I'll be out of town for the next few days and I'll be returning to active duty on Monday.

The ISDs Immortal and Grey Wolf have been jumped in the Pirath system by a vastly superior Blue Fleet. An enemy Interdictor Cruiser is preventing escape, and Red Forces are so badly outnumbered that they cannot co-ordinate enough ships to mount an effective rearguard. Red Team's ships are doomed, the only question is how many of Blue Team's ships they can take to hell with them.
All Wing XI and Wing XIII pilots to your ships! You are under attack!

http://www.xtc56.dial.pipex.com/ImpStorm.htm

• Be a LONG-standing Member and Officer in the club (>1 year).
• Not have had ANY cases brought before the High Court of Inquisitors.
• Has demonstrated increased command responsibility within the club, reaching at least a Rank of Rear Admiral.
• Portrays a responsible and mature manner both online and in private correspondence.
• Be a proven EXPERT in HTML, WWW sites, message boards, etc.
• Be able to host a STABLE series of WWW sites for use by the Emperor's Hammer Membership (i.e. Main Links Page, WWW Message Boards, etc.).

• TC-XWA #4: Privateer

All battles are available to download at the Emperor's Hammer Battle Center.

A bug that incorrectly displayed FCHG rankings on the Wing FCHG List and Squadron FCHG List pages has been fixed.

The Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) is worth five Combat Rating points each. Earning five DFCs will earn you the Bronze Wing add-on, receive ten DFCs for the Silver Wing add-on, and receive twenty DFCs for the Gold Wing add-on.

All members who have links or references to the AOL EH Message Board or AOL SW Cantina (where meetings are held) are asked to remove them from their homepages. The Medal of Communication will no longer be awarded for posting on the AOL EH Message Board...especially since AOL was very quick to take it down. The Emperor's Hammer will no longer hold weekly AOL Meetings.

Corrects:
- Improves stability for Internet play.
- Improves responsiveness of the interface in high-lag situations.

Notes:
- It is required that this patch be installed to play on the MSN Gaming Zone, or against other users with the patch installed.
- Saved games from the release version will not work if you install the patch. Player files are still compatible, so your campaign progress will not be lost. If you finish the mission you're on before you install the patch, you won't need to play that mission again.

Red Forces remain unlocated at present.

I expect to be able to announce Vice Admiral Sarok's successor sometime this weekend.

CrystalTech will be updating our webserver tomorrow from 1:00 AM EST to 5:00 AM EST to upgrade its operating system to Windows 2000. The domain will be inaccessible during the upgrade.

• TC-TIE #146: Operation Perihelion

All battles are available to download at the Emperor's Hammer Battle Center.

The database is back online and operational again.

The database will be offline for about 30 minutes while I make a few updates to add support for INPRs to personnel profiles.

It is my pleasure to announce that new Command Attaché to the Reconnaissance Office is Captain Slage! Pending approval from the flight officer, he will be promoted to Vice Admiral and his duties will be official.

Because Captain Slage was ROA2, there is now an opening; but don't open your e-mail clients so fast. I have already selected the officer to hold the position. Effective immediately, Commander Maaric is the second Reconnaissance Office assistant. Congratulations to you both, and thanks to all who applied.

• FREE-XvT #13: Defend Clandok VII
• FREE-XvT #14: Destroy Rebel Base

All battles are available to download at the Emperor's Hammer Battle Center.

• TC-TIE Battle #20
• TC-TIE Battle #21
• TC-TIE Battle #34
• TC-TIE Battle #48
• TC-TIE Battle #50
• TC-TIE Battle #102
• TC-TIE Battle #103
• TC-TIE Battle #104

The successful candidate will be able to fulfill the following requirements:

• Possess 1+ years of progressive Command experience within the club
• Be able to host a STABLE WWW site for the Corporate Division Subgroup
• Handle heavy email load on a daily basis
• Be active and present in an online capacity
• Have NO prior convictions with the EH High Court of Inquisitors

If you think you have what it takes to "jump-start" this under-utilized Subgroup, please email the Fleet Commander (Grand Admiral Ronin) with your qualifications.

The page DOES have the required Copyrights & Disclaimers link as well as several other links and what not...oh yeah, it tells all about the Special Operations Director and the past and present Special Operations (even though we're still on the first).

• TC-BoP #2: Behind Enemy Lines

All battles are available to download at the Emperor's Hammer Battle Center.

