OFFICE OF THE FLEET COMMANDER

FLEET COMMANDER's WWW SITE NOW HOLDS EH PILOT MANUALS...!!!

All Fleet Members are herein advised that the Emperor's Hammer TIE Corps Pilot Manuals can be found by accessing the "FC's Library" from the Office of the Fleet Commander WWW site at URL:

http://members.gnn.com/garonin/ronin.htm

Or you can go to the FC's Library directly at URL:

http://members.gnn.com/garonin/library.htm

Currently, only the TIE Corps Manuals are uploaded...However, I anticipate that ALL 6 SubGroup Manuals will be posted there shortly...

Anyone with questions can feel free to email the Fleet Commander directly at GARonin@aol.com....

EMPEROR'S HAMMER MEMBERSHIP PASSES 1,000 MEMBERS!!!

Our Flight Officer, AD Jac Cotelin says it best...:)

WE"VE HIT A THOUSAND!!!!!! That's right 1K, one grand, 1,000!!!! Our 1,000th

member, GN Rob (tranze@mailbox.swipnet.se), joined today at about 6:00....:^)

I'm speechless.....

Attached [to this Newsletter] is a roster that reflects our ONE THOUSANDth member...

FO/AD JAC/CS-4/SSSD Sov, BS/MoT-1rh-8gh, PRO (Sith)

FLEET COMMANDER'S NOTE:

As of 5/14/96, the EH stands at 1,002 total Membership...!

GUIDELINES FOR EH "CAMPAIGNS" ARE POSTED...!

The Campaign Medal for Campaign I - The Emperor, Alive or Vision?...

(Photo: Compiled from original artwork by volsung@ix.netcom and Shekinah@voicenet.com, 1995)

In order to introduce long-running battle plotlines that can span more than one Battle or Combined Arms Battle, the Fleet Commander herein introduces the Campaign. A Campaign is simply a series of two or more Battles or Combined Arms Battles (or a combination of the two) linked together with a common theme or plotline. The EH Fleet will typically only run one Campaign at a time and the Fleet Commander is the ONLY EH Member currently authorized to submit a Campaign since these types of plotlines will necessarily affect the entire Fleet and the basic overall storyline for the Emperor's Hammer. However, the Fleet Commander may solicit the services of other Members as Battle/Mission designers who will, of course, receive individual MoTs and CoS's, as appropriate, for their efforts.

In order for a Fleet member to achieve the coveted Campaign Medal, he/she must have successfully completed ALL Primary Goals of the missions assigned to their particular EH TIE Corps Unit or SubGroup. As always, completion of the primary goals (at any difficulty setting) is all that is required to advance to the next Mission (like the TIE Fighter Game). However, it should be noted that since Campaigns are typically ongoing plotlines often spanning several Newsletters, the Campaign Medals aren't awarded until completion of the final mission in the final Battle or CAB, as appropriate.

The First Campaign (Campaign I - The Emperor, Alive or Vision?), will be based on the rumored return of the former Emperor, Palpatine, and the conquest of four neighboring star systems which have only recently been colonized, the Minos Cluster. See the Concourse Bulletin Board Section of this Newsletter for the Prelude to this Campaign.

CA:FC/VA Caesar/CA-1/SSSD Sov

Emperor's Hammer

TIE Fighter Agressor Training

FLEET COMMANDER'S NOTE:

Herein, the Fleet Commander has approved the following proposal by the CA:FC to start the Agressor Wing. The purpose of this "paper unit" is primarily to hone our Fleet Members' piloting and combat skills for the anticipated TIE vs X-Wing modem-playable game coming out in the Winter of 1996. Since this is only a Training Unit for the TIE Fighter and X-Wing pilots, Membership is open only to EH Members who own those games. The Fleet Commander has left the formation, development and supervision of this training unit to his Command Attache, VA Caesar (Jedi007@aol.com)...

TO: Grand Admiral Ronin, Emperor's Hammer Fleet Commander

Fleet Admiral Havok, Emperor's Hammer Tactical Officer

Vice Admiral Comton, Emperor's Hammer Tactical Attache

FROM: Vice Admiral Caesar, Emperor's Hammer Fleet Command Attche

IN RE: Agressor Training Squadron

Gentlemen:

Per my recent e-mail, I was asked to write up a short file describing my proposal in depth.

Objective

The Agressor Training Squadron (proposed nickname: Grimwahs) is designed with intent of improving the Hammer's TIE Pilot skills pool. The Grimwahs will truly be the Elite of the Hammer; position will be determined by skill. This will be accomplished by the sharing of information among its members.

Methods

The Grimwahs will receive a weekly package containing two items:

1.) A TIE Mission focusing on that week's particular skill

2.) A brief essay on strategy for that mission

Members will be expected to submit a report giving personal rubarbs and strategies for the mission. In this manner, fellow Grimwahs will benefit from each other and will also be presented with varying strategies.

Organization

The Grimwahs will not be a squadron per the standard Hammer definition. Instead, it will consist of as many members who want to join that are organized on a simple mailing list. Each week, I will send out the mission and each Grimwah will send their report to the entire squad. The group is not anticipated to be large, so this should present few logistics problems.

Membership

Membership is open to all who wish to join. To stay a member, one is expected to contribute a weekly report and possibly TIE missions.

