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FRAG! The Newsletter of Shrapnel Games, Inc.
<www.shrapnelgames.com> The Art of Wargaming [TM]

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~ Issue 57, Mar 2006 ~

In this issue:

1. The March Editorial Introduction
2. News Direct from the Frontlines of Shrapnel Games
3. Trivia Time
4. The 'This Means War' Sale
5. Sizzling Sellers and Those Special Offers
6. Link O' The Month
7. The Crystal Ball


(1) The March Editorial Introduction

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Hey folks, how are you? Welcome to the March issue of Frag!, pull up a
chair and stay awhile.

So tell me, is anyone else sick and tired of all the negativity you
find on gaming forums? You know what I'm talking about. The constant
bickering, flaming, and vitriol that spews forth. The general hatred
displayed when someone doesn't like a game, or a review, or even
a scenario.

We all deal with crap in our lives. It starts off first thing in the
morning when you're driving to work, and then at work there's always
something going on...office gossip, clueless managers, whatever. After
work there's the drive again, usually no better than in the morning.
Then maybe you catch some news, which is always the very worst things
happening in the world, all of which you can't change and most of which
have no effect on you, and perhaps you end up dealing with some idiot
telemarketer before settling down to relax for a couple of hours before
having to do it all over.

To me the computer has always been an escape device, no different from
reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to music. It gets me
away from the real world for a while, but lately I've found in some
cases it's not such an escape.

Forums. Usenet. A reviewer likes a game, he's a stupid, worthless
excuse of a human being whose best traits were left on a dirty mattress
the night he was conceived. A reviewer doesn't like a game, he's a
moron who shouldn't be allowed near a computer on pain of death.

A game designer makes the game real-time, he should be drawn and
quartered by four Mini-Coopers driven by Mac owners. A game designer
makes the game turn-based, he should be forced to watch 'Ishtar'
repeatedly until he gouges his own eyes out.

So say the masses. All hail the mob!

Sheesh. There's a well known saying that says character is defined
by how one acts when no one is around. If that's true than I have to
say there are a heck of a lot of folks with zero character inhabiting
the 'net.

Yeah, this isn't exactly a revelation. I can remember back in The
Day when I was dialing up BBSes on my 300 baud modem you had a lot of
people who just seemed to have too much time on their hands, and too
many anger issues.

I've just been noticing it more and more lately, and how draining it
has become for me. Luckily not even forum is a mess of maniacs, and
quite a number draw good crowds, like the Shrapnel forums.

Is there a solution? Besides simply avoiding forums, not really.
I suppose it boils down to human nature. I just wish more people
would learn the difference between creative criticism and ranting.
Should it be that hard?


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(2) News Direct from the Frontlines of Shrapnel Games

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Digital Eel, the developers behind the insanely popular Weird
Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, are looking for your support! Already
nominated in two award categories for the 2006 Independent Games
Festival, Weird Worlds is now part of the Audience Award category also.

The Audience Award is exactly like it sounds; an fan award. So hey, if
you're a fan of Weird Worlds why not take a moment to vote for it? The
voting procedure is located over at GameSpot, and you do have to register
on GameSpot's site to vote. Find it at:

www.gamespot.com/misc/igf/index.html

If you're a fan of Weird Worlds' gameplay that's perfectly suited for
the gamer on the go then you'll also want to check out Land of Legends.
Land of Legends is a fast-playing fantasy strategy game that can easily
be played during a lunch hour. It boasts a strong multiplayer suite,
and includes a built-in matchmaker to help find opponents.

For those of you who are more grounded in reality than fantasy or
science-fiction our recent releases haven't forgotten you.

If you're an old school wargamer who prefers hexes and turn-based
gameplay, check out the second Horse and Musket 2 game, Prussia's Glory.
It features five famous Prussian battles (Soor, Lobositz, Leuthen,
Hochkirch, and Torgau) and includes seventeen scenarios total. Boasting
a superb AI, and an excellent multiplayer suite for when only a human
will do, Prussia's Glory will keep you gaming for a long, long time.

The Star and the Crescent, the latest offering from ProSIM, is another
ultra-realistic simulation of modern land combat. Built on the ATF
engine, it incorporates all the enhancements earlier ATF-based games
enjoy, but also introduces a slew of new enhancements. Multiple radar
types get the ProSIM treatment, and air support is heavily modeled.
Best of all, The Star and the Crescent, focusing on the Arab-Israeli
wars, returns the series to its root with plenty of armor action.

Until next month, may you reign victorious on the electronic battlefield!


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(3) Trivia Time

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People around the world saw the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the city
of New Orleans, now imagine that nationwide. Imagine a land where your
house had no power, where your car couldn't be started, where all forms
of communication were cut off. Imagine gangs of thugs roaming the urban
landscapes raping, killing, and terrorizing at will. Police and military
units non-existent, as their members throw off their duties to go home
and protect their loved ones, or worse, become marauders themselves.
Hospitals full of the dead and dying, and within a month the country itself
becoming a graveyard. Millions dying from civil unrest, anarchy, and
the lack of basic necessities. The end of the world. And all from one
single bomb...

