| The ongoing Saga of Galaxy #223 in Galac-Tac |
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Galaxy #223 Player Blurbs |
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Uh oh. collisions galore. I seem to have destroyed one of Hammer's ships. Sorry. 9 colonies for me. This place is too crowded. It took ages for opponents to meet each other in game 130. This is going to be a LOT of fun. |
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Not easy starting off with people so close. Will have to see if I can fight free or if its a downhill struggle. |
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Greetings from the Kroji Confederacy! It appears that there have been some misunderstandings about authorization to camp overnight in the parking lot surrounding our Galactic Emporium. While you are welcome to park here while shopping in the area, overnight stays are prohibited, and Fortnight-long stays will result in prosecution for trespassing. Any entry from public thoroughfares may be considered infringement on private property. On a further note, violence and/or vandalism of our Emporium and it's adjunct locations will also result in disciplinary action, up to and including armed response and court injunctions filed against perpetrators. We apologize for any inconvenience. On a more personal note: Well, gang, it's been a long two weeks. I jumped right in to my turn on Saturday morning, but had to work most of that day. While Davin was away, I found time to code up all the "reactive" orders. For example, I get a chart report back from a freighter, so issue the Colonize there. I encounter a Cease Fire - decide whether to leave, stay, or send help. But there, I stalled out. The "proactive" orders - new ship designs, preparing for the first wave of new colonies to come online, planning scouting routes, building appropriate shuttles, defenses, etc. ended up waiting until today, of course the day it was due. It was not my intent... but RL got in the way as usual. In addition to a gruelling full-time job that usually leaves me dragging home exhausted and sore, I had yardwork, housework, a couple of medical checkups, and a total of NINE music rehearsals in the past two weeks. (I'm also tour director for my bell group, and that's coming up soon.) I had to deal with termite inspections and weed retreatment (both supposedly now controlled by the services who are responsible for them). I even had to do the DISHES because Davin was out of town for a week. So, you haven't heard from me. Orders are now in, and I hope I didn't miss anything, and I hope I made the right decisions. Hopefully, the NEXT two weeks won't be quite as full of distractions, and I can actually enjoy the gameplay more. So, to comment on some issues. Why did I "announce" the border agreement between Kroji and Saydonia? Only as an "educational" commentary, as an example of a choice to make when you encounter another empire. You really don't have a lot of choices - make friends (at least temporarily), ignore each other and hope the other one goes away, or "start a war". In a normal game, I would certainly not reveal any such agreement to the other players. As for "fireworks", my current choices have more to do with defending what I consider my "perimeter" and staking claims than actually declaring "war" against anyone. "War" would be, in my estimation, actively seeking to destroy assets and take away territory from an already established claim. None of us have the firepower to do that... yet... and still have resources left to establish a good economic base of our own. So, all those "ceasefires" were just me picking the wrong direction to expand, or me claiming something I consider worth arguing about. It remains to be seen what comes of those encounters. Turn 3 should be interesting. BTW, when you destroy a freighter which is attempting to colonize, you ALSO deprive the victim of whatever PI it was carrying, resulting in a double hit to the economy of the empire in question. So, ouch. If we had all the PI in the world, we could build well-armed freighters (think the Millennial Falcon) and solve the problem of losing your freighter to a basic Skirmisher. But again, choices. Do I build defenses to enforce my flag-planting, but have far less of them available to stake those claims, or do I go out "naked and defenseless" with everything I've got that will chart or colonize, or find some balance between the two extremes? Just because I've played before, for some decades, doesn't mean I have all the answers, or know the "best" way to run an empire. And as always, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy!" Using "check actions for errors" in Gtac is VERY helpful. It will let you know if a ship has been sent farther than it can get in one turn. (You may have MEANT to do that, so it's just a warning.) It will let you know if you've overspent your PI supply, so you can re-figure what you've spent to fit within the budget, instead of finding out the hard way that it did NOT build that ship, or sent an empty freighter off to colonize. It also told me that I had accidentally issued two different orders to one ship, giving me a chance to figure out where it was actually supposed to go. This was a real typo, but MIGHT have been both a Load and a To or Join or something that is intended and harmless. So, consider the "check for errors" to be a friendly "Did you MEAN to do that?" rather than a hard failure of what you entered. Sending in-game Diplomatic Messages to another empire is kinda fun for the two parties involved, but is NOT visible to anyone else in the game. If we choose to re-post such comments in Discord, for this particular game, that's fine, part of the fun, but realize that in a normal game, nobody else will ever see what was said.
