Longjohn Needs Some Beta Testers (the Armarda 2526 thread)

[Longjohn4]

Need some play testers for my new game. See www.armada2526.com (http://www.armada2526.com)

[Longjohn4]

Sorry for brief message, but get a timeout if I try to post more than one line :(

[Longjohn4]

Basic idea is TW in space. If anyone has a few hours to help me get it balanced and polished, it would be much appreciated. Please send a mail to the address on the website

[Jolt]

Saw the preview in the site, and I must confess the graphics look pretty good for an indie game. I'll think about giving it a try.

[Greyblades]

Nice, It looks like Galciv 2 with a decent battle system, sign me up.

[Greyblades]

It looks like Galciv 2 with a better battle system. Nice, sign me up.

[Greyblades]

What the heck, I've just double posted 4 hours ago?

[Beskar]

The planet and space combition really entertains my imagination. I can see that being a very creative feature showing strategy and tactical prowess and style.

[Mailman653]

Looks nice, might keep me busy untill STO comes out.

[Papewaio]

Looks very interesting. ~:cheers:

[Sheogorath]

Looks pretty cool. Sign me up, boss.

Although with the semester started I can't guarantee consistent reports, I might know a few other people who'd be interested.

[Martok]

Dang, this looks (and sounds) pretty frickin' sweet. As a fan of games like Birth of the Federation, Galactic Civilizations 2, and (increasingly) Sword of the Stars, Armada 2526 looks like it's right up my alley. I can't wait to see how it turns out! :medievalcheers:

[Meneldil]

Wow, looks awesome.

I'm not sure I'll have much time to test it out, but sign me up if you want.

[LeftEyeNine]

Site unavailable ?

[Hooahguy]

looks awesome, but ill need to know the minimum specs because ill have to test it on my home computer, which doesnt have such good specs.

[Mouzafphaerre]

Looks pretty cool. Sign me up, boss.

Although with the semester started I can't guarantee consistent reports, I might know a few other people who'd be interested.
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+1
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[Prussian to the Iron]

Hell, I'll do it! looks awesome. sign me up!

[Martok]

Update:


For those who haven't heard, Armada 2526 has been picked up by Matrix Games. In addition to being available from them, the game will also be coming to Impulse (when it's ready for release). I believe it will even be on certain store shelves, but I don't know which one(s) yet.


Also: While no firm date has yet been given, it sounds like we'll get to see the game before Christmas. Huzzah!

[frogbeastegg]

It's good to hear that the game has been picked up for publication. Got to admit I'm curious to see what Longjohn's come up with now he's branched away from the Total War series and headed into space.

In light of this news I've edited the thread's title to include the game's name so it can do double duty as the game's official thread.

[Martok]

It's good to hear that the game has been picked up for publication. Got to admit I'm curious to see what Longjohn's come up with now he's branched away from the Total War series and headed into space.
Well since I'm already quite certain that only death will stop me from getting this game, I'll be sure to post my impressions here. :yes: Just reading what Longjohn and the Matrix staff has to say about the game over on their forums has me salivating!




For those who are curious, this is what he had to say in response to some questions I had regarding the game's diplomacy and the AI's strategic thinking (which, as anyone who's heard me bitch & moan about dumb AI in games like Rome Total War, you'll know are issues close to my heart):


One thing I've learned doing this game is that doing good diplomacy is hard, and I've spent much longer on it than I anticipated :) To answer Martok's points.


The A.I. bases its decisions on whether to attack you on strategic factors, not the presence of targets of opportunity. It also isn't programmed to be continually at war with a human player who's winning, and frequently proposes peace offers.

It honors non aggression pacts and alliances, but these have time limits, so there is no guarantee that it will renew. It also honors defensive alliances by declaring war on player's who've attacked you, and sometimes you get WW1 like situations where chains of defensive alliances get triggered pulling the whole galaxy into war. Sometimes it will give you gifts or generous trades if you're at war with someone it considers overpowerful.

The diplomacy system tracks how much each A.I. player trusts you and likes you based on what's happened in the game, and the deals you've made with it. However, the fact that it likes you doesn't prevent it attacking you if you don't have a non aggression pact, so you can't guarantee peace by just giving it small gifts.


If you're nice to the AI in diplomacy, it remembers and will like you more. This means you have more chance of getting a favorable deal when you need it, and it has a tendency to attack players it doesn't like more than ones it does. However, it is primarily a wargame, and the a.i. needs to be active in starting wars, and sometimes you'll be the only viable target, however much it likes you.