This month we examine a weapon system that has far darker consequences
than nukes, VX nerve agents, the bird flu, or human bombs. The E-bomb.

The E-bomb does not kill outright. It has no real explosive power. It
does not melt cities with superhot plasma. It does not shred humans with
shrapnel. Instead, it destroys electronics via an electromagnetic pulse,
or EMP.

So what is an EMP? The Institute of Telecommunication Sciences defines
it thusly:

"The electromagnetic radiation from a nuclear explosion caused by
Compton-recoil electrons and photoelectrons from photons scattered in the
materials of the nuclear device or in a surrounding medium.
The resulting electric and magnetic fields may couple with
electrical/electronic systems to produce damaging current and voltage
surges. May also be caused by non-nuclear means.

A broadband, high-intensity, short-duration burst of electromagnetic
energy. Note: In the case of a nuclear detonation, the electromagnetic
pulse consists of a continuous frequency spectrum. Most of the energy is
distributed throughout the lower frequencies between 3 Hz and 30 kHz.

In plain language, it is an electromagnetic "shock wave" that is released
from nuclear detonations that can seriously damage any electrical
components in its path. EMP can travel either through air or through
conductive pathways such as electrical or phone lines. It can affect
electronic equipment regardless of whether the equipment is switched
on or off."

The Compton effect mentioned above refers to Arthur H. Compton, a physicist
who in 1925 discovered that by firing highly energetic photons into
atoms with a low atomic number, a steady stream of electrons are ejected.
While this was known, it was not until the early '60s, when the
United States carried out a series of high-altitude nuclear tests in
the Pacific codenamed "Fishbowl", did true understanding of the power of
EMP truly surface.

In 1962 the nuclear tests carried out by the United States disrupted
electrical equipment, radio stations, and even blew out streetlights on
mainland Hawaii, which was 800 miles away from the test site. Radio
navigation was thrown into chaos for over eighteen hours, even as far
away as Australia.

In 1963 the Atmospheric Test Ban Treaty was signed between the United
States and USSR, as the realities of how dangerous an EMP blast became
more known. For decades the only fear of EMP attack came from the
Soviet Union, and an EMP attack would have simply resulted in total
nuclear war. Research into the EMP continued on both sides of the
Atlantic, research the eventually led to the United States developing
E-bombs.

American E-bombs can be delivered by cruise missiles, artillery shells,
or rockets. Essentially an outer casing breaks away and radio
transmitter aerials are opened, sending out a high-powered microwave
pulse of billions of watts. These E-bombs are highly technical,
highly expensive, and at the moment--highly classified. But there
are other less technical, less expensive, and very well known ways
of creating an E-bomb. One such is the Flux Compression Generator.

The Flux Compression Generator (FCG) was studied by the military
but never pursued, although it's quite an attractive E-bomb
for terrorists. According to a Popular Mechanics article on
the subject (ironically the article was in the issue that came out
on September 11th, 2001), a FCG can be created for about $400.

A FCG works by filling a tube with explosives, which is then placed
inside a copper coil. A current energizes the coil, and
then the explosives go off. The explosion expands the tube,
compressing the magnetic field created by the starter current, and
a ramping pulse with a peak of tens of millions of amps is created.
This pulse operates at a very high frequency which allows it to
defeat Faraday Cages, a common device used to defeat EMP blasts.
A Faraday Cage encases a system in an actual cage, deflecting
the energy into the ground. Unfortunately, a FCG's pulse is
in the microwave range, negating any benefits of a Farday Cage.

A secondary effect of a FCG is that about a quarter of a hour
after the detonation takes place the magnetic fields created by
the EMP surge collapse. These collapses will then cause more
surges to travel through power and communication lines. In essence
a FCG does not have to strike its target directly; as long as it
is connected by telecommunication lines it can be hit in the
aftermath.

Of course thanks to North Korea, and in the possible near future,
Iran, terrorists don't even need to worry about FCGs, cheap as they
may be. A single nuke exploded over the United States will
utterly destroy the country.

EMP bursts are affected by how high in the atmosphere they occur.
A blast 30 miles in the air would cover a radius of about 480 miles,
enough to take out a large region of the USA. A blast that low
would probably be targeted at a specific area, such as Los Angeles
or New York.

Detonate a nuke at 300 miles up though and the EMP blast will
affect a nearly 1500 mile radius from its epicenter. This means
a blast occurring over the midwest would send an EMP blast that
would cover the United States, Canada, Mexico, and part of Cuba.

And that's the beauty of it. You don't have to have pinpoint
accuracy. Currently North Korea has missiles capable of reaching
the midwest. Iran's missiles don't have the range to hit North
America, but can easily reach Europe. Let's not forget though
that nukes can be mounted on mobile missiles, loaded onto ships,
and fired off the coast.

