Since Ixnay is too busy trying to get his fledgling trade corporation off the ground in this one, I'll initiate this discussion thread.

OK, so I sign up for this free game of the original version of Takamo, and here I was, trying to figure out how to submit a set of turn orders for my very first turn in this game that I have never played before (despite the fact that I remember seeing ads for this game in old PBM magazine sway back when.

Fortunately for me, game creator Randy Ritnour came to the rescue, answering a few questions and otherwise tolerating my insane attempt to join this game without reading the rulebook all of the way through. Ahem...I did skim the rules, so that should be worth something, shouldn't it?

So, not having any real clue as to what I was actually doing, I submitted a set of turn orders, and in due time, my turn results for that first turn arrivedin my e-mail in-box.

Thus, begins this discussion thread. Submit to it, as you see fit, as you dare.

I noticed, today, that the Flagship magazine website is down.

http://flagshipmagazine.co.uk/

Discuss Takamo here.

This discussion thread is for questions and answers for the game, Takamo.

http://www.takamouniverse.com/takamo/

Simple best describes me, because simple is what I am.
Not too hard to figure out. I don't make too many plans.

I'm just about as simple, as any man can be.
I live a simple life, without much mystery.

I have a simple mind, that's been simply taught
I just simply over think sometimes, when thinking simple thoughts.

I spoke the simple truths, as simply as I could
I lead a simple life, trying simply to be good.

I've learned some simple lessons, in this simple life.
Simply's simply better. Simple just feels right.

Simply simple simpleton, .It's simple for all to see.
Being simple, simply.

Because I'm Simple Me.

~The Snowdog

How are ya ?

Although I recently started another thread in this forum that pertains to Phoenix:BSE, Captain's Log: The Voyage of the Simian Star, that one is intended to be more of a diary, of sorts, similar to one that I did for a game of Far Horizons that I tried, once upon a while ago.

This thread, I intend to use just for making comments off-the-cuff about particular things about Phoenix:BSE that catch my attention, for pretty much any reason, whatsoever.

One thing that I do like about the game is the fact that I received an e-mail version of my turn report.

The whole "Between Turn Report" thing, I don't know about, yet. If I received turn results, then doesn't that qualify as a turn? To me, that adds to the confusion factor of trying to learn the game. It's not enough to make the old confusion meter start spinning wildly, but it does make the confusion gauge go up a notch on my end.

One thing that stands out in my mind, probably due to an article that Amber of the Phoenix:BSE crew wrote for Issue # 5 of Suspense & Decision (which is still very fresh in my mind), is where she said in that article the following things:

--------------------------------------------------
However, when you actually join the game and use the forum, there are lots of features incorporated into it to make it as minimalistic as possible, if you want it to be.

...and also...

In conclusion, I would have to say if you want to get new players to stop and read your website and ultimately play the game, then you have to have something that is appealing to look at, something that looks as if you care about it, but when you have them hooked, you have to get the information over to them how they want to see it, which is usually as clutter-free as possible.

SOURCE: Do Graphics Have a Place in PBM?
Suspense & Decision magazine - Issue # 5
--------------------------------------------------

This same philosophy of a clutter-less look and getting the information to them as they want to see it doesn't seem to extend beyond the forum, itself. That is rather unfortunate, since that philosophy would be of far more use to me, as a player who is new to the game, if it were applied to the game's turn results than to the forum.

My experience to date is that, even where this philosophy is applied to the Phoenix:BSE forum, itself, the information that I am most interested in there (namely, the forum postings, themselves), is the information to which that very same philosophy isn't even applied. The philosophy in question is applied more to layout and to presentation, than to information, itself.

My own experience to date has been that the ability to search the forum, for specific information, and to do so effectively and in a timely manner, is sharply constrained. Not in every instance, but in certain instances. For a game where player affiliations dominate, not just in practice but by design, as well, and whose affiliations are denoted by three-letter acronyms, the inability to perform a forum search for information by keying in on those very same acronyms is problematic, to say the least. The fact that players routinely utilize such acronyms in their postings underscores the importance of being able to access such information, when searching.

This approach all but ensures that newer players will remain at an informational disadvantage, when starting out, and while it is certainly possible for new players to pose questions to either their fellow players or to company staff, what this translates into is a more time consuming approach, which equates to inefficiency, and a dependency upon others to provide the information being requested.

