Dynamic Games Newsletter From: eccles@ozemail.com.au (Eric McDermott) Date: Sun, 08 Dec 1996 00:00:00 +0000 G'day Players, December 1996 Haven't spoken to you for a while so I thought it was about time I told you what is happening with Dynamic Games. Unfortunately, Eccles has decided he needs a holiday so I am here all on my own. It's a bit hard as I have a lot to learn about running the games again. I'm still going strong, looking out for new games and improving the ones I have - Quest has had quite a few changes in the past 12 months and a lot more are planned - unfortunately, time is a major problem so I can't do as much as I would like. Email games have taken off, so if you don't have a modem, you might ask Father Christmas. The money you'd save on Quest alone would soon pay for the modem. I have two fantastic new games in Star Empires and Magelords, and some fantastic news about that great game of Medokh .. read on ... You know that most games are run on Thursdays. Why is it, that if a turn is missing, it is generally from a player who has access to a fax and leaves it to the last minute? One player complained because I didn't process his turn (I ran the game at 9am when it was due). Said it was my fault I didn't get it because he tried to fax it on Thursday morning at 8:30 and the fax was busy!!!! I asked him why he didn't fax on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday. He said it wasn't due until Thursday!! Had a message from Darren Poyner saying he was dropping out of KoM. I was very pleased to receive it. No, not the fact that he was dropping out, but that he bothered to tell me. Another thing about Darren - he was reduced to one town and one army when he decided to quit. Now, that's the type of player I like - not those wimps who drop out at the first sign of a bad turn. If we ever meet in a game Darren, I'd be proud to have you as an ally or consider you a worthy opponent. Had a phone call from Angus Wood the other day. He asked me how many parties he could have in Quest. Said he had just been beaten up and wanted to extract revenge. I told him he could have 3. I only hope he doesn't have too many friends who want to join, because the party that trashed him is in for one hell of a fight - Angus has a mean streak. Eccles was very lenient over the past few months and allowed some players to have negative balances. As a result, quite a few of them were saying "I'll pay next turn" and then didn't, and a few turns later they just dropped out. As a result, I have lost $472. It's players like that who force me to say no credit, no turn. This letter is being sent out to over 3,000 players but there is a chance that some past players will be missed. Please ensure all your friends know what is happening. Remember, games can't start until there are sufficient players, so cajole your friends into playing (if you have no friends like Mark, ask your enemies). CANCON. This is not a game, but a convention where games are played. If you have never been to one, you are missing the experience of a lifetime. A three day weekend with nothing but games ranging from miniatures to live role playing, board games to pbm games. We also do a lot of socialising too. If you get more than 4 hours sleep a night, you're better than the rest of us. I'll be running a free game, most probably Magelords. GAME FLYER. This is a 4 page listing of all my games and gives a short description of the game. BALANCE OF POWER. A 20 player World War II style combat game. Very little economics involved, mainly building armies and attacking other players. Strategy and diplomacy are very important. Turn costs range between $7 and $10, depending on the orders you issue. Only via snail mail at this stage although it will be converted to email next year. Game 21 will definitely start after CanCon as there are only a few positions left. We will have 2 overseas players playing. QUEST is still going strong although we only have about 100 parties in games 1 and 2, Games 4 and 5 have less. We have made quite a few changes - a lot of them minor, but they improves the game. Dungeon maps for email players are now working. You can take control of a town and influence it's religious alignment. You must be aligned to a god to get his temple quest. If things go according to plan, next year you will be able to build a castle in the wilderness. Towns can now be owned, renamed and have a description. We are also working on displaying pictures on your turn sheet - you provide a picture of your party banner and anybody who meets you will see it. If you provide a hand drawn picture, I'll scan it into a file for you. Quest is always available at $4 a turn or $2 by email. QUEST NEWSFLASH. In game 5, the Northern Wolves Alliance from Finland, have issued a challenge. Well, they would have if there were any worthy opponents, but since there aren't, they claim the