Emergency meeting.

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• Hi Steve, the campaign is getting unbearable. As a short term measure can you swap some of the big manned missions for small ones please? There are too many Tales of Two Moonbases, Meltdown, etc. If you inject less time consuming ones such as Assassin Tunnels, Outhouses, Hideout and normal Assassins we might make this more fun and speed up the conclusion. As it is we have a stalemate situation which may last until Christmas. Or toss a coin to determine the winner? I think there are too many sectors on the board, a shorter campaign is desirable.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• How many months have we been playing the current Campaign? I have played about 236 + games. Less sectors, less games played repeatedly. Maybe less factions? Also can the four corner rule could be replaced for something more achievable in a shorter tine period. Or if the four corners are not taken by 3 months the faction with the most sectors wins? The deadline date could be set at the begining of the Campaign and put above the board.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• thats also an effect of increasing units number
  Posted by henoh 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• i think we need little diplomacy for exmpl alliance of two fractions against the other or something like this
  Posted by henoh 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Yeah, I'm at the end of my tether now, an absolute slog. Been going on for months now, and will continue for months at this rate. All enjoyment has been replaced with tedium. Close to jacking it in.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• I disagree about the unit increase as the cause of this situation as it always happens. In the old days we had very few units but we had the same problem every campaign. I think it is more about having too many sectors/games and the already discussed issue of instant sector attack after losing a game blocking other factions from attacking. The winning criteria also seems to exacerbate the problem. Also the unlimited length of time of the campaign. I have been in 2 winning factions and both became dreadful slogs. We have multi problems not a single issue. For now I am merely suggesting injecting some quicker smaller missions and to mix up the board a bit. I am sure when this Campaign started I was wearing thermal long johns.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• maybe campain should end when one of fraction is vanish.
  Posted by henoh 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• I can change the missions, but I don't think that will solve the problem as it won't end the campaign any sooner. I've not had time to implement the earlier suggested change of preventing a player from re-attacking a lost sector. What I could do quite quickly is re-add the feature where a player couldn't attack for 2 days if they lost a sector?
  Posted by SteveSmith 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• The old 2 day one might make it worse so I am totally against that but thanks for offering it Steve. I know the mission change/swap doesn't solve the problem but it would liven up and refresh the board. If you get those smaller missions in (Outhouses, hideout, Assassins, Assassin Tunnels & Hideout), dotted fairly across the board it would be welcome. How about setting a time/date limit for this Campaign? So if no faction acheives four corners, the one with the most sectors wins? Say a month or 6 weeks from today?
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• That would certainly help Steve. Agree with Pete about a time limit of say 3 months. Been going for much longer than that and has turned into a war of attrition, WW1 trench warfare, hardly any movement, lose a few yards, gain a few, lose a few, gain a few.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• If the old 2 day rule is reinstated I will definitely retire from the campaign.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• I didn't read Steve's proposal properly. I thought it was freeze the sector from being attacked for two days NOT the person being frozen out the game for two days. That would go to far the other way. So I agree with Pete on that after re-reading Steve's post.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• *too far
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Do we still want the campaign "month" time limit, or shall we put that on the backburner and see how the 2-day attack delay works out?
  Posted by SteveSmith 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• For the new campaign I would like a 3 month limit as a trial. For the current Campaign how about the last day of August? It is about 6 weeks, plenty of time for a faction to win or gather a sector majority.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Yes that sounds fine I'll go with that. How long have we been playing this campaign? Since Febuary I think.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• I mention my thermal underwear...
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• mentioned!
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Yes you did Pete and I think that was the case.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Sorry for the appauling mental image.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• I was able to keep from forming one until you mentioned mental image and my brain rebelled.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• It's actually pictured someone in long johns. Not sure that's better. Probably is though.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Stick with the long johns, you will sleep better!
