It's a rough Metaverse, but good times or bad, ANZAC still thrives:

Very Good : 2
Chaotic Good:22
Neutral : 4
Chaotic Evil: 2
Very Evil : 1
Overall alignment: 77.4% Good.

The ANZAC empire, the self-described masters of the southern hemisphere, is a survivor. Though in normal cases a good and proper group, ANZACs do what it takes to get through adversity in the vein of extreme times call for extreme measures. In the past, they have delved into a mixture of animal experimentation and terrorism, making weird creatures to both protect their holdings and delay their enemies. Unfortunately, the side effect of this measure was the eventual creation of an intelligent mutant class rather than merely enhanced animals. ANZAC decided that the mutants would at least be tracked and registered, and some were even drafted for more guerilla attacks on other empires. These mutants desired equal rights at the very least while some even demanded a separate state. A small mutant revolt destabalized ANZAC and lead to the collapse of the government. But, like many times before, ANZAC faced the crisis with bold determination and rallied around new, enlightened leadership to retain a strong position in the Metaverse.

The ancient governments of Austalia and New Zealand that eventually became ANZAC relied heavily on a small, fast navy to protect their islands from attack. The ANZAC Space Service (ASS) evolved to also rely on mostly lighter, faster ships armed with an array of small beam weapons which are both very accurate and highly effective. These highly maneuverable vessels seek to outflank and envelop the enemy, trying to find weak spots to maximize the effectiveness of the deadly beams. Due to the limitations of their light guns, ANZAC ships are largely ineffective when fighting at long distance against bigger ships sporting large guns, but the ships stand up very well to both missile and fighter attacks and are fearsome when they can get in close and fully exploit their agility. There are persistant rumors that a large command ship, ASS ANZAC, is undergoing space trials and will soon be ready for active duty.

What was once the White Council is now a Metaverse superpower, the Fellowship of the Ring:

Very Good : 3
Chaotic Good:27
Neutral : 3
Chaotic Evil: 5
Very Evil : 0
Overall alignment: 78.9% good.

Once, there was a great empire called the White Council that ruled Middle Earth. They were an insular and secretive magical society. Though not strong in numbers, their individual members were skilled and powerful. But there was a terrible price to pay for that power. The members of the White Council were tapping into the power of the One True Ring and it was causing strife and madness amongst the members. Soon the reclusive mages were fleeing, their empire disbanded due to the curse of the Ring.

The leader of the White Council, RayChua, lamented over the turmoil in his life and his empire caused by the Ring and its evil will. The wizard took the ring for himself and embarked on a quest to destroy it. He faced many perilous ordeals that tested both body and soul, for others, both living and unliving, wanted the Ring. It has had many masters during its long, wicked life and though it may change hands, it burns itself into the soul of all those corrupted by its power. Raychua succeeded in bringing the Ring to the forge of its creation where one final battle of wills raged. The Ring was fighting for its life and the wizard was fighting for his very soul.

The battle of will changed both forever. The Ring was not cast into the forge. It had almost broken the will of its bearer, but the bearer proved too strong. In exchange for its continued existance, the Ring bound itself to the will of its new master, who would be safe from its corruption now. Raychua became Ray the Wanderer, older, wiser, and far more powerful, reborn in spirit. He was now able to safely use the awesome power of the Ring and became its master and guardian.

Ray the Wanderer sought to build a new empire, but he thought about the demise of the old White Council. He concluded that the main fault of the White Council lied in its exclusivity. Instead of a remote tower in the middle of the wilderness, there would be a public hall in the middle of a great city. Instead of a secret order of mages, there would be seats for those from all walks of life: rangers, alchemists, warriors, bards, wizards, sages, even thieves and spies. Many other races would be invited as well: hobbits, dwarves, elves, and any others who would make themselves present. The Fellowship of the Ring was born.

Over time, the Fellowship has grown to be a large and influential empire. Though it has many powerful overlords who command great force of arms, diplomacy and culture are its main weapons. The power of the Ring, though bound to one will, is used for the good of all. There are few things in the Metaverse not influenced by the Fellowship. But the transition from Middle Earth to controlling a space empire has not been easy. The Fellowship relies greatly on magic for everyday tasks. Trained wizards can rain down powerful lightning bolts, teleport to distant places, turn invisible, or even just conjure forth dinner. The mysterious energies of magic can seemingly do anything.

