[Quikngruvn]

Rollo, I just became your fourth player.

Suggestion, though: 1 planet to start. Two reasons I can think of off the top of my head. With more than one planet, you're able to see from the start at least the neighboring systems to your home system. Also, there's the possiblity of your homeworlds being in multiple systems, so there's more of the map knwon at the start.

(I just realized that in one of my PBW 3-planet games, all my homeworlds are in one system but I can see the neighboring systems, while in the other, my homeworlds are split between two systems, but I cannot see the neighboring systems. Maybe it's just an either/or proposition depending on the size of the map. Has anyone investigated this?)

But I digress. Again. I'm also considering the effect of the ability to make three ships per turn as opposed to but one at the start, but I won't make it a point of my argument. Just a ponderable, really.

Some more ponderables, but not suggestions:

Warp points anywhere? With my luck I'll be surrounded by black holes with warp points dropping straight onto the event horizon!

This would be really diabolical: disable Stellar Manipulation! Then we couldn't do anything with the bLasted things. Please, do NOT disable Stellar Manip. Like I said, just a ponderable.

This should be quite interesting. Lessee... the map will probably be between 24 and 30 systems... only 30% should be inhabitable... meaning there should be between 7 and 9 inhabitable systems in the quadrant... and four will be claimed from the start... leaving between 3 and 5 available for colonization... somewhere in the midst of the 17 to 21 uninhabitable systems... so part of the strategy is going to be... how much of your empire do you devote to Stellar Manipulation? (If you answered "all of it", I'll be visiting your home system in about ten turns!)

OK, enough rambling. Let's play!

Quikngruvn

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Ponder this: Scientists already knew that matter is 98% empty space. After they figured out the structure of protons, they determined the remaining 2% is mostly made up of... well, nothing. Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?