HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: cpbeaure@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu (Chris Beauregard)
Subject: Re: BTECH Scenerio
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 12:03:44 GMT

In article <1992Jul21.042249.7912@peponi.wcc.govt.nz> taia_a@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz writes:
>In article <BrLvGs.FtC@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu>, cpbeaure@cayley.waterloo.edu (Chris Beauregard) writes:
>>Well, yeah, I didn't say it was a really good mech.  Just that it was
>>about the slowest light mech with the heaviest firepower.
>
> THE SLOWEST, but the AC/10 is a bit limited on the field.

Well, I did mention the AC/20 variant...That's where heaviest firepower
comes in...

>>Something like the Spider or OstScout <sp?> are damned fast, not too
>>shabby armor, and thus tend to live longer.
>
> The Jump 7 and fire one medium is a real pain! But a PPC to them isn't
>very good for the armor or the internals. :-)

Actually, jump 8.  <nitpick>  The problem is hitting them with a PPC.
+4 target plus whatever terrain mods <what, you don't use terrain?!?>
really dumps your chance of hitting.  You wouldn't believe how hard
three OstScouts can be on a heavy or assault.  You can have it so that
one of them is almost always pumping the medium, and physical attacks,
into the rear.  

Yep, I love it when I randomly end up with one of those and my opponent
gets this look of glee in his eyes.  <heh>  'Specially because few
people I know of remember how fast these things are...

> Ambassador, dude you have copies of "Stardate" and "Stardrive" magazines?

Well, I got the one with the mini-mechs in it...Looked interesting.
Those things don't last all that well though...

Say, speaking of mags, anyone ever seen the White Wolf with the Useless
Mechs in it?  That Ballista isn't as bad as it looks....

>Tony Taia 
> tai-shu@akeake.vuw.ac.nz, TAIA_A@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz

Chris Beauregard                                cpbeaure@cayley.waterloo.edu
Differently Expressed:  The politically correct term for politically
correct people.
Xref: sparky rec.games.board:7467 rec.games.pbm:2238 rec.games.frp:24291 rec.games.frp.misc:2942
From: dfn@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (David Nalle)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board,rec.games.pbm,rec.games.frp,rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Last Chance to Vote
Date: 27 Jul 92 21:00:16 GMT
Followup-To: rec.games.board
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

This is the last chance to vote in the SIGMA Awards and let the world know 
what the best products in gaming are.  The deadline is August 1st, so get your
votes in fast tc dfn@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu.

The categories in which you can nominate up to 3 items are:

Best Role-Playing Game Published in 1991
Best RPG Aid Published in 1991
Best Strategy/Board Game Published in 1991
Best Strategy/Board Game Aid Publishes in 1991
Best Computer Game Released in 1991
Best PBM Game Started in 1991
Best Miniature Figure/Line Released in 1991
Best Gaming Periodical Published in 1991

Get those votes in NOW...if you haven't done so already.  Prizes will be
awarded at Gencon.

Dave

Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: c60b-3er@web-3b.berkeley.edu (Andrei Cogan)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: BTECH - Munchkinism
Date: 27 Jul 1992 19:51:07 GMT
Organization: None whatsoever...
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: web-3b.berkeley.edu

Daniel Farnan (u8901744@wraith.cs.uow.edu.au) writes:

> Not so. The Clans' major philosophy is "recycle everything". This
> includes 'Mechs (why scrap a perfectly good 'Mech when it can be
> given to a freebirth who would otherwise clamour for an Omni?), as
> shown by Phelan Wolf's battle for a Bloodname against that Elemental
> in the mirrored building - he was given a Star League-issue Mercury.

	Actually, the reason for this was to even up the battle
between a mechwarrior and an elemental. You wouldn't expect a Timber
Wolf pilot in a Bloodname Trial to go out in his own 'mech against an
elemental, would you? The entire point of such trials is to make them
more even - one participant chooses the method of fightning, the other
the location. That way you don't end up having a Summoner pilot go out
in combat against a Fire Moth pilot, at least not in their own
machines. The Mercury was good because it was the smallest 'mech they
had available - if they gave Phelan an Omni, he would just outfit it
with all sorts of ECM and scanning gear. Instead, he got a
stripped-down Mercury with weaponry that could not kill an elemental
in one lucky shot. In fact, the elemental had a pretty good strategy
going in that battle; he just made the mistake of underestimating the
intelligence of his opponent.

