There is a new permanent puzzle in Fed II DataSpace. The Magellan Society, an organization that sponsors expeditions and explorations to new planets, are on a recruitment drive to gain new members, and as a test they have organized a treasure hunt that spans many planets in the Solar System. Those who complete the puzzle are granted membership in the society, as well as some little extras as a prize - including a voucher for a ten-day customs exemption certificate. Your name shows up on the SpyNet Review when you complete the puzzle, and the SpyNet Notice tells everyone you are a member of the society.
To start the puzzle, visit the Magellan Society Exhibition, in a new location in Earth's spaceport, and talk to Victor, who is in charge of running the treasure hunt. He will give you a succession of clues, each of which should guide you to a specific location. For each clue, when you find the correct location you will either be given an object, or you will have to pick up the correct object. Go back to the exhibition and Victor will take your object and give you the next clue.
The puzzle is aimed at Commanders and Captains, to encourage them to explore the planets. Anyone can do the puzzle, but those lower ranks get some extra help - they are told which planet each clue relates to. More experienced players are expected to be able to work that out for themselves.
You should be aware that none of the objects or solutions can be obtained by going through the tour of the Solar System, which is just holograms!
Don't worry if you don't finish the puzzle all at once - your progress is saved over resets, so you can carry on where you left off. If you lose an object that you haven't yet taken back to Victor, you can just go back and get another one.
Congratulations to Angel, who was the first player (outside the test team) to solve the puzzle and join the Magellan Society. Altogether, 21 people completed the puzzle in the first 24 hours.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
NEW PLANETS OPENING FOR BUSINESS
News now of two new planets offering trading opportunities, and a puzzle aimed at new players, that will be coming your way soon.
The first of the new planets is a space station orbiting Earth. The Magellan space station is owned by the Magellan Society, whose listing you can read in the Encyclopedia Galactica at http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/galactica/magellan.html. Lying so close to Earth, and yet not directly under its control, this privately owned space station is a haven for business people wishing to avoid Earth duties, as well as a popular vacation spot.
The Magellan space station is open now for exploration, and you will find it SW of Earth. Tomorrow the economic operations will open for business: Armstrong Cuthbert will be offering cargo and Akaturi jobs to and from the station, and the exchange will welcome Merchants and Traders, as well as CEOs looking for a place to build factories. Magellan's economic level will be Leisure.
The Magellan Society are keen to gain new members and they have thrown open the membership challenge to all comers. The challenge takes the form of a treasure hunt, where prospective members are given a clue that points them to a particular location on a particular planet, from where they have to obtain an item to return before they can receive the next clue. To encourage newbods, the Magellan Society will tell Commanders and Captains what planet each clue refers to - higher-ranking players are expected to have done enough exploration to figure out where they should start looking!
The treasure hunt will be opening some time in the next week - look out for details on the electronic bar board.
Some time in the next ten days, the shopping mall known as Paradise will also open its doors to the public. More usually found traversing the spaceways, making only brief spots at other planets, malfunctioning ion drives have forced the vessel to take up orbit around Venus until such time as repairs can be effected. Paradise will also offer full economic opportunities, at the Industrial level.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
The first of the new planets is a space station orbiting Earth. The Magellan space station is owned by the Magellan Society, whose listing you can read in the Encyclopedia Galactica at http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/galactica/magellan.html. Lying so close to Earth, and yet not directly under its control, this privately owned space station is a haven for business people wishing to avoid Earth duties, as well as a popular vacation spot.
The Magellan space station is open now for exploration, and you will find it SW of Earth. Tomorrow the economic operations will open for business: Armstrong Cuthbert will be offering cargo and Akaturi jobs to and from the station, and the exchange will welcome Merchants and Traders, as well as CEOs looking for a place to build factories. Magellan's economic level will be Leisure.
The Magellan Society are keen to gain new members and they have thrown open the membership challenge to all comers. The challenge takes the form of a treasure hunt, where prospective members are given a clue that points them to a particular location on a particular planet, from where they have to obtain an item to return before they can receive the next clue. To encourage newbods, the Magellan Society will tell Commanders and Captains what planet each clue refers to - higher-ranking players are expected to have done enough exploration to figure out where they should start looking!
The treasure hunt will be opening some time in the next week - look out for details on the electronic bar board.
Some time in the next ten days, the shopping mall known as Paradise will also open its doors to the public. More usually found traversing the spaceways, making only brief spots at other planets, malfunctioning ion drives have forced the vessel to take up orbit around Venus until such time as repairs can be effected. Paradise will also offer full economic opportunities, at the Industrial level.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Thursday, April 07, 2005
FED PLAYER ON HBO2 -Thursday April 7
If anyone has HBO 2, you can catch Rocketmunkee on a rerun of the show "Carnivale", episode 17: "Creed, OK"
Rocketmunkee plays the "doting dad". Two great scenes. Thursday night, 04/07
Way to go, Rocketmunkee!!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Rocketmunkee plays the "doting dad". Two great scenes. Thursday night, 04/07
Way to go, Rocketmunkee!!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
INVISIBLE OBJECTS
Fed II DataSpace is full of invisible objects. They are all around us, undetectable to the eye, but influencing our every move, and controlling what we do. Unseen, but oh so powerful.
No, this isn't a call for you to don your tinfoil hats to protect yourself from alien mindrays. It's an explanation of how some of the things you can do in Fed are programmed, and it's something you will be able to do yourself when we put in player planets and allow you to modify them.
Invisible objects in Fed allow you to use commands in a location that don't have to be programmed in the game. Think about how a visible object works - the tree on Mars, for example. The tree is an object and it has a command word attached to it, the word 'CLIMB'. That means you can type 'CLIMB TREE' and something happens.