Some good stuff there! And going by what snippets the game's beta-testers are allowed to say, it sounds as if the AI actually behaves pretty much as Longjohn describes. Oh, how I hope....

[Veho Nex]

I'm looking forward to this game. You got my money.

[Martok]

So, how is it? More information, pretty please? How would you compare it to, say, SotS or GalCiv2?
Um, give me a few more days at which point I should be able to give a more thorough opinion. (Ugh, so tired....) :sweatdrop: My thoughts at the moment:


The game is fairly easy to learn how to play. The UI & controls are reasonably intuitive, and the tutorial is pretty good at showing you the basics. The pop-up feature is a godsend; just place your cursor over something -- anything -- and it will give you a description of what you're looking at. Very useful for both new players and people who have poor short-term memory. ~D

Colony management seems pretty decent; it's more complex than SotS but less so than GalCiv 2. (I've yet to decide whether the developer has successfully split the difference between being too simple/complex or if it just fails at being not enough of either). Every colony is different in terms of what kind of contribution it can make to your empire, as not only is the number of structures you can build limited by a colony's population; but also many systems grant bonuses and/or penalties to things like tax income, mining income, industrial production (which includes ship production) population growth, etc. (Example: You could have a minor colony that doesn't have the population or industrial base to build large ships, but is good at building small ships quickly.)

The game offers a good range of strategic choices: Do you build an empire of many less-developed colonies, a medium empire of fairly well-developed colonies, or a small empire composed of just a handful of heavily-developed worlds? Do go the military conquest route, make friends with your neighbors, just keep to yourself while you research your way through the tech tree, or something else entirely?

Diplomacy and AI are excellent, and is perhaps the single biggest area in which this game shines. If another race goes to war with you, it will have strategic reasons for doing so, not just because you left your colony of Proxima Centauri under-defended for a couple turns. The AI is not only *not* suicidal, it in fact behaves quite reasonably; i.e., if a race is losing a war to you, it will ask for peace. If you sign an alliance, it will help you out (and will expect you to do the same for them). It follows the old "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" philosophy; if you're getting your butt kicked by Race B who has a huge empire, Race C (who is concerned about Race B's growing power) may send you ships, money, etc. to help even the odds for you. Also, the diplomatic screen is laid out very nicely, and will automatically adjust the "weight" for different items; i.e., allowing a race to establish a trade mission on your minor colony of Sparta is worth less to them than allowing that same race to establish a trade mission on Earth.

In terms of ambiance, the game feels very "spacey" to me (which is a good thing). I particularly like the music and the art style. Visuals-wise, Armada won't blow you away, but it still looks nice enough IMHO.


At the moment, my main complaint is about the combat. It doesn't feel very "tactical" IMO, and this is furthered/hindered by a scant 3:30 battle time limit (which apparently cannot be edited/modded; grrr!). It's not too bad to look at visually and the battle soundtrack is decent, but Armada definitely doesn't have the deepest combat model I've ever seen.

I will also mention that the game is less customizable than GalCiv2. While there are 14 different races to choose from, you cannot create your own (at least not yet). Also, there is no ship design; vessels are like in BOTF in that they have set attack/defense/move stats and (sometimes) special abilities. While personally these things don't bother me very much, I felt it worth mentioning for those who like to customize everything in sight and tweak stuff to their hearts' content.



Despite any critiques I have about Armada 2526, the fact is I'm quite enjoying it. In fact, thus far, I'd have to admit I think I'm liking it more than even GalCiv2! It's not quite enough to overtake Birth of the Federation as my favorite space strategy game, but it might very well shoot up to #2 on my list. I still have to log a lot more playing time, though, before I can say that for certain. I'll try and keep you posted!

[Veho Nex]

I just sent him a beta tester request. I hope he accepts. I just need to play a good strategy game and from what you said martok this sounds like it's it.

Edit: This may seem silly... but is the game out? And if it is where do I buy it? Cause from what Im reading on their forums I cant tell if it's out yet. Some say its released while others are talking about the beta...

Edit 2: Ok Now I feel stupid, it is out. But damn hard to find. :/

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Are there still beta spots open and/or will there be a demo?

[Veho Nex]

Are there still beta spots open and/or will there be a demo?

The games out apparently.


