**>> SPYNET BULLETIN **>> EARTHDATE 91.04.28 **>> AN H-by-A SERVICE **>> WHAT'S NEW, PUSSYCAT? Are you in the habit of scanning through the list of verbs in the game? You know, the list you get by typing , , etc. If you really have nothing better to do, you have our sympathy. By comparison, watching paint dry seems amazingly interesting. But if any of you HAVE looked at the verbs in the last few days, you will have spotted two new ones: and or . At the moment, they don't do anything in the Fed Data Space you all know and love. But in the alternate reality that is The Test Version they are fully operational. is short for Quick Who. Since the list produced when you type is showing more and more information... name, rank, ship, comms channel and status, and (shortly) planet name... will give you just the persona names. is the way you will move to other Star Systems once player's planets are in. It will only work when your ship is on an Interstellar Link. By typing the command on it's own, you will see which Star Systems are currently available to you, and typing will take you there. In order for your ship to utilise this new technology, it will have to have a small modification to its engines. This technology will only be available to Adventurers and above. **>> HISTORY IN THE MAKING One small step for Hazed, a giant leap for Fed-kind... we've actually flown the good ship Alcohol through an Interstellar Link and visited another star! Explorer Russ has kindly donated his system, Haven, for Bella to play around with in the test version of the game. And we have flown around his space locations - and neary flown into his star, too! Oooh, isn't it exciting? **>> BEGINNER'S STUFF Welcome to all of you who have started playing recently. We do urge you to take the time to download the manual. There is a lot of depth to the game and you will miss out on the subtler features if you try to "work it out as you go along". In order to help new players who have queries, Occy is running a Beginner's Chat on May 5 at 4.00 PST. The Chat will be held in Conference Room 5 of the MPGRT area. For more information about this event, mail OCPAC. **>> NO INTERFERENCE One thing that new players often find confusing is the role of "Da Management" in Federation II. Fed doesn't have any "Gamemasters" because the game is designed not to need constant supervision. If you would like some help, many of the experienced players will help new players get started, and answer their questions. There is no Big Brother watching what you do, ready to denounce you for transgressing some unwritten rule... if the game will allow you to do something, then generally it's OK. Our philosophy is: we've provided the environment, you do what feels comfortable. For further clarification, read our Policy Statement which can be found in Category 14, Topic 1 of the MPGRT area on Page 1045. **>> CON-TRACT! If ever there was a lesson that you should read the small print before you sign anything, here's one. Neuromancer offered to sell Spacey some monopoles and transmitted a contract, which Spacey happily signed... only realising after the goods had been delivered that 1 ton had just cost three-quarters of a meg! We understand that the two are not the best of friends anymore. **>> PROMOTIONS NEWS Scooter became a Captain and Freya an Adventureuse. Valdor, Davidge and Catrina all made Trader in the last week. Congratulations all - and remember, BUY LOW SELL HIGH. Reno was promoted to Merchant. Jimhuge made it to JP without too many problems. Next stop GM! Oxcart is now ready to try the fiendish JP puzzle. We hope you've made a will, Oxcart... With the disappearance of a few high-ranking players, the Conclave has changed quite a bit. Oddball and Russ are slugging it out for first place, with Oddball _just_ in the lead at the time of writing. Other Conclavians are Piemur, Occy, George and Merkin. **>> NEW HEART-THROB ON THE BLOCK A new, young, nubile, fresh-faced Trader, Catrina, is trying to get into the record books. Her claim to fame? She's out to have her name linked to as many of the men in Fed Data Space as possible. Rumours are rife about her activities. We've heard that if it's male and it moves, she'll go after it. And if it doesn't move, she'll go after it too! Apparently, it all started when she delighted the regulars at Chez Diesel (Social Centre of the Solar System) when she climbed onto the bar and did an impromptu striptease. Diesel wasn't too happy about the stilleto marks on her oak bar... but the male patrons all threw themselves at Catrina's feet and declared their undying love for her. This attention obviously went to her head, and she took out an indefinite booking on a room at the Mars Hotel in order to conduct her liaisons in comfort. We have a list of names of those "gentlemen" who have been seen in the vicinity of the Mars Hotel, and we may publish them next week. (Send cheques to the usual address, please.) **>>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 Federation II Leader in the bulletin board is Occy (Mail ID: OCPAC). Topic 1 of the Fed category contains the Federation II policy statement. The MPGames RT also has a Federation II library in the files area, Library 5. **>> BULLETIN ENDS