Other Activities

Hopefully, discussion will be lively among the Grimwahs on general TIE strategy; perhaps even IRC meetings can be held to discuss the myriad facets of the art that is TIE flying. ;)

Potential Mission Objectives

As the Grimwahs will focus on improving skill, their primary fighter will be the vanilla TIE Fighter. As this ship has no shields and extremely limited armament, it is the ideal training vessel. Mission types flown may include:

- TIE/F mine racing

- TIE/F vs. TIE Defender

- TIE/F vs. overwhelming Rebel odds

- Lone TIE/F taking out a Platform and other capital ships

- Speed kills, taking out a ship in a minute (possibly highter) or less

The only obstacle I see in the Agressor Training Squadron's way is that of a mission nature. The Grimwahs will require a dedicated mission builder (though these shouldn't be too hard to design... LOL) to churn out missions on a regular basis. Also, older missions from TIE may be utilizied.

Please send any comments, suggestions, criticisms my way.

...

CA:FC\VA Caesar\CA-1\SSSD Sov

Krath High Priest, Eos

CA:FC/VA Caesar/CA-1/SSSD Sov

Subj: X-Wing v. TIE Fighter Info..

Date: 96-05-14 17:38:41 EDT

From: Jedi 007

I found the following at the LucasArt's WWW Site:

"LUCASARTS SEEKS FIGHTER PILOT

RECRUITS FOR NEW NETWORK GAME,

X-WING VS. TIE FIGHTER, A STAR WARSŪ

MULTIPLAYER SPACE COMBAT SIMULATION

 

Battle Head-To-Head In X-Wings and

TIE Fighters For First Time

San Rafael, CA. -- The ultimate battle between the Empire and the Rebel

Alliance will be fought this winter with the release of the first Star Wars network game, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, a Star Wars multiplayer space combat simulation, from LucasArts Entertainment Company. The PC CD-ROM game can be configured in single player mode or multiplayer, which will allow up to eight players to team up as a squadron or compete against each other via modem or a local area network.

Whether in single or network-play mode, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter will offer players a choice of more than 15 original mission scenarios set in a variety of familiar Star Wars environments, ranging from asteroid and space junk fields to the Endor star system, around which the Death Star battle in Return of the JediŪ was fought. Players will have more than a dozen Rebel, Imperial and Pirate starfighters at their disposal, from which they can engage each other in assorted deep space

dogfights.

"Technology has finally reached a point where we can offer networked games without compromising gameplay," said Mary Bihr, director of sales and marketing for LucasArts. "X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter will offer the same compelling gameplay experience that single-player games have always offered, with the additional thrill of real-time head-to-head combat

against other Star Wars pilots," reassures Lawrence Holland, head of Totally Games, a development studio working in conjunction with LucasArts in the development of Star Wars space combat simulations.

Multiplayer/Network Mode

Prior to each new mission in multiplayer mode, players determine whether they want to fly for the Rebellion or the Empire. After choosing a flight group of starfighters, they are briefed and provided with goals, objectives and role descriptions and may communicate with squad mates to discuss battle tactics. 3D inflight maps will be available in real-time to assist players in determining mission strategy as well as providing rendezvous points.

Once engaged in battle, players can assume the controls of a single

starfighter or multiple craft. Squadrons are controlled by issuing tactical orders either through the 3D map or a series of keyboard commands. Missions in X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter have been specially designed to promote cooperation between squad mates, allowing pilots to both send and receive messages to wingmates or enemy pilots. Players will quickly learn that collaboration between teammates is necessary to the success of each engagement. After a mission is completed, pilots are debriefed and scores awarded according to the successes of each pilot.

Single Player Mode

While gameplay is similar to that in multiplayer mode, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter will have several missions specifically designed for single play. Players can choose between a series of conflicts fought by the Rebellion or the Empire, ultimately enabling them to perfect various battle tactics that can be applied in multiplayer mode.

Upgraded Game Engine

X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter features a fully upgraded version of the graphic

engine used in previous X-Wing and TIE Fighter games. The engine will use new texture-mapped models, with ship details taken directly from the Star Wars archives at Lucasfilm, allowing for the most realistic in-flight graphics to date in a Star Wars space combat experience."

...

CA:FC\VA Caesar\CA-1\SSSD Sov

THE FLEET COMMANDER APPOINTS THE FIRST EH MOFF...!

In recognition of his retired military status and longstanding devotion to the Emperor's Hammer Strike Fleet, the Fleet Commander has appointed FA Renegade (gcavitt@ainet.com) as the first Moff of the Emperor's Hammer. He has been selected to be Moff over the Phare System and to bring it back into Imperial control. It is anticipated that he will soon be naming Planetary Governors for Sif, Ullyr and Frigg, the only habitable planets in-system...

SECOND EH SUBGROUP PASSES 100 MEMBERS!

A Bounty Hunter navigates a dangerous asteroid field

in the Phare System in search of a new bounty...

(Photo: E-Mailed by cph@cybernex.net, 1996)

Thanks primarily to the coordinating efforts of the EH Security Officer, Admiral Zach (afro@voicenet.com) and recent, incredible recruitment efforts by Ariel (ariel@voicenet.com) which nearly tripled the size of the BHG in ONE month, the Bounty Hunters' Guild is the second EH SubGroup to pass a total membership of over 100 Members (103 as of 5/10/96..!). Bounty Hunters are directed to the BHG Section of this Newsletter for full details. The Fleet Commander wishes to pass along his personal congratulations and best wishes to the Guild...!