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Have we (Omni) won the Campaign? I had suggested that by the 31st August the Faction with the most sectors wins unless a faction got all 4 corners as normal. I am ready for a new challenge, how does this stand?
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• That's fine by me unless anyone else disagrees?
  Posted by SteveSmith 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Hi Steve, if we are going to have a new campaign soon could we discuss some new changes to make it flow/work better? The 2 day sector rule works really well and improved things but still there are other considerations. 1. A maximum of 3 months with a definite end date. The faction with the most sectors wins unless a faction gets all 4 corners before the end date. 2. No new faction members can join a faction after the first month is up. Harsh but unsettles the faction dynamics. 3. Mission choices, we could have done with half of the missions being small ones like Outhouses, Assassins, Assassin Tunnels, Hideout, Assassinate Campaign. 4. Could we try mixing up the missions on the board after each month to refresh the experience or at least once in the 3 month peroid implemented on a set date? The problem with the current Campaign is the endless stalemate situation so I think these ideas will begin to help limit that problem and structure the experience. Other simple ideas may need to be added later.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• That sounds good to me. Like to add that once you join a faction you should not be able to move to another during the campaign. I think a month is more than adequate for everyone to join the campaign and for the factions to be set with as equal numbers as possible. Then it should be set. I think it is perfectly fair after that for others who missed the boat as it were to wait until the new one starts so as not to disrupt the current one. A month is more than reasonable for people to join up.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Hi Steve, we have 36 sectors. Can you call it? I am playing out already established games but I'm not attacking any new sectors. The Campaign is won and over.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Same here, I have deliberately avoided attacking any sectors. Just defending and awaiting the decision.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Still no decision? Anyway that's it from me.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• I am finished and out too. Thanks to our opponents for some great games.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Sorry about the delay in replying, one of my kids broke their arm on Thursday so I've not been able to keep up with things. I'll definitely close the game and Omni are the winners, but it will be a few days before I can do anything. Congrats!
  Posted by SteveSmith 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Are we done? Ohh. Grats.
  Posted by Hokunda 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Hope your boy is okay Steve and makes a good recovery. That's a real bugger with the new term starting too. Best wishes.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• congrats to the omni... i didnt notice the time limit previously ... but my mistake
  Posted by henoh 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Glad it's over, went on for about 8 months! Tough opposition! Everyone gave us a hard time. Hokunda is the best, with FoN not far behind. Pete and I worked well as a team. Two good players working well made the difference.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Sorry to hear that Steve, just in time for the new term. I hope things go better and a speedy recovery.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Great game. Thanks for all your hard work steve. Best wishes to your son and all other players
  Posted by halo33 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• I thought I might get some easy wins against the fairly new 3 H players Henrys Cat, Halo33 and Henoh but I was SO wrong about that! A combination of tough game playing, enthusiasm and fast turn playing. Good stuff, guys.
  Posted by petermock 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Can't understand why the Hideout campaign game has been created today!?
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• It is saying I attacked HC at 1pm today but I didn't do any of the sort.
  Steve can you cancel that game please as something has happened there.
  Posted by xeno 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Are you sure HC didn't attack your sector? Either way, I've disabled the campaign page now and deleted that game.
  Posted by SteveSmith 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• i deployed all started games without equipment just to finish them
  Posted by henoh 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Ah, I've just peeked over the top of the trenches and found out the war is over. Phew! Now I can devote more time to vigorously polishing my spoon collection, I've really been neglecting it. Hmm, I wish I'd used my captain now! Thanks for all the games everyone. Sorry to hear about your son Steve, I hope he gets a cool plaster and can act like a tough guy now (if that's any consolation...).
  Posted by Henry's Cat 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Thanks everyone for all your kind words. I'll start a new campaign soon and try to make some suggested changes.
  Posted by SteveSmith 8 years ago [Login to reply]



