Internet Info 1994 March/Internet Info CD-ROM (Walnut Creek) (March 1994).iso/answers/rec/games/battle-faq/part1

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From: [e-mail] (Mark Cheverton)
Newsgroups: rec.games.pbm,rec.games.misc,rec.answers,news.answers
Subject: Battle, a PBeM Game FAQ (Part 1 of 2)
Followup-To: rec.games.pbm
Date: 26 Mar 1994 23:20:06 GMT
Organization: The anti games-ban league (Cambridge Branch)
Lines: 498
Approved: [e-mail]
Distribution: world
Expires: Saturday, 30 Apr 94 23:20:04 (GMT)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Battle Game Maintainer)
NNTP-Posting-Host: bootes.cus.cam.ac.uk
Summary: Common questions about the PBeM game Battle, and info on
         how to join. New players please read before mailing GMs
         with questions.
Keywords: Battle, game, PBeM, strategy
Originator: [e-mail]
Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu rec.games.pbm:6902 rec.games.misc:5634 rec.answers:4628 news.answers:16877

Posted-By: auto-faq 2.4
Archive-name: games/battle-faq/part1
Version: 2.0
Posting-Frequency: Monthly
Last-Modified: 12/3/94 by Mark Cheverton

---
Battle FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) [1 of 2]
Game devised by: Richard Ashely
Map drawing program and modifications: Colin Bell, Chris Carr, John Sloan
Current maintanier: Mark Cheverton ([e-mail])

    This file contains an introduction to battle and answers some of the
questions that are most commonly asked of GMs by the players. If you have a
query about the rules then please have a look through this file first to see
if its already been answered.
    Do not take this document as law, always look at the local rule
variations for the game you are playing. If your GM disagrees with any of the
decisions in this document s/he will state their ruling there.

--(Contents)-------------------------------------------------------------------

    Part 1:

    =1= Introduction to battle
    =2= General questions
        =2.1=    How do I get the files?
          =2.1.1=    Via IRC
          =2.1.2=    Via FTP
          =2.1.3=    Via Mail
          =2.1.4=    Via Gopher
        =2.2=    How do I view the map?
        =2.3=    What's press for?
    =3= Rules queries
        =3.1=    Movement
        =3.2=    Attack
        =3.3=    Elite
        =3.4=    Storage
        =3.5=    Power Chains
        =3.6=    Conversion
        =3.7=    Construction
        =3.8=    Defence
        =3.9=    Explosion
        =3.10=    Tunneling
        =3.11=    Range
        =3.12=    Hover
        =3.13=    General

    Part 2:

    =4= Battle players hall of fame

--(=1=)-------------------------------------------------------(Introduction)--

    BATTLE is a play by mail strategy game with deadlines roughly every half
week depending on the GM. For those who have little time, it should take at most
about half an hour to think out your moves and mail them. Usually it doesn't
take more than about five minutes.
    The game is played with 12 players on a playing field made up of
hexagons. Each player has a base which has a certain amount of power and can
build and improve units. Units can be given attributes like move and attack
but these have to be researched first by the base. The aim of the game is to
eliminate the other players and be the last one surviving, games usually last
about thirty moves.

--(=2=)--------------------------------------------------(General Questions)--

--(=2.1=)------------------------------------------(How do I get the files?)--

--(=2.1.1=)--------------------------------------------------------(Via IRC)--

    There are four methods for retrieving the files needed to play battle,
the first is to use the BatServ robot in IRC...

    Short instructions for operating batserv:

    /msg batserv list    -    A list of files you can retrieve
    /msg batserv send <file>-    Send you the file. You should
                    type /dcc get batserv which will
                    start the link.
    Other commands will be added soon and he'll be neatened up, mail me
if you have any features you think should be added.

--(=2.1.2=)--------------------------------------------------------(Via FTP)--

    Alternatively the files can be retrieved by anonymous ftp from
ftp.cp.tn.tudelft.nl in /pub/pbm/Battle thanks to Frits Kuijlman for
providing this.

    A quick guide to using ftp, I'm assuming you're on a UNIX system here
because thats what I use, if not the messages may be slightly different but the
commands should be the same , if you are on a vax or something with filename
length restrictions you may have to replace 'get game16_status.txt' with
'get game16_status.txt status' which will save it on your system as status,
which is short enough. Everything you type below is marked with a ** before it -
don't type the **) And replace my email address with yours when asked for a
password.


