EDITORIAL
I suppose it’s remotely possible that someone, somewhere might be unaware that I’m a fan of Classic Planets.
Continue readingIn Defense Of Classic
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Category Archives: Editorials
INTERMISSION: Pledge Drive Update
INTERMISSION: Pledge Drive!
Hi! Gnerphk and Talespin here, coming to you live from the Planets Magazine broadcast studio! It’s time for our annual pledge drive, people.
(I did warn you!)
Another Year Older
It’s already the last day of 2023 for some of our readers, and the new year is fast approaching.
At this time, it’s become traditional for us to look back at what’s happened, and then to look ahead at what’s to come. Far be it from me to interfere with tradition!
Continue readingA Planets Christmas Wish
OPINION
Inspired by a recent Nu newsfeed post about “dumb” ideas and planetary structures, I thought it would only be prudent to share my Christmas wish for the 2024 Planets season. — Granted, it might take the coders a while to bring Nu up to speed so I give them until ’25, but no later. — In my reality, there are no dumb suggestions, maybe dumb questions but certainly no dumb ideas, so the nay-sayers out there can shut their pie holes while I explain: What our game’s war strategists really need is an in-game player housing system. I dubbed this the “Commander’s P.A.D.,” and it’s coming sooner than you’d like to a sector near you.
Buff Those Tiny Torps!
Introduction
In my previous two op-ed articles about torpedo balance, I made an argument that the cheap torps (Mk.1 – Mk.3) are overpriced in MC and mineral costs, and therefore will never see mainstream usage. I proposed reducing their costs in MC and minerals in order to make them playable. If the economic constraints were removed, I argued, at least the torpedoes would be usable. In VGA Planets, those torps are so expensive that they are unusable in most situations. This remains true even after Joshua’s changes to torpedo balance (mostly because the mineral costs remain high).
Continue readingFor The Fallen
Penny For The Guy
EDITORIAL
Hello, Planets Nu.
Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of our weekly articles: the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke.
Continue readingRPG @ NU
OPINION
Spoiler alert: Hide your eyes, and hide your kids’ eyes; in my house, I’m Santa Claus. Yeah, that’s right: No bearded man comes down my chimney on Christmas Eve, and no little elves piece together the toys, wrap them, and tie them with a perfect bow. I go to the shopping centre, I pay the exorbitant prices, and I slap on the torn-up paper held together with haphazardly-applied clear tape. Santa’s still a fun make-believe my family shares, but I have never told my kids Old Saint Nick is real. The adventure has always been pretend, and for as long as they could grasp it, the kids have always known we were playing a game. They are in their early teens now, and there’s some “wink wink” involved when we say, “Santa’s coming.” They know he’s part of the festivities and not a magic fatty who lives in the Arctic. More importantly, they know I’ve never deceived them, even for something so trivial.
Midyear Status Update
Aloha, everyone! Gnerphk here, with Talespin… somewhere, possibly considering adding the occasional comment.
[muted growl from beneath the desks]
[lowers voice] Be easy on Talespin. As you know, he’s a teacher, and summer has only just begun. Poor fellow’s nerves haven’t had any time yet to recover.
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