I was wondering if there are any RBers out there who play Trade Wars 2002 and/or Black Nova Traders.

I've recently returned to TW, a game I haven't played since the good ol'days of Local BBSing in the mid-90s. This week I was overjoyed to find out that there are many Trade Wars servers that one can Telnet into, and that there are still many players playing this addictive game. I was also happy to find a few helper programs (SWATH in particular) that automate some of the more carpal-tunnel inducing tasks in the game, like port to port trading. However, I'm a little dismayed by the use of some of the more advanced scripts: a few days ago I wondered into a sector with another player's toll fighter - and 2 milliseconds later that player's planet T-warped into the sector and annihilated me. After some more reading I discovered that there's a script that enables this - a player only has to be logged in and have some turns, and can kill anyone who happens across his fighter! He can even be AFK and still kill people!

Black Nova Traders is a TW clone, but it's entirely a .PHP game and has far less detail and options. That game basically seems to equate to 'colonize scores of planets, collect all the credits off of the planets, move sector-2-sector and kill everyone' type game.

I'm wondering if there are any RB players who are members of/run servers that run different, 'old-school', variants of these games.

We've never done a thread like this at RB. There's a lot happening now, though. C3C patching is nearing its end. The MOO Imperia have been launched and are taking up some of the attention that would have gone to Civ3. Epics rules are getting an overdue tuneup. Civ4 is in development. And I have not been following all of the succession game chatter the way I used to. So I'm wondering what's on the minds of RB players.

If you could change one (and only one) thing about Civ3, with everything on the table -- removing something you don't like, fixing something you wish were different, or adding something that isn't there, without regard to whether you think it's reasonable, likely, or even possible -- what would you change? And why would you change that thing as opposed to something else? Why is that item the most important to you?

- Sirian

After posting a query at the Lurker Lounge, I was pointed to these two websites.

This Affix List is, apparently, accurate about what sorts of charged skills can occur on different items, but is incomplete about what levels and numbers of charges the items can get.


This Affix Calculator will list for any input item what sorts of affixes can occur on it, including spell charges, but is inaccurate about what spell level the charges can get.

So, it looks like Ice Bolt is possible. Now to find it.......

I've never played this game. I know nothing about it. I've only read some of the posts here, and a few pages of Bam-Bam's training day game.

The feeling here is that the game is 'broken.' Yet to my n00b eyes the game seems like a mix of MOO and CIV3, and I'd like to try it out. BUt before I shell out the $$$, I'd like to know if you guys think this game is worth it. I've avoided reading any in-depth strategy threads on this game, since I don't want to 'ruin' it. Can a n00b have fun with Gal Civ?

A few random questions:

-The good vs evil thing sounds intriguing. What are the pros/cons of each path?

-How well balanced is the ship design aspect? In MOO I like how there are almost no 'uber' ship builds - even the Death Ray is only useful in certain situations? Is this the same for Galciv?

-Are there races in MOO? What are their bonuses like?

Thanks in advance

Cheers Guys (and gals),

Sorry for not having been around for the last couple of days and keeping up with my posting responsibilities. I'm in the middle of my move to Japan, which will be mostly complete as of Thursday... or at least that's when I'm in Japan. After that my wedding is on the 28th of May, and as a reult I'll be fairly busy until at least the 10th of June. Other, argualbly, more important issues coming to the fore (like figuring out how to get through a traditional Japanese wedding ceremony).

I'll try to keep an eye on things here as I will always (except for when I'm on Hawaii) have access to the internet, but as I'm sure you recoginze I have other things on my mind at the moment. :wub:

In any case, I just wanted to give you folks a heads up that I'll be busy... but that I will return!

Take Care and keep having fun!

I'm looking forward to hearing how this went!

-Griselda

Imperium Two is now open. Click here for more information.

-Griselda

Occhidiangela and I have been exchanging email, and here's some news to be passed on.

-- CH

* * *

Please feel free to pass this along to our friends at RBD via a post. It is
sanitized for "unclassified." I have to be careful about that. What you
see on TV and what I see here don't quite match, though some parts do.