	-Andrei

Tai-i Pendo Matsuura
Strike Company ni
Ghost-shi (The Dragon's Heart)
Wolcott, Draconis Combine
-- 
Andrei Cogan (coganman@ocf.berkeley.edu)   ||| "When in doubt, panic."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you think it will take, even if
   you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: ede17@seq1.keele.ac.uk (P.A. Wilder)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: spacehulk games
Date: 31 Jul 92 16:19:40 GMT
Organization: University of Keele, England

From article <10726446.110.712543028@eng2.eng.monash.edu.au>, by 10726446@eng2.eng.monash.edu.au (LAU WAI KUEN):
> 
>    If anyone out there wants to try to play spacehulk via e-mail, then go 
> ahead and mail me.  If more than one person is willing, I'll hand out e-mail 
> addresses and see that everyone who mails gets a game (I hope).  If you     
> don't know what spacehulk is; don't mail me!  You're going to require the 
> game to play it (obviously perhaps).
> 
> Halcyon
> 
> "Lawyer;  One who is practiced in circumvention of the law."
From: Corey_Lynn_Nelson@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Third Reich - List of PBM games wanted
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 92 09:40:44 PDT
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
  <14JUL199210082523@vxcrna.cern.ch> <1992Jul16.094031.4483@ecl.psu.edu>
  <1992Jul16.194418.23098@terminator.cc.umich.edu>

Could someone please email me a list of Third Reich Play-By-Mail games?
I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!
 
      -=<< Corey L. Nelson >>=-
   corey_lynn_nelson@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: bas@phys.uva.nl (Bas de Bakker)
Subject: Re: Looking for good Operational Game
Organization: Institute for Theoretical Physics, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1992 15:22:48 GMT

>>>>> On 23 Jul 92 16:31:07 GMT, szy@Apple.COM (Steven J. Szymanski) said:

sjs>I've been playing TacAir (by AH) and have enjoyed the interplay between
sjs>logistics, command, and combined arms; and was wondering if there was
sjs>another/better game on them market which:

I'm going to talk about Avalon Hill's The Longest Day again !

sjs>1. Is still in print

It is.

sjs>2. Has a good, non-abstract model for supply/logistics

There are seperate supply units which you have to get to the division
HQs to get them in supply. Supply is used up by attacking and new
units have to be sent by rail/road (German) or via the beaches
(Allies). There are also replacement units to repair those units that
have taken losses. (Units which lose 'one step' are inverted and get
lower combat factors.) Getting German units from all over France to
Normandy is quite a problem too with Allied interdiction.

sjs>3. Has a good model for command/organization

Units have to be within 8 hexes of their division HQ to be in supply
(provided the HQ has a supply unit with it). There are also
independent units, each division HQ can supply three of those. Corps
HQ can supply independent artillery units. This system keeps the
divisional units (units are battalions and companies) together.

sjs>4. Is WWII or later

It's the Normandy Invasion.

sjs>5. Can be played (at least somewhat) Solitaire

No hidden things at all. Except for Ambush type games it is one of the
better games to play Solitaire.

sjs>and for an extra bonus:

sjs>6. Is NOT fixed to a particular battle, but can be used to simulate many 
sjs>different battles within a theater/war, including Design-Your-Own 
sjs>scenarios. (Like ASL, PanzerBlitz, Soldiers, etc. NOT like TacAir. Is 
sjs>there are standard term for games like this?)

No way ! (sorry). Though the game can be seen as comprising quite a
few battles. (Initial invasion, battle for Caen, etc.)

The scale is 2km per hex, the units are battalions, companies, division
and corps HQs. Combined arms is abstracted by giving an attack a
positive modifier if it involves both Armor and Infantry.

Bas de Bakker.
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: irilyth@fenris.claremont.edu (Josh Smith)
Subject: Re: Diplomacy Differences (FTF vs. PBEM)
Originator: irilyth@fenris
Organization: HMC Academic Computing Services
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 07:00:20 GMT

I'll add another Joshua to this discussion just to cause confusion. (grin)

In a prior article, Joshua E. Randall (bz556@cleveland.freenet.edu) writes:
> jjfink (Joel) replied that he dislikes not knowing who his enemies are in
> PBEM, because he can't see who's talking to whom.

I've experienced this phenomenon too. I'll elaborate below.

> Second of all, jjfink, that same old Gamer's Guide author believes that PBM
> gaming introduced *more* opportunity for Diplomacy, not less, because of
> what you mentioned, and because you have longer to talk things over.