Now walk up the road a little to Chez Diesel, and type 'PLAY PIANO'. The response you get is produced by exactly the same mechanism as climbing the tree, it's just that the object called piano is invisible, and instead of showing up on a separate line, it is mentioned in the room description. The effect for you, the player, is to allow you to manipulate things that are mentioned in the room description.
So why am I telling you this - apart from making all you wannabe planet designers drool with anticipation at the things you will be able to do?
Because the ability to have invisible objects is something that Our Illustrious Leader Bella invented for Fed II, and we now need to go back over all the existing locations and find the things mentioned in the descriptions which you would, logically, be able to do something with. We can then add in the necessary invisible objects to let you do just that. That's an on-going project that we are doing over time, but we need your help. As you walk around the planets, if you find something mentioned in a location that you think ought to let you do something, please mail feedback@ibgames.net and give us the details.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
No, this isn't a call for you to don your tinfoil hats to protect yourself from alien mindrays. It's an explanation of how some of the things you can do in Fed are programmed, and it's something you will be able to do yourself when we put in player planets and allow you to modify them.
Invisible objects in Fed allow you to use commands in a location that don't have to be programmed in the game. Think about how a visible object works - the tree on Mars, for example. The tree is an object and it has a command word attached to it, the word 'CLIMB'. That means you can type 'CLIMB TREE' and something happens.
Now walk up the road a little to Chez Diesel, and type 'PLAY PIANO'. The response you get is produced by exactly the same mechanism as climbing the tree, it's just that the object called piano is invisible, and instead of showing up on a separate line, it is mentioned in the room description. The effect for you, the player, is to allow you to manipulate things that are mentioned in the room description.
So why am I telling you this - apart from making all you wannabe planet designers drool with anticipation at the things you will be able to do?
Because the ability to have invisible objects is something that Our Illustrious Leader Bella invented for Fed II, and we now need to go back over all the existing locations and find the things mentioned in the descriptions which you would, logically, be able to do something with. We can then add in the necessary invisible objects to let you do just that. That's an on-going project that we are doing over time, but we need your help. As you walk around the planets, if you find something mentioned in a location that you think ought to let you do something, please mail feedback@ibgames.net and give us the details.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
THE SHAREHOLDERS ARE REVOLTING!
(And the CEO ain't so good, neither!)
One of the new features that Manufacturers have to cope with is a revolt of shareholders who are unhappy at the way the CEO is running the company. Our valiant test team were under instructions to encourage enough dissatisfaction to provoke a revolt, but they never expected it would happen quite as suddenly as it did!
As unexpected extra reset which Bella had to do to fix a problem saw this pop up on the SpyNet Review:
> spynet review
The Spynet Review - Being an account of births, deaths, promotions and other interesting happenings during the current session.
Bread & Roses has suffered from a shareholders' rebellion
Diamond Wine has suffered from a shareholders' rebellion
Merrie Maids has suffered from a shareholders' rebellion
At least the rebellion code will be getting a thorough testing!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
One of the new features that Manufacturers have to cope with is a revolt of shareholders who are unhappy at the way the CEO is running the company. Our valiant test team were under instructions to encourage enough dissatisfaction to provoke a revolt, but they never expected it would happen quite as suddenly as it did!
As unexpected extra reset which Bella had to do to fix a problem saw this pop up on the SpyNet Review:
> spynet review
The Spynet Review - Being an account of births, deaths, promotions and other interesting happenings during the current session.
Bread & Roses has suffered from a shareholders' rebellion
Diamond Wine has suffered from a shareholders' rebellion
Merrie Maids has suffered from a shareholders' rebellion
At least the rebellion code will be getting a thorough testing!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
NEW KEYRING CHARM FOR APRIL
Gallagher's, the up-market shop on Earth, has rearranged its merchandise again. You can now buy the special April keyring accessory, which is a gorgeous diamond containing a holo of a jester, in keeping with April Fool's Day. The charm will be available throughout April for the usual price of one slithy tove. If you don't have any slithy toves, you can buy them - they cost $10 for two slithies. To buy some slithies, go to http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/extras/index.html.
The March keyring accessory, the croquet mallet, has been taken off sale.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
The March keyring accessory, the croquet mallet, has been taken off sale.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Monday, March 28, 2005
NEW IN FEDERATION II THIS WEEK
New Medallions
Family Jewels, the high-class jewellery shop on the Moon, has added three new medallions to its illegal stock. You can now get a celtic cross, a yin-yang symbol, and a star of david. These replace the ankh, marillion and pentagram medallion, which have been withdrawn from sale. The medallions cost one slithy tove each, and are displayed when somebody examines you.
Talk to Tracey
The incredibly thick receptionist on Phobos, who authorizes you to use a buggy, is now a proper mobile that you can talk to. To talk to her (or any other mobile that is chat-enabled), type her name followed by a word or phrase you think she might respond to, for example: Tracey hello. Tracey, being of very limited intelligence, doesn't have anything vital to say, but her brainless prattle can be entertaining. Try talking to her about her job, Phobos, Earth, and scientists; her responses might give you some hints about what other subjects she talks about.
Don't forget that Diesel, owner of the best bar in the Galaxy, Chez Diesel, is also a talking mobile - she has a very extensive range of conversation. More talking mobiles will be added soon.
Company Money Details
By popular request, the company display now gives the full amounts of groats, rather than rounding them to the nearest megagroat, making precision calculations of how your company is doing much easier.
