STARWEB EMAIL DISCUSSION GROUP (THE SEDG) (Sponsored by Flying Moose Technologies' Starweb Analyzer - http://flyingmoose.cjb.net) VOL 24 Jan. 17, 1999 CONTENTS Feature Article- HOW TO DO WELL AT STARWEB Part II by John Shannonhouse SEDG Web Page URL The Captain's Log [ALTER UNLEASHED] Alter's Retrospective The Swap Corner - How Do I Part I Correspondence - Flying Moose Technologies would like to announce the opening of the Starweb Analyzer Forum message board; The Starweb Analyzer Contest! FEATURE ARTICLE HOW TO DO WELL AT STARWEB Part II John Shannonhouse (JohnShannonhouse@compuserve.com) Continued .... V. STOPPING THE RUNAWAY PLAYER There is a flip side to winning the game. Stopping a premature end to the game is important for everyone (except of course the individual player who is trying to blow everyone else away). In general, ignore the Pirate who is way ahead of everyone. He cannot maintain the pace without a tremendous amount of help from many people. If an Artifact Collector is in the lead or very close to the lead it is important to keep him from moving his art together for museums. Make an agreement that he will keep his art in your territory until other players begin to pass him by. Be prepared to enforce this by recapturing the art if he does not live by his agreement. Influence others to do the same. If a Merchant is running away with the game be willing to take appropriate action to slow him down. This means declaring him a non-loader. For you Empire Builders, this means returning his home world. You lose about 45 points a turn, but compare this to the 240-480 the Merchant gets every turn for dropping off metal there. It is a losing proposition to hold on to the home world under those conditions. The Merchant will lose 2 turns worth of drops before he can get the world to someone else and begin gaining points again. Under the right circumstances you may gift several home worlds to him. Speaking of which, an Apostle can do this with no risk to himself. He will recapture the world the next turn anyway. The Berserker is by far the most dangerous character in the game. If a Berserker robotizes a home world, most people decide to ignore it and abandon the area because they will never be able to regain control of that critical home world. This is very bad judgement. A berserker with free control of 2 or more worlds is a VERY dangerous beast indeed. Fight the berserker for control of that home world so he cannot get any use out of it. The best way to stop a Berserker is to send a Pirate in with plenty of fleets and ships. If the berserker builds a lot of PBBs, the Pirate will be able to easily capture the fleets. Scoring rates of other characters are predictable. An Apostle may be able to take 1 or 2 big jumps, but he cannot maintain the pace without active support from many players, and he can never make jumps like a Berserker. VI. BUILDING AN ALLIANCE IN STARWEB Doing well as an individual player provides the basis for doing well, but no one can do well in any of the categories without being part of an alliance, with the possible exception of the Berserker. The first thing an alliance does is eliminate troublesome neighboring individual players. No player of any type can survive a concerted attack by two or more other players, so every player must become part of an alliance, work out a non-aggression pact, or perish. There are no other choices available. How do you choose players to join your alliance? That is easy. Anyone you meet who is not a natural opponent should either be an ally or a victim of your alliance. Make friendly overtures to everyone. If a neighbor starts lying to you, attacks you, or does not communicate, then he will make an excellent target for your alliance. If he is doing it to you, he is probably doing it to everyone else he meets. His neighbors will be glad to join you in your efforts to get rid of him, and this joint effort will build the basis of trust and cooperation needed for a good alliance. How do you exclude people from your alliance? This is a tough one. There are limits to the types of characters, which can be supported by any alliance. An alliance can normally support only one Pirate, only one Apostle, only one Artifact Collector, and only one Empire Builder. It can support several Merchants and Berserkers. In very unusual circumstances it may be possible to support more than one Artifact Collector, but an alliance that splits its resources among too many Pirates, Apostles and Empire Builders is a losing alliance. This is because all of those types need worlds. They cannot share them. The worlds can be split up by which world helps, which type the best, but even that is difficult. It is best to have only one character type that needs worlds as part of the alliance, especially if it is a small alliance. Of the three types (Empire Builder, Pirate and Apostle) it is easiest to support an Empire Builder, though you may want to choose the Pirate because of his combat abilities. If the Pirate is interested in combat rather than points, he can be included as well. If the alliance wants all players to score well, they will have to slow down