While they understand technological concepts, the members of the Fellowship are leary of relying on technology. This has cost them in fielding a truly space-worthy fleet. There are very few large ships, but these sport large beam weapons with computerized fire control and navigation. The crews of these capital ships are fully trained in normal space warfare with all of its technological trappings. But the bulk of the Fellowship fleet relies on small ships piloted by war mages. Instead of computer assisted hyperdrives, the pilot manually controls the ship in a series of short jumps with the assistance of a magical autopilot. Once in combat, the small craft rely on getting close to the target so that the war mages can cast their mighty spells. Whether it be huge lightning bolts, clouds of magical darkness, corrosive acid, or even teleporting the enemy ship to a different place, the Fellowship war wizards have a seemingly unlimited arsenal of magical mayhem they can employ. Needless to say, other technological based empires that initially enjoy an advantage at long ranges get bogged down in close fighting on this confusing, magic-ridden battlefield the Fellowship prefers.

[Message Edited]

Thanks for another insightful writeup about the Fellowship, Gerakken.

I was just looking back at your first writeup on the Council more than a month back. Wow, have things changed since then.

Oh, yeah...this is going on the website!

Might need some updating though, me might trowl trough and post something for a change . . .

The GROSS alignment as of 8-8-03 . . .

Very Evil - 9%
Evil - 47%
Neutral - 21%
Good - 18%
Very Good - 5%



[Message Edited]

The MWC alignment as of 8-8-03 . . .

Very Evil - 2%
Evil - 16%
Neutral - 20%
Good - 62%
Very Good - 0%

It is amazing that a goody two-shoes like yourself would face the Metaverse version of the axis of evil that is GROSS, Cotal. I admire such courage. Luckily, looking at the MWC is easier, especially around harvest time and near football season.

The next target on my list is truly examining my own pirate fellows, but probably not until next week. Afterall, a Spymaster's work is never done and there is always something that comes along and requires attention.

As promised, I stare into the heart of evil when it comes to major empires. The GROSS details:

Very Good : 2
Chaotic Good: 8
Neutral : 8
Chaotic Evil:22
Very Evil : 4
Overall alignment: 59.1% evil.

The aliens surround us, the aliens are even among us, and the aliens will subjugate or destroy humanity. This thought drove a desperate pilot and an accomplice to steal an experimental survey ship to Get Rid Of Slimy alienS (G.R.O.S.S.) anywhere they could find them. Christening it Doom, the crew of the stolen ship started small, ambushing vulnerable alien ships one at a time in lightning quick raids, living on whatever supplies could be salvaged from the victims. Raiding the space lanes could yield a steady supply of victims, but could also bring down the wrath of real warships the undergunned Doom could not yet defeat. Every visit to black market ports favored by smugglers and pirates was an opportunity for resupply and repairs, a chance for gaining new recruits, and allowed converting the plundered loot into a more desirable form of currency, but such a stop also could result in lethal encounters with whatever navy controlled the space around the port.

It was decided to use the survey ship for its primary purpose: The small, but growing pirate crew explored the depths of space to examine the many strange anomolies of the void. The exploration yielded valuable data as well as ancient or little-known devices considered strange to human or alien alike. This voyage of discovery was indeed lean times. Obviously hated by aliens and considered criminals and exiles by fellow human empires, the pirates of GROSS were no strangers to hardship. Suitable ships ripe for plundering were rare way out in the frontier of known space, and going back and forth from the black market smuggling ports was fraught with hazards. Self-sufficiency was now essential. Every plundered ship had to be stripped of anything that could be useful both at the time and later on. Repairs and refits were done in the field. When conventional types of food ran out, even slain alien crew were taken and eaten. This was a survival tactic back then, but veteran GROSS officers of today encourage dabbling in this form of alien cooking and it is now considered traditional GROSS gourmet cuisine.

