Attack Preparation Guide

“Everything that has transpired has done so according to my design. Your friends, out there on the Sanctuary Moon, are walking into a trap, as is your Rebel fleet. It was I who allowed the Alliance to know the location of the shield generator. It is quite safe from your pitiful little band. An entire legion of my best troops awaits them. Oh, I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive."
- The Emperor 
This is a player's guide to attack preparation.
==First Step: The Pitch==
If you wish to attack a position, no matter how large, you must first page the owner of the forces/thing/place you wish to attack, or a delegate of the owner. The delegate can be the person in charge of planet security, or a person in the military. This is required, no matter how small or large your attacking force is, or how large the defending force is. There are no exceptions.
Preferably you know who owns the position you are attacking. For example, if you're attacking a planet you should contact the planet's ruler (type: +planets) but there are some instances when you may not know. For this, you use +Jreq (+jreq Reason you need a judge) to determine who owns an army or a ship. If the owner is not active, or does not reply to your @mails or pages, you may use +Request (+request Title=information) and the defending force will be temped by staff and +temps.
Once the defending forces have been alerted to your intent, you proceed to step two.
==Second Step: The Plan==
Once the attacking and defending parties have come into contact, a Judge (see +staff for a list) can contacted to observe the scene. It is recommend that if you are engaging a large number of troops, or are using +Temps, you ask a Judge to observe, but for small scenes a Judge will probably not be required. A Helper (see +staff for a list) can also be asked to set up +Temps if you both feel no Judge is needed. The attacker and defender will work with the Judge to set up their plans and the Judge will help coordinate based on the attacker and defender's preparations.
Note: both the attacker and defender will need to page the Judge with the number of ships/armies they are bringing and the number of temps they will need for the scene. The Judge may request other information, too, per their need.
==Third Step: The Coordinating==
Coordinating requires that the attacker, defender, and Judge, if involved, choose a time for the scene and set a +Event. Base the Event's time on when all of you can be online, and when others who want to be involved and be online, too. Also be certain not to schedule an Event around the same time as another one, since they may conflict.
In the second part of this step you carry out the specifications of your IC plan. It is imperative you prepare as much as you can before the battle so that time is not wasted. To help prepare a +Fleet command is currently being written. It will allow you to see a list of dbrefs for a "Fleet of ships", also known as a Battle Group. A fleet can include squadrons of snubfighters, capital ships, freighters, and anything else that can fly.
It is also recommended you acquire the dbrefs of each of your armies (+command ary=report) and ships (type '+ship' while on board a ship) and put them into a spread sheet. This is especially useful when Staff needs to @tel something from one location to another.
==Fourth Step: Final Prep==
Before the battle begins, request for a Wiz to @wall a call for +Temps, or announce it on <Public>. Organize, with the observing Judge, the people who wish to temp. If you are not working with a Judge you can also contact any Staffer, Helpers and Judges preferably, to set up your +Temps. 
If there is a change of plan during this phase that will require a great deal of effort, it may be agreed upon that the +Event can change time. The Judge will make judgments on when certain units can arrive, when certain movements can leave, etc, so make sure you have explained your plans thoroughly. Do not be discouraged if the events planned for the +Event are not completed during the scheduled time! Quite often, especially for ground assaults, the downtime war-in-the-trenches RP is rather entertaining.
==A Reminder==
Always remember that on Dark Horizons our purpose is to have fun. To have fun, though, you must be patient and you must properly prepare. Without preparation and patience things will boil down quickly and you will cause a great deal of stress. Take these guidelines into consideration and remember to communicate with one another!
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One important thing to remember is that story is paramount, not winning or losing. Check out Yoda's rant on the subject for details on what your goals should be as a player. Remember, if you're getting caught up in your character's or faction's success above all else, take a step back. --Tuil 15:09, 16 May 2008 (UTC)
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The Judge Attack Preparation Guide is this guide's twin. Refer to it for more information.
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This article was approved by T on June 12, 2008.
Category:Guides