Wolfpack Common Spring Fever 2013 is over

[Wolfpack]

The Wolfpack Spring Fever is over, BigFish and Dollar won.
Congratulations!

- = [ Empire Power Report ] = -
as of Tue Apr 30 21:14:14 2013

sects eff civ mil shell gun pet iron dust oil pln ship unit money
BigFish 242 91% 211K 11K 8.5K 1.6K 17K 53K 990 17K 265 292 104 88K
16842.47
Dollar 231 96% 214K 8.9K 7.5K 843 14K 52K 3.0K 15K 115 224 94 32K
16271.46
Greenthum 162 100% 161K 10K 8.3K 684 9.8K 34K 2.6K 6.7K 156 214 90 47K
12168.64
Capitalis 27 96% 27K 2.0K 919 182 1.8K 3.4K 651 1.9K 13 63 13 24K
1717.50
Gemini 0 0% 0 42 18 10 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 1.9K
18.07
2 0 0% 0 83 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 -7.6K
-9.19
4 0 0% 0 81 44 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 -15K
-26.89
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
worldwide 662 95% 613K 33K 25K 3.3K 43K 143K 7.3K 41K 549 812 301 170K


Coming up: Wolfpack Hvy Summer Fever! Going to start early this year.
Watch this space for the announcement.


> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Mon Apr 1 10:40:05 2013
Haha!
I'm the fool!!!

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Mon Apr 1 11:01:03 2013
Where's the "shotgun start"??
What's that all about?
Everything looks "normal" to me.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Mon Apr 1 19:46:36 2013
} Where's the "shotgun start"??

This is a Common Fever. Only Hvy Fevers get a shotgun start. The
next one starts on June 1st.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 4 20:34:58 2013
Dammit. I want to change the country name and they want to charge money.
Socialists!

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 4 23:27:41 2013
I sure hope Markus put some islands out there. If he didn't, there is going
to be a lot of water between friends and enemies

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Thu Apr 4 23:38:38 2013
There are no islands...only Natives :)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 4 23:44:52 2013
Well how can the natives run topless along the beach if there isn't any beach?
(Note that any women on the current homeland, no matter how large their T:A
ratio is, are working long, hard days at the offices and factories. That includes
weekends. So they don't have time to run naked on the beaches.
But we do let them run topless in the office!)

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Fri Apr 5 18:08:04 2013
Greetings! So happy for the informal 'blitzes'. :)

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Fri Apr 5 19:24:50 2013
Option BLITZ is off, therefore country name changes cost money.

One time offer: for a free country name change, telex POGO.

If you already paid for one, apply for a refund (I *will* check logs).

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Fri Apr 5 19:33:21 2013
We have three latecomers. Since the game announcement went out a bit
late, I'm going to give them extra civvies.

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Fri Apr 5 23:01:31 2013
If we say pretty please, do we get to change our country name twice?

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Fri Apr 5 23:23:00 2013
Didn't realize it would be only 5h until update when I signed on. DOH!

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Sat Apr 6 06:22:49 2013
} If we say pretty please, do we get to change our country name twice?

Only if you want it changed to Nuisance#3 ;)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Sat Apr 6 12:25:48 2013
So, for those of you rather new to this game, let me explain how things
evolve over the course of the game.
First step, everybody breaks sanctuary and tries to expand.
During that time many of us make entertaining announcments. Note that it is
considered bad form to point out spelling and grammatical errors.
After a number of unspecified updates (it can and does vary) my combined land,
air, and sea forces show up off your coast.
You shit your pants.
I take over your island.
It's been happening this way for over two decades now. Don't try and buck
the trend.
But on the bright side, things could be worse for you. If you get a package in
the mail that consists of the following:
A hardback copy of "harmless's Conversational Software"
A quad CD pack of "Overlord Sings 'Ringworld' Accapella"
The Resvon date night pack, including sheep outfit and a $4 bottle of tequella
I would suggest that you not open the package. Good things are not about to
happen to you.
Oh, have a nice game
up to a certain point...

> Announcement from Capitalist, (#7) dated Sat Apr 6 14:39:12 2013
Capitalists uses Dollars for:
expansion
hiring hot secretaries
taxes to POGO
Fishing expeditions
hiring hot secretaries
mergers of other countries into our own



> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Sat Apr 6 15:01:52 2013
Who has secretaries anymore? A real Capitalist would
have a Personal Assistant.

And no beer, whiskey, martinis or wine on your
list? Disgraceful.

