The TBG Tribune

Issue 4- Turn 711

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Captain's Party Goes With A Bang

Constitution Victorious Again

Tribune Sport

Haddock Defends The Pirates?

Rambling Randal

The Tribune Interview

The Editorial

Classifieds:

Terminals Purged List

Corby's Turnulator

Tired of the status quo? contact the Pirate Alliance at pirate_alliance@
yahoo.com

Are you a budding Mack the Hack or Nigel Villiers-Smythe? Writers needed. Contact us at thetbgtribune@
yahoo.co.uk with an example of your work, and we will let you know.

CAPTAIN'S PARTY GOES WITH A BANG
by Nigel Villiers-Smythe

The Captain's Party at Markab has been a huge success, even with the appearance of at least three evil ring bearers. Fortunately, Dybuk of Evil did not turn up, but had he done so, he would have found LUG'S BELT sitting there waiting for him. Even if LUG'S BELT had been called away on urgent business, he would have found the semi-fearsome Dragonblade lurking around at the top of the order. He is only semi-fearsome as hardly any of his weapons are working.

Other ships of note at the Party included Rosalind, leader of the FIP, Flying Haddock, our Mighty Prophet, and True Blue, former hunter of Alpha during the middle-600's. Only one ship out of the 20 player ships met with a Goblin, and that ship was guarding another, so all in all the Party has turned out to be a big success. The TBG Tribune provided free Ninja Beer at the Markab Bar, and many captains and crew came and had a good time after their hard work at the Academy and the Starnet Terminal. Let's hope that there are no officers with hangovers next turn!

TRIBUNE SPORT
by Nigel Villiers-Smythe

And in the sports news this week, Prelude to Peace attacked President Constitution in an apparent sneak attack. However, it all went horribly wrong for Prelude to Peace as he went from mass 132 to mass 1 (a broken exotic missile at 40% reliability). During the fight, Constitution lost a total of 14 modules, comprising of 1 impulse drive, 3 rams, 3 guns, 2 disruptors, and 5 lasers. Prelude To Peace lost basically everything.

Most of the talk since the fight has been on two subjects. The first of which is to do with how high one should set one's retreat threshold when one goes into a battle, and the second of which is the return of the slanging match between Constitution and FIP.

It is obvious from the discussions that have been going on that not many people understand the combat system fully within TBG and this quote from Mercury III is a classic example of someone who does not know how it works properly: "Oddly enough, from the battle report it seems that if PtP had had slightly different settings he might have won the battle or at least given as much as he took........And like I said he had a chance. He was actually winning the battle at the beginning." The fact that Constitution was able to widen range every round to a range at which Prelude to Peace could do no damage is a sure sign that there wasn't really that much of a chance. It is more of a rather poor attempt at a defense to Prelude to Peace's actions. The reason behind Prelude to Peaces's actions are still unknown, at the time of writing that is, and he was unavailable for comment.

CONSTITUTION VICTORIOUS AGAIN
by Nigel Villiers-Smythe

The vote has again been counted, and again it has turned out in Constitution's favour. There has been little or no improvement in the support for the FIP and people are beginning to doubt whether they can mount a reliable challenge to Constitution's reign. There have been more battles and slanging matches over vote stealing, and neither side appears to have come out of them with a credit to their name. The major battle this edition was between Constitution and Prelude to Peace at Olympus, home of the Great Old ones. See the Sport's section for more details about the fight. It is rumoured that the Great Old One's are very displeased at the battle that took place on their own soil, and Prelude to Peace and Constitution will need to be very careful with their dealings with the Great Old Ones from now on.

Constitution took this election with 277 votes, over half the total available. At the moment, it seems that there is not stopping the members of FIST and his other allies from keeping Constitution in power, and we can look forward to at least another 20 turns of rule from President Constitution.

HADDOCK DEFENDS THE PIRATES?
by Nigel Villiers-Smythe

Free Will recently threatened to attack the pirate Plague Bearer. However, soon after he had made these threats, the Prophet of the Mighty One jumped in to what appeared to be a defense of the pirate. He threatened Free Will with attack should he attack Plague Bearer. Free Will did attack Plague Bearer, and very soon met with the Prophet of the Mighty One. It appears that there was no combat between the two, although a cloak was apparently transferred between the two. When asked, Flying Haddock had this to say on the matter:

"I am not defending the pirates. I do not condone their actions at all. However, I do not like people jumping on the band wagon, especially after someone has already been punished by another player. I consider it worse than piracy"

Free Will was not at all pleased with Flying Haddock's response to his attack on Plague Bearer, and indeed posted that "I'm just sick of the inane comments and public libel from our 'mighty' one. ". The TBG Tribune could find no public libel from Flying Haddock, although it does look for all intense and purposes that Flying Haddock is indeed defending pirates. More on this as it develops. Is our Prophet of the Mighty One going renegade?