Spaceport Announcements
If you're in the habit of hanging around in Earth's spaceport, watching the tourists stagger past with their unruly luggage, you will notice that there are now some new announcements being made over the tannoy. However, if it's your intention to sit there until you have heard all the new messages, you may have a long wait, because the frequency of the announcements has been reduced from 5 minutes to 15 minutes. This is because staff who worked in various parts of the spaceport were getting so annoyed by the constant messages over the PR system, that they threatened to go on strike.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Family Jewels, the high-class jewellery shop on the Moon, has added three new medallions to its illegal stock. You can now get a celtic cross, a yin-yang symbol, and a star of david. These replace the ankh, marillion and pentagram medallion, which have been withdrawn from sale. The medallions cost one slithy tove each, and are displayed when somebody examines you.
Talk to Tracey
The incredibly thick receptionist on Phobos, who authorizes you to use a buggy, is now a proper mobile that you can talk to. To talk to her (or any other mobile that is chat-enabled), type her name followed by a word or phrase you think she might respond to, for example: Tracey hello. Tracey, being of very limited intelligence, doesn't have anything vital to say, but her brainless prattle can be entertaining. Try talking to her about her job, Phobos, Earth, and scientists; her responses might give you some hints about what other subjects she talks about.
Don't forget that Diesel, owner of the best bar in the Galaxy, Chez Diesel, is also a talking mobile - she has a very extensive range of conversation. More talking mobiles will be added soon.
Company Money Details
By popular request, the company display now gives the full amounts of groats, rather than rounding them to the nearest megagroat, making precision calculations of how your company is doing much easier.
Spaceport Announcements
If you're in the habit of hanging around in Earth's spaceport, watching the tourists stagger past with their unruly luggage, you will notice that there are now some new announcements being made over the tannoy. However, if it's your intention to sit there until you have heard all the new messages, you may have a long wait, because the frequency of the announcements has been reduced from 5 minutes to 15 minutes. This is because staff who worked in various parts of the spaceport were getting so annoyed by the constant messages over the PR system, that they threatened to go on strike.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
BELLA'S HAIKU CONTEST
Back in February, Bella announced that she would give a slithy tove to the person who could compose the best haiku about Fed II. A haiku, you will recall, is a Japanese verse of three lines, with a set number of syllables in each line - five, seven and five. Lots of people sent in their haikus, and here is a selection of the best of them. It is interesting that several common themes emerged, the most popular being death of one form or another.
Arlene sent in a suicidal haiku:
I have lost my friend
TDX! I will find you,
Transuranics Room.
Nightdroid had this to offer:
Your hauling macro
Steers your ship into the sun
You die yet again
Another popular theme for the haikus was Diesel and her dangerous baseball bat. This was the subject of the following two entries, submitted by Darkangel and Knight respectively:
Diesel swings big bat
Knocking groundhogs off their start
She has lost control
Diesel wields mean Bat
Her Bar is Social Center
Of Solar System
An honorable mention should go to Aristocles who sent in 9 different haikus, all of them excellent. Here's two of them:
Stamina drops low:
I seek the Lucky seven.
Where Phorban Ale flows.
Customs boards my ship.
They inspect my cargo hold.
Thanks for the fuel, boys!
But there can be only one winner, and the judges decision is that the best haiku was the following, another one about death, by Gemma:
Shooting 'round the stars,
I ignore the danger signs.
Oops! I'm dead again.
Congratulations, Gemma - by the time you read this, you will have been awarded your prize of a slithy tove. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest for your excellent haikus - they really were good!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Arlene sent in a suicidal haiku:
I have lost my friend
TDX! I will find you,
Transuranics Room.
Nightdroid had this to offer:
Your hauling macro
Steers your ship into the sun
You die yet again
Another popular theme for the haikus was Diesel and her dangerous baseball bat. This was the subject of the following two entries, submitted by Darkangel and Knight respectively:
Diesel swings big bat
Knocking groundhogs off their start
She has lost control
Diesel wields mean Bat
Her Bar is Social Center
Of Solar System
An honorable mention should go to Aristocles who sent in 9 different haikus, all of them excellent. Here's two of them:
Stamina drops low:
I seek the Lucky seven.
Where Phorban Ale flows.
Customs boards my ship.
They inspect my cargo hold.
Thanks for the fuel, boys!
But there can be only one winner, and the judges decision is that the best haiku was the following, another one about death, by Gemma:
Shooting 'round the stars,
I ignore the danger signs.
Oops! I'm dead again.
Congratulations, Gemma - by the time you read this, you will have been awarded your prize of a slithy tove. Thank you to everyone who entered the contest for your excellent haikus - they really were good!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Sunday, March 20, 2005
NEW VERSION OF FEDTERM ADDS LOTS OF EXTRA FEATURES
We are putting the final touches to a new version of the FedTerm front-end for Fed II, and we hope to release it on Monday or Tuesday. This will be a compulsory upgrade, which means that once the new version is released, you won't be able to use older versions of FedTerm to log into the game - you will have to download and install the new version. You can still use other front-ends, including the old Fed2Term or third party front-ends.
Play Federation II
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http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
The reason this upgrade to FedTerm is compulsory is because the new version contains a feature that allows you to display private conversations with players in a separate window on your screen. In order to make this work, the way the game sends TB message info to FedTerm has changed, making it incompatible with previous versions of FedTerm.
Here are the details of some of the other new features in FedTerm:
Friends
Bringing back a feature that was in the old front-ends for classic Fed, Friends lets you set up a list of players who are your friends. If one of the people on your friends list logs into the game, FedTerm will put a message on the screen, and if you choose play a sound.
You can also set it to alert you when anybody of a certain rank logs on - so if you are desperate to talk to another Trader to pick their brains about futures contracts, or if you're on duty to help new players, you can use the Friends feature to alert you.
The player list can now be switched to just showing the people logged on who are on your friends list.
Stats Panel
A new panel to the left of the main output panel shows some of the information from your score - the four stats, your bank balance, and the level of whatever points are relevant to your rank. It also shows your picture - more about pictures in a moment. A bar indicates the relative level of your stamina, adding a visual reminder of when you need to eat - the bar changes color as your stam drops, going to yellow and then red. You can switch the bar so it shows the level of any of the stats.
