Green and Grey - turn track

[Googlie]

I'm only playing the turns so quickly 'cos I'm up so darn early with the frigin' seagulls and Canada Geese honking at the first signs of that false dawn at 4:30 in the morning!!

Roll on winter ............... (Palm Springs again this winter)

[Net Warrior]

2167 to Gaians:

"Sunspot activity has disrupted our communications! Our diplomatic commlinks may be disabled for up to 20 turns! Spy reports from enemy factions may also be spotty!"

....so I guess this means no inter-faction communication till it's over, right?

[Googlie]

That's correct - neither in-game nor by e-mail or other methods

(and don't you love the way the game says "may be .... for up to ....." I've never known a game where it wasn't automatic, and the full 20 turns at that)

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Net Warrior
Flubber, if you're interested in our upcomming game, then as far as I'm concerned welcome aboard.

I'll also welcome you to our upcoming Spartan Fratricide! If you haven't already reviewed what we've discussed for game options, then please do so and let us know if you agree or not. I will then submit our Final Proposal to mart7x5 for him to build the game from.

Also, I think it completely logical that Flubber be inserted into the lineup such that he receives the turn from Googlie and sends to Chaunk. Does this make sense to everyone?

Originally posted by Net Warrior
BTW, I'm not much of a Sparta player so I've been reading up on them in the archieves. I'm going to have to try out a few SP games and test some ideas. After all, I don't want to get wooped too badly.

I think we are all very good and adaptive players, and as such it should be interesting how each of us, who are poor Spartan Players, responds to the map mart7x5 subjects us to: if we guess right, we will do better than our brethren. If we guess wrong, well, we will then find our place in the society of Planet one way or another, eh?

On to the Cult!

Also, something has come up and I will be OOT from Saturday morning till Sunday afternoon est. FYI and sorry for interupting the excellent turnage currently!


D

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Googlie
That's correct - neither in-game nor by e-mail or other methods

Actually, I've never seen generally accepted rules that ban e-mail or chatroom communications - it's usually deemed sufficient that tech trades and energy transfers can't happen in-game

What do the others think?

Edit: 2168 to Chaunk

[Flubber]

Darsnan

I saw the proposed game and would be interested even though I have never mastered the spartans--I instead have worked on methods to deal with spartan neighbors ( Unfortunately NONE of those methods are transferable when I am the spartans myself)

Googlie-- I have not seen any rules on outside the game communication during sunspots --- I haven't seen sunspots in so long I almost forget about them. If you were trying to be true to the game you would prohinit other communications as well ( ie radios don't work at all and military units cannot venture outside their units for person to person voice communication)

[Chaunk]

2168 sent to NW at ~11:30GMT yesterday.

[Net Warrior]

2168 to Gaians with one reload due to a power failure.

Originally posted by Flubber

I haven't seen sunspots in so long I almost forget about them.

Same here. I've actually only been in one other game where sunspots have occurred. In that one we played that there was a total blackout on all communications.

I could play it either was now. Since I have so little experiemce in this, I'll just go along with the majority.

[Googlie]

Logic suggests that there be a total blackout (but logic also suggests that the ability of infiltrators to send infiltration data back to the parent should also be blocked - but it isn't)

So it's a huge advantage for NW if the rest of us can't share what we're currently researching and what others are (thru our infiltration on them)

So my compromise solution would be to let the game mechanics operate as programmed (can't trade technology or energy credits) but allow off-game communications (as long as in-game contact has already been made)

[Darsnan]

on to the Cult

[Googlie]

2169 to Chaunk

[Darsnan]

Sorry I didn't post in response to this yesterday - had intermittent internet connection all evening long (wonder if this is related to the "sunspot phenomena"? ).

Originally posted by Googlie
Logic suggests that there be a total blackout (but logic also suggests that the ability of infiltrators to send infiltration data back to the parent should also be blocked - but it isn't)

So it's a huge advantage for NW if the rest of us can't share what we're currently researching and what others are (thru our infiltration on them)

So my compromise solution would be to let the game mechanics operate as programmed (can't trade technology or energy credits) but allow off-game communications (as long as in-game contact has already been made)

These are good observations by Googlie that the game sends mixed signals about how sunspots should effect diplo and/ or info.

Originally posted by Googlie
I've actually only been in one other game where sunspots have occurred. In that one we played that there was a total blackout on all communications.

Personally speaking I've never played a PBEM this way, but am game to this approach as I think it embodies the true spririt of the game (and if anything we are all hardcore fans of this game).

So, with the realization that most of us have never played a PBEM this way before, then perhaps a compromise approach would be to allow "outside the game" diplo during this round of sunspots, but then disallow it for future episodes. This would then more fully embrace the spirit of the game, as well as give NW the full benefit of the EG versus the rest of us. This would also allow everyone, for future sunspot episodes, to make the appropriate accomodations beforehand for when the innevitable sunspot activity occurs.

Regardless, other than this thought, I would take the approach that "outside the game" diplo should be allowed, as this is typically the way I have played in the past.


D

[Chaunk]

I think I've only had sunspots happen a couple of times in PBEMs and I'm sure at least one of those was a head to head. I like Darsnan's idea here:

So, with the realization that most of us have never played a PBEM this way before, then perhaps a compromise approach would be to allow "outside the game" diplo during this round of sunspots, but then disallow it for future episodes. This would then more fully embrace the spirit of the game, as well as give NW the full benefit of the EG versus the rest of us. This would also allow everyone, for future sunspot episodes, to make the appropriate accomodations beforehand for when the innevitable sunspot activity occurs.

Seems reasonable to me, and for some reason, I suspect this game will go on for a while (Probably me being optimistic about other peoples tech rates!). Hence we probably will get more sunspots.

2169 to NW from the newly unsurpassed.

[Net Warrior]

2169 to Gaians

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Net Warrior
I could play it either was now. Since I have so little experiemce in this, I'll just go along with the majority.

So the majority opinion is that we allow out-of-game communications this time, but that future sunspot blackouts be total blackouts (I'm agreeing with Darsnan's suggestion as supported by Chaunk)