**>> SPYNET BULLETIN **>> EARTHDATE 91.03.16 **>> AN H-by-A SERVICE **** NOTE: Due to the hospitalization of Hazed's mother, we have assigned the reporting of this week's news to ace-reporter-and-snoop-at-large, Samantha. Best wishes to Hazed's mum for a speedy recovery! **>> REVENGE OF PEGASUS As you may remember from last week, the High Priestess of the Order of St. Pegasus, Defender of the Meek, was not amused to learn that her beloved Pegasus was being killed by lone space warriors. The High Priestess quickly fortified Peggy with go-faster vitamins. Suspiciously, we notice that the Federation Bounty Bureau simultaneously reduced the reward on the newly fortified Pegasus as well. There is probably no truth to the rumor that the Bureau reduced the reward shortly after two mysterious figures were seen exchanging whispers and money in a darkened alleyway near Chez Diesel's. The blood-thirsty warriors are said to have beat a hasty retreat and Pegasus once again reigns as the invincible beast of Fed DataSpace . . . for now. **>> LOST AND FOUND Deirdre was the first to find the new token! It took two days for anyone to find it and we won't say where Deirdre was, but suffice it to say, she was lost -- very, very lost -- on Mars, at the time. Are Gunter, Kevin, Blackmark, and Hawkman dead, missing in action, or merely lost? A posse' was formed to hunt the absent Rich People and we are awaiting word of their whereabouts! Trader Jimhuge, once believed missing in action, has been returned to Fed at long last but no one has claimed him yet! **>> FED'S NEW HOME If you aren't reading the new Multi-Player Games section of GEnie, you'll never know who's talking about you! From any GEnie menu, type M1045 and set your topic to FEDERATION. Be sure to visit the WHO ARE YOU IN FED section (#3, topic 14, category 13) and tell us ALL about yourself (at the very least leave your GEnie mail address so people can leave you mail.) A *MUST SEE* is OCCY'S CORNER for all the lastest gossip and tips! (#3, topic 14, category 15). (And as George and Forever have discovered, memorable moments in Fed may be publicly memorialzed in OCCY'S CORNER!) **>> PARTY TIME Never a week goes by in Fed that there isn't a party somewhere! Rumour has it that this week's party was held in Samantha's Penthouse Apartment on Earth (does Kevin know about this???) and attended by lots of Fedders, including Oxcart, who was wearing only a barrel! Neuromancer had to be pulled from the ceiling several times, but not as often as George and Deirdre had to be pried from the shadows! And, will wonders never cease, Occy was seen dancing! (Rickster must have powerful charms!) We understand that the party got so rowdy that a person who shall remain nameless (but who's name begins with "Q") lost his, um, gold codpiece! **>> NAME THAT BAND The competition in the NAME O'TOOLE'S BAND CONTEST has become so fierce that the contest has been extended another week. Keep those suggestions coming! Leave your suggestion in Feedback to Fed (be sure to sign your Persona's name). **>> Q & A NEWBODS (That's all you new people): 1. WHAT DO I DO FIRST? You need to get a ship permit and a ship. Also read the instructions and look at the maps that you will find under the Federation game menu (# 3-Instructions) and also at M1045, selection 2. Set your topic for Federation. Having done that, if you turn to page 4 of the instructions, you will find the DIRECTIONS to get your permit. Once you have your permit, it's up to you to find JARROW SHIPBUILDERS but if you get the maps, that shouldn't be very difficult for someone as bright as you are! Once you have your ship, you need to land on each planet once, manually. If you have the maps, it's easy, if not, we hope you enjoy interplanetary space! After you have landed on a planet manually, from then on you can use the GOTO command to zip through space. You are then ready to get JOBS. JOBS=money and trader points. To gain promotion in Fed, you need both. 2. TEARING UP CONTRACTS (or WHY IS SAMANTHA GOING TO KILL ME DEAD-DEAD?) If you are offered a job by a Rich Person and you void or reject the contract, the rich person loses all the cargo offered (usually 75 tons worth a LOT of groats!!) You will not be popular if you do this, so you had better have a COMPELLING reason or a death wish if you do! 3. MY TWIN LASER DOESN'T WORK. That's because you shouldn't order expensive trinkets your first time buying a ship. The bank will only loan you so much money and the amount isn't enough to buy a fully rigged fighting ship and even if it were, you couldn't afford to pay for the repairs when you get shot fighting! Let this be a warning: You need cargo space (at least 75 tons after you add any whistles and buzzers) to make a living in Fed and pay off your ship! (You also need powerful engines to drive twin lasers!) 