From: rjones@itchy.dsd.es.com (Ray Jones - Perp)
Subject: Re: Please
Organization: Design Systems Division, Evans & Sutherland, SLC, UT
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 92 05:53:39 GMT

In article <1992Aug29.034124.26332@colorado.edu> sherod@newton.Colorado.EDU (Scott Herod) writes:
>Watching sloth play recently I noticed one big difference between
>the high clue (like him) and the medium clue  (like me I hope).
>
>When he picks up he is immeadiatly headed to a planet.  He may
>die with the armies but not miles in the backfield to the 
>fourth ogger.

This is, I think, an example the *most* important rule to follow if you
want to be looked upon as clued.  Which is: (stolen from the netrek
proverbs file (a great source of wisdom if there ever was one))

"Retreat towards enemy space."

(possibly a little misquoted).

If you are in your space, you're automatically on a defensive footing.  To
win, you have to attack... PLaying for a draw is no fun at all.

>My plea is that when you pick up armies and send out a distress
>(only twice please) tell us which planet you plan to go to and 
>then arrive there soon after your escort.  

Two means you're in trouble.  One means I'd like escort.  One also can be
just an update.

More to the point, everyone, without fail, should send a Distress call when
they pick up, or at the end of a string of pick ups (when you've just went
from one planet to another to accumulate more.)  There is nothing, I think,
that makes me more Angry! than for someone to pick up and not tell the
team.   For the past while, I've been adopting the MUCUS PIG approach.  One
offense, remind them to send distress calls.  Two, call them and idiot,
repeat until they respond in some way.  Three, tell the other team when
that person picks up, help them kill him.  It's *far*better* that he have
no kills than that your team lose 3 armies.  Callous? yes.  Effective?
Very. 

>Too much recently
>I have died twice on the planet the carrier has been hovering around 
>but since it was still at yellow status the person had not gone in.
>Of course after that much time the oggers can hit the target.

Exactly.  You can very seldom get the team to work together enough to
entirely clear a planet.  Takers should trust their escorts to Det, and to
spot the incoming oggers and help to at least slow them down.

Of course, my personal favorite tactic is to go in un-escorted (I'm not
even going to wate time waiting for escorts unless it's absolutely
necessary)  against one defender.  I cloak, act as if I'm about to dock,
wait for the inevitable torp stream, uncloak, kill them, and then take the
planet uncloaked.  I succeed about half the time, assuming I'm not dumb
enough to do it when I'm in my DD, and they're in a BB or CA.  (The DD is
the *best* ship, but it's not the most long-lasting.)

>If armies are reasonably plentiful don't be bashful about trying
>to get to the planet.

Don't be bashful, period.  Armies on ship are wasted armies.  If the oggers
keep you busy for 5 minutes, what have you done?  Basically, it's the same
as if you had at least made an attempt (where you may have succeeded),
died, got another kill or two, picked up more armies (which would have
popped in that 5 minutes, no prob), tried *again*, died, and then repeated
it at least once more.  You can squeeze 3 attempts into one runnerscumming
session.  

>Mad DDogg

--
                                          rjones@dsd.es.com
Newsgroups: talk.bizarre,alt.prose,alt.butt.harp