** ftp ftp.cp.tn.tudelft.nl
Connected to cygnus.cp.tn.tudelft.nl.
220 cygnus FTP server (Version wu-2.1c(3) Thu Sep 16 22:03:45 MET DST 1993) ready.
Name (ftp.cp.tn.tudelft.nl:mac18): ** anonymous
331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password.
Password: ** [e-mail]
230-
230-    Welcome to the FI-CP FTP site in Delft, The Netherlands.
230-
230-    Local time is Sat Mar 26 17:24:07 1994.
230-
230-    This ftp site provides access to two Internet resources: the
230-    Terry Pratchett Archives (look in pub/pratchett) and the PBM/PBEM
230-    Archives (look in pub/pbm).
230-
230-    In case of problems or questions please contact [e-mail].
230-
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
ftp> ** cd pub/pbm/Battle/game16
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> ** get game16_status.txt
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for game16_status.txt (1913 bytes).
226 Transfer complete.
local: game16_status.txt remote: game16_status.txt
1994 bytes received in 0.0057 seconds (3.4e+02 Kbytes/s)
ftp> ** get game16_map.ps
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for game16_map.ps (44161 bytes).
226 Transfer complete.
local: game16_map.ps remote: game16_map.ps
44512 bytes received in 0.36 seconds (1.2e+02 Kbytes/s)
ftp> ** quit
221 Goodbye.

--(=2.1.3=)-------------------------------------------------------(Via Mail)--
[Under construction]
    Mail [e-mail] with HELP in the body of the message.
This will send you some help on using the mail server.

--(=2.1.4=)-----------------------------------------------------(Via Gopher)--
[Under construction]
    Gopher to gopher.cp.tn.tudleft.nl and look under Play by mail/Battle,
files can be retrieved as straight text using the s key to save to a file.

--(=2.2=)-------------------------------------------(How do I view the map?)--

    The map is in postscript format so there are usually two ways to look
at it - firstly the easiest and best is to just print it out. If you're unsure
how to do this ask someone in the know or go to your computing service. The
other method is if you can get access to a graphics terminal like an xterm,
then, depending on what operating system you're using you can view it with a
program like ghostview (for UNIX). Ghostview is also available for Windows.

--(=2.3=)-------------------------------------------------(Whats press for?)--

    Press is a means by which you can reach all the players instantly
with just a mail message. This can be used for pompous declarations of war or
peace or just for character building. Let your imagination roam free and do
a bit of role playing - the press doesn't count in the actual game but it adds
to the feel. To mail some press send the message to [e-mail] with
the subject line pressX where X is the game number. Press can also be mailed
anonymously by sending it to the same address and asking (but don't make the
title pressX or it'll be forwarded!)

--(=3=)-----------------------------------------------------(Rules Queries)--

--(=3.1=)--------------------------------------------------------(Movement)--

    What happens if you have two adjectant pieces, neither of which
can attack, are they stuck there?

>    Yes, they are stuck there. Both can be considered to be attacking, but
without the capability (ie they do no damage). Any two adjacent enemy units must
stop and combat is mandatory, unless elite statuses are used.

.............................................

    Am I correct in assuming that a piece in combat cannot move away
(except using elite statuses), even if the piece it is in combat with moves away
on the same movement phase (using elite again)? What about if the other piece
has moved away on a previous movement phase?


>    Yes, you cannot disengage unless you use elite. If the piece moves away
using elite you cannot move away on the same phase unless you too use elite, but
on subsequent phases you can move

.............................................................................

    Take two pieces, one at height 0 and the other at height 1 in a C-wards
direction. The lower piece is ordered to move C and the upper piece F
(so in effect they swap places on the map) does this require elite (if they're
enemy pieces that is)

>    No, they are not adjacent when they move, so no elite is necessary.
Note that if piece A has move 2 and piece B has move 1, they WILL become
adjacent once piece A has moved. The solution to this is for piece A to order
move 0C while piece B moves F so that they move in the same movement phase.

--(=3.2=)----------------------------------------------------------(Attack)--

        Suppose there are 2 units 1A12 & 1B41 in adjacent hexes. They battle.
How is the battle run? Do they damage each other by 'attack' amounts each turn,
or is the battle fought to a conclusion in the turn that they meet?

>    The former, they each do 'attack' damage on each other per turn

.............................................................................

    If I have a unit with attributes 221 and it's attacking a unit with
attributes 132 then at the end of the turn, assuming the elite status isn't used
to run away or target attacks the two units end up as 110 and 121, don't they?
Or am I misunderstanding the attack rules?


>    Correct, the attack is simultaneous, and piece 1 loses 3, 1 move, 1
attack, 1 elite, piece 2 loses 2, 1 elite, 1 attack.

.............................................................................

    Can I specify that I don't want a unit to attack an adjectant enemy?

>    It is possible to not attack a piece if you're adjacent to it, by using
elite to ignore adjectancy just like in the Move phase. Note that to attack a
piece with range when adjectant to an enemy piece takes two elite - one to
ignore the adjectancy and then another to split the attack between the two
pieces.