One single bomb and North America is plunged back into the Dark
Ages. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology
and Homeland Security, chaired by Senator John Kyl of Arizona,
is well aware of the threat. In a hearing on the subject Senator
Kyl noted on the effects of an EMP attack:

"Few, if any people, would die right away. But the loss of power
would have a cascading effect on all aspects of U.S. society.
Communication would be largely impossible. Lack of refrigeration
would leave food rotting in warehouses, exacerbated by a lack of
transportation as those vehicles still working simply ran out of gas
(which is pumped with electricity). The inability to sanitize and
distribute water would quickly threaten public health, not to
mention the safety of anyone in the path of the inevitable fires,
which would rage unchecked. And as we have seen in areas of natural
and other disasters, such circumstances often result in a fairly
rapid breakdown of social order.

American society has grown so dependent on computer and other
electrical systems that we have created our own Achilles' heel of
vulnerability, ironically much greater than those of other, less
developed nations. When deprived of power, we are in many ways
helpless, as the New York City blackout made clear. In that case,
power was restored quickly because adjacent areas could provide help.
But a large-scale burnout caused by a broad EMP attack would create
a much more difficult situation. Not only would there be nobody
nearby to help, it could take years to replace destroyed equipment."

But would the United States last years to replace the equipment?
Not a chance. Remember the Senator's words... "...fairly rapid
breakdown of social order."

Mass murder, rape, widespread destruction, all fueled by race, class,
and the general nature of humanity--evil--will end the United States
in such an event. Perhaps Europe could come to aid, but imagine
the difficulty of mounting a resupply effort for ALL of North America
from across the pond. And what's to say that instead of one bomb,
a handful of bombs are used, targeting Europe and Asia. In one
fell swoop the Muslim maniacs get what they want; instead of rising
up to live in modern times, they plunge the world into their primitive
mindset.

$400, a rental truck, and a mobile missile launcher. Or a nuke
mounted on a North Korean or Iranian missile. Either way, in
our technologically driven 21st century life, an E-bomb can easily
be considered the ultimate weapon of mass destruction.


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(4) The 'This Means War' Sale

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From now until March 10th Shrapnel Games is having a sale that will
surely please any wargamer looking to add to their collection.

'This Means War' sale features fourteen Shrapnel products, our
complete catalog of wargames, at prices 15% to 25% off their
normal retail price. The list includes everything from all-time
favorites like Horse and Musket: Great Battles of the Eighteenth
Century, to newly released titles such as The Star and the Crescent.

The complete list, and their sale prices, includes:

Horse and Musket 2: Prussia's Glory - $38.20

Horse and Musket 2: Dragoon: The Prussian War Machine - $36.20

Horse and Musket: Great Battles of the Eighteenth Century - $33.71

winSPMBT: Main Battle Tank - $33.95

The Star and the Crescent - $38.20

The Falklands War: 1982 - $38.20

Raging Tiger: The Second Korean War - $36.20

ATF: Armored Task Force - $33.71

BCT Commander - $24.35

Salvo! - $33.95

Danger Forward Gold Edition - $23.96

Desert Rats - $23.96

Remote Assault - Only $18.71

The War Engine - $33.71

Visit us for more information on any of these titles, or to
download their demos.


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(5) Sizzling Sellers and Those Special Offers

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All hail the list! The list is your friend! So says the computer! You
do have the proper clearance to access the list, do you not? Please
remain calm in the meantime, troubleshooters are on the way.

For those of you with the correctly colored clearance let's talk about
the best selling games at the Gamers Front. The top three include Weird
Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, winSPMBT, and Land of Legends.

Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, featuring pimptastic ships:
https://www.gamersfront.com/xcart/We...nite-Space-DVD
-Case-Version-pr-16138.html

winSPMBT, the definitive turn-based game of modern combined arms:
https://www.gamersfront.com/xcart/wi...-pr-16163.html

Land of Legends, lunchtime fantasy warfare:
https://www.gamersfront.com/xcart/La...-pr-16161.html

And this month's specials can be found at:
https://www.gamersfront.com/xcart/home.php

For March you can pick up the fantasy gladiatorial game, Coliseum,
for only $14.95, and the award-winning and much talked about
Dominions II: The Ascension Wars, for $42.45.

Combine these specials with the 'This Means War' sale spectacular, and
you have some of the best deals of the year going on right now with
the Gamers Front. Don't miss out on them!


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(6) Link O' The Month

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Let's face it, everyone likes free stuff, and as a gamer nothing is better
than a free game.

Game-It-Yourself is a website devoted to providing links to free, print
and play games. Currently there are about 300 games on the site, including
a number of wargames. While it appears the site is kept up (the last
entry was from January of this year) some of the links need cleaning up,
as there are a number that are broken now. The majority do appear to
work though.

There's an old saying about you get what you pay for, so while many of
these games probably won't have you ditching your favorite Fantasy Flight
Games games, there are some diamonds in the rough. And hey, if the game
sucks, except for some ink and a little time, what have you lost?

Check out the site here:

www.runestoneit.com/~dseagraves/index.html


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(7) The Crystal Ball

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All American: The 82nd Airborne In Normandy: Early 2006

ForeSight: Early 2006

So Cliche, The silly things people say game: Early 2006

ETO: Early 2006

Galley Battles: Early 2006

Dominions III: Early 2006

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Obey the hypnotoad!

Copyright 2006, Shrapnel Games, Inc. All rights reserved.