Threshold Volume 3
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Letters to the Editor
Editor’s Corner
Player Fiction
How To
Diplomatic News
Empire Histories
Takamo Updates
Other Issues
PERSONNEL TECH LEVELS
I think the program should take into account personnel tech level rather than just ships built at a world that has a tech level higher than your own.
SHIP CREW EXPERIENCE
I propose that all ships start with a negative modifier, representing green crews, then advance with combat or training.
WE AGREE.
THERE ARE CURRENTLY PROGRAMS AND RULES IN THE WORKS THAT WILL PROVIDE FOR FLEET OFFICERS, CREW TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE, ETC.
EDITOR’S CORNER
Editor’s Notes
Well, We have Volume Three up and online. With this issue, we inaugurate a series by Roger Buchholz entitled Marooned. We think you’ll like it. Also up are A series of quotes from the Rhats of Mutos, a couple of good “How To” articles, an article from the old Threshold – when it was printed on real paper, a letter or two, and an Update from The Game Design Team.
We are in need of Diplomatic Announcements and such from the ambassadors of the various empires in the galaxy. Letters to the editor, and empire Histories are also in great demand. This e-zine is the Takamo players’ forum and will only prosper as players participate. The more articles you send in, the bigger and better Threshold will become.
Enjoy!
MAROONED [part one]
by Pack story teller, Hjrathgar Treekeeper
Leutnant Grauhaar’s fighter was losing altitude and was dipping below the atmosphere. He checked his trim monitor and he noted the rear thruster stabilizer was nearly shot off. Shot off? How could some backwater Bort goon possibly shoot off HIS stabilizer?! The thought of losing his ship and his life from Borthan fire really fried him.
The fighter was now plunging into the Zenjam atmosphere. It responded little to any of the pilot’s attempts to straighten it out or with hope of slowing its deadly pace to the desert planet’s surface. It didn’t look good. Fortunately training for this sort of thing was constant and Grauhaar went by the book. He knew he had two minutes before his ship blew to pieces on impact.
“Overflight, this is Werewulf 10, I have freefall at planet coordinate 4.272 horizontal…I’m going in!” His voice vibrated as the fighter bounced violently going through the stratosphere.
“Acknowledged, Dub Ten, we have you on scan. Expect evac soon after landfall is made.”Grauhaar knew now that he was safe, the evac troopers were the best in the business. He would be back on the carrier by supper time. Good, he thought gleefully, tonight was roasted luna-rhat, his favorite.
The auto-ejector light came on and the cockpit filled with the alarm. He put himself in the tightest ball he could contort his body into and with a bone jarring hit the rescue pod jettisoned from the fighter. His descent would take him probably five minutes at this altitude with parachutes. His altimeter read off his decent as he checked his equipment. The homing signal by this time was telling Overflight his projected landing zone and soon the evac boys would be there. Hell, he thought to himself, they might even beat him there!
This planet was the ugliest rock he’d ever seen. Why would the Borts choose this slag heap for an outpost. His reports said it wasn’t worth a Phantatwain credit in ore mining. But strategically it was probably well placed. The Borthan Empire was a pain in the tail ever since The Pack threw off the shackles of centuries of domination by these “Star Animals”, the term The Pack people used to describe their Borthan overlords. The Borthans were human, a two legged race of beings that were enslavers of the Wulfish race of The Pack and Pack Star Command has devoted its existence in taking out worthless patches of celestial dirt just because they had a Bort presence. Great, he thought, and some useless Bort fighter jock shot him down! How could that have happened? Just a few stellar phases earlier The Pack purchased some more advanced StarWulf fighters that were better than anything the Borthan Empire could ever dream of. Some Bort slug in an Armageddon class fighter, TECH 11 for crying out loud, shot him down. His stabilizer and the redundant system at one time. Some aircraft designer was going to hear about this one. But at the same time Grunhaar couldn’t help but admire that pilot’s skill at finding his “sweet spot” and shooting him down. That or rotten luck.
The plan was simple, just as it was rehearsed over countless worlds for the past hundred years; take out the Bort fighter cover, reduce the forts with missile attacks, and land assault troops. Simple. Easy. But this time no clear indication of the enemy ground forces were noted. Intelligence said it was just another “Sort the Bort”–sortie the Borthan–mission. Ten carriers were to support the invasion force of 100,000 Space Jumpers backed by some heavy grav vehicles. On this flat desert world that’d be a simple overrun.