You can switch the panel to showing your ship's stats, and the bar shows your fuel tank. Again, it can be switched to showing any of the other ship's stats, which will be useful once ship fighting is implemented.
When you go into space and land on the ground, the panel will automatically switch to showing the relevant display. You can turn the whole panel off if you prefer not to sacrifice space for the output window.
Private Messages
This is the feature that forces you to upgrade to the new version of FedTerm, but it is worth it, I promise!
When you highlight a player in the player list and right-click, the menu that comes up has a new option: Tight Beam. This opens a separate window which you use to send private messages to the selected player. You don't have to type 'TELL HAZED' - the front-end takes care of that for you - you just type in the message you want to send, and hit return. When the player replies, their message will be added to the box, so your conversation with that player stays on display, separate from all the other stuff the game is sending you.
You can still send private messages to other players using the normal 'TELL' command.
The tight beam window also displays the picture of the player you are having a private conversation with, if you have one - more about pictures below.
Pictures
The new version of FedTerm displays pictures of you, and anyone you are having a private conversation of. You can create your own picture, and swap it with your friends so they can display your picture. Already players are anticipating this and are setting up web sites to store all the players' pictures - see the next article for details of one of them. We will include some pictures with the FedTerm download - Bella, Hazed and Freya, for example - and we will also put some pictures up on the web site which you can use for your own picture, if you can't find anything yourself.
If you want to get a head start on creating a picture to use in FedTerm, then here's the technical details: the pictures are in .bmp format and should be given your character name (for example, hazed.bmp or newbod.bmp). The size is 80 x 96 (that's 80 pixels wide by 96 pixels high). That's fairly small so you may find a head-and-shoulders pic works better than a full body pic.
Bug fixes
The new version also fixes a couple of bugs, including the annoying habit FedTerm has of eating your current map if you get unexpectedly disconnected from the game!
Look out for an announcement on Monday or Tuesday, telling you when the new version is available. Meanwhile, to whet your appetite you can look at some screenshots at http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/fedterm/new.html.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
PICTURE STORAGE WEB SITE
PICTURE STORAGE WEB SITE
by Desertwolf
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
by Desertwolf
A new version of FedTerm will be released soon that includes some great new features. One of those features being the ability to include a picture of your character. Along with this is a special Tight Beam comms box that not only lets you carry on a private conversation with another player but also displays the other player's picture (but you will need that picture first).
In an attempt to avoid a rash of e-mail addys flying across the comms and possibly compromising player security, I have set up a web site with the sole purpose of storing your character's picture for anyone to view and download without the need to swap e-mails. This will allow you to look at and download a character's picture without the need for them to be online to send it to you.
You can access the site at http://www.freewebs.com/fed2storage.
If you have a character picture you would like to use and want me to include on this site, you can send it to desertwolf_kcrk@yahoo.com.
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
NEW SILK ASTEROID OPENED FOR TRADE
Announcing the new trading opportunities on the asteroid Silk
(designed by Freya), which can be found NE, N from the asteroid belt
entrance. Armstrong Cuthbert are now offering both cargo and akaturi
jobs to and from Silk, the exchange is open for business, and the
workthings are queuing up to come work in factories. The map of the
asteroid belt at http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/maps/solmap.html
has been updated to show the new asteroid (scroll down to see the
asteroid belt map).
Silk is an asteroid inhabited by an exosolar race of arachnids. Little is
directly known about the Xiphosurans, as they call themselves. They
can communicate via modified Galactic comm units but their society
and conversations are not particularly suited to humans. Thus far they
have declined all requests, by sociologists and other credentialed
academics, to conduct studies of their community. They are, by nature,
highly skilled manufacturers and traders. They are also natural
mathematicians and devote considerable efforts to its study. Everything
the Xiphosurans create or know is for sale, if the price is right.
Among the few facts known about the Xiphosurans is that they arrived
in the Solar System on solar sail crafts spun from silk. Some settled the
asteroid known as Silk, the rest continued on their cryptic journey.
They seem to periodically migrate with the spaceblooms but the
relationship between them is not clear. They may occasionally be
observed launching their hatchlings into space with the assistance of
spaceblooms. The arachnids can function in vacuum, again we know
little of that mechanism and they are content that not much is known
about them. They prefer a diet of certain worms and mollusks, which
they cultivate; but also seem to enjoy a variety of Solar insects.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Announcing the new trading opportunities on the asteroid Silk
(designed by Freya), which can be found NE, N from the asteroid belt
entrance. Armstrong Cuthbert are now offering both cargo and akaturi
jobs to and from Silk, the exchange is open for business, and the
workthings are queuing up to come work in factories. The map of the
asteroid belt at http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/maps/solmap.html
has been updated to show the new asteroid (scroll down to see the
asteroid belt map).
Silk is an asteroid inhabited by an exosolar race of arachnids. Little is
directly known about the Xiphosurans, as they call themselves. They
can communicate via modified Galactic comm units but their society
and conversations are not particularly suited to humans. Thus far they
have declined all requests, by sociologists and other credentialed
academics, to conduct studies of their community. They are, by nature,
highly skilled manufacturers and traders. They are also natural
mathematicians and devote considerable efforts to its study. Everything
the Xiphosurans create or know is for sale, if the price is right.
Among the few facts known about the Xiphosurans is that they arrived
in the Solar System on solar sail crafts spun from silk. Some settled the
asteroid known as Silk, the rest continued on their cryptic journey.