• TC-TIE #145: Save the SSD Avenger

All battles are available to download at the Emperor's Hammer Battle Center.

Note from Flight Officer - vote for me and you're grounded :P

Hopefully, everyone who took part in this weekend's Crimson Imperium 2nd Anniversary Celebration Games had a good time. I know I did, (despite playing XVT against VA Sauron three times and fighting each other to a standstill three times in a row!) and initial reports show that we won 90 matches, FAR in excess of the second place team, who won 13! Well done to all TIE Corps pilots who took part, for not only showing that we're top quality opponents, but honourable opponents too.

LL-Score = Total Score - (Laser Hits * 3)

http://www.tiecorps.org/rosters/combatrecord.asp?record=xxxx where "xxxx" is your PIN Number.

...or you can click the Flight Wings or the "Combat Record" link on your personnel record.

Combat Records now show all the battles and free missions the pilot completed, what high scores they hold, and which online combat events they have participated in (only for those where results are stored on the database).

An example of a full combat record can be seen here: http://www.tiecorps.org/rosters/combatrecord.asp?record=1846

You can download it at: http://www.emperorshammer.org/hammer63.zip (~1.7 MB)

You can also view the Newsletter online at: http://www.jedi.nu/yodavin/nl-63/hammer63.html

• 1 point per mission completed
• 1 point for every Legion of Combat earned
• 2 points for each high mission score
• 2 points for each high total score for a battle multiplied by number of missions for the battle for that high total score (i.e. getting a high total score on a battle with 5 missions: 2x5=10 points)

If you spot any errors in the math, please report them High Admiral Kawolski. Later today you will be able to view what missions and battles you hold high scores on so you can check your FCHG points more accurately.

Some angry fans are protesting policies the film studio has outlined in its user agreement regarding a new feature on StarWars.com that allows people to build fan pages hosted on the site...The protesters are indignant over a provision in the contract's language that gives Lucasfilm sole control of the original designs people post on their fan sites. The studio's reins extend to "derivative works"--meaning that any content a person creates, from a picture of a Wookie to a plot line in a short story, becomes the property of Lucasfilm.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Grand Admiral Ronin issued this statement to the fleet:

"As a follow-up to the email I sent a few days ago when LucasFilms' fansite.starwars.com thing started up, take a look at the above CNET www site; something ALL of us should be concerned with. Again, as I emailed previously, Lucasfilms Terms of Use of their site hosting program with Homestead basically you means "if you post it there, they own it..."...Use at your own risk! In fact, I don't want to see ANY Emperor's Hammer related WWW sites linked through this. This is a SERIOUS matter, folks. Express your concerns to Lucas, et. al.!"

LucasArts Entertainment announced today that they have teamed up with Verant Interactive (makers of EverQuest) and Sony Online Entertainment to create the first massively multiplayer Star Wars online role-playing game. Expected to release in 2001, the title will allow thousands of game players to take a roleplaying game romp through the classic Star Wars universe. Gameplay will feature a combination of combat, specialized missions, and varied quests, according to LEC.

The Star Wars online game will be developed by Verant, distributed and sold at retail by LucasArts, and available for play exclusively online at The Station@sony.com (www.station.sony.com). More details on this game when they become available.

Due to the fact of the free for all club comp this Saturday Outer Rim Night has been canceled.

In 4 days time (Saturday the 18th of March) the Crimson Imperium will be holding its second anniversary. To commemorate the event we intend to hold a gaming session lasting from 11am EST to 10pm EST on our IRC server (details lower down.) It is our hope that you, and several other clubs will be able to attend the event, allowing us to hold a free for all.

The Details :
11am - Opening ceremony, initial chat, some games.
12:00 - CI Meeting, speeches
12:30 - 9:00pm - Multi player melee's : XvT, XWA, JK, Quake 2, Quake 3
During this time, we will be holding several RPG (Role Playing Game sessions), details of which will be made public in about 24 hours. We will also release a TIE mission, currently entitled the Gauntlet at the beginning of the day. This mission can be played and the tfr sent to gauntlet@crimson-net.org by 8pm EST. Scores will be added up, and the winning side will be announced at the end of the day.
10:00pm - Closing ceremony. Winners will be announced. Both in terms of organisation and player per game.