I walked the two miles from my work space to my living space this morning
after I got off the midnight to dawn watch (I am turning into a Vampire,
methinks) 2 miles across a desert. As the sun comes up early, before the
100+ temps hit, this place is not as ugly as it is by high noon when the
horizon grows a brown line about a third of the way up, much like LA does
now and again. The distance, as the crow flies, from the Air Operations
Center to the "Maritime SLum" where I live (I am beginning to refer to
myself as "Al Udied Trailer Trash" ) with some Marines, some Navy sorts,
and a few Air Farce friends, is about half a mile. However, the Qatarese
and the Americans/Coalition have divided this Air Base up into some rather
odd geometric shapes, which results in the road from the Air Ops Center to
the place where we live being almost exactly two miles gate to gate.

The desert itself is desert of the least likable sort. It makes the Mojave
look a veritable garden. Rock and dust, not the great dunes of sand one
sees in the films of Arabia from Hollywood. Scrabble, hard rock, and yes, I
saw this AM one very small bundle, about three metres square, of green
foliage. Not sure how it got here, wonder if it passed through immigration
properly.

To my left as I walked the long black, dusty ribbon of ashpalt to my cell,
was the air field proper and on it a variety of airplanes: troop transports,
tankers, commercial airplanes bringing or taking away troops, fighters.
About halfway home I watched a section of F-16's take off, loaded to the
gills with gas and bombs, and then saw about 10 minutes later a pair of
F-15's return. Hmm, still had their bombs on them, so I guess nothing much
legal to drop on for them.

What does the air ops center look like? Well, imagine the movie "War Games"
and the big room where they all watch in horror on the big screens as Joshua
works out the great thermonuclear war. Something similar, not quite as big,
and a flat first floor without the tiered theater seating effect; darker;
and covered in a fine layer of tan dust. It gets everywhere, and yes, each
day techs are seen taking PC workstations out to be air cleaned yet again.
On one sidewall CNN runs 24/7 on a rather large screen, with no sound. Some
hundreds of PC workstations, all with flat 17" screens, dot the floor in
reasonably ordered and parallel rows. UP in front, up high, are the four
big screens, one of which is quartered off into sub screens to show a few
more things, the others dedicated to "situation maps." A person at nearly
every PC is doing something for the effort: planning, chatting via a comm
net, working logistics, search and rescue, liaison with our Australian or
French partners, sorting out the UAV issues, what have you. Up behind us in
the back of this grand room, hanging from the ceiling, (think second or
third floor of a normal building) is "the battle cab." Therein the
elephants, Colonels and higher, gather and harrumph about, and then issue
some grand pronouncement via one of the many comm circuits or VOIP (Voice
Over INternet Protocol) circuits. THis gets various and sundry folks on the
floor a-scurrying to answer their bidding. I am one of the floor rats.

The whole time, a small team ignores the rest of the hubbub and works the
core piece of the operation: the coordination of the planes in the air with
the Marines and Soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq. It is an
around the clock, labor intensive task thanks in part to the immense
political complication of a thing called "the targeting process." Ya can't
just drop a JDAM any old place, you know.

To say the Rules of Engagement are complex is to say that Cerberus was the
son of a Bitch. I will leave it at that. We have JAG officers in the Ops
Center 24/7 to advise the operators and the elephants about legal and
illegal choices available when dropping love and affection from on high in
the shape of 1000-lb laser guided bombs. (Leaflets are apparently
authorized 24/7, although I am sure Green Peace would scream about the
litter leaflets must contribute to. On the bright side, they must help
alleviate the Bog Paper shortage in Bagdad and Fallujah) I am led to
understand that the Marines and the Soldiers have their share of "combat
Jags" roving about giving similar advice, though I don't think it is by the
billable hour.

Most of the really interesting stuff I simply can't talk about, but I will
say this about the Air Force: when it comes to building an air base in the
True Middle Of Nowhere, there are unsurpassed. The civil engineers have
done themselves proud. While a few folks still live in a tent City, most of
us live in double wides on cinder blocks, a massive improvement in
habitability and certainly nicer digs than my Marine pals in Iraq have.
There is even running water, after a fashion, shipped in from a
desalinization plant. There is a septic field as well, which makes for good
sanitation. A veritable fleet of orange septic trucks run every day to
remove the residue of a few thousand souls from this man made and rather
expensively built oasis of rock, pavement, plastic, and steel. (One wag
spelled out on the side of an orange septic truck, with white reflectie
tape, "Dookie Monster." Such passes for wit 'round here, I guess.)