They seem to periodically migrate with the spaceblooms but the
relationship between them is not clear. They may occasionally be
observed launching their hatchlings into space with the assistance of
spaceblooms. The arachnids can function in vacuum, again we know
little of that mechanism and they are content that not much is known
about them. They prefer a diet of certain worms and mollusks, which
they cultivate; but also seem to enjoy a variety of Solar insects.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
WORKTHING SHORTAGE PROMPTS BAN ON ARTS FACTORIES
The Galactic Administration has today announced that they will be
implementing a ban on the building and running of factories producing
artifacts in the Solar System. The ban will take effect on Wednesday,
and once it is in place it will impossible to erect any new arts factories.
CEOs are advised to sell their existing arts factories before the ban
comes into operation because any remaining arts factories will be
confiscated - with no compensation to the owners.
A spokesthing made the official announcement and then added an
explanation: "With the increase in the number of people going into
business by setting up their own companies, we have seen a rapid rise
in the demand for workers on all the Sol planets. This has led to
inflation in the wages structure, with workers' pay increasing out of all
proportion to their counterparts in other fields of endeavour. Company
owners have been having to pay larger sums to obtain a workforce, and
there has been bad feeling between CEOs as they compete for the ever-
dwindling pool of labor. Meanwhile, workers in other sectors such as
retail have been disgruntled to see factory workers pay rise to enormous
heights, while their own stays static.
"A glance at the labor requirements for different types of factories
reveals that by far the most labor intensive facility is one producing
artifacts. On the face of it these factories seem a good buy, since they do
not require any inputs, but they suck up such a tremendous number of
workthings that the presence of 2 or 3 on a planet can severely curtail
any other industrial activity.
"This ban on artifact factories is intended to relieve the pressure on
workthings. We will be monitoring the situation and if it seems
necessary in the future, we may bring in a similar ban on other labor
intensive facilities, such as monos; however, we hope that will not be
necessary."
So to summarise: at Wednesday's reset, new code will go in which will
stop anyone from building artifacts factories, and will delete existing
arts factories - so sell up before then, or lose out!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
implementing a ban on the building and running of factories producing
artifacts in the Solar System. The ban will take effect on Wednesday,
and once it is in place it will impossible to erect any new arts factories.
CEOs are advised to sell their existing arts factories before the ban
comes into operation because any remaining arts factories will be
confiscated - with no compensation to the owners.
A spokesthing made the official announcement and then added an
explanation: "With the increase in the number of people going into
business by setting up their own companies, we have seen a rapid rise
in the demand for workers on all the Sol planets. This has led to
inflation in the wages structure, with workers' pay increasing out of all
proportion to their counterparts in other fields of endeavour. Company
owners have been having to pay larger sums to obtain a workforce, and
there has been bad feeling between CEOs as they compete for the ever-
dwindling pool of labor. Meanwhile, workers in other sectors such as
retail have been disgruntled to see factory workers pay rise to enormous
heights, while their own stays static.
"A glance at the labor requirements for different types of factories
reveals that by far the most labor intensive facility is one producing
artifacts. On the face of it these factories seem a good buy, since they do
not require any inputs, but they suck up such a tremendous number of
workthings that the presence of 2 or 3 on a planet can severely curtail
any other industrial activity.
"This ban on artifact factories is intended to relieve the pressure on
workthings. We will be monitoring the situation and if it seems
necessary in the future, we may bring in a similar ban on other labor
intensive facilities, such as monos; however, we hope that will not be
necessary."
So to summarise: at Wednesday's reset, new code will go in which will
stop anyone from building artifacts factories, and will delete existing
arts factories - so sell up before then, or lose out!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
THE MYSTERY OF THE MISSING COMPANIES
Disaster struck yesterday when the game came back up after the
morning reset, and some CEOs discovered their companies had
completely vanished. There seemed to be no logical reason why some
were afflicted in this way but not others: both Industrialists and
Manufacturers were victims, some of them owning just one non-
operating factory, and others running a string of active plants.
So who ya gonna call? Bella, of course. She rushed to the rescue to try
to figure out what had gone wrong.
While she investigated, the stricken CEOs took advantage of their
enforced idleness and a whole bunch of mini parties spontaneously
erupted across the Solar System. Well, actually, they ran around and
panicked, but that was probably as much fun as partying!
Bella discovered that the companies had not completely vanished into a
black hole - they were still in the data file, but they were not being
loaded in to the game because of a problem with the format of the file.
Further investigation found what that problem was: a rogue & character
(an ampersand) in somebody's company name, which the new code
Bella had just put into the game was not dealing with correctly. This
meant that when the game tried to load company data from the file it
got to this one particular company, called Sword & Dagger, and then it
choked and refused to load any more.
Bella fixed the code so it could cope with the & in the company name,
and then reset the game. That worked, and the missing companies all
reappeared. Hooray! But wait - although the companies had come back,
the factories and depots belonging to those companies had all vanished.
Oh no!
Further investigation showed that when the game had failed to load the
missing companies, the Galactic Administration had assumed that the
depots and factories belonging to those companies were orphaned
because the CEOs had died, so it had demolished them. Well, that was
one way to solve the workthing shortage!
Bella fixed this problem by backing out the factory and depot details to
the one for the previous day's reset. So everyone had their property
back, we could all breathe a sigh of relief and get on with working for a
living.
Well, almost... CEOs had lost any new depots or factories bought on
Friday night/Saturday morning, poor things. But then they make so
much money that it shouldn't take them long to recoup their losses, so
that's alright. Sorted!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
morning reset, and some CEOs discovered their companies had
completely vanished. There seemed to be no logical reason why some
were afflicted in this way but not others: both Industrialists and
Manufacturers were victims, some of them owning just one non-
operating factory, and others running a string of active plants.
So who ya gonna call? Bella, of course. She rushed to the rescue to try
to figure out what had gone wrong.
