Control Your Own Faction: Part 5- The Redemption: Game Thread 1

<b>RULES: </b> Welcome to the CYOF 5.0 rules! In these rules, you will find out everything that you need to know to start playing the Control Your Own Faction RPG. There are several steps to playing CYOF, which are outlined below: Step 1- Choose a faction Step 2- Set up your faction Step 3- Complete your first turn Step 4- Conduct daily turns Step 5- Learn how battles work Step 6- Learn some basic strategies to use against your opponents Step 7- Advance in rank So, let’s begin! Step 1- Choose a faction: Choose on of the Freelancer factions to play as. Find out your faction class, and bonuses for both your class and faction. Before you can play Control Your Own Faction, you need to choose a faction to play as and officially sign up to play. By now, you should know that you are going to play CYOF, so now you need to pick a faction to play as. Here are the faction types you may choose: HOUSE (Liberty, Rheinland, Bretonia, Kusari)- To be a house, you must have obtained the rank of Ace in CYOF. (For more information about ranks, go to the end of this guide.) Houses are the biggest and most powerful factions in the game, with mighty fleets of capital ships and many stations and planets. However, they have key weaknesses that other factions can exploit to bring them to their knees. House leaders generally need to be intelligent and dedicated, so only the most experienced CYOF players may play them. MAJOR FACTION (IMG, GMG, BHG, Corsairs, Outcasts, Red Hessians, Blood Dragons, Junkers, BMM, IC, Samura, Zoners)- To be a major faction, you must have obtained the rank of Veteran in CYOF. Major factions often affect the game in big ways, and are second only to the houses in bases and military. Also, major factions have the advantage of sometimes being able to work in secrecy, something that houses cannot do. Major faction leaders are often important figures in the Sirius scene, and need to be dedicated and resourceful, but not nearly as much as the house leaders. MINOR FACTION (All non-major faction or non-house factions)- Any player can control a minor faction, and they are usually fairly simple to manage. While they don’t have the strong militaries of the houses and major factions, they often have powerful skills that can make them deadly enemies in their own right. Usually, minor factions have to team up with other factions to survive, and work best in alliances. While they may seem small at first, they do have a lot of strengths, and a skilled player can turn a minor faction into a major contender for control of Sirius. Also, any player who has played as the same faction for two consecutive official CYOF games that they have participated in, then they must choose a different faction. Each faction is also divided into classes. Faction classes: HOUSE (Liberty, Bretonia, Rheinland, Kusari)- Class Bonus: Capital Ship Construction, Unique Unit: None POLICE (BHG)- Class Bonus: Pirate Hunt, Unique Unit: Supreme Heavy Fighter (SHF) CORPORATION (Ageria, DSE, Bowex, Republican, etc.)- Class Bonus: Wealth, Unique Unit: None MAJOR PIRATE (Corsairs, Outcasts, Hessians, Dragons)- Class Bonus: Improved Fighters, Unique Unit: None MINOR PIRATE (Rogues, Hackers, Mollys, etc.)- Class Bonus: Corporate Strike, Unique Unit: None REVOLUTIONARY (Unioners, Bundschuh, FA, LW<img src=smilies/icon_smile_blackeye.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>- Class Bonus: Capital Ship Attack, Unique Unit: Bomber MINER (IMG, GMG, BMM, Kruger)- Class Bonus: Mining Skill, Unique Unit: Gas/Metal Miner SPACER (Zoners)- Class Bonus: Spacer Peace, Unique Unit: None After you have chosen a faction, and know its class and type, then you are ready to sign up! The signup thread is posted on the Fan Fiction Forum of The Lancer’s Reactor, and you can go there to post your faction, class, and type. Make sure that your faction has not already been taken before you post, since there can only be one player per faction. By signing up for CYOF, you are agreeing to a few things: 1)You will play regularly and participate in the majority of the turns. 2)You agree to follow the rules as stated, and cooperate with the admins and judges to make the game a good experience for all. These are the two most basic rules of CYOF, and we wish that if you are not willing to follow them, then you not choose to play. Once the game starts, which is generally about a week after signups start, the factions are locked and no new players may join as faction leaders. When the game starts, you may proceed to set up your faction!