The altimeter read out the meters by the tens but as the ground grew closer the retro-thrusters took charge and the decent was lessened to about one meter a second, then slower, slower… Grauhaar braced himself as the final meters ticked off the readout. The landing was softer than he was expecting. In all of his training he’d thought it would be much worse but the simulators must have made it purposely rough so the pilots would follow procedure.
“Overflight, this is Werewulf 10, landing coordinates 4.278.221 horizontal, landing successful, over.”
“Affirmative, Dub Ten, we have scanlink…on coordin…Over.”
“Say again, Overflight?”
“…ouble with subsurfac…interfer…bloc…your transmi…”
Damn! Subsurface interference? Now what? Grauhaar now knew something wasn’t quite right. A tech 11 world with planetary communication jammers? The Borts didn’t have that even on their prime worlds! Subsurface to boot. He gathered his PK9 laser rifle and survival kit and checked the environmental vitals outside. For a desert world it seemed rather nice. A wonder of terraforming. If there was one thing positive about the former Overlords they knew how to terraform a planet. The pod door opened with a rush of wind and the air that greeted him was no where near the arid air temperature he expected.
“…Ten, come in, over.” The sound of the Overflight operator came over his headset.
“Werewulf 10, here. What in the Wulflords is going on up there? Over.”
“Evac is outboun…be there short…ver.”
About time! Already this orange dirt speck of a planet was getting to him. He crawled out of the pod and looked around. Desolation at its finest. Not a plant to be seen. He made his way up the ravine wall to a high point where he could get a good view of the surrounding area. Looking through his visor sensors he couldn’t see a thing even at max range in a full 360 sweep except for a small knob about two hectometers to the east. Flat as a pancake.
“Dub Ten, this is Drop Fourteen, we have you on life scan, we are two minutes out.” Came the voice in the headset. The drop ship was on the way with full combat support. Probably a squad of Space Jumpers fully armed to fend off any enemy trying to interfere with the “dust-off”. What an appropriate name for this situation. “No sign of unfriendlies in the vicinity.” That was reassuring.
“Affirmative, D-Fourteen, I can see your halo now…” The sky seemed to brighten red, then turn a darkened blood-like color. A sharp report hit Grauhaar’s ears. The place where Drop 14 was sparked and then exploded like a fireworks display! The air was charged with electricity and the feeling in Grauhaar’s hands went numb. He dropped his rifle as his paws relaxed and then fell to the ground.He laid there for a few seconds…was it seconds? He tried to stand but it took too much effort but managed to sit up.
“Overflight! What the hell happened?!!” He looked up into the sky which had since turned back to its brilliant blue color as if nothing happened. What was that some sort of atmospheric electrifier? No response came. Not even static. Subspace interference even made static. This was bad, ugly bad, and things had gotten a gazillion times worse in just a couple of seconds.Twenty guys just died trying to save him. He rolled over and undid his backpack and took out a small laptop transponder. Grauhaar noted his water supply and food stuffs. Enough to last him a couple of days, maybe a week if he was lucky. He opened the laptop and started to type.
Backup communication came in the form of hyper-electronic telemetry which couldn’t be blocked by any form of jamming. Even the Bort couldn’t do that. Unfortunately it left a path straight to him if the enemy was looking for him. Which he knew was probably the case. But he had to take the risk and he knew that Overflight would be waiting for a contact.
[OVERFLIGHT, WEREWULF TEN IS STILL HERE. OVER] He typed into his telemetry
sender.{AFFIRMATIVE, DUB TEN, INVASION SCRUBBED. EVAC IS IMPOSSIBLE AT THIS TIME. REPEAT. EVAC IMPOSSIBLE. YOUR FAMILY AND GOVERNMENT SALUTES YOU. OVER}
(To be continued)
This section of Threshold is dedicated to articles about how to get the most out of the game. This is where you can tell others all about your nifty new stellar mapping methods, your empire’s strategy and tactics, how you get the most out of your actions in Takamo, etc. All articles submitted must have a “How To” theme that will in some measure aid other players in the Takamo universe. All stories should be submitted to the Threshold Editing Staff. Submissions may be single articles or a multi-part series. All submissions become the property of Aleator Games. No payment is offered for your article. All submissions should have the title of the article clearly set out in capital letters at the beginning of the story, and the name of the author in small letters, directly below the title.
