Archived from groups: rec.games.empire (More info?)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= EMPIRE NEWS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A Wolfpack Empire Publication =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "All the news that fits, we print." =-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= July/August, 2004 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
:-: In this edition :-: -----------------------------------------
What's New?
Links/Resources/Getting Started
Games --
Upcoming
Current
Recently ended
The Dig -
Empire News 1 Year Ago
Empire News 10 Years Ago
Clients and Player Tools
Server and Deity Info
From the Editor
Econ Hint(s) of the Month
Anno of the Month
:-: What's New? :-: --------------------------------------------- :*:
Retro Empire has ended, Petting Zoo II has started, SW Empire II has
started, details inside.
:*: Wolfpack released Empire 4.2.16 Fixing a critical bugs that caused
incorrect production for sectors with eff < 100%
:*: Ron Koenderink announced the release of a minor upgrade of the
WinACE client. WinACE is a MS Windows GUI interface client for
Empire. Version 2.4.12 is mostly a bug-fix release, with a few new
features like a chat window (enhances flash) and a visual plague
marker tool (similar to the existing che marker). More details are
available at
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=ae2bf018.0406171906.cbe7aca%40posting.google.com
The latest version of WinACE can be downloaded from
www.sourceforge.net/projects/winace
Ron also announced that he is working on a Win version of Drake
Diedrich's EmpireHub that will be designed to integrate with WinACE
capabilities. If you don't already know, EmpireHub allows multiple
players to play a single country at the same time. Ron was developing
the WinEmpireHub during Retro Empire, and Thistle, Ron and myself got
to see a pretty good preview of it's capabilities. Besides allowing
co-rulers to play at the same time, it has a HubChat window feature
that allows co-rulers to communicate much more easily than by email. I
really think this has some potential to enhance the game
play...well...at least for co-rulers, anyway.
:-: Links/Resources/Getting Started :-: -------------------------
Home of Wolfpack Empire: http://www.wolfpackempire.com/
FAQ : http://www.wolfpackempire.com/faq.html
Usenet : news:rec.games.empire
More : http://www.wolfpackempire.com/links.html
:-: New Games :-: -----------------------------------------------
:*: Deities, advertise your games here. Email
empnews04@wolfpackempire.com with the details.
There are no new games to the knowledge of the Empire Newsletter.
:-: Current Games :-: -------------------------------------------
:*: Petting Zoo II ---
Deity: Bungholio
Start Date: Thursday AM, June 24th, 2004
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/empire2/bungholio/PettingZooTwo.html
Petting Zoo Two is hosted by Bungholio at
sheepfarm.game-host.org:6665. The most recent game report posted by
Bungy can be found at
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=ELWRc.9847%24BO.9179%40nwrddc03.gnilink.net
:*: Seawolf I
Deities: voor
Start Date: May 15th, first update Monday, March 29th, 2004
Host/Port: seawolf.juneau-lug.org / 8652
Website: none
Seawolf I has entered the final stages of game play with Saltmine
dominating the power report, and the news report.
Seawolf I Power Report as of Sun Jul 11 06:22:04 2004
sects eff civ mil shell gun pet iron dust oil pln ship unit
money
Saltmine 820 92% 678K 26K 25K 2.3K 82K 102K 11K 24K 690 170 140
180K
beep 395 98% 345K 22K 16K 2.7K 68K 44K 6.0K 8.2K 530 150 120
65K
Zero 315 98% 297K 31K 13K 2.2K 28K 39K 7.0K 7.3K 100 80 50
175K
Mordor 175 79% 125K 4.8K 12K 1.7K 19K 45K 1.1K 10K 20 60 10
105K
GNUb 0 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20K
Octagon 0 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20K
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
worldwide 1.7K 93% 1.4M 85K 66K 8.9K 197K 230K 25K 50K 1.3K 450 320
565K
:*: Star Wars Empire II --- New Byss Campaign
Deities: Jeff Cotter, Ron Koenderink, Markus Armbruster
Start Date: Second week of August
Website: http://www.pv.unsw.edu.au/jcotter/SWE/Endor.htm
The second in this series of experimental Empire games kicked off
recently. The game features trademark twisted surprises and treats,
including an unruly 'flora and fauna'. The traditional deity mil
concept has replaced with a non-player-country (NPC) called NewByss
that comprises both mil and units.
All factions quickly occupied the small areas cleared out by their
Capital Exploration ships. Invisible, silent birdlike beasts
harrassed the poor colonists from the start. Once a relatively safe
perimeter was established, scouting parties ventured into the
wilderness. They found it infested with militaristic indigenous life
forms (mil), which turned out to be mostly harmless. Unlucky scouting
parties were decimated by ravenous Slashrats appearing out of nowhere.
An even deadlier species was found in swamps and mountains, often
enough the hard and painful way: Assassin Vines. Hundreds of imperial
and rebel military perished. And did I mention *something* has been
slinging acid-filled seed pods? On the bright side, explorers found
treasure in some lairs.
SoroSuub claimed to have tamed native life forms to their own sinister
purposes. Whether that's true or the usual propaganda remains to be
seen.
The first factions succeeded in making contact with each other. There
have been reports of skirmishes.
- = [ Empire Power Report ] = -
as of Fri Aug 13 14:39:58 2004
sects eff civ mil shell gun pet iron dust oil pln ship unit
money
TrojHorse 125 29% 7.0K 250 400 0 0 750 250 100 6 0 0
15K
Yinchorr 120 24% 7.2K 150 150 0 0 1.3K 250 150 2 0 0
15K
R56 120 18% 7.0K 300 225 0 0 1.0K 150 200 2 0 0
15K
The_Base 110 20% 7.2K 150 400 0 0 1.4K 250 100 5 0 0
20K
SoroSuub 105 25% 6.1K 200 225 0 200 900 200 100 5 0 0
20K
Saiph 90 23% 7.2K 200 50 0 0 2.8K 200 43 0 0 0
25K
4th-Assau 110 20% 5.7K 650 150 0 0 800 100 50 3 0 0
15K
Gemini 35 30% 4.5K 150 0 0 0 150 37 0 0 0 0
25K
NewByss 115 2% 0 650 775 80 0 0 0 0 10 0 20
10K
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
worldwide 925 20% 52K 2.8K 2.4K 80 200 9.0K 1.4K 750 30 0 20
160K
:*: Kelly's Empire Blitz Server --- Flak Barrage I
Start Date: June, 2004
Updates: 60 ETUs every 10 minutes
Host/Port: 68.41.110.228 / 6665
Website: http://68.41.110.228/
:*: The Changeling Blitz
Restart Cycle: Every day at 7:00 pm US/Eastern (currently 23:00 UTC)
Updates: Enabled at 7:30 pm, 60 ETUs every 10 minutes
Host/Port: blitz.wolfpackempire.com / 6789
Website: http://www.wolfpackempire.com/default.htm
Note that world size and some options change daily. It is up to
players to figure that out each day, but typing `version' helps.
