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[OlSheep]

Rules updated 11/02(mm/dd)

------------ The Game ------------





Here's the game : download
And, obviously : official website

Get it, it's free.

An excerpt from their site :

Battleships Forever is a freeware tactical Real Time Strategy game that put's you in command of a small fleet of warships in space. Combat and damage mechanics are extremely detailed. Everything is simulated in game if possible. There are no abitrary "to hit chance" values in Battleships Forever. The game also features many innovative mechanics that you've never seen before. For example, the Cronus Battleship sports a Flux Shield generator that allows you to draw a defensive force shield around your ships in any shape you want. Another example are the Deflector modules that are used extensively through the game. These modules make a single section of a ship totally invulnerable to fire. This means that you will have to manoeuvre your ships to attack sections of the enemy ships not protected by Deflectors while keeping your own protected sections facing the enemy. Position is paramount!

Players will command picked fleets made up of Battleships, Destroyers and Patrol Craft. The completed game will include ten campaign missions and multiple skirmish modes.[/b]

What he'd like us to do here is a tournament based on a set of rules created in the game's forums. Basically, you design a ship with the BF Ship Maker, you upload it and someone (that would be me) uses the AI to simulate a one on one with another ship. Since it's a tournament, the point is to design the best ship so that it can climb the ladder.

The game is just that awesome. Did I mention it's free?

------------ The Rules ------------

Before we begin, do note that I'm shamelessly borrowing from Andrew_Fireborn (Wyrdysm forums). So kudos to him. We'll stick to creating only large ships for this first tourney (i.e. I'm deleting the rules for cruisers and frigates).

Battleships Forever doesn't enforce any special rules on the ships you design. You can create a "god ship" that is completely invincible. Obviously, that would make for a very uninteresting tourney. Therefore, your creation must abide by the following rules :

100 point buy system

Core HP: Cost (stock ship average):
1 point / 50 HP (500) [500 base]

Max Speed:
1 point / 0.05 speed [0.20 base]

Acceleration:
3 points / 0.01 [0.10 base]

Turning:
2 points / 0.05 [0.10 base]

Sections:
1 point / 2 sections & 1 point / 100 HP added to section [300 'custom HP' base.]

Weapons (STOCK WEAPONS ONLY):
-Projectile
--Pulse Gun (4)
--Gatling Pulse (4)
--Blaster Cannon (6)
--Gatling Blaster (12)
--Quad Blaster (12)
--Repeater Gun (4)
--Tachyon Cannon (6)
--Tachyon Repeater (6)
--Tachyon Driver (6)
--Mega Tachyon (9)
--Plasma Charge (8)
--Missile (12)

-Beam
--Mining Beam (4)
--Scatter Beam (4)
--Beamer (8)
--Shock Beamer (8)
--Mega Beam (9)

-Point Defense
--Flak Cannon (4)
--Particle Gun (6)
--Point Beam (7)

-Misc
--Demeter Launcher (6)
--Demeter Pod Launcher (9)
--Weasel Gun (6)
--Pulsar Gun (6)
--Sidewinder (6)
--Railgun (6)

-Other Modules
--Gosling Launcher (8)
--Nano Matrix (20)
--Gravitic Impeder (8)
--Platform Fabricator (8)
--Impeder Fabricator (8)
--Dieterling Device (8)
--Booster (8)
--Deflector Shield (12)
--Teller Torpedo Launcher (8)
--Gluon Bolter (8)
--Lancet Beam (8)
--Frosch Gun (8)

-Forbidden Modules
--Flux Projector {the AI never uses it}
--Aegis Deflector {makes battles uninteresting}
--Thruster {the only thing this does is make your ship weaker}

Please warn me if you'd like to use a part that has been forgotten.

Modules per section:
You may not add more than 4 modules per section. Anything beyond that will look ugly. You may not add a module to the ship's core.

Artificial Intelligence:
You must calibrate the AI range yourself. If your ship outclasses its opponent but fails to eliminate its target, the simulation will be restarted. If the simulation fails in such a way twice, your ship will be declared inferior.

Space worthiness:
If at least half the participants (with a minimum of 3) decide to veto your ship, you won't be allowed to participate unless you submit a new creation. As a referee, I reserve the right to refuse a ship. Ships which are likely to break the simulation (e.g. a wall that can't move with guns on it) will be refused.[/b]

------------ The Tourney ------------

I'd like to start small. The tournament is gonna be battleship-class only (just follow to rules shown above). The first tourney will pit 8 to 12 (we'll see how popular this gets) opponents against each other (one on one). I'll create the ladder (randomly).

The tournament will start <strike>on October 29th (so you've got about a week to create the best spaceship ever)</strike> as soon as we've got enough players.

We need at least 6 contestants. I won't bother with the simulations if this minimum isn't met...

------------ Submitting a ship ------------

Post (here) a link to download your .sb2 and .shp files. You can submit your creations to the official database and get a free hosting/download link. You could also use rapidshare our megaupload. As long as I can get my hands on the files, it really doesn't matter.

Write your ship's name (try to come up with something that sounds official ).

Also add a picture of your ship and a small description.

Ideally, you should also post how you've spent your 100 points as it'll make verifying everything faster.

If you've got time, you may also add a short backstory for your ship. It adds to the fun (it really does).

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That's it! Start creating (and discussing design strategies and whatnot)!