• Hi Steve, everyone was thrown out of their factions. Now Globx has 3 members. Could you reset the map, too? Globex will dominate the entire galaxy. Resistance is futile.
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I deny that the mighty and noble Globex Corporation have successfully developed mind control technology. There is nothing wrong, please continue as before. Move along, move along, nothing to see here... Oh and death to the Marsec Corporation.
  Posted by Henry's Cat 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I didn't even know there was a campaign going on! There shouldn't be?
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• It shouldn't! It some sort of underground, black market operation probably run by shadey characters.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I'll start a new campaign soon.
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• A new campaign has been started! (I seem to remember from history that there's always a few teething problems with faction allocation at the start, so we'll see how it goes...)
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Thank you Steve. Could you please alter the galaxy map a bit?
  4-0, 0-7, 0-8 and 0-9 is currently inaccessible.
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Hi Steve, Could you set an end date of 3 months from now. So which ever faction has the most corners or in the event of a tie the most sectors is the winner? The endless stalemate was the major problem last time.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• That's a good idea, unless anyone else has any objections? I'll rejig the map tonight as well.
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Cheers Steve!
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Sounds good to me!
  
  BTW, I'm just thinking about getting a few of the other players involved too. Maybe some newer players could be interested in the campaign but haven't noticed the forum yet? It took me a while to understand what was going on with the campaigns.
  Posted by Henry's Cat 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I hope your son's arm has healed up nicely now Steve. I was just reading back over the old messages from the last campaign.
  Posted by Henry's Cat 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Currently Globex only has 16 sectors, one of which is now under attack by Hokunda. All other factions have more.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Any change is fine to me. Just having fun here making some noise. :)
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I think you need to reset it Steve and everyone should wait for you to fire the gun when everything is ready to start and not before.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I've added a few of the missing squares. How does that look?
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• @Henry's Cat, thanks, yep all sorted now. He's fully recovered and back to full working order. :)
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• How come there is a discrepancy in the faction numbers to begin with?
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• That should be faction SECTOR numbers.
  
  FactionSectors
  Omni Corp22
  Marsec Corporation19
  Globex Corporation - (your faction)18
  Metallix17
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I've tweaked it a bit, but since the map deliberately has some missing squares, the numbers aren't going to be the same.
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Fair enough but Omni corp has an advantage with 22. Perhps any rookie members who hopefully sign up should be put in that one.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• "Emergency Meeting" sounds like a jolly good thread to post this stuff... "The ASCII Falcon 2013", with Humphrey B.O. UART, Mary BashTOR and Pixel Lorre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlKf-l2Okv4
  Posted by Trollmineitor 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• WTF!
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• So shall we say that the campaign winners are the side with the most sectors on the 15th June?
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Sounds good Steve. I take it the 4 corner rule still applies?
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Sorry, what was the four-corner rule again?
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• First faction to hold all four corners wins. But if that doesn't happen then by the finish date the faction with the most sectors is the winner. Unless everyone wants to drop the corner idea?
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• For me both rules are ok.
  
  Today's favourite music for me is the following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=virDlRWbA-w
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Yes, sunny days are coming again!
  
  These rules are fine. Having a definite end date is a good idea, it will stop me being anal about collecting and protecting Lieutenants and Captains! Incidentally is there a rank above Captain? All these ranks make me hark back to my Elite days...
  Posted by Henry's Cat 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Recruit - 0
  Private - 1
  Corporal - 9
  Sergeant - 18
  Lieutenant - 36
  Captain - 72
  Major - 150
  Colonel - 300
  Brigadier - 600
  General - 1500
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Legendary game Elite. Elite 2 Frontier on the Amiga was a great sequel too, I even took a day off work to play it as there wasn't enough hours in the evening to do it justice and I wascompeteing against someone at work. Never played the 3rd that came out on the PC in '97 I think. Apparently full of bugs. Been very tempted for 2 years to play Elite Dangerous but was put off by some mediocre reviews.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Looks like this campaign is only going to feature 3 factions. Can't see anyone wanting to start in Marsec unless they like a real challenge.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I'm sure Marsec had some members a few days ago..?
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Really? Can't say I saw any myself Steve.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• It was before the reset. :)
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• There's one now. :) Anyone care to swap sides?
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• This might be an unpopular idea at first sight, especially with veteran players who have their favourite missions in which they excel, but what if the mission for a given sector would be hidden from us? That is, you pick the sector without knowing what mission you have to do. It'd be chosen randomly, and would be randomly re-chosen every time.
  
  This would enhance the pure tactical element of making the decision of which sector is to be attacked or defended. Also it would colour the whole thing up a bit IMO. Lastly, it would encourage veteran players to hone their skills all round instead of narrowly focusing on a handful of missions.
  
  'Over-specialisation leads to death.' :))) (Motoko, Ghost in The Shell)
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Hi CP, I like your idea. The last Campaign got into a stalemate situation. A part of the problem was key squares had big difficult missions requiring a lot of recruits. Randomly selected missions would have prevented that and kept the galaxy map fresh. We sometimes had to retake the same sector many times so it became a repetitive wearing experience. Whether the whole map needs to random or just alternative sectors like a chess board needs some thought. More homework for Steve!
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• The other issue about the last Campaign was too many big missions. I think we need the smaller missions Outhouses, Hideout, Tunnel Assassin etc sprinkled across the map whether it be a fixed or random one. Playing Stardrive was like an Antarctic expedition. I think I came to almost hate Two bases and had dreams I was in Meltdown waiting for a Cpu to explode.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Also off topic now, I really like Sterner but how about another character or two? A hero and a villain? Dare I say in a new mission...
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I feel the pain, browsed through the campaign-related forums a bit this morning and the tedium shone through acutely. :)
  
  The problem we face here is that in campaign a turn-based, play by email style game (SF itself) is mated to a real-time game (the campaign map). So while I theoretically could initiate, say, 3 attacks and 4 defenses in the space of 24 hours, we know that obviously it never happens in real life.
  