THE EDITORIAL

Welcome once again to The Editorial. So far, we have had a couple of responses to our request for more writers, although we could still do with some more. If you think you can better Mack the Hack, Nigel Villiers-Smythe and Rambling Randal, then do e-mail us and we will get back to you. Our e-mail address is thetbgtribune@yahoo.co.uk

Well, time is short this week so we had better make this brief. Thankyou for reading the Tribune. Keep your feedback flooding in. We will try and act on as much of it as we can, and we look forward to bringing you more news as it happens in turn 716.

The TBG Tribune Editorial Team

About Constitution - Rambling Randal

I have heard some really nasty things said about our Galactic President lately. It is incredible that a captain that is seemingly universally despised can manage to hand onto power for so long. The thought then occurred to me that maybe he isn't universally despised after all. Maybe his critics are just very loud in their criticism. So, along came Constitution's interview in the last edition, and I sensed an opportunity. I will analyze this interview, compare it to what the known facts are, and see if what he said is true. Since the facts are known, and what Constitution said is known, then there is no room for denials or debates. This is my impartial study, conducted fairly with an open mind for any outcome.

I will begin with the FSP Stargazer/LUG'S BELT incident. As stated in the interview, this is Constitution's stand on votes:

"I don't endorse permanent vote ownership, ....I consider colony votes to be a free-for-all. With homeworlds, the same basic rules apply. However, I do realize that ships seeking to become (or stay) Ministers or Presidential candidates can get upset when they "lose" a homeworld and 8 votes. Colony votes aren't worth fighting over, but ships may feel differently about homeworlds. My position is simple -- don't pick fights or make threats about homeworld votes unless you're prepared to back it up. That goes for my allies and my opponents."

Fair enough. Let's see if his actions reflect his words. Recently, FSP Stargazer became miffed when LUG'S BELT, the Medical Minister, began taking over homeworlds under his control. FSP Stargazer was quoted as saying:

"Lug's Belt you motherless Bugbear, Leave my Homeworlds Alone! If you want to get me riled you have certainly achieved your aim. One more and it will mean WAR! " and "Well Lug's, that's a total of three homeworlds you've heisted....If this keeps up I may have to go renegade."

Apparently, according to FSP Stargazer's words, he felt that continuing control over his homeworlds was worth fighting for. According to Constitution's policy, this is perfectly acceptable, as long as FSP Stargazer is willing to back his words with action. I emailed FSP Stargazer and asked him if he was willing to do so. He responded "I wasn't happy about the idea of starting a fight with Lug's but I was prepared in extremis to back up my words with action if required." Here is Constitution's response:

"During the last election campaign, FSP Stargazer made threats of "war" in the SST against LUG'S BELT over the loss of some homeworld influence. FSP Stargazer, the Freedom of Information Party (FIP), and the Foundation for Spreading Peace (FSP) have done nothing to recant this violent threat, which concerns all captains who might challenge FSP Stargazer's vote-influence in the future, and thus it must be taken very seriously. I am demanding one module from FSP Stargazer as a penalty for his actions. Failure to comply will result in combat or future penalties."

Seeing as how FSP Stargazer acted in accordance with Constitution's policy, it is very odd that Constitution is demanding a penalty be imposed on FSP Stargazer. Penalties are usually imposed on those who break policy, but it is clear that no Presidential policy was broken. FSP Stargazer had this to say: " Yes, if Lug's had wanted to fight for it I would have. Wasn't it interesting however that Constitution was the one who wanted to blow me to pieces?" Not particularly. Constitution's stated policy simply says prepare to back up your words. Nowhere does it say that LUG'S BELT cannot enlist the aid of friends, or that his friends cannot come to his aid without asking. That is what friends and allies are for.

I would next like to address the subject of Constitution's supporters. In the interview, Constitution stated: "....most of my votes actually come from independent ships."

I did some vote counting, and here are my results: At the time this was compiled, Constitution had 309 votes. Of those, 145 were held by members of FIST. If you include the votes held by the ministers (as they are obviously allies and not independents, judging from Constitution's reaction to FSP Stargazer), 190 votes are held by Constitution allies. That leaves 119 votes left to attribute to independents, which is only 38.5% of the total cast. It may very well be that Constitution considers 38% "most," but I doubt anyone else does. In fact, had all 119 of those votes gone to "nobody," Constitution would still have been victorious.