Step 2- Set up your faction Start your first turn by figuring out what units and bases you faction starts with. Also organize and discover your faction’s strengths. At the start of the game, each faction inherits a certain amount of units and bases, based on what they own in the Freelancer universe. First, you find and count the number of bases your faction owns. A good tool for this is the Freelancer DataStorm, available on the Lancer’s Reactor download page. There are several kinds of bases: Small Station- Stations that have a population of less than 1000. Small Stations produce 10 credits per turn and mine resources. Large Stations- Stations that have a population greater than or equal to 1000. Large Stations produce 20 credits per turn and mine resources. Capital Ship Shipyards- All stations that are called “Shipyards” are considered capital ship shipyards. (Tripoli is an exception. It is a large station.) Planets- All dockable planets are considered planets. Large Gas/Metal Miners- All dockable Gas or Metal Miners. There are only two: Naha and Ogashawa. Once you have your bases located, then you may post units at each base. Each class gets a different amount of units per base. Houses- 10 LF wings/ 1 Small Station 20 LF wings/ 1 Large Station 20 LF wings and 10 HF wings/ Planet 1 Cruiser and 1 Gunboat/ 1 Capital Ship Shipyard Every Battleship in the game is considered a Battleship unit in the game, NOT A BASE. Corporation- 10 LF wings/ 1 Small Station inside House Space 20 LF wings/ 1 Small Station outside House Space 20 LF wings/1 Large Station inside House Space 20 LF wings, 10 HF wings/ 1 Large Station outside House Space 30 LF wings, 20 HF wings/ 1 Planet 2 Gunboats/ 1 Capital Ship Shipyard 10 LF wings/ 1 Large Gas/Metal Miner Police- 20 LF wings, 10 HF wings/ 1 Small Station 20 LF wings, 20 SHF wings/ 1 Large Station Major Pirate- 20 LF wings/ 1 Small Station outside House Space 20 LF wings, 10 VHF wings/ 1 Small Station inside House Space 30 LF wings/ 1 Large Station outside House Space 30 LF wings, 20 VHF wings/ 1 Large Station inside House Space 20 LF wings, 20 HF wings, 20 VHF wings/ 1 Planet Minor Pirate- 20 LF wings/ 1 Small Station outside House Space 30 LF wings, 10 HF wings/ 1 Small Station inside House Space 30 LF wings, 10 HF wings/ 1 Large Station outside House Space 30 LF wings, 10 HF wings, 10 VHF wings/ 1 Large Station inside House Space Revolutionary- 20 LF wings/ 1 Small Station outside House Space 30 LF wings, 10 Bomber wings/ 1 Small Station inside House Space 30 LF wings, 10 Bomber wings/ 1 Large Station outside House Space 30 LF wings, 20 Bomber wings/ 1 Large Station inside House Space Miner- 20 LF wings, 10 HF wings/ 1 Small Station 30 LF wings, 20 HF wings/ 1 Large Station 20 LF wings/ 1 Large Metal/Gas Miner Spacer- 20 LF wings, 10 HF wings/ 1 Small Station 30 LF wings, 20 HF wings/ 1 Large Station In addition, there are a few factions who start with Small Gas/Metal Miners. GMG: 3 Small Miners in Sigma-13 2 Small Miners in Sigma-19 IMG: 3 Small Miners in Tau-37 2 Small Miners in Dublin BMM: 3 Small Miners in Tau-23 2 Small Miners in Dublin *Note, if you attack an NPC base, then they defend with the corresponding amount of units above. Unit Descriptions: LF wing- The weakest unit in the game, the LFs are cheap and easy to come by, but in large numbers, they can be a deadly force. HF wing- A step up from the LF, the HF wings are stronger with heavier weapons and shielding. VHF wing- The VHF is the strongest normal fighter unit in the game. With superior weapons and excellent shielding, these fighters are top of the line. Gunboat- While the weakest capital ship, the gunboats are still superior to fighters. They are weak attacking other capital ships, but very strong against fighters. Due to their strong hulls, they require two hits to destroy. Cruiser- Cruisers are considered to be a step up from Gunboats. They retain the Gunboat’s strong anti-fighter characteristics, but add more powerful, ranged guns to make the ship also effective against other capital ships. Due to its strong hull, a cruiser takes two hits to destroy. Battleship- Battleships are the most powerful ships in Sirius. They have many weapons that make them incredibly effective against both fighters and other capital ships. Due to strong hulls and shields, battleships take three hits to destroy. SHF wing *- Even better than VHFs, SHFs are the finest fighters in Sirius. Only Bounty Hunters have these fighters, and pirates everywhere fear these powerful craft. Bomber wing *- Revolutionaries have made these relatively new craft into terrifying nightmares overnight. Every ship captain’s fear his to have a few wings of these craft attack his ship. These ships utilize neutron bombs and plasma mines to hunt and kill capital ships. However, it is very unwise to send these craft into battle without fighter cover, since fighters easily defeat them. Gas/Metal Miners *- These units are actually mobile bases that mine various mineral resources. Miners send these out into fields of metal asteroids or gas clouds, and the ships will mine the resources and return them to a nearby base for processing. They are not capable of fighting