DOOMSEEKER - Game Pre-Start GM Andy Scott
Game is about to start
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY F(Tri); A(Bud); A(Vie)
ENGLAND F(Edi); F(Lon); A(Lpl)
FRANCE F(Bre); A(Mar); A(Par)
GERMANY F(Kie); A(Ber); A(Mun)
ITALY F(Nap); A(Rom); A(Ven)
RUSSIA F(Sev); F(StP)sc; A(Mos); A(War)
TURKEY F(Ank); A(Con); A(Smy) GAMESTART INFORMATION My Lords,Ladies and Gentlemen--
Welcome to your new e-mail Diplomacy Gunboat game, Doomseeker, run to weekly deadlines.
My name is Andy Scott and I have the honour of being your GM for this game. The line-up for this game is secret until after the game is finished!
All deadlines are timed as 09.00 GMT.
The Spring 1901 (S01) deadline will be 09.00 GMT on Wednesday 30th November 2005. But I need to hear from you all as soon as possible: (a) confirming your intention to play; (b) supplying me with a set of provisional S01 orders.
These orders may, of course, be changed at any time up to the deadline by e-mailing them to a.j.scott@dsl.pipex.com . The reason I need provisional orders is because no game is allowed to start with any missing sets of orders in S01, so if a player must be replaced it can be sorted out before the first season's deadline. Once I have seven confirmations and seven sets of orders for S01 I'll send you an e-mail to let you know; in the meantime, you should start plotting the rise of your Empire and the fall of your enemies!
Well, once you've read and noted the following, that is:
[1] This game will be run to the Diplomacy house rules. If you haven't read the house rules I suggest you visit http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk/dip2000 and do so until your eyes water, your brain aches, and you can recite the rules word for word. Note also that the deception of the GM may result in you being expelled from the game - you have been warned!
[2] All players are expected to participate until their role in the game ends, which will happen either when the game is completed (and this could be more than a year in real time) or when you are brutally eliminated through the actions of your fellow "Diplomats". If you don't think you can provide this level of commitment let me know NOW so I can arrange for you to be replaced before the game starts. In the event of a player failing to order for two consecutive seasons, their country will be placed in anarchy and they will no longer be allowed to participate in the game. Their country's units will stand but not support each other, and if dislodged they will disband.
[3] The game will be run on a two-season per game year basis, meaning that all sets of orders you submit should include retreats, disbands, and, if the coming season is an autumn one, builds - there is no separate phase for any of these! Any units that have to retreat after the season's moves have been processed but which you have not specified retreats for will be disbanded. You may specify multiple retreats (e.g. A(Bud) retreats to Vie,Tri. This would cause A(Bud) to retreat to Vie unless Vie is occupied or otherwise unavailable to retreat to, in which case it would retreat to Tri). You may also specify conditional retreats, disbands and/or builds (e.g. "if A(Bud)-Ser succeeds build A(Bud); if A(Bud) retreats to Vie build A(Tri); otherwise build F(Tri)"), provided they are not ambiguous.
[4] Unless I specify otherwise, in which case I will give you at least a few days' notice, the deadline for each season's orders will be every week at 09.00 GMT. I won't accept requests to extend deadlines for your personal reasons except in extreme circumstances (not including, among other things, exams and working away).
[5] I will acknowledge all sets of orders I receive by replying to the e-mail in which they were sent. In most cases I will not add anything to the reply I send, because I'm inherently lazy (I blame the wife!) and it's much easier to just hit Reply and Send than to reach for the keyboard in between. If you have not received a confirmation of receipt of your orders within 24 hours I would advise you to resubmit them.
[6] I would advise you to submit a complete set of provisional orders as soon as you can after receiving each season's adjudication. This is a good habit to get into as PCs and servers have a nasty habit of crashing at the most inconvenient moments, or other commitments may prevent you from submitting your orders before the deadline. You can always change your orders as many times as you wish in the run-up to the deadline - I will use the most recently-submitted set of orders I receive from you when adjudicating. If you do miss a deadline don't whinge because I certainly won't readjudicate on your part - just make sure you get the next season's orders in on time.
[7] I will not accept orders sent from any e-mail account other than the one you have specified to play the game under (the one listed above) UNLESS you e-mail me from your regular account beforehand telling me that you may be using a different account to submit your orders with, and specifying its address. If you change your e-mail address you must inform me from both your old and new addresses, or I will not accept orders sent in using your new address.
[8] When submitting your orders please ensure they are complete or only the orders you have enclosed with your latest e-mail will be processed. If, for example, you send me an e-mail saying, "I want to order A(Bul)-Ser and all other orders are as per my previous e-mail of orders", I will order all units to hold unordered except for A(Bul), which will move to Ser. Prevent yourself becoming the object of derision of your fellow players in this way by ensuring you submit complete sets of orders only.
[9] All sets of orders you submit to me must contain the following information: your name, the name of the game, the country you're playing as, and the season you're ordering for. It would be most convenient if you would put this all in the subject line (e.g. "Doomseeker - France A02 - version 1").
[10] Press will be not be accepted. Press from me will carry the handle,"Andy".
[11] I will normally adjudicate within a few hours of the deadline at most, notwithstanding extreme personal circumstances or important commitments on my part, but I will accept sets of orders I receive after the deadline. If you have not received the adjudication (or an explanation for any delay) within 36 hours of the deadline, please e-mail me; if this garners no response, e-mail the Diplomacy 2000 head honcho, Tom Tweedy, at tom@lancedal.demon.co.uk. If there are any problems with the adjudication get in touch with me as soon as possible after the deadline so I will be able to sort it out with the minimum of disturbance to the game.
Note: As this is a gunboat game I may adjudicate as soon as I have a complete set of orders. To stop this, please put Provisional in the subject line to confirm that these are not your FINAL orders. All orders WILL be taken as Final orders, if they do not have provisional in the subject line.
[12] When sending the adjudication I will include a map of the game in the form of a GIF file and send it to you in the same e-mail. Please inform me if you don't wish the map to be e-mailed to you.
[13] I will post a copy of each season's adjudication and map at: Adjudication: http://www28.brinkster.com/ajscott/showadj.asp?game=Doomseeker Map: http://www28.brinkster.com/ajscott/showmap.asp?game=Doomseeker You will be able to access previous adjudications and maps at: Archive: http://www28.brinkster.com/ajscott/seasonchoice.asp?game=Doomseeker Note that these links will be working when you receive this e-mail.
[14] Please do not send me any e-mails containing attachments, including vCards, because, having suffered once before at the hands of virus-infected attachments, I just delete them.
That's all I have to say for the moment. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any queries regarding the game - answering your queries is what I'm here as a GM for, after all. I hope that you all enjoy the game and that the most undeserving and devious player wins :-))
Regards
Andy
|