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Sat Apr 6 15:42:55 2013
BigFish just eats the Capitalists and craps out the Dollars.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Sat Apr 6 17:26:01 2013
Now if we can just get "4" to get a real name. I have a few suggestions of course.
How about "Four"?
And then there is "four"
and "for"
and then "fore"
and if he really wanted to get exotic, he could spell his new name f-i-v-e and pronounce it "4"

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Sat Apr 6 23:22:12 2013
Ok, so, to figure this out, I calculate:
ETU / (EFF * Work) + (Civs + (Uw *4/5) + ( mil * .5)) / ((sqrt of the hypotenuse) * Pi * r^2)...or something

I sure do miss this!!
:D

G][

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Sun Apr 7 01:04:30 2013
AH, just poured a glass of The Glenlivet...

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Sun Apr 7 02:42:53 2013
Can anyone, per chance, spare 2,200 civs?
:D

> Announcement from 4, (#4) dated Sun Apr 7 15:38:10 2013
But Dollar..."I am number 4"
I do not fear my origins but embrace them..
Now if you will excuse me, I am finishing off a
six-pack of beer and I have to go to the can for a Dollar

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Sun Apr 7 22:16:43 2013
::But Dollar..."I am number 4"
-
aiming high...
-
::six-pack of beer and I have to go to the can for a Dollar
-
Again, I encourage you to aim high. I just got back from a good mexican
restaurant and need to go give birth to a lawyer.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Mon Apr 8 16:49:14 2013
time to visit the power chart and make observations about gleened information
We will start at the bottom. And that means you Gemini. Sure, you started an
update late. You are a little bit short on the harvested dust far. You need
to work on that.
bigFish, you also started an update late. You have way too many ships dude.
You need to cut back :). You are also sending your frigates out without a full
crew compliment. There are plusses and minuses to that. (Or some of your
ships did not improve and you are just building up mobility. Plusses and
minuses to that too.)
"4" - Not enough of that greasy kids stuff for your hair. You can only make 7
units of tech this update. Too much iron, not enough dust.
Nova - where to start. No oil. this is a log base 2.0 tech game. You are
going to find yourself 20 points behind the tech leader real soon. And way too
much iron. You realize 40% of your population would be needed to turn it all
into cm's? Real good on the dust though.
(cont)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Mon Apr 8 16:57:11 2013
Capitalist - You seem to be short on ships. I'm sure the one you do have is a
very nice Bayliner.
Greenthumb - See that "g" on your map? You need more of them. It will help
pay for those ships, mil, and tech.
Dollar - That's me. Top of the charts. Again. Who spent all my money though?
and despite having a good sized navy, the deity did a great job of hiding those
pesky islands from my captains. Usually luck is the child of the well planned.
But not in this case.

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Mon Apr 8 17:51:24 2013
Hmmm. Started an update late...I wonder how that would affect harvested dust to this point?

:)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Mon Apr 8 18:18:22 2013
I was over 800 dust last update.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Mon Apr 8 19:48:59 2013
The Fever games are meant to be low-maintenance for the deity, like
the blitzes. But I need to work out the kinks first. Since I'm
watching, I can just as well answer player questions. Just don't
expect that for all the future Fevers.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Mon Apr 8 19:50:05 2013
A player inquired how ship building uses avail.

"info build" says

Ships are built in harbor sectors. 20% of the materials listed by
"show" must be available at the time of building. Ships first
appear at 20% efficiency (less efficient ships sink instantly).
Then, each update, the ship will grow in efficiency, and use up
more of the required materials until it reaches 100%.

"show sh b" lists lcms, hcms, avail and money. You need 20% of all
four, or else build fails.

To predict what the update is going to do to your newly built ship,
you need to understand "info Update-sequence". Relevant parts:

1e) taxes and military payroll
1f) bank interest
2e) sector production
2f) ship building
3) delivery
4+5) distribution

Step 2e) involves eating, procreation and working. Since a harbor
doesn't produce anything, all the work that isn't used for building up
the sector becomes avail. Old avail is completely lost in this game.

Since ship building happens after taxes, bank interest and sector
production, it uses "new" money and "new" avail. Since it happens
before delivery/distribution, it uses "old" materials.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Mon Apr 8 21:48:34 2013
Attention! Attention!
Only 2 more hours left until the most important update of the day.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Wed Apr 10 11:58:14 2013
Dang, we have to wait another 12 hours for an update.

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Wed Apr 10 18:24:00 2013
Yes, in Empire either the updates are going too slow - or they're going too fast.

Its sure quiet in here.....

]G[

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Wed Apr 10 19:58:12 2013

There are a lot of ways to enjoy the 12 hours.
Here, let me help you get started:

99 bottles of beer on the wall...

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Wed Apr 10 20:05:39 2013

A whopping 10 BTUs just to do a "power new". Damn!
Now I'm down on BTUs. Anybody got some spare they can lend?



> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Wed Apr 10 21:49:31 2013
I'll sell you some BTU's. $1/btu. such a deal.

> Announcement from Capitalist, (#7) dated Wed Apr 10 23:49:17 2013
$1... I could have guessed. Like any good capitalist,
I will undercut the competition. 90 cents / BTU.


> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Wed Apr 10 23:59:47 2013
Well, I can't undercut per item. but mine sell for $1.25/BTU with buy one get one over 500.

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Thu Apr 11 03:27:14 2013
Money money money money

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Thu Apr 11 06:52:04 2013
A player inquired what's going to happen to country#8.

It'll remain in sanctuary. I changed #8's representative to prevent
sanctuary breaking.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 11 12:49:20 2013
Dear Mr. Deity,
I took a poll of my co-rulers and we are in agreement. We volunteer for a highly
experimental program where you reset all the gold resource values on the home
island to what they were at the start. Since this would be an experimental program
we could not possibly ask any of the other countries to take part in the study.
After the game is over, we would be willing to submit a detailed report of all
the data we collected. And we emphasize that this would be "raw" data not the
cooked up stuff that the global warming grant chasers use.
--
PS My one co-ruler did comeup with an alternative, less risky test plan.
Instead of reseting our home island sector gold levels, you could create 40
brand new sectors next to our home island, connected via land bridge, with a
full set of all resources. That might prove to be a bit less intrusive study.
All in the name of Science,
The Rev. Dollar, Dollar Bill, and Stretch A. Dollar.

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Thu Apr 11 13:42:18 2013
And in the interest of science and furthering mankind's knowledge, there is yet another scenario of doing both options - 40 new sectors plus resetting the initial sectors. I'll vounteer to be the candidate for that program.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 11 14:52:37 2013
Now let's not go rushing science, BF. These things take time. Maybe in the
next blitz.
Maybe.

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Thu Apr 11 14:58:42 2013

While we are on the subject of experiments, we would like to
share with you all the findings in the latest issue of
Scientifically Greener magazine. It has been scientifically
proven that sea beds contain a large amount of concentrated
gold deposits. In fact, these deposits are so concentrated,
some even have used the term "renewable"!!!

We would like to test truly how "renewable" the gold deposits
actually are and would like the Deity to make adjustments to
the seabed around our mainland. Of course, this will NOT
require any modifications to the geography so the map that
has been generated can continue to be used and thus will not
really have any impact to the rest of the players.

Additionally, the technique for actually mining the sea bed
is also detailed and, of course, known by the Almighty Deity.
For the rest, who don't subscribe to Scientifcally Greener,
you'll just have to wait for the final report!


> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 11 15:02:16 2013
"dredging" up that old "gold in the sea bed" rumor again, eh?

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Thu Apr 11 15:04:49 2013

Seems you've lost a few fingers trying...

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 11 15:11:19 2013
You have two options when you run out of dust. You can hold your breath and
try and scrap some up on the bottom of the sea floor.
Or you can take it from Nova, errrr, somebody else who is currently unnamed.
And I lost those fingers when I got a bit too excited and closed the tank hatch
a bit too fast in my last game.
Also note that I have one son that is fully trained on the M1A1 Abrams tank.
I even got to sit in the driver's seat for a couple of minutes.

> Announcement from Capitalist, (#7) dated Thu Apr 11 21:26:50 2013
Co-ruling is an aggressive act.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 12 02:24:34 2013
Hording money with the obvious intent of becoming
"too big to fail" is a hostile act.

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Fri Apr 12 20:40:03 2013
Gemini: locked and loaded?

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Fri Apr 12 21:53:24 2013
Which is mightier?

Pen or sword?


> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 12 22:39:18 2013
Sheep.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 12 23:14:40 2013
Gemini,
Make sure you register that gun before you bring it to the state of New York.
And don't go running down the hallway with it. You could put an eye out!

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Sat Apr 13 01:45:44 2013
There's always one surprise or another...

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Sat Apr 13 06:02:26 2013
gold isles appear
civilians move as cattle
banks shine like the sun

> Announcement from Capitalist, (#7) dated Sat Apr 13 14:56:00 2013
Gemini

My whiskey cabinet has some nice single malts:
Glenfarclas 25yr
Highland park 30yr
Ardbeg Nam beist
Old Pultney 21yr

for a few of my favs.


> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Mon Apr 15 22:49:18 2013
Well that's just not right. Not right at all.
I know WordMole has a pretty limited dictionary, but it does not
have "hindmost"
Obviously programmed by ill-read people.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 16 20:44:51 2013
So summer cometh. And with the summer comes county fairs, corn dogs, and carnival
rides. The best part of the carnival rides are the "carnees". These are the
people that run the rides, take tickets from 8 year olds, and make sure your
little pride and joy is 100% safe on the ride hanging off the back of that flat
bed truck. You can always recognize the carnee. They are the ones ones with
the toothless gaps in their mouths filled with a cigarette (or 2. Yes, I have seen that.)
But anyway, it's all about the rides, isn't it. And we love to spend our hard
earned money on these engineering marvels while watching Junior toss his
elephant ear and soft ice cream. Anyway, as voted on by no one in particular,
here are the top 7 carnival rides. (It is, of course, a complete coincidence
that there are 7 countries in this game. Complete.)
#7 - Super-Nova. We are not quite sure what this ride is about. for the most
part it just sits there and does nothing. but that can good.
(cont)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 16 20:56:03 2013
#6 - The Gemini. Twin oblong spheres dangling from the support structure.
The colder it gets, the less these things dangle. But there are two of them.
#5 - The Capitalist. More of a freak side show really. Give the carnne your
ticket and see the freak inside. A true Capitalist notion. Give him another
ticket and you can go backstage with him, all alone. Just you and him.
#4 - 4. Not a real original ride. They put you in a cart and you go around
the track four times. Hey, don't they clean the sticky stuff out of these
carts at the end of the day?
#3 - The Dollar Game. Give the man a $2 ticket and he will guess your age.
If he is wrong, you win a Dollar. For the appropriately portioned females, he
may even try and guess your weight, no extra charge. Guessing bra sizes is a
two ticket game of course and take considerable field work.
#2 - BigFish - Simple concept. Throw the ping pong ball and if it lands in one
of the water filled glasses, you win a pet fish. Who wants a pet carp though!
(cont)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 16 21:06:43 2013
#1 - The Greenthumb Ride - First you drink a quart of warm, flat beer. (Unless
you are British because you would like that. Then you drink a couple of Bud
Tall Boys. That will teach you.) Then a couple of under-cooked italian
sausages. Make sure it's from that guy that washed his hands last week. Finally,
you climb into the Greenthumb. You spin so fast, both you and your not all too
well digested food particals cling to the side walls. Then they spin you the
other way. Its really a group therapy thing going on with the guys either side
of you tossing their chicken nuggets and frozen bananas. And I don't even
want to know what the skanky whore across from you is regurgitating. After this
ride is over, showers are 5 tickets.

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Tue Apr 16 23:25:19 2013
Starting to think Dollar makes these awesome annos to keep our
attention away from the game... ;)


> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Wed Apr 17 20:48:49 2013
Women's bellies full
Islands beckon 'come hither'
Dawn for an empire

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Thu Apr 18 17:17:37 2013
Hmm . . quite curious - there are 2 Dollars now - how shall we tell them apart? :)

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Thu Apr 18 20:30:38 2013
The change command doesn't let you adopt somebody else's name.
Except that check is broken somehow, as Nova demonstrated.
Thanks for the bug report (I'll take them in all shapes), just
don't do it again. I'm going to revert the country name to the
original, and refund the cost of changing it.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 18 20:34:42 2013
Immitation is the highest form of flattery.
- The real Dollar

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Thu Apr 18 20:37:21 2013
There can be only one!

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 18 22:29:08 2013
The Spring Fever Cook Book
Chapter 1 - 10 Ways to Prepare and Consume Nova
#10 Nova Tartar - Hang Nova on a meat hook and strip all his flesh off, eating
as you go. If the screaming and wailing gett to much for you, season each bite
individually with salt, pepper, and garlic.
#9 - Sushi Nova. Chop Chop. Roll in seaweed and rice. Add wasabi. Savor
each sector, err, mouthful. Not used to the screaming yet? Try fresh soy sauce.
#8 - Cevichi Style Nova. Insead of using the citric acids to cook Nova, try a
whole body drop into a vat of HCL. The screaming won't last long.
#7 - Nova Carnitas. Stewed in his own juices for hours and then blackened
under the broiler, served on corn tortillas. Try stuffing habenero peppers in
Nova to muffle the screaming.
#6 - Nova Ala Mode. Partially freeze Nova, but not fully. Then scrap out scoops
to top the key lime pie. Sound proof freezers help attenuate the screaming.
(instert photo of Key lime pie made in chapter 12. Mmmmmmmm. No screaming.)
(cont)

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Thu Apr 18 22:38:10 2013
BigFish likes Sushi Nova