  Exacerbated is the above problem by big maps taking longer to play, and players taking more time to play.
  
  I for one really like big maps, and dread the prospect of being restricted to Assassins, the Raid and the like in the campaign... Perhaps the random selection world address this problem, especially if it would be random meeting certain qualifications, that is, if there was a pre-set ratio of the given missions, and it'd be random only in between these pre-set limits from a selected set of missions. Does this make any sense...?
  
  As for the other problem, big missions taking much longer, perhaps we could agree on much shorter time given to take your turn, maybe as little as 24 hours. I know it sounds a bit harsh, but arguably everyone here is a veteran player, fully committed to the cause...! :))))
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I meant a balanced ratio of long and short missions. We usually do have that but last campaign it was heavily weighted to long/bigger missions. Incidentally I do like the long missions. There were also many sectors with the same mission. I played tale of two moonbases well into double figures sometimes simultaneously and with the same few opponents. So the small missons are important, light relief and fun. Outhouses, Hideout and Assassin Tunnels are deceptively simple but still challenging. The inclusion of these missions in the right quantity means quick pace results and variety. Mostly the issue of slow turn players mostly was minimal. The regular Vet players have a lust to get on with it. So I don't think any new penalty rules are needed. Plus to impose such a short turn penalty would cause a problem with players not having available troops. We had to increase troop numbers allocated to each player dramatically to meet demand to play many missions simultaneously but any further changes in that direction would unbalance factions who may have slightly less active players.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I apologise for writing mostly mostly.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• In this case it seems to me that the only problem is long missions that you have to play repeatedly over and over, sometimes even two at the same time.
  
  The right balance between long and short missions should sort this out, whether randomly selected or known in advance.
  
  I still think though it'd definitely spice it up big time if we didn't know what mission are we going into! ;)
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Steve, I don't mind switching sides if you're looking for someone
  Posted by Henry's Cat 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I agree your idea should liven things up.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Thanks Mr Cat.
  
  As regards hiding missions, that sounds like a good idea. I must admit I prefer shorter missions. I rarely if ever play Stardrive or those with big maps. I'm not sure what the conclusion of this thread is yet though. Shall I remove some of the "big" missions?
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I reckon Steve reduce where you can and if there too many repeats. Replace with the smaller missions dotted about so eveyone gets an even spread. I haven't joined the Campaign yet. Is there a faction that needs a player?
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I like the missions changing either by a hidden auto allocation or you manually scramble the selection periodically.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• The missions I would consider small are of course Outhouses, Hideout, Assassin Tunnels. Assassins and Hit and Run missions can be played with minimal troops so I would treat those as small missions. Assainate campaign needs troops but I would treat it as a small mission due to its simplicity- it's usually over quickly. Breakout, Sterner's House and Sterner Revenge type missions I would treat as mid level. We need those blended in amongst the harder longer missions like Meltdown, Tale of Two Moonbases and Defend the Base. Sigma 7 I personally wouldn't like to play too often nor moonbase assault.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Those where you have to hunt the last man, where your opponent can simply play hide and seek for ages aren't suitable for the campaign. That would include Stardrive, Exterminators and denunciation. What about moonbase clash being included? Essentially moonbase assault with destructible walls.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I agree Xeno totally. Those missions in the Campaign are a pain. Moonbase Clash is a good idea replacing the old moonbase ones. I would still vote to keep a Tale of Two Moonbases, just not too many repeats of it.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• We could also have random alien infestations... :)) It's could be defending types of missions like Alien Escape if the aliens 'invade', and offensive types if any faction wants to retake an alien infested world.
  
