The Negotiator’s Parables

Lessons in Planets Diplomacy

Once upon a time in a sector two feet in front of my eyes, I tumbled down a wormhole and found a universe that was flat, the stars bright but still, and cows, worms, and iguanas lived on tiny white dots in the black. To my right, I saw a flock of birds caught in webs and a lizard eating a shoe. On my left there were many soldiers, some nearly human and others part machine. They were caught in an endless war of lies and blood. I averted my eyes.

It was then that I noticed the cricket on a rock near the path. He wore a dress shirt and a tie. As odd as it was, it was stranger still when he asked me to sit. He taught me about Space War and spoke of the Grand Queue. The wisdom of the cricket opened my mind and I decided to pass it on… to you.

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An Old Scroll – The Art of Diplomacy

The Old Scrolls Series from Donovan’s Super Site:

Please note that some data may refer to earlier game versions or different host settings. Although game and strategies have advanced since the writing of this guide, the provided information is more than useful for an inspired gameplay and a good base to start from. Enjoy!

Written by: Emperor Bondservant in the Early 1990s

The Art of Diplomacy

VGA-Planets comes the closest I know to simulating what it would be like to be a commander in a full-scale war — especially considering the impact of having ten other Continue reading

Vassallage: The Alternative To Dying In A Painful Nasty Messy Bloody And Above All Thorough Fashion

There are eleven players and one winner (maybe two).  Mathematically speaking, this means that sometimes you’re just plain gonna lose, no matter how good or skilled or lucky you happen to be.  Sometimes you die; sometimes you survive; sometimes… you change sides.  This is technically called “Becoming a Vassal”, though your former teammates may refer to it in other less salubrious terms.

So here’s what happens:  Someone has managed to get an overwhelming force next to your homeworld.  Your navy is shattered; your escape is cut off.  And your planets are Continue reading

Diplomacy; or, Make Dale Carnegie Proud Of You

“The ideas I stand for are not mine. I borrowed them from Socrates. I swiped them from Chesterfield. I stole them from Jesus. And I put them in a book. If you don’t like their rules, whose would you use?” — Dale Carnegie, on his book “How To Win Friends and Influence People

In Planets as in life, true and enduring success cannot belong to a person who fails at diplomacy.  In the Echo Cluster, Continue reading