jjk@jupiter.astro.umd.edu (Jim Klavetter) (04/20/91)
Yes, eb1.8 has been in my possession via a week or so now. I think it is a great game and well worth the price ($25, $15 for students). I'm not going to do a big review, but it is a strategic war game and very different every time you play. First there was empire on vms systems, then xconq for X windows, and now eb for the mac. I spent much more time than I should ever have playing xconq as a grad student and now I'll probably spend too much time playing eb. It can be very addicting. But I found out quickly, playing xconq, that there was something missing: the human element. Yes, especially with eb, you CAN play a challenging game with the computer (because you can give it a head start, etc), but it is missing the element of surprise, etc. I would really like to play against a human and luckily, eb is built with that in mind. I have done a little experimenting and it seems that you can write the file out after every turn, which then can be mailed to the other player (after binhexing), etc. Although a little dull and lots of overhead at first, this should be a relatively minor part later on. So anyone out there think they want to try a REAL opponent? jjk@astro.umd.edu also for Athabasca and Reudi Jim Klavetter Astronomy UMD College Park, MD 20742 PS. I really haven't gotten the hang of supply/technology yet. Either I can try and get the hang of it or we can play with "old" rules. I'm trying to make helicopters, land transport, infantry, etc as I did with the xconq code. PS2. In deference to Chris Eliot, I'm not going to give the game away to potential opponents, although there is a eb1.8 demo which I will be happy to distribute.