Hello

[Mead]

Originally posted by HongHu

***

Perhaps you guys can give us some self-introduction if you feel like to.


***

Hong Hu you are right, thank you for reminding us of our manners.

Hello, I'm Mead.

I am a Multiplayer Rookie. This is the first time I have ever played multiplayer.

I have played SP SMAC for about a year, but only started SMAX about 3 months ago when the Laptop Collection came out.

I only joined the Hive after I got SMAX.

Although I was aware that there was a lot I did not know, I am still surprised by the amount of stuff I have learned and am still learning.

Welcome to the Hive.


Mead

[Kody]

Rubin's in the hive?
Kewl.

JustinShane was a person I invited to join the hive a while back. As far as I know he's not very active. TripleDoc no clue, Micha did a background check on him a while back and said he was clean.

__________________________________________________ _
I'm Kody,

and I'm an alcoholic....*cough* single dad.... whoops wrong meetings.... I'm a SMAX newbie... okay you don't accept that either....

Well I'm a highly strung professional worrier. I joined the hive team about 9 months ago to participate in the story writing and started playing alpha centuari a short time later.

Due to the fact I was highly strung and nervous I ended up reading alot of strategy in the forums when the Hive found out about the drones next door to us. So I ended up helping with the strategy in the earlier parts of the game so that the Hive would be able to match the Drones in a war. This was before the permi-pact came into place.

Currently, I'm in retirement, but still do part-time worrying on behalf of the Hive. I get casual rates for that work and consequently don't get superannuation anymore (while an Hive official always remember to make regular topups on your superannuation).

You won't see me posting much in here as the cycon have my house staked out, phone lines/internet tapped and are trying to find enough evidence to put me into a cycon prision for treason against the CPU.

[Snowflake]

Dear Kody when did you take up to alcohol? Single dad ... Oh yea Kody's the father of the Hive strategists. ... What? Voltaire? Oh he is the father of the state. ... And Jamski? Um father of all the Hive children lol.

Ok so I slipped and didn't know that JustinSane and TripleDoc have been here from a long time ago? When didn't you visit me? Now the REAL question? Who of you guys are the two other newbies that I didn't know of?

[Octavian X]

Hello, I'm Octavian X, and I'm probably what you would call a democracy game junkie. (At last count, I was active in five other democracy games...)

As for this team, well... I joined up right before we played our first turn, almost making me a founding member.

Since then, I've spammed this forum (I swear, at least half my posts are somewhere in here...). If anything, I'd call myself a diplomacy moniter, just watching, making suggestions, and otherwise helping out where I can when it comes to the other teams. I've also done what I've can to help reform things within the Hive, though it appears those efforts were eventually met with failure. Our current non-governmental system seems to be working.

Otherwise, I'm seen as being the useless fat guy that all these games always seem to have. In my spare time, I write propoganda news articles for PRAVDA, our beloved newspaper, which always tells the truth, even if that truth is that Chairman Voltaire has a 35463% approval rating, and that I'm actually a large xenollama. I'm also famous for the invention of the xenodoughnut (which does NOT have mind control properties due to the mindworm husks that are the main ingredient...). I'm also evilly plotting the Chairman's overthrow...

So, in summary, I just sit around and look pretty.

Welcome to our new members, and have fun!

[Snowflake]

Night.

[Jamski]

Hello!

-Jam

[Vev]

I am here, was, will be, when maybe not. Perhaps later, or before, now and forever, but no absolutes please.

[Snowflake]

Mead I've replied to your PM.

[Mead]

Originally posted by HongHu
Mead I've replied to your PM.

Just replied to you.

I think the save link is attached.

Please let me know if you got it, and what you think about it.

Mead

[Snowflake]

Rubin had reminded me that we don't have a topped thread devoted to military discussions. Chairman, would you please retop the CMC thread? This is the exact time we need some serious discussion on that aspect of the game. Thanks!