4. WHAT'S THIS PUZZLE STUFF AND WHY SHOULD I HELP? One of the more fun parts of gaining rank in Fed involves puzzle solving. Until you are high enough rank to actually do a puzzle, you may be asked to participate in one (or several), but no one will tell you anything except "Stand here and hold this." Pay attention to where you are and what you are holding and you will have part of your own puzzle solved when it is your turn! You should participate in as many puzzles as you can and it usually pays well, too! NON-NEWBODS: 1. MY TWIN LASER DOESN'T WORK. When you buy a fighting ship, you have to order engines that will be large enough to support the minimum configuration, as well as extras, such as shields and weapons. RTFM and talk to some of the warriors (Samantha, Polar, Piemur, Russ, Kevin) for tips on a good fighting ship. 2. WHY DOES MY FACTORY SHOW A NEGATIVE AMOUNT OF MONEY AS A BALANCE? When you store your factory's output to a warehouse, the factory charges you for the goods you have bought (from your factory) to put in your warehouse. However, if you display your COMPANY, you'll find that the profits that the factory made selling your products to you are there to be claimed by declaring a DIVIDEND. Likewise, when you have the output set to the Exchange and your factory makes a profit, those profits are put into your Company, too, and can be claimed by declaring a DIVIDEND. The command is DIVIDEND . 3. WHY CAN'T I BUY A LEVEL 7 COMPUTER? I HAVE THE MONEY! Well, good for you, but it isn't money that determines your computer level, it's your INTELLIGENCE. The higher your INT, the higher level computer you can use. Rule of thumb: Computer level = INT/15. Except for level seven - which is so powerful that a) It can't be retrofitted - you need a new ship to buy one b) You need 120 INT to use it! **>> EXPLORERS The object editor is in place, sort of, and Explorers are busily designing their new planets and plotting all kinds of madness, mayhem, new adventures, and ways for players to make groats in Fed. Our illustrious leader promises that the linkage for these planets is not long off, but she must work the coding around the intricacies of the GEnie system. If you see an Explorer and you have an idea you would like to see incorporated into the game, speak up! Samantha is offering a 50,000 groat reward for each suggestion used in her planet. **>>PROMOTION NEWS There have been so many promotions in Fed this week that if anyone is missed, please leave a note in Feedback and we promise to put your name in lights next week! Making Captain were Olorin, Masher, Argonaut and Ty -- Well done! Deirdre, Katrina, and Neuromancer are all newly promoted Adventeureuse's -- congratulations, ladies! Jean, Garth, Slartibartfast and Flatlander made Adventurer -- you do us proud, here in Fed, fellows! Keep up the good work! Queue and Ghost are our newest Merchants! Good job! The JP Ranks are getting crowded, with the addition of Oddball and Questar this week! After singeing his fur more than once in the process, The Bear is now a GM -- well done, Polar! And, shamelessly boasting, Samantha has made Explorer! **>>CONTACTS The following information will appear at the end of every News Bulletin, so you don't have to read it if you already know it. In the event of a problem or question, you can: * talk to Hazed, Cryptosporidium, Bella or Clem in the game * leave a message in the game log * send mail with the Federation Feedback option from the main menu You can order a copy of the unexpurgated printed Idiot's Guide to Federation II by typing ORDER at any GEnie menu. Cost - a mere $12.95. Federation II has a category in the new MPGames RT. To get there, type M1045,1 from any menu prompt and SET category 14. The MPGames RT also has a Federation II library in the files area, Library 5. **>> BULLETIN ENDS