Another thing that's "never seen" is the names of ships and stars in your empire, unless you have a combat report come back to you. Then, you'll see ship names. The star names are ONLY visible if another empire destroys your homeworld, at which time they'll gain your scouting and charting info and all your PCs will become their colonies, with names still attached (which you can then change, of course). So, the "flavor" you add by clever naming and themes is not readily apparent.
Gotta leave for work in about half an hour. I'm actually off tomorrow (turns come out at about 8:00 here), so I'm hoping to get a quick look, yell "YAY!" or "ARRRRGH!!!" as appropriate, and then strive for time to take it all in and code it all up well before the NEXT deadline. Seeya then.
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I managed to eke out a total of 27 Orders before this past Friday Night Deadline, after only having 2 Orders when I wrote my GT Blurb for Issue 48, but some of those Orders resulted in the Destruction of some of my Misraw ships! Misraw and the Kroji Konfederacy are at War! However, the Veteran Player Djinny, who is the genius guiding the Kroji Konfederacy, probably has the advantage over Hammer, who is learning the Galac-Tac Ropes, while guiding Misraw in the Short Term! Truth be told, Djinny probably has the Advantage Edge over Hammer for the Long-Haul of this game! Hammer had No Clue at the beginning of the game regarding the Importance of Creating Customized Ships, Especially any War Ships that Could have given Misraw an Early Advantage, or at Least Be Prepared to Battle Against the Types of War Ships that May Have Been Created on the First Turn by the Kroji Konfederacy! A Total of 7 Misraw Ships have Failed to Report In! At least Misraw was able to Destroy a Kroji Konfederation Truck15 Ship [Freighter with 15 PV Hold Capacity], and also, a Kroji Skirmisher! A Misraw Skirmisher was Damaged in the Kroji Battle and May Not Be Able to Return to the Milchamah Home World Base for Needed Repairs! Misraw has a Total of 6 Colonized Star Systems! No Telling How Many Kroji Konfederation Colonies Now Exist to Produce More of the Djinny Customized War Ships! Only Time Will Tell if Hammer and the Misraw Scroids are able to Compete Against the Kroji Konfederacy in this game! Perhaps the Misraw Scroids will find a way to Contain, or at least Disrupt, the Ambitions of Djinny and her Kroji Konfederacy! We Will At Least Have Fun Trying to Disrupt the Plans of a Friendly Enemy aka a Granny FrenEmy! Hammer, Ministerof War |
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I need to print myself out a bigger version of the map, and invest in some crayons. |
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Player Blurb - GrimFinger |
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In-Game Message System for Galaxy #223 |
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Empire message to: Misraw (September 28, 2025) Hail, Misraw!
Our crossing of paths was unexpected. Our starship at star location #38-00 is be departing immediately.
We leave that location to you and yours.
Yonds of Droon
Empire message to: Kroji Konfederation (October 3, 2025) Alien Creatures,
Return from whence you came. You have entered - and violated - Yond space.
Intruders are not welcome in Yond space. Death and destruction await your species in Yond space.
There will be no second warnings!
Yonds of Droon Empire message to: Wyvern Supremacy (October 3, 2025) Alien Entities,
Your empire has no treaty with the Yonds of Droon. As such, your empire's starships will be forfeit, whenever and wherever in Droon space that they intrude.
You have destroyed one of our empire's starships, and we of the Yonds of Droon have destroyed six of yours.
Your empire's transgressions will not go unnoticed nor unmet by we of the Droon.
Vacate Droon space immediately! Else, more death and destruction will be your reward
Yonds of Droon |
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Have you ever noticed how stingy the other players in this Galaxy #223 game of Galac-Tac are with their empires' information? Silly players!
Fortunately, the empire that is Yonds of Droon is looking out for the readers of PBM Chaos. Let's take a little gander at some of the information from my empire's Empire Status Report that GTac, the player assistant program for Galac-Tac, generates each turn.