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 18 22:39:11 2013
#5 - Curried Nova. Score flesh and rub in salt, cayenne, and curry. Turn and
rub more salt in. Rub in a whole lot. Then let marinade for 8 hours. While
waiting, go to the local BomBayBuffet. You won't hear the screaming that far away.
#4 - Nova Schnitzell. Pound Nova flat. Real flat. Flatter than that. Keep
pounding until you can't hear the screaming. Then dip in egg/milk wash, roll in
flour, and drop into hot oil. Serve with buttered spattzelle.
#3 - Fondue Nova. Cut out bite sized chunks and cook in hot oil right at the
dinner table. (Adult women are not really impressed with this BTW, so don't
plan on getting laid afterwards.) For desert, try the chocolate with berries,
brownies, and bananas. But stuff the marshmellows in your ears to block out
the screaming.
#2 - Nova Fillet. Extra rare, served the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse way - on a
1500 degree platter. The sizzle will drown out the screaming.
(cont)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 18 22:41:48 2013
#1 - NovaMatic. Our favorite method, we pay hommage to SNL, Dan Akroyd, and the
Bass-o-matic. Just drop Nova in the blender and turn on. Pulse if you wish.
You can't here the screaming on the outside.
(Insert photo of Perfect Holiday Prime Rib from chapter 3)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 18 22:46:29 2013
And if you are too young and have not seen it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BQFv83QJ2Y
that should be the bass-o-matic. But I can't tell at work.

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Thu Apr 18 23:21:35 2013
Is there some obscure Empire rule against sailing a ship
in one direction? Is that somehow a hostile act that I never encountered
before/was never told to me?

Cheers.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Thu Apr 18 23:47:12 2013
Depends on who is in that direction. Some players require to be prescient.
Others give warnings. Revelstone used to get upset if you broke sanctuary.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Fri Apr 19 09:20:46 2013
A player inquired whether the update schedule could be slowed.

Short answer: yes, if all viable countries agree, but do not expect
such things in future Fever games.

The longer answer involves explaining a bit of the thinking behind the
Fever games.

1. Why the schedule is how it is

Ideally, there would always be the next thematic game on the horizon.
In practice, the wait for the next one can be long.

When Pat Loney (wave!) suggested to run a "month long blitz", I bit.
The result is the Wolfpack Fever games. They're not really blitzes,
but they're no thematic games either. They're in between.

Like blitzes, they run on a fixed schedule. In particular, then end
date is fixed. To minimize the chance for having to cut short a game
that hasn't run its course, I want game ending nukes before time's up.

Trouble is game-ending nukes take >50 updates, but even with daily
updates, you can't have more than about 25 before running out of
month. Thus I had to make Common Fever last two months.

Slowing the update schedule means we'll have to do without big nukes.
If that's what y'all want, it's what you get to play.

The next Fever will be a Hvy Fever, which takes only one month. Nukes
come into play at much earlier tech there. The shotgun start should
make the game-enders reachable within a month. We'll see how it'll
play out.

2. Why you shouldn't expect such things in future games

Running a successful game requires dedication and automation. The
more automation you have, the less dedication you need.

The Fevers are meant to run continuously, like the Wolfpack blitzes.
All such games need to be automated to the highest degree possible, to
avoid depleting the dedication pool.

Over time, we got our blitzes into a state where they require very
little deity attention. We need to get Fever down to a sustainable
deity attention level, too. I expect this to take some time, and I
don't mind giving it extra attention now.

But I better set expectations.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 19 22:52:31 2013
Tsk, tsk. There are actually three ways to get nukes into the game faster.
Opps, make that four.
1 - as in the hvy fever, just lower the tech range. Ahh, the simplicity.
2 - Raise the starting tech. Even easier to configure as #1. And the kids
get to play with the high tech toys. Before we all have to do our "On the Beach"
re-enactment.
#3 - Change the tech log base. It's already 2.0 for this game. Make it smaller
and watch us grow. Fast. Real fast.
#4 - Up the easy tech level. It's been 1.0 since before I started playing in 1990
But all you little technocrats can run your spreadsheets and realize how fast
you can grow with easy tech at 2, 3, or 15.
And of course, while I typed this up, I thought of reason #5. And while I typed
some more, I almost forgot.
#5 - Change the tech bleed from 50% to 400% (or something else obtuse). Hey, you
to think outside of the box, or in this case, sector.
And I am glad you heard my request for the monthly update. Will parameters
(cont)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 19 22:53:19 2013
be randomized like Changeling and Zebra? (world/island size, tech log, options)
etc?

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Fri Apr 19 22:56:04 2013
And #6 - renewable resources and then just have ridiculous amounts of money, edu, tech production, etc. :)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 19 22:58:24 2013
Markus likes GO_RENEW about as much as a chronic masturbater likes a
steel wool glove.