and wait for those characters that are splitting up the worlds. The decision on whom to exclude and who to include must be based on such information as strategic placement in the Web and in the honesty and openness of the prospective allies. How do you make sure that YOU get into the alliance? This is critical for your own survival. The best method is communication and honesty. Write and talk to people frequently. Be honest in your communications. If you tell one neighbor you are a Pirate, another neighbor you are a Berserker, and another neighbor you are a Merchant, then you are in big trouble. They WILL compare notes, and when they do you will be target #1. If you pass out mapping information, make certain that it is accurate. Even if no one notices you may be attacked by one of your neighbors and will have to call for help. It would be embarrassing for your allies try to show up at a critical moment using your mapping information and suddenly find they could not get there to help you. If you are leery of giving out the map of your inner territory, do not fill in the world numbers for your inner worlds, or just say that you do not feel comfortable about giving out mapping information early. Be ready to turn it over once a firm alliance has been established. Another method of getting into an alliance is to help other players get in contact with each other. If you get two natural allies together you are almost certain of being included in the alliance yourself. VII. THE STARWEB ALLIANCE IN ACTION Once the alliance is set, establish goals such as coordinating attacks on other individual players or other alliances. A Berserker or Merchant should either belong to the alliance or be eliminated. Those two character types are far too dangerous to be left alone. This is where everyone gets to help the player who is playing for the fun of combat. Get him as many fleets and ships as can be spared by everyone in the alliance, point him in the right direction, and keep him up to date on what the opponents are doing. Work up some method of getting more ships to him as the game continues. It is best if he is a pirate. He will move along capturing the enemy fleets and growing stronger as he goes. The strategy should include coordinating scores for those people who are rating oriented. If you are not interested in scoring but just want to have fun in combat, let everyone know. They will be happy to oblige. It also helps to share choices of ending scores so that everyone can coordinate their "push" to come at the right time. If you are interested in a good score, do not be shy about telling people exactly what you want and need to get that good score. Many people just are not interested in taking the time and effort to figure out exactly what you want. If you tell them they will be happy to help you. Remember that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you want everyone to slow down and wait for you, ask them! You may be surprised at how reasonable people are if you ask them and tell them why it is important for you. It also helps for you to figure out what is best for the others and work to get it to them as quickly as possible. They are more likely to help you if you help them without being asked. In general, if you are helping every member of the alliance more than he is helping you, then you are almost certainly benefiting more than anyone else in the alliance. They will help you sooner than they will help someone who is not helping them. Be aware of members of the alliance who may have trouble keeping up with the rest. Try to get everyone to help them. Keep in mind how scoring rates work. The Pirate who is in the lead may still need more continued support than anyone else may. If the members of the alliance know that you are looking out for them, then they will also look out for you. Write or call every member of the alliance every turn. If you suddenly stop communicating, they will wonder what you are up to and draw some not very flattering conclusions. Gift orders are extremely important. You get only two a turn. Use both of them every turn to help your allies. You have to work hard to set things up. The Berserker and Apostle allies will need a lot of your fleets to pick up and drop PBBs. They need to be able to pick up ships, build PBBs, move to large population worlds, and then drop the bombs. That takes several turns to accomplish, so they must be carefully planned. One method which will save gift orders is to gift a world, then show up with fleets and transfer down all the ships, allowing your ally to capture the fleets. They can then move to the home world to get the ships they need. Just be sure they have enough time to take advantage of their new ships. Artifact Collectors also need preplanning. You must work to pull all your artifacts to a central location so the Collector can get them in the shortest period of time. Help establish museums if he will need those additional points. At the very end of the game everyone will be frantically trying to get in those last few orders needed to catch the leaders. If you handled your gift orders properly early on, this process