title of the "Best Alliance in Kharne". HALL Of CHAMPIONS. This is a two player game which involves moving different armies and casting spells to capture territory. If you have a mate to play with, contact me and I'll set you up. Turn costs are $5 and you can play as quickly as you can get the turns in. BATTLE MASTER is an easy to play space combat game that has been running for the past 10 years. Not a lot to think about but it is still enjoyed by some dedicated players who won't let me stop running it. The game lasts for 30 - 40 turns and costs $5 a turn. Not too sure when it will start, but if you are interested, please let me know. IRON & STEAM. Very similar to the computer game of Railroad Tycoon. There was little interest for a while, but it is having a revival with a few Internet players and I'm happy. I love the game. I spend hours just working out the best way to set up my train schedules and cutting costs. We have a game starting in February. Turn fees are $5, but if you are playing via the Internet, it is free. If you want a quick try before a proper game, let me know and you can join the current game. ISLE OF CROWNS. The entire rule book fits on 1 page. For that, you won't get a mega land grabbing game, but for a bit of light hearted fun, Isle of Crowns is ok. The most complicated thing about it is the fee structure. The turn fees are $2 each or $15 for 10 turns or $30 for a full game or $50 for a full game of 2 positions (assuming there are spare positions). A game lasts 30 - 40 turns. MAGELORDS. A brand new game to Australia although it has been running in England for some time. I am playing via email and really enjoy the game. Just my style. Similar to Quest, but at the same time, different. You control one town, one character and one army. It is up to you to recruit another 9 characters, (each of whom can be given different orders), capture more territory, create more armies, develop your towns, train your characters, learn some magic, explore ruins and fight monsters. Turns cost $6 via snail mail or $3 via email. With a bit of luck, we'll run a trial game at CanCon and a proper game will definitely start after CanCon. STAR EMPIRES is a new game of interstellar exploration and empire building. It is very similar to the old pbm game of Magic. You start with a single planet in a galaxy of 2000 stars with 10000 planets. Using your population as a workforce you will be able to design and build starships, go forth and explore, colonise suitable planets, ravage others for raw materials. You can design your own starships, merchants, colonial transports, warships, troop carriers, scouts etc. As you explore you may discover almost anything on alien abandoned planets. As your race advances in technology you can build better and more vicious ships, make your industry more efficient, colonise alien planets, etc. You must trade with your colonies or aliens to get funds, mine asteroid belts for their raw materials, defend your colonies against aggressors or make war on your neighbours. This is an open ended game of exploration, colonisation and warfare across a three dimensional star map of 60 by 40 by 10 sectors. Turn costs start at $6 and rise with the size of your turn sheet. It is not suitable for the younger players or those who like to fill in a turn in 10 minutes. The email version should be available by the middle of the year. THE KEYS OF MEDOKH. This game has had a very troubled past and is still incomplete. In spite of that and the high turn fees, it has been an outstanding success. I am pleased to say that we now have source code! Yes, after much negotiating and payment of large sums of money, I am the only company in the world to receive the source code. This means we can now complete the game and fix some of the 3,278 bugs. Negotiations are still continuing for email and world rights. Diplomacy in this game is critical as is co-operation with other players. You won't win playing a lone wolf game here. Each of the 6 races has its strengths and weaknesses. It would take too much to explain all the features of this fantasy territorial game, so write and ask us for a brochure. Costs are at least $10 a turn. Initial payment of $35 covers the setup and your first 4 turns. The game will start in February. I hope to have an email option available by the middle of the year. THE END. No, it's not a new game, but the end of this newsletter. Not very exciting, but it was done too quickly and I haven't made any notes over the past few months. Next time it'll be better. Talking about newsletters, Shayne Power wants some material for Kharne News and Steve Johansson wants some for Medokh Murmers. Both have promised a pre Xmas issue, so get writing. Regards Peter Dynamic Games. Box 707. Dapto. NSW. 2530. Phone (042) 61-7148. Fax (042) 61-4663 Email :- pbm@ozemail.com.au Web site :- http://www.ozemail.com.au/~pbm Up