in battles, but they can move between systems. They can make one jump per turn, and cannot go through jump holes. *- Denotes unique unit. Unique units are special units that are only available to certain faction classes. “Plans” for unique units may NOT be traded between players, but the units themselves, once built, may be traded. Unique units are generally specialized for their faction types, and can be useful in some situations, and worthless in others. Faction strengths are another thing that you must figure out. Each faction class has a certain strength that makes it different from every other faction class. Capital Ship Construction (Houses)- Reduces the cost of building all capital ship units by 25 credits, 5 Metal, and 5 Gas. (Capital ships are Gunboats, Cruisers, and Battleships) Pirate Hunt (Police)- Gives a +1 attack to all ships when attacking units of either a major or minor pirate faction. Wealth (Corporations)- Adds 30 credits to the faction’s foundation credit amount. Improved Fighters (Major Pirates)- Gives an extra free stat point to each fighter class. (LF, HF, and VHF) Can only be used on first turn. Corporate Strike (Minor Pirates)- Gives a +1 attack to all ships when attacking units belonging to corporations. Capital Ship Attack (Revolutionaries)- Gives a +1 attack to all ships when attacking a capital ship. Mining Skill (Miners)- Enables all stations to mine double the minerals that they would normally. Spacer Peace (Spacers)- Enables the faction to cancel any one attack on them. It is allowed once every five turns.

Step 3- Complete your first turn: Make your first turn builds and learn about taking normal turns. Once you have found your starting units, you may begin your first turn. Turns are done by making a post on the game thread in which you do each part of your turn. Generally, each turn should include a record of where all of your units and bases are at the end of the turn. This will help the judges and the other players greatly. Turns generally have several parts. You do not have to do each part every turn, but there are some, like buying, placing, and moving, that you will use almost every turn. The parts are: Parts 1&amp;2- Calculate Your Income and Purchase Units: Using your money for each turn, you may buy available units, bases, commanders, armies, exploration parties, and technology grants. The formula for your CPT (Credits Per Turn), is as follows: FOUNDATION MONEY + MONEY FROM STATIONS AND PLANETS + TRADE BONUSES + OTHER BONUSES = CPT Your foundation money is the basic money you receive each turn. Even if you have no bases or bonuses, you still get your foundation money as long as you have units or bases still in the game. The foundation money is based on faction type: House- 60 credits Major Faction- 50 credits Minor Faction- 40 credits Once you have added up your CPT, then you add up your resources. There are only two resources: Metals and Gas. These can be harvested by your bases, planets, and gas/metal miners in all systems. (To find out what resources are in each system, go to page 18 of this guide.) Every base or gas/metal miner harvests whatever resources are in the system each turn. The systems will never run out of resources, so you will keep collecting resources from every base or miner. If you have multiple bases or miners in a system, then every base mines the full amount of resources for that system. You can also draw resources and credits from your bank. Your bank consists of all your leftover credits and resources from past turns. They are saved in the bank each time you choose not to spend them all. Your first turn is a bit different. You use no resources on that turn, and you get a certain amount of credits only. No bonuses or modifiers are added this turn. House- 300 credits Major Faction- 280 credits Minor Faction- 250 credits Here is the price list of all the things that you can buy: LF wing- 5 credits, 1 metal, 1 gas HF wing- 10 C, 2 M, 1 G VHF wing- 15 C, 3 M, 2 G SHF wing *- 20 C, 4 M, 2 G Bomber wing *- 15 C, 3 M, 3 G Gunboat- 40 C, 6 M, 4 G Cruiser- 60 C, 10 M, 7 G Battleship- 80 C, 20 M, 10 G Small Station- 75 C, 15 M, 15 G (Produces 10 credits per turn) Large Station- 150 C, 30 M, 30 G (Produces 20 credits per turn) Capital Ship Shipyard- 100 C, 20 M, 20 G (Reduces capital ship costs by 10 credits) Small Gas/Metal Miner *- 50 C, 10 M, 10 G (Mines minerals like a base) Large Gas/Metal Miner *- 75 C, 15 M, 15 G (Mines minerals like a base, produces 10 credits per turn) *Planets produce 30 credits per turn, and mine resources like a station. Exploration Party- 50 C, 5 M, 2 G (For more information on Exploration Parties, go to page 13 of this guide.) Technology Grant- 25 C (+ modifiers) (For more information on Technology Grants, go to page 13 of this guide.) Once you have chosen what you want to buy, note it in your turn post, and calculate your leftover resources and credits. You do not place your units at this stage! Part 3- Place Units: Now you can place what you purchased last turn. Note what you bought last turn, and place the units in any system that you have a base in. Place any bases purchased in any system that you currently have units