Hello there, Kwll here. I was introduced to this site and the Suspense & Decision magazine by a post on the trollbridge, which is basically a board about the Tunnels & Trolls RPG. I used to play DuelMasters and Quest when I was a teen, but that was a long time ago. I found out that DuelMasters still exists with another name; I am not sure about Quest.
I am tempted to start playing again, since I like strategy games -- mostly computer games (Master of Orion/Magic, Galactic Civilization, Civilization, Alpha Centaury) or board games. However the long term price of what seems to be the better games (Alamaze, Hyborian Wars, Middle Earth, Phoenix, Starweb, etc.) is horrifying! Even taking into account the human factor, the resources necessary to keep good quality games going and the limited number of players, I still have a hard time to convince myself playing these games over decade old computer games for my strategy fix...
Submission Deadline for Issue # 4: February 20th, 2014
What if there was no issue # 4??
What if no one wrote articles? What if no one submitted anything?
Where would we all be? Where would PBM be?
Once more, the horn sounds - summoning one and all to submit your original fare to Suspense & Decision magazine, so that we can keep things moving along in the form of a new issue - issue # 4.
Help us to continue marching forward. Aid your fellow gamer, by sending us something for them to read, for them to have something to sink their teeth into, when the next issue arrives.
Reception to the new magazine has been overwhelmingly positive. Thus, why not enter the article fray, now, while this publication still stands on the cusp of newness?
Our colors have been raised! We continue the tradition. Turn-based gaming is in our blood. You know the feeling. It's in your blood, also.
Lay claim to the pages that await your voice! Seize the moment! Submit that article! Send in that submission.
Hate that game? Give it Hell! Love that game? Praise it from the rooftops!
How can you have nothing to say, when so many are so anxiously listening, hoping against hope that you do, in fact, have something to say?
I hereby copy the review of Empires at War from Suspence & Decision Magazine, along with some screenshots and the preview video. Feel free to use this thread for any questions you might have about the game, or contact us directly at support@eaw1805.com
Do you remember your first board-game? Did you spend the whole night to read the rule booklet? What about next day’s rush to gather your friends!? And the first time you rolled a die? Gee, I wish I was luckier! I’m sure the excitement is still the same every time you lay your “fate” at the hands of lady Luck! Do you recall the confidence when you first shouted “check-mate”? What a marvelous strategic game chess is! I always wished for more pawns, more knights and more opposing queens either to beat or plea for help!
Some moments of our life; some unforgettable milestones of our gaming experience! Dear NON-Gamer, Do you feel curious about the previously mentioned experiences? Are you wondering whether or not the feeling is still strong? Well, lucky all! Oplon Games made the surprise, offering us a unique war-game made straight from the magic dust of our imagination. Empires at War is a strategy game that replicates in a fascinating way the historical period of the 1800s. Various scenarios cover the period from the French Revolutionary Wars, to the battle of the 3 Empires at Austerlitz, and furthermore, combining politics, economy and of course strategy from the top to the lowest tactical level.
It offers full control of one out of 17 historical states as appeared that time in Europe and around the Mediterranean Sea. The player is completely responsible for political interaction with the rest of the 16 players, having options like forming and breaking alliances, declaring war and issuing for peace. At the same time, an in-game communication platform enables direct interaction between players, enriching the political agenda with trust building, information exchange, intrigue, treachery, backstabbing and all those “sophisticated” manners that people develop when fighting each other. After all, “War is the continuation of politics by other means “(Carl von Clausewitz).
Players have to raise and maintain armies and fleets that will ensure the implementation of agreed and well scheduled plans. Sooner or later a campaign will be on the verge, either defending motherland or fighting for “vital” space. But “The sinews of war are infinite money” (Marcus Tullius Cicero), therefore before muskets shoot and ships set sails, the development of a sustainable economy is more than necessary.
From the never-ending Ukrainian steppes till the deepest mines in Africa; from humble wheat and wool till rare diamonds and expensive gold, 12 different commercial goods are available to be exploited in 3 different Continents. A well balanced trading system based on overall supply and demand guarantees that trade is indeed worth fighting for!
Each state has its own military tradition, and this applies to its recruiting pool. A large amount of different military units are ready to offer their services, forming numerous armies and mighty fleets. From the French Old Guard to the ferocious Russian Cossacks and the fearless Egyptian Mameluks, every single unit has its own attributes and adds significant characteristics to the whole army.
In the field of the battle the fate of two or more armies are absolutely at the hands of their leaders. Like pawns in a huge chess-board, Battalions, Regiments, Brigades and Generals are absolutely at the hands of their commanders. They will follow orders, aim targets and move in paths that lead to glory or to annihilation. The field Battle is the quintessence of EaW. Literally a game-in-game, with its own rules and philosophy, offers players a unique opportunity to claim wins based more on tactics and mind rather than luck and algorithms. And in contrary with all respected Bonaparte, in the Field Battle, ranks, experience and unit characteristics do make the difference! “When soldiers have been baptized in the fire of a battle-field, they have all one rank in my eyes” (Napoleon Bonaparte).