[Snowflake]

I should let everybody know that since I am very bad at war skills (stuffed up last turn a little by ordering choppers to freeman only to have some of them stopped in a Hive base in the middle) I have talked to Mead so that he can take over the turn playing from the next turn. Mead has been actively involved in the last few turns so I feel he is familiar enough with the game and I also feel his ability and skills are well enough to handle our turns.

I will of course stay involved. I would also like to have others to be actively involved too. If possible I would like to suggest another comrade (Rubin?) to be the co-turn player with Mead. This way you can compliment each other and fill in when one is temperarily unavailable. I will stay as the back up turn player.

[Jamski]

Perhaps we can play the turn together...

...damn, no MSN...

...perhaps that's for the best though...

-Jam

[Arnelos]

I would highly recommend doing war turns in an IRC channel and invite anyone to come who might be able to provide some advice on war matters in real time.

If everyone is in chat together and are looking at the save as well, that will help A LOT.

[Voltaire]

Originally posted by Arnelos
I would highly recommend doing war turns in an IRC channel and invite anyone to come who might be able to provide some advice on war matters in real time.

If everyone is in chat together and are looking at the save as well, that will help A LOT.

I think this indeed a prudent suggestion, if we can get it organized.

[Mead]

Originally posted by Arnelos
I would highly recommend doing war turns in an IRC channel and invite anyone to come who might be able to provide some advice on war matters in real time.

If everyone is in chat together and are looking at the save as well, that will help A LOT.

I would like to participate, but don't know how to do any of the IRC or chat.

I could do the next turn provided I am able to upload the turn and others are able to 'peer review' the turn before we play it.


Mead

[Arnelos]

Do you guys already have an IRC channel on Apolyton.net? If not, we can set that up pretty quickly.

The only other thing would be to schedule a time to play the war saves that both the leadership and any military advisors can make.

[Jamski]

Let's make an IRC chat then. #Hive on irc//:quakenet/ at when?

-Jam

[Jamski]

Or #hive at irc://apolyton.net is fine too.

-Jam

[Snowflake]

Not sure if we want to go that route again. It has been tried and failed. The way it is working now (turn player plays and post save before end turn and screen shots) seems to be working just fine.

[Arnelos]

Originally posted by HongHu
Not sure if we want to go that route again. It has been tried and failed. The way it is working now (turn player plays and post save before end turn and screen shots) seems to be working just fine.

It works just fine most of the time because there's very very little to actually decide when the turnplayer plays the turn during peacetime. I presume we also give our turnplayer (this being a police state!) the authority to basically make whatever decisions are necessary if they happen to crop up.

That said, if we're going to go to war, the sheer amount of new information coming in each time we get a new turn and the sheer number of strategically crucial decisions that get made on the spot based upon that new information means that it may be helpful to the turnplayer to have some advisory figures around when they play war turns.

It's really a matter of having more sets of eyes and brains behind them around when the save comes in with all of that new information. With more people looking at it right before it's played, there's a higher chance that we won't miss something important or that someone will come up with the bright idea that will save our butts that turn. For something as critical and time compacted as a warturn, it helps for the turnplayer to have as much talent and brainpower from the team at their disposal as possible.

I actually don't know the details of the constitution around here, but I'll assume that the turnplayer probably gets the final say on what goes into the save (this team probably isn't ruled in turnchats by the almighty QuickPoll(tm) ). So, basically, the turnplayer can have some advisors in chat with them when they play the save to help out. The turnplayer themself retains final authority on what actually gets done, however.

Workable?

[Kody]

I used to have turnchats every turn. It really didn't work because people discussed German and Hentai instead of contributing to the turn. It took hours of time talking, and it was difficult getting everyone on together at the same time.

Also some pretty bad mistakes have been made because of turn chats. Having a turn chat leads to turnplayer thinking they can use it as a crutch for last minute decisions. Turn chats lead to last minute decisions that often aren't thought through and it's especially bad as often people are there giving advice at the turn chat without knowing what is going on. Having not kept up with current events or having not ever looked at a turn within the last 2 months.

