HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ets@wrkgrp.COM (Edward T Spire)
Subject: board management software
Organization: The Workstation Group
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 14:22:24 GMT

Rather than having a board set up in my office that is constantly
getting jostled, I've been thinking about writing a program (an X
application, maybe) that accepts a board topology file and maintains
an "order of battle" file that shows current unit position.  The
program would allow screen display of the current situation and
unit movement on screen.  No game logic, just a replacement for a board
and pieces.

Anybody ever hear of something like this being done before,
or any suggestions for getting a leg up on this?  Seems like
the topology would be the hard part:  hex oriented games with
landscape features vs. amorphous boards like diplomacy, etc.

========================================================================

Ed Spire                           email: ets@wrkgrp.com      (on uunet)
The Workstation Group              voice: 800-228-0255
6300 River Road, Suite 700            or  708-696-4800
Rosemont, Illinois  60018            fax: 708-696-2277
From: rar+@pitt.edu (Richard A Rubin)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: 1830 by Email
Summary: 1830 respondents, please stand by
Date: 28 Sep 92 15:25:41 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Pittsburgh


I have about 7 responses to my earlier posting.  I'm experiencing some
very unwelcome downtime on my mailhost so please stand by.

Rich

Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: caraher@pn32.petnet.med.umich.edu
Subject: Re: Air Force/Dauntless Expansion Kit
Organization: pet/cyclotron
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 13:30:35 GMT

>I have tried to adapt technical data (like that found in Janes Aircraft,
> and other sources) for lesser known WWII planes to the AF/D format.
>Maximum speed and stall speed are easily adaptable (divide by 50 mph to
>get speed) as is cieling. Point costs for various maneuvers are a bit
>harder to figure out. And, I have been stymied by the break points
>between dive, level and maneuver speed, power and brake factors, and
>performance loss at high altitudes. 
>   Unless the designer was willing to do some serious number crunching
>(this back in 1976 or so, before cheap scientific calculators and PCs) I
>figure that there must be a quick and dirty way to derive all these
>numbers. Not being a very good mathematician or an expert on
>aerodynamics, I do not know them. Help!

Air Force/Dauntless has a lot of realism problems in the flight rules - I
suspect that the designers were neither experts on aerodynamics nor
mathemeticians, either. I think the system plays truer for low-powered low-wing
loading aircraft - that slip-turn-turn thing is more appropriate to a Fokker
Triplane than anything that ever flew in WWII. If you do the calculations you
can find aircraft coming over the top of loops pulling over 30 gees, ungodly
accelerations (I saw a rather interesting analysis of AF/D B-29 performance
recently that showed an amazing amount of acceleration for a 4-engined behemoth
relative to the fighters in the game. The bottom line is that I'd expect
generating data cards to be rather difficult beyond straightforward stuff like
ceilings and speeds.

At a convention a couple years ago I met a guy who had generated data cards to
simulate the Winter War air war. Obscure Finnish and Russian biplane fighters
were the order of the day. Maybe I could put you in touch with him.

You will probably want to check out the WWII air game from Clash of Arms when
it comes out next year. The designer *is* knowledgeable about aerodynamics, and
is under the constant scrutiny of others who know more about the subject than
he does.
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: goudswaa@fraser.sfu.ca (Peter Goudswaard)
Subject: Re: A&A: Allies buy how many dice?
Keywords: A&A
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 03:45:27 GMT

obbe@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Obbe Vermey) writes:

>Hello Peter,

>I'm relatively new to A&A and missed the old discussion. Therefore I'm
>interested in sneaky-moves and stuff like that. Could you mail some
>of the best to my email adress ? I'd really apreciate that.

Unfortunately, I no longer have any of the files!  :(

>Bombing Berlin is a nice idea ofcourse but how are you going to
>stop Japan. If the allies don't take any action, Japan will attack
>Russia in 5 turns or so and Russia won't be able to defend itself
>against a German/Japanese attack. If the Allies (USA & Britain at
>least) would invest everything in development they should have heavy
>bombers in about 2 turns. It would take 1 extra turn to buy the bombers,
>to bomb all the money out of Germany. In 3/4 turns however, the axis
>are ready to conquer Russia. A critical situation. Did you ever play
>this scenario and what happened ?

No, not specifically like this, but I really wish some of the original
A&A gang was here to defend me!  But to deal with the above, you say,
"If the allies don't take any action..."  This isn't the way I or any
of my players would play!  US would put at least *some* pressure on
Japan!


>					Yours, Obbe.