Without fancy graphs and peculiar animation, EaW is created to reveal “beautiful minds” rather than beautiful images. Like any other strategy game it creates a competitive environment, where player cooperation and interaction is greatly needed; but its structure and its mechanics restrict the abuse of power to the minimum. Thefeeling is more like playing with friends rather than fighting against numerous unknown strangers who stay sleepless waiting the perfect time to launch attacks at your villages”. It is a turn - based game which offers the necessary time to plan, discuss, communicate, deepen into its culture, and finally take the best decision without the haste of an online real-time competition. In any case EaW is indeed a cultured game; historical background, well known personalities, actual existing countries and armies are offering the game the necessary status to be included amongst “toys for big boys”.
Of course all interested have to face a significant amount of complexity, not much in user interface and rules understanding, but to assimilate and apply all the given information to their game play. Decisions like what unit to raise and how much of it; when to do so; declare war or stay allied, support a weak state against a Major Power or facilitate its plans; plan large scale campaigns taking into consideration the season and the distance you have to establish a supply line; sell or buy goods; build production sites or increase population; impose high taxation or offer colonial goods to your people; such dilemmas are only some of what you are expected to do! As an epilogue, I’d like to add that I really love the feeling and the atmosphere of that historical period. I also like the interaction and the competition with other players through gaming.
But most of all I enjoy the fact that this game allows everyone to think, re-think, take her/his time to travel back to that era, and finally submit orders under a spectrum of realism and nostalgia, hopefully on time!
In an attempt to both improve quality control, generally, and to reduce typographical errors and glaring oversights, specifically, I have decided to post this pre-publication checklist, to serve as a visual reminder to myself, for the sake of future issues. [ ] Double check that the dates on the front cover, the index page, and the bottom of all subsequent pages, are correct and the same, for all pages where a date is included for a given issue.
[ ] Extend an invitation to a game company or game moderator, for them to submit an advertisement to occupy the inside front cover of the next forthcoming issue, within one week of the publication of the most recent issue.
[ ] Ensure that the artwork for the front cover is finalized no later than one full week prior to the publication deadline for the next issue.
[ ] Ensure that the compiling of individual articles is completed, by the day immediately following the article's submission, if and where possible, to facilitate reducing the work load on the back end of each issue's compilation.
OK, so what this discussion thread is for is to try and promote gathering feedback from our readership on specific things and on particular aspects Suspense & Decision's coverage.
It's easy for me to know what I like or dislike about the magazine, in general, or about a given issue, specifically. What's harder for me to discern, however, is what each of our readers, respectively, like or dislike about the same.
If you think that it sucks, or that certain portions of it suck, then by all means, share that with me. If you will, though, just tell me the WHY associated with why you think that it sucks.
Personally, I like the fact that Suspense & Decision actually exists, that it's real. I like the fact that it gives PBM an additional tool to work with, in order to grow the hobby and the industry.
One thing that I think really sucks about the magazine, however, is our budget. Effectively, in practical terms, we have a near-zero operating budget. This, however, was a quite deliberate and intentional decision on my part. One objective is to demonstrate that virtually anyone can publish a magazine with a heavy focus, indeed, a primary focus, upon the kind of turn-based gaming provided by PBM games, and the ancestral descendants, thereof.
That's not the only objective, of course, and in fact, it is primarily an objective that is personal in nature. Put simply, it is just something that I think has value, as an objective. Ideally, from my perspective, more than one PBM magazine existing simultaneously would be a better thing. In the meantime, I think that it is better to have one PBM magazine in existence, than to have none, at all.
I like the fact that the magazine is published in PDF format. I like the fact that anybody is free to make copies of it, in either digital or print format, to share with others. I like that it is free, which facilitates disseminating it more widely, more quickly.
I hate the fact that the actual editing of issues isn't even remotely anywhere near where it should be. I despise fighting the software used to create it. I bemoan the learning curve associated with it all.
That said, simultaneously, I love the learning experience and the growth of skills associated with it.
I hate the fact that Joseph Bloch hasn't actually written those articles about Starmaster and Sail the Solar Winds, yet. I love the fact that he even mentions the possibility of him doing so, though. I love the fact that Joe blogs about each new issue of Suspense & Decision that we publish, and that by doing so, awareness of the magazine spreads throughout the blogosphere. Welcome to a new kind of spinner rack!
I like the fact that at least some of the commercial PBM sector discerns value in our magazine, and that they advertise within our pages, and that they submit articles to increase the depth of our coverage, and to imbue the magazine with more of a PBM feel. I dislike the fact that we still have a long way to go, to try and grow involvement within the existing commercial PBM sector. The presence of ads and/or articles from some PBM or ancestral descendant companies is in stark and vivid contrast to the complete and utter absence of ads and articles from other elements of the very same industry.
I like the fact that the magazine encompasses both criticism and praise. I dislike the fact that there's been so relatively little of either, to date. I like the fact that we are a new publication. I dislike the fact that we enjoy no longevity of note, as of yet.
I dislike the fact that we have experienced a few oversights, with various submissions getting lost or forgotten, albeit temporarily. I very much like the fact that there haven't been a lot more of them.
What about you, though? What do you like or dislike about Suspense & Decision magazine?
There is a map of ENGLAND / CLASSIC with 7 day turn result run open. Register and sign up, if you want to play. Its for free and multilanguage. Mostly germans, with several english speaking players.
By the way, one of our favorite games is ORK, an fantasy, strategic game. Its possible to turn the turn out into english. Possible, someone has interests to join a game, here are the rules.
Mostly there are 20-25 players per game and we play it weekly (every friday is process the turns).
If there are some more players want to play, possible we can open an forum about the game here, because we are a german portal. I dont think its useful to open an english forum there.
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