I agree that it has introduced more opportunity for diplomacy, as well as
more opportunity for lies and deception. In an FTF game, if you as Turkey
have just spent ten minutes talking to Austria, France cannot walk up to you
and say "Hey, I just saw Russia spend ten minutes talking to Austria"--at
least, not with any hope of retaining his credibility. On the other hand, In
a PB[e]M game, France can claim that Austria told him he was talking
extensively with Turkey--and France might be lying to you, or he might be
telling the truth, but Austria also might be lying to him! The level of
paranoia and deception rises dramatically.

Effectively, you can now lie about not just what you're talking about, but
to whom you're talking it as well. In an FTF game, it's much harder to
convince people that you're not interested in some sort of alliance with a
player with whom you spend half of your negotiating time, but no one but you
knows how you spend your negotiating time in PB[e]M.

It's kind of like the difference between regular and blind Diplomacy: blind
introduces the option of lying not only about where your units are going,
but about where they are now. It gives you even more ways to bend the truth
in your efforts to bend your opponents, and as such is more complex. I don't
think PE[e]M is quite as large a leap from regular FTF as blind, but it can
be quite disconcerting to the experienced FTF player to suddenly not have
any solid, well-grounded idea as to where one's opponents are spending their
time.

I wonder what it would be like to play an FTF "white press" game: simply not
allow players to leave the room or the gaming table, but allow only public
communications between them. Anyone ever tried this?

> I have yet to engage in a PBEM game, so I can't say from my own experiece,
> but I think that both sorts of gaming should be fun.  Hey, as long as you
> get to play, who cares how?

I'd agree with that; I didn't interpret jjfink's comments as saying "...and
I don't like this," but more "...and boy is this different." I agree that
both ways are a lot of fun.
-- 
original text by Josh Smith    ::   Comments, questions, etc. welcomed
irilyth@fenris.claremont.edu   ::   #include <std.disclaimer>
"If you ever fall off the Sears Tower, just go real limp, because maybe you'll
look like a dummy and people will try to catch you because, hey, free dummy."
From: dv52151@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Axly)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: BTECH: The missing Clan?
Date: 30 Jul 92 15:57:00 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.Bs7Ln2.D6I
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

taia_a@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz writes:

> There were 20 Clans and three were removed. Widowmakers were absorbed
>into Wolf, Mongoose were also absorbed, but no further info and the
>Wolverines the Not-To-Be-Mentioned Clan became outlawed. The remaining
>17 included the familar Wolf, Ghost Bear, Nova Cat, Smoke Jaguar, Jade
>Falcon and Steel Viper.

> But the reserve Clan used on Tykurid(sp), the Diamond Sharks were not
>to be found. Now this is a error, but can someone think up a cute excuse
>how this happened? The winner of this question will gain the blueprints
>for the Koshi deliverable to any Comstar HPG station :)

No cute excuse, but the real reason that Clan Diamond Shark wasn't
mentioned is that they used to be Clan Sea Fox. Diamond Shark sounds
cooler than Sea Fox, I guess.

> Another question. Are the Clans we face now the strongest and most
>powerful of the Clans? I doubt that the Clans are equal. The readings
>imply that Wolf, Jade Falcon and Smoke Jaguars are quite strong. If
>they are the best that the Clans have to offer, then fighting the
>others may be easier. As they may lack the resources and military
>might of their bigger brethern. Of course, I would like to see as
>few Clans as possible.

Judging from what I've read, the Clans we've faced are pretty much
the same toughness as the others. The only one I've heard mentioned
as being especially tough is Clan Blood Spirit. With any luck, they
won't be allowed to participate in the 1st Annual Clan Regatta to
Terra. *GRIN*

Axly
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: james@wrs.com (James Moore)
Subject: Re: Monopoly Stock Exchange
Keywords: expansion
Reply-To: james@wrs.com
Organization: Wind River Systems
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 16:14:13 GMT

njs@cbnewsh.cb.att.com (nicholas.j.sauer) writes:

>So, instead, for the 50th anniversary we get crap like
>Advance to Boardwalk and Free Parking games.  Actually, I really shouldn't
>call Free Parking crap until I play it at least once...

I played it once.  I think your description is pretty accurate.  My
memory of the game was that it was filled with cards that let you
swap your entire game position with another player, which made the
whole thing totally pointless.

