====================================================================== @@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@ @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@ @@ @@``````````@@ @@``````````@@ @@`````````````` @@@@ @@@@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@``@@ @@ @@`` @@@@@@@@@@@@ `` @@@@@@@@@@@@ `` @@@@@@@@@@@@ @@`` @@ ``@@`` @@```````````` @@``````````@@ @@```````````` @@`` `` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@`` @@@@@@@@@@@@ `` @@@@@@@@@@@@@@ @@`` @@`` `` ```````````` `````````````` `` `` ====================================================================== A Fanzine for Free Computer-Moderated Play-By-Electronic-Mail Games ====================================================================== volume 95, number 2 february 13, 1995 ====================================================================== Greg Lindahl, Editor gl8f@virginia.edu ====================================================================== World Wide Web: http://fermi.clas.virginia.edu/~gl8f/pbm.html ====================================================================== Table of Contents: Opening Stuff o The Editor's Corner o Short Summary of Available Games Announcements o Ultra Cricket season 7 starts February 15 o Additional Galaxy games started Articles o A First Look at Atlantis 2.0 Chris Conley o C++Robots Introduction and Example Richard Rognlie Regular Features o Game Descriptions & Information o Archives and subscriptions by email o What's this "ftp" thing anyway? ====================================================================== The Editor's Corner ====================================================================== Don't look now, but this month's issue is actually almost ON TIME! The long-awaited Galaxy article is not here yet, but there has been quite a bit of activity in the Galaxy area this month, with several new games starting. The biggest new start this month is the Atlantis 2.0 game, which has 278 players. There is certainly a lot of demand for free games out there; now if only we had more moderators. -- g ====================================================================== Short Summary of Available Games (full information down below) ====================================================================== Abstract games --- an automated email server has 4 different abstract games available: Abalone, Hex, Twixt, and Trax. These are detailed in the PBM List mentioned below, or you can send email to "pbmserv@netcom.com" with the word HELP in the subject of your email. Atlantis 2.0 --- open-ended strategic fantasy game. Began Jan 15, now has 278 players. New players welcome. C++Robots --- program your robot to blow the other guy into tomorrow. Send mail to "pbmserv@netcom.com" with the word HELP in the subject for details. Celestial Empire --- a more complicated space-opera game. There are 2 games running. New games start occasionally. Dougal Scott is looking for a moderator to take over running these games. Diplomacy --- Play Avalon Hill's Diplomacy boardgame by email. On January 15, there were 1000+ players involved in 251 games, with new games starting frequently on several fully automated email servers. Galactic Conqueror (German language) --- An economic/strategic space-opera game, with fancy interface programs available for PC's and Atari ST's. Galaxy / Galaxy/2 / Galactica / Blind Galaxy --- An economic/strategic space-opera game. There are 200+ players involved in about 10 games. New games start occasionally, and new GM's are needed. Star Empires --- A simple strategic/economic space-warfare game. Fly around the galaxy, maim your enemies, capture their planets, and produce more ships to maim the enemy with, etc. Sports Simulations --- a variety of different electronic leagues are available, with the most popular being a set of soccer leagues with compatible rules. Decentralized games --- a couple of games are available which are designed for a few players, and the moderation programs are available so you can run your own games. For more information on any of these games, please wade through the "Game Descriptions and Information" section below. It lists ftp sites and the addresses of the moderators. The sports simulations details and decentralized games descriptions are located in the "PBM List", which is a separate document available at the FTP sites. ====================================================================== Ultra Cricket season 7 starts February 15, 1995 ====================================================================== Tim Astley will be starting the seventh season of his email Cricket simulation on February 15, 1995. He has 72 teams already, and hopes to have more than 100. For more information, ftp the rules from one of the ftp site, and then send him email at ta@ecs.soton.ac.uk. He generally answers email within 24 hours of receiving it; you will have to act quickly to get in a draft before the 15th. ====================================================================== Additional