Further surprises are possible, as Changeling runs snapshots from the
latest Wolfpack server development.
:*: The Zebra Blitz
Restart Cycle: Every Sunday at 6:00 pm US/Eastern (currently 22:00 UTC)
Updates: Enabled at 6:30 pm, 48 ETUs every 60 minutes
Host/Port: blitz.wolfpackempire.com / 5678
Website: http://www.wolfpackempire.com/default.htm
:-: Recently Ended Games :-: ------------------------------------
:*: Retro Empire
Deities: Mark Ballinger (Uesugi) and Geoff Cashman (Mithrilien)
Start Date: Friday March 26th, first update Monday, March 29th, 2004
Host/Port: retro.wolfpackempire.com / 6665
Blitz Host/Port: blitz.wolfpackempire.com / 6665
Website: http://retro.wolfpackempire.com/
Retro Empire has ended.
Retro Empire attempted to emulate what could be called the classical
age of Empire: the early '90s. No infrastructure. No missions. 24 ETUs
per update. Fewer ship and plane types, and no land units. Completing
a ship or plane takes several updates. Start islands were large, but
resources were scarce.
beep ushered Retro into the nuclear age by dropping a device on
UTOPIA. Their war went on, though.
One day later, Draenor followed suit and nuked Azwhepay, who then
proved unable to resist Draenor's invasion.
The third nuke was used by BlackBox on U.S.Madison, whom they had been
fighting for some time. BlackBox and Manetherin then proceeded to
grind down U.S.Madison.
KingJohan was the first in space, followed by beep. Apparently,
KingJohan didn't appreciate company there, and promptly nuked beep a
few times.
At this time, an early bid for victory by BlackBox, with KingJohan,
Pern and Kamoria was opposed by Draenor, with TZIA, Uruk and beep, and
later Zapotek and UTOPIA . The uranium began to fall freely shortly
thereafter, with DiudeLand (from beep), U.S.Madison (from BlackBox),
Draenor (from KingJohan), beep (also from KingJohan), TZIA (from
BlackBox and Pern), Savioa and Pern (from TZIA) receiving early
nuclear-tipped birthday gifts.
After that, everyone who was anyone joined the nuclear A-list,
scraping whatever rads, oil and cash together to build (and missile
frigates, missiles and heavy bombers to deliver) ever increasing
tonnages of nuclear devices for special delivery. Few escaped
suffering from the ill effects of fallout.
Retro Armageddon lasted no less than three weeks, with some creative
cooperation between allies to continue the fight. Nukes often took
circuitous routes to reach their destination. Cash flowed in one
direction via loans, materials were shipped and airlifted, and nukes
were traded back via jet heavy bombers. Missiles armed with the nukes
were transported overland, then ferried by guided missile cruisers,
then launched to their final destination.
By the end, only KingJohan was left standing unscarred among the
faintly glowing rubble. His allied win declaration went
uncontested. Retro was won by KingJohan, Kamoria, Pern and BlackBox.
Here's the final deity power report:
- = [ Empire Power Report ] = -
as of Wed Jun 30 11:21:57 2004
sects eff civ mil shell gun pet iron dust oil food pln ship
money
KingJohan 455 79% 268K 11K 10K 400 1.8K 55K 4.1K 1.8K 88K 270 110
255K
61705.68
Kamoria 285 76% 161K 5.7K 4.9K 330 2.8K 14K 2.7K 1.5K 86K 210 130
15K
35539.79
UTOPIA 210 91% 149K 3.5K 4.0K 470 2.0K 15K 1.1K 1.9K 72K 110 210
35K
32582.91
Manetheri 310 76% 135K 4.0K 2.5K 490 3.1K 14K 850 650 25K 180 60
1.8K
31193.59
Draenor 240 81% 98K 3.6K 4.2K 560 3.2K 5.3K 250 1.2K 30K 140 120
10K
27305.02
BlackBox 220 83% 113K 3.0K 4.0K 600 3.2K 10K 250 2.4K 46K 200 120
10K
27236.24
Indetermi 220 80% 121K 4.7K 5.5K 745 4.5K 5.0K 1.9K 1.4K 22K 150 140
15K
26851.42
Pern 275 75% 84K 4.0K 4.7K 420 11K 8.3K 2.7K 2.3K 37K 160 110
640
26831.23
Savoia 105 91% 67K 1.7K 2.4K 495 1.5K 2.1K 500 300 6.5K 260 30
15K
15850.80
DiudeLand 145 76% 62K 2.6K 1.5K 270 750 6.6K 250 500 8.9K 50 60
1.0K
14731.96
Uruk 125 51% 29K 1.9K 1.9K 205 1.2K 2.8K 250 200 5.1K 150 100
15K
9766.33
beep 60 70% 24K 1.3K 1.2K 70 150 6.3K 20 1.6K 8.2K 10 40
476
6494.48
Zapotek 55 46% 22K 300 400 155 350 5.5K 50 8 2.6K 120 50
1.2K
5346.97
TZIA 15 36% 1.6K 350 250 80 2 150 0 200 2.1K 0 40
1.8K
969.68
Aridon 0 0% 100 100 150 60 0 0 0 0 1.1K 0
20 -6.3K
213.42
Land_Of_F 0 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20K
206.78
Golgoth 0 0% 30 50 50 10 0 0 0 0 250 0 3
3.6K
80.07
U.S.Madis 0 0% 0 50 100 15 0 0 0 0 150 0
4 -1.4K
50.52
Tormalin 0 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
765
7.65
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
worldwide 2.7K 78% 1.3M 48K 48K 5.4K 35K 150K 15K 16K 441K 2.0K 1.3K
375K
And here's the final deity report:
Wed Jun 30 11:22:45 2004
# name tech research education happiness capital
0 Uesugi 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
1 Uruk 279.62 34.09 12.92 3.53 75,27
2 Kamoria 335.46 55.79 19.63 10.11 84,60
3 Zapotek 308.60 23.61 13.66 2.16 54,28
4 UTOPIA 202.15 20.05 1.37 7.00 89,37
5 KingJohan 329.27 19.92 11.11 2.46 15,43
6 pandatrax 73.69 21.29 0.56 0.00 -55,59
7 BlackBox 343.02 60.02 19.11 5.80 50,0
8 Pern 326.50 91.00 16.95 2.83 41,-25
9 DiudeLand 273.14 32.27 11.11 7.65 -22,28
10 Azwhepay 173.64 22.06 3.34 0.01 -35,7
11 beep 286.69 68.81 8.74 10.37 -65,7
12 Manetherin 320.70 47.31 15.11 10.71 11,17
13 Savoia 208.03 42.21 7.29 15.28 27,-51
14 Draenor 318.57 108.28 14.79 10.58 -71,-25
15 Wonderland 156.69 20.46 1.37 0.00 38,-24
16 Land_Of_Faa 157.76 20.46 0.92 0.00 -41,-21
17 Tormalin 104.24 18.29 0.76 0.00 89,59
18 Indeterminist 263.77 35.71 18.43 12.77 76,-38
19 Golgoth 102.91 17.40 0.39 0.00 -14,-50
20 Aridon 164.91 19.39 3.40 0.02 -55,-41
21 TZIA 264.06 19.42 15.62 4.40 -3,-25
22 U.S.Madison 256.32 20.65 3.51 0.02 -5,-13
23 Sinergy 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
24 Suboceana 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
25 Dorsai 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
26 Tahuantinsuyo 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
27 Revelstone 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
28 DreamLands 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
29 JustUs 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
30 Redline 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
31 Batak 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
32 AfrikaKorps 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
33 Mithrilien 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
34 Diary 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
35 visitor 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
:-: The Dig :-: ---------------------------------------------
Thanks to Mark Stokje who posted a link to an excellent historical
database that lists number of messages posted per month back to
1987. Clicking on any a month leads you to a nice split window with
complete list of posts on the left panel and a viewer on the right
side. Very interesting reading for those days when there are no new
posts to r.g.e. Bookmark it!