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Fri Apr 19 23:02:11 2013
I don't like it much either (though perhaps just a tad more than Markus based on what you say . . .) but just pointing out the options.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 19 23:10:46 2013
You could also have technology_ships. like trade_ships but when you scuttle
them in peoples harbors, you get 0.05 points of tech and they get 0.01.
I can pull another stupid idea card out of my, umm, deck, if you want :)

> Announcement from visitor, (#9) dated Sat Apr 20 23:28:01 2013
Saturday night, in Toledo Ohio
Is like being nowhere at all...

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Sun Apr 21 07:00:21 2013
A player got a bulletin "Sector X,Y regained from partisan activity"
out of the blue, and inquired what it means.

The bulletin gets sent when the sector owner tries to win hearts &
minds / ethnically cleanse[*] the sector with the anti command, but
the terrorists / freedom fighters[*] win. The sector reverts to the
old owner, and the old owner gets notified by bulletin.

[*] Depends on which channel you use for your daily brainwashing.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Sun Apr 21 11:28:41 2013
One hell of a brilliant man, he that wrote the anti command. We should all
send him money and liquor.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Sun Apr 21 13:33:43 2013
A player inquired how much iron a perfect mine can make.

Production is arbitrarily limited to 999 products[*].

A perfect mine (100 min) produces 1 unit of iron per unit of work, up
to 999i.

100 working civilians do 1 unit of work per etu. Thus, a full
population of working civilians makes 600.

100 uws also do 1 unit of work, but 100 military only do 0.4 units.

How much uws to put into the mine so it makes 999i is left as an
exercise for the reader.


[*] Yes, the limit is silly. Perhaps I get around to lifting it some
day.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Sun Apr 21 16:51:27 2013
} Tsk, tsk. There are actually three ways to get nukes into the game faster.
} Opps, make that four.
} 1 - as in the hvy fever, just lower the tech range. Ahh, the simplicity.

Messing with unit types is easy. Coming up with unit types that
actually work isn't.

If you want to try a game where I mess with unit types, play the next
Hvy Fever.

} 2 - Raise the starting tech. Even easier to configure as #1. And the kids
} get to play with the high tech toys. Before we all have to do our "On the Beach"
} re-enactment.

Raise it to at least 160. Landing ships, engineers, light armor, big
jets and 'poons available from day one. Left to more enterprising
deities.

} #3 - Change the tech log base. It's already 2.0 for this game. Make it smaller
} and watch us grow. Fast. Real fast.
} #4 - Up the easy tech level. It's been 1.0 since before I started playing in 1990
} But all you little technocrats can run your spreadsheets and realize how fast
} you can grow with easy tech at 2, 3, or 15.

Backwards. Start with the outcome you need, then work your way back
the the configuration.

One month game with daily updates is good for 25 updates, if you want
to give players a few days to get into the game.

Tech 350 in 25 updates means 14 per update. By the time your newly
invented Devastators make it to the enemy, he'll be about to build
jets.

} And of course, while I typed this up, I thought of reason #5. And while I typed
} some more, I almost forgot.
} #5 - Change the tech bleed from 50% to 400% (or something else obtuse). Hey, you
} to think outside of the box, or in this case, sector.

Left to crazier^Wmore creative deities.

} And I am glad you heard my request for the monthly update. Will parameters
} be randomized like Changeling and Zebra? (world/island size, tech log, options)
} etc?

Maybe.

Zebra configuration is fixed, by the way.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Mon Apr 22 15:12:38 2013
A player reported that he boarded a heavily manned but rather leaky
vessel, won the melee, and then couldn't find the ship or his
victorious men anywhere. He then speculated that the fighting damaged
the ship enough to sink it.

Yes, that can happen. Bug: when it does, the attacker isn't informed
of the sinking. Thanks for reporting it!

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Tue Apr 23 02:55:51 2013
HOLY SHIT!

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Tue Apr 23 03:00:22 2013
Remember kiddies - just because they get all appologetic about coast mapping -
doesn't mean they're not going to invade you.

I think that's a record for me - never had I been overrun so quickly, and so lop-sided.

Kudos Dollar.

We need another newb game so I can actually learn how to play after update 6 or so.

Cheers, m8s

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 23 15:28:56 2013
**BURP**
Not only did we grab the whole start island, we moved 20 sectors closer to
the homeland. (Hey, if the Puppetiers can do it, so can we!)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 23 23:39:30 2013
Is the clock getting slower?

