMP navy that is played by FET, SMS or GTT players.
With this rule in place if I was the IMP Viceroy I would pass a law denying the corporations the right to operate class 8 warships to further strengthen the role of the military. Of course each corporation may refit Patrol Cruisers for pirate hunting but that is the IMP job, after all... (even if those IMP positions are played by the very SMS players whose ships have come under attack from the RIP).
Would this be unbalancing for the other nations who do not have sub-affiliations? I don't think so. The general availability of eight ship types to the IMP, six for the CNF, two for the DTR (one of which is shared with the CNF) and only one lousy ship for the DOM has been an accepted fact for years and nobody complained. The same is basically true for technology research and exchange. Actually since affiliation tech is divided among more sub-affiliations I regard this as a real drawback that cannot be overcome even with the possibility for players to have IMP colonies in addition to their "real" affiliation.
The special abilities (especially the SMS ore production and GTT manufacture bonuses) have always been there as well, and still only apply to SMS and GTT players, don't forget that. The IMP colonies do not have a special production bonus except producing soldiers at their boot camps, guess what I would rather have. The overall player base and number of positions is also not affected. It's just that those 20 SoLs from the SMS would be re- flagged as IMP, and this is how it should be in my eyes. Okay, they get the IMP space combat bonus but the ships are now also under IMP command, they can be put on probation and kicked back out if Geoff doesn't like something and he has a complete list on the Viceroy's political printout. That's been my opinions on how to run the Empire-Building affiliations and how their sub-affiliations should fit in.
Thanks for reading it all.
Stephan Jaroschek, DTR.

###### INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM CATHEDRAL CENTRAL ######

The screen flickers and the Council Chamber at Genizah comes into view. The scene is dominated by a massive gilded shrine to the True One. In front of this, flanked by an honour guard of the feared Meklan sit the five cowled members of the High Council of the Brotherhood. From the walls hang the banners of the individual houses and orders.

The scribe to the High Council, Brother Darius, steps forward;
" Let it be known through the peripheries that following the disappearance of the previous Sect Leader, Ludovicus de Fortis, the High Council, after careful prayer and consideration, have elected Brother Cecil, Abbot of the Sword Bearers and previously Holder of the office of Scroll Master to head the crusade against the unholy. We mourn the loss of our old leader and we await evidence of his elevation to the Pantheon of Saints. We will stand fast by our allies in the confederate alliance and work tirelessly to bring faith to the masses."
#### TRANSMISSION ENDS ####

The new BHD PD can be contacted at:
Andy Washington, 39 Osborne Gardens, Thornton Heath, Surrey, CR7 8PA
Or on email at: andrew.washington4@virgin.net

#### NEWSFLASH FROM SOLO ####

A week or so ago the DTR demonstrated their courage, and a young, inexperienced Ensign, only twelve weeks in the peripheries, learned that compassion can be a dangerous emotion.
Responding to the DNA call for assistance he stripped his ship of all non-essential items and took over 100 Naplians to DTR Opportunity. The DTR were too clever for him, however. With only 250 combat veterans in full battle armour and a small regiment of heavy tanks they not only totally overwhelmed the Ensign, they also defeated his six crewmen and then went on to defeat the 100 elite, nazi trained, battle hardened berserkers, cunningly disguised as refugee men, women and children armed with only the clothes they stood in. Throughout the whole battle not a single life was lost. Rumour has it that the DTR will have to melt down the whole Surveyor to get enough metal for the medals they'll award.
Is this just an unfortunate political gaff by the DTR or does this move against an SMS ship indicate that they have rejoined their old alliance with the Confederacy.
Ensign Plantgenet Maydew