  Probably a stupid idea in terms of mega opportunities to screw up the whole campaign rendering it unplayable... :))))))
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• You know me, I always have a complex solution for a situation. :)
  I support the idea of mission independent galaxy squares. Whenever a mission goes to the equipment phase, you select a mission. You can create a blank campaign mission which acts as a placeholder in the galaxy map. This you can replace with the final mission.
  For the mission allocation pure flat random is ok for me.
  If you have extra time you can exclude the list of missions the player is already involved in when you select a mission for the new game. You can also make a ranking of missions which slightly influences the probability a particular mission is selected. Slow mission - low probability, fast mission - high probability.
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Corporal Hansen, you made me think of the aliens. It came to my mind that 1 day delay in any phase of the game (event the sector being attacked) could add 1 random alien to a random location of the mission. This alien is controlled by the computer which plays seek and kill game. It attacks always the player responsible for the delay. :)
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• An intercepted radio transmission: "Mayday, mayday a Marsec sector has teleported to location 5-2. Are the shields up already? Attack with full force! Target the transporter station..."
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• There's lots of creative and imaginative thinking going on here.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Yeah, and it's making my head hurt! Maybe we ought to keep it somewhat grounded and pratical, think we are getting rather carried away folks. :)
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Pratical? Freudian slip? :p
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I'd rather think that the aliens, if they happen at all, should come into the picture, say, a week or two after the campaign started, as a 'fifth fraction'. The sector attacked by them would be randomly selected, and a human player would control them for the duration of the battle (anyone from any of the 3 faction opposing the defender's faction).
  
  Of course, as far as I know at the moment there's zero penalty for losing a sector so it begs the question, why would anyone bother to defend against the aliens, let alone to conquer a sector being held by them...?
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Give me an alien faction and I would win the Campaign singlehanded.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• But you wouldn't control the alien 'faction'; you would only take the role of the 'AI' in other factions battles against the aliens. :)
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I think were getting carried away too. Dreaming of Formula 1 while tinkering with an old banger. The basic changes we discussed during the last campaign are the ones I brought up again because it should improve the experience greatly. End date/winning conditions and mission selection were never resolved. The ones we did get sorted were smoke/nerve/fire issue, troop number increased and that once you lost a sector you couldn't re-attack straight away.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I understood your idea and I like it CH. I was just saying I would like an alien faction but not expecting it as it would be incompatible with human only missions. I think your idea is interesting but might complicate things if not designed well. Personally I would happy getting the current form of the Campaign to work better, then other ideas/alterations might make more sense later. But I don't mean to be negative. If you are passionate about the idea then push it and make it work.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Absoutely Pete. Interesting but we must mindful that Steve would have to program this. In theory it might work but it's not practical. As you have said, we have made necessary changes, all doable. I think we should be content with that and not drift off into fantasy. ;) Nice as it is. :)
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I agree, I was only daydreaming. :))
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Just adding perspective. It's not like the current Campaign is terrible to play. Everyone signs up with enthusiasm. It's just that the problems we are trying to address kick in after a few months in an endless set up. But I am confident that these simple changes will solve that. Then as we play with these alterations we will be testing them thoroughly. I agree with what Xeno says. I've thouhht about the missions hidden idea and I am definitely against it now. But a mission/sector periodically refreshing method once a month mixing it up would be enough. The problem with hidden sectors is going to be a pain in practice because you ear mark your best troops for certain missions and how many to commit to each mission. As we play several missions at the same time hidden ones are going to cause fustrations. A novel idea turning into groping in the dark. We do a lot of troop management in the campaign with several simultaneous missions being played. I want to make intelligent decisions managing the current games while planning my next attack. Hidden is playing blind and wipes out an element of strategy on the galaxy map.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I also reckon the Campaign will keep changing and developing...
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Actually there is one thing or rather person missing from the Campaign... Forces of Nature. I've sent him a message to join but he hasn't been on the site since January. Steve can you email him about the Campaign?
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Hey hey all. The wanderer returns. Thanks for message Pete. Sorry for the radio silence for several months. I lost someone very dear to me in November after a short illness so needed some time out and down time. Feel like my head is right to be challenged again, so I will start with campaigns and work my way back into the games. I look forward to it. Have to see how rusty I've become as I really feel like a newbie again. Game on :)
  Posted by Forces of Nature 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Good to see you back Smokey Joe, been a fair few months since I've seen your name on here. I took a couple of months out at the end of last year for a break. But been firing on all cylinders since.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Welcome back FoN. Sorry to hear about your loss. My game is low level as I've been slacking recently. The Campaign should sort that out! Great you're in.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Welcome back. Take my condolence FoN. I had a similar event in my life this January. I am becoming an old man. Hope you don't mind playing with seniors. :)
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Guys I've a splendid idea for campaign mode!! :)) It's not PC but it's fun! :))
  