in. Any technologies or explore parties now are open for a judge to resolve. Remember, you may place whatever you buy on your first turn instantly! Also, you must place units at specific bases. If you only have one base in a system, then it is just assumed that you placed the forces at that one base. If you have multiple bases in a system, then you must designate which base each of your forces are at. Also, on your first turn, you need to set your ship stats. (See page 16 for how to set your ship stats.) Part 4- Move Units: Now you may move any units that you own. (You may move units that you just placed!) There is a specific timetable for moving units into battles. It is based around the TLR main clock, which is about eight hours behind the Greenwich Standard Time. The timetable is: 12:00 AM (00:00)- 3:00 PM (15:00): Daily turns may be posted. Battles from previous days may be resolved. All turn actions EXCEPT for battle declaration may be completed. Units may be moved, but not into or out of hostile territory. 3:01 PM (15:01)- 6:00 PM (18:00): Battles may be declared and resolved against NPCs and players who have already posted their turn for the day. 6:01 PM (18:01)- 11:59 PM (23:59): Any battles may be declared and resolved. All units may be moved up to three systems each turn. (Or make three jumps between systems) Bases are stationary, and may not be moved. Part 5- Declare Battles: Now you may declare the battles that your units are involved in. This includes battles from this turn and any other unresolved battles. Specifically declare battles that you are now involved in your turn post. Again, if there are battles that you are involved in that have not yet been resolved, then you need to note those as well. No units can move in or out of a battle between the time it is declared and the time it is resolved. Also, the attacker’s units may not move into the system where the battle is taking place even if they are not a part of the battle. Be sure to include the system that the battle is taking place in, as well as the amount of units you have fighting in the battle. You can do two types of battles: normal battles and hit and fade battles. A normal battle is where both sides fight it out until one side is defeated. A hit and fade battle is where the attacker chooses how many rounds of battle are carried out. (A round is when both sides fire once.) Hit and fade battles are often used by pirate groups for raids and such. Another action that is considered to be a battle is diplomatic blitzing. A diplomatic blitz is an action where you try to convince an NPC base to join your faction. This action can only be done to NPC factions, and only to bases in systems where you have units and/or bases. It may also only be done one time per turn. There are a few modifiers. The first modifier is about the type of base that is being blitzed: Small Station- +0 modifier Large Station- +1 modifier Capital Ship Shipyard- +2 modifier Planet- +3 modifier Gas/Metal miners may NOT be blitzed. The other modifier is regarding your faction class, and the base’s faction class. Regard the political spectrum below to figure out modifiers: Houses/Police – Corporations – Miners/Spacers – Major/Minor Pirates – Revolutionaries To figure out the modifier for faction type, you need to find your faction class, and find the faction’s class that you are blitzing, and then find the number of spaces between them. All blitz rolls start at 10. Example: Samura, a corporation, is attempting to blitz a FA base. They have a base in the system, and the FA base is a large one. So, you add one point for the large station, making the roll an 11. Then, since the FA is a Revolutionary faction, you add 3 points, because Revolutionaries are 3 spaces from Corporations. That makes 14. So, in order for Samura to get the FA base, a 14 or higher must be chosen. Secrecy is another action that may be used in this part of the turn. There are a number of secret bases in Sirius, or bases that are known by only a few people. These bases must be found before they can be attacked or blitzed. The bases are: Buffalo Base, New York (Rogues) Rochester Base, New York (Junkers) Ouray Base, Colorado (Xenos) Beaumont Base, Texas (Junkers) Alcatraz Depot, California (Rogues) Willard Research Station, California (Navy) Nome Base, Kepler (Xenos) Padua Base, Galileo (Rogues) Leiden Base, Galileo (Hackers) Pacifica Base, Bering (Unioners) Dawson Base, Hudson (Rogues) Barrow Base, Hudson (Xenos) Mactan Base, Magellan (Hackers) Montezuma Base, Cortez (Rogues) BPA Newgate, Manchester (Bretonia Police) Trafalgar Base, New London (Junkers) Islay Base, Edinburgh (Gaians) Arranmore Base, Dublin (Mollys) Graves Station, Dublin (BMM) Vierlande Base, Hamburg (Rheinland Federal Police) Kreuzburg Depot, New Berlin (Junkers) Darmstadt Depot, Stuttgart (LWB} Vogtland Base, Dresden (Red Hessians) Bruchsal Base, Frankfurt (Bundschuh) Nansei Research Station, Kyushu (Naval Forces) Kagoshima Depot, Kyushu (Farmer’s Alliance) Kabuicho Depot, New Tokyo (Hogosha) Fuchu Prison, Shikoku (Kusari State Police) Ainu Depot, Hokkaido (GC) Java Station, Tau-23 (IMG) Cali Base, Tau-23 (Outcasts) Falkland Base, Tau-37 (IMG) Douglas Station, Omega-3 (BMM) Rugen Station, Omega-3 (Daumann) Cadiz Base, Omega-5 (Corsairs) Ronneburg Base, Omega-5 (Red Hessians) Briesen Mining Facility, Omega-7 (Daumann) Elbich Mining Facility, Omega-7 (Kruger) Freital Base, Omega-11 (Red Hessians) Leon Base, Omega-41 (Corsairs) Freeport 5, Omega-41 (Zoners) Tripoli Shipyard, Omicron Gamma (Corsairs) Ruiz Base, Omicron Beta (Outcasts) Atka Research Station, Sigma-17 (Cryer) Yanagi Depot, Sigma-13 (Junkers) You can build secret bases, but only in systems where either you or a person you are in an alliance with. To find a secret base, you must first designate which base you are looking for, and then commit some of your ships in the system to look for it. Then, the judge will pick a random number between one and twenty. If the number is 18-20, then all the forces you committed are lost and never heard from again. If the number is 8-18, then the force returns without finding the base. If the number is 3-8, then the force has a battle against the enemy forces stationed at the base. The battle only lasts three rounds. If the enemy kills all of your forces, then you don’t find the base. If the enemy doesn’t kill all of your forces, then your survivors return, and you do find the base. If your forces kill all the enemy forces, then you both find and get the base. If the number is 1 or 2, then the force finds the location of the base and returns without a battle. Another battle action that you may do in this phase is sending out exploration parties. You can buy these during the buying phrase, and then you announce that you are exploring during this phase. The purpose of exploration parties is to search for new systems in Sirius for your faction to colonize. You just have to choose a system that the party departs from, and the judge chooses a random number to decide what happens. If the number is 20-10, then the party is lost and never heard from again. If the number is 10-6, then the party returns without luck, and you may reuse them next turn. If the number is 5, then the party is chased home by Nomads, who then attempt to invade Sirius! (The admin will decide on what happens next.) If the number is 4 or 3, then the party finds a system with no planets. If the number is 2, then the party finds a system with a habitable planet in it. If the number is 1, then the party finds a system with two habitable planets in it. Technologies may also be researched in this phase. You can buy technology grants in the buying phase, but you get them resolved here. You pay 25 credits for the technology, and if that is all that you pay, then the judge will chose a random number, and here are the options: If the number is 20-9, then the technology attempt fails. If the number is 1-8, then the technology attempt is successful. However, for every extra 10 credits you pay, the random number for success is raised by one. So if you paid the 25 plus 20 extra credits, then 1-10 would be successful and 11-20 would be a failure. You can pay a maximum of 100 extra credits. The technologies available for research are: Improved Ships- Improves any stat of any ship type you have by one. Improved Laboratories- Adds a +2 modifier to all technology attempts. Improved Navigation- Cuts the cost of Exploration Attempts in half. Other Faction Class’s Unique Unit- Enables you to research the unique unit of another faction. **May only be done once** Part 6- Participate in Diplomacy: Now you can barter for trade, and make deals with other factions. This is also the time to interact, in character, with the other players. There are several types of agreements that you make with another player. They are separated into two groups: Trade Agreements, and Military Agreements. Trade Agreements: Commodity/Credit Exchange- The most basic type of trade agreement. The players involved trade resources and credits, in whatever amounts they want, one time. Trade Pact- A trade agreement that involves a credit or commodity trade over a period of several turns. This agreement is not binding, and may be cut off by either side at any time. Trade Federation- A trade agreement that involves a credit or commodity trade over a period of many turns. This may be started and cut off by any agreement of two or more players, but if one player wants to cut it off, then they must declare that they are cutting off the agreement one turn, but the agreement does not actually end until the next turn. Economic Union- A trade agreement where the factions involved pool their banks of resources and credits. Essentially, their leftover credits and resources are pooled, and all the factions involved may use them. Due to the nature of these agreements, to cut off this agreement, a faction must announce that they intend to cut off the agreement one turn, and then actually cut it off on the next one. Military Agreements: Non-Aggression Pact- An agreement by two or more factions that promises no attacks on each other for a set amount of turns. Any faction may cut off this agreement at any time. Coalition- An agreement by two or more factions that promises their cooperation to achieve a common goal. Due to the nature of these agreements, to cut