While she investigated, the stricken CEOs took advantage of their
enforced idleness and a whole bunch of mini parties spontaneously
erupted across the Solar System. Well, actually, they ran around and
panicked, but that was probably as much fun as partying!
Bella discovered that the companies had not completely vanished into a
black hole - they were still in the data file, but they were not being
loaded in to the game because of a problem with the format of the file.
Further investigation found what that problem was: a rogue & character
(an ampersand) in somebody's company name, which the new code
Bella had just put into the game was not dealing with correctly. This
meant that when the game tried to load company data from the file it
got to this one particular company, called Sword & Dagger, and then it
choked and refused to load any more.
Bella fixed the code so it could cope with the & in the company name,
and then reset the game. That worked, and the missing companies all
reappeared. Hooray! But wait - although the companies had come back,
the factories and depots belonging to those companies had all vanished.
Oh no!
Further investigation showed that when the game had failed to load the
missing companies, the Galactic Administration had assumed that the
depots and factories belonging to those companies were orphaned
because the CEOs had died, so it had demolished them. Well, that was
one way to solve the workthing shortage!
Bella fixed this problem by backing out the factory and depot details to
the one for the previous day's reset. So everyone had their property
back, we could all breathe a sigh of relief and get on with working for a
living.
Well, almost... CEOs had lost any new depots or factories bought on
Friday night/Saturday morning, poor things. But then they make so
much money that it shouldn't take them long to recoup their losses, so
that's alright. Sorted!
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
GENDER REALIGNMENT WHILE YOU WAIT
We know that a couple of people were caught by the "FedTerm made me
female" bug, and Our Illustrious Leader, Bella, did her programming
thing to change the two we knew about back to male. But what about
the other people who intended to be manly men, or neutral neuters, but
ended up feminine females?
The good news for them - and for anyone who just fancies a change - is
that the gender realignment machine in the hospital ward on Earth is
no longer out of order. What's more, the service is currently being
offered for free. That's right, get your gender changed while you wait, for
no charge, and guaranteed pain-free. This special offer will last until
Friday, after which a gender change will cost 999 groats - still a
bargain.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
female" bug, and Our Illustrious Leader, Bella, did her programming
thing to change the two we knew about back to male. But what about
the other people who intended to be manly men, or neutral neuters, but
ended up feminine females?
The good news for them - and for anyone who just fancies a change - is
that the gender realignment machine in the hospital ward on Earth is
no longer out of order. What's more, the service is currently being
offered for free. That's right, get your gender changed while you wait, for
no charge, and guaranteed pain-free. This special offer will last until
Friday, after which a gender change will cost 999 groats - still a
bargain.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
THE FIRST MANUFACTURERS
The SpyNet Review on Friday showed a batch of promotions to
Manufacturer as soon as the game fired up. This was the valiant bunch
who make up our test team, being promoted so they can try out the new
code Bella has just put in for the next rank. It is their job to find all the
annoying bugs so that Bella can fix them before the real players use the
code.
Depending on the magnitude of the bugs they find (if any) (no, don't
laugh, it's possible there won't be any bugs, stranger things have
happened) the promotion mechanism should be available to
Industrialists sometime in the next ten days.
So what, I hear you ask, does an Industrialist have to do to get
promoted to Manufacturer? Well it's a simple time-based promotion.
Industrialist is the probationary period for CEOs, during which they get
to grips with holding the reigns of a multi-planetary company.
Promotion to the next rank will happen when the company has run
through three accounting cycles, and the owner has been in the game to
keep an eye on things for 24 hours. Both those measures are shown on
the company display.
Since there is a limit to how much probation anybody can be allowed,
absentee CEOs will be promoted after five company cycles, even if they
have been supervising the factories for less than 24 hours.
In both events, the promotion will happen at the next reset after the
requirements are met.
Being out of probation, a Manufacturer is allowed to do things not
available to Industrialists - but at the same time is subject to pressures
and disadvantages too. More details in next week's news.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Manufacturer as soon as the game fired up. This was the valiant bunch
who make up our test team, being promoted so they can try out the new
code Bella has just put in for the next rank. It is their job to find all the
annoying bugs so that Bella can fix them before the real players use the
code.
Depending on the magnitude of the bugs they find (if any) (no, don't
laugh, it's possible there won't be any bugs, stranger things have
happened) the promotion mechanism should be available to
Industrialists sometime in the next ten days.
So what, I hear you ask, does an Industrialist have to do to get
promoted to Manufacturer? Well it's a simple time-based promotion.
Industrialist is the probationary period for CEOs, during which they get
to grips with holding the reigns of a multi-planetary company.
Promotion to the next rank will happen when the company has run
through three accounting cycles, and the owner has been in the game to
keep an eye on things for 24 hours. Both those measures are shown on
the company display.
Since there is a limit to how much probation anybody can be allowed,
absentee CEOs will be promoted after five company cycles, even if they
have been supervising the factories for less than 24 hours.
In both events, the promotion will happen at the next reset after the
requirements are met.
Being out of probation, a Manufacturer is allowed to do things not
available to Industrialists - but at the same time is subject to pressures
and disadvantages too. More details in next week's news.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
THE TRUTH ABOUT AUTO-MAPPING
A group of old-time Fedders were gathered in a bar, discussing the new
front-end.
"Auto-mapping!" exclaimed Trader Oldster. "We never had auto-
mapping in my day. We had to explore each location and try out all the
different possible exits to see if there were any hidden locations."
"That's right," replied Industrialist Ancientone. "We had to draw our
own maps, using pencil and mapping paper."
"You were lucky," said Adventurer Decrepit. "We couldn't afford
mapping paper; we had to make do with whatever scraps of paper we
could find lying around."
"Paper!" added Merchant Dodderer. "We used to dream of having paper.
We had to draw maps on the back of our hands with a biro."