  If a unit panicks in a battle and survives it, we could court martial it for cowardice. :DDDD. There could be mitigating factors like being under heavy shelling from grenades or rockets, or being badly wounded, but if none of these applies, we could hand the poor SOB cannon fodder and that would temporarily raise the moral of the rest of the troops!!!! :D
  
  What youse think of it? :)))
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Sorry I was meant to write, 'we could hang'. ;)
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Sorry to hear your loss too Hokunda. I am one parent down though that's six years ago. I think I might be the most senior in age on this site but probably not the most grown up.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Corporal Hansen, really, I think some respect is needed. Though you do have a lively imaginative mind. Have you thought about writing a book?
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• No disrespect meant whatsoever. :)
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• No worries, I know you've sounding ideas out. Actually a lot of your ideas could work well in a game. Maybe Steve could expand the nature of Stellar or have a new side game. We had the 2 player 'Challonge' which was fun. Maybe you could work on a separate alternative campaign event. The Parallel Universe? Aliens, hidden random missions and court martials...
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• :))) this one wasn't serious, just a bit of black humour. Although admittedly it would fit in well in the Laser Squad/Stellar Forces universe, if it's anything like, say, the world of Henlein's Starship Troopers. ;)
  
  What I really would like to see is an added depth to the strategic side of the campaign. A few examples:
  
  -Smart spending of credits would be encouraged by retaining weapons, armour and unused grenades for future missions. This would reward an economical style of fighting, too.
  
  -Certain sectors provide certain bonuses. E.g. a faction would need to control at least one mining world to be able to procure explosives. (This is just a rudimentary example, we could come up with a set of ideas quite easily.)
  
  -A more significant difference between the factions.
  
  I am well aware that all this would require a) a lot of work from Steve, B) extensive testing. So perhaps chances are goodit will never happen. But if it did so, I think it would definitely give huge depth to the campaign.
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Yes I can see what you're getting at. More sophistication and depth though I like the straightforwardness of the game in its orignal simplicity. It is rather like chess. Adding complexity may not necessarily improve strategy, it may actually dilute it. There is already some economic control with Campaign credits. Any left over credits are carried over. Underspend in a few 'Hit and Miss' missions you can seriously overspend when you need it in other missions. It's basic but it works. Troop training is very important and carries on through if they survive. What you describe serious or not is more of a new game completely, a heck of lot of work to get it right. Which is why I suggested it might work better as a parallel project. It then wouldn't interefere with game play.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• It would be easy to say i miss those times when replacing a "JNZ" with a "NOP" in ZX Spectrum's Jet Set Willy while my dad was still among us gave me access to play the game without having the colour codes sheet, but the truth is i do not miss those times, apart from Zilog Z80 Assembly language i did know nothing back them, we get old, we loose people but above all we survive and keep on learning. Peace, folks, and may Steve add me to the weakest faction should this campaign finish for good once and for all, Heil Globex!
  Posted by Trollmineitor 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• My condolences to FoN and Hokunda. I've been very lucky in my life and not lost anyone close, so I can't imagine what it must be like.
  
  There are some great ideas going through here, and I'm always open to suggestions. However, unfortunately the limited number of "full-time" SF players don't really justify the amount of time it would take to implement them. Also, my time is limited, so I think that only small incremental changes will have a chance of being implemented. (Unless we had some kind of Kickstarter :):) ).
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• That's exactly what I thought. Obviously we can't expect Steve to dedicate big chunks of his time to this and not earning a pretty penny out of it. (No sarcasm intended.) And since it's just a handful of dedicated players in the campaign, you do the maths yourself what it means...
  
  That's in no way a criticism of you Steve, I'm eternally grateful to you for creating SF in the first place, in my shrine your photo is right there beside Julian Gollop's!!! :))))
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Right time to fight now. Good luck everyone!
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• "There is already some economic control with Campaign credits. Any left over credits are carried over."
  