May these articles show you the way…
SMUGGLING PRIMER
By Terry Buchholz
May The Profits Be Praised
Our civilization is very driven by economics, as are all, but few recognize the true profit motive as we do. There is a very ancient saying by our species; “May the Profits Be Praised”, which dates back to a time before the Galactic Age. It defines us, and explains us, it is what we do.
With this in mind let me explain what we think the ‘True Power’ of a Free Trader is (or Smuggler in the vulgar form). You see… knowledge equals power. And the ability to acquire this knowledge with little cost or risk to an expensive fleet is the key.
It has been said in Real Estate and Business that three things are important: Location, Location, Location. For Free Traders, having Smuggling Center…Smuggling Center…Smuggling Center, is the mantra.
Sure they don’t make you much money, only 10 RU per turn, instead it is what they TELL YOU that is truly important. If you have allies that wish them on enemies, they may pay for valuable information, you decide the price.
Axiom: Take the Bridge from Both Ends.
This is the real advantage of a smuggler, growth of empire by conquest. Just as in warfare the spy, the turn-coat, the ‘fifth column’, or your smuggling center, can give you much valuable information…It can also allow to attack a planet at an advantage. Find the weakness, and attack the appropriate weakness from within. By landing guerrillas you can attack the planet or appropriate parts of it from ‘within’, or in effect ‘Take the Bridge from Both Ends’.
Small Planets with Few Resources are not Useless. Think about it, every planet has some value, either resources, population, or production facilities. All may not be of prime importance on small planets, but then you cannot terraform either. Think about it though…the more places you are, the more places you can hide, the harder you are to knock out. Would you rather have one large planet or five or ten small ones with the same total production/population/worth? We would suggest that you take the many over the few. Remember, not everyone is going to like you…Be at as many locations as you can.
For income, what about smuggling runs? Our opinions on this are well known, you may make some money. You will certainly make some enemies. We ourselves prefer the more permanent income of planets we own than the fickle income of cargo lost and enemies gained.
We wish you good luck and good income. “May the Profits Be Praised”
Rhatsibahn Smuggling Primer; The Wisdom of Rhotaris 7,
Mutos Mifflin Press. Available at the ‘Mutos of Rhatsibahn’
Home World (or more likely by Hyperwave Download
Distribution. We ain’t tellin’ where we are).
HOW TO ATTACK A PLANET
by General Crantus of The Phantatwains
There are several different ways to attack a planet depending on your personality and willingness to inflict casualties and no worry of having casualties inflicted on yourself. The Mass Assault philosophy involves a high rate of casualties for all involved. The first thing to do is locate the planet you want to take. Exploring with ships is the most efficient way of getting the most bang for the buck. Locate an occupied planet and then assemble the forces. I like a 2 fleet attack myself. The first is a large fleet of disposable ships that you send into planetary orbit. Shoot on sight orders will make sure it attacks any fleet in planetary orbit. The fleet will also trigger reaction from forts and torpedoes. If you have enough ships (75+) in the fleet you should be able to weather the defensives and still remain in orbit. After you have eliminated the defensives you then bring in the second fleet that includes the transports and the support ships. These ships should also be accompanied by cover ships to take some stray planetary fire. Invade and you now have another planet for you to reap the wealth from.ew actions.
This section of Threshold is dedicated to the fictional histories of Takamo empires. This is where you get to tell other players in the game what your empire is like, how your alien race appears, what they eat, their philosophy, their political views, their leadership, how they wage war, etc. All messages should be submitted to the Threshold Editing Staff by the 20th of the month for publication in the next issue of Threshold. Submissions may be presented as single submissions, updated periodically, or presented as a series of articles. It is important that all empire histories be presented in a manner that upholds the dignity of your stellar empire. All submissions should have the name of the empire clearly set out in capital letters at the beginning of the message, and the name and title of the historian who prepared the history must be set out at the end of your submission.