off this agreement, a faction must announce that they intend to cut off the agreement one turn, and then actually cut it off on the next one. Alliance- A solid agreement by two or more factions that promises total cooperation for many turns. Due to the nature of these agreements, to cut off this agreement, a faction must announce that they intend to cut off the agreement one turn, and then actually cut it off on the next one. While an alliance is running, neither side can attack the other. Treaty- An official agreement that ends a conflict. This agreement can only be reached if both sides meet at a neutral location and agree to a set of terms brought up by either one of the parties, a neutral party, or a mediator. The treaty must be given a name (IE: The Treaty of Manhattan), and must be “signed” by both side’s leaders, as well as one neutral leader as a witness. In addition, each faction can have a certain feeling towards others. These feelings, like the reputation system in Freelancer, are important to other factions, so they are aware of how others see them. If you choose to do this, then you should also note which factions you have agreements with. Here are the available feelings: Very Friendly Friendly Supportive Neutral Unsupportive Unfriendly Very Unfriendly Also, there are a few states of war that you can be in with another faction: Border Dispute- A small war, usually in one or two systems, where you can choose whether or not to attack the other side if they enter one of your systems. Open War- A large war in which any enemy ship enters a system that you control, then they are attacked. Total War- A massive war in which any enemy ship to enter a system you have a base in is attacked. That completes the steps for a turn.

Step 4- Conduct Daily Turns: Make turns daily. Now that you know how to do a turn, you are expected to do them most every day that the game is running. If you are still confused on how to do a turn, follow the pattern of the more experienced CYOF players, or email a judge, admin, or rulemaster for help.

Step 5- Learn How Battles Work: Get a basic idea of how judges resolve battles. The judge decides the battles based on the random number system. The judge uses a board with 40 squares on it, placed in 10x4 fashion. One half is the attacker’s side, the other is the defender’s. Each side is labeled with the numbers 1-10. The judge places markers on the board for the attacker and defender’s capital ships and fighters, in the slots corresponding to each ship’s attack/defense stat, depending on the type of fleet that they are fighting. If they are fighting a fleet with ANY capital ships, then use the capital ship attack/defense rating. If the enemy force is only fighters, then the fighter attack/defense rating is used. The battle is played out, using the Axis and Allies method. In the A+A method, random numbers are chosen for each ship, and if it is equal to or less than that ship’s stat, then it scores a hit. The weakest piece used by the other side is removed. It continues, until one side has no pieces left. The side with units will then be declared the winner. Every ship has stats, which faction leaders can set on their first turn. These MUST be set on the first turn! Every ship type gets a certain number of stats points that the faction leaders assign to the four attributs of each ship. The attributes are: Fighter Attack (FA)- How well the ship performs when attacking fighters. Capital Attack (CA)- How well the ship performs when attacking capital ships. Fighter Defense (FD)- How well the ship defends against fighters. Capital Defense (CD)- How well the ship defends against capital ships. Here are the numbers of points that each faction gets per ship type to spend on their ship stats. The numbers in parenthesis are the maximum that any one stat may become. LF- 8 points (4) HF- 12 points (5) VHF- 16 points (6) Gunboat- 20 points (7) Cruiser- 24 points (8) Battleship- 30 points (9) *SHF- 20 points (7) *Bomber- 18 points (7) These stats may not be changed unless you research Improved Ships.

Step 6- Learn some basic strategies to use against your opponents: Learn about some time-honored general strategies that can help you in CYOF. Always watch your back, never assume that anything is totally safe. Allies can deceive you, so don’t get caught in betrayal. A lot of weak ships can overcome a few strong ships. The more days you post turns, the stronger you are. Bases will pay for themselves in the long run. At times, houses may seem invincible, but they can be taken down with a combined force. The more trusted alliances you have, the better. If someone cuts off an alliance with you, watch out. If a player betrays another player, don’t trust the betrayer. Often times, system location can be crucial. Grab systems and bases from NPCs in the beginning, before they are gone. Unique units and class strengths can be very deadly in the correct situations. If you stand out too much, then others are more likely to attack you. If you are very powerful, then others are more likely to attack you. Choose your ship stats at the beginning of the game wisely, because you will have them for the rest of the game.

