Quazar

Got it. That would be 20:00 GMT (12:00 PST). There is no microphone on my new machine but we will find out if I can at least hear others. quote:Originally posted by Remo Williams: Wow this topic is getting long starting on page 9 now. I must concur! Perhaps each match needs a dedicated topic.

quote:Originally posted by Remo Williams: Ok I'll send you the password for the fleet server,...Thanks. I got the PM. quote:...but since you've never attend a match before I'll have to send the lobby only to Zane since he has attend the last match and a few others.No problem at all, Remo. Zane has indeed been active more recently than myself. quote:Originally posted by Zane Marlowe: ...apparently Quazar's going to start showing up to fleet matches. Hope you're going to make this a regular habit if you're going to get the lobby app. Not necessarily, Zane. First, my RL is crazy right now. Secondly, though Remo's screen shot of the Lobby does look cool, I can afford to wait until next year for the official release. It just so happens that I found time this evening to test UC Multi-Player on my new machine. quote:Originally posted by Remo Williams: No one else will be allowed on the fleet server during the test match except of course the SC.Thank you for the heads up. How long will the test match last? When should I login for the official match?

I can attend, even though I am still officially on leave. I will need the password for the Fleet server and any other required info.

The fact that you have asked this question has taught me the value of explaining details better. Thank you, Mrxknown. I don't feel I should spell out the answer. This is, after all, a mystery. Two military spacecraft, from different alien nations, attempted to make contact with the Terrans at the same time. On their approach their pathes crossed and hostilities were exchanged. One craft fired a missile at the other. The second craft's Electo-Magnetic Disruptor jammed the incoming missile. Immediately, both ships cloaked. The long-range weapon headed into the asteroid field of the Sol system, destroying a random space rock. The Terran scientists on Mars observed this explosion. From there the story unfolds as I have posted. In the end, the the Commander of the second alien spacecraft, the one at which the missile was fired, orders the crew to return to "Vanguard" (posted just before the closing RP tag in post #13). It has nothing to do with the Vanguard Fleet in the Earthcom Alliance. In hindsight, I would have chosen a different location if I had anticipated the recent name change of our Fleet. After looking in the Launch Bases section of the UC Appendix, I have not found the Vanguard Starstation. If you have read the Alien Nations Appendix, ask yourself "which nation concentrates on exploration more than any other task?" That nation has a Starstation (in BC3K at least) called Vanguard. This should tell you which alien nation sent the craft at whom the missile was fired. I believe that Mrxknown has asked what alien nation sent the first alien spacecraft, the one that fired the missile. No clues were given about its identity. I was not sure, frankly, what nation I thought should send that ship. So it is a toss up among any alien that has a primary attribute of Warrior. Its up to you, the reader, to decide which of these openly hostile alien nations sent the first spacecraft, the one that fired the missile at the other ship. Last Hint: There are 13 possible alien races in the game - including the Terrans. Neither ship was sent by the Terrans or the Galaxians. That narrows your search down to 11 possibilities. Of these 11, two alien nations each sent their own spacecraft to make contact with the Terrans.

You didn't receive it? OK, I'll fire it off again, with your original message. Yeah, even if Aidan Tylier and Elio Jason are not available, you can still write them in or have them get reasigned. Then you can finish sorting out the different "factions" of Galcom. Getting back on topic, I plan to read your Yokosha in full soon.

I skimmed through Yokosha and I'm impressed, Kalshion - as I am with Twilight Hour. Are you planning on finishing that one? BTW, I have replied to your Private Message (on a different topic).

T C and I have been conversing for the past week about the structure and general status of the Alliance. Even if only for a short time, it is an honor to have our leader among us again. Until further notice, all roll call topics will be archived, upon conclusion, as a record of member attendance.

Click here to read Earthcom's membership policy. Then post in this topic to be counted as an Earthcom member. New or potential members should not post in this thread until approved in the Fleet DataBase. If you are interested in membership or have questions about Earth Command, read this thread.

Thank you for the heads up, Remo. I hope your move progresses well.

The meeting has concluded. TS participants in today's meeting: Marvin Chavik Quazar Shingen ShoHashi I think Dreada was there before I logged on. Metting results: I learned that ROE stands for Rules Of Engagement. Chavik said they discussed a possible library for ROE's so that people who wish to play an unofficial match can use the library to choose an ROE to play. We still need to compare notes with Remo and get a fleet application process hammered out. That is, if it is decided that all fleets should recruit the same way.

It's up now!!

Well, even without TS, six fleet leaders made for a good turnout. Thanks for comming guys. quote:Originally posted by DREADA: Probably need to reschedule now though.Yep!

Hi Greg, I'm posting in this topic because Remo's Teamspeak server has a hardware problem. We were originally supposed to use TS.