I was floored and pleased to run into, three nights ago, some Canadian
gents. For political reasons, their government does not fly its flag over
this base, though they have worked here in the past and I think still help
in Afghanistan. Even better, I found that one of them knew quite well a
Canadian helicopter pilot I worked with some 12 years ago in San Diego!
Small world, we shared a beer and a few cigarettes. Pilots of all stripes
find it easy to socialize together, I have found. The Brits are their usual
cocky and funny selves, the Aussies immensely fun to work with (I missed
their 25 April sunrise service for Remembrance Day, was on duty) and the
Japanese professional and polite, as I recall from my sojourn there. The
French, . . . aah, the French. Nice enough chaps, the pilots, here to
support the brand spanking new nuclear powered Aircraft Carrier DeGaulle
that is providing nominal support for the Afghanistan Operation. The poor
blokes are quite hamstrung politically in what they can actually do. Rough
on their professional pride, though they make the best show of it that they
can. I rather admire them for that. Damn, I think the Brits are getting to
me, I just re read that and it sounds a bit Brit! EEEEP! My NATO English
has not completely worn off, even after 6 years!

This has run a bit long. Will be getting to work in a bit here, so I will
sign off. More in the not too distant future. Not having to fix plumbing
or mow the lawn leaves some time for correspondence.

Occhi
"But it's a dry heat!"

I've been playing an Average, Large, 5 opponent map as the Darloks in an attempt to figure out spying and to win a final war (Darloks seemed like a good choice, with the spying and security bonuses). Anyway, check out the poor Altari and their starting area:




Heh heh, poor little birdies. They would be wiped out by the Klackons later on.

PS: Am I crazy to love playing as the Darloks? Maybe it was just the map and my opponents, but in this game I jumped out to an unbelievable tech edge - spying was a cinch with all of my computer tech h34r: . I was researching Adv. Computer Tech VII before my closest rival had gotten Mark VII! Also, in Final War, the 20% Security Bonus REALLY helps cut down on Rebellions, Sabotage, and Espionage. Rebellions in particular seem to be quite fatal in Final War

Not to mention they have the sweetest graphics in the game! I especially like the gropo Darlok and his badass sword. I named myself Palpatine, re-named my homeworld Coruscant and had a great ol' time! A great race for evil final-war roleplaying - DEATH TO THE REPUBLIC! :war:.

I have been a little sick lately. Nothing serious, or so I thought. Had a lot of chest congestion, some coughing, lots of mucus. Thought it was a cold. On Friday, at the doctors office, I got a battery of xrays and scans, doctors thought I might have a slight touch of pneumonia.

Today I found out I have a tumor in my lung. Right where my lung connects to my wind pipe. A big lump. And even though it's only xrays and scans, I know what it is. The tendrils are easy to see, and my doctors have no doubts. It's latched onto a rich nest of blood vessels. It's that damned little octopus from hell again. Lousy little fucker is back for round two. I know it's motives, I know how it works, and I know how fast it can spread.

I just found out today, so I don't yet know what is going to happen. But soon, very soon, I will be going AFK for a bit. I don't know how long. I might need to travel this time. I just... don't know anything yet. I am guessing that to remove it, if such a thing is possible, everything around it is probably going to have to go. I think. I don't know. There are new procedures now, new lasers, new surgery techniques since Round One.

In as little as a week or so I will be going for an extended AFK. Against my wishes, I going into some cancer clinic. I don't know, I was awfully upset. Pissed even. Really frigging pissed.

I knew that it was only a matter of time... but it is so soon. I am not going to rant about life not being fair... But I am just not prepared. I do not feel cocky. I do not feel confident. I feel weak and old and tired. I have been worn thin lately. My mental state of mind has not been good. This has caught me at the worst possible time, with so many irons in the fire that demand my attention.

More details as they come.