>obbe@ph.tn.tudelft.nl
>(holland)
-- 
 Peter Goudswaard                  _________                     _________
 goudswaa@sfu.ca                  |         |      __/^\__      |         |
 pgoudswa@cue.bc.ca               |         |      \     /      |         |
 peterg@quesnel.education.gov.bc.ca         |   _/\_\   /_/\_   |         |
                                  |         |   >           <   |         |
 "Peace through superior          |         |    >_________<    |         |
    firepower" -- ad for EP607    |_________|         |         |_________|
Organization: Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 16:35:32 -0400 
From: "Timothy C. Worsley" <tw1r+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Titan rules question
	<semNMNe00VpNI1y11g@andrew.cmu.edu>

	I'd say that there is no question about it.  The ranger can fly, and it
SPECIFICLY says non-flying non-natives.  Bramble is worded differently,
presumably on purpose.

ZZnew guy
From: pendy@ais.org (Paul Hohn)
Subject: Re: A&A: Allies buy how many dice?
Keywords: A&A
Organization: UMCC
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 1992 03:52:21 GMT

In article <obbe.717939575@galaxy> obbe@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Obbe Vermey) writes:
>
>The Germans can still conquer Africa even if the Brits move in
>their indian troops.(The Germans will have to take the 2 italians
>to Africa the first turn and another 2 the in the 2nd).
Taking anything from Italy should the Russian player decide to be aggressive
would be a mistake. If Russia goes for the throat competently, Germany can't
afford to send anything into Africa.

>If the Brits move out there is no stopping Japan. It's the question
>whether Germany can hold Europe long enough. With no British/USA
>troops coming in by boot that shouldn't be much of a problem I think.
Ahh, but the US almost ALWAYS sends in troops to Africa. It's almost like
it's been written in the rulebook that the US must send units to Africa.

>The first 2 turns germany has all its money to spend (exept 3.5)
>so germany can buy around 20 soldiers. This should be a barrier
>big enough to stop the Russians for a while.
That's 20 provided Germany doesn't lose any territory. Their first turn,
Germany can buy 10 infantry. Their second turn, should everyone take
aggressive postures and figuring in bombing (as a previous example showed,
bombing CAN work even without heavies), Germany should be able to buy
somewhere around 8 men. Yes, this is a lot, but it also must be factored in
that Germany not only has to protect it's capital, but has a two/three-front
war to take on. The West must receive help if any invasions are to be
shunted. The East will be overrun if not shored up. All in all, if faced
with smart aggressiveness, Germany's gotta come up with a doozy of a plan to
stay alive.

>Next time I play the Allies I'll try something like this. But I'm
>not so sure. Isn't there a cheap way to block Japan for a while ?
>
Sure, just hit Japan with Russian infantry and armor in Manchuria, send a
Russian fighter into India or the US position due north of India, or even
China itself. Make the Japs work hard for the ground. The Russians could do
a pullback to Yakut, the US to the spot due north of India (Singkiang I
*think*) and have the Brits hold tough at India. Stock em all with the stuff
in the area. In Yakut, there will be like 5 infantry and one armor. In
Singkiang(?) there will be four infantry and a fighter and in India there
will be two infantry and two fighters (one Brit, one Russian). Britain can
always use it's transport and pull the guys from Australia and dump them
onto India. The japs are then looking at a nice wall of force.
Organization: Doctoral student, Mathematics, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Date: Fri,  2 Oct 1992 16:12:46 -0400 
From: William Dow Rieder <wr0k+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: STARFIRE! coming soon!

NETOPRBL@ncsuvm.cc.ncsu.edu (Christopher Lane) writes:

>I just got a look at one of my "friend who's a dealer"'s advanced
announcements
>for  games coming in the next few months. and lo' and behold if under
>task force games they didn't have StarFire coming out in nov/dec! I believe
>the asking price was in the 20's.

Great! - if we are lucky, it might be out by March :-)

Task Force has a long history of missing release dates by a lot.  I am looking
forward to the game, though.

					W. Dow Rieder

 	When the only tool you have is a hammer, all your problems
start to look like nails...
From: dmeier@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Douglas Meier)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: A&A: How about this strategy?
Keywords: A&A
Date: 1 Oct 92 19:07:18 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.1992Oct1.190718.20058
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.

While we are discussing A&A, I have my own problems.

My friend is always the Allies, I am always Axis.  On the first turn, he
builds up the Russian Frontier as heavy as it will go and buys eight infantry.
Sometimes he gets ballsy enough to attack Manchuria, but not often.