Bit late now, it's in the shops

Bob Smith
Managing Director
Ntronium Games
www.ntronium.com

[Martok]

Sorry guys, I should've been clearer on that. :oops: Yes, the game was released this past Tuesday the 24th (although apparently some Gamestop stores broke the street date and started selling it a few days early).

Here in the U.S. & Canada, I know the game is available at Gamestop (you can order it from them online if they don't have any copies in stock), and I believe Best Buy is supposed to have it as well. I'm not sure about which other retailers are carrying it, and I unfortunately have no knowledge about whether European retailers are selling it at all.

If nothing else, you can of course purchase Armada directly from MatrixGames' website (http://www.matrixgames.com/products/376/details/Armada.2526), which I'm pretty sure they would prefer anyway as more of the money goes directly to them (and Ntronium Games, the developer). Matrix does have online shops for both Australia & Europe (plus a separate store for the UK), so it's at least widely available through them.

[Veho Nex]

Already bought and downloaded a copy. :sadface: no mp :/

[frogbeastegg]

The game's currently 50% off on Impulse (http://www.impulsedriven.com/armada2526) so now would be a good time for some updated opinions from those who have the game.

[Martok]

For $25 (not sure of its equivalent in pounds right now), it's certainly worth getting. I won't say it's the greatest space strategy game I've ever played (although it it is one of the more fun ones I've played in recent years), but I definitely don't regret purchasing it either.


Pros: Reasonably easy to pick up and play; the UI is pretty user-friendly. Lots of customization options (although probably not as many as GalCiv2), including huge maps and lots of factions (if you so desire). Very solid AI, including diplomacy -- it generally knows a good deal from a bad one, it won't shirk from suing for peace if it's losing a war, and it pursues long-range strategic goals as opposed to tactical short-range ones (i.e., you won't see a repeat of MTW where a tiny faction attacks a much larger one simply because the bigger guy left a single province/planet under-defended for a couple turns!). Seems to be easily moddable (although I don't have direct experience with this part). Colony management is straightforward and not overly time-consuming. You don't win by having to conquer the entire galaxy, but rather through successfully pursing your faction's goals and racking up the most amount of victory points by the time the game expires (which the player also sets). The bureaucracy feature makes it easier for smaller empires to compete with larger ones. The art and soundtrack combine to give a nice "spacey" feel & atmosphere.

Cons: No multiplayer (at least not yet). No ship design (personally I'm not terribly bothered by that, but I know it's important to some folks). There's currently a memory problem where games on large maps cannot be saved (will hopefully be fixed/ameliorated in a later patch). Some feel the tech tree is too short/shallow. The bureaucracy feature is probably somewhat overpowered ATM; larger empires seem to be a bit *too* crippled by it at times. You have to move your population between colonies manually, which is a pain (although a soon-to-be-released patch will automate this for you). And for those who care, the game's visuals are relatively simplistic; they're not going to blow anyone away.

My biggest personal beef: Combat is very "meh" IMHO. The battle timer is short (a little over 3 minutes) and cannot be edited/modded. In general space battles just don't feel very tactical to me; numbers seem to matter a lot more than what formations/maneuvers you use. Also, ground combat is virtually pointless as is -- if you're the invader and have achieved space superiority, there's little incentive to risk deploying your Marines to the planet to engage the defending troops because you can simply bombard them from orbit instead....and *then* you can deploy your Marines....



Still and all, I've been enjoying the time I've spent playing Armada. Maybe even more than I've enjoyed GalCiv2 -- and I don't say that lightly. (Possibly because the former adopts a more serious tone than the latter? I'm not sure.) It certainly isn't for everyone, but if you like 4x space strategy games, you could do a lot worse than to try out this one (especially at that price!).

[frogbeastegg]

I'm torn. All of the above sounds great, and thanks to Mass Effect 2 and a scifi book reading binge I'm in the mood for tinkering with some space strategy. However reading the forums I learned that the game has problems with certain nvidea cards and I can't find out if the 8800 is ok or not. The game won't display battles, so it's hardly a minor issue. There's no demo or way to check before I buy.

For roughly the same amount I could get both the second Sins of a Solar Empire expansion and the first one for AI War ... or I could buy some more stuff for my new house. Space strategy or wine glasses, that is the question. :laugh4:

[Veho Nex]

Pfft, thats easy. Space strategy. Who the heck needs wine glasses when you have perfectly good bottles to drink out of.