Countless anomolies led to a lot of ad hoc refits that kept Doom growing. The crew was lean, mean, and highly experienced in battle. Doom was now a powerful warship in its own right. GROSS would no longer have to slink around the edges of civilization, taking down targets of opportunity while avoiding warships. It was time for GROSS to don the Jolly Roger and become true, fearless pirates able to take down merchant or warship alike. Now there was the matter of where to start the hunt in earnest.

The senior GROSS leadership had always been suspicious of Altarians. They may look like humans, but they did not act like humans. They acted like morally superior beings who thought humans needed to be converted and guided along a narrow Altarian path. Proof of a physical difference came when an Altarian merchant sailor serving on a Torian freighter bled blue blood when slain by the raiding pirates. It was time for a trip into Altarian space to take on what GROSS saw as alien mimics who were trying to infiltrate and assimilate humanity, but things were definitely different in Altarian space. Smuggling ports were basically non-existant, as strict Altarian patrols shot suspicious ships first and asked questions later while cleansing any port found to be harboring criminal elements. This further fueled the Altarian-hating faction within GROSS. Worse yet, some other human empires maintained friendly relations with the Altarians.

GROSS was already considered a criminal organization by human empires, but had only taken on fellow humans in self defense in the past. Of course, the ships of these fallen humans were looted and stripped like any other vessel if it came down to a fight, except that there would be no eating humans. By now, though, both sides had crossed too many lines with each other. GROSS was seen as a group of savage, merciless pirates who would take down the ships of any flag, rogue killers that could not be contained or controlled. The empires of Earth were seen as soft, alien-loving hypocrites whose leaders would sell the future of humanity down the river to line their own pockets and assure their own security. GROSS thought there was nothing left to lose. They were already marked for extinction even by the very humans they sought to protect in the first place. Unrestricted warfare was authorized.

Soon Doom was patrolling its own territory. Anything in it could be plundered at the discretion of the pirates. GROSS created its own smuggling ports and relied on local sympathizers to form a loose criminal and governmental infrastructure throughout the territory. GROSS was a nomadic empire of power, influence, and corruption built upon shifting sands. There were no fixed borders and no list of controlled star systems. Aliens and other empires sometimes contested GROSS patrol sectors and took over friendly ports, but the empire of Doom would merely expand its influence elsewhere if it did not retake the contested space later.

The already vast territory of GROSS would expand even more. Due to a chain events within the ANZAC empire, a band of disatisfied mutants left ANZAC to form Freedom Force. Freedom Force was considered to be a band of free spirits fighting for the right to exist in a mean Metaverse, but Freedom Force floundered and eventually disbanded. Most of the mutants discovered they already had an affinity to the pirate lifestyle and fate led them to GROSS. They would become the Pirates Of the South SEas, the Posse, an equal partner in the GROSS pirate empire. The Posse have a small fleet of craft for themselves and commonly go out on raids separate from the mothership Doom.

Always looking out for profitable opportunities both legal and illicit, the GROSS syndicate has its share of business ventures. The GROSS tradition of using aliens as food became a highly successful chain of fast food franchises, the best known being KFD, Kentucky Fried Drengin. Alcohol is a form of currency in GROSS space, and the pirates are always ready to please the locals by raiding exotic liquor to barter back at port for whatever essentials and luxuries can be had. There is also a profitable pornography franchise that caters to the tastes of rival empires to make even more money from them than what raiding alone can net.

GROSS is one of the mightiest powers to ever exist in the Metaverse. Once considered at its infancy as just another empire bound for obscurity, GROSS grew strong and keeps on growing. There are few who do not appreciate the power and influence of GROSS. The pirates are determined and do what it takes to win. GROSS has little concern about the methods used, because only results count to them. They are survivalists who experienced much adversity, and that attitude is still with them even today.

Combat at point blank range is a GROSS specialty. It has to be. The goal is usually to board the target ship and raid its cargo. All GROSS craft are extremely fast, both to overtake target ships and to outrun any undesired engagements. All ships are armed with several large beam weapon turrets. While the GROSS arsenal is light on missiles or torpedoes, fighter craft and small boarding craft are common. Beam broadsides at close range disable the target while the smaller pirate craft encircle the enemy and corral them into a trap, where the target can be either boarded or destroyed if necessary. The biggest GROSS vessel, the monstrous Doom, has a gigantic front-mounted Super Space Distortion Cannon (SSDC) and prefers charging straight toward the target while unleashing full salvos at any enemies nearby. While the large beam turrets do have some range to them, GROSS ships have problems with sustained long range combat. Concentrated waves of missiles are the best means to put the pirates on the defensive. If an enemy can keep GROSS at bay and hammer them with long range fire, the pirates might be driven off. But if one gives them an opening and they charge in, the battle may well be lost.