Then I go with Germany, mainly trying to squelch the Brit Navy.
I also take as much of Africa as possible.

Then he does the British move (Here is where I die).  He moves his India
troops to South Africa, then builds a Complex there.   I can never take out
his troops in time, and before I can get enough troops to take his complex, he
starts cranking out waves of Brit tanks.  The result?  Germany gets
stonewalled by lots of Russian Infantry while the British tanks pelt me from
Africa, taking the land bridge across the Suez and up through Persia.

Meanwhile, the US is left to deal with Japan and doesn't bother with Germany. 
I don't have to tell you that it is pretty short work considering the 36-25
initial IPC ratio.  

So what do you think, will this approach hose me every time, or is their some
way I can ruin his day?

Thanks in advance...
   
-- 
Douglas C. Meier		|  Remember to vote this election year,       
Northwestern University, ACNS 	|  you probably won't get another one. 
I don't claim them, they don't	|  
claim me.......			|  dmeier@casbah.acns.nwu.edu
From: i6p@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: to Earl Walters (ICECW@ASUACAD.PROFS)
Date: 1 Oct 92 22:34:14 EDT
Distribution: rec
Organization: Cornell University

For some reason my mailer did not recognize your address.
That is why I had to post.
I don't recall what I bid for, but I will probably up my bid.
Please tell me what it is and I will tell you what my new bid is.
Newsgroups: rec.games.board,rec.games.frp.marketplace
From: cal@fang.att.com (Charles A. Licata)
Subject: For Sale and Wanted
Followup-To: kuznick@meglos.mdcorp.ksc.nasa.gov
Organization: AT&T Tax Systems Development, Maitland FL
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 14:07:31 GMT

Hi,

  I am posting this for Divid Kuznick who can read news, but not post.
If you wish to get in touch with him please send him e-mail at the 
following address:

          kuznick@meglos.mdcorp.ksc.nasa.gov

Thanks,

Chuck

______________________________________________________________________________

For Sale:

Dune (AH) - a little worn but complete.
Star Fleet Battles; Designer's Edition - mint unpunched
Dragon Pass (original Chaosium edition) - mint unpunched except errata
	pencilled into rule book
Top Secret (TSR) - mint
Call of Chthulhu (Chaosium) - mint
Punch Line - Milton Bradley

Wanted:

Supremacy
Axis & Allies
Hare & Tortoise (?) - not sure of title.  British game which involved
	a race using carrots as fuel.
Republic of Rome
Blackbeard
New World
Tyrrano Ex

Trades welcome.
From: bruno@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Bruno Wolff III)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Titan Answer
Date: 2 Oct 1992 16:59:42 GMT
Organization: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Computing Services Division
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: 129.89.7.46
Originator: bruno@cerberus.csd.uwm.edu

I checked on the sand/dune questions.
There was not a clarification of the flyer landing in sand question. Though I
would argue that nonnative flyers need only one movement point to land in sand.
On the carrying over dunes when striking over a nondune hexside question
the rulings are:
Natives can carry over (the rules are cited as being incorrectly worded).
Nonnatives may NOT carry over. They may NOT roll less dice to permit carry
over. If they strike accross the dune hexside first they may carry over a
nondune hexside.
From: zst@ecl.psu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: BTECH: MNA Rankings & Clan Honor
Date: 30 Sep 92 09:21:28 EDT
Organization: Engineering Computer Lab, Pennsylvania State University

In article <BvCp40.9H0@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, dv52151@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (SilverFang Ahroun) writes:
> carlton@apollo.hp.com (Carl Hommel) writes:
> 
>>5.  No retreats.  You may move around to take advantage of terrain, but
>>    walking backward to keep your target in long range to prevent them from
>>    firing back is not allowed.
> 
> Well, I think you are stretching on this one. After all, keeping the
> enemy at the range your weapons work best at is the goal of manuevering,
> and if that range happens to prevent the IS from being able to engage
> you... Well, they are paying for their generations of decadence and
> sloth. :)
> 

I have always thought that clanners _prefer_ to stay at long range taking
advantage of our longer-ranged weapons (much like what is described in Wolf
Pack, in the battle between forces loyal to Jamie Wolf and those hired
mercenary.)  To do this, i.e. fire at Innersphere forces from where they cannot
shoot back, retreating ( call it retrograde action) is a must.  I believe that
the section introducing the Clans in TR3050 contains reference to this tactics
as common practices.