May the history of your empire be glorious!
PHANTATWAIN BIOGRAPHY
The following information has been gathered from other empires and species that have dealt with the Phantatwain Empire and what writing that can be found. It should be noted that an old Phantatwain world was just discovered there are expectations that some works of history will be found on it.
The PHANTATWAIN means Ant Kings. Twain being the title given to the ruling Phantatwain i.e. Twain Grantis I. When discussing the empire the term Ancient Ones is an acceptable way to acknowledge them.
A Phantatwain average height is 5 to 6 feet tall (long) and their military troops 7 feet. With 6 limbs they have the ability to scale sheer cliffs, carry unusually heavy objects and to handle 4 weapons at a time if needed. They also have huge pinchers for hand-to-hand combat which deters most other species from close assaulting them.
They have been in existence since the Great Age of Empires or the Second Age of the Universe. It was during this age that the Phantatwains, Gedi Knights, Stellron Trade Corp., Kviziers, Seth Naf Gar and many others discovered the ability of space travel. This was also the time of meeting others and fighting wars on a galactic level.
It was also during this time that the famous fleet maneuver “Near Melee” was developed by Admiral Navant during the civil war and perfected in the war with Seth Naf Gar. It was the belief that no other empire would be willing to engage in close combat and boarding parties. Casualties are high but The Phatatwains seem to be willing to take heavy loses.
Militarily teamwork and masses are more of an integral part of their military philosophy than one-on-one combat. This leads to high casualties on all sides of the battlefield.
As far as to what they profess to be, that is up for debate. They had started as nomads but had a civil war that caused a Cyborg break off under the same name. It has also been discovered that they have other branches that evolved into mining Corps and Ag. Corps. Which if any of these species still exist is unknown. Hopefully new discovery will lead to more information.
MUTOS OF RHATISBAHN
May The Profits Be Praised
It has been said that there was a time, long ago before space travel. This is a time which little has been recorded of in our history. Our species is ancient and has survived through the coming of the third Galactic Age. It has been recorded that collisions of Galaxies have remade our Galaxy, that even our own star system has been destroyed and remade…And yet through all that has changed, much remains the same.
But, I digress let me introduce our race. We are the ‘Mutos of Rhatsibahn’. Maybe we are not so much one race, as a collection of peoples. But it has been said that we started as one race or species that was destroyed in a great catastrophe. Our history does not record this, except through rumor and evidence in petrified soil and radioactive stone.
It has been said that this catastrophe may have been a nuclear War between planets or on one planet, or indeed a Galactic collision has been proposed, or collision between stars or planets or with an asteroid…In any case the evolved race which ruled our planet was nearly destroyed. Our race is a combination of this evolved race which was nearly eliminated and that which evolved in the wreckage of the world that remained.
We won’t go into all details here, not that all are fully known, but let this be a little introduction to our species for those of you who we are making first contact with.
First contact is always awkward, often dangerous, and in any case full of misunderstanding. The Universal Translator is a great help, and yet there were problems with this device in the early days. But these are stories for another time.
Now that you know a little of our history, maybe you can understand…How a species, not yet evolving an ability to terraform or develop new worlds…How in the Ancient Days was cut down at the verge of this multi planet evolution… How it might as we might say, do what it must to survive, especially after a great calamity that nearly destroyed all…
Might evolve along different lines.
That is to say, and we make no excuses, but simply state the facts…We are a Free Trader Species. If you still, yet do not understand…let us use the vulgar vernacular if we must…Some call our species a…smuggler. There I said it.
This is a rude word to us and not completely indicative of what our species does, yet if we must use this word for you to understand then it has been said. With this in mind as an introduction I will let you speak further to representatives of our species and the companies and services which they represent.
-Yrret Zlohhcub- Chief Diplomat and Historian in Charge of First Contact, Diplomatic Center, The Moon Rhotar
LENSMAN
Lensman is the leader of a technologically specialized association known as the Membership. The Membership are Miners who work in union towards the common goal of enlightenment. The Membership of the Lensman Mining Guild are known among star faring entities as LENSMAN.
