Valkir

It is a little known fact that the Dauntless was actually a CrackerJack prize, and not one of their most successful at that. Aside from the logistcal problems associated with ramping up production to produce a box big enough to hold the Dauntless as a prize and still contain some amount of CrackerJack, the Dauntless was also the most common prize in their 6-set collector series, "Hyperspace Hotrods". Sources speculate that the final nail in the coffin for this cruiser was when Emporer Palpatine opened his fourth CrackerJack box and got consecutive Dauntlesses. "Dammit! This starship bites!", he is reported to say. "And its deck smells like Gammorean butt! Lord Vader! When you are done giving yourself a head-wedgie, go and procure me some REAL ships!" and that is how the rebels got their Dauntlesses for so cheap... Valkir

I voted for the Snowtrooper. When I first saw Empire many (many) years ago, the snowtrooper armor with its long face cowl looked really intimidating, and that is what first came to mind when I saw the poll.

You see ladies and gentlemen?? The rebel propaganda machine hard at work! Bet they use Macintoshes, too! "Slight" or "Perceived" failures?? Ozzel jumped out of hyperspace too soon! So focused was he on displaying the mighty strength of the Empire, that he openly declares his whereabouts sooner than sound tactics would allow! His showboating with an Imperial Fleet lost the element of surprise needed to bombard the rebels from space, and forced the Empire into a costly ground campaign! Vader was both Mission AND Man focused, and wanted to let Ozzel know in no uncertain terms that the loss of so many stormtroopers was a heavy price to pay for his antics! And Needa? Well, Vader DID accept his apology Valkir

Greetings! Just ended a game at day 14500 (that's right true beleivers! Over 39 years!), and I noticed a couple of things that begged questions. First off, Do certain Named characters perform better in certain systems/ sectors? Case in point: Niles Ferrier had about 25 points in Diplomacy when he was recruited; nothing major, but still good for him. Well, not finding him to be force sensitive, I sent him to the Churba Sector to do a little intel. Once done, I thought I'd just park him for a bit and let him practice diplomacy on an already imperial system. I'll be darned if he didn't bring that system completely around to 100% loyal all by himself! I thought nah, musta been a fluke, so I sent him to a neutral system; shortly thereafter I had another system loyal to me! When I finally ran out of things for him to do (including topping-off all loyalties in Churba after a few Rebel Hit-and-Fade runs) he had more than doubled his diplomacy to 55! THen I sent him to Gandolo IV in the Moddell sector, and it seemed to take him 4000 or 5000 days to get his diplomacy job done there! Then there is Vader! Shheeesh! Sith lord he may be, he sure ain't no instructor! The reason the game went on as long as it did was to see Vader turn out some Jedi Masters. In games past, if Vader trained multiple students it wasn't uncommon to see multiple successes. However! This game Vader's "train' ranking must have been somewhere down around his ankles! Years would go by without even one success! And it didn't seem to matter if I trained Covell, Griff, Needa, or Bane alone or in groups, they just didn't get a whole lot out of training. All of them made Knight after about 17-20 years, but not one other Master! And their skills were awesome! In terms of D.E.C.L.: Covell was 500/40/25/145 Griff was 42/289/274/196 Needa was 19/410/335/132 Bane was 25/326/267/138 And even Vader improved to 250/202/261/169 How dissapointing!

ROFLMFAO!!! I'm glad I could in some small way contribute to your neurosis! Valkir

Obviously sir, your recollection of the day's events and my recollection differ slightly. I seem to recall laughing maniaclly and shouting " HAHAHA! I hereby declare an end to all treaties and announce open hostilities!" Valkir

You see folks??! There they go again! Rebel propaganda! I mean really! In all the stories about Leia's run-ins with the Imperials, is there even a hint that she was raped? NO! Luke Skywalker rescues her from her prison cell aboard the Death Star and is there even one hair of her doughnuts out of place? NO! O.K., she ran through the Death Star without a bra on...rebel scum probably never gave her a bra (cheeky bastards!) Han Solo on Bespin: tortured. Chewbacca on Bespin: tortured. C-3PO on Bespin: blown to shit. What's the worst the imperials did to the princess? They Made Her Wear a White Jumpsuit! And it was after Labor Day!! The worst treatment she ever received was from Jabba the Hutt, and he ain't even on the imperial payroll! The imperials always treated her well..well except for that initial "execution order" thing... Valkir

You mean, without all the "rebel scum" remarks and all? You got a deal. They open a Strat section, I'll give it a little polish. Valkir

BAH! Just like a weasley little Reb, thinking that everyone means to go about sneaking and skulking! There's more to picking a place than sneak value; who says I was trying to hide? Valkir

This may be a bit obvious for many people, but know what targets will best meet your needs and goals. Case in point: How to lose, and still win. Rebel scum entered the Commenor system with a fair que of ships! Corellian Gunship, two Escort carriers, a Bulk transport, a CC-7700 frigate, two CC-9600 frigates, two B-Wing squadrons, a compliment of A-wings, and a full load of Wookies! What did I have to show my unannounced 'guests'? 17 Tie Defender squadrons, one Assault transport, and Jerjerrod as Acting Commander. Now Commenor was a ripe little plum that the hungry Rebs wanted to pluck, and I had a feeling that Jerjerrod and his Ties would not be able to rule the day. So, the goal changed: can't win the battle, but make it so they can't win on the ground. FIghters fight fighters while Jerjerrod holds back ( I can't afford to lose his skill for the fighters), and at the end of that first skirmish I've just enough Defenders left to zoom past the Alliance Ships and hit the Bulk transport. The Alliance ships turn to Jerjerrod, and blow him back to Commenor, just as the last remaining Defenders send Wookie parts to the far corners of the system. When all was said and done, I had no air power in the system; Jerjerrod tried his hand at leading ground force defenses; and the Rebs stood over Commenor smacking their lips. They left hungry just the next day. They realized that without most of their Wookie party crashers, Commenor would not be theirs for the taking. Peace and order was again maintained in another system. Valkir

See Texas_Fett's thread under "Gaming Stories" ; the Poll regarding Tie Interceptors. In short, 500 Interceptors > Uber Fleet Valkir

!Si! That would be me! And I'll be the first to admit that Texas_Fett has the tactical superiority over me in this game.... Tex? Care to relive the tale of our last Warcraft encounter, all those years ago? Valkir

You rebel scum! Heheh! Yes, that was more luck than skill, but don't forget to tell the part that Tie Interceptors Were the PINNACLE of my tech tree! Yes, that's right boys and girls, I didn't build any Defenders because after 20+ years of war Friggin Squints Were As Advanced As I Got!! My fault, I admit, because we had not agreed on what kind of research to do. Hell, I doubt I could have scraped together an advanced construction yard, or anything scarier than a stormtrooper regiment! Texas Fett likes to tell me how he can have the imps on the ropes by day 100, on the third difficulty level. So we created another game. This time, I had the two PCs "a mi casa" and let the resource developement go. But I also did my research. Oh, and I built a couple of things. So, one fine weekend, Tex gets his ducks in a row and comes me abode for a little mouse-fest. First time he has a successful recon mission and spots the fleet made up of a fully stocked Super Stardestroyer, with two IMP II escorts, three Strike cruisers, three Lance Frigates, and three Galleons...and this fleet is named "Reconaisance"...well, he was ready to leave my house in a huff! I just smiled and said "Think of it as difficulty level 4." we haven't gotten back to that game yet.