Galaxy games started ====================================================================== Graeme Griffiths reports that several new galaxy games started using the players on the Galaxy waiting list. There are roughly 104 people currently on the list. To join the list, read the Galaxy rules (which can be found at your favorite pbm ftp site), and then join the list either by using filling out the form on the Galaxy Web page, or by sending information to Graeme as mentioned in the Galaxy game description below. Additional Galaxy GMs are wanted. ====================================================================== A First Look at Atlantis 2.0 Chris Conley ====================================================================== Atlantis 2.0 is the latest version of the PBeM game which was created almost two years ago. Geoff Dunbar, the GM of 2.0, has taken up the challenge issued by Russell Wallace to complete the v2.0 code, which dramatically changes the face of the game. I'm running `Rainbow Mayhem Unlimited,' a group of free-lance wizards (well, eventually - see below) who intend to use spellcraft and cunning to shape the face of the world (or at least slaughter some hopeless brutes and mess with a warlord or two). Then again, maybe I'm not... (Articles about the 2 previous incarnations of Atlantis can be found in PBEM magazine archives, in v93n03, v93n05 and v94n03). There are a number of changes in this version of Atlantis. Units are now broken down into races: base races, such as wood elves, tribesmen and the like, who can only learn a single skill to a limited level; and "leaders", who can learn multiple skills up to the maximum level. NPC "City Guards" protect players just entering the world of Atlantis, while city markets provide players with an alternative to the almost non-existent inter-player trade in Atlantis 1.0. Winter months can slow down travel, while horses and the reported flying mounts will allow a unit to rapidly traverse the world. The magic system is much more complex, with seven different spell areas (however, there are only twelve total spells at this point, so in-depth Magic research is not advisable at the present. What's an aspiring Warlock to do?). There are two changes that dominate the game, however: the introduction of faction types, and the changes in taxation rules. While the faction types are, on the surface, very major, it is my opinion that the taxation rules will provide the greatest amount of change. Anyhow... Unlike in Atlantis 1.0 and 1.1, a single player faction cannot do everything; or, rather, they can't do everything well. Each faction has a specified faction type. The broad types are War, Trade and Magic; players can also select hybrid types, like War/Magic, or even Generic (which is a combination of all three). These types can be changed only once each game year; it seems likely that most players will select a permanent type by the second year of the game. Each broad type has certain abilities that only it can use. War factions are the only type allowed to tax peasants; only Trade factions can produce goods and build structures or ships; and mages are only allowed to train magic-users. Hybrid factions can overcome the absolute restrictions of the Types, but are highly limited: While war and trade factions can tax and produce, respectively, in up to 100 provinces, War/XXX or Trade/XXX factions can only tax or produce in 5. Magic factions are allowed to train 5 mages, while Magic/XXX factions can train only two. Generic faction are allowed to tax and produce in two provinces each and train a single mage. In other words, the name of the game is cooperation. A War faction and a Trade faction working together can equal the maximum production of 20 War/Trade hybrid factions. An alliance composed of 1 War, 1 Trade and 3 Magic factions has 15 times the magepower and 50 times the tax/production capacity of a single Generic faction. Friends are everything. On the individual level, then, this is quite a major change in the game. In fact, it nearly eliminates some options - it really is not possible to carve out one's own empire, unless there's a city out there that sells a lot of swords. However, I don't expect this to really change the overall flow of the game; alliances may need to be composed of unlike parts, but there will still be groups bent on conquest or revenge or "liberte'" or whatever catches their fancy. The problem of coordination will occur, but I don't think that it will be any more important than it would be if all of the factions in the alliance were alike. The possibility of duplicity is certainly stronger - if the War faction switches alliances, a measly little Trade faction is going to be crushed - but this rarely seems to happen in "open-ended" games. On the other hand, the ability to tax without weapons should result in a major change in game dynamics. Resource control will no longer be critical, resulting in far fewer conflicts at the beginning of the