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Wed Apr 24 20:48:40 2013
It's time for the Poosum Lodge Word Game! Today's special guest is Tom Tedricks
(AKA Afrika Korps). Cover your ears Tom. Okay Uncle Red, you have 30 seconds to
get Tom to say the word "Nice".
"Nice." Okay, go Uncle Red.
Okay Tom, suppose a newbie breaks sanctuary on an island next to you. You let
him live because that would be WHAT of you?
Stupid?
No Tom, you're not trying to be be mean to the guy, you wanted him to live longer.
"Oh, I was trying to string him along."
No no. Oh, okay. Let's try this. Wh it looks like you are being benevolant,
then you are trying to be...."
Misleading!!
(Red lowers his head, shaking it)
Time's almost up Uncle Red!
Okay. Tom, how about this. You remember that time You, Overlord, and Resvon
Invaded all of beep and took over his entire country in about 30 minutes?
Oh yeah, that was a nice battle plan.
DING DING DING DING DING DING

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Wed Apr 24 23:34:59 2013
LMAO

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Thu Apr 25 00:08:01 2013
He's alive (sort of)! :)

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Thu Apr 25 00:15:52 2013
{english accent}
I'm not dead yet!

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Thu Apr 25 00:24:29 2013
I believe you are what is called "mostly dead" ;)

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Thu Apr 25 00:27:14 2013
Yes...I've been mostly dead all day...

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Fri Apr 26 00:03:27 2013
why cant i sail ships into friendly harbor?

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 26 00:04:26 2013
Ugly crew?

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Fri Apr 26 00:12:51 2013
Thank you, Dollar, for reducing my operating costs.

]g[

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 26 00:13:42 2013
I felt the same way after Cap's counter-attack :)

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Fri Apr 26 00:14:54 2013
Info realtions says that countries that are friendly status
mean that they can sail into harbors and load/unload goods.

However, I can't seme to sail in to my friends h

Thanks,

]g[

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Fri Apr 26 00:15:36 2013
Could old own have something to do with it?

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Fri Apr 26 02:25:38 2013
Dollar and Gemini appear to have very confused relations . . . .

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Fri Apr 26 03:58:34 2013
Nah. we were testing the possibilities of friendly nations naving ships into
harbors

When friendly, I could not. When Allied, I could. Weird

INFO realations seems to tell a different story...but...I have
been warned that the info pages were dated; so....

]g[

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 26 21:24:01 2013
Mesh and solve
Mesh and solve
At least it pays the bills

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Fri Apr 26 23:46:12 2013
Where is the commend to get beer to come out of this client?
And not that warm beer crap that the British client's generate.

> Announcement from Capitalist, (#7) dated Mon Apr 29 11:15:56 2013
Excellent...

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Mon Apr 29 15:01:13 2013
Our apologies to the nation of Capitalist, but it was determined that the shareholders of 4 preferred ownership by BigFish, and so your acquisition of 4 was unwound . . .

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Mon Apr 29 15:14:47 2013
Game over?

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Mon Apr 29 20:49:41 2013
It might be - can we start a new one next month . . . ?

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Mon Apr 29 21:23:10 2013
With GO_RENEW turned on and every sector having perfect resources.
Yes, I have thought about running that kind of game.

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Mon Apr 29 22:13:42 2013
Wow - that sounds absolutely . . . crazy (and not in a good way)

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Mon Apr 29 22:16:06 2013
Okay, cut back on the oil and urananium.
But put food into the game.

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Mon Apr 29 22:20:40 2013
Eating is overrated

> Announcement from Capitalist, (#7) dated Tue Apr 30 00:51:17 2013
Real life got the best of me the last 4 days. No time for
Empire. Just got back from a finance class I lead, after update
of course.

I was the country that complained about the 24 hour update cycle.
It's just too demanding. How about a 45 hour cycle for future
games ?


> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Tue Apr 30 01:21:37 2013
Sorry to hear that, Capitalist - that sucks after all this time. I hear you on the 24 hours being tough once things get going. That said, at 40+ hours it might be tough fo rthings to finish in enough time. Would it be possible to pre-set things such that the first say 10 updates were on say a 28-hour schedule, then it lengthened to say a 44-hour schedule? Also that way the update time would rotate through the hours in a day.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 30 04:03:27 2013
We (however "we" are, but we are probably the opposite of "them") declare this
game finished ad over. We let Josesp Stalin count the votes among the
active/viable countries and officially declare "8" to be the winner.
Anybody that wishes to protest can catch the next train to the Gulag.

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Tue Apr 30 05:43:42 2013
I agree - 8 has clearly shown his skills as a player

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Tue Apr 30 06:37:46 2013
HA HA! I have 6 ships, almost 50 mil, 10 guns and some shells left!!

I wasn't COMPLETELY wiped out!!

HA HA!!