>>Here is a question we could not settle.  Which statement do you think is
>>correct?
> 
>>A.  Clanners *must* target the first IS mech that attacks them.
>>B.  Clanners target an appropriate mech.
> 
>>Our lengthy 5 minute arguement boils down to this question.  Assume your
>>clanner is faced with an Atlas and a Locust.  The Locust is feeling suicidal,
>>and runs up and attacks you.  The Atlas dishonorably participates in a gang
>>fire at a fellow clanner, who engaged with a third IS mech.
> 
>>Which mech will you target?
> 
> It depends on what we are piloting. If I am in a suitable large 'Mech,
> say a Daishi or Masakari, and the second Clan pilot is hopelessly outclassed,
> say a Dasher, then I would most likely engage BOTH the Atlas and Locust.
> If operating something smaller, I would evaporate the Locust and then
> take out the Atlas, as that course would result in a quicker silencing
> of weapons.  However, if the other Clan pilot is piloting something
> suitable to engage two IS 'Mechs, I will allow him the glory of the
> kills.
> 
> Axly
> 
The Clan mech can fire at whatever target he feel like crushing first.


Zachary Tseng
Khan, Clan Ghost Bear
Commander, Sigma Galaxy, Clan Ghost Bear
From: rnlee@sdcc3.ucsd.edu (Profess'nal Agitator)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Junta: house rules
Date: 1 Oct 92 16:56:41 GMT
Organization: MAWL - Mudd Alums Without Lives

In article <1992Sep30.165337.27213@HQ.Ileaf.COM> bret@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Bret Pettichord) writes:
>This is a list of rules changes that i've used or am considering
>using. I'm interested in any comments people might have on them. This
>list is brief; some of these changes require further modifications and
>explanations in order to be used. These are based on the West End
>Games version, 1985.

I like most of your military changes, particularly self-defense and
rebel wins, but I think your political changes are off-the-mark.

>Political Rules

>1. Pocket Money. One's personal bank account is attached to one's
>   office. This has several effects. (1) You can't gain wealth
>   directly through assasination and execution. (2) One can't
>   automatically take one's personal wealth into exile. (3) A change
>   of government could cause personal wealth to be reshuffled. (I'm
>   considering a rule that a president must have excuses for cabinet
>   reshufflings.)

If I read this correctly, this sounds completely off the spirit of the
game.  Corruption runs rampant.  If you can't take your money with
you, what's the point.  And, as the game stands now, you cannot gain
wealth immediately from assassination/execution because you can still
lose it before you get it to the bank.

One of the best parts of the game is when you have a nice long chain
of assassinations and 1/2 to 2/3 of the government buys the farm.
(Add the berserk assassin for further chaos  :-)

>2. Budget. The president proposes the budget by laying down the eight
>   bills he's drawn face down in front of the players as he
>   determines. This is the proposal that players must vote for; they
>   only know the number of bills to be distributed. This is how i was
>   taught to play years ago and how i've always played. I've always
>   thought this was a slick idea.

This seems to seriously diminish the power of the Presidency.  If you
can't control the amount that everyone else gets, why be President?
And you also can't slip those 2's and 3's with 1's in hand anymore.

Agitator
  #->

"A political deadend."                  Bruce Herschensohn for U.S. Senate!!!
    --Gore on the Vice Presidency when    Not the ten-year       //  The REAL
      asked about a Dukakis-Gore ticket   Congress insider      //   outsider
--------------- R E M E M B E R   B E I J I N G ------------\\ //------------
IBM PC - Who wants a politically correct computer?           \X/  Only AMIGA!
========================================== Bring Back the Caltech Cannon!! ==
Roderick Lee, HMC '91      "The Professional Agitator"      agitator@ucsd.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.board,rec.games.pbm
From: heinenb@messua.informatik.rwth-aachen.de (Benedikt Eric Heinen)
Subject: Titan PBM-rules?
Keywords: titan ah avalon hill pbm rules
Organization: Rechnerbetrieb Informatik  /  RWTH Aachen
Date: 28 Sep 92 22:46:49 GMT

Is anybody out there, who worked out some pbm rules for Titan?
(especially how would you handle your movement-rolls, battles, recruiting...)?

yours,

     Benedikt

Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: djc105@rsphy2.anu.edu.au (Damian Jackson)
Subject: 1914
Followup-To: rec.games.board
Organization: Computer Services Centre, Australian National University
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 92 08:15:54 GMT


		As far as old Avalon Hill games are concerned, I was wondering if anyone
had a copy of 1914 that they were prepared to part with. If you do, and I
hope it goes without saying that it has to be complete, then please e-mail
me the price that you are looking for, and i'll be in touch.