Below is information from my empire's Turn #2 results (3500-03). Now, why isn't there a 2 in 3500-03, if it represents Turn #2 information? Not exactly the most intuitive thing that you ever saw, is it? I feel the exact, same way. Just by looking at 3500-03, there is literally no way for a newcomer to Galac-Tac to quickly and easily discern that it is referring to Turn #2's information. |
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Each player's homeworld will generate 100 PI per turn. So, if a player did nothing but allocate that entire 100 PI each turn towards increasing their empire's Tech Level, then it would likely take somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 turns to get the Tech Level to flip from Level 1 to Level 2.
This underscores why players must explore other star systems, and harvest the raw materials that they generate in the form of PV (Production Value).
If other empires would quit interfering with my starships Chart orders, then that 19% of galaxy charted figure would already be noticeably higher than it currently is. I dare suggest, however, that my empire has already explored more of the galaxy's star systems than any other empire in the game. That's pure speculation on my part, but I think that it's a safe guess. Where the report information above says (About 0% progress), I can clarify that I have not allocated any PI (Production Inventory aka money), at all, in either Turn #1 or Turn #2. At this early stage of the game, investing in technological research is a luxury that my empire simply can't afford. That's holds equally true for every other empire in the game, and not just for the Yonds of Droon. |
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One of the handy, dandy features that the GTac player assistant program for Galac-Tac offers is a Check for Errors option. This option provides players of the game a Mechanism of Assurance to help the player prevent making mistakes. This is especially beneficial to newcomers of Galac-Tac for obvious reasons.
For the very reason that newcomers to Galac-Tac lack the benefit of first-hand experience playing the game, the ability of newcomers to have the system check for errors for them, where the issuing of their turn orders is concerned, helps to level the playing field, somewhat. Of course, the other players in Galaxy #223 of Galac-Tac are gonna need one heck of a lot more than an error checker to save their empires' asses. I'm perfectly fine with them making all kinds of mistakes in the issuing of their turn orders - the more the merrier, as far as I'm concerned! Player Djinny is far too experienced with Galac-Tac for me to expect her to make any errors on the issuing of her empire's orders, but that doesn't mean that she can't - or won't - make any mistakes in her strategic thinking and strategic planning. She's already provoked a war with Player Hammer's empire (Misraw), where she didn't have to. Thus, she must have clearly wanted to, huh? Player Ajwan is sitting way over there on her homeworld in her sector of the galaxy, meticulously calculating and trying to sort out the many details associated with her desire to rule over the entire galaxy. Not gonna happen, Ajwan! Player Richard is starting to grasp what to do in Galac-Tac, which probably won't bode well for any of the rest of us in Galaxy #223, eventually. Maybe I can bribe him with beer. And then there's Player Hammer. He's trying to deal with Djinny's Kroji Konfederacy, without sacrificing his focus on what all else is going on around him. If Djinny begins to allocate more resources and assets to make my empire's situation more difficult, then how will that impact her war with Hammer's empire? Misraw waging war against Kroji Konfederacy is something that my empire can get behind and support (or, at least, cheer Hammer and his minions on). Which leaves those quiet Wyverns of Brendan's Wyvern Supremacy. What are they up to? No way that something like a Wyvern won't be aggressive. They're definitely scheming their heads off, preparing to retaliate against my empire of the Yonds of Droon big time. I reckon that on my Turn #3 results (which are still three days away, as of the time that I write this), I'll find out how well that Player Brendan took the news of his empire losing a total of six starships at my empire's hands on Turn #2. Bring it! Maybe I write too much for these Galac-Tac player blurbs. Is anybody out there reading any of this? Let me know, if you are. Maybe I'm just talking to myself in deep space, here. |
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For the Yonds of Droon, Turn #3 in Galaxy #223 of Galac-Tac went well - particularly where the results of many different battles is concerned!
