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This page last updated Tuesday, 06-Sep-2005 12:28:32 EDT.
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Role Playing News
Volume 2, Number 5 - July 10, 1995
The Roving Gamer is Mark Christopher. To submit articles contact him at:
The Roving Gamer
21 Claymoss Rd
Apt. 2
Brighton, MA 02135-4202
or e-mail markus@shore.net
Volume 2, Number 5
July 10, 1995
Star Fleet Warlord
by Brian Woodring
For those of you who have listened to the rest of us babble about Warp Gates, economic points and prospecting terrain and haven't understood a word that we've said, this is for you...
Star Fleet Warlord is a play-by-mail/fax/e-mail, computer moderated, tactical simulation game. Which basically means that the player writes orders for his team; he sends these orders in; a computer chews on them; and then the player gets back what happened. Specifically, SFW deals with the Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenbury. This game deals only with the technology and alliances from the original Star Trek series. It then adds a number of extra races and new (for this universe) weapons and technology.
The game runs like such... Each player is a corporation. There can be up to 50 player corporations per game. The players compete in the Greater Magellenic Cloud, which translates into a 10X10 grid (universe). Each player starts by owning one square in this grid called a sector. That means that half the sectors are player controlled and half are wild or computer controlled. To win, a single player must control 7 sectors completely. To control a sector means that your corporation owns all the major sites in that sector. (i.e. planets, gas giants, comets, etc.).
Now on to the nuts and bolts of playing a corporation. Each player starts with income, an initial build of ships and a sector map that houses your home site. You then take your ships and move them across sites. As soon as you run over a site, you own it. Pretty simple, huh? Well...this doesn't stop others from rerunning over it to take it from you. Anyway, once you take the sites in your sector, you can use ships called scouts to `scan' other sectors next to yours. A scan gives you a map of that sector, which shows you where those sites you want are. Each site you own brings in money (economic points) for your corp. The more sites, the more money. Just like real life. This means that the bigger you are, the faster you will get bigger. But, other corps are doing the same, so that's why you have to protect yourself by buying bigger ships or fortifying sites.
Each game turn you send in has ship orders and general orders. Ship orders tell the computer to move your ships, have them scan other sectors or prospect for money. A ship in, say an asteroid field, can sit there and gather material from it, which makes money for your corp. There are also a number of other things that ships can do, too many to list here. General orders are how they sound. These are things that the corp as a whole is involved in, like buying ships or fighters or building fortifications. The corp can ask the computer for information on ships or about other corps. Again, the list is long.
If you like good tactical games and you want to fight against faceless or just plain new opponents, SFW could be the game for you. A few notes: It does cost to play ($20 to start, $6 per turn); It is fairly complicated ( the rule book runs about 90 pages); and finally it does take time to play (turns run every 2 weeks per normal game and games usually run 25 turns). But if this doesn't daunt you, give it a shot. This game is considered to be one of the best play-by-mail games going.
Volume 2, Number 5
July 10, 1995
News Flash: General Products Suffers Takeover Bid!
Galactic News Bureau
General Products corporation has suffered an internal takeover bid by its CEO, Mark Christopher. Saying that the corporation had "gotten away from its roots," he proceeded to gun down the entire board of directors with an ancient .50-caliber machine gun. "It was very satisfying," he was over-heard as saying.
The new corporate entity that Mr. Christopher has created will be known as the Venetian Consortium.
"I'm trying to bring some style to the Magellanic cloud. Perhaps the Venetian Empire running around here will make things more lively, as they were in the Mediterranean Sea a thousand years ago.
[Mr. Christopher is referring to the depredations suffered by various nations due to Venetian actions from 1491 to 1517 CE.]
In related news, the Romulan Republic expeditionary fleet heading into Eastern Gorn space will likely be unable to occupy the home world.
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