OK, gentlemen. It's 19:41 EDT, TS is still down, and we have six Fleet Leaders here: ShoHashi Cmdr Chavik DREADA Shingen Quazar Greg Miller I will start the ball rolling. Among other things, Remo wants to discuss developing a recruiting application process to address future situations like this. IMO, Shingen has done a great job. First, should all fleets have the same policy? Or should TDH (raiders) have a different application process than Wraith (military)?

Thanks, Damier. BTW, I received a PM about a possible conflict in story times. I will repost it along with my answer. Because it was a Private Message, however, I won't reveal the person's identity. quote:Originally sent to me in a PM: I read up to post 5 and it seems that the time changes from 8:31 to 8:13 and then increases. BTW I love the story so far.Posts are numbered starting with 0. So you are actually referring to post #4. That time change is partially explained by this sentence: quote:Originally posted by Quazar in post #3: Bernard found out later that Issac had purposely delayed his appearance at an 8 o'clock press conference to provide a perfect cover for this brief exchange.Chief Administrator Isaac Forbes attended that press conference in the first scene of post #4. Notice the change, not only in time, but also the location: from Jenson Astronomical Observatory (on the surface of Mars) at the end of post #3, to Starpath starstation at the biginning of post #4. The timeline effectively splits because the characters are in different locations. So the later scene at Starpath can be posted before the earlier scene at the Jenson Observatory. Think of it as a "mean while" type of story telling. The feed-back I have received from readers of this story will help me write better in the future.

quote:Originally posted by Shingen: I'm assuming that this thing is set for 7:00 pm CDT (5PM PDT)23:00 (11:00 P.M.) GMT on Thursday translates into 18:00 (6:00 P.M.) CDT, same day for Oklahoma. Remo, 23:00 (11:00 P.M.) GMT on Thursday means 16:00 (4:00 P.M.) PDT, same day, for California (you), Oregon (me), and Nevada (Marvin). I will be available from 4PM until about 7PM. quote:Originally posted by Remo Williams: I don't get home until after 5:00 PDT usually.PDT = (GMT -7) I must be missing something here.

Epilogue [rp] 2:59 10/03/2467 Outer Sol System Voyager 2 279 billion miles from Sol 17 hours ago, the old probe had detected a possible discharge of weaponry.... Suddenly a distant star dissapeared from Voyager 2's view only to reappear 4 milliseconds (thousandths of a second) later. -------------------- 19:00 Somewhere between Voyager 2 and that distant star A dark vessel floated through the emptiness. "Commander, the last fragment has narrowly missed the third planet." Deep sighs of relief came from the bridge crew. "That was close." The Comms Officer frowned. "Sir, logs indicate the missile was launched at us from a cloaked ship. It was jammed by our EMD successfully and headed to the debris field of that star system." "How could a cloaked vessel launch a weapon without being exposed?" asked the Research Officer. "It's a moot point now! Our 'friendly' competition blew up an asteroid and made first contact that much harder. I don't think those people are ready for it anyway.... Abort the mission. We're returning to Vanguard." [/rp] In this story I used the term "Insurgents" for easy identification to the reader. This name probably did not come into general use until about 80 years before the UFN officially labeled them as such in March of 2965. Well, that's it. I hope you enjoyed the story. If you are wondering what happened at the end, first look at the time period (2467), and read the history appendix that is included in the full game manual. The first nation that the Terrans officially contacted was the Empirians in 2928. The starstation Vanguard gives a clue as to who this unknown ship and crew were. Our story ends on this mysterious note. I wrote Elliptical Orbit sporadically from late October 2003 to mid August 2004 (although small modifications were made as recently as this morning). Role-Playing is my favorite aspect of this game series. If I can find such a block of time in the future, I plan to cover a major event in official game history. Thank you all for reading this story.

Note: I have edited my post in Earthcom's Pinboard thread to answer your question, Dreada (to keep this thread on topic). quote:Originally posted by DREADA: I personally wouldn't have problem with that time, but I think others will! I suggested 12.00AM BST coz working folks on CDT/PDT etc would probably be home by then.I was also thinking of Ben Zwycky (new ISS Fleet Leader), who is currently on CEST (GMT +2). If we held the meeting at 23:00 GMT, then that would be 1AM for him.

[rp] 18:13 10/02/2467 Mars/Sol Jenson Astronomical Observatory Operations Center Level 1/Meeting Room 2 Isaac sat reading a datapad and grasping his right shoulder with his left hand. "Gentlemen?" Kurt's voice startled Bernard and Frank. "I have some good news!" Isaac brought his left arm to the table with a thud, startling the other two again! "What? Did you save a bunch of money on your hovercraft insurance by switching to-" Kurt interupted. "NO! No, no no no." He stuttered, trying to hold back his laughing. "No. Don't start that again!" He took a deep breath. "The fragment will miss Earth by 900 miles!" "You're kidding." Bernard frowned. "Look for yourself." Kurt held out his datapad. Bernard looked at the radar projections on the display. "... Well!?" Isaac demanded. "Gentlemen, I think he's right. We just might pull through this after all!" Frank reached out his hand. "Let me see that." Bernard handed him the pad and folded his hands on the table. "It was close but deviated just enough to miss us." "Us? Remember Bernard, we're on Mars." Isaac said as the four men stood up and stretched. "Does this mean we can finally catch the next Earth-bound ferry and eat lunch at that little restaurant in Boise, Idaho tomorrow?" Kurt had been wanting a vacation for weeks. "Only after the press conference, Kurt." Bernard reminded him. Isaac nodded, slapping Frank on the back. "Sounds like a plan!" 18:16 [/rp]

Acknowledged, hippychrome. Good work!