Here is the running tally on other empires' starships that my Yonds of Droon have destroyed or damaged, so far. Take note that this list includes battle results for both Turn #2 and Turn #3. |
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TURN #3 - GALAXY #223 Wyvern Supremacy Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;7/11- Destroyed Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;9/20-1 Destroyed Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;9/17- Destroyed Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;8/20- Destroyed Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;10/20- Destroyed Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;8/14-1 Destroyed Scout Ship 1 //19-1 //13- Destroyed Scout Ship 1 //19-1 //16-1 Destroyed Scout2 1 //29-1 //26- Destroyed Tug1 1 /;;30/14-1 /;;29/8- Damaged Tug2 1 /;;30/14-1 /;;30/12-1 Damaged Kroji Konfederation Truck10 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;9/8- Destroyed Truck10 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;6/17- Destroyed Truck10 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;10/20- Destroyed Truck10 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;10/20- Destroyed Truck10 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;8/14- Destroyed Security 1 2P//20-1 2P//20-1 Destroyed Security 1 2P//20-1 //17- Destroyed Scout2 1 //29-1 //23-1 Damaged Saydonia Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;10/17- Destroyed Misraw Scout Ship 1 //19-1 //13- Destroyed TURN #2 - GALAXY #223 Wyvern Supremacy Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;10/17-1 Destroyed Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;9/17- Destroyed Freighter 1 /;;10/20-1 /;;9/11- Destroyed Scout Ship 1 //19-1 //19-1 Destroyed Scout Ship 1 //19-1 //7- Destroyed Scout Ship 1 //19-1 //16-1 Destroyed Kroji Konfederation FreighterXV 1 /;;15/16-1 /;;15/16- Destroyed FreighterXV 1 /;;15/16-1 /;;15/16- Destroyed Scout2 1 //29-1 //26-1 Destroyed |
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No starships losses were suffered by my empire on Turn #3. You might recall that the Yonds of Droon suffered the loss of but a single warship on Turn #2. The real story is more than just a bunch of numbers on digital paper. For instance, two of the battles that occurred in Turn #3 that resulted in the complete destruction of several Kroji starships (3 in one battle and 1 in another battle) was actually due to Kroji starships entering my empire's primary targeting scheme for Turn #3, which was aimed at hunting down more of the Wyvern Supremacy's freighters, as part of the disruption campaign discussed in Issue #47 of PBM Chaos, and touched upon again in Issue #48. Because the star map in Galac-Tac "wraps around," Dkinny's starships heading down the map encountered my starships heading up the map. And voila! Combat ensued. Player Djinny did not withdraw her forces from Droon space on Turn #3, and so, that gained her empire several additional battles, as I had dispatched military assets to try and dissuade her Kroji Konfederation from snooping around in Droon space. Clearly, she did not get the memo! What prompted Hammer's empire, Misraw, to dispatch one of their starships into a known war zone is beyond me. In fact, I had ordered one of my empire's starships to cede a star location to Misraw, dispatching it in a different direction, in a bid to avoid conflict. But conflict found both of our empires, anyway. For the very reason that Player Djinny previously announced the establishment of a so-called "border agreement" between her empire of galactic con men, aka the Kroji Konfederation (which I sometimes refer to as the Kroji Konfederacy), and Player Ajwan's empire that is called Saydonia, I dispatched a Droon warship to a star system very near to the Saydonian homeworld. Thus, that "border agreement" that she entered into with the Krojis actually facilitated conflict, rather than preventing it. It was a warning, not an invasion. That said, Player Ajwan likely won't look upon it favorably. Then again, my empire didn't look upon the formal agreement between the two Galactic Grannies in this game favorably, either. It's not like either of them bothered to ask ahead of time, now is it? How about a quick look at quick look at which star systems throughout Galaxy #223 experienced battles on Turn #3? I just happen to have all of those battles plotted out for our readers' convenience. |
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I destroyed 3 Wyvern small freighters on Turn #2, and 6 more Wyvern small freighters were tracked down and destroyed on Turn #3. I also damaged two large Wyvern freighters on Turn #3, as well, those new Tug class of freighters that Player Brendan built since this game of Galac-Tac first started. Would you be interested to see how I plotted it out? Again, I've got you covered. Where else are you gonna find such Top Secret war planning? |
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What the above image shows is a planning map from Turn #2. The battles shown in it occurred on Turn #2. If you compare Turn #3's combat map to this one, you'll notice how the war shifted further up the map on Turn #3.