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.games.empire/about
:*: Empire News 1 Year Ago
With a Subject Line like `SOMEBODY FIX THIS LOUSY GAME', you can
bet the following debate will be lively. This thread dominated
r.g.e. during July and August. The central argument: air units too
superior.
One year ago this month, Pangea, with the massive 10K sector expansion
island was underway. Midshipman's Empire I ended, won by DexterPV,
Thistle, Pax and Armengar. A follow-up Midship II was proposed.
In July, 2003, a call went out for contributions to The Empire
Acadamy. I reprint and repeat the call here:
Empire Academy is a forthcoming resource for players of all experience
levels. There will be a large number of articles on every conceivable
topic regarding this wonderful game, from beginning concepts to the
most detailed tactics and strategies.
We need help! We can't write all the articles alone.
How can you contribute? Easy. Pick a topic...any topic!... about
Empire and write an article on it. A given article doesn't need to be
an expert dissertation on every detail you can possibly imagine
regarding the topic at hand. Just write! If several people
contribute articles on the same subject, we'll post them all. We
won't be taking only "the best" article on a given topic. We'll be
taking them all. An example article may be found here:
http://www.wolfpackempire.com/academy/demo.html
So, pick a topic, write a few paragraphs (or more if you like...length
is not an issue!) and send it to the Empire Academy at:
academy@wolfpackempire.com
You will be given credit for the article on the Academy web site.
We'll even help you write the article if you like. Write as much as
you can, and we'll help you finish it.
Markus Armbruster's Hint of the Month was on controlling che. If che
was your headache in Retro, dig this one up and read it.
:*: Empire News 10 Years Ago
July, 1994 saw the `biggest news ever in Empire history' and was
proclaimed `the end of an era.' Mirkwood won the Riverworld game
solo, and retired from the game.
In the eulogies that followed, Mirkwood was called `the Michael
Jordan' of Empire and `the undisputed best of the best', and
he renowned for `Murk-o-Vision' posts to r.g.e. I give you but a
taste (from Doug Pitters' Empire Hall of Fame):
> Announcement from Mirkwood, (#10) dated Sat Feb 10 16:35:39 1990
In an action of unparalleled insanity, the Elven-King
today ordered the continent of Fleer to withdraw from
Elven territorial waters immediately.
After waiting the customary forty-two seconds and seeing
that the continent had defied the High King's decree,
naval action was of course ordered.
The continent, of very solid construction, withstood
multiple torpedoings and bombings. Reportedly, marines
are having better success at boarding. Marine officers
expect to scuttle the continent later tonight.
> Announcement from Fleer, (#49) dated Sat Feb 10 17:37:50 1990
Oh, *come on*, Mirkwood.
You can't scuttle an island. Unless you get help from our
handy, dandy Deity, that is... [blah, blah, blah]
> Announcement from Mirkwood, (#10) dated Sat Feb 10 18:35:39 1990
The Elven-King, royal purple bunny-slippered feet
propped up on a dwarf, peruses the morning announcements.
A tear trickles down his cheek as Suboceana's
storytelling brings back memories of his younger,
naive days.
The King cringes self-consciously at his memories
of tiny Fleer, a small and heroic country, buried
under waves of pillaging Elven paratroops.
"Never again!" swears the shamed King.
"Never again will I let a country hang on long
enough to send all those damned announcements..."
Mirkwood dominated Empire for a five-year period spanning two
mileposts in Empire history: Harvard Fall '89 and Riverworld
'94. Mirkwood was co-ruled by Sean Eddy occasionally with Tom
Jones.
:-: Clients and Player Tools :-: --------------------------------
The basic Empire client can be found at
http://www.wolfpackempire.com/clients.html and
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=24031
source as well as binaries for many platforms.
The latest version of WinACE is 2.4.12. Read the announcement at
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=ae2bf018.0406171906.cbe7aca%40posting.google.com
and download from http://sourceforge.net/projects/winace/
The latest version of PTkEI is 1.18.1. See the PTkEI home page at
http://www.lfmm.org/ptkei/
The latest version of eif is 1.3.4. See the eif home page at
http://www.stack.nl/~marcolz/empire/
The latest version of LAFE is 1.0. Get it from
http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/e/empire-lafe/
or any other Debian mirror.
The latest version of pei is 3.0.1. See the pei home page at
http://empire.tau.ac.il/~romm/emp/
:-: Server and Deity Information :-: ----------------------------
The current Empire server is 4.2.16. Download it from
http://www.wolfpackempire.com/server.html or
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=24031
:-: From the Editor :-: -----------------------------------------
Sincere apologies for missing the July edition. Travels and setting up
Star Wars Empire II have kept me otherwise busy. Thanks to Doug and
Markus for politely reminding me about it
The Newsletter's postbox, empnews04@wolfpackempire.com, was jammed
with spam again this month. Well, this got me thinking about the good
old days when mum used to cook up fried spam, with sides of baked
potatoes and green beans, for dinner. That was usually when my
siblings and I (and some times my dad) were in some kind of trouble
and deserving of prison-like rations.
Yes, that's right, for those of you who don't already know, spam is
actually a food product. (Note the careful distinction between 'food'
and 'food product' -- most supermarket cheeses require a similar
distinction.) Spam (which comes in a steel can) sits on the lowest
rung of the culinary ladder, just above deviled ham (which also comes
in a can) and just below vegemite (which comes in a jar -- its only
saving grace). Tripe and liver are in the vicinity, by my reckoning,
as they have all been used to torture me on at least one social
occasion.
