No, not 2021, although that’s over too. No, I’m talking about the first Planets Magazine Classic Invitational, which ended shortly before the year did at 149 turns. And our winner is…
Congratulations! It’s Over!
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The Christmas Truce
You all know the story, but even if you don’t that’s OK, because I’m going to tell it again anyway.
Europe, 1914. Christmas week.
For months now, vast armies had battled across the face of the continent, each racing to outflank the other. Along the Western Front, the race had stopped for lack of room, and a continuous line of trenches ran from Switzerland to the North Sea. By Christmas, things had somewhat stabilized. Gas attacks and mass artillery barrages were still in the future, and the soldiers themselves still had great sympathy for the fellows in the trenches on the other side.
Continue readingSteel Rain: The D19b As Artillery
“…In the midst of our joking came a bloodcurdling screech. Twenty meters behind us, white cloud mixed with clods of dirt flew high among the branches. Blasts began rolling through the forest. With troubled eyes we stared at each other, bodies huddled against the ground in a depressing feeling of complete powerlessness. Shot followed shot. Stifling gases floated in the undergrowth, smoke shrouded the hilltops, trees and branches tumbled to the ground, and the screams of incoming rounds were deafening. We jumped up and ran blindly, chased by flashes and concussion from tree to tree, looking for cover and circling huge trunks like hunted game…”
– Ernst Jünger, “In Stahlgewittern”, Battle of Les Eparges, 1915
It’s Con Time!
PlanetsCon Live begins tomorrow, at 5PM Server Time (or, if you prefer, noon Eastern Standard Time). For more information, and for the YouTube live stream link, please go to the official Planets Con website.
Continue readingThreat Assessment: The Rebel Confederation
This is the seventh anonymous report analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of one of the Eleven Races. These redacted versions were approved by the Senate for immediate publication, to be read by commanders of each respective race in order that they can review their own vulnerabilities in the face of the unknown external threat that commissioned the studies. In this dispatch we focus on that faction known as the Rebel Confederation: its strengths, its weaknesses, and how best to defeat it in battle.
Overview
Ease Of Command: Beginner
Difficulty To Defeat: High
Playstyle: Mixed
First Turns: The Cyborg
Most wars are won or lost long before the fighting starts. This series concentrates only on those critical few turns leading up to the Ship Limit as a key to achieving long-term goals necessary for victory.
Overview:
The Cyborg field not one but two of the strongest warships in the Echo Cluster. The Annihilation is the most massive and powerful battleship, and the Biocide is a carrier nearly as huge as the Empire’s Gorbie — and with a larger cargo hold to boot. The Firecloud permits instantaneous travel across any distance, and there’s also a passable hyperspace probe that, when coupled with the Cyborg’s ability to assimilate natives, grants them the ability to expand rapidly across any cluster.
Continue readingNu Replayer: A discovery of Artificial Negativity (Nov 2021)
EDITOR’S NOTE: CSY has been kind enough to give us an update on his Nu Replayer project. There are also some discoveries about the computer player in here, so it’s worth a gander even if you don’t use this tool.
Background
It has been quite a long while since I touched Nu Replayer in any form. Even in its “Perpetual Alpha” state, the existing functionality has worked quite nicely.
Continue readingFirst Turns: The Rebel Confederation
Most games are won or lost in the first few turns. This series concentrates only on those critical few turns leading up to the Ship Limit as a key to achieving long-term goals necessary for victory.
Overview:
The Rebels have a powerful yet limited ship list, remarkable not only for its heavy carrier, the Rush, but also the Falcon, the only efficient hyperspace transport in the Echo Cluster. Their best shield-scratchers are the Tranquility, the Gaurdian, and the Iron Lady, which sets them at a late-war disadvantage against a more balanced race. However, their ability to undermine even the best-defended starbases through Rebel Ground Assault more than balances any slight disadvantage they face on the field of battle.
Continue readingThe Cognitium War: Troika Table
The Cognitium War is in its final turns, with players beginning to succumb to Accelerated Fight Or Fail and the final results of the game approaching certainty. Not long ago, I sat down with the three primary members of the surviving soon-to-be victorious alliance, and we spoke a bit about the game. The substance of that discussion follows.
(Editor’s Note: As always, we’ve edited this. The substance of what was said is unchanged, but some context is always, regrettably, removed for length and readability.)
Zacha, Morgens, and Fexer, welcome to the Forum. Thanks for joining me.
Continue readingANNOUNCING: Classic Invitational II
Hear ye! Hear ye! Tournament season begins again!
We, the Editors of the Planets Magazine, are proud and excited to announce the second in our series of Classic Invitational tournaments — with prizes!
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