As a consequence turn chats were relgated for things like last minute diplomatic decisions that needed answering before a turn. Actual turn playing doesn't benefit from turn chats, especially if a player saves a turn and posts it (or screenshots) allowing people to give time to think and give proper feedback.

[Arnelos]

Originally posted by Kody
Actual turn playing doesn't benefit from turn chats, especially if a player saves a turn and posts it (or screenshots) allowing people to give time to think and give proper feedback.

The case I'm thinking of where a turnchat is near on to essential is a war turn.

The reason why is that during the coarse of playing the turn, it's entirely possible for the turn player to stumble on MAJOR pieces of information that were not previously known. During war turns, this may even happen rather frequently.

So posting what the situation is at the start of the turn and allowing for comment in the forum helps, but ultimately does not help enough if there are any surprises. The line "no plan survives contact with the enemy" springs to mind.

If we're going to have the turnplayer come back to the forum every single time there's new information to think about during a war turn (by constrast), it's going to take forever to play one. New information is being uncovered and critical decisions based upon new information are being made almost every time a unit is moved in enemy territory or used in combat.

So yes, turnchats compact the time in which information is being analyzed and advice being provided based upon it. The point is that, during a warturn, the information is coming in so fast that that's the only way the team can keep up.

[Jamski]

Turnchats are fun and interesting anyway, and make people feel like they can contribute to the team. If they actually make the turn "better" is not so important - they certainly don't make it worse. People not actually playing can ask questions about the turn and so on...

Let's do it. I think IRC is better than MSN (having got chatzilla working ) so we can do it that way.

-Jam

[Snowflake]

I used to be one of the strong promoters of turn chats. However I've now realized that it may not be the best route for the turn playing, especially after having actually played couple turns myself.

I suggest we let the turn player to decide whether he would like to be more focused when he plays the turn and stop when he feels that he needs feedback in the middle of the turn, or if he would like to get a couple experienced player sit besides him in case he needs advises. I would actually prefer the former for I would definitely make mistakes when I cannot concentrate on what I'm doing. Also my time will not allow me to go for long and interesting chats when I play the turn. But Mead and whoever is going to be the turn player in the future may see merit in the other way too.

People can look at the turn in advance even if there isn't a turn chat, and post important things they notice before the turn player play the turn. If people really want to contribute to the team, I think giving some solid suggestions is probably more helpful than participate in fun and intereting chatting. I don't oppose fun and interesting chats at all, as long as it is not when the turn player needs to concentrate on playing the turn.

[Mead]

Originally posted by Mead


I would like to participate, but don't know how to do any of the IRC or chat.

I could do the next turn provided I am able to upload the turn and others are able to 'peer review' the turn before we play it.


Mead

http://apolyton.net/upload/view.php?...eMeads2158.SAV


For your review and critque I post my parallel turn.

I was a little sloppy in the rushes (I could have rushed a few mor units ready for use next turn if I didn't ty to have some bases carry over 10 mins).

Because I killed the CyCon probfoil I didn't need to park my F-15 from Rokossygrad on top of my 1-3-6 cruiser. I moved the F-15 to New Moscow be better in range for action next turn.


Mead

[Jamski]

I killed the CyCon probfoil

-Jam

[Snowflake]

I guess it shows when I need to relief some of my loads. My head always become a mess at a point every so often. Sorry guys.

[Snowflake]

I also sent Googlie this PM.

CC reload
Tell me if it is possible the reload is because they wasn't able to destroy the peace colony pod in the first time. I know it might not be possible to tell what really happened. I just think for a faction who is winning the war to that agree still need to do this so that they could destroy the other is so despicable. I didn't know one can go to this low of a level. I will try everything I could to defeat them.

[Jamski]

I guess it shows when I need to relief some of my loads. My head always become a mess at a point every so often. Sorry guys.

Can you get on IRC??? join the 'poly channel and we can go on from there.

-Jam

[Snowflake]

I don't know how to use IRC.