Thinking back, I realize that my brother, sister and I (and maybe dad,
too) may have invented the very first spam filter. You see, what you
do is eat the potato out of its skin, but don't eat the skin. Turn the
skins upside down, then, cut your fried spam up into little pieces and
quietly hide it under the potato skins when mum's not looking. Voila,
no more spam! Alas, like any good spam filter, it only worked for a
while...
....which brings me to the whole point of this digression. Empire needs
spam. Spam telexes, spam annos and spam flash messages, yep. We could
embed viruses too, the kind that sleep until right before the update,
when they wipe and redes all your sectors. Or maybe one of those
Trojan Horse programs that secretly steal your country and
registration or sends your bmap to your enemies. Or, maybe one of
those polite requests for confidential business transactions:
"Dear kind sir,
Please allow me to introduce myself. I am the grandson of the late
URLIN ULOPPPIKETEIN, the president and ruler of Bwian until the evil
country of beep invaded our peaceful country. I require a CONFIDENTAIL
business partner to assist with the transaction of $1 BILLION DOLLARS,
which has been secretly hidden by my father, the son of the late URLIN
ULOPPPIKETEIN. Please send me the location of your banks and airfields
so that I can enact the transaction to transfer the monies to you.
Kindest regards,
WELIOPKRF ULOPPPIKETEIN"
And best of all... it shouldn't be hard to code, either!
Jeff, a.k.a. Dexter
:-: Hint of the Month :-: ---------------------------------------
:*: The Art of Cost-effective Tech Production
Deciding how much cash to spend on tech production is one of the
important strategic decisions for an Empire game. Tech and edu
production are significantly expensive, both in terms of cash and oil,
that players hoping to be competitive must not take the decision
lightly. Further, a wide range of factors have to be considered in
this strategic decision, from the game setup and available resources,
to the units incorporated by the deity, to your own style (or
objectives) of play. Spend too much on tech/edu and you won't be able
to afford the forces needed for expansion. Spend too little on tech
and you suffer from inefficient production and less-capable fighting
forces.
The topic here, however, is not about that strategic decision. It's
rather how to get the most tech for your dollar. Toward that aim, I
have tried to boil the art of cost-effective tech production down to a
few general rules.
1. The optimum tech production schedule (ie. how much tech and edu you
produce each update) is roughly constant over time.
Most of the tech production schedules I have looked at can be
characterized as roughly constant over time, that is, production
doesn't vary much over time and certainly doesn't vary wildly.
There is a good reason for this, and the reason has been noted on
r.g.e. by a number of people over the years. It is because of the
non-linear relationship between the cash you spend and the tech delta
you get - you get diminishing returns on your investment.
Because of this, the optimum schedules tend to be constant with
time. For example, you will gain much more tech from $5K spent over
two updates if you spend $2.5K each update, compared to spending $5.0K
at the first update, then $0.0K at the second update.
So, try to avoid switching your tech/edu production on and off over
time.
2. Given a reasonable scenario like `spend the least amount of
money and reach tech=X in Z updates', there is an optimum schedule
for tech and edu production.
It's bloody complicated to work it out, but it can be done. The
tech and edu equations are non-linear, discontinuous and require a
large number of constants and values (like etu per update and number
of civs), but they are solvable.
One tech production scenarios we (BlackBox) used in the recent Retro
game was `make the most tech by update=Z given a certain tech
budget.' The tech budget was determined by our short-term
objectives, and from there we were able to d etermine the optimum tech
production schedule by repeatedly solving the tech/edu equations for
every value update.
With pencil and paper, this would have taken a really long time (as
if), but fortunately, there are some software tools that can do it
automatically. We used Microsoft Excel with its Solver plug in. Each
row in our spreadsheet represented one update, into which we
programmed in the tech and edu equations. They are ugly, but once
entered, the Solver plug-in tool can be used to quickly find the
optimum production schedule (typically less than 1 minute) for every
update under various budgetary scenarios. When our short-term
objectives changed, we reran the Solver to calculate a new tech/edu
production schedule.
(The Solver plug-in tool is very powerful, I would recommend learning
it to any one who uses Microsoft Excel to any extent.)
3. If you can't be bothered to work it all out, and if you're planning
to spend a reasonable amounts on tech, then a pretty good schedule is
a consistent 3/1 ratio of tech expenditure to edu expenditure. In
typical situations, this will keep you within about 1-2% of the
optimum solution described in 2 above.
This is not to say that a 3/1 ratio will keep you within 1-2% of the
tech leaders, however, because they might be spending more than you on
tech/edu overall. However, it will, hopefully, result in more tech for
the dollar you do decide to spend on tech and edu.
:*: Last Month Quiz Question: You're desperate to get shells to the
front line. How is it possible to fit 650 shells on a stock-standard
cargo ship?
Answer: load up two supply lands with shells AND the cargo ship. Load
the supply units on the cargo ship. Tending is not possible with the
shells on the supply lands, however.
:*: Quiz Question: Heavy artillery is handy on the front on your
neighbor's island, but lacks the 'light' capability and won't fit on
assault ships. How can you get them there?
:-: Anno of the Month :-: ---------------------------------------
Deities, send nominations for Anno of the Month to
empnews04@wolfpackempire.com
:*: This anno is contributed by Geoff Cashmann and comes from the
recent Retro game
> Announcement from Savoia, (#13) dated Wed May 5 14:12:10 2004
OFFER OF THE MONTH
Do you happen to have an old carrier you want
to get rid of?
Then this offer is for you!!!!!
We have the most modern and efficient
facilities to sink your carrier quickly
and TOTALLY FREE OF CHARGE!
And we have something that nobody else can
provide you: EXPERTISE!
Savoia gunners have practiced a lot and have
obtained the official "CARRIER SINKER CERTIFICATE"
issued by the Savoian Royal Naval Association.
P.S. You know, the Savoian Royal Naval Association
didn't have many chances to actually navigate, as
the Savoian Navy has only a bunch of fishing boats.
So they focused on ship sinking rather than ship
building
> Announcement from KingJohan, (#5) dated Wed May 5 14:16:29 2004
Actually, Mad Erik feels that
the
Certificate of Carrier Kills
should be proudly put on any wall.
C.O.C.K
Savioa 3
> Announcement from beep, (#11) dated Wed May 5 14:22:51 2004
you want him to nail his c.o.c.k. to the wall?
:*: Finally, last but not least, check out Doug Bungholio's
revolutionary new Empire Client. Forget PtKei, forget WinACE, forget
emp_client, now there's...
http://www.angelfire.com/empire2/bungholio/emp_phone.html
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
= The Empire News is a publication of Wolfpack Empire, bringing =
= you the best in Empire since 1996. If you would like to add =
= content (new games, games ending, new web sites, hints, =
= Anno of the Month submissions, etc.) to the next edition of =
= the Empire News, please contact the editor at =
= empnews04@wolfpackempire.com =
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= EMPIRE NEWS =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= A Wolfpack Empire Publication =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= "All the news that fits, we print." =-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= July/August, 2004 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
:-: In this edition :-: -----------------------------------------
What's New?