Priority Markets

S.O.	Colony	Sys.	S.S.	Item	Buying	Selling	Price
AFT	AFT Ariel (4444)	121	2049	Crew		468	45
				Repairbots		498	25
CLN	CLN Constantinopolis (1265)	25	839	Fissionables		2781	10
				Pulac Crystals	2000		20
CLN	KAS Black Pig (4912)	35	1834	Life Supports	30000		35
				Structural Units	30000		40
CLN	CLN Skypoint (1824)	38	3032	Slug Juice		2000	40
CLN	CLN Sabeltand (1412)	97	2349	Chemicals		3000	40
				Fibrillium	300		300
CLN	CLN Gomorrah (3170)	98	1555	Fissionables	1209		20
				Pulac Crystals	5000		30
CLN	IND High Star (1971)	103	1841	Condensed Metals	4000		12
				Metals/Non-Metals	30000		2
CLN	CLN Lunar Eclipse (4805)	138	2239	Colonists		6000	0
				Structural Units	3000		22
CNF	CIA Serpent's Hold (4341)	4	251	Chemicals	10000		100
				Mines		80	3000
CNF	IND Weregild (2332)	4	2349	Hive Eggs	100		200
				Mines	10		3000
CNF	CIA Shadowland (4748)	4	2349	Colonists	1500		15
CNF	CIA Langley (2301)	17	1636	Fissionables		10000	5
				Untooled Factories		10	5000
CNF	IND Thorn (140)	17	2258	Ambrosia		500	50
CNF	CIA Armoury (179)	17	2456	Waste	2000		30
				Luxury Foodstuffs	6000		8
CNF	BHD Osgiliath (1440)	17	3047	Fissionables		9500	40
CNF	BHD Opacus Custos (3012)	18	2352	Indigon	100		500
				Mines	56		4000
CNF	CIA Entropy (488)	24	2342	Colonists	2000		10
CNF	AFT Return (4313)	41	1850	Heaven Herb		10000	15
FCN	FCN Dark Sun City (586)	162	1148	Luxury Foodstuffs		19300	4
				Condensed Metals		2000	10
IMP	FET Tortuga (4734)	1	349	Colonists		9750	7
IMP	GTT HQ (467)	1	1440	Colonists		8749	1
				Pulac Crystals		10000	6
IMP	EEM Hypso (4802)	1	1939	Ambrosia	500		50
				Luxury Goods	1000		5
IMP	FET New Kyoto (4297)	1	1939	Luxury Goods		10000	4
IMP	FET Serendipity (3379)	132	357	Euphoria		8000	40
				Medical Supplies		8000	40
IMP	FET Dragonnest (227)	147	2832	Colonists	10000		20
IMP	IND Freedom City (2653)	149	2150	LBCM	1000		600
				Photon Guns	1000@200	1934@360
IMP	GTT Outcasts (1821)	150	1034	Artworks		10000	2
IMP	AFT Eclypse (1124)	150	2232	Photon Guns		719	180
IMP	GTT Xanadu (4810)	158	1146	Ambrosia		800	250
IMP	IMP Sevastopol (4997)	159	2438	Medical Supplies		7324	50
IMP	IMP Leeward (4871)	159	2438	Clothing		10000	4
IMP	FET Port Royal (1571)	160	740	Luxury Foodstuffs		4000	45
IMP	CLN Outreach (1758)	160	740	Pulac Crystals	500		40
IMP	GTT Bannockburn (3411)	160	740	Colonists		30000	5
				Luxury Foodstuffs		30000	5
IMP	DEN Aslan (1665)	163	2856	Stargate Key 163		2	30000
				Teleporters		4	25000
IMP	FET Falconhaven (4806)	165	2259	Colonists	10000		10
				Luxury Goods		1000	20
IMP	GTT Liberty (3240)	165	2936	Korondite	625		80
				Xbureaucrat		80	500
IMP	IND Amity (1831)	166	1745	Metals/Non-Metals		6180	5
IMP	FET New Hope (951)	166	1745	Strion		7527	160
IMP	Heartbreak Ridge (2963)	172	1642	Condensed Metals		500	35
				Metals/Non-Metals		1000	5
IMP	AFT Amythest (282)	173	532	Life Supports		90	20
IMP	IMP Cezta (2625)	173	532	Fissionables		1996	20
IMP	GTT New Christiania (4707)	173	532	Maintenance-Bots	2		10000
				Veterans	10		1000
IMP	GTT Thermopylae (1152)	178	1742	Teleporters	3		26000
				Fissionables	2000		40
IMP	SMS Farcry (3392)	178	1742	Maintenance Bots		2	30000
KAS	CIA Sin City (209)	146	631	Veterans	70		500
KAS	SQM Windhooks (2071)	146	1947	Luxury Foodstuffs		4998	4
KAS	EEM Balmoral (4100)	146	2857	Condensed Metals	1000		6
				Untooled Factories	10@8000	5@10000
KAS	CNF Sarajevo (3874)	146	2857	Celesium	100		30
				Crew		100	40
KAS	KAS Rubis (4063)	146	2951	Chemicals	17666		100
				Jacium	9170		300
KAS	GTT New Atlantis (2069)	146	2951	Super Conductors		50	180
KAS	AFT New Aurora (4428)	146	2951	Food		3200	3
				Colonists	1700		30
KAS	FET Alliance Station (604)	146	2951	Jac/Thor Alloy	100		50
KAS	DEN Minotaur (1322)	146	2951	Stargate Key 121		10	30000
				Teleporters		4	25000
KAS	DTR Babylon (2350)	146	2951	Small Arms	1770@10	4122@12
				Veterans	70		400
KAS	DOM Mycenae Sound (3114)	146	2951	Jacium	250		325
KAS	KAS Azreals Peak (789)	171	1433	Life Supports	30000		25
				Structural Units	30000		50
KAS	CIA Atlantis (3315)	171	1433	Colonists	19950		10
				Condensed Metals	5000		15

...Late News...Late News...Late News...Late News...Late News...

To: All
From: Ensign Plantgenet Maydew

I feel it is only fair to tell you that I have since had my ship returned and received an apology and 25,000 stellars in compensation from the Governor of Opportunity. This seems fair to me. Only hope I can get back to Mobile Bay before the Kastorians do something nasty to my ground party.
...Late News...Late News...Late News...Late News...Late News...