I can make it. But this is the only weekday meeting that I can attend for the forseeable future. Read my post in Earthcom's Pinboard thread for details. quote:Originally posted by DREADA: Thats 2.00AM in the UK!! The best I could do would be 12.00AM midnight my time (7PM Eastern / 6PM Central) and even then I couldn't stay longer than 30 mins. Hmm, maybe this is gonna be a little problematic for a weekday evening?? Indeed. How would 22:00 GMT (11:00 BST, 3:00 PDT) work for you Dreada?

quote:Originally posted here by DREADA: ps. Whats this I hear about you being unavailable in the future...I was looking forward to seeing EarthCOM in action! College starts next week. Thanks for your concern, Dreada. But I won't be "unavailable" in the future. I just will not have as much time as I do now. Things are changing for Earthcom though. We have at least two Cadets working away at their MP training (courtesy of Prime Fleet). Once they complete their assignments, we will have a full three-member Multi-Player team. [ 09-22-2004, 03:05 AM: Message edited by: Quazar ]

[rp] 17:46 10/02/2467 Mars/Sol Colonist Settlement 2 Vicinity of Building C The Martian landscape had always been breath-taking! But this afternoon, as the recharged Vice Administrator Bernard Sullivan jogged among the rocks in his standard-issue pressure suit, Olympus Mons* almost seemed to sparkle. On its top, was Bernard's place of employment, offering the best planetary view of the sky in Sol. Soon, he would have to end his exercise session and board the maglev** that would take him all those miles through the dispersed colony, up that formidable mountain and back to the bureaucracy therein.... 17:47 -------------------- 17:58 JAO Operations Center Level 1/Corridor 4 Bernard quickly walked to the scheduled meeting room. His stomach was growling angrily. "Rats! Forgot to eat breakfast.... Oh well. At least you're awake, Bernard." he mumbled to himself. The door slid open revealing Frank, Isaac and Kurt sitting around a table with more datapads and scattered papers than Bernard had ever allowed to accumulate in his own office. "Uh.... Good afternoon, gentlemen. Getting your Ph.D's again?" Kurt and Isaac laughed as Frank rolled his eyes. "Well, good 'morning' to you, Mr. Sullivan. Want some coffee?" Isaac held out a steaming black mug. The appetizing aroma filled Bernard's nostrils. "Yes please!" Frank smiled. "All right, men. Let's get him up to date." "OK." Kurt began. "One fragment has passed its solar periapsis (or, point of closest approach to the sun). The other succumbed to the sun's gravitational pull and quickly dissapeared into its surface." Isaac now held 5 pads in his right hand in a fanned out arrangement with three of the screens facing him. "The third object was definitely a UFO. Upon closer examination of the Radio footage," (Isaac turned his hand over to view the other two displays.) "all 12 probes in the network saw it crash directly through the original asteroid in the Belt. After traveling with the two fragments for a while, its image deteriorated, over a period of 30 seconds, before vanishing all together!" "It... cloaked?"*** "That's the only way to explain it." Frank surmised. Kurt held up his hand. "Just got this from the Solar Ops computer.... The third asteroid fragment will swing round the sun and cross Earth's orbit... there's gonna be an impact." No one spoke for nearly 2 minutes. Isaac emerged from deep thought. "So... the Insurgents are right." The others looked up from their reading. Bernard squinted, trying to deduce Isaac's contention. "I wouldn't say that." Frank said, shaking his head. "It makes perfect sense. The UFN wants to go explore the far reaches of space. The insurgents care only for the 'blue/green' planet and its resources. So what happens? An asteroid comes from outer space and threatens our homeworld. I would say both sides have found some common ground." "Yeah.... The government isn't always right." Kurt agreed. Bernard slowly nodded and concluded, "Diversity of opinion can be a good thing, sometimes." The four men settled into their seats, immersing themselves in the mountain of data. 18:09 [/rp] *Olympus Mons is a dead volcano and the largest in the Sol system. **It's a subway train propelled by Magnetic-levitation. ***This is long before the inter-stellar space revolution of 2900.

hippychrome, this is off topic so I have sent you a Private Message. Thanks for your concern.

quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: Yeah, BCM does not have a CD-KEY. Anyway, since you can't register it, you might as well post your system specs if you're having a problem.OK, that answers my question. Thanks. quote:Originally posted by hippychrome: All this info was usefull to me too, thanx Quazar. You're welcome, hippychrome.