Step 7- Advance in rank: Once the game has ended, every player who participated can advance in rank. As you know, rank determines who gets to play as which faction class, so players have a good incentive to advance in rank to be able to play as the houses and major factions. The ranks are: Veteran- Played in one CYOF game. Ace- Played in two CYOF games Admiral- Played in three CYOF games President- Played in four CYOF games Master- Played in five CYOF games The administration ranks are: Judge- There is usually one or two judges in each CYOF game. Judges resolve all battles and make all the random number choices. Admin- There is one admin for every CYOF game. The admin does all of the behind-the-scenes work like posting signups and game threads, as well as running publicity and the CYOF site and forums. The admin can also judge very important battles, as he has to have been a judge before becoming an admin. Rulemaster- There is only one rulemaster at a time in CYOF. The rulemaster writes all the rules and generally oversees all of the CYOF games that are taking place, in addition to answering questions about CYOF and the rules. Since he is also an admin, he gets the duties of the admin as well. In addition, there is also a CYOF player’s council that meets on the CYOF Private Forums and decides, in a majority vote, any contested issues and rule changes. The rulemaster is the default Council Head, and he appoints new members if any council member retires or leaves. If you are absent for several turns, then you have the option of turning your faction over to an ally. You can give them instructions on what to do. Or, you can save your money and resources into the bank until you return. This is done automatically every time you miss a turn. Now you should know how to play a game of CYOF 5.0! Congratulations! Go play the game, and enjoy!

Tools: Resources in systems: New York- 2 Metals, 1 Gas Texas- 3 Metals California- 4 Gas, 1 Metals Colorado- 6 Metals Alaska- 2 Gas New London- 2 Metals Leeds- 3 Metals Manchester- 3 Gas, 1 Metal Edinburgh- 1 Metal, 1 Gas Dublin- 8 Metals, 2 Gas Cambridge- 3 Gas, 1 Metal New Tokyo- 3 Gas, 2 Metals Honshu- 2 Gas, 1 Metal Kyushu- 3 Gas, 2 Metal Shikoku- 1 Metal, 1 Gas Hokkaido- 4 Metals, 2 Gas New Berlin- 4 Metals Frankfurt- 2 Metals, 1 Gas Stuttgart- 3 Metals, 2 Gas Dresden- 5 Metals Hamburg- 2 Metals, 1 Gas Sigma-13- 12 Gas, 2 Metals Sigma-17- 4 Metals, 3 Gas Sigma-19- 8 Gas, 3 Metals Omega-3- 4 Metals, 2 Gas Omega-5- 2 Metals Omega-7- 5 Metals, 1 Gas Omega-11- 10 Metals Omega-41- 4 Metals Omicron Alpha- 4 Metals, 2 Gas Omicron Beta- 4 Metals, 1 Gas Omicron Gamma- 5 Metals, 3 Gas Omicron Theta- 4 Metals, 3 Gas Tau-23- 4 Metals, 4 Gas Tau-29- 4 Metals, 2 Gas Tau-31- 3 Metals, 2 Gas Tau-37- 5 Metals, 5 Gas Kepler- 1 Metal, 2 Gas Galileo- 2 Metal, 2 Gas Magellan- 3 Metal, 2 Gas Bering- 3 Metal Hudson- 3 Gas, 1 Metal Cortez- 2 Gas, 1 Metal Handy Tools: CYOF 5 Calculator- Available for download at http://www.freewebs.com/cyof when the game starts. Calculates incomes and resources and adds and subtracts for purchases. Freelancer DataStorm- Avaliable for download from http://www.lancersreactor.org. A comprehensive, interactive map of the Freelancer universe that is compatible with mods and contains information on all ships, bases, equipment, and commodities. The Lane Hackers’ Sirius Map- An interactive Freelancer map on the internet at http://arbiter.de. It contains info on ships and stations.

