Re: Idea for Galaxy variant

From: vinson@shiva.seas.upenn.edu (Jack Vinson)

Date: Thu, 01 Oct 1992 14:19:23 +0000

<lckrplINNibs@cash.cs.utexas.edu> writes this in article mckinney@cs.utexas.edu (Durwood Y. McKinney)
>I was thinking about Galaxy the other day, and an interesting
>variant came to mind.
>
>What if each player had a secret power that benefitted their race
>in some way?  Like say, the ability to spend x amount of production
>to spy on an enemy planet, or the ability to make 1 group of ships
>per turn move faster than normal, or something like that.  You'd
>need 64+ powers defined, and this number would be a limit on the number
>of players that could be in a game.

Something like this has already been dreamed up in the PBM called "Conquest
and Destiny" being run by Dan Canham.  The above idea is implemented in a
number of race types which each have a special ability that allows them to
make money faster or travel easier.  There are about eight races with
(virtually) no limit on the number of players compared to the sounds of
other PBM's (something well over 100), and one can join at any time.
The galaxy is populated with around 4,000,000 planets, so it might be a
while before the game is "finished" which I assume means that your race is
the last one left.

The races (or professions) are transformers (make more money from mines and
refineries) miners (able to mine asteroids and gas giants while others
can't), marauders (hi tech pirates), power corporations (makes stuff
cheaper to build), traders (trade centers, etc.), and travellers (ability
to move planets from star to star.

I haven't participated in battles, yet, but it looks like they are
conducted at one time on the computer rather than turn by turn with player
interaction, unless they are drawn out wars.  A stock market has been
developed along with the possibility of sending spies around to your
enemies (and friends).  You can form alliances with other races, build
rebel centers on enemy planets and lots of other fun stuff.

I'm playing by e-mail, his address is dan_canham@grace.bah.rochester.ny.us
for anyone interested.  By the way, I've only been at this for four or five
turns and have enjoyed it immensely.

The Purple Puddle Eater
Jack Vinson			vinson@unagi.cis.upenn.edu

References

Idea for Galaxy variant
mckinney@cs.utexas.edu (Durwood Y. McKinney)
Thu, 01 Oct 1992 03:23:33 +0000

Referenced By

Idea for Galaxy variant
mckinney@cs.utexas.edu (Durwood Y. McKinney)
Thu, 01 Oct 1992 03:23:33 +0000