Campaign Mode Changes - Birds, EE, Lizards

We're making some small adjustments to the Godzilla Class Battlecarrier. 

First change: The Godzilla will be renamed the "Zilla Class Battlecarrier". The term Godzilla is a registered trademark. One of our medium term goals is to begin a series of game changes that will move us further from any copyright issues that may exist.  

Second change: In the previous version Zilla's could be traded away and additional ones built at the Homeworld of origin. They could then be cloned by the recipient.This can lead to more than the intended # of Zilla's in a sector. This was meant to be a rare ship built only at special planets. 

In the new version only one Zilla can be built at any homeworld planet by the Lizards. Once built the ship's name can never be changed even if the ship is traded away or captured. Zilla's can never be cloned and as long as the ship exists a new Zilla can not be built at the same homeworld. 

Starbase Fighter Transfer is getting an upgrade. SFT has proven to be a popular and appropriate addition to the Evil Empire and is on the long term track to become part of the Standard config. However the Send/Receive mechanism proved a bit clunky in real game play and did not allow for nice set flow of fighters without constant tweaking/adjusting each turn (not very fun and error prone).  

In the new edition of SFT starbases and Gorbies who choose the Send Fighters mission can now choose a destination starbase or Gorbie. All fighters will then flow to the chosen target destination. The original Send/Receive format still exists as well. This will allow Empire commanders to setup regular flight paths of fighters from the back of the Empire toward the front. Fighter transfer from one base to the next happens in an intelligent/intuitive order so that all fighters effectively move at the same time. So for example if you have 3 starbases:

Starbase 12: 60 fighters

Starbase 138: 60 fighters

Starbase 323: 0 fighters

If you set #12 to send to #138 and #138 to #323 fighters will first move from #138 to #323 and then from #12 to #138. (ID number is not important) 

The birdmen are getting 2 more significant features for campaign mode:

Super Spy Advanced (adv: 20) - Super Spy Advanced provides full Starbase information when Super Spying. This includes Fighters, Defense, Damage, Tech Levels and the ship being built. 

Cloak and Intercept Mission (adv: 40) - The new Cloak and Intercept mission will allow the Birdmen to perform an Intercept while cloaked. This is similar to the Deth Specula Stealth but is different in a significant way. With Cloak and Intercept any Birdman cloaking ship will actually Cloak at the beginning of the turn, perform the Intercept mission and stay cloaked (unless it hits a mine, ion storm or other anomaly that might decloak it). Upon reaching it's destination, if it has Primary Enemy set, it will fight it's intercept target ONLY. If undamaged it will recloak and not fight any other ships. If damaged it will uncloak and may be attacked. If Primary Enemy is not set, it will not fight.  

Lastly, the standard Super Spy advantage value is being changed from 50 to 25. 

Some of you may be wondering why the Birdmen are getting more campaign additions when some other races have so few. The reason is simple. Campaign mode, a fun format on it's own, is also a test ground for new features that may eventually make it into the Standard game. Based on the historical statistics we've gathered on this site three races, The Fascists, Evil Empire and Birdmen are significantly disadvantaged in the balance of Planets. That said we are seeking ideal features that enhance the balance of the game, make the races more fun to play and maintain their race's uniqueness. 

After a couple of years of real world testing we don't feel that the big Birdman campaign advantage of Super Spy Command would be appropriate for Standard play. Only the Enlighten (along with the Iron Ore Condenser of the Fascists) and Diplomatic Spies are good candidates for promotion. These would not provide the necessary advantage gain to even out the birds.

So today we are excited to announce two new candidates for future Standard play. Super Spy Advanced and Cloak and Intercept. We feel both of these can add significant tactical and diplomatic advantages to the Birds that suit their "sneaky" play style well.  

Have fun!