  I must admit, I never knew that!
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I knew that way back but I forgot... :) So thanks for the reminder! ;)
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I have let the cat out of the bag. Dammit! Yeah you can build a nice nest egg by choosing 2 or 3 men on a hit and run mission, underspend on weapons/armour and get rich. It's easy to overlook because we usually always max out on spending and go into minus funds. I think Campaign missions usually have less funds available so the overspend is easy. It doesnt really become a cheat because it's easy to blow the lot in one mission.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• C Hansen ideas, the economic thing could be developed in a simple way in the future. The current system works but some kind of credit bonous added to funds after a win might be nice. Not a huge amount, just a small perk random 5 or 10 credits. Another idea I like is a personal armoury. On a random basis weapons could awarded or found within a mission and stored for future use. Autocannon a special rare item and knives, nerve gas more common. I admit I've playing Boom Beach and it is littered with perky reward systems. The credit idea might be easier to do than the weapon one.
  The hidden random mission sector thing could be cool if it was put in as a rare occurance. Maybe only 8 sectors, the rest normal visible sectors. It wouldn't unbalance the current set up. Just add something different to deal with. I still think the whole galaxy board missions could be randomly mixed up on the last day of each month (except missions in progress). So 3 changes per Campaign. Frontline missions would be preserved so that adds a stragey dimension to the galaxy board as the rest of the dormant sectors change you can hang on to missions you like by being in a fight in them. Or alternatively all sectors change, just the ones in progress are delayed the change until they are completed, then become new ones. Whichever is easiest to do or manage. I am still thinking about the aliens...
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Stragey =strategy
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Oh no, not you as well! Must be some sort of virus. I'm going to isolate myself.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Boom beach reaction? If so I was actually in an argument on a train from London with somebody who was slagging off Stellar Forces and saying B Beach is much better. I was arguing that Sellar suited me as it offered good strategy and the community of players is really good. Plus where else do you get involved with the owner/maker and debate changes. There had been copius amount of beer drunk and nearly fisty cuffs! But to be fair I had never played B Beach. So I set up a test, Stellar Forces V Boom Beach. Its been five months and I'm still happy playing Stellar. The strategy on here is really very good and plenty to do in each mission. B Beach is pretty but you spend most of the time upgrading. The gameplay has some strategy that's good but I use my brain much more with Stellar Forces. I joined a TF in Boom Beach which is better but their facility to chat is crude compared to here, single sentence and you don't really get to know anyone. The Stellar Forces forum is far superior. Though Ive been over chatting here recently, apologies. I would defend SF happily in another drunken train ride.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• No, never heard of Boom Beach Pete. These Campaign posts I was talking about. Your post really suprised me, reminded me of the remake of the Invasion of the Body Snatcher's when you suddenly realised that Donald Sutherland had finally become one himself. :p
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• SuRprised. I'll check out Boom Beach.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• In app puchases so an automatic no from me.
  Posted by xeno 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• His ideas weren't bad just either hard to implement, in danger of changing the game completely, too big or confusing the things we were already sorting out. But if some of them were scaled down they could work within the current structure. The extra funds is the one I like because no one really takes notice of Campaign credits and the more AP100's or armour etc you can afford can make a strategic difference. If my tone was odd I just had an exhausting falling out with a neighbour over noise.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• No one buys the in apps but I hate them. In fact there's a lot about it I don't like. I can't fully test it as you need to upgrade continually before you can fight properly. I am mostly continuing because of that person already involved. I really appreciate that SF is a free independent set up.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Word, nearly getting into close combat to defend SF's honour!!! You hear that Steve??!! :)))
  
  Well done Pete!!! :)))
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Well, I hate the thought of real-life violence over a game, but in this case, truth and justice was on your side. :) There is/was a thread (several years old now) about games similar to SF. EDIT: I think it must be have been in the old forums that got lost.
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I've messaged a few missing faces about joining the Campaign. Agent Orange, Herod, Teo and Halo33. All good players and characters.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Agent Orange will be joining the Campaign. Welcome back!
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I remember AO back from 2013!! :)))
  
  Why was I away for four long years??!! :(
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• AO was my first regular opponent before getting to know everyone else. So great to have him aboard. I think you left CH about the time I joined.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I have only played a few games against CH in the beginning of my LS journey. Great that we are here again.
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Yeah I remember the name Hokunda!!! :)))
  
  What's the story With Jez-san these days, is he in hypersleep? :)
  
  Good to be back, guys! ;)
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• He has strongly refused to play the campaign if it does not affect player score balance. I mostly played campaign games in the last year. Did not play against Jez in the last 2 years. Probably he went to Hypersleep waiting for new challenges.
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Jez was here a few weeks ago for a short while, I am sure he will be back again. Nodrog was a player that I never got to play before he left. The other famous one was Deadlime. Deadlime was on the site a short while ago. So I had chat with him as he had made some of our missions. Friendly chap.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I remember those two, never fought much with Nodrog but I had a fair share with Deadlime.
  