[Longjohn4]

The nvidia bug is pretty rare, which is why we haven't been able to reproduce it and fix it. The vast majority of customers are running it just fine on their Nvidia cards, and even if you do encounter it, you still play if you turn the shadows off.

[frogbeastegg]

I got it. The decider was a review which mentioned that each of the races gets victory points for different things, meaning that there's varied ways to win. There's not enough of that in space strategy, too much reliance on the old 'conquer until everyone else is dead' gig.

The tutorial battle workedfine with everything set to max so it seems I'm safe from the nvidea bug.

The tutorial is all I played yesterday; so far so good. The galaxy map is very nice, visually and in terms of layout. I like the music too; it doesn't fall prey to the overbearing epic tones that space games often use.

Is there a manual anywhere? There's no shortcut to one in my start menu or in Impulse. I do like to browse strategy game manuals.

[Martok]

No manual? That's odd. There's no documentation folder? (That's where my manual is located.)

Hmm. Wish I knew how to post and/or host it somewhere....

[frogbeastegg]

Found it. I wasn't expecting it to be buried in a folder in my install, not without some kind of link to it.

[Beskar]

Disregard post.

[Martok]

Found it. I wasn't expecting it to be buried in a folder in my install, not without some kind of link to it.
Yeah, that is sort of an odd spot for it. You'd think there'd be a link to it on the pre-startup menu, but oh well....


Anyway, I was curious as to what you thought. Are you still enjoying Armada?

[frogbeastegg]

Anyway, I was curious as to what you thought. Are you still enjoying Armada?
As I'm playing it at the same time as Mass Effect 2 and Baldur's Gate, and while trying to read a stack of library books in a hurry, and while trying to choose carpet colours, and while writing the next post for my story thread, and while trying to settle a few hundred less important things for my house, amongst other things, it's fair to say I haven't done much. Amphibian overload!

I've played enough of the tutorial to get out of the scripted part and into the free play section where you need to conquer a given species. That's all. Still need to read most of the manual, too.

Just need to get most of the library books done, finish Mass Effect 2, and post a new part for the readers, and then I'll have more chance to play Armada. Should only take a couple of days of dedicated work to get through that if I have nothing else to do :optimism:

[frogbeastegg]

I played for a bit tonight, puttering around as the jelly fish people on easy mode in the 12 races scenario. Nothing serious, just toying with the basics and getting familiar with the interface.

Nice game; the presentation is rather ... soothing. Gazing at that attractive galaxy map with quiet music playing and an interface which is kept out of your way; this might be the first space strategy game I've found that's relaxing to play. It definitely feels like a change of pace to all of the strident noise-explosions-busy-intense colour-6,000 buttons-choose stuff right now-here's some stats- scream, wooo! space games. That's not to say I find the pace slow, the gameplay systems simplistic, or the action lacking. Whether through my ignorance or the game's design, turns were passing far faster than in comparable games and there was plenty happening, and the information given felt more straightforwardly intelligible.

There's some concepts that I consider to have promise. In particular it looks like several of those concepts will combine to add a carefully judged balance to rapid expansion. I haven’t experienced most of those measures yet, the range limit is the only one I can talk about much. It’s there, it works, it’s clear and simple. Better so far than GalCiv2’s similar mechanic in that it’s meaningful without needing to play on a huge map.

Does the tech tree grow as research is completed? When I open it up in the tech browser I'm only seeing 6 or so techs before the end of a chain and that seems very short.

Shame there's no freeplay mode for the space battles. It'd be nice to get some practice before my first one in the campaign.

So ... any tips or advice?

And for specific questions: Should I aim for more colonies or quality colonies? One arc ship per colony or multiple? Any must have techs? How much of an army am I likely to need early on; i.e. is the AI going to stomp me into the ground the instant it thinks I'm vulnerable? Any space battle tips?

[Martok]

Glad to hear you're generally enjoying the game so far! After reading your above post, I was actually inspired to play a bit last night for the first time in a while. (Massive RL stress; haven't been much in the mood for gaming lately. :shame: ) Am continuing with my Jullution campaign; I've mostly halted my expansion for the time being to focus on developing my current colonies.




Does the tech tree grow as research is completed? When I open it up in the tech browser I'm only seeing 6 or so techs before the end of a chain and that seems very short.
As I stated earlier, the tech tree is admittedly on the small side. I believe there's already a mod or two that expand it by a significant degree, but I've not tried them out yet.