That concludes the rules. You may post now. <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle>

<b>IMG Turn 1 </b> Bank Credits: 0 Foundation- 50 Bases: Cambridge- Cardiff Mining Facility (Small) Dublin- Battleship Hood (Small), 2 Small Metal Miners Magellan- Freeport 4 (Large) Omega-7- Friestadt Base (Small) Tau-23- Java Station (Small) (H) Tau-31- Holman Outpost (Small) Tau-37- Falkland Base (Small) (H), 3 Small Metal Miners Total credits from bases: 80 Starting bonus: 280 TOTAL CREDITS: 360 Purchases: 30 LF wings 2 Small Stations -300 credits Placing: 30 LF wings in Tau-37 Small Station Dartmoor in Dublin Small Station Exeter in Tau-31 Units: Cambridge- 20 LF, 10 HF Dublin- 20 LF, 10 HF Magellan- 30 LF, 20 HF Omega-7- 20 LF, 10 HF Tau-23- 20 LF, 10 HF Tau-31- 20 LF, 10 HF Tau-37- 50 LF, 10 HF Current Bank Status: 60 Credits 40 Gas 44 Metals Movement: 1 Metal Miner from Tau-37 to Tau-23 Attacks: Blitzing Planet Harris (14) Unresolved: Above only. Diplomacy: TO CHANCELLOR DSQRN: <font size=1 face="trebuchet ms"><BLOCKQUOTE><hr size=1 noshade> Chancellor, would the mighty nation of Rheinland be interested in an alliance with the IMG? Signed, Guildmaster Jacob III of the IMG <hr size=1 noshade></BLOCKQUOTE></font><font face=´trebuchet ms, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica´ size=2> TO KING ROC: <font size=1 face="trebuchet ms"><BLOCKQUOTE><hr size=1 noshade> Your Magesty, would mighty Bretonia be interested in an alliance with the IMG? Signed, Guildmaster Jacob III of the IMG <hr size=1 noshade></BLOCKQUOTE></font><font face=´trebuchet ms, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica´ size=2> TO SHOGUN BRET: <font size=1 face="trebuchet ms"><BLOCKQUOTE><hr size=1 noshade> Your Lordship, would Kusari be interested in a coalition with the IMG? Signed, Guildmaster Jacob III of the IMG <hr size=1 noshade></BLOCKQUOTE></font><font face=´trebuchet ms, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica´ size=2> TO PRESIDENT CREATOR: <font size=1 face="trebuchet ms"><BLOCKQUOTE><hr size=1 noshade> Your Excellancy, would Liberty be interested in a coalition with the IMG? SIgned, Guildmaster Jacob III of the IMG <hr size=1 noshade></BLOCKQUOTE></font><font face=´trebuchet ms, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica´ size=2> TO CEO CODENAME: <font size=1 face="trebuchet ms"><BLOCKQUOTE><hr size=1 noshade> Would Samura be interested in an alliance with the IMG? Signed, Guildmaster Jacob III of the IMG <hr size=1 noshade></BLOCKQUOTE></font><font face=´trebuchet ms, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica´ size=2> Faction Relations: Kusari - Friendly Hogosha - Neutral Corsairs - Unfriendly Outcasts - Unfriendly Junkers - Unfriendly Zoners - Supportive Ageira - Supportive Liberty - Friendly Bretonia - Very Friendly Rheinland - Very Friendly Bundschuh - Unsupportive Ship Stats: (FA/CA/FD/CD) Hawk LF- 3/1/3/1 Falcon HF- 4/2/4/2 Eagle VHF- 5/3/5/3 Modified Bretonian Gunboat- 6/4/6/4 Modified Bretonian Cruiser- 7/5/7/5 Modified Bretonian Battleship- 9/6/9/6 Edited by - ww2jacob on 3/28/2005 12:35:14 PM

Yes you did, Dagger_Ace. I am proud, since you are one of the best new players that we´ve had in a while. Your turn was very good, and you used my template for it nicely. <img src=smilies/icon_smile_wink.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> And thanks about the rules. I do appreciate that. <img src=smilies/icon_smile_big.gif width=15 height=15 border=0 align=middle> TO ALL: I forgot something important in the rules. There is a grace period of no attacking other players for the first three turns of the game. This is to help everyone get on their feet and for the new players to learn the game. We did the same thing in CYOF 3, so a lot of you should remember it.

TO ZONERS: I appreciate your offer, kind Dagger_Ace of the Zoners. I gladly accept, and hope that we can work together to make the borderworlds safe for everyone. Signed, Jacob III TO CORSAIRS: SInce you are the new owner of Sigma-13, I would like to express my wishes that the IMG be able to operate in that system as well. We only wish to open a small mining operation there, and we would be more than happy to help you police the system. Signed, Jacob III