How it works:
Each game will be run in a separate channel - #XvT, #XWA, #JK, #Q2, #Q3.
Within each channel, there will be one moderator. The players returning from a match need to message the moderator stating who won, and the score. The moderator will be the final judge on conflicting reports of a mission. If your pilots feel they need to take a screen shot of the battle then these will be accepted as proof of a win.

On the IRC server :

Server name : flashpoint.fasthost.net
Port : 6667
Main channels : #CSF and #Stormwind
Fleet Commanders will be given +o status.

Please pass this on to your club, we would very much like to have both you, and your members turn out for what we hope will be a good day of gaming! Let us know roughly how many (if any) of your members might be likely to turn out.

Clubs invited : Star Vipers (SV), Emperors Hammer (EH), Rebel Squadrons (RS), Intruder Wing (IW), Society of Shadows (SoH) and the Galatic Powers League (GP).

Thank you in advance!

Emperor Phoen|x Berkana
Crimson Imperium

I'd like to take credit for it, but this medal was earned for me by the hard work of every member of the TIE Corps. You're the people who have made your new pilots feel so welcome that they've stayed instead of going AWOL. You're the ones who are creating all of the new missions that your fellow pilots are taking advantage of at the TIE Corps Battle Centre; and you're the ones who are making me look so good to the Fleet Commander.

So I want to dedicate this medal to every one of you. The pilots of the TIE Corps are what makes this club so good. You're the heart and soul of the Club, and I thank you all for sticking around long enough to find out just how much fun the TIE Corps can be :)

In the last three days, my Internet access has been reduced from my lovely cable modem to mooching off the neighbor's 28.8 modem asking if I can have a few minutes to check my e-mail. Fortunately, the access at my parents' home is back up and running again so I can get back to work!

Leagues will not be segregated by rank, they're all first come, first serve. If you are interested, email Rear Admiral Motti. Hammer League Sports also has Fantasy football & basketball leagues, when they're in season.

Even if you only have a passing interest in the Fleet Medical Corps, the site is well worth a look. Of particular interest is the 'Diseases' section, which features some of the more common and the funniest medical complaints in the Fleet.

Don't forget that your Ship's Doctors and Nurses are there to provide a valuable service to YOU. Everything you say to the Medical Staff is treated in the strictest confidentiality, so if you have a problem with anything in the TIE Corps and don't want to say anything to a superior, speak to your Ship's Doctor. He or she is there to help you.

In unrelated news, the Flight Officer today celebrates 30 years experience of not dying. Any funny comments about his age will be replied to with maximum uneccesary use of violence :P

I have returned from leave and my new computer is up and running. Expect this site to be running at full speed once again later tonight.

Also, starting tomorrow at 7:00 AM EST, the RO will be on leave until late Sunday afternoon due to personal travel reasons. Thanks for your patience; timing this week has been a bit off.

ALL Intra-club [single-player] comps MUST go through and be approved by the TO.
ALL Inter-club [multiplayer] comps for XvT/XWA go through the COO.
ALL Inter-club comps for JK go through the COG.

This is effective immediately, despite Tuesday's announcement. To assist those with submitting competitions for approval, the Competition Approval Form has been put back online for single-player competitions. In the future, there will be a Competition Approval Form for multiplayer competitions once the already far-behind Combat Center is complete.

I personally apologize for the lateness of completing the construction of the Combat Center. The midterm exam I said was on Tuesday was actually on Thursday (today) and I have a CS Project due in a few hours. After that, I have to pack up for Spring Break. While that might mean I can't playtest battles for a little bit, I will be able to dedicate a lot more time to Combat Center, INPR Archive, fixing that FCHG bug (which proved to be more difficult that thought before) and other database-related projects.

Captain Vader was demoted to the rank of Commander, and sentenced to time already served in suspension. He has since been returned to his Squadron. However, all of his Battle Board Scores have been wiped, and he is banned from ever registering a score on the TIE Corps Battle Board again. Cheating is simply not tolerated, I hope this is the last case we catch for a good, long time.

To encourage the on-going excitement, creativity and interaction of our dedicated fans in the online Star Wars community, Lucas Online is pleased to offer for the first time an official home for fans to celebrate their love of Star Wars on the world wide web... Star Wars Fan Homepages.

If you want to read more about setting up your own http://fan.starwars.com/yoursite/, read about it here.

