[rec.games.computer.stars] Introduction and Information (FAQ)
Andrew Sterian
Posting-Frequency: monthly (23rd day of the month)
Last-modified: 1999/01/26
Version: 1.5
URL: http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~asterian/stars-faq.txt
Maintainer: Andrew Sterian <aste...@umich.edu>
Introduction to rec.games.computer.stars
This FAQ is posted monthly to the rec.games.computer.stars newsgroup. For
corrections or suggestions on improving the FAQ, please contact the
current maintainer listed in the 'Maintainer:' header above. Please read
the "Newsgroup Charter" section below before posting to this newsgroup.
------------------------------
Subject: 0. Table of Contents
1. What is Stars! (very brief)
2. Newsgroup Charter
3. Nomenclature
4. Other Stars! Resources
------------------------------
Subject: 1. What is Stars! (very brief)
Stars! is a computer strategy game for the Windows platform. If you want
to learn more about this game, or if you want to download a playable demo
version, visit the Stars! WWW page:
<http://www.webmap.com/stars!>
OR
<http://www.webmap.com/stars%21>
The above site also offers many other resources, including a comprehensive
FAQ, links to other Stars! WWW sites, and reviews of the game.
------------------------------
Subject: 2. Newsgroup Charter
CHARTER: rec.games.computer.stars
This newsgroup is a forum for the discussion of the strategy game
"Stars!", written by Jeff Johnson and Jeff McBride. This newsgroup
will not be moderated. Acceptable postings to this newsgroup include:
* Announcements of new "Stars!" games requiring players, or
existing "Stars!" games in which replacement players are needed
As a courtesy to readers, these announcements should begin with
the key word GAME: at the beginning of the subject line. The
key word REPLACE: should be used if replacements for an
existing game are sought.
Games in which players are required to pay a fee for
participating should clearly indicate this in the game
announcement. Postings that do not announce the beginning of a
new pay-for-play game but instead advertise the pay-for-play
service itself fall under the category of 'commercial services'
and will be governed by the rules regarding advertisements
below.
* Strategies for playing the game
* Tips and questions regarding the game mechanics
* Suggestions for future versions of the game
* Information on new releases, upgrades, patches, etc. from the
game authors
* Direct comparison of "Stars!" and other strategy games in the
same genre
* Announcements of commercial or shareware programs or services
that are directly related to "Stars!"
These postings must be concise and informative, must contain a
minimum of hype, and no more than 1 advertisement per month for
a single product or service is allowed.
All advertisements should be marked with the key word AD: or
ADVERTISEMENT: at the beginning of the subject line.
* Announcements of free programs or services directly related to
"Stars!"
These postings are not considered advertisements but should
nonetheless be governed by common sense and restraint in the
nature of the announcement and the frequency of posting.
It is suggested that such posts be marked with the key word
ANNOUNCE: at the beginning of the subject line.
All forms of advertisement other than those covered above are
considered UNACCEPTABLE for posting to this newsgroup.
Postings containing binary files (regardless of encoding) are
UNACCEPTABLE for this newsgroup. Rather than posting a binary
file, the binary file should be placed at an appropriate FTP site
(such as the /pub directory of beast.webmap.com, which is the
main "Stars!" FTP server) or posted to alt.binaries.games or
alt.binaries.misc and a pointer to the binary file's location posted
to this newsgroup.
------------------------------
Subject: 3. Nomenclature
Here is a list of terms that you may encounter in newsgroup discussion.
Please contact the current maintainer for changes or additions to this
list. Thanks to Kent Peterson for getting this started. A larger set
of acronyms is available online at:
<http://www.grigzy.com/mysteryguild/strat/abriv.htm>
Racial Acronyms
---------------
IT - Inter-stellar Traveller
IS - Inner-Strength (note that one should be careful when using
IS to mean Inner-Strength and *not* Inter-stellar Traveller)
SS - Super-Stealth
WM - War Monger
JOAT - Jack of All Trades
CA - Claim Adjuster
AR - Alternate Reality
SD - Space Demolition
HE - Hyper-Expansion
PP - Packet Physics
HP - Hyper-Producer (a race design for high resource output)
HG - Hyper-Growth (a race design for high population growth)
General Game Terms
------------------
PRT - Primary Racial Trait (e.g., Super Stealth, Alternate Reality)
LRT - Lesser Racial Trait (e.g., Improved Starbases, Total Terraforming)
Ship Acronyms
-------------
BB - Battleship
CA - Cruiser (CA is also used for Claim Adjuster, perhaps CC is better)
DD - Destroyer
Other Terms
-----------
PBEM - Play-by-E-Mail
MM - Micro-management
------------------------------
Subject: 4. Other Stars! Resources
* If you want to join in a play-by-email game, the best place to read
about new game announcements is the Stars! Player Mailing List
(S!PML) which is maintained by Trevor Scallen and Mathias Dellaert
(formerly maintained by Alan Beall at the Stars! Depot). The S!PML has
a huge number of active subscribers. You can subscribe or unsubscribe
directly at:
<http://www.grigzy.com/mysteryguild> (The Mystery Guild)
* If you don't have time to read this newsgroup, subscribe to Andrew Sterian's
Stars! Announcements list. This is a low-volume list consisting mainly of
announcements of new Stars! versions, new auxilliary programs that aid
in playing/hosting Stars!, and other significant postings culled from the
rec.games.computer.stars newsgroup. To subscribe, send e-mail with the
single word SUBSCRIBE in the SUBJECT line (and spell it right!) to:
----
End of "[rec.games.computer.stars] Introduction and Information (FAQ)"
**********************************************************************
--
Andrew. aste...@umich.edu | Me: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~asterian
----------------------------+----------------------------------------------
Faith is the willingness to get out of bed in the morning and just show up...
-- Richard Thieme