game - if two alliances fight each other, they'll both be swept under the rug by a third who has spent its time expanding and preparing. Eventually, of course, alliances will start to butt heads - that's really what we're here for, after all - but resource control will no longer be the only means of victory. This, at least, seems to be a major change for the better; I'd rather win a war because I had a better strategy than because I happened to pick the right direction in which to explore. What's the end result? Faction type adds what Russell Wallace might have termed "needless complexity" to the game - it makes things more difficult without really adding or changing anything on the large scale. The tax changes will allow folks to spread out more without immediate conflict (as will the variety of initial cities, which is a very nice addition). The magic system is the great unknown - in fact, since Geoff is soliciting ideas for spells even now, it's likely to remain that way. (Did I mention my suggestion for the "Dr. Pain" spell yet?) All in all, I am not yet sure what's going to happen, which is exactly why I wanted to play in the first place. If you want to get more information, you can ftp various items from ftp.rahul.net, /pub/atlantis; for more information, or to join the game, write to atlantis@rahul.net. Come join the merry fray! Chris Conley ====================================================================== C++Robots Introduction and Example Richard Rognlie ====================================================================== [ C++Robots is a game somewhat similar to CoreWars or the earlier CRobots, in which you write a program in C++ that controls a "robot" fighting a battle in an arena against an enemy robot, also controlled by a program. C++Robots is a totally automated game; for details about joining, send email to pbmserv@netcom.com with the words HELP C++ROBOTS in the *subject* of your message. -ed ] One of the problems people have with the C++Robots combat simulator has been a misunderstanding of the robot's eye view of the arena and the way the robots actually work. Here's the scoop: The arena is 10k units wide by 10k units high -- 10 units = 1 meter. The arena is surrounded by a forcefield through which robots may not pass. It acts like a wall for robots, but cannon shots pass right through (as do explosion effects). Directions are specified in degrees (not radians like the "normal" C math functions). 0 is due east. 90 due north. 180 due west. 270 due south. All functions that use directions work in modulo 360, so the directions -45, 315, 695, etc. are all equivalent. ( 0,9999) (9999,9999) +------------------------------------------+ | 90 | | | | | 180 ---+--- 0,360 | | | | | 270 | +------------------------------------------+ ( 0, 0) (9999, 0) Each C++Robot is really a simulated Sun SPARC. When a C++Robot is received, it is compiled by the GNU C++ compiler down to Sun SPARC object code. The simulator loads each C++Robot into memory, and randomly positions the robot in the arena. The simulator then begins executing the C++Robots in 100 CPU cycle timeslices. Each timeslice simulates 1 second. This is a *really* slow SPARC! A 2 player bout that fights to a draw simulates 30 minutes of C++Robots activity, but, in reality, takes about 3 minutes of real time. If, during the execution of a robot's timeslice, it encounters a call to drive(), scan() or cannon(), the call is immediately executed, but any remaining CPU cycles left in that robot's current timeslice are lost. Therefore, an average call to scan() takes ~50 CPU cycles. [Assuming random distribution of scan() invocation times...] Once all robots have completed their timeslices, the simulator updates their positions in the arena and checks to see if any cannon shots have exploded, etc. This means that the result of scan() is already out of date when your robot continues execution: scan() returns a result based on the other robot's position during the previous timeslice, your timeslice then gets suspended, and when it resumes, it is a new timeslice. The other robot may have moved up to 100 units, and your robot may have moved up to 100 units, as well. This execution loop continues until one robot is destroyed (or both are destroyed simultaneously) or time runs out. C++Robots Strategies There are as many C++Robot strategies are there are C++Robots! Some robots can be very simple, others quite complex. It all depends on your robot's goal. My robot, tracker, has been quite successful with very little modification since the creation of the C++Robots hill. It algorithm was originally: 1) Scan for a target. Move towards and shoot at any target found. 