"Luxury!" declaimed Oldster. "There were no biros in our house, we had
to carve the maps into our flesh using a knife..."
Ok, that's quite enough bad Monty Python parodies for one week, thank
you! But I have heard some grumbling from old players that having
auto-mapping makes things too easy - for example, it makes the
Martian ruins simple to explore. Well that's not quite true, because you
still have to read the room descriptions in order to figure out which
locations you don't want to walk into - the auto-mapping displays the
exit leading to the deep pit in just the same way as any other exit.
It's also worth remembering that the Up and Down exits are not shown,
so anybody who relies solely on the visible links on the map is going to
miss any place that can only be reached by going up stairs, down a
gravshaft, or into a hole in the wall. It will still be possible to have
"hidden" exits using those non-compass directions.
Anyone who has already mapped Fed II the hard way is going to be able
to whizz around all the planets and get FedTerm to auto-map without
much effort, but that only applies if you already know your way around.
New players are still going to have to think about where they are and
whether a displayed exit leads to somewhere they want to go or not!
Having auto-mapping doesn't stop you from having to explore
everywhere, but it does take out the drudgery of having to draw a map
of where you have been, and that's a big help for new players.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
front-end.
"Auto-mapping!" exclaimed Trader Oldster. "We never had auto-
mapping in my day. We had to explore each location and try out all the
different possible exits to see if there were any hidden locations."
"That's right," replied Industrialist Ancientone. "We had to draw our
own maps, using pencil and mapping paper."
"You were lucky," said Adventurer Decrepit. "We couldn't afford
mapping paper; we had to make do with whatever scraps of paper we
could find lying around."
"Paper!" added Merchant Dodderer. "We used to dream of having paper.
We had to draw maps on the back of our hands with a biro."
"Luxury!" declaimed Oldster. "There were no biros in our house, we had
to carve the maps into our flesh using a knife..."
Ok, that's quite enough bad Monty Python parodies for one week, thank
you! But I have heard some grumbling from old players that having
auto-mapping makes things too easy - for example, it makes the
Martian ruins simple to explore. Well that's not quite true, because you
still have to read the room descriptions in order to figure out which
locations you don't want to walk into - the auto-mapping displays the
exit leading to the deep pit in just the same way as any other exit.
It's also worth remembering that the Up and Down exits are not shown,
so anybody who relies solely on the visible links on the map is going to
miss any place that can only be reached by going up stairs, down a
gravshaft, or into a hole in the wall. It will still be possible to have
"hidden" exits using those non-compass directions.
Anyone who has already mapped Fed II the hard way is going to be able
to whizz around all the planets and get FedTerm to auto-map without
much effort, but that only applies if you already know your way around.
New players are still going to have to think about where they are and
whether a displayed exit leads to somewhere they want to go or not!
Having auto-mapping doesn't stop you from having to explore
everywhere, but it does take out the drudgery of having to draw a map
of where you have been, and that's a big help for new players.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
NEW FEDTERM
The big news in Fed II DataSpace this week is the release of a new
front-end for the game. FedTerm has a lot of the features of the old
front-end but adds a more gooey feel (that's GUI - Graphical User
Interface). It separates room descriptions out from the text it receives
from the game and displays them in a separate window, and lists the
people, objects and mobiles present in the room separately too.
You can move around by clicking on movement arrows, as well as the
usual method of typing in commands directly. You can also use the
numeric keypad on your keyboard to send direction commands.
The most radical addition to the front-end, though, is auto-mapping.
The front-end makes a note of every location you visit and displays it on
a map, showing you which directions you can move in. Since computer
screens are only 2D, it can only display the compass direction exits -
up, down, in and out are not shown, so you will still have to read the
room descriptions to see if there are stairs, gravshafts, holes in the
ground, or other non-conventional exits.
You can see a screenshot of the new FedTerm at
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/fedterm/screenshot.html and download
the program at http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/fedterm/index.html.
As with the previous versions of the Fed II front-end, the program is a
Windows program. However, thanks to an enterprising member of our
test team - Gandolf - we know it can be run on Linux computers if they
use the Wine emulator. There are instructions about how to set it up at
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/fedterm/linux.html.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
front-end for the game. FedTerm has a lot of the features of the old
front-end but adds a more gooey feel (that's GUI - Graphical User
Interface). It separates room descriptions out from the text it receives
from the game and displays them in a separate window, and lists the
people, objects and mobiles present in the room separately too.
You can move around by clicking on movement arrows, as well as the
usual method of typing in commands directly. You can also use the
numeric keypad on your keyboard to send direction commands.
The most radical addition to the front-end, though, is auto-mapping.
The front-end makes a note of every location you visit and displays it on
a map, showing you which directions you can move in. Since computer
screens are only 2D, it can only display the compass direction exits -
up, down, in and out are not shown, so you will still have to read the
room descriptions to see if there are stairs, gravshafts, holes in the
ground, or other non-conventional exits.
You can see a screenshot of the new FedTerm at
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/fedterm/screenshot.html and download
the program at http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/fedterm/index.html.
As with the previous versions of the Fed II front-end, the program is a
Windows program. However, thanks to an enterprising member of our
test team - Gandolf - we know it can be run on Linux computers if they
use the Wine emulator. There are instructions about how to set it up at
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/fedterm/linux.html.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
DIESEL'S BACK - AND THIS TIME, SHE TALKS!
The Galaxy's favorite mobile has emerged from her private office and is
now presiding over her establishment once again. The proprieteuse of
Chez Diesel, Diesel herself, can now be found seated at her bar.
What's more, she talks! You speak to her by saying her name followed
by a word or phrase that you think she knows something about: for
example, 'Diesel hello'. Amongst the topics she will respond to are Mars,
Martians, ruins, drink and pizza - but there's lots more too.