Links/Resources/Getting Started
Games --
Upcoming
Current
Recently ended
The Dig -
Empire News 1 Year Ago
Empire News 10 Years Ago
Clients and Player Tools
Server and Deity Info
From the Editor
Econ Hint(s) of the Month
Anno of the Month
:-: What's New? :-: --------------------------------------------- :*:
Retro Empire has ended, Petting Zoo II has started, SW Empire II has
started, details inside.
:*: Wolfpack released Empire 4.2.16 Fixing a critical bugs that caused
incorrect production for sectors with eff < 100%
:*: Ron Koenderink announced the release of a minor upgrade of the
WinACE client. WinACE is a MS Windows GUI interface client for
Empire. Version 2.4.12 is mostly a bug-fix release, with a few new
features like a chat window (enhances flash) and a visual plague
marker tool (similar to the existing che marker). More details are
available at
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=ae2bf018.0406171906.cbe7aca%40posting.google.com
The latest version of WinACE can be downloaded from
www.sourceforge.net/projects/winace
Ron also announced that he is working on a Win version of Drake
Diedrich's EmpireHub that will be designed to integrate with WinACE
capabilities. If you don't already know, EmpireHub allows multiple
players to play a single country at the same time. Ron was developing
the WinEmpireHub during Retro Empire, and Thistle, Ron and myself got
to see a pretty good preview of it's capabilities. Besides allowing
co-rulers to play at the same time, it has a HubChat window feature
that allows co-rulers to communicate much more easily than by email. I
really think this has some potential to enhance the game
play...well...at least for co-rulers, anyway.
:-: Links/Resources/Getting Started :-: -------------------------
Home of Wolfpack Empire: http://www.wolfpackempire.com/
FAQ : http://www.wolfpackempire.com/faq.html
Usenet : news:rec.games.empire
More : http://www.wolfpackempire.com/links.html
:-: New Games :-: -----------------------------------------------
:*: Deities, advertise your games here. Email
empnews04@wolfpackempire.com with the details.
There are no new games to the knowledge of the Empire Newsletter.
:-: Current Games :-: -------------------------------------------
:*: Petting Zoo II ---
Deity: Bungholio
Start Date: Thursday AM, June 24th, 2004
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/empire2/bungholio/PettingZooTwo.html
Petting Zoo Two is hosted by Bungholio at
sheepfarm.game-host.org:6665. The most recent game report posted by
Bungy can be found at
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=ELWRc.9847%24BO.9179%40nwrddc03.gnilink.net
:*: Seawolf I
Deities: voor
Start Date: May 15th, first update Monday, March 29th, 2004
Host/Port: seawolf.juneau-lug.org / 8652
Website: none
Seawolf I has entered the final stages of game play with Saltmine
dominating the power report, and the news report.
Seawolf I Power Report as of Sun Jul 11 06:22:04 2004
sects eff civ mil shell gun pet iron dust oil pln ship unit
money
Saltmine 820 92% 678K 26K 25K 2.3K 82K 102K 11K 24K 690 170 140
180K
beep 395 98% 345K 22K 16K 2.7K 68K 44K 6.0K 8.2K 530 150 120
65K
Zero 315 98% 297K 31K 13K 2.2K 28K 39K 7.0K 7.3K 100 80 50
175K
Mordor 175 79% 125K 4.8K 12K 1.7K 19K 45K 1.1K 10K 20 60 10
105K
GNUb 0 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20K
Octagon 0 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20K
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
worldwide 1.7K 93% 1.4M 85K 66K 8.9K 197K 230K 25K 50K 1.3K 450 320
565K
:*: Star Wars Empire II --- New Byss Campaign
Deities: Jeff Cotter, Ron Koenderink, Markus Armbruster
Start Date: Second week of August
Website: http://www.pv.unsw.edu.au/jcotter/SWE/Endor.htm
The second in this series of experimental Empire games kicked off
recently. The game features trademark twisted surprises and treats,
including an unruly 'flora and fauna'. The traditional deity mil
concept has replaced with a non-player-country (NPC) called NewByss
that comprises both mil and units.
All factions quickly occupied the small areas cleared out by their
Capital Exploration ships. Invisible, silent birdlike beasts
harrassed the poor colonists from the start. Once a relatively safe
perimeter was established, scouting parties ventured into the
wilderness. They found it infested with militaristic indigenous life
forms (mil), which turned out to be mostly harmless. Unlucky scouting
parties were decimated by ravenous Slashrats appearing out of nowhere.
An even deadlier species was found in swamps and mountains, often
enough the hard and painful way: Assassin Vines. Hundreds of imperial
and rebel military perished. And did I mention *something* has been
slinging acid-filled seed pods? On the bright side, explorers found
treasure in some lairs.
SoroSuub claimed to have tamed native life forms to their own sinister
purposes. Whether that's true or the usual propaganda remains to be
seen.
The first factions succeeded in making contact with each other. There
have been reports of skirmishes.
- = [ Empire Power Report ] = -
as of Fri Aug 13 14:39:58 2004
sects eff civ mil shell gun pet iron dust oil pln ship unit
money
TrojHorse 125 29% 7.0K 250 400 0 0 750 250 100 6 0 0
15K
Yinchorr 120 24% 7.2K 150 150 0 0 1.3K 250 150 2 0 0
15K
R56 120 18% 7.0K 300 225 0 0 1.0K 150 200 2 0 0
15K
The_Base 110 20% 7.2K 150 400 0 0 1.4K 250 100 5 0 0
20K
SoroSuub 105 25% 6.1K 200 225 0 200 900 200 100 5 0 0
20K
Saiph 90 23% 7.2K 200 50 0 0 2.8K 200 43 0 0 0
25K
4th-Assau 110 20% 5.7K 650 150 0 0 800 100 50 3 0 0
15K
Gemini 35 30% 4.5K 150 0 0 0 150 37 0 0 0 0
25K
NewByss 115 2% 0 650 775 80 0 0 0 0 10 0 20
10K
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
worldwide 925 20% 52K 2.8K 2.4K 80 200 9.0K 1.4K 750 30 0 20
160K
:*: Kelly's Empire Blitz Server --- Flak Barrage I
Start Date: June, 2004
Updates: 60 ETUs every 10 minutes
Host/Port: 68.41.110.228 / 6665
Website: http://68.41.110.228/
:*: The Changeling Blitz
Restart Cycle: Every day at 7:00 pm US/Eastern (currently 23:00 UTC)
Updates: Enabled at 7:30 pm, 60 ETUs every 10 minutes
Host/Port: blitz.wolfpackempire.com / 6789
Website: http://www.wolfpackempire.com/default.htm
Note that world size and some options change daily. It is up to
players to figure that out each day, but typing `version' helps.