The green and red numbers represent distance measurements. Namely, they server as visual reminders to me how far each of the stars in question are from the Wyvern homeworld star system (that red with yellow trim star in the middle. Those fuchsia-colored letter Fs represent Wyvern freighters that were destroyed on Turn #2 (which helped me to further narrow down the possible locations of remaining Wyvern freighters). And those little blue things? Those were warships of mine, at the end of Turn #2.
Since all players start with the exact, same kind of starships (yeah, I know - boring!), i knew upfront that Player Brendan's small freighters that he started the game with already loaded with 10 PI, each (to aid players in getting off to a quicker start colonizing other star systems), had a maximum movement distance of 20.
Thus, the red numbers represent star systems too far away for the Wyverns to have reached in their initial foray into the stars on Turn #2. The green numbers, on the other hand, represent possible viable locations for Wyvern small starting freighters (within one turn's worth of maximum movement distance) that would have formed the Wyvern's initial colonization assets. Thus, out of 10 starting small freighters, the Wyverns have lost 9 of them to my forces in the span of just 2 turns. Are all of them actual starting small freighters? Or are some of them small freighters that Player Brendan has built since the game started? I can't speak to that with 100% certainty, but I have a high degree of confidence that they were all probably small freighters that the Wyvern Supremacy started the game with. The ones that I destroyed on Turn #2 would have prevented Wyvern colonies from being created (only partially constructed - though they may be able to finish them in a later turn, not certain), and the ones that I destroyed on Turn #3 would have been too late to prevent their colonization attempts from being completed, but would then have prevented those very same freighters from being available heading into Turn #4 for shuttle duties or manual loading and transporting of PV from newly colonized star systems back to the Wyvern homeworld system for conversion into PI. Now, Player Brendan gets the pleasure of figuring out how to afford new freighters to take their place, which means that if he's building more freighters, then that also means that he won't be able to build quite as many warships. The red number/green number system utilized the process of elimination, to aid my empire's primary targeting scheme for Turn #3. It helped me to visually identify at a glance both where the earliest possible Wyvern colonies both would be and wouldn't be. How about a look at the actual combat reports that my empire received on Turn #3, minus which ships or fleets that I used to attack enemy shipping with, this turn? Again, the Yonds of Droon have got you covered. |
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Of all of the players in This Galaxy #223 game of Galac-Tac that should know better than to skimp on their starships' inertia drive engines, Player Djinny is that player.
What do you mean, you ask?
Well, let's take a closer look at the combat report for star system 69-85, shall we. That's the one where Djinny's dastardly Krojis somehow managed to lose three starships in the same battle on Turn #3 - 2 Security ships and 1 small freighter (Truck10 type).
Unarmed freighters are basically big fat sitting ducks, if a warship attacks them. But any ship that is armed with weapons of one or more types is a warship. Inertia Drive engines are the engines used in combat situation. Star Drives are used to move starships between the stars, not for combat purposes.
Here's the ship rating code for Djinny's ill-conceived Security starship: 2P//20-1
What that tells me is that these Paul Blart mall cop excuses for warships is that they were armed with 2 phasers, 20 star drive engines, and only 1 inertia drive engine. being able to move a distance on the star map of 20 allowed them to keep pace with that freighter, which also had 20 star drive engines. No shields, and just 1 inertia drive engine for evasive maneuver purposes. Talk about a recipe for an early death in combat!
