Want a sneak preview of SC v3.0? 10-29: A preview of SC version 3.0 is available at the CyberNex server. Let system administrator Rowan Deppler know what you think. Whooo, those Net Spiders found me! 10-29: I recently got a piece of spam most probably generated by a spider: Dear Fellow Bird Breeder: For over a year, our AviMate software for Windows has helped bird breeders and hobbyists of all sizes simplify their record keeping and decision making. Perhaps AviMate could help you as well? I wrote and asked how long it took them to nuke a Bird of Prey? New URLs for Clan Wars, Ashram page 10-24: New URLs were posted for Clan Wars and Sir Ashram's home page. Tool, VividNet move, again 10-23: New URLs were posted for VividNet and Tool servers. HardCore puts up page, seeks URLs 10-22: Sean C, whose main empire is HardCore, is seeking visitors to his new page. He also is seeking URLs of other SC related pages. Recent MKII changes announced 10-22: Peter Bortas, admin at Lysator, home of MKII, reported those wishing access should check a recent changes page. Getting started section added to FAQ 10-22: Everyone seems to want a more responsible FAQ. In an effort to fill in some of the blanks, I've added a "Getting Started" section to both the frames and non-frames portion of the FAQ. I also modified the introduction to make it a little more friendlier. For new players, you should read this getting started section. It will speed your rise in the ranks. Sneak Preview of Almonaster Project 10-22: Max invites all to preview his new SC game. Or you can look here. It's expected to be out in beta by the end of the year. Up for all by next summer. Trouble at MKII? 10-21: Several inquiries about the unavailability of the MKII server were sent today. Chaos wrote at sc-talk: "I have from a fairly reliable source (a member at Lysator) that all lysator servers were down today. Some major overhaul of the major computer room apparently. Unfourtunately I noticed that SC isn't were it's supposed to be sc.lysator.liu.se gets me the sf/fantasy server." Peter Bortas added: "I forgot to tell you since I have no games running right now. The server was shut down for reorganization in the computer hall and upgrade of OS." Tool Server rejoins us 10-17: The Tool Server returns. Also, VividNet games are back, too. Thanks SB, the wait was worth it. Mike Wise finishes Java battle calculator 10-17: Mike Wise's Java Battle Calculator hits the Net today. This handy gadget is a must for advanced players who can figure out an enemy's BR level and know their fleet size. I use this calculator a lot in long terms to calculate how much I need to build to stop an enemy force. Of course, someone bringing a cloaker spoils everything. Cool: Regen admin's home page appeals 10-15: Check out Wolfgang Röckelein's home page. The administrator of the Regensburg server is one cool dude. Icons cleaned up, minimized 10-15: Several days ago Ron Kinion announced that he'd reduced in size the older alien icons, which once used 256 colors. Server admins can find the reduced icons as well as his fast loading near icons at Ron's alien page. Regensburg returns!! 10-14: Wolfgang Röckelein returned as admin at Regensburg only to discover the server was down. Regensburg was up earlier today, though Wolfgang warns there could be more rewinds or crashes until he figures out what went wrong. Discussion on Clan Wars 10-14: Inde has posted a page on the upcoming Clan Wars campaign. Players are asked to meet at the MKII chat room this Saturday for further discussion. Stellar Crisis League forming 10-13: Stellar Crisis League is looking for a few good coaches and players. Kind of a lot of rules to read, but it does appear to be a viable alternative to Clan Wars. Titan, returns as TitanII, version 3.0 10-13: Titan II recently was spotted with its version 3.0 of the game. Not for the light hearted, 4th Planet Stellar Crisis could fill a void while other servers are down. You might want to read the v3.0 FAQ, too. Clan Wars discussion planned 10-13: There will be discussion about Clan Wars at MKII's chat area Saturday. Sir Ashram and Independence are taking over the idea. There will be no limit on the number of clans or limit on the number of players in a clan. Other details will be revealed later. Tool moving to temporary server 10-12: SB, admin at Tool, says the game is being moved to a temporary server. It should return early this week. This Charming Man adds home page 10-12: This Charming Man adds his home page to the realm of SC. On Saturday, during the rewinds at Regensburg, Charming was nuked every half hour until the server went offline. Server Update!! 10-11: Here's the skinny from my ventures this morning: First, Regensburg is back up, if you can call it that. It rewound on me four times in two hours, or about once every 15 minutes. It's kind of like the movie Groundhog Day. Some of us kept logging into the same blood blitz and nuking the same two lame empires. You get an empty post as rewinds being. Then I found Friday night's message from Tool's administrator, SBlaster: "There is a problem with the tool database. I am adding another server to tool for the vividnet data base. I hope to get tool up later tonight but now I must go to work." I'll try to keep up on this today. Stellar Crisis League starts up 10-10: Coming soon: Stellar Crisis League. Round up the best team of 7 or more players and enter a 40 team league. Check it out. (I waited a couple days on this to let it get sorted out). VividNet closes down Friday 10-9: VividNet, a great alternative server to the always popular Regensburg server, closes down on Friday, Oct. 10. The following was received by administrator Bruce Berrest: Due to shortage of server resource, our company must take down the SC server, and use that machine for another purpose. This is such a short notice, and I apologize for what this might have cause to the SC community. I'll need to close down the server on Friday this week. Brian Wang Berrest suggested players head over to the Tool Server.