I also did some exploration into Constitution's claim that "Lately, I've been focusing a lot on helping newbies get a good start, find modules, make wise decisions, and develop into good captains." I emailed 18 newbies that started between turns 697 and 704. Seven captains were kind enough to respond, and here are some of their replies:

"I personally have received no help from Constitution. "
"What kind of newbie help has Constitution been offering? I haven't received any...communication from them so far."
"I have not heard from Constitution but I have heard from what would appear to be one of his ministers concerning some ship called Alpha releasing a Dybuk."
"I did not know that Mister President Constitution is helping newbie captains to survive in this rough galaxy."

There you have it, and there was not a single affirmative reply in the bunch. It is plausible that Constitution is helping older newbies, but newbies make the most critical mistakes in their first and second turns, and a bad decision then could mean a restart 30 wasted turns later. I especially found the reference to Alpha compelling. Constitution repeatedly stated that his policy is that a restart equals a clean slate. How is giving the new Alpha a bad reputation amongst his peers a clean slate? No wonder Paradox wouldn't tell me if he was going to rejoin TBG.

There are other comments I would like to make regarding other aspects of the interview, but they would strictly be subjective, and not in keeping with this objective report. Do with this report what you will, but PLEASE do something. Stop living in a dream-world and either praise or condemn Constitution for what he really is and not what you or he wants to think he is.

The views expressed above are not necessarily those of the TBG Tribune.

Interview with

Pequod - Prophet of the Merciful One

This weeks interview is with Pequod, the Prophet of the Merciful One. Pequod is the longest serving Prophet in TBG at the moment, and is generally considered to be one of the wisest players in the game.

Q. When you became Merciful Prophet, did you envisage holding the position for so long?

Long is relative, especially when you've been around for over 700 turns.

Q. What do you think that your major achievements have been as Prophet of the Merciful One?

As the only Prophet not affiliated with any alliance, I've attempted to balance any tendencies towards cronyism among the ranks of Chosen. I've published and followed clear guidelines to becoming a Merciful Chosen - and will continue to do so as long as I hold the position. I've extended the Mercy of the Old Ones to almost all ships I've encountered - both through the gift of modules and/or energy and access to the position of Chosen.

I've also worked to form communications channels between the Prophets and all followers of the Old Ones, and to form coalitions to oppose Dybuk and his releasers.

In the near future, I think that the demands on the position of Merciful Prophet and his Chosen are going to grow rapidly as pollution begins to impact ships and alien populations.

Q. When Spectral Duck took the dual prophet role, you were one of the more visible people to object to him taking this role. What were your objections, and given the outcome, would you do the same again?

Spectral Duck's predecessor as Wise Prophet, Feline Grace, was the most vocal opponent of the old practice of multiple Chosen, to the point where he declared ships enemy if they disagreed with him. I believe that it is up to the Old Ones - and that a ship can be Mighty, Wise, Merciful and Fierce.

As Spectral Duck was his hand-picked successor, it was a matter of principle to me to hold him to the same standards he and Feline Grace had attempted to force on others. I would do the same again. I've lived under the tyranny of a fourfold Prophet, and believe that Prophethood of each Old One should remain distinct.

Q. How long do you envisage continuing to be Prophet of the Merciful One?

I serve at the pleasure of the Merciful One - and will serve until he desires otherwise.

Q. Recently there have been rumours that you are planning to leave TBG. Do they have any substance?

The Oldest One (also known as Jeremy) has done a great job of keeping things interesting. With the newly discovered dangers of tetrion pollution and the detrimental effects it will have on crew health, the Merciful Prophet will require much of his Prophet and Chosen in the future.

Q. You are the longest serving prophet, and have seen many changes in prophet of the other three Great Old Ones. What are your thoughts on all who have been your fellow prophets?

It has been difficult at times for others to form the coalition of support necessary to take and hold the position. Those who have held the role for any length of time have generally done well. My current fellow Prophets are well suited to their roles, and have done an admirable job of joining together to oppose Dybuk and to work with the President to track down and punish his releasers.

Q. Why Ishmael?

It is a literary reference, connected with the name of my ship. There are a number of other ships named in similar ways, some more obscure than others. Some of these names can give important clues to the personality of the captain. My favorite reference is Maher Shalal Hash Baz - he has certainly lived up to the name.

Next issue, we hope to have an interview with the Prophet of the Fierce One, Mendelssohn, who some have labelled "The Pirate Prophet". If you have any questions that you think should be asked of him, please do not hesitate to contact us at thetbgtribune@yahoo.co.uk