From: bav@hobbes.ksu.ksu.edu (Brick Verser)
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek
Subject: Re: Beef Client Borg?
Date: 14 Aug 92 17:46:52 GMT
Article-I.D.: moe.16gricINNhfl
Distribution: usa
Organization: Kansas State University
NNTP-Posting-Host: hobbes.ksu.ksu.edu

rmk@baal.unh.edu (Robert M. Kenney) writes:
>
>	Same here.  All I think my blessed copy of beef does for me is to
>   put pretty little icons on the planets.  Big deal.
>
>   [ . . . ]
>
>	The only reason I picked the beef/beast client is that it seemed
>   to be the nicest LOOKING client, and mapped windows the way I wanted
>   it to.  It does nothing one way or the other as far as improving my
>   game.
>
>	If anybody wants to try making me feel guilty, good luck!
>
>  <something less than Commander> Zhi'gau

* S I G H *

The whole idea of blessed clients is to have a level playing field.  Perhaps
the thing to do is to officially bless the beef client, but there is no
consensus that this is desirable.  You, something less than Commander Zhi'gau,
haven't been playing long enough to really understand the advantages having
important information at your fingertips can be.  It was pretty short-sited 
for you to single-handedly take it upon yourself to decide that the
advantages the beef client gives you didn't matter.  Let us take a quick
look at some of these features.

From the beef's readme...

>Beef is a simple information client meant to tease those in power with
>how nice it is to be able to see all the info about planets easily,
>and possibly include something like it in the next blessed binary.

That kinda sums up how the author feels about this.  

And from the beef's list of features:

o All new planet bitmaps

  Clearly this gives planet takers/defenders/etc a small advantage.  You 
  don't have to ask for info about a planet to know how many armies it
  has to spare.  Sure makes picking up nicer, and highlights bombing targets
  quickly for scout bombers.

o Message beep

  obMucus:  Last time the slimy porker called me a moron was because I didn't
  read one of his messages quickly enough and didn't catch on quickly enough
  what his flashing shields meant.  A beep would have focused my attn.

o Planet highlighting

  Incredibly useful.  See "obMucus" above and bitmap description.  In spades.
  Having a planet highlighted when someone mentions it in a message allows
  a player to keep his attention focused on the game rather than on messages.

o Player highlighting

  See immediately above.  Mucus wouldn't have called me a moron had the player
  he was calling to be ogged been highlighted for me.

...this list of features continues...

Perhaps at your current skill level these features matter not.  But you've
opened Pandora's box here.  As you improve, these features *WILL* matter,
and if your blessed beef client reaches the hands of better players it
certainly changes things.

While I don't (necessarily) want you to feel guilty, it'd sure be nice if
you'd reconsider this move.  It's clear you didn't intend any harm or you
would have removed the beef's borg-response.  Unbless your beef client and 
generate a normal blessed client and you'll make new friends.

--Brick
Newsgroups: rec.games.netrek