Very nice, Gerakken. This one will go in the Pirate Lagoon for my next update.

Continuing 59. The pirates beam weapon of choice is as unique as their fighting style. While others use phasers, or mass drivers, G.R.O.S.S. prefers the Death Ray Zorcher, a weapon 10 times as powerful as standard phasers at point blank range but with only half the fire rate as they must be recharged twice as often. However, they will not overheat and cannot be overloaded like a phaser. The Range of a Death Ray Zorcher is slightly longer than that of a phaser but at extream range the effectiveness drops to only twice that of phasers. It is because of this that most wily G.R.O.S.S. captains tend to like close combat. 10-1 is better than 2-1 is a well known G.R.O.S.S. saying. Although most attribute it to the illegal Torian race tracks they operate, this refers to the range effectiveness of their Zorchers This half rate of fire doesn't seem to matter as usually G.R.O.S.S. ships have several banks of Zorchers on them and any ship unlucky enough or dumb enough to find itself in optimal range doesn't get the second chance to find out the recharge rate.

Missiles on most G.R.O.S.S. ships are swift, short range and hard hitting. This is so jamming technologies, which G.R.O.S.S. employs frequently and effectively against enemy medium and long range missiles, are very much less effective against G.R.O.S.S. missiles.

It is rumored, though not verified that G.R.O.S.S. uses a horrible eugenics weapon called the Transmorgifrier, able to transmutate matter into whatever form is chosen. But this weapon is not discussed and brings a hush from all other empires when even mentioned.

Also several G.R.O.S.S. vessels are outfitted with cloaks and Plasma launchers (which have been outlawed by the Geneva Convention of 2199 for their devestation) G.R.O.S.S. is unique among empires that swordplay and hand to hand combat is emphasized. This serves them well in boarding incursions. Their hand weapon of choice (other than the Rapier, Cutlass and such) is the disrupter (also outlawed by the Geneva Convention of 2199).

But as Pontius Bruin Pilot points out, that was never ratified (due to a well placed transmorgifrier transmuting the delegates into Giant squids before the final signatures could be affixed.) Swimming in Switzerland was then banned by the Geneva Convention of 2200.

There is a new power, an evil power growing like a cancer to counter the goodness in the Metaverse. It is the Evil Empire:

Very Good : 0
Chaotic Good: 0
Neutral : 0
Chaotic Evil: 5
Very Evil : 3
Overall alignment: 100% evil!

Cakewalk : 0
Easy : 1
Simple : 2
Beginner : 1
Normal : 1
Challenging: 1
Tough : 0
Painful : 2
Crippling : 0
Masochistic: 0
Toughness : 4.88

The Evil Empire has its seeds in old Earth history. With the fall of the Nazi empire, several prominent figures including doctors delving into human experimentation, death camp wardens, and power seeking occultist Nazi leaders fled to Brazil. These figures stayed out of sight for a few decades, slowly building new lives and new families while passing on their violent traditions. Brazilian neo-nazi groups formed around this core of surviving Nazis and their families and attempted to destablize the Brazilian goverment in a long running guerilla campaign that included the assassination of several local leaders across the country. Early in the 21st century, the Nazis and their followers realized that they were no longer safe as the world labelled them terrorists and the international community started to aid the Brazilian government in fighting this threat. The neo-nazis who survived this new front in the "War on Terror" played dead and secretly moved to a remote coastal region near the border of Uruguay.

