Re: Anybody playing Phoenix/BSE?

From: keenuward@hotmail.com (Rob Alexander)

Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 11:38:24 +0000

"MadMat" <mat@nospam.matandclaire.demon.co.uk> wrote in message news:<b5cu8m$oi9$1@titan.btinternet.com>...
> "G Thatcher" <thatcher.int@sk.sympatico.ca> wrote in message
> news:v79fff1sj30e26@corp.supernews.com...

> I looked into it,  downloaded the rulebooks and had a read,  but the pricing
> structure put me off.

What didn't you like about the pricing? To my mind, it's one of the
best PBM pricing schemes I've ever seen. You can start playing for
free, indeed if you put a lot of effort into trade you can continue
playing for free. Alternatively, you can build up over time, incurring
extra real costs as you take on more game responsibilities. You can
basically decide what your budget is, and stick to that, unlike BSE
for example where you could incur massive turn fees in times of war.

For those not familiar with it: ship and ground party turns are free,
but you need in-game money to pay your men. Best way to get this is to
trade with planetary populations. This needs a starbase, which costs
two pounds per week. For starbases, you also need a political
position, two pounds a week at present.

If you're willing to put the time and effort in, you can run your
ships with money made from trade, i.e. you buy and sell from other
people's starbases. A political position on its own also allows you to
set up outposts, which can help with the supply side of trade.

Hand-moderated special actions are priced individually. These are
necessary in some circumstances, but not on a day-to-day basis.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the pricing system, since it allows me
to order my ships around whenever I like without thinking about turn
fees. This is a massive improvement on BSE, which I played a few years
ago, indeed this was the one change that persuaded me to try Phoenix.

Of course, I'd prefer fixed-subscription pricing....but it's not
economically viable without a vast player base.

> I'll be sticking with Destiny for my Sci-fi fix for now ;-)

Fair enough, although it's a very different game. Phoenix has a lot to
offer which I don't think Destiny does, and vice-versa.

rob

References

Anybody playing Phoenix/BSE?
"G Thatcher" <thatcher.int@sk.sympatico.ca>
Sun, 16 Mar 2003 18:02:00 +0000
Re: Anybody playing Phoenix/BSE?
"MadMat" <mat@nospam.matandclaire.demon.co.uk>
Thu, 20 Mar 2003 17:37:26 +0000

Referenced By

Anybody playing Phoenix/BSE?
"G Thatcher" <thatcher.int@sk.sympatico.ca>
Sun, 16 Mar 2003 18:02:00 +0000
Re: Anybody playing Phoenix/BSE?
"MadMat" <mat@nospam.matandclaire.demon.co.uk>
Thu, 20 Mar 2003 17:37:26 +0000