But because it's still early in the game, Player Djinny opted to co the cheap route. The end result of that decision is that Meteor Martin (yeah, from comic book fame in old comic books that have
fallen into the public domain - and also, the same fellow that is armed with a wooden club on the front cover art of this issue of PBM Chaos) ended up with three easy kills. Why, again, did Player Djinny name those ships Security? Insecurity is more like it! As long as she's played Galac-Tac, she knew better. Now, she gets the pleasure of kicking herself in the ass for making that very amateur mistake. This is an inherent part of the joy of learning. This is how we learn, though. Learning the hard way will help to carve it in the stone of her memory, going forward, as will my mocking of her Mall Cop movie approach to security issues in this game of Galac-Tac. All that she did was to waste her empire's hard-earned PI on those piss-poor excuses for warships designated to provide a security escort for one of her empire's freighters. In a nutshell, Djinny's poor decision, one that ran contrary to her own extensive first-hand knowledge about Galac-Tac, ended up getting the crews of three warships killed in a single battle on Turn #3. And irony of ironies, I was hunting for Wyverns, not Krojis, at that particular star system on that particular turn. This is a good example of why I have told Hyborian War players on numerous different occasions, before, that luck is for the weak and unprepared. Galac-Tac players, including Djinny but not limited thereto, can't simply expect to "luck their way across the galaxy." Your starships and their crews will end up "dead in a hurry" that way. For me, though? Easy kills and easy bragging rights. Now, Djinny will begin to wake up and smell the interstellar roses. She will now seek to improvise and adapt. Her empire's current economic fortunes dictate her possibilities and options as a player. She took a gamble on having her homeworld's shipyard build some minimal performance military warships. In a nutshell, she got exactly what her empire paid for. Player Hammer said that 7 of his empire's starships failed to report in, this turn. In other words, the crews of 7 different starships were lost in space (lost, as in killed, destroyed, vaporized). One of those he lost to a Noomite Patrol of mine. A Kroji Scout Ship survived an encounter with that particular Noomite Patrol at the exact, same star system, this turn, but it ended up damaged with the loss of six of its star drive engines. That Noomite Patrol ship incurred no damaged, but then again, neither the Misraw starship nor the Kroji starship in question were armed vessels. An active war zone is no place for unsuspecting tourists or clumsy snooping spies! As players shipping losses mount, they will likely begin to invest in more robust military capabilities. Granted, some players may choose to double down on their offensive and/or defensive military capabilities, perhaps due to their empires running low on available PI (money) this early in the game, but all decisions ultimately bear consequences, be they good results or bad results. And to think, I'm not even trying to conquer the galaxy. Just like when I play Hyborian War, I'm not really trying to win the game. It's more fun just having fun, rather than fretting and worrying over what all that I need to do, in order to win this game of Galac-Tac. I'll be old, sure enough, by the time that this game of Galac-Tac ends. It's worth noting that the majority of my empire's military assets are not deployed against Djinny's Kroji Konfederation. Her empire is already at war with Hammer's Scroids of Misraw, so why she thinks it's a good idea to persist in her intrusions into declared Droon space is beyond me. Her empire clearly isn't ready for all out war against two other empires, simultaneously, and Emperor Droon isn't likely to be forever tolerant of her empire's continued aggressions. Hammer's lament about his empire losing 7 starships this turn isn't a fact that exists in a voice apart from all other relevant in-game information. It should be weighed against the loss of 9 starships by the Wyvern Supremacy, this turn, plus 2 additional damaged starships for them due to Droon military actions. And Djinny's Krojis lost 7 starships, this turn, plus 1 additional damaged starship - again, to Droon military actions. So, proportionally speaking, Hammer's empire that is Misraw and its Scroids still retain relative parity with Djinny's Krojis, though I don't know enough details to judge it more closely. Even still, with his enemies, the Krojis, losing as many starships this turn as Hammer's empire did, then perhaps Hammer will maintain a sense of proportion about his empire's losses, this turn. Which demonstrates how players of PBM games often concern themselves with information security than information sharing. Both come with inherent risks, however. Too many national or imperial secrets can be as dangerous as too few. Player Ajwan now has 9 colonies under her empire's control. That's a really nice start for her empire, I think, especially since the maximum number that he empire could conceivably control by Turn #3 is 10. Me? My empire only controls 5 colonies that completed their respective construction cycles, this turn. 'O woe unto me! An empire's economy is what funds its military apparatus. Plus, me sending her empire a very straightforward warning, this turn, by way of attacking a Saydonian small freighter at star system 55-40 may end up motivating her empire to put my empire directing in the crosshairs of becoming a target for her Saydonian war machine. If she goes that route, though, then I'll shift to another of the war strategies that I employ when playing Hyborian War. Right now, Saydonia is a distant, faraway empire in Emperor Droon's eyes. Military contingency plans exist for that empire, the same as they exist for all other empires in the game. It is choices and decisions that ultimately turn contingency plans into actual operational war plans.