Damian Jackson

djc105@rsphy2.anu.edu.au
From: jeffl@pcx.ncd.com (Jeff Longueil)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: WiF Errata wanted
Date: 28 Sep 92 21:16:48 GMT
Article-I.D.: pcx.1992Sep28.211648.11968
Organization: Graphic Software Systems, Beaverton, OR

In article <1992Sep23.131853.23029@med.umich.edu> caraher@pn32.petnet.med.umich.edu writes:
>The latest errata were included in Planes in Flames, and I think also appeared
>in the Canadian Wargamers' Journal, which is pretty much the official source
>for such things (though I suppose you could pester ADG for them, too).

I haven't played WIF in a few years.  What is "Planes in Flames"?


--ffeJ.
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: shoham@ll.mit.edu (Daniel Shoham)
Subject: Re: Junta: house rules
Organization: MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 23:03:21 GMT

In article <38856@sdcc12.ucsd.edu> rnlee@sdcc3.ucsd.edu (Profess'nal Agitator) writes:
>In article <1992Sep30.165337.27213@HQ.Ileaf.COM> bret@HQ.Ileaf.COM (Bret Pettichord) writes:
>
>>2. Budget. The president proposes the budget by laying down the eight
>>   bills he's drawn face down in front of the players as he
>>   determines. This is the proposal that players must vote for; they
>>   only know the number of bills to be distributed. This is how i was
>>   taught to play years ago and how i've always played. I've always
>>   thought this was a slick idea.
>
>This seems to seriously diminish the power of the Presidency.  If you
>can't control the amount that everyone else gets, why be President?
>And you also can't slip those 2's and 3's with 1's in hand anymore.
>
>Agitator

I actually like this rule. Of course, the president may SAY how much is in
each bill, but he might be LYING (which could sink his credibility).

Dan Shoham
shoham@ll.mit.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: goudswaa@fraser.sfu.ca (Peter Goudswaard)
Subject: A&A: Allies buy how many dice?
Keywords: A&A
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 06:21:38 GMT

I'm hoping the old A&A crowd still peruses this group (cchiang, josh,
oberland, etc etc)

Anyhow, I've a binder full of Axis strategies, Allied strategies,
sneaky manoeuvers, alternate rules, house rules, etc. but the thing
I am most interested in is the strategy where the Allies should
bomb the hell out of Germany.  Specifically, since heavy bombers
are extremely desireable, has anyone figured an optimum or near
optimum quantity of dice to buy for weapons development for each
or any of the Allies?  Obviously Russia should not, however, I
guess I am wondering if anyone did an analysis of the number of
dice that Britain and the US should/shouldn't buy each round.

Thanks in advance for your replies (posts or email).

-- 
 Peter Goudswaard                  _________                     _________
 goudswaa@sfu.ca                  |         |      __/^\__      |         |
 pgoudswa@cue.bc.ca               |         |      \     /      |         |
 peterg@quesnel.education.gov.bc.ca         |   _/\_\   /_/\_   |         |
                                  |         |   >           <   |         |
 "Peace through superior          |         |    >_________<    |         |
    firepower" -- ad for EP607    |_________|         |         |_________|
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: jmb@athens.uucp (22242-bennett)
Subject: Tokyo Express Question
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 92 11:44:59 GMT

I'm just learning the game and I have a question concerning
the Japanese Formation Phase in the Basic Game.
The first rule under Japanese Formation Groupings on page 3
states: "You must group CL's with DD's whenever possible."
Yet in the example on Japanese formations on page 4,
the Sendai (CL) is grouped with the BB and CA's
when it could be grouped with the DD's.
Is this a mistake in the example or am I missing something?
Does anyone have a list or know of a list
of rules clarifications for "Tokyo Express"?

Thanks for your help!

Jay Bennett
jmb@athens.cc.bellcore.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: jblaudea@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Jean P Blaudeau)
Subject: fatal alliances
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1992 20:51:04 GMT
From: michael@pacifier.rain.com (Michael Smith)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Second Wizwar expansion set?
Date: 30 Sep 92 16:01:29 GMT
Article-I.D.: pacifier.1992Sep30.160129.4643
Distribution: usa
Organization: Pacifier BBS

Is the second Wizwar expansion set out yet?  If so how is it.  I believe
that it was supposed to be out in June but I haven't heard anything about it.

		Michael Smith (michael@pacifier.rain.com)