]g[

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Tue Apr 30 06:38:26 2013
Oh yeah...and a little cash too! (not negative)..

HA HA!

]g[

> Announcement from Gemini, (#6) dated Tue Apr 30 06:41:40 2013
PS
I'm a proponent tha after like 5 updates, the schedule goes to something like once
every 37 - 40 hours. It was tough working, raising kids, having a wife
AND formulating an empire strategy.

I'd still do it - just wont be as fun for me - other views may differ

]g[

PPS I assumed that was the case here, it said something in the announcment
like 1 a day upadtes for the first 5 updates. I incorrectly assumed that meant they
would be reduced after 5 updated.

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Tue Apr 30 15:28:29 2013
So, this game is over.
It has been unanimously agreed that 8 won.

POGO: Do we start another game in May or
do we have to wait till June?

Say it ain't June!!!

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 30 17:55:10 2013
the ancient Mayan's used to have a sporting event where there were two teams
on the field of play. They had a medium sized ball and had to throw it through
a stone hoop mounted vertically high on a wall. the first team that did that
won.
The prize for the victors was all the clothing of the attendees.
That being said, offically, BigFish and Dollar claim victory in this game.
Please do not send us your clothing.
Unless you happen to be Jolene Blalock.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Tue Apr 30 19:00:25 2013
*** Attention, please ***

A joint victory declaration by BigFish and Dollar is pending.

Greenthumb, please announce acceptance or opposition until Wednesday,
12:00 UTC (halfway between updates 27 and 28).

Non-viable countries are welcome to announce, but their opposition
doesn't count.

If the victory declaration stands, I'll freeze the final game state.

I haven't decided whether to start the next Fever early. This game
will stay up until I do.

> Announcement from Greenthumb, (#3) dated Tue Apr 30 19:09:25 2013
Greenthumb accepts.

Let the good times roll!



> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Tue Apr 30 19:33:32 2013
*** Common Spring Fever 2013 is over ***

Congratulations to the winners BigFish and Dollar!

Updates are disabled. A brief game report will be posted to
rec.games.empire.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Tue Apr 30 19:35:43 2013
- = [ Empire Power Report ] = -
as of Tue Apr 30 19:27:23 2013

sects eff civ mil shell gun pet iron dust oil pln ship unit money
BigFish 242 91% 211K 11K 8.5K 1.6K 17K 53K 990 17K 265 292 104 88K
16842.47
Dollar 231 96% 214K 9.0K 7.5K 847 14K 52K 3.0K 15K 115 225 94 33K
16283.04
Greenthum 162 100% 161K 10K 8.3K 684 9.8K 34K 2.6K 6.7K 156 214 90 47K
12168.64
Capitalis 27 96% 27K 2.0K 926 182 1.8K 3.4K 651 1.9K 13 63 13 24K
1717.68
Gemini 0 0% 0 42 18 10 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 1.9K
18.07
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
worldwide 662 95% 613K 33K 25K 3.3K 43K 143K 7.3K 41K 549 813 301 170K

Tue Apr 30 19:27:38 2013
# name tech research education happiness capital
0 POGO 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
1 Dollar 165.80 0.00 24.10 0.00 -87,39
2 2 75.62 0.00 1.12 0.00 72,-18
3 Greenthumb 161.13 0.00 25.22 0.00 26,-40
4 4 115.35 0.00 3.57 0.00 -18,-22
5 BigFish 162.92 0.00 29.63 0.00 -60,4
6 Gemini 122.89 0.00 5.68 0.00 35,15
7 Capitalist 156.53 0.00 14.54 12.30 -26,38

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 30 19:36:38 2013
Whoo hooo. Time to open a bottle of Schlitz Malt Liquor.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 30 19:38:22 2013
And 5330 bars for Dollar. That's a lot of Dollars.

> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Tue Apr 30 20:20:03 2013
I intend to take down this game tomorrow, start Hvy Summer Fever
early, and relax its update schedule somewhat.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Tue Apr 30 20:36:55 2013
oh, and 44,540 uws.

> Announcement from BigFish, (#5) dated Tue Apr 30 22:14:28 2013
Thanks all for the great game! It was a fun time for sure and I'll try to be in all of these. FYI I'm at 5858 bars and 105898 uws - lots of slaves, and some of them even useful :)

And good to hear regarding Hvy Summer fever - so early start, but then will just continue into June so not an extra game but using the time to extend the update schedule of the planned June game?



> Announcement from POGO, (#0) dated Wed May 1 06:07:11 2013
Correct: not an extra fever, just extra time for the next fever.

> Announcement from Dollar, (#1) dated Wed May 1 06:36:21 2013
I protest!