It also serves to make much of the depth of the game, which manifests itself through the players' forum postings, less readily accessible than it needs to be. It facilitates a diminished game experience, from an overall standpoint. It cuts into the enthusiasm factor. At least, it has for me, as a player, anyway. The chances for player longevity increases, where enthusiasm remains undiminished. As enthusiasm erodes, player drop outs become more likely.

When I compare the turn results sent by e-mail to the same set of turn results available to me via the game's Nexus interface, I find myself debating which of the two that I like better.

I like the fact that officers aboard ships can gain experience.

A lot of the information presented to me on these early turn reports, I don't really care anything about. Maybe I should, but the reality is that I don't. Much of it is little more than useless clutter to me, at this early stage of the game. Hopefully, I haven't overlooked some of the more interesting tidbits scattered in amongst the mass of text that collectively comprises my turn results.

On my e-mailed turn results, I very much like the use of blue text to denote certain things. This is very, very helpful to me. The online version of the turn results available to me via the Nexus utilizes a different approach to managing the distinction of information through visual means. Scanning both the email version and the online version quickly, I seem to find the specific portions of information that I am after more quickly using the e-mail version.

That's ironic, I think, in light of the fact that the online version likely has far more capability built into it than the e-mail version. That's speculation on my part, though.

Subspace Static - Star Date 214.13.4

This one is a brief news flash, featuring somebody being thrown out of a top floor window and exploding kittens.

The exploding kittens, especially, was a nice touch, I thought. That's not good, if you're an animal lover, of course, but it does make for colorful reporting, nonetheless.

STARDATE: 04/02/2014

I wish that I could take credit for the naming of this star-faring vessel, but I can't. Credit goes to the imagination shipbuilders of Rogue Space RPG. It is from hence that the name was derived.

What better name for a ship could there be? The game of Phoenix:BSE awaited, and destiny called. Or was it one of that game's various player-led affiliations that lured me into this game's setting?

Being a fan of considerable years of the Planet of the Apes franchise, the name, Simian Star, fit to a tee.

Naming the ship, however, would soon prove to be the easy part.

They say that, in space, no one can hear you scream. It's a good thing for that, too, as I have barely done anything, thus far, and I have already wanted to scream many times.

Had I bothered to create this log over on the Phoenix:BSE forum, any S.O.S. that I sent out as a player would undoubtedly be picked up on - and responded to - by any number of fellow space-faring creatures.

However, since some stasis field (Nexus settings) keep that forum sealed away from all but the registered users that frequent there, the plight of this vessel may well have never reached the PBM universe that lay beyond. Apparently, the best way for the game to advertise itself is by ensuring that anyone who does not register for the Phoenix:BSE Nexus will not have access to read the forum there.

But, such great mysteries of the galaxy that I find myself in, aside, more pressing matters demand my immediate attention.

Having made our way to the planet, Mithras, we have landed our ship on the planet's surface. We have come to terms with the inhabitants, there, on capturing some icy chunks of comet debris, and releasing them in low orbit over the planet, in order to generate rain.

It may have been our extraordinary inexperience in such matters that made us proper candidates to carry out this mission, or perhaps it was simply our superior simian intellect that persuaded these planetary natives that we could be entrusted to not guide a comet into a collision course with their planet, thereby all but guaranteeing an extinction level event.

Unlike the human species and countless other alien races Hell-bent on galactic conquest, we simians embrace space exploration at a far more casual pace. The mere fact that we don't seem to know what in the Hell that we are doing does not even factor into the equation.

It is not my place, as captain of this vessel, to take issue with all those hordes of players who have come before me, and who no doubt obtained familiarity with Phoenix:BSE through the process of osmosis. That said, long have we gaped bewildered, as we strived to decipher the controls that lay before us.

More than once, we broke off the learning process in favor of other pursuits. Eventually, we made our way back there, again, cursing the unknown architects of the galaxy that failed to ingrain knowledge of this system into our species' genetic code.

After consulting with the ship's engineers and science personnel, I have made the decision to lift off this planet, and rendezvous with an incoming comet. Charges will have to be set, once there.

Captain's Personal Log: Thus far, the journey to learn how to play this game has proven to be a tedious and tiring affair. Intuitive is not the word that I would use to describe the Nexus. I am certain that it was designed by an ancient alien race. Their technology strikes me as indecipherable. I find myself favoring early retirement.

Just a heads-up for site visitors.

I am trying to make a few changes to the website, so things may get bumpy for the next day or two.

My apologies for any inconvenience caused by these pending changes!