will be simple and painless. Be sure to let other members of the alliance know what gift orders you are giving and why. That will keep them from wondering why you have not helped THEM lately. VIII. SUMMARY People have different definitions of what it means to "do well" at Starweb, but it is possible for people with different definitions to work together. The individual should choose the character type that seems the best for "doing well" at Starweb based upon his or her own definition. The Alliance is the most important part of doing well, no matter what the definition. Support every member of the alliance in their quest for doing well as they see it. Recognize threats to the alliance and take appropriate corrective action. Help plan for everyone's "push" at the end of the game so that everyone in your alliance can do as well as possible. Make the best use of gift orders. Keep in contact with alliance members every turn. If you can do all this, then you will do well in every Starweb game. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- STARWEB EMAIL DISCUSSION GROUP - is now available on the web. The MAPPER'S SECTION on the SEDG Web Page has 2 new maps to show off. SW-L/29 and SW-Z1287. http://www.accessv.com/~somnos/sedg.htm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURE - THE CAPTAIN'S LOG By Walter Schmidt walts@dorsai.org Alter's Retrospective - 14 January 2000, 10:23 a.m. Eastern Time Zone. "Every (individual) is concerned with two characters, a Don Quixote, the Ego, and a Sancho Panza, the Self." - W. H. Auden Well, in this case we've got (you know - you've got mail, we've got... - so who's the English major) three characters to deal with. His nibs - the Captain Nemo, player of Star Web and other games. The guy who pays all the bills - walts@dorsai.org. And, little old me - everyone's favor Alter-Ego. First of all I realize that this ain't no Star Trek. Although, Nemo does have Picard's hair, Sisko's beard, Kirk's weight problem and Janeway's sexual orientation. [ALTER!!!] [Hi Nemo - You want something?] [WHEN I agreed to let you do this Retrospective - I did not agree to give you free reign to dis me] [So who's dis'in you? You're bald, bearded, fat and straight! Am I right?] [ARGH, continue...] Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, as this isn't Star Trek - I've not used some pseudo star-date address crap [ALTER] [Now what, Nemo?] [CAN we keep this on the civil side][Well excuse me - would you like it better if I said pseudo star-date address imitation?] [YES] [Well, I won't ‘cause that's crap, too] [SHEESH, continue...] God, ya gotta just love it - that's two - and I've hardly even got started. Okay, so now where were we? Oh yes - as I was about to explain - I'm doing a sorta year-in-review, for this the first column of the new year. Nemo is busy fightin' to the death in SW-... [ALTER - please - can we keep from mentioning any on-going games.] [Okay] Let's just say Nemo's busy with some gaming concerns and has asked me to write this column for him. He even promised me that if it was well received, he'd let me write more. So folks - send in those "cards & letters," let Elliot know you would rather have Alter doing his thing, than... [GOD damn it Alter! Enough already. Just do the damn column and stop with insults and innuendo] [Nemo - go drink some Tequila] [NOW that is the first good idea you've had so far - don't mind if I do - let me know if you need me for anything else] [Riiight]. So where to begin - well why not with me. For those who have been reading Science Fiction for some time now, you might remember a Hugo Award winning fanzine entitled, "Science Fiction Review." Its chief-cook and bottle-washer was a writer named Richard E. Geis. Geis published a few other fanzine-type journals, including several of a very personnel nature. Buried within these journals - peppered throughout them - were the comments of his Alter-Ego. They, both the journals and the verbal jousting matches between himself and Alter-Ego - between himself and himself as it were - were very very interesting. And to give credit where credit is due [which I can say right now since Nemo is busy getting himself a Tequila], Nemo has introduced us to the following rules of an alliance: Nemo's Three/Four Laws of Alliance: 1 - My Comrades - first and foremost! 2 - Myself - a damn close second. 3 - All Others - can go scratch... With a "zeroeths" law which precedes and encompasses the other three: 0 - Death To All Traitors - Shai Dorsai! And once you've (got) (couldn't resist ) an alliance going, Nemo gave us his: Nemo's Four Questions of An Alliance Member's Fidelity: 4 - Has he ever missed a turn, no matter what the reason? 3 - Has he ever mis-spoke, regardless of why? 2 - Has he ever broken a promise, period? 