Further surprises are possible, as Changeling runs snapshots from the
latest Wolfpack server development.
:*: The Zebra Blitz
Restart Cycle: Every Sunday at 6:00 pm US/Eastern (currently 22:00 UTC)
Updates: Enabled at 6:30 pm, 48 ETUs every 60 minutes
Host/Port: blitz.wolfpackempire.com / 5678
Website: http://www.wolfpackempire.com/default.htm
:-: Recently Ended Games :-: ------------------------------------
:*: Retro Empire
Deities: Mark Ballinger (Uesugi) and Geoff Cashman (Mithrilien)
Start Date: Friday March 26th, first update Monday, March 29th, 2004
Host/Port: retro.wolfpackempire.com / 6665
Blitz Host/Port: blitz.wolfpackempire.com / 6665
Website: http://retro.wolfpackempire.com/
Retro Empire has ended.
Retro Empire attempted to emulate what could be called the classical
age of Empire: the early '90s. No infrastructure. No missions. 24 ETUs
per update. Fewer ship and plane types, and no land units. Completing
a ship or plane takes several updates. Start islands were large, but
resources were scarce.
beep ushered Retro into the nuclear age by dropping a device on
UTOPIA. Their war went on, though.
One day later, Draenor followed suit and nuked Azwhepay, who then
proved unable to resist Draenor's invasion.
The third nuke was used by BlackBox on U.S.Madison, whom they had been
fighting for some time. BlackBox and Manetherin then proceeded to
grind down U.S.Madison.
KingJohan was the first in space, followed by beep. Apparently,
KingJohan didn't appreciate company there, and promptly nuked beep a
few times.
At this time, an early bid for victory by BlackBox, with KingJohan,
Pern and Kamoria was opposed by Draenor, with TZIA, Uruk and beep, and
later Zapotek and UTOPIA . The uranium began to fall freely shortly
thereafter, with DiudeLand (from beep), U.S.Madison (from BlackBox),
Draenor (from KingJohan), beep (also from KingJohan), TZIA (from
BlackBox and Pern), Savioa and Pern (from TZIA) receiving early
nuclear-tipped birthday gifts.
After that, everyone who was anyone joined the nuclear A-list,
scraping whatever rads, oil and cash together to build (and missile
frigates, missiles and heavy bombers to deliver) ever increasing
tonnages of nuclear devices for special delivery. Few escaped
suffering from the ill effects of fallout.
Retro Armageddon lasted no less than three weeks, with some creative
cooperation between allies to continue the fight. Nukes often took
circuitous routes to reach their destination. Cash flowed in one
direction via loans, materials were shipped and airlifted, and nukes
were traded back via jet heavy bombers. Missiles armed with the nukes
were transported overland, then ferried by guided missile cruisers,
then launched to their final destination.
By the end, only KingJohan was left standing unscarred among the
faintly glowing rubble. His allied win declaration went
uncontested. Retro was won by KingJohan, Kamoria, Pern and BlackBox.
Here's the final deity power report:
- = [ Empire Power Report ] = -
as of Wed Jun 30 11:21:57 2004
sects eff civ mil shell gun pet iron dust oil food pln ship
money
KingJohan 455 79% 268K 11K 10K 400 1.8K 55K 4.1K 1.8K 88K 270 110
255K
61705.68
Kamoria 285 76% 161K 5.7K 4.9K 330 2.8K 14K 2.7K 1.5K 86K 210 130
15K
35539.79
UTOPIA 210 91% 149K 3.5K 4.0K 470 2.0K 15K 1.1K 1.9K 72K 110 210
35K
32582.91
Manetheri 310 76% 135K 4.0K 2.5K 490 3.1K 14K 850 650 25K 180 60
1.8K
31193.59
Draenor 240 81% 98K 3.6K 4.2K 560 3.2K 5.3K 250 1.2K 30K 140 120
10K
27305.02
BlackBox 220 83% 113K 3.0K 4.0K 600 3.2K 10K 250 2.4K 46K 200 120
10K
27236.24
Indetermi 220 80% 121K 4.7K 5.5K 745 4.5K 5.0K 1.9K 1.4K 22K 150 140
15K
26851.42
Pern 275 75% 84K 4.0K 4.7K 420 11K 8.3K 2.7K 2.3K 37K 160 110
640
26831.23
Savoia 105 91% 67K 1.7K 2.4K 495 1.5K 2.1K 500 300 6.5K 260 30
15K
15850.80
DiudeLand 145 76% 62K 2.6K 1.5K 270 750 6.6K 250 500 8.9K 50 60
1.0K
14731.96
Uruk 125 51% 29K 1.9K 1.9K 205 1.2K 2.8K 250 200 5.1K 150 100
15K
9766.33
beep 60 70% 24K 1.3K 1.2K 70 150 6.3K 20 1.6K 8.2K 10 40
476
6494.48
Zapotek 55 46% 22K 300 400 155 350 5.5K 50 8 2.6K 120 50
1.2K
5346.97
TZIA 15 36% 1.6K 350 250 80 2 150 0 200 2.1K 0 40
1.8K
969.68
Aridon 0 0% 100 100 150 60 0 0 0 0 1.1K 0
20 -6.3K
213.42
Land_Of_F 0 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
20K
206.78
Golgoth 0 0% 30 50 50 10 0 0 0 0 250 0 3
3.6K
80.07
U.S.Madis 0 0% 0 50 100 15 0 0 0 0 150 0
4 -1.4K
50.52
Tormalin 0 0% 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
765
7.65
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
worldwide 2.7K 78% 1.3M 48K 48K 5.4K 35K 150K 15K 16K 441K 2.0K 1.3K
375K
And here's the final deity report:
Wed Jun 30 11:22:45 2004
# name tech research education happiness capital
0 Uesugi 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
1 Uruk 279.62 34.09 12.92 3.53 75,27
2 Kamoria 335.46 55.79 19.63 10.11 84,60
3 Zapotek 308.60 23.61 13.66 2.16 54,28
4 UTOPIA 202.15 20.05 1.37 7.00 89,37
5 KingJohan 329.27 19.92 11.11 2.46 15,43
6 pandatrax 73.69 21.29 0.56 0.00 -55,59
7 BlackBox 343.02 60.02 19.11 5.80 50,0
8 Pern 326.50 91.00 16.95 2.83 41,-25
9 DiudeLand 273.14 32.27 11.11 7.65 -22,28
10 Azwhepay 173.64 22.06 3.34 0.01 -35,7
11 beep 286.69 68.81 8.74 10.37 -65,7
12 Manetherin 320.70 47.31 15.11 10.71 11,17
13 Savoia 208.03 42.21 7.29 15.28 27,-51
14 Draenor 318.57 108.28 14.79 10.58 -71,-25
15 Wonderland 156.69 20.46 1.37 0.00 38,-24
16 Land_Of_Faa 157.76 20.46 0.92 0.00 -41,-21
17 Tormalin 104.24 18.29 0.76 0.00 89,59
18 Indeterminist 263.77 35.71 18.43 12.77 76,-38
19 Golgoth 102.91 17.40 0.39 0.00 -14,-50
20 Aridon 164.91 19.39 3.40 0.02 -55,-41
21 TZIA 264.06 19.42 15.62 4.40 -3,-25
22 U.S.Madison 256.32 20.65 3.51 0.02 -5,-13
23 Sinergy 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
24 Suboceana 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
25 Dorsai 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
26 Tahuantinsuyo 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
27 Revelstone 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
28 DreamLands 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
29 JustUs 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
30 Redline 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
31 Batak 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
32 AfrikaKorps 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
33 Mithrilien 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
34 Diary 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
35 visitor 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0,0
:-: The Dig :-: ---------------------------------------------
Thanks to Mark Stokje who posted a link to an excellent historical
database that lists number of messages posted per month back to
1987. Clicking on any a month leads you to a nice split window with
complete list of posts on the left panel and a viewer on the right
side. Very interesting reading for those days when there are no new
posts to r.g.e. Bookmark it!
