Good little Imperials...

by FA-Baron Compton

I am such a slacker. 

No, really. I have slacked off so much as Tactical Officer that Admiral Chuck needs to kick me in the butt. I haven't been very timely in reviewing missions and battles. My website needs some updating. And gosh darn it, it haven't even flown battles 103-106 yet! 

But I'll tell you what I HAVE gotten done (besides finally installing my new garbage disposal and reclaiming my kitchen sick for the benefit of mankind)... I finally finished Battle 107. 

Battle 107 means a lot to me. I first got the idea for this when the whole TIE Corps downsizing thing was happening. While everyone was being shuffled around I kept thinking, "We should have a piece of fiction explaining why we're doing this. It could involve a battle... no! It could BE a Battle!" and it's been all downhill from there. 

I won't bore you with the details, but I would like to say that I worked my butt off on this Battle, and I think it shows. I tried to work out some of my feelings about the current state of the TIE Corps, and my role in the situation. I hope you enjoy flying it. Please read the text file that goes along with the missions, as it more fully explains what's happening in the storyline. 

First of all, after over a year as Flight Officer, I've finally been promoted to Tactical Officer. This is the position I think I was born to have in the Fleet, and it's been a blast so far. I'd like to thank my CA, VA Obiwan and his TAC Assistant, LG Dave for the help they've given me so far. If you haven't visited it yet, the TAC website is at 

http://members.aol.com/coreleader 

I've finally gotten my opening graphic up there, and I think it's pretty nifty. Now that Battle 107 is done, I should be able to update a few more things on there. 

Also, I've changed the zip file name structure for new EH Battles. They'll be something like this: 

ehtcbXXX.zip 

That's Emperor's Hammer TIE Corps Battle XXX. Just thought ya might wanna know. 

Approved Battles and Missions! 

The following are the new Fleet-approved Battles and Missions for this Newsletter. Congratulations to the following pilots for earning the Medal of Tactics: 

FL/GN Cyphon/Spectre 3-1/SSD Avr (cyphon_1@hotmail.com)

Medal of Tactics for creation of Free Mission Cyphon-1 

CMDR/LG Wolly/Beta 1-1/Wing I/SSSD Sov (Wolly2000@aol.com)

Medal of Tactics for creation of Free Mission Wolly-1 

CMDR/LG Tad/Epsilon 1-1/SSSD Sov (lmhollen@vip.net)

Medal of Tactics with Green Hammer for creation of Free Missions Tad-1 and Tad-2 

TAC/FA-Baron Compton/CS-3/SSSD Sov

Medal of Tactics Red Hammer for creation of Battle 107, Farewell to Old Friends 

There would probably be more, but I decided to get picky about the stories that go along with the missions. Which leads us to... 

I'll be posting a more intensive list of guidelines on the TAC site later, but this should give everyone an idea of what I'm looking for in a Battle: 

First of all, make sure the darn thing's complete. By complete I mean it needs to have the following:

A cohesive plotline,

All missions included in one zip or mime file,

The name of the Battle along with the name of the medal for the Battle,

Your ID line and e-mail addy in the text file with the plot.

Each mission should have the following:

A complete briefing,

Complete Officer Questions (beginning and ending mission questions),

Mission messages.

Second of all, make sure you've tested the missions. And by tested, I mean they need to be flown and beaten by someone. If you don't have a TIE Fighter game yourself, ask a friend in the Fleet to help out. Or contact Project Reno. 

Third of all, make sure the story set in the EH's present timeline. Right now we're just about 6 months after the Rebels took Coruscant. Since Battles happen in the order they're numbered (Battle 13 happened before Battle 21, etc.), please don't make up a Battle that happens before Endor or something. 

Fourth, and most important, make it FUN. If you don't have fun flying the Battle, chances are no one else will, either. 

That's about it for now. As always, feel free to send any questions or criticisms my way. Have fun, and kill some Rebels, huh? 

TAC/FA-Baron Compton/CS-3/SSSD Sov