Grand Admiral Ronin had these words to say about the new starwars.com webhosting feature:

"As per their terms of service, if you post it there, THEY own it...Consequently, I urge CAUTION when putting up www sites there...they also have restrictions on image/intellectual property use which is pretty strict..."

In other words, anything you post whether it be your own original artwork or stories, Star Wars related or not, Lucasfilm has full rights to use it without any legal obligation to give you credit. Also, every page displays the ad banner (which for now, seems to be only Star Wars related) at the bottom of each page, but they do provide 16 megs of space without annoying java applets and pop-up ads that you see on so many other free servers.

Executive Order EO-#1

ALL "front end" WWW Sites to be incorporated into the Emperor's Hammer system of websites shall PROMINENTLY display links to the Emperor's Hammer Copyrights/Disclaimers (http://www.emperorshammer.org/disclaim.htm) and Privacy Policy (http://www.emperorshammer.org/privacy.htm). Webmasters electing not to so update their Emperor's Hammer related sites will be summarily removed from the Emperor's Hammer Domain and all related pages and will not be considered "official Emperor's Hammer related WWW sites."

Also, be advised that the above will henceforth be incorporated into the Emperor's Hammer bylaws, effective immediately.

You can pre-order this game for around $40 US over the Internet at various sites. PriceScan.com has $37.90 listed as the lowest price. You can buy it at the EH Store for $39.99 (but I don't know what the shipping cost is...someone please check it for me) to help support the emperorshammer.org domain. My personal favorite is Outpost.com which sells it for $44.95 but also provides FREE overnight shipping in the US (a $15-$20 value).

As expected, my machine will be gutted tomorrow. There will be a short funeral service directly following the upgrade. Let the estivities begin! I'll be offline for the next 48 hours at most. Until then, CA:RO Admiral Kaek is in charge. I'll notify everyone upon my return. Just pretend the Doomsday is in for tune-up.

SW: The Essential Chronology - Edited by Kevin J. Anderson - Due out early April 2000
SW: Rogue Planet - By Greg Bear - Due out in May 2000
And the sequel to SW New Jedi Order: Darkside I - Onslaught, SW New Jedi Order: Darkside I - Ruin - Due out early April 2000, also by Michael A. Stackpole

All the mail problems people were having before should be fixed by now. Please report any future problems you have using forms that send out e-mail.

Crystaltech is having a few mail problems with tiecorps.org. Fortunately, with all the problems we've had with Web Burner and their mail server going down every other day, we're prepared to handle operations manually without the server. However, this means that until it gets back up, I can't get going on the 200+ BSFs pending because that's just too many to mail out manually written BSF approval letters. I haven't been around for the last few days and I've got my biggest mid-term tomorrow. After that, I'll be catching up on almost a week's worth of EH/TAC work to do.

• IW-XWA #22: Abyssi Ianua - Gates to Hell

Remember: TIE Corps pilots can play IW and any other subgroup-based battle for battle medals and FCHG points. All battles are available to download at the Emperor's Hammer Battle Center.

The database will be going offline at around midnight EST to correct this problem.

Please hold back on resubmitting your pilot files for new high scores and wait at LEAST a week or two (or more) for the "average" scores to get added to the Battle Board before digging through your old pilot files and bogging your superiors down with scores that wouldn't make the high totals anyway.

Hot off the presses from www.starwars.com a new reference source titled Star Wars: The Essential Chronology will be released in softcover this April. This work is the largest compilation of all of the Star Wars fiction to date. It's like an EH Codex for the entire Star Wars community. "'This is the real story,' says Anderson, defining the Chronology. 'Straight from the source. I think in reading the history from beginning to end, fans will see just how cohesive the Star Wars universe is, and how it's a genuine epic.'"

"Star Wars: The Essential Chronology is the perfect solution for both the casual fan who dabbles in expanded universe literature, and the die-hard reader who wants to enjoy how the saga fits together." The entire press released can be viewed at http://www.starwars.com/episode-i/features/chronology/.

Those who received BSF approvals that shows a laser-less score total without showing laser hits/shots were not added as a valid high score.

Issue #2 of Battlecry, the TIE Corps Magazine, is now closed to submissions from the membership, save for any last-minute ship reports that any Flag Officers can get in. The magazine will now be "finished up" and put into
both on-line and off-line formats for posting and viewing, hopefully within the next couple of days, and before the weekend ... a further notice will be made when Issue #3 is opened to submissions, and an anticipated deadline will be given.