.............................................................................

    Can one use elite to attack with less than one's full strength?

>    Yes, but it takes two elite to do so, one to split, and one to ignore
adjacency of the bit you don't want to attack. Note that if you are adjacent to
more than one unit, it takes one elite to split (assuming you wish to only
attack _one_ unit at less than full strength, and waste the rest of your attack)
, and one elite to ignore EACH of the adjacent units. Eg. if you are surrounded
by three units, and wish to attack one of them at less than full strength and
ignore the rest, you must use a total of four elite. If you wish to attack two
of them (but still not use all your attack) you need 5 elite : two for splitting
, 3 for ignoring.

--(=3.3=)-----------------------------------------------------------(Elite)--

    If you use 'elite' to avoid attacking a neighbour, do you have to
spend one point for each enery you wish to avoid attacking, one
point for the _hex_ you're in, regardless of neighbours, or
one point for the whole turn?

>    You spend one point to avoide attacking one adjectant unit. Hence
if you have two adjectant enemy units you need to use two elite to ignore
them that turn.

.............................................................................

    Can two elite 1 pieces combine to work as an elite 2 piece?

>    Yes

--(=3.4=)---------------------------------------------------------(Storage)--

    If I build a unit with movement and storage and then put power into it,
I assume I can do all this in one turn.  Can I then, however, also in the same
turn move the unit, and transfer the power out of it?  It would be nice, but I
guess it's not possible.

>    Correct. You can build it, but since build comes before movement, once
the piece has moved, it can no longer build.

.............................................................................

    Can you build a unit with storage, fill it, and then use that stored
power to build up another unit?

>    Yes. See above.

.............................................................................

1)    Can pieces use stored power to modify themselves?
2)    Can you use stored power passing to do part of an attribute? Each to
increase something from 1 to 2 can you put in one point from the base and
one point of passed power from a neighboring piece?

>    1) Yes  2) Yes, since this is effectively a power chain and chains are
instantaneous so all the power is in one place and usable. Also power can be
passed through a base to do this as if the base had infinite storage.

.............................................................................

    Can a piece which has 1 power storage, with 2 points of power stored
do the following...
    1) Pass 2 points of power along a chain
    2) Get 2 more in from another source as a refill
    3) Use the new 2 power to upgrade (not pass power to, but upgrade) a
neighbour?

>    1) Yes  2) Yes  3)  No

--(=3.5=)----------------------------------------------------(Power Chains)--

        Given this scenario:

    NOTQUITEREAL  Random Player  [e-mail]
      Base A1       Research Level:4        Power:11
      1A1111/0  A2
      2A1111/0  A3
      3A1111/0  A4
      4A1       A5

1)    Would it be possible to transmit 2 power down the line to 4A giving it
  Attack & Elite 1?
2)    Would it be possible to transmit 2 power down the line to 4A giving it
  Attack & Elite 1 and leave 2 power in each of 1A,2A,3A?
3)    Would it be possible to transmit 11 power down the line to 4A giving it
  Attack, Elite & Storage 2 with 2 stored power?   If not then would it be
  possible to increase 1A to storage 2, pass power to 1A & increase 2A to
  storage 2, pass power to 2A and increase 3A to storage 2, then pass 4 power
  down the chain to give 4A Attack 2 & Elite 1?

>    1) Yes  2) No  3) No  4) No, but some of that is possible.

    The basic idea about power chains (I know this isn't detailed very well
in the rules) is that a unit can have storage built in it and pass on power in
the same build phase, but a unit can only give and/or receive the max amount of
power it can handle ONCE in each build phase. ie A unit can start off a turn
with stored power, give it and then receive it from another source again that
phase, but not pass on the second lot of power. Similarly an empty unit can
pass on one lot of power, but not receive a second lot.

.............................................................................

        Can you move power up and down (in chains or from a base)?

>    Power may only be passed down, allowing passing up makes it far too easy
to build hardhats, etc., but it was agreed to allow passing down to facilitate
repair of tunneling units.

--(=3.6=)------------------------------------------------------(Conversion)--

    Can a piece convert two pieces in one turn, by splitting its convert?
Could this be done by expending an extra elite to perform the split (as in
splitting attacks?)

>    A unit can split its convert, no elite is needed

.............................................................................

    Is it possible for 2+ units to gang up & pool their convert whilst
attempting to convert others, or is it purely a 1:1 thing. If not, what if
1X1000/0 2, 2X1000/0 2,1Y1000/0 2 all attempt to convert 1Z1 at the same time?
Do 1X & 1Y 'Stand off' whilst 2X converts successfully?