-- 
James Moore                            /|\                        james@wrs.com
Wind River Systems                     \|/                  Alameda, California
	 "Half of what he said meant something else, and the other half
			  didn't mean anything at all"
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: rleroux1@sol.UVic.CA (Roger Leroux)
Subject: Re: MICROGAMES/METAGAMES FORSALE
Organization: University of Victoria
Distribution: na
Date: 26 Jul 92 23:35:21 GMT

In <36525@uflorida.cis.ufl.edu> cbp@reef.cis.ufl.edu (Christopher Pound) writes:
>If so, the *honest* thing to do would be to tell everyone that most (all?) of
>the Microgames on your list are available at a store in Orlando (NCC 1701 or
>Anyway, $4.50 isn't a terrible price to pay for Microgames.  I've sold a couple
>myself at around that.  It's not a generous price, exactly, but hey! that's
>capitalism for you.  ;)

Well, I'm more than happy to pay $4.50 for microgames, and if he's making a
profit, well, what the hell. As long as I don't feel ripped off, who
cares?

Besides, I don't consider "omitting" info like this to be a "lie". (IMHO,
there's no such thing as a "lie of omission". You're ultimately responsible
for asking the right questions.)

Roger

-- 
Roger Leroux          | "Climate is what we expect; weather is what we get." Me
rleroux1@sol.uvic.ca  |	"Everybody lies about sex." Lazarus Long
----------------------+ "Six of one, half a dozen of the other." Number 2.
rec.motorcycles DoD#43| Be seeing you...
From: nigel@rs733.GSFC.NASA.Gov
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: BTECH: Veichle construction
Date: 21 Jul 92 17:35:53 GMT
	<1992Jul14.015733.2002@cs.uow.edu.au><1992Jul16.100027.24673@peponi.wcc.govt.nz>,<NIGEL.92Jul16181215@rs733.GSFC.NASA.Gov>
	<1992Jul18.001147.18018@peponi.wcc.govt.nz>
Organization: Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md, USA

In article <1992Jul18.001147.18018@peponi.wcc.govt.nz> taia_a@kosmos.wcc.govt.nz writes:

   nigel@rs733.GSFC.NASA.Gov writes:

   >RE: Infernos
   >Drop an inferno on an M1.  I think it lives...I'll have to ask a
   >friend.  The engine might hate it but I think the crew lives.  Very
   >important to PCs ;-). 

    Vehicles are meat in Battletech! Just fire SRMs, streaks and Cluster
   loads at them and they DIE! Read the Ground Vehicle Hit Locations
   chart on Pg 41 of the Compendium. The little critters lose movement fairly
   quickly, provided you hit them of course! Hovers can be really fast!

Die and lose movement are two different things.  The big advantage to
some vehicles is that to destroy them you need to crit.  Granted that
the BTech crit chart is overly generous in this respect but mostly you
find movement loss or turret lock not actual vehicle destruction.  Mix
in a small amount of mechs for target practice and you give people
more interesting choices to make...shoot the mech which is hard to
replace, kill the tank with the twin gauss cannons making your day
miserable, eliminate one of the scads of little hover tanks with a
single gauss cannon or nuke the annoying hovertank with ECM, C3
slave, popgun med laser and a small supply of homing missiles.

    Infernos aren't very realistic, but that's the game mechanics! :-)

Yes, and it shows how much vehicles are feared that they would design
game mechanics to deliberately nuke them.  House rules favor the more
combined arms approach...we rule that crits occur only after rolling
over 8, infernos have no more effect on fusion vehicles than on mechs
and hull down vehicles get -2 to be hit and all damage is applied to
the exposed turret.  Mechs are more survivable anyway and on the
assault where dropship space is premium you carry mechs since they are
much more bang for the tonnage.  Some get hauled around for infantry
moving, dropship zone security and that sort of stuff.

   Tony Taia

Nigel
--
Nigel Tzeng
.sig under construction
From: ipc@zoo.bt.co.uk (Ian Coleman)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: VG Fleet Games
Date: 27 Jul 92 14:06:09 GMT
Reply-To: ipc@zoo.bt.co.uk
Organization: BT Laboratories

Hi there,

Anyone out there play Victory Games 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th or 7th fleet?

I wondered if anyone had produced any house rules to solve any of the
games problems.

There are two main problems in the game (IMO), they are:-

i)  Bias towards the Nato player
ii) Sudden death air combat rules.

The former I solved for 2nd fleet by working on approximately 1/3
fleet strengths (figures from ISS Strategic Balance) which gained the
Soviets large numbers of subs and a few light surface combatants and
lost them a few cruisers, gained Nato two US subs and lost them quite
a few surface combatents. Result, a much more difficult time for the
Nato player.