The galaxy of stars in Galaxy #223 of Galac-Tac is bigger than you think, but smaller than it looks. If you're trying to take control of star systems throughout the galaxy and developing and exploiting their resources, the galaxy is a pretty big place. If you're wondering how much of a "safe space" that you have from military strikes by alien civilizations, it's really not very big, at all. |
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As you can see from the image above, the Average Percentile for Empire Valuation in Galaxy #223 is now 90%. Now, compare it to my Droons of Yond empire valuation of 100% for Turn #3, in the image below. |
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If the average percentile is now 90, then that means that some empires out of the six empires currently playing in Galaxy #223 are at less than the average of 90%. All of those ship losses on Turn #3 probably make the Wyvern Supremacy, Kroji Konfederation, and Misraw the most likely candidates for being below average, at present, on their respective empires' valuation, with the Wyvern Supremacy being my candidate for most likely of all.
Player Djinny knows how to grow her economy into a potent economic engine for her empire, so of the three of them, I'd say that her Kroji Konfederation is the least likely of that bunch to suffer from a below average valuation on Turn #3. Hammer suffers primarily from lack of familiarity with Galac-Tac. He's simply learning as he goes, the same as most any newcomer to the game. He's no stranger to PBM games, though, and he's certainly not a newcomer to wargames. The longer that his empire survives, the more capable of a Galac-Tac player that he will become. The real question for Player Hammer in Galaxy #223, though, is can he keep his empire sufficiently viable, until such time as all of Galac-Tac's various game mechanics begin to fall more easily within his grasp? No matter what game that one is playing, it's always harder to do well, when you don't have a firm grasp, yet, of the basics. Player Richard seems to be the only player in Galaxy #223 who has not had any of his starships blown up by other players, but like Hammer, Richard is brand spanking new to Galac-Tac. In all likelihood, his empire hasn't grown a lot, yet. For a role playing type of gamer, Richard has been fairly quiet, all things considered. Hopefully, he's not sandbagging and preparing to launch a huge hostile invasion of Droon space. Player Ajwan isn't totally quiet, but neither has she been particularly talkative. She's playing her empire's "cards" fairly close to her vest. Her early economic gains (she's at 9 colonies, already - Wowsa!) could potentially be as easily lost as they were easily established. No one has to actually conquer her colonies by way of destroying them, just to deny her the economic use of them. Ajwan knows how to shuttle resources using freighters, but how well-versed is she at escorting them successfully, should an actual full-blown war engulf her empire? I sent a warship to a star system very, very close to her homeworld, not just to send a warning, but to wake her up to the reality that this interstellar Dorothy ain't in Kansas, anymore. For all of the starships that have were blown up in Turn #3, the sky isn't actually falling for any of these PBM Henny Pennies, at the moment. Invading an enemy's homeworld this early in the game is a very risky proposition. You need bigger warships than any player starts with, and bigger ships are much more expensive ships, and early-game economics are nothing to write home about. Even with my military good fortune, thus far in this game of Galac-Tac, invading an enemy homeworld and knocking them out of the game isn't currently a viable option. Indeed, it likely won't be for some time, yet, at best. And a very important thing to remember is that situations in Galac-Tac can swiftly take turns for either the best or the worst. No player knows what all that any of their opponents will choose to do on any given turn of the game. War isn't simply about the accumulation of military power. It's one thing to plan a military operation, but it's another thing to execute it successfully and in a timely manner. In Galac-Tac, a player is potentially facing more than just isolated military operations. As the game progresses, and depending upon how many enemies that one is facing off against, entire military campaigns stretching across multiple different theaters of war, simultaneously, could be in your future, should you choose to give Galac-Tac a try. Unlike this particular game of Galac-Tac, where all six players divulged their homeworld locations at game start, you aren't likely to face as much immediate military pressure as some empires in this game have already faced, even before their players can get comfortable in their seats. My function, though, as either their enemy or as their potential enemy is to make them face hard decisions. If they want to win this game of Galac-Tac, or to do particularly well in it, then they face the harsh prospect of having to earn it. The two most experienced Galac-Tac players in Galaxy #223 are the ones that have suffered the greatest shipping losses, thus far. That's neither by accident nor mere coincidence. It's quite a deliberate decision on my part. Thus far in Galaxy #223, these other Galac-Tac players are committing the same