Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site bbnccv.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!bbnccv!ptraynor
From: ptraynor@bbnccv.UUCP (Patrick Traynor)
Newsgroups: net.games.emp
Subject: PSL Empire bugs(?) & suggestions
Message-ID: <698@bbnccv.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 23-Aug-85 12:24:35 EDT
Article-I.D.: bbnccv.698
Posted: Fri Aug 23 12:24:35 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Aug-85 05:42:43 EDT
Reply-To: ptraynor@bbnccv.UUCP (Patrick Traynor)
Distribution: net
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 37


We have had a game going here for a couple of months now, and have found
a few problems/(needs for improvement):

In our game, war has been virtually impossible.  When attacking a simple
sector (with only 3-4 military in it) with an attacking army of over 100
troops, the odds given are in the 90% range, but casualties are usually
over 50 for the attacking army before the few troops in the victim sector
are wiped out!  (Occasionally, the few defending troops can even withstand 
the onslaught and the sector isn't lost.)  Is anyone else having this 
problem or is this peculiar to my machine?

We had the largest country dissolve recently, leaving about 150 sectors,
all efficient and full of people & goods.  Although the game roports:
Bye-bye 256 people in -3,4
Bye-bye 186 people in -2,4  (etc., etc.,...)
when a nearby nation wandered into the abandoned area, the sectors were
fully populated and ready to go.  It was great fun for a while, but that
seems to take away from the fun of seeing your areas grow through hard
work.  As the diety, I took a survey of the nations and the vote was
unanimous...I re-wrote the dissolve routine to wipe the sectors clean,
reverting them back to empty wilderness.  There was some argument that
the 'spoils' should go to the victor, but I don't think that these are
really spoils.  A nation usually dissolves not because of failure in
battle, but more often lack of available free time to play the game, or
threats from neglected wives/girlfriends.

Also, a routine to send global messages to all nations would be handy.
As I remember, there was an 'announce' command in a later version.  Has
anyone put one together for this version?

--pat traynor--

(aka- His excellency, Rufus T. Firefly--Sovereign State of Freedonia)

Dumont: "Oh, your excellency!"
  Marx: "You're not too bad yourself, toots..."