2) If you lose the target, back up the scan a few degrees and start over again. This algorithm worked quite well for the first few weeks of the hill, but he slowly was replaced by other smarter robots. By tweaking his scan arc, he bounced back up the hill temporarily, but eventually slid off again. It was time to update the algorithm again. Apparently, the problem was that the tracker would move towards his opponents and they would lock on him as well. This wouldn't do! So, I adopted (stole) the movement algorithm from susan_unit (one of the early leaders of the C++Robots hill). And that was to move about in a box pattern. So, tracker's movement routines are independent of its targeting routines. The current algorithm is: 1) Move around the arena in a box pattern at full speed, staying about 2000 units inside from the wall. 2) Scan for a target, and shoot it. If you had seen a target, and have lost sight, back up the scan a bit and continue scanning. Here's a copy of the current source code for tracker. // 1) Move around the arena in a box pattern. Full speed. staying // about 2000 units inside from the wall. // 2) Scan for a target, and shoot it. If you had seen a target, and // have lost sight, back up the scan a bit and continue scanning. #include "robots.h" #define BORDER 2000 // Shoot at a target if it's in range (<= 7000 units) *and* it's far // enough away that we'll only be slightly damaged (>200 units) by the // resulting explosion. inline shoot(int dir,int range) { if (range > 200 && range <= 7000) cannon(dir,range); } main() { int sdir=0; // current scan direction int dir=0; // current movement direction int range; // range to opponent int hadfix=0; // did I have a fix on my opponent from the last scan? int cx,cy; // current x and y position drive(dir,100); // start moving right away. Don't *ever* sit still! while (1) { int tdir=dir; // save current direction cx = loc_x(); cy = loc_y(); // do we need to change direction? (e.g. are we approaching a wall?) if (cx > 10000-BORDER) if (cy < 10000-BORDER) tdir = 90; // approaching east wall else tdir = 180; // approaching northeast corner else if (cx < BORDER) if (cy < BORDER) tdir = 0; // approaching southwest corner else tdir = 270; // approaching west wall else if (cy > 10000-BORDER) tdir = 180; // approaching north wall else if (cy < BORDER) tdir = 0; // approaching south wall // if speed() == 0, restart the drive unit... // if dir != tdir, we need to change direction... if (!speed() || dir != tdir) drive(dir=tdir,100); if ((range=scan(sdir,10))) { // scan for a target... shoot(sdir,range); // got one. shoot it! hadfix=1; // remember we saw a target } else if (hadfix) { // did we lose a target? sdir += 40; // back up the scan hadfix=0; // forget we had a target } else sdir -= 20; // increment the scan } } Richard Rognlie [ Next month, we'll have some short articles by some of the top C++ Robots players about their robot's strategies. -ed ] ====================================================================== Game Descriptions and Information ====================================================================== Note: This information grows old. If you are looking at this issue from an archive, consult the file "PBM.list.gz" in the ftp archives for more up-to-date information. ====================================================================== All of these ftp sites are mirror copies of each other. Please use the closest one. FTP Site: ftp.erg.sri.com username: anonymous Directory: pub/pbm FTP Site: ftp.funet.fi username: anonymous Directory: pub/doc/games/play-by-mail World Wide Web: http://fermi.clas.virginia.edu/~gl8f/pbm.html ====================================================================== Game: Atlantis 2.0 Type: strategic economic/military, fantasy setting Duration: open-ended Turns: one per week GM: atlantis@rahul.net Status: running; accepting new players Description: Atlantis 2.0 is a vastly expanded version of Russell Wallace's original Atlantis 1.0 system. Atlantis features multiple faction types, a mostly player-run economy, simple economics, and a simple combat system. The rules are available from ftp.rahul.net:/pub/atlantis. As of early February, there are 278 players in the game. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Game: C++ Robots Type: Dueling programs written in C++ GM: rrognlie@netcom.com (Richard Rognlie) Status: continually accepting new players Email Server: pbmserv@netcom.com (with "help" in subject) Description: Much like the earlier game C Robots, this game involves programs written in the computer language C++ which control robots fighting a small war in a square arena. For more information, contact the email server for help. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Game: Celestial Empire Type: strategic economic/military space-opera Duration: close-ended, 30+ turns Turns: one per week GM: dwagon@aaii.oz.au (Dougal Scott) Status: occasionally starting new games Description: Players compete to capture worlds which produce many different types of resources, of which different amounts are needed to manufacture various items. The author, Dougal Scott, is running several games, and he periodically starts new ones. The rules can be ftped from the ftp sites. After you have read them, if you still want to join a game, send your name to Dougal at the address above. He is also looking for a new moderator to take over running his games, because he doesn't have much time to run them. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Game: Core Wars (King of the Hill Tournament) Type: battling computer programs Email Server: pizza@ecst.csuchico.edu, subject of "koth help" or "koth faq" Description: The Pizza Server gives you access to the ``King of the Hill'' ongoing Core Wars tournament. Core Wars was invented in 1984 by D. G. Jones and A. K. Dewdney. A May 1984 article in Scientific American discusses it, as does a lovely article in my PBEM fanzine. More information about Core Wars in general may be found in the rec.games.corewar FAQ, available from the email server, or via anonymous ftp from ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/corewar. Most discussion about Core Wars will be found on the Usenet newsgroup rec.games.corewar. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Game: Diplomacy Type: email version of Avalon Hill's pure strategy game Turns: frequency varies from one per day to one per 2 weeks for different games. Email Server: judge@morrolan.eff.org HELP in body of message; the subject is ignored. Description: The Diplomacy Adjudicator is a fully computer-moderated gamemaster for Avalon Hill's Diplomacy boardgame. To get more information from the moderator, send email with the word "HELP" in the body of the message (the subject is ignored) to judge@morrolan.eff.org. There are also other judges available, but most games are run on the EFF judge. The diplomacy Hall of Fame is available via ftp from ftp.nda.com, directory /pub/diplomacy/HallOfFame. Diplomacy is probably the biggest PBEM game out there, with 251 games going as of February 15, 1994. I'd estimate at least 1,000 players are active in one or more games. Most discussion related to Diplomacy takes place on the newsgroup rec.games.diplomacy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Game: Galactic Conqueror (German language) Type: strategic, economic/military, space opera setting Duration: typically 25-30 turns Turns: typically 1 per week GM: hz@zardoz.ruhr.de (Harry Zimmermann) Description: Galactic Conqueror is strategic SF-PBeM-Game for up to 50 players. Each player starts the game with a small fleet of starships and is the owner of one of several hundred planets. The winner is determined by an point system which gives points for specific actions each turn. The first player who reaches a pre-set winning score will be the winner of the game. Since there are almost no trade options in the game, player interaction mostly concerns negotiations about borders and coordination of attacks or defense. Players can: o invest in science o build industrial facilities and strongholds on planets o build ships (26 different classes) o attack enemy or neutral planets o engage in espionage or corruption o and much more... At the start of the game, each player can see only 4-10 planets, whose coordinates are given relative to his own starting-planet. Every time a new planet is conquered, all planets up to a given distance from this new one are revealed. The rules and an Atari ST and PC Clone client can be ftped from ftp.cp.tn.tudelft.nl, in the directory /pub/pbm/Galactic_Conqueror. The clients are graphical point-and-click interfaces to the game. You could play without a client, but this is not recommended. An X11 client is in the works, as is an eventual translation of the rules into English. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Game: Galaxy Type: strategic, economic/military, space opera setting Duration: typically 50-80 turns Turns: typically 1 or 2 per week Waiting List: graeme@abekrd.co.uk (Graeme Griffiths) [ all kinds ] GM: bampton@cs.utk.edu (Howard Bampton) [ blind galaxy only ] GM: roger@bimcore.emory.edu (Roger Dingeldine) [ blind galaxy ] GM: rwallace@vax1.tcd.ie (Russell Wallace) WWW page: yes, see main PBM page. Description: The game typically takes place on a 100x100 2D map, with a few hundred planets and 20 to 50 players. Players compete to capture planets, which can be used for economic expansion. You can purchase technology in several different areas, allowing your ships to fight harder and move faster. Galaxy turns range in size from 10kbytes early in the game to 100-200kbytes late in the game. The rules and source code are available for ftp. You can write to humans who run games; they start games occasionally and also have standby positions. The main contact is: graeme@abekrd.co.uk (Graeme Griffiths) In addition, there are a few GM's who were running games before Graeme volunteered to run a master waiting list. If you can't contact Graeme, you can contact them directly: bampton@cs.utk.edu [ blind galaxy only ] roger@bimcore.emory.edu [ blind galaxy only ] rwallace@vax1.tcd.ie Howard Bampton has a variant called "blind" galaxy. It features a wraparound map, a double-blind mail-forwarding system, and you received only limited information about other players other than what you can observe at systems where you have ships. GM's WANTED: There are always players interested in starting new games. If you have enough clue to operate a mail-server, you can be a Galaxy GM. Contact graeme@abekrd.co.uk for details. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Game: Republic of Rome Type: Historical (Roman Empire) Turns: player-paced Email Server: DOWN, looking for a home HELP in body of message, the subject is ignored Description: This server is currently down, because the author (Will Walker, ww@csn.org) doesn't have a machine to run it on. Donations welcome. RoR is an email adjudicator for Avalon Hill's game Republic of Rome, a cutthroat game of politics set in ancient Rome. All aspects of play are fully automated; there is no human GM. Players control factions of Senators; each turn they must elect officers and vote to raise and deploy forces to fight the many wars that arise; they work to increase the influence and popularity of their own Senators but must also work together to prevent destruction by war or by popular revolt. If Rome falls everyone loses. To get started, buy a copy of the board game, read the rules, then send email to the address above with the word "help" in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Game: Star Empires Type: strategic empire-building, space setting Turns: one per week, 60+ turns per game GM: rhl@jambo.mitre.org (Roger Lincoln) Status: occasionally starting games; watch rec.games.pbm Description: Star Empires is a very simple game which is very addictive. Players compete to control planets, which produce resources which can be used to build various types of ships. There is generally a large amount of diplomacy, and the GM encourages humorous player press releases. The rules are available for ftp. ====================================================================== A large number of sports leagues exist. Here's a list of types and addresses of the moderators -- more details can be found in the PBM List. To preview the rules, look on the ftp site. Game: Experimental Electronic Baseball League (EEBL) Type: sports simulation, american baseball GM: peiper@phoenix.cs.uga.edu Game: Experimental Electronic Football League (EEFL) Type: sports simulation, soccer GM: wickart@ichips.intel.com (Bill 'Prune' Wickart) Game: Fast Electronic Football League (FEFL) Type: sports simulation, soccer GM: mange@lysator.liu.se (Magnus Nilsson) Game: Ladder Electronic Football League (LEFL) Type: sports simulation, soccer GM: ingram@u.washington.edu (Doug Ingram) Game: Formula 1 Pick 6 Type: Auto racing prediction contest GM: vallee@essi.essi.fr (Thierry Vallee) Game: Strategic Postal Australian Rules Football (SPARF) GM: mel@csua.berkeley.edu Game: Sugar Ray (German language & English language) GM: gerstnet@informatik.tu-muenchen.de (Thomas Gerstner) (german language) (email) Game: Ultra Cricket GM: ta@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Tim Astley) Game: United 3 (Soccer) (German language) GM: allard@goofy.zdv.uni-mainz.de Game: United Electronic Football League (UEFL) GM: billones@digex.com (Jeremy Billones) Game: World eMail Hockey Association (WeHA) GM: inb@creare.com (Ian Brown) ====================================================================== Archives and subscriptions by email ====================================================================== PBEM is archived at the ftp and WWW sites mentioned earlier. I have a mailing list that distributes the magazine, but I prefer that you obtain it via Usenet or other means instead of asking to go on the mailing list. ====================================================================== What's this "ftp" thing anyway? ====================================================================== ftp is an acronym for "file transfer protocol", and it is only directly available to the privileged few who are directly hooked to the Internet using heavy-duty hardware. There is a way to use ftp via email, and if you can get email to me, I will send you a document explaining how to use it, or you can get this information by yourself by sending email to any of the following addresses; if they don't recognize any commands, they'll send back instructions: bitftp@pucc.princeton.edu (USA/New Jersey) ftpmail@sunsite.unc.edu (USA/North Carolina) ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com (USA/West Coast) ftpmail@doc.ic.ac.uk (Europe/United Kingdom) bitftp@vm.gmd.de (Europe/Germany) ftpmail@cs.uow.edu.au (Pacific Rim/Australia) ====================================================================== PBEM is published monthly. Please redistribute it far and wide, but do not modify or delete any articles. Write me if you want to redistribute it in other forms; such permission is easy to obtain. For example, some old articles are being translated into German. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE! Our focus is primarily on free wargames, but we're interested in articles about anything relevant to play-by-email.