basic types of mistakes that players who have squared off against me in games of Hyborian War have tended to make. Foremost amongst these mistakes have been a sharp failure in their ability - or willingness - to communicate, empire-to-empire. As a player, I will communicate with other players, regardless of whether we are allies or enemies. That's not the exact, same thing as communicating empire-to-empire. Perhaps we should call Galaxy #223 the Cool Hand Luke game, for the fact of the matter is, "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Galac-Tac has been around for the better part of half a century, already. In spite of that longevity, there appears to be no intact body of player-authored strategy articles for newcomers to Galac-Tac to draw upon. Hopefully, at least part of what I write about Galaxy #223 in issues off PBM Chaos will serve to fill at least a small portion of that immense void. That Galac-Tac Quick-Start Guide written by Talisman games GM Davin Church will only get a newcomer just so far in Galac-Tac. And then, you're on your own! Learning the rules and the game mechanics of Galac-Tac can definitely be useful. But in and of themselves, they don't really teach you much, at all, about how to play against myself or any other individual Galac-Tac players. I try to not just help others how to better understand how Galac-Tac works, but to also help them to better understand how I think as a Galac-Tac player. My primary weapon of choice in PBM wargames? Information. When I talk, from time to time, about information warfare, I mean just exactly that. Galac-Tac, as a game design, facilitates the waging of information warfare - and it does so in a variety of different ways. If your starship engages in a battle in Galac-Tac, but doesn't survive, then you never receive a combat report,. Your ship crew(s) there are all dead, after all, if your starship(s) didn't survive. Makes sense, in a way, huh? However, that lack of information also constitutes information deprivation. Combat reports teach me about the other guy's (or gal's) capabilities. That constitutes actionable information - information that I can take action on to try and better prepare my empire for future hostilities against whatever kingdom that I am fighting. By mocking Djinny's Mall Cop Security ships, that can help to motivate her to up her game - to "pimp her starship ride,' so to speak. It's bad enough to lose, but it's worse to get mocked. Is she doesn't come up with a better starship design for her empire's Security ships, then she can expect to suffer even more ship losses. And that could make for a much less competitive game of Galac-Tac. |
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The artistic inspiration of Basil Wolverton. |
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* All Galac-Tac content and images copyright © Talisman Games. |
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* Click the image above to grab a copy of Issue #15 of Monster Island Monitor! |
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"Output! This is essentially the product, what the players are paying for." - Jon Capps Ghost in the Machine Suspense & Decision Issue #23 - January/February 2023 issue
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Here it is at 7:52PM on Monday night, October 13th, 2025. I am running out of time, and even though this issue got off to a pretty good start several days ago, both Sunday (yesterday) and Monday (today) ended up being largely lost to me. So, to get this issue finished and out the door on its established publication date, several unfinished items got ripped out of it. Lots of stuff about Galac-Tac, for sure. I am very, very tired. Proofreading is a luxury that this particular issue of PBM Chaos can ill-afford. It's simply not going to happen. The publication schedule will be adhered to - period! Players of Return to the PBM Maze seem to have begun missing turns. The most likely outcome of this will be death of the maze runners. Dice rolls determine that, though. Players who missed turns for this issue received a dice roll of a 5 and a 6, respectively, which is why they took such big hits to their maze runners' life force bars. Missing turns has a way of catching up with players really fast in Return to the PBM Maze. I woke up about half past midnight, last night, and I've not made it back to bed ever since. Car issues dominated my viewscape, today. Errands weighed in, also. I'm just out of energy, so this issue ends up being a mere shell of what it could have been. If I've missed something or something seems half-done for this issue, then that's simply the price that life imposed upon it. If you're playing in Galaxy #223, it is your responsibility to send your player blurbs to me. E-mail is the best route. I won't be checking so many places, anymore. I want something to eat, and I want to go to bed. Only one of those will probably be in my immediate future. Hopefully, tomorrow will be less hectic. This is not the issue that you wanted, nor is it the issue that I wanted to publish. However, it is the issue that we both got. Sorry that it didn't end up being better than it is. Maybe next issue will be a noticeable improvement. Enjoy it, if you can. If not, I understand. See you next issue! Charles Mosteller Editor of PBM Chaos
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