>    Units of the same faction can pool to effect a conversion.

--(=3.7=)----------------------------------------------------(Construction)--

    In the rules it sates (under Hover) that "The perimeter wall is at all
heights but interior walls only start at height 0."

1)    Do the walls between bases, ie between M and A count as interior walls?
surrounding the +5 hex count as interior walls?
3)    Can these walls be 'removed' by construction units?
4)    Can the perimeter walls be 'removed' by construction units (by removing
  the wall at the bottom the rest falls down...)?  (not that there's much
  point in this...)

>    1) Yes  2) Yes  3) Yes  4) No

.............................................................................

    Can a piece build or destroy a wall more than once in the same turn
if it has more than one construct?

>    Yes, in the event of two pieces doing opposing things then the the one
using more levels of construction will succeed.

--(=3.8=)---------------------------------------------------------(Defense)--

    No questions!

--(=3.9=)-------------------------------------------------------(Explosion)--

    Is explosion blocked by defense?

>    No, this may vary in some games see the local rule variations.

--(=3.10=)------------------------------------------------------(Tunneling)--

    If a piece tunnels into a hex causing a wall to fall down, can another
piece move 'through' that wall on the same movement phase?

>    Yes, the justification is the following: the movement phase can b
thought to consist of three subphases:
    1. Any pieces of earth needing to be removed for tunneling are removed
and any walls falling down fall down now.
    2. All the pieces are moved
    3. Any piece without sufficient hover to stay where they are fall.


Perhaps the following illustration would be helpful.  (This is a side view)
                         _____
                        W     |        In the case where X moves to the left
                        W  Z  |       then both walls (W) fall down.  Z and
        _______         W_____|       Y can the move through where the walls
        |      W    |||||             were the following movement phase.
        |  Y   W    |||||
        |______W    |||||
               |||||     |
               |||||  X  |
               |||||_____|

.............................................................................

    Is it possible to tunnel under a base?

>    No

--(=3.11=)----------------------------------------------------------(Range)--

    If two pieces are separated by one range and there is a wall directly
along their line of sight (eg a piece at L7 and on at M9 with a wall at L8A)
do the pieces have los on each other.

>     No the wall blocks the los.

.............................................................................

    Exactly how does line of sight work?

>    Draw a straight line between the _centres_ of the two pieces involved,
and look at all the hexes it goes through (define hex here as a location a piece
can sit in, ie A4 and A4+1 are distinct hexes). Look at all the hexes it goes
through: if there's a piece in any of them or a wall at the point it goes
between two hexes then the shot is blocked.
    Trouble starts when you attempt to shoot along lines which go through
points on the boundaries of more than two hexes. There are two possibilities for
this: either (a) you shoot along an edge of a hex, or (b) you shoot through a
point which is on one of the top edges or bottom edges of a hex.
    In case (a), you need to look at what happens just left or just right
of the line. If either is clear, then you can see the target.
    Case (b) only arises when you're shooting down one of the 6 compass
directions and also requires (x-height difference)/(y height difference) to be
either an odd integer or the reciprocal of an odd integer. In this case, you
look at what happens just above and just below the line.

    The following is useful: if you're trying to hit a piece, if you're
higher up than you are further away, then you need to have a clear line to the
top of the piece, if you're lower down then you need to have a clear line to the
side of the piece. If you're equally high up and far away (which means you need
to be shooting down one of the compass directions), then you can do it either
way.

--(=3.12=)----------------------------------------------------------(Hover)--

    At what points do units which have had their flying gear shot to bits
fall out of the sky.  Before or after the conversion phase?

>    Before

.............................................................................

    If a piece with two hover moves over a piece that is hovering at a
height 0 over a 2 deep hole with only two hover, does the lower piece fall?

>    Two pieces vertically adjectant only fall until the lower piece is at
its hover limit, hence the piece can move on top with only two hover and
doesn't fall.

--(=3.13=)--------------------------------------------------------(General)--


    Can you build a unit, add things to it, and then use it in its
turn of creation?

>    Yes, you may give it whatever stats you can afford and have
researched and then do all the normal things like move, construct etc
since these are all after the build phase.

.............................................................................

    Please confirm that it is possible to make your movement orders
conditional on other players' builds.

>    This is possible since the movement phase is after Build and so can be
conditional on what happened.

.............................................................................

    How are points restored to bases which have been attacked? Say someone
knocks 3 points of someone's base.. how much does it cost to get back to full
power? Is it 1+2+3 or 8+9+10 or...

>    The former.  Also, you don't need to do it in one turn.  if you are down
6, you could regenerate 3 then 2 then 1 over 3 turns at a total cost of 6+3+1 =
10.


----------------------------------------------------------------------------