Actually, Diesel is more of an immobile than a mobile, since she doesn't
actually move, but she can still wield her baseball bat if you annoy her.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
now presiding over her establishment once again. The proprieteuse of
Chez Diesel, Diesel herself, can now be found seated at her bar.
What's more, she talks! You speak to her by saying her name followed
by a word or phrase that you think she knows something about: for
example, 'Diesel hello'. Amongst the topics she will respond to are Mars,
Martians, ruins, drink and pizza - but there's lots more too.
Actually, Diesel is more of an immobile than a mobile, since she doesn't
actually move, but she can still wield her baseball bat if you annoy her.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
ANOTHER ENCYCLOPEDIA GALACTICA ENTRY
If you talk to the clerk you may notice him refer to Heisenberg's
Warehouse. What's that, I hear you ask? In reply, I direct you to a new
entry in the Encyclopedia Galactica, at
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/galactica/heisenberg.html.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
Warehouse. What's that, I hear you ask? In reply, I direct you to a new
entry in the Encyclopedia Galactica, at
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/galactica/heisenberg.html.
Play Federation II
IBgames - We Build Worlds
http://www.ibgames.net/fed2/index.html
CHANGE TO TAX RULES
The tax rules have changed, with immediate effect. The taxman will no
longer seize all your excess groats, but will instead take 20% of the
excess once a day, the first time you log on after the game resets. The
limits remain the same.
So if an Adventurer logs on with 580,000 IG in her bank account, the
taxman will substract the limit of 500,000 IG leaving an excess of
80,000 IG, then take 20% of that sum - 16,000 IG.
Why this sudden change? What made the taxman become so much less
rapacious?
Everybody hates the taxman, from the lowest workthing to the highest
bureacrat. Nobody likes to give any of their hard-earned groats to the
government, and since the Galactic Administration was formed, one of
the favorite pastimes of all the denizens of Fed DataSpace has been
grumbled about the onerous tax burden imposed by the revenue men.
Usually, this grumbling amounts to no more than the discontent people
aim at the weather, but recently, as the taxman has tightened his grip,
the unrest has increased. The fact that the taxman confiscates such a
large amount of money outrages people; they consider that it removes
the incentive to work hard, since any groats they make above the
artificial limits set for each rank are just stolen away by the Internal
Revenue.
Finally, the unrest became so great that the Galactic Administration
was forced to take notice. They set up an official inquiry to examine the
operations of the Internal Revenue, and an inside source has told us
they were shocked by what they discovered. They concluded that the
revenue had amassed far too much power, thanks to the enormous
sums of money the organization was raking in. The natural rivalry
between different departments of the government was set aside, and the
other ministries united to condemn the activities of the Internal
Revenue. The chief taxation officer has been removed from his position
and may face criminal charges; the whole taxation organization has
been scaled down, throwing many bureaucrats out of work; and the way
tax is levied on citizens has been changed, much to the relief of groat-
earners everywhere.
Of course, this hasn't stopped the grumbling about tax; nobody likes to
pay tax. But it has made it harmless grumbling again.
longer seize all your excess groats, but will instead take 20% of the
excess once a day, the first time you log on after the game resets. The
limits remain the same.
So if an Adventurer logs on with 580,000 IG in her bank account, the
taxman will substract the limit of 500,000 IG leaving an excess of
80,000 IG, then take 20% of that sum - 16,000 IG.
Why this sudden change? What made the taxman become so much less
rapacious?
Everybody hates the taxman, from the lowest workthing to the highest
bureacrat. Nobody likes to give any of their hard-earned groats to the
government, and since the Galactic Administration was formed, one of
the favorite pastimes of all the denizens of Fed DataSpace has been
grumbled about the onerous tax burden imposed by the revenue men.
Usually, this grumbling amounts to no more than the discontent people
aim at the weather, but recently, as the taxman has tightened his grip,
the unrest has increased. The fact that the taxman confiscates such a
large amount of money outrages people; they consider that it removes
the incentive to work hard, since any groats they make above the
artificial limits set for each rank are just stolen away by the Internal
Revenue.
Finally, the unrest became so great that the Galactic Administration
was forced to take notice. They set up an official inquiry to examine the
operations of the Internal Revenue, and an inside source has told us
they were shocked by what they discovered. They concluded that the
revenue had amassed far too much power, thanks to the enormous
sums of money the organization was raking in. The natural rivalry
between different departments of the government was set aside, and the
other ministries united to condemn the activities of the Internal
Revenue. The chief taxation officer has been removed from his position
and may face criminal charges; the whole taxation organization has
been scaled down, throwing many bureaucrats out of work; and the way
tax is levied on citizens has been changed, much to the relief of groat-
earners everywhere.
Of course, this hasn't stopped the grumbling about tax; nobody likes to
pay tax. But it has made it harmless grumbling again.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Amazing News about Federation II
On Sunday, January 30th, something new and unprecedented happened to Federation II...
It went FREE.
That's right, play Federation II for free.
As often as you like, as much as you like for free.
Work your way up the ranks all the way to planet owner and beyond for free.
What could be better than FREE FED?
Forget about the orcs and monsters in other games - Fed II has real challenges for grownups!
Like day trading commodities futures and launching an IPO for your own company.
Like bigger and better planets, a vastly enhanced events system, interactive mobiles and more.
There's even an ATM machine on the far side of the Sun!
Remember, Federation II is about commerce, politics, intrigue, power and money. Things
that matter in real life. Federation II is a newly rewritten version of the original Federation
with all the charm and humor of the original but adding new features and challenges
based on our 15 years of multiplayer game experience and players requests. There are
new ranks, new planets, new features, new challenges, new things to do.
Come back to Federation II for free and enjoy the excitement again.
We'll even throw in a set of starter maps of the Solar System.
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