There was no real government control in the new lands. It was remote, mostly native-controlled territory. The Evil Ones, as the natives called them, enslaved the native population and used them for experimentation and slave labor. Expired natives would commonly be thrown into the sea or burned in furnaces resembling the models used by their Nazi forbearers. The Evil Ones who preferred throwing their slaves into the sea noticed hagfish would burrow into the rotting corpses to consume the dead flesh. These slimy, eel-like fish peaked the interest of the Evil Ones and they eventually engineered a very aggressive version that gladly feasted upon living flesh much like piranha. It was a "good" life in the middle of nowhere with slaves, torture, murder, mayhem, and man-eating fish to entertain the Evil Ones, one of whom was reputedly an original survivor of WWII and had not aged. He was now revered as a true master of evil with inhuman power. But the world had slowly changed in the over 150 years since the Evil Ones had entered exile.

At the dawn of the space colonization age ushered in by the invention of hyper drive, it had become very hard to hide from the "civilized world." Earth was no longer a place with a huge number of nation-states. Only a few large empires remained. Remote areas of the third world that did not belong to any of these large empires became the province of giant corporations who were just as powerful as any nation of old and had free reign to strip the landscape of resources and sell them to the highest bidders. The Evil Ones were steadily losing more and more ground to development and having to pay their corporate landlords heftier bribes to keep hidden from the rest of the world who would come crush them in the name of civilization and "good."

The Evil Ones managed to buy a colony ship at great expense and decided to leave Earth behind. They took their slaves, furnaces, and giant tanks of their beloved super hagfish along with whatever else was needed for the long journey into the unknown. As they journeyed toward a promising system close to Sol, the ship was swallowed in a strange anomoly that deposited them far away next to what looked like a perfect planet.

Scans showed a native population of Torians, but there were no ships or even radio signals of any type. A landing party ruthlessly and efficiently abducted some Torians and made the survivors to talk quickly enough after one of the captive Torians was fed to the eager super hagfish. These Torians were a seperatist movement who broke off from the Torian empire long ago. They disavowed both violence and technology due to a rigid set of religious beliefs. The Evil Ones were pleased. This planet was ripe for the taking, but it was too big of a job for the Evil Ones alone. They offered freedom and equality to any of the ship-board slaves who would convert into being Evil Ones themselves. A vast majority converted. Generations of exposure to evil ways left most quite acceptable to the prospect of being the masters rather than the slave.

The combined might of the colonists quickly conquered the planet. This would be the roots of a new empire, the Evil Empire, and it would start on this planet on the backs of Torians and the few human slaves who had refused to convert. Like a beacon in the night, the new empire called out to the black hearts in the sea of Metaverse goodness to come join like-minded fellows who wanted evil to rule the Meta. This also makes the Evil Empire unique as the evil masters have vowed to remove anyone who cannot maintain an evil alignment.

Big is bad. That is the motto of the Evil fleet. Small packs of large ships hunt like wolves. Fighters and missiles do not become Evilness. Tractor beams and huge blasters do. The Evil Ones prefer to play with their prey. Once crippled and then caught by the tractor beam, the enemy ship can then be left to run out of life support and the poor souls on board freeze to death if they do not suffocate, or the ship can be tractored into position and boarding parties can find suitable victims to torture. Of course, when in a rush, the ship can just be blown up outright, but that is not too "fun" in the Evil Ones opinion. The strength of the Evil fleet lies in getting up close and personal in order to use the tractor beams and immense blasters. Their weakness can be found in using waves of missiles from outside the range of the tractor beams or relying on masses of small ships that can outmaneuver and overwhelm the defenses of the pack.

Scarey...

how is the toughness calculated? is it each persons average, then everyone gets added up, or is it based on everyones last game?

I think Gerakken looks at the last three submitted games for every one in the empire and averages the toughness bases of scale 1-10
1 for cakewalk
5 for normal
10 for Masochistic

Gerakken's Toughness Scale takes the player's last three winning games and puts them on a 10 point scale as bakka pointed out. The three games are averaged and rounded back to a whole number to represent a player's preferred difficulty level. The individual player results are averaged into empire results that are carried out two decimal places. The complete method and my research notes can be found in my Difficulty Levels Revealed thread over at http://www.galciv.com/forum.asp?BID=GF&id=87605

ok, i see now. looks like i will have to play a few more painfull games, or maybe try out maso.