  Jaysus, I'm a fossil apparently!!!
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• And The Troll was around even back then!!! :)))) Arguably a most entertaining chap!! :)))
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• You are one of the old hands! I got the impression that Deadlime was a very good player.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Yes I have an early memory of playing Mr T. I was most alarmed in probably Outhouses or Tunnel Assassins when his men burst through the walls using door charges. He went out his way giving me some helpful lessons in Assassins on how to do that and the famous double death grenade/AP100.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I agree Mister T is a most flamboyant personable player. The other helpful teacher is Hokunda who also took time giving me lessons and testing missions.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Yes I believe Deadlime was very good, although I have to admit I can't remember much.
  
  The one who stands out in my memory is Jez. He was very, very hard to beat. Also back then we had the leader of the rankings at the top of the table in large fonts. I think we all got bored and disgusted to death of staring at 'Jez is the current champion', week after week, month after month. :))))
  Posted by Corporal Hansen 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I am afraid he is still just as good. He knows what he is doing, bold/aggressive attacker and makes few mistakes. I can play as well as him on a good day when focused but tend to make more mistakes overall.
  Posted by petermock 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I remember when arrived to SF, Agent Orange and Free Palestine where very active back then and willing to join my "The Assassins" games, my favourite mission. Even if they didn't speak much they taught me the door charge wall hole trick and all the other little "extras" not present in the original Laser Squad game.Since then i have had very enjoyable playtime with most of the Usual Suspects mentioned in this thread, being Jez and Mr. Hokunda two of the most sophisticated and shrewd opponents i can recall. Petermock and his aliens were no joke either.
  Posted by Trollmineitor 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I was laughing a lot while I was reading your sentences. We are already talking about our games as part of our history.
  I never had a chance to play against Deadlime. I remember Jez's words saying that he is only a mediocre player compared to Deadlime. Well I have played may missions against Jez and I lost most of them. After a few months training I was able to beat him few times. He always performed better than me.
  I always enjoyed playing against Trollmineitor. I lost many games against him. He is the master of small maps.
  I remember the games I played against petermock. We had many-many tries on alien tactics. A few missed shots and I became dead meat quickly.
  I was very inactive during the last year playing only campaign games. I was occupied with another game. Now I am a weaker player compared to who I used to be.
  I try to be more active now. It is a good game with good people. I enjoy spending time with you.
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• free palestine was a light medium player when I have joined the game. After a few month he suddenly advanced to a high level and has become a strong opponent. Nowadays I cannot see him around.
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Just in case you haven't seen the other forum threads I created, I've now made the full Android version free, and the new PC version is obviously free. Hopefully this might encourage even more players to join (not that players are scarce or anything). Since SF is now completely free to play (and no ads!) I've also set up a Patreon page (at http://www.patreon.com/stellarforces ). All donations to help cover the hosting costs gratefully accepted. :)
  
  I'm also looking to set up some kind of "voting system" for new features, so the most popular ones can be created first. I'm just looking into ways I can do that online.
  Posted by SteveSmith 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• The blue team (FoN and RABID) has an exceptional performance during current campaign. They have already captured more than half of the sectors. It seems to be an unresistable expansion.
  
  I am thinking about the sector autocapture timeout. 7 days seem to be too much for me. 5 days would be more appropriate. What do you think?
  Posted by Hokunda 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• let's paint the blue color in red!!!attack!!!go!go!go team!!! ;)
  Posted by igoryan 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• Mwahahaha!
  
  Omni corp (Me and FoN) - 40 sectors
  Marsec corp (eight players on the team) - 5 sectors
  
  Come and get us!
  Posted by RABID 7 years ago [Login to reply]



• I think time to unite Globex+Metallix+Marsec to team GMM against Omni killers :)
  Posted by igoryan 7 years ago [Login to reply]

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