The second problem I have never really solved. I tried to rewrite the
Air/Air comabt rules, but failed miserably.

Has anyone out there had any more success in getting the air rules
to be less luck dependant? Especially for the Strategic Missions,
Recce Aircraft nearly always get bounced off, makes you wonder how
anyone ever finds anything in real life.

The only rule I ended up changing were the CAP Rules to allow Soviet
backfires a chance of hitting the US Carriers now and then. The rule
was fairly abitary, but it made the game a lot more interesting. I gave
the attacker a chance to fire his missiles before the interception
depending on range as follows. The percentages shown are the chance
of the CAP hitting the attackers before the attackers can fire.

Range to target		CAP (with AEW)   CAP (no AEW)
4 hexes                      33%              25%
3 hexes                      66%              50%
2 hexes or less             100%             100%

This gave the Backfires a small chance of sinking a carrier, although
they tended to get a bit mauled doing it, but it certainly livened
up the game.

---
Ian Coleman (ipc@zoo.bt.co.uk)  | "Eat healthily, exercise regularly,
BTL, Martlesham Heath, England  |  you may not live longer, but it'll 
Europe, Earth, Sol, Milky Way...|  certainly feel like it"
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: exukozi@exu.ericsson.se (Tom Koziatek)
Subject: Space Marine: Components trade
Keywords: expansion
Organization: Ericsson Network Systems
Date: Wed, 22 Jul 1992 17:02:43 GMT



Anyone interested in trading some of the minitures available for Space Narine ??I'm looking for a few Rhino's, which I can modify into Whirlwinds and Vindicators. Actually, I'd like any of the advanced vehicles, for any side. I have
purchased the Ork invasion, Eldar Horde, and 2 out of the 3 multi-boxes, but
have not found any tank-types, excepting the Ork battlewagon and Eldar
Falcon Grav-tank. 

Willing to purchase same if offering.

-Tom

Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: aleksei@vipunen.hut.fi (Akseli Anttila)
Subject: Pacific War questions
Reply-To: aleksei@vipunen.hut.fi (Akseli Anttila)
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1992 11:47:43 GMT

A couple of questions concerning VGs PAcific War.

1) Submarines can attack when they are in the same hex as the enemy
surface units (except deactivated units in ports). Does this mean that
they can attack EVERY game turn if somebody stays in the same hex with
them gturn after gturn? For example ships deactivated in atolls &c.

Ships run out of torpedoes quickly. Do subs use torpedo counters?

2) 1E air units can strafe airfields. Can they strike an airfield AND 
strafe it?

My errata is old but the game is great,
Cheers

Aleksei


Newsgroups: rec.games.board
From: ixanian@sco.COM (Ixanian Nichols)
Subject: 6mm figure sources
Organization: Tortured Chipmunks, Inc.
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 1992 20:00:49 GMT



	I've now found out about two sources for 6mm figures in the
U.S. besides Enola Games, both of which I'd like to investigate.
Unfortunately, I can't find their addresses anywhere. Can anyone 
help me out? They are:

	Modeller Mart (in Orlando, FLA, I think).

	The Emperor's HeadQuarters (in Chicago).


						Thanx
						- Ix
From: dlow@sirius.ucs.adelaide.edu.au.ua.oz (David J Low)
Newsgroups: rec.games.board
Subject: Re: Locust vs. Atlas (was BTECH Scenerio)
Date: 21 Jul 92 05:29:31 GMT

From article <BrpK4t.CrE@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, by dv52151@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Axly):
> ajross@husc10.harvard.edu (Andrew Ross) writes:
> Well, there are Locusts that carry LRM 5's now. With a missle boat like that,
> you can dance around an old style Atlas for days and stand a pretty good
> chance of taking it down since all it's weaons are generally close range.
> The LRM 20 may give you grief though.

     Not to mention what happens when the Locust's ammo runs out, and the
     pilot resorts to spitting out of the cockpit in an effort to make the
     Atlas slip and fall....just keep on running!  Proably a dead draw with
     a decent sized battlefield (two maps or less may see the Locust in
     trouble!).

     With real tech (3025), the standard LRM locust (Marik 1M version??)
     only had about 16 points of armour.  THAT can cause serious grief....

     :-)

     David.

--
   ___          ~~            | David J. Low, Atmospheric Group, Dept. Physics
  /  /-----^-/~~~             | Adelaide University, South Australia 
 /  /-------/~  "I'll be back"| 
<__/  '            --- Arnie  | E-Mail : dlow@physics.adelaide.edu.au