The Metaverse is a place rife with conflict. Empires battle on a grand scale every day to keep territory already held and to grab footholds in new sectors on the Meta map. Diplomacy and warfare are interchangeable on this epic scale. On the front lines are the overlords, each doing their small part. For some, this results in little hostile action. For others, war is a lifestyle they know all too well. But they are all soldiers trying to survive the great war that is the Meta. A new power has risen to prominence in the Meta. They are comrades in arms, almost all veterans of other empires who learned their skills in many battles before becoming a member of the Special Forces Empire:

Very Good : 2
Chaotic Good: 5
Neutral : 1
Chaotic Evil: 1
Very Evil : 2
Overall alignment: 70% good.

Cakewalk : 0
Easy : 0
Simple : 1
Beginner : 0
Normal : 0
Challenging: 1
Tough : 0
Painful : 0
Crippling : 2
Masochistic: 7
Toughness : 8.82

This is an elite unit. Potential candidates are screened and must pass the muster of the current members. The exact criteria is unknown to outsiders, but while some of the most dedicated warriors of the Meta are members, pure combat prowess alone is definitely not the primary requisite. The members seem to exhibit a loyalty to each other that has transcended traditional empire boundaries. It seems like no accident some fellow soldiers who have been befriended from across the battle lines defining empire warfare in the Meta may be approached to come over to the Special Forces side. But as exclusive as membership in the Special Forces may be, these soldiers do not sit it out on the sidelines and reminisce about past glory. This is a lean, mean, fighting machine still in top combat readiness, rapidly climbing into the highest ranks of the Meta.

The roots of this empire run deep. A small group of mutant animals in ANZACs broke away to form an empire of their own, Freedom Force. The fortunes of war did not bode well, and after being broken by a harsh Metaverse the mutants temporarily scattered. Most found refuge under the wing of GROSS. The pirate empire was powerful enough to offer protection, but also let the mutants retain an independent identity as a raider unit known as the Posse. The Posse proved to be popular and gained members who were once GROSS regulars, but now had themselves mutated into animal form to be like their newly adopted Posse fellows.

Another great crisis in the Meta caused ripples among several empires, GROSS included. Several overlords questioned their allegiances in the existing empire structures and a period of civil war resulted in defections and chaos all over the Meta. The Posse had always cherished its independent nature, and had long recovered its strength. It was strong enough to once again go and try to make a way in the Metaverse by itself. While being grateful to the pirates for being generous hosts, it was time for this band to set sail alone again.

While the Posse have always had a special camaraderie, Wild Wombat decided the next incarnation needed discipline and order. The harsh winds of Metaverse fate could no longer keep pushing the mutants around. The mutants were soldiers of many campaigns who have forged close bonds. It was time to make a new empire, the Special Forces, and to make a place in the Meta for themselves and seek out others they find an affinity toward. New recruits soon joined them. Human recruits who, save for one so far, are also veterans of other empires who have found a common bond within the Special Forces.

Fast, hard, lethal combat is what the Special Forces is best at. While many other empire have specialty weapons or tactics that make them distinctive, the Special Forces prefers to be offensive in nature and believes in a small, compact, combined arms strike force especially tailored to each mission. To achieve this end, the Special Forces have one of the best scanning and intelligence networks of any major empire. The combat doctrine can basically be summed up as thus: know your enemy, know yourself. Fight on your terms, not theirs. Fighters, missiles, huge energy cannons, conventional beam weapons, giant battleships and small combat transports: all have their uses. It is getting them in the right proportion ahead of time that counts the most. The weakness of the doctrine shows in defense against surprise attacks. Unanticipated attacks cannot be reacted to beforehand, so the advantage of knowing what proportion of units to have on hand to counter the enemy with is lost.

Yeah, we send him a bottle of kahlua every month, and he shares some of his secrets. If we send two bottles, he even writes up a little story for us.

And shall remain so. But buying a few rounds really fast-tracks the admissions process.

The latest top 10 empire is a steadily growing force to be reckoned with, slowly gaining ground in the Metaverse. It is the Realms Beyond Empire:

Very Good : 0
Chaotic Good: 13
Neutral : 2
Chaotic Evil: 0
Very Evil : 0
Overall alignment: 86.7% good.