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.games.empire/about
:*: Empire News 1 Year Ago
With a Subject Line like `SOMEBODY FIX THIS LOUSY GAME', you can
bet the following debate will be lively. This thread dominated
r.g.e. during July and August. The central argument: air units too
superior.
One year ago this month, Pangea, with the massive 10K sector expansion
island was underway. Midshipman's Empire I ended, won by DexterPV,
Thistle, Pax and Armengar. A follow-up Midship II was proposed.
In July, 2003, a call went out for contributions to The Empire
Acadamy. I reprint and repeat the call here:
Empire Academy is a forthcoming resource for players of all experience
levels. There will be a large number of articles on every conceivable
topic regarding this wonderful game, from beginning concepts to the
most detailed tactics and strategies.
We need help! We can't write all the articles alone.
How can you contribute? Easy. Pick a topic...any topic!... about
Empire and write an article on it. A given article doesn't need to be
an expert dissertation on every detail you can possibly imagine
regarding the topic at hand. Just write! If several people
contribute articles on the same subject, we'll post them all. We
won't be taking only "the best" article on a given topic. We'll be
taking them all. An example article may be found here:
http://www.wolfpackempire.com/academy/demo.html
So, pick a topic, write a few paragraphs (or more if you like...length
is not an issue!) and send it to the Empire Academy at:
academy@wolfpackempire.com
You will be given credit for the article on the Academy web site.
We'll even help you write the article if you like. Write as much as
you can, and we'll help you finish it.
Markus Armbruster's Hint of the Month was on controlling che. If che
was your headache in Retro, dig this one up and read it.
:*: Empire News 10 Years Ago
July, 1994 saw the `biggest news ever in Empire history' and was
proclaimed `the end of an era.' Mirkwood won the Riverworld game
solo, and retired from the game.
In the eulogies that followed, Mirkwood was called `the Michael
Jordan' of Empire and `the undisputed best of the best', and
he renowned for `Murk-o-Vision' posts to r.g.e. I give you but a
taste (from Doug Pitters' Empire Hall of Fame):
> Announcement from Mirkwood, (#10) dated Sat Feb 10 16:35:39 1990
In an action of unparalleled insanity, the Elven-King
today ordered the continent of Fleer to withdraw from
Elven territorial waters immediately.
After waiting the customary forty-two seconds and seeing
that the continent had defied the High King's decree,
naval action was of course ordered.
The continent, of very solid construction, withstood
multiple torpedoings and bombings. Reportedly, marines
are having better success at boarding. Marine officers
expect to scuttle the continent later tonight.
> Announcement from Fleer, (#49) dated Sat Feb 10 17:37:50 1990
Oh, *come on*, Mirkwood.
You can't scuttle an island. Unless you get help from our
handy, dandy Deity, that is... [blah, blah, blah]
> Announcement from Mirkwood, (#10) dated Sat Feb 10 18:35:39 1990
The Elven-King, royal purple bunny-slippered feet
propped up on a dwarf, peruses the morning announcements.
A tear trickles down his cheek as Suboceana's
storytelling brings back memories of his younger,
naive days.
The King cringes self-consciously at his memories
of tiny Fleer, a small and heroic country, buried
under waves of pillaging Elven paratroops.
"Never again!" swears the shamed King.
"Never again will I let a country hang on long
enough to send all those damned announcements..."
Mirkwood dominated Empire for a five-year period spanning two
mileposts in Empire history: Harvard Fall '89 and Riverworld
'94. Mirkwood was co-ruled by Sean Eddy occasionally with Tom
Jones.
:-: Clients and Player Tools :-: --------------------------------
The basic Empire client can be found at
http://www.wolfpackempire.com/clients.html and
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=24031
source as well as binaries for many platforms.
The latest version of WinACE is 2.4.12. Read the announcement at
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=ae2bf018.0406171906.cbe7aca%40posting.google.com
and download from http://sourceforge.net/projects/winace/
The latest version of PTkEI is 1.18.1. See the PTkEI home page at
http://www.lfmm.org/ptkei/
The latest version of eif is 1.3.4. See the eif home page at
http://www.stack.nl/~marcolz/empire/
The latest version of LAFE is 1.0. Get it from
http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/e/empire-lafe/
or any other Debian mirror.
The latest version of pei is 3.0.1. See the pei home page at
http://empire.tau.ac.il/~romm/emp/
:-: Server and Deity Information :-: ----------------------------
The current Empire server is 4.2.16. Download it from
http://www.wolfpackempire.com/server.html or
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=24031
:-: From the Editor :-: -----------------------------------------
Sincere apologies for missing the July edition. Travels and setting up
Star Wars Empire II have kept me otherwise busy. Thanks to Doug and
Markus for politely reminding me about it
The Newsletter's postbox, empnews04@wolfpackempire.com, was jammed
with spam again this month. Well, this got me thinking about the good
old days when mum used to cook up fried spam, with sides of baked
potatoes and green beans, for dinner. That was usually when my
siblings and I (and some times my dad) were in some kind of trouble
and deserving of prison-like rations.
Yes, that's right, for those of you who don't already know, spam is
actually a food product. (Note the careful distinction between 'food'
and 'food product' -- most supermarket cheeses require a similar
distinction.) Spam (which comes in a steel can) sits on the lowest
rung of the culinary ladder, just above deviled ham (which also comes
in a can) and just below vegemite (which comes in a jar -- its only
saving grace). Tripe and liver are in the vicinity, by my reckoning,
as they have all been used to torture me on at least one social
occasion.
