Astolaf.261 net.games utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!mhtsa!ihnss!ihps3!stolaf!knight Sat Mar 27 02:07:04 1982 Diplomacy -- Mad As Hell, V1 #1 ...partly due to the frustrations of getting this going and partly due to the "Network" side of this game (with deference to the late Paddy Chayefsky) I hereby christen this 'zine... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Volume 1 Number 1 MAD AS HELL March 26, 1982 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well, folks, it's been an uphill battle. After struggling against failed uucp connections, a busy schedule, and a definite lack of player enthusiasm after the initial avalanche (but that's another story), it looks like this turkey might fly after all. Unless I start getting complaints from irate readers of net.games, I plan on using that news group to distribute this...digest?...for all of you people out there who I just know are dying to keep up on the progress of this game and sundry bits of related (i.e., totally irrelevant) information. Without further ado, then, here are the participants in the game as it stands, alphabetically by country: AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: Don Holt duke!dch Don is a graduate student at Duke, hoping to get his degree by this December. He cautions other players that direct lies to him will most likely backfire. He doesn't mind the subterfuge that goes on, he just has few qualms about repaying direct backstabbers in full. ENGLAND: Eric Anderson ihnss!ihps3!stolaf!anderej Eric has been playing Diplomacy for about seven years and enjoys fast-paced games with "lots of intrigue." His motto is, "Don't trust 'em farther than you can through 'em." [sic] He adds that this does not mean that he is incapable of allying with others, rather that he tends to be somewhat cautious and may yield to the temptation of an overly exposed backside. FRANCE: Brian Redman harpo!ber Brian graduated in '77 in C.S. and immediately went to work for Bell that Summer. He runs several UNIX machines in the Loop Transmission Laboratory. GERMANY: Jim Grosch harpo!jtg Jim is 24, married, and works as a a digital and analog circuit designer for Bell. His hobbies include gaming, Apple computers, darts, sports, etc., and he's originally from Baton Rouge. ITALY: Rich Soyack ihnss!houxn!3215rfs Rich was born and now works for Bell Labs. In between he got got married and now has three children. RUSSIA: Tim Tjarks ihnss!ihuxl!tjarks Tim is a native of Iowa now living in Illinois while developing debugging tools for BTL. He's married with a newborn (2.5 weeks!) daughter. Additionally, he's an avid comic book collector and gamer, with AD&D a personal favorite. TURKEY: Eric Holtman harpo!whuxlb!eric Eric has been gaming for about four years, and although he's into fantasy games he enjoys Diplomacy because of the intrigue involved. He's been hacking UNIX for about seven years now, and works for Bell during the summer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The first turn orders will be due at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, April 24. This should allow plenty of time for everyone to get heavily involved in pre-first game turn negotiating. Note that the deadline is counted against the time of my receipt of a set of orders, not the time that they are sent, so be sure to allow time for delivery. Orders for the next turn(s) will then be due two weeks after the release of the results for the previous turn. Additionally, retreats after turns, when necessary, will be due a week after that turn's due date, and I will not handle retreats through general release, but rather will communicate individually with all players who need to retreat. Builds will be handled in the week after retreats (if any) for the fall game turns, and they will be handled through general release, since what you want to build is often very dependent upon how the last turn went. So, for example, this very first year will possibly have the following schedule: April 24 Spring turn orders are due. Since there will most likely be no retreats, there will be an immediate release of results, with Fall orders due in two weeks. May 8 Fall turn orders due. I will send letters to anyone who must retreat, outlining their options. They must respond in one week. May 15 Retreat orders due from appropriate players. A general release of results will go out on this date, and I will send letters to all players outlining their build/disbandment options, orders for which will be due in one week. May 22 Build/disbandment orders due from everyone. General release of results again, and the next year's Spring orders will be due in two weeks, and the cycle repeats. Above all, this schedule is flexible; the outline above is only an example intended to clear confusion. I will be very explicit about when the various orders come due as the game progresses, so that there will be a minimum of problems with scheduling. The main point right now is, to reiterate, that the first turn orders, Spring 1901, will be due at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, April 24. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In case it is necessary on your part, my USPS address and telephone number are as follows Steve Knight St. Olaf College (507) 663-2733 Northfield, MN 55057 In light of the recent problems with ihps3, I want to make clear that I don't necessarily *want* people to make use of these; rather, it's there just in case, and you may find an occasion where you'll have to use one or the other to get orders to me. I go by what I outlined in the house rules more for your sake than for mine; I don't feel you should have to pay the price of a missed turn because something beyond your control happens. Now, for additional security on this end, there is, as Brian pointed out over the net, a link between harpo and stolaf, so you can also use that to reach me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For those of you who are not playing, I still encourage your participation. MAD AS HELL welcomes your comments, be they concerning this game in particular or Diplomacy in general. I am also very willing to answer questions that people have concerning the game. Anyone desiring a copy of the house rules that I use to adjudicate Play-By-Mail Diplomacy is encouraged to contact me. Additionally, I welcome anyone who is interested in being an alternate player for this game -- we need a few more. If this game progresses well, I am considering gamemastering another, possibly starting in September; I will start compiling a list of potential players for that, if there is any interest. Feel free to get in touch with me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I have, for the present, abandoned the idea of a separate newsgroup (net.games.dip) for this 'zine and other Diplomacy things, since the proposal got almost *no* reaction, and I'd just as soon not clutter up the net more than necessary. If you readers of net.games object to having this clog up your time, drop me a note and I will revive the proposal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Let's see, have I covered everything I wanted to... Oh, yeah, if people have problems with net-mailing, don't hesitate to get in touch with me -- particularly if I've screwed up on someone's net address. If you know of any "unpublished" uucp links that your system has to other machines that might speed things up, tell me so I can pass on the news. Regardless, I'm more than willing to help people try to figure out what the shortest routes are based on my knowledge. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I think that about covers it for now. If I've omitted anything major, or you have comments, questions, or a bone to pick, or you just want to chat, I'm willing to listen. Good luck to all; I think we're in for some interesting (and enjoyable) times here... Steve Knight ihnss!ihps3!stolaf!knight harpo!stolaf!knight ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.