I dropped in on the Cult of the New blog site, today, encountering an article from a half-a-year-earlier pertaining to two of Flying Buffalo, Inc.'s games, Nuclear Destruction and Starweb.

Starweb was given a grade of B- by that site's author.

The web host for this website had to take their server down, today, to replace a raid card, whatever that is. So, our site was down for a bit, today.

For more details, go here:

http://www.hawkhoststatus.com/services/dal006


Sorry for any inconvenience.

When I got home, tonight, I checked on the site, and it was down. It was yielding a SQL 126 error, when I tried to load the site.

From the admin control panel, I ran a tables check to repair any tables that may have gotten damaged or corrupted. It resolved the problem.

Not sure what caused it, as it happened when I was not home. My apologies for any inconvenience caused by the site being down.

I'm not entirely sure who, but someone pressed the button.

"What button?" you ask. Why, the launch button, the one that will usher in a new era in PBM gaming.

Oh...THAT Button.

Yeah, right. Come on, now. I can hear the groans and grumblings, and I can see the heads shaking on their bobble mounts. Seeing is believing. So far, all that we've managed to do is to launch a new PBM magazine.

Just look at the thing! It's got typos in it. It's two pages shy of a full deck. Did anyone even bother to download the damned thing?

Doubting Thomases, one and all, I say. Doubting Thomases.

Regardless of the launch, itself, and regardless of that proverbial button that I immortalize in the subject heading of this editorial. Things are moving forward. They are moving ahead. Houston, we are a go.

As of the writing of this editorial, there are a mere seventeen days left for submissions to come in for issue # 2 of Suspend & Decision magazine.

Will we make it? Will issue # 2 ever materialize? Or will the whole effort implode, shortly after launch of issue # 1?

Time will tell.

How to balance what goes in the magazine, with what goes in the forum and on the site, here? Hell if I know. I guess that we'll have to figure that out, too, along the way.

But, I suspect that it will entail posting material here on the site and in the forum that the magazine does not contain. Oh, Hell! More work.

Then again, it's not been every single day of the 21st Century that a new PBM magazine has been launched. Can't we at least savor the moment?

Uh? What's that, you say? No?!

Apparently not, then. No resting on our laurels. Are you sure that these are laurels? They look an awful lot like cactus, to me.

Proverbial cacti, that is.

Post-launch activities here at the PlayByMail.Net website includes a re-design of the site's front page. I'm certain that there will be those that won't like it, but I am aiming for something with a tad more visual interest, plus a way to off-load a bunch of the links from off of the front page, and to reorganize them onto their own individual page son the site. I still want them to be readily accessible for site visitors.

Additionally, I want to better highlight the commercial elements of the play by mail industry that survived into the modern era. To catch a sneak peek at how the new front page might look, click here. None of it is final, just yet. Just something that I am fiddling around with, trying to come up with something that I like better. The various categories of information and links may change, so don't get too attached to what you see, as of yet. I'm not even absolutely certain of which commercial PBM companies properly still qualify as Old Guard PBM, and which ones should fall into the category of Ancestral Descendants. I am flexible, though. I'm sure that we'll get the small details sorted out, in due time.

Hopefully, the commercial PBM companies will continue to come aboard the new magazine effort, where future issues of Suspense & Decision magazine are concerned. But, if not, then we'll just proceed forward without them, and let them join at a later issue of their respective choosing. I just think that it will make for a better magazine, overall, if they are active participants in it, each issue.

There's an article from Jim Kemeny that was earmarked for issue # 1, but I made the conscious decision to not include it. If Jim is out there, neither you nor your article are forgotten. I'm still trying to sort out permission to reprint it, from the magazine that originally printed it long ago. Until this issue is reconciled to my satisfaction, I would like to extend an invitation to Jim to author a new, original article from scratch. I'll even lead off the next issue with it, if Jim is game for it. My personal apologies to Jim for this Alamo-standoff on printing his original article.

NOTE: Click on the image to download Issue # 1 of Suspense & Decision magazine.

Submission Deadline for Issue # 2: December 20th, 2013

With issue # 1 on the verge of being published, I would like to take this opportunity to submit the call for submissions for issue # 2.

It is important to keep in mind that issue # 1 is merely a starting point. With a goal of publishing new issues each month, the objective is to grow the content, while simultaneously improving upon the quality of the finished product, as well as to improve the efficiency with which we publish each new issue.

You are always invited to submit material, whether it be articles, reviews, or other material for future issues, even issues beyond the next one on the immediate horizon. Hopefully, both individuals and PBM companies will get on board, for the benefit of the hobby and industry.

Free advertising for both PBM companies and PBM moderators will be continued forward, for issue # 2. The objective of this approach to advertising is to facilitate growing the hobby, and to encourage development of new PBM and other turn-based games.

We welcome your sending of PBM-related photographs, whether current or nostalgic.

Issue # 2 will be a free issue. Again, the objective is to encourage and to facilitate growth within the hobby.

Thank you for any and all interest. We thank you in advance for your submissions for issue # 2.

Submissions may be sent to:

GrimFinger@GrimFinger.Net
Mark@wyeastgames.com

Submission Deadline for Issue # 2: December 20th, 2013

When I got home, tonight, I checked on the site, and it was down. Trying to load it yielded the following message:

MyBB has experienced an internal SQL error and cannot continue.

SQL Error:
145 - Table './grimfing_PBMnet/PBMnet_sessions' is marked as crashed and should be repaired
Query:
DELETE FROM PBMnet_sessions WHERE uid='1'


I managed to find a fix for it. I'm not sure what caused it, nor why it happened.

My apologies for any inconvenience. The site was working this morning, when I last checked on it.

I felt I really should put pen to paper and give ths game a little of the coverage it is worth. Mike Brines is the GM and I've played and 'struggled' with Struggle of Nations whilst enjoying it in the past. I'd heard he had started a new space based version and decided to see if i could rule the Universe!

The beauty of this version is that I had the choice of playing as either a Hive mind (don't need to worry about being popular or feared) or a standard position where you actually need to consder your people.. no brainer for me then! And lo the Betrayers came into being, a genetically created race who had rebelled and conquered their masters.

So far, I've seen wonderous new worlds, crazy alien spaceships who either try to destroy everything or simply disappear, the rise of horrific plagues, crazed energy imbued nobodies who want to be Emperor and interplanetary war.

Its a weekly game where you can do what you wish within the game mechanics, creating spaceships, researching new technology, waging war, peace or trade, exploring the unknown galaxies whilst preparing for treachery at every step. There aren't many games out there that still hold the desire to see your turn pop up on email but this is certainly one and at circa 5 australian dollars a turn its very good value.

A few of clarifications requested and questions:
- the manual (pageID 304) says a Constructor is created by drafting one Unskilled, and is paid the Unskilled + Professional amount. Is this correct?
- the same place indicates that Special Agents are drafted from Professionals but become Unskilled on disbanding. Is this correct?
- the same place indicates that Special Agents are paid the Soldier + Professional amount. Is this correct?
- there is no pay rate given for Police
- can Constructors be used the turn they are Drafted?

If you want this posted to the manual pages, I can do that. I also realize that a couple of these questions are due to the way CNW and agents used to be created.

I just want to encourage everyone to hop over to Kick Starter and check out Takamo Universe. I was an original play tester back in 1982, and continued to play the game for a long time by "snail mail." I played again when it evolved into a play by e-mail game. It is coming back, and it will be better than ever. It is a massive multi-player strategic space game that is real time and never ends. If anyone has any questions about Takamo Universe I would be happy to answer as best as I can. Have a great day.