Thinking back, I realize that my brother, sister and I (and maybe dad,
too) may have invented the very first spam filter. You see, what you
do is eat the potato out of its skin, but don't eat the skin. Turn the
skins upside down, then, cut your fried spam up into little pieces and
quietly hide it under the potato skins when mum's not looking. Voila,
no more spam! Alas, like any good spam filter, it only worked for a
while...
....which brings me to the whole point of this digression. Empire needs
spam. Spam telexes, spam annos and spam flash messages, yep. We could
embed viruses too, the kind that sleep until right before the update,
when they wipe and redes all your sectors. Or maybe one of those
Trojan Horse programs that secretly steal your country and
registration or sends your bmap to your enemies. Or, maybe one of
those polite requests for confidential business transactions:
"Dear kind sir,
Please allow me to introduce myself. I am the grandson of the late
URLIN ULOPPPIKETEIN, the president and ruler of Bwian until the evil
country of beep invaded our peaceful country. I require a CONFIDENTAIL
business partner to assist with the transaction of $1 BILLION DOLLARS,
which has been secretly hidden by my father, the son of the late URLIN
ULOPPPIKETEIN. Please send me the location of your banks and airfields
so that I can enact the transaction to transfer the monies to you.
Kindest regards,
WELIOPKRF ULOPPPIKETEIN"
And best of all... it shouldn't be hard to code, either!
Jeff, a.k.a. Dexter
:-: Hint of the Month :-: ---------------------------------------
:*: The Art of Cost-effective Tech Production
Deciding how much cash to spend on tech production is one of the
important strategic decisions for an Empire game. Tech and edu
production are significantly expensive, both in terms of cash and oil,
that players hoping to be competitive must not take the decision
lightly. Further, a wide range of factors have to be considered in
this strategic decision, from the game setup and available resources,
to the units incorporated by the deity, to your own style (or
objectives) of play. Spend too much on tech/edu and you won't be able
to afford the forces needed for expansion. Spend too little on tech
and you suffer from inefficient production and less-capable fighting
forces.
The topic here, however, is not about that strategic decision. It's
rather how to get the most tech for your dollar. Toward that aim, I
have tried to boil the art of cost-effective tech production down to a
few general rules.
1. The optimum tech production schedule (ie. how much tech and edu you
produce each update) is roughly constant over time.
Most of the tech production schedules I have looked at can be
characterized as roughly constant over time, that is, production
doesn't vary much over time and certainly doesn't vary wildly.
There is a good reason for this, and the reason has been noted on
r.g.e. by a number of people over the years. It is because of the
non-linear relationship between the cash you spend and the tech delta
you get - you get diminishing returns on your investment.
Because of this, the optimum schedules tend to be constant with
time. For example, you will gain much more tech from $5K spent over
two updates if you spend $2.5K each update, compared to spending $5.0K
at the first update, then $0.0K at the second update.
So, try to avoid switching your tech/edu production on and off over
time.
2. Given a reasonable scenario like `spend the least amount of
money and reach tech=X in Z updates', there is an optimum schedule
for tech and edu production.
It's bloody complicated to work it out, but it can be done. The
tech and edu equations are non-linear, discontinuous and require a
large number of constants and values (like etu per update and number
of civs), but they are solvable.
One tech production scenarios we (BlackBox) used in the recent Retro
game was `make the most tech by update=Z given a certain tech
budget.' The tech budget was determined by our short-term
objectives, and from there we were able to d etermine the optimum tech
production schedule by repeatedly solving the tech/edu equations for
every value update.
With pencil and paper, this would have taken a really long time (as
if), but fortunately, there are some software tools that can do it
automatically. We used Microsoft Excel with its Solver plug in. Each
row in our spreadsheet represented one update, into which we
programmed in the tech and edu equations. They are ugly, but once
entered, the Solver plug-in tool can be used to quickly find the
optimum production schedule (typically less than 1 minute) for every
update under various budgetary scenarios. When our short-term
objectives changed, we reran the Solver to calculate a new tech/edu
production schedule.
(The Solver plug-in tool is very powerful, I would recommend learning
it to any one who uses Microsoft Excel to any extent.)
3. If you can't be bothered to work it all out, and if you're planning
to spend a reasonable amounts on tech, then a pretty good schedule is
a consistent 3/1 ratio of tech expenditure to edu expenditure. In
typical situations, this will keep you within about 1-2% of the
optimum solution described in 2 above.
This is not to say that a 3/1 ratio will keep you within 1-2% of the
tech leaders, however, because they might be spending more than you on
tech/edu overall. However, it will, hopefully, result in more tech for
the dollar you do decide to spend on tech and edu.
:*: Last Month Quiz Question: You're desperate to get shells to the
front line. How is it possible to fit 650 shells on a stock-standard
cargo ship?
Answer: load up two supply lands with shells AND the cargo ship. Load
the supply units on the cargo ship. Tending is not possible with the
shells on the supply lands, however.
:*: Quiz Question: Heavy artillery is handy on the front on your
neighbor's island, but lacks the 'light' capability and won't fit on
assault ships. How can you get them there?
:-: Anno of the Month :-: ---------------------------------------
Deities, send nominations for Anno of the Month to
empnews04@wolfpackempire.com
:*: This anno is contributed by Geoff Cashmann and comes from the
recent Retro game
> Announcement from Savoia, (#13) dated Wed May 5 14:12:10 2004
OFFER OF THE MONTH
Do you happen to have an old carrier you want
to get rid of?
Then this offer is for you!!!!!
We have the most modern and efficient
facilities to sink your carrier quickly
and TOTALLY FREE OF CHARGE!
And we have something that nobody else can
provide you: EXPERTISE!
Savoia gunners have practiced a lot and have
obtained the official "CARRIER SINKER CERTIFICATE"
issued by the Savoian Royal Naval Association.
P.S. You know, the Savoian Royal Naval Association
didn't have many chances to actually navigate, as
the Savoian Navy has only a bunch of fishing boats.
So they focused on ship sinking rather than ship
building
> Announcement from KingJohan, (#5) dated Wed May 5 14:16:29 2004
Actually, Mad Erik feels that
the
Certificate of Carrier Kills
should be proudly put on any wall.
C.O.C.K
Savioa 3
> Announcement from beep, (#11) dated Wed May 5 14:22:51 2004
you want him to nail his c.o.c.k. to the wall?
:*: Finally, last but not least, check out Doug Bungholio's
revolutionary new Empire Client. Forget PtKei, forget WinACE, forget
emp_client, now there's...
http://www.angelfire.com/empire2/bungholio/emp_phone.html
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