Peaceful, biological species have sought the Membership to be among them throughout history. Ancient ledgers of the Guild record contacts with alien species who visited Homeworld while exploring Naplia. Many of the Membership elected to work among these adventurers and joined their expeditions. Many technological advances recorded by those in Naplia were possible because of the early cooperative efforts of the Guild and its Membership. Renewal of contact with the Membership and their heirs who live beyond known space is official policy of the Guild.
Although a young species that only recently have begun to venture to the stars, the Membership has always welcomed contact with star faring species. Awareness among the Membership about opportunities to assist biological species eventually led to active exploration of Naplia and cooperation with its biological entities.
Generous and honored are the Development and Diplomatic Stratifications of the Guild. They have promoted policies that shaped many worlds. Civilization has been advanced in many areas of Naplia due to their expertise. Many allied species prosper through their alliances with the Membership.
On occasion the Membership have assisted peace loving worlds regain their independence. Liberty and freedom to pursue enlightenment are prized by the Guild and assisted when possible. The progression of the corporate continues victoriously in the name of peaceful development.
The Membership of the Lensman Mining Guild are prepared to assist those biological species seeking enlightenment. We can assist others of any habitat develop their resources to levels they alone can not reach. Inquiries welcomed.
On behalf of Lensman… To A Greater Naplia.
Takamo Update
Program Changes:
PROBE RANGES
The range of planetary probes has been reduced to the sector where the probe is launched, out to one sector away. Planetary Probes launched beyond this range will have a high probability of malfunction.
PROBE ACCURACY
Probe accuracy has been reduced. Stellar Cloud interference; Transmission interference from system anomalies, and navigational errors have been added to the programs.
ABMs
ABMs now have the capacity to intercept and destroy planetary probes while at extreme range. Probes destroyed in this manner will give transmit little useful information.
FIGHTER RECON (AC 84) FOLLOW-UP STRIKE
Carrier fleets may now assign a number of fighters to a follow-up strike. If a fighter recon element encounters an enemy fleet and survives to report its discovery, the number of fighters assigned to the follow-up strike will immediately launch a strike against the enemy fleet. Fighters originally assigned to reconnaissance or to CAP will not participate in the follow-up strike.
To assign Fighters to a follow-up strike, place the number of fighters you want on deck and ready to strike in the # to build slot. An example of a follow-up strike with 50 Fighters is listed below:
Act AC Location1 Fleet# Bld Qty Bld Cde Empire/Ship Name Fleet#2 Location2 Spec#
1 84 ABC211 25 50 RADNIAN EMPIRE ABC2111 100
Additionally if you put an Empire name in the Empire/Ship Name slot your strike fighters will only attack fleets of that empire. Otherwise they will attack any alien fleets they come across. If you put the word WAR in the Empire/Ship Name then the fighters will only attack fleets whose empire you have declared war on. You must spell the name correctly or use the Masked code if the alien empire is masked.
FIGHTERS
Fighters are now less effective in Stellar Clouds. The search capability of fighters has been reduced in stellar clouds. You will get messages stating that the flight leader is requesting more fighters to conduct the search with. When launching strikes into or out of Stellar Clouds, fighters may not find the target or may not all arrive at the target at the same time. There is even the possibility that some fighters will turn back while others press on to the target.
MILITARY BASES &MILITARY BASE SHIPS
Players may now construct Military Base Ships. These ships move to the target planet, land and dismantle in the same manner as a Colony Base Ship. The MLB Ship has the same tec level as the planet where it was built. Military Bases may only be established on planets that you own.
Once established, a Military Base retains the tec level of its parent ship and all military installations on the world fight at the tec level of the Military Base. Shipyards are not upgraded to the tec level of the military base and may not be used at higher than the planet tec level.
A Military Base also allows players to build and upgrade torpedoes on planets, regardless of planet status if a fort is present.
The build code for a Military base ship is 253 and the action code to install the military base ship is 127. It is a move and do. The cost of a Military base ship is 100 X tec level where it was built.
Example follows:
Act AC Location1 Fleet# Bld Qty Bld Cde Empire/Ship Name Fleet#2 Location2 Spec#
1 127 ABC21135 25
We hope you like the additions to the game. There are many more exciting enhancements in the works. The Military Bases were a direct result of player requests for an easier way to ‘tech up’ a planet.
We think this is a good compromise. Keep those ideas coming.
Aleator Games