1 - Does he shy-away from getting his public hands dirty? As to this "Shai Dorsai!" thing: Science Fiction writer Gordon R. Dickson has created a future history of humanity's physical and spiritual development formally known as "The Childe Cycle," and informally known as the Dorsai series. Set centuries in the future, we see the development of the three Splinter Cultures, one of which is The Dorsai - incomparable professional solders. "Shai Dorsai!" is their battle cry - in a way it is meant to encompass: "Never Forget - Never Again - Ourselves Alone - Brothers to the End - Death before Defeat - Death before Dishonor" So as we all begin a new year, and as my turn at writing draws to an end, let me leave you with two quotes. First one of Nemo's favorites: "Beware he who lets you do his dirty work for him. Beware "him of the clean hands." - anon. And finally, one from "he-who-pays-the-bills" - one that echo's our (that's the three of us) wishes for all of us as we begin the new year: "As the circle continues on its endless journey...as we are taken back to things new, and venture forward again to where we once were...be well!" - Walter C. Schmidt -12/98. - Shai Dorsai ! Alter ----------------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURE - THE SWAP CORNER How Do I Part I Up until now I have gone over many of the features to allow you to manipulate the software effectively. Assuming you are doing this well you might actually want the Starweb Analyzer to help you find certain pieces of information quickly or optimize your scoring potential. Here are some "How do I" suggestions. A) Find the biggest metal stockpile within 1 turn of a HW. 1. Set your HW as ring 0 by o on the Tool Bar press the Ring World Center Button and type in the world number or o Right click on the world in the Map View and select Set as Ring Zero 2. Set the Ring World Limit control (on the Toolbar) to 3. 3. On the Tool Bar select the Filter Worlds <= Ring Limit 4. In the List View select the World View and sort it by Metal. The requested worlds will be listed in the World View in order of metal stockpiled in ascending (or descending )order. If you wish to fine tune it by specifying only worlds owned by you or your allies you must additionally select the Filter Worlds(owner) and select from Column 2 the owners you wish to specify. B) Find the best PBB target within 1 or 2 turns of a key. 1. Set the World the key is at as ring 0. o on the Tool Bar press the Ring World Center Button and type in the world number or o Right click on the world in the Map View and select Set as Ring Zero 2. Set the Ring World Limit control (on the Toolbar) to 3 for one turn and 6 for two turns. 3. On the Tool Bar select the Filter - Worlds <= Ring Limit 4. Sort worlds in the World View by population (descending). C) Show all your keys within 1 turn of a battle world. 1. Set the battle world as ring 0. o on the Tool Bar press the Ring World Center Button and type in the world number or o Right click on the world in the Map View and select Set as Ring Zero 2. Set the Ring World Limit control (on the Toolbar) to 3 for one turn. 3. On the Tool Bar select the filter - Worlds <= Ring Limit 4. On the Tool Bar select the filter Worlds with Fleets (owner) and choose yourself as the owner in column 2. The fleets will be listed by world in the World View and the Map View. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CORRESPONDENCE From Mike Wulkan - CEO Flying Moose Technologies Flying Moose Technologies would like to announce the opening of the Starweb Analyzer Forum message board powered by Coolboard.com. You can go directly to the board by using this connection --> http://www.coolboard.com/board.cfm/mb=973080192651561&mc=RB0011&ric=105 705001 This is a message board where public discussions on any topics pertaining to our company, the Starweb Analyzer or Starweb can be posted. It is similar to a Usenet newsgroup and I find the handling of threads much easier to follow. This can be a great place to meet other Starweb fans and users of the Starweb Analyzer. You can share secrets, tips and hints about using our software and just chat with other gamers with similar interests to you. Flying Moose Technologies will monitor the board so you can even ask us questions, make future requests for features and just chat. If you have a serious bug to report or require FAST Technical support I would advise you to continue to use my email address (or one of the Tech support addresses listed on our web site). This Forum is meant to be a more social milieu and I don't promise a response as quickly as I will via email. Mike Elliot Hudes said: Hello Allies, Customers and Starweb Opponents The Starweb Analyzer Contest! Mike and I have decided to do a little Flying Moose Technologies Promotion. If you can get a friend, ally, opponent to buy the Starweb Analyzer on your referral you will be eligible for our draw. Your name will be placed in the bin and the draw announced May 20th, 2000 (Assumes civilization doesn't fall at Y2K). The prize will be a Flying Moose Technologies T shirt (style/size based on what is available). Our goal is to get the majority of Starweb players playing via our GUI interface -The Starweb Analyzer in the new Millenium. Remember to tell your friend to inform us as to who referred them. Enter as often as you like! Well, that's it for Volume 24. Don't be afraid to submit articles or suggestions. They don't have to be long. Address your correspondence to Elliot Hudes at somnos@compuserve.com