Cakewalk : 0
Easy : 0
Simple : 0
Beginner : 0
Normal : 3
Challenging: 1
Tough : 2
Painful : 1
Crippling : 5
Masochistic: 3
Toughness : 7.87

At first there were only a handful of RB scouts exploring various strange dimensions, sending back reports on the viability of the new places. Some were bland places that did not hold the interest of the visitors very long. Some met the needs of the visitors for a while, but eventually proved unsuitable for long term exploitation. A few were dangerous, highly unstable places, hostile, fickle, and unpredictable. A few others, like the Galciv Metaverse, proved to be challenging but fruitful places that showed great promise. The favorable reports have attracted more and more of the dimension-jumping overlords from the Realms Beyond who now dwell among us.

It is unknown how closely they are related to the Apolytons, an ancient group of dimension travellers the Realms Beyond has surpassed to get into the top 10. Conjecture is that there is no direct relation at all between the two groups, this is merely a case of parallel evolution: different species occupying the same niche and evolving similar adaptations to their enviroment. Who are they, and why are they here? Are we fodder in the end, destined to be conquered? Are they here to help us, to teach us a better way? Or are they merely looking to settle down in our dimension and keep to themselves with no overt agenda? The predominantly good nature of RB overlords can suggest an enlightened nature or it could merely be a chameleon-like adaptation to blend in with the majority of the Metaverse. RB overlords tend to enage in campaigns ripe with challenge and opportunity, a trait of both rugged individualists and of aspring conquerors alike. So they have shown signs of all three traits: conquest, helpful enlightenment, and that of hardy pioneers staking out a homestead. From an outside perspective, it seems almost like they are still deciding amongst themselves exactly how to deal with this strange new dimension and its diverse inhabitants. What is a fact is that they are slowly growing in strength and power, not only as more and more of them cross over to our side, but also as they gain experience in how to survive in the Metaverse.

Realms Beyond military doctrine is still evolving in our dimension. They are spending a lot of resources gathering battle reports of their campaigns. The loss of whole fleets seems to be acceptable if data from the engagements is successfully received and analyzed. They are watching and learning, probing the enemies' defenses for weaknesses. This is initially costly and time consuming, but may result in new strategies that could help Realms Beyond gain more territory and prestige in the Metaverse.

86.7% good? Holy cow. Whodathunkit.

One telling stat not listed: our primary victory condition has been Alliance. JaxomCA's endless conquistador rampage is slowly creeping our military ratio up there, so it's no longer certain we'll stick with Alliance-building as our primary path to victory. Time will tell.

Here's an interesting factoid, though. Initially there were two "major" Civ3 tournaments: CivFanatics and Apolyton. The Apolyton tourney dropped off the map after six games, and RB players weren't especially warm to the exploit-and-milking ways of CFC, so we started our own tournament for Civ3: the Epics. So this is not, in fact, the first game where we've gotten started late and taken over turf once held by Apolyton.

By the way, Epic 37 just opened, for any Civ3 players here interested in a serious challenge but who have never heard of us. Trust me, if you seek challenge, this is where you'll find it!

http://realmsbeyond.net/civ/

If you really want to know what the Metaverse is in store for from RB-land, just have a peek through our Epics scenarios and the many AAR's associated with our tournament. LOL We'll probably put GalCiv through that same sort of ringer as soon as the X-pack and the map/scenario/campaign editor are available.


- Sirian

The reports have been through a lot of changes over the many months. Although each is only a snapshot out of a moment in Metaverse time, they show how much things have changed and remained the same. Nine of the profiled empires are still in the top 10. That is the stayed the same part. But the changes within some of those same profiled empires have been radical. The Republic totally changed form into the Jedi Republic and empires like GROSS and ANZAC underwent major internal reforms due to various crisis in the Meta. Not to mention new players rising in the field. That is the things changed part.

It has been over two months since the last report, and now that I have had time to reminisce, it is time to move. We now have an empires forum and this belongs there. Time for me to restart this thread with a slight makeover over there. Coming soon to the forum next door, the newest report.

Good report on Realms Beyond. You're right, most of the profiled empires have changed dramatically. I think it might be time for updated reports.