Shame there's no freeplay mode for the space battles. It'd be nice to get some practice before my first one in the campaign.
Ntronium (Longjohn) posted this over at the Matrix forums:

Start up the game, and at the main menu press F4 to open the command consile
Type the following (without quotes) "Setting ShowSpaceBattleButton true" and press enter
Quit the game
Restart and you will have a new menu item named Space Battle.
I already tried this myself, and it works like a charm. ~:)




So ... any tips or advice?
Some random advice (in no particular order)....


Avoid the Klurgu if you can; destroy them if you can't. Enlist your friends to help you out if necessary; odds are they'll be happy to do so (the AI empires usually have a good appreciation for what's at stake).

Be wary of allowing other empires to establish trade missions on your worlds. The income gained from them can be significant, but remember that trade missions also give an empire the ability to see virtually everything going on in a colony where one is established. Personally I tend to only do so if I really like/trust them, and/or I'm in dire need of cash.

Try and build at least a modest fleet ASAP (although you don't need to empty your treasury to do it); don't wait until you've met your first empire if you can help it. Having an at least somewhat-respectable navy from the get-go can make diplomatic dealings a lot easier.

Try to avoid low-growth (and especially no-growth) colony worlds in your initial expansion phase. Once you have more money and advanced technology later in the game, they can be worth colonizing; but until then, they tend to be more trouble than they're worth (especially in terms of being a drain on your income).




And for specific questions: Should I aim for more colonies or quality colonies?
Heh. Well that is the $64,000 question, and is in fact one of the things I like about this game -- both strategies are pretty viable.

Having just a few heavily-developed worlds has some real advantages, but you're also taking a risk by putting everything in the same proverbial basket. Having a lot of colonies greatly reduces that risk, of course, but then you can find yourself at a disadvantage due to being so spread out.

Personally, I tend to split the difference and aim for a modest number of modestly well-developed colonies. (That's just me, though; I'm usually a middle-of-the-road kind of guy. ~;) ) It's a strategy that's worked fairly well for me so far, but it's very possible I've also just gotten lucky up to this point.




One arc ship per colony or multiple?
I only use one arc ship per colony. However, I usually have double or triple the number of transports moving population to low- and no-growth worlds as I do to modest- and high-growth worlds.




Any must have techs?
Early on, I tend to focus on techs that improve (in approximate order of importance) economy, colony improvements/habitability, and ship range. I generally ignore astrographical and more military-oriented techs until I've run into at least a couple other empires (unless one of them is the Klurgu, in which case I start researching weapons and new ships like it's going out of style!).




How much of an army am I likely to need early on; i.e. is the AI going to stomp me into the ground the instant it thinks I'm vulnerable?

That really depends on any number of factors: Which empires are your closest neighbors, how said empires feel about you, whether or not you have active treaties with them, do you have any major colonies close to your borders, how big your navy is at the time, etc. There's really quite a few variables that factor in here.

Generally speaking, you can just use your common sense: Check out which of your neighbors are more peaceful and which ones are more warlike (and thus likely to respect more the size of your fleet/army than your diplomatic prowess).

All that being said, I've found I usually don't need to start producing marines right away. Even if you're weaker than another empire, they aren't necessarily going to immediately start bullying you just because they can. Some will, yes, but again it really depends on the empire. Also, as I've said before, the AI is more into long-term strategic planning than short-term tactical thinking; if you're forced to leave your colony on Proxima Centauri lightly defended for a short while, the AI isn't going to suddenly attack the system unless it was already planning on going to war with you in the near future anyway.




Any space battle tips?
Nothing that isn't already obvious: Try and use formations most appropriate to the situation (as they do help somewhat), don't land your Marines too soon (if you're the invader), employing combined arms is generally best, etc. Again, most of it is pretty common sense stuff. :yes:

[frogbeastegg]

Thanks. All very helpful and good to read. I shall be trying out the space battle button next time I play.

Hoping to get an afternoon with this at the weekend, seems like the perfect lazy Sunday game for armchair strategists.


I tend to focus on techs
And that changes a lot! I thought the idea was to research one of each category all of the time :feels stupid: Hence why I thought ~6 techs per branch of the tree was a bit alarming; 6 'rounds' of research and it would all be done. Goes to show that if you give a frog chance to research shiny new tech she'll grab everything she can with both hands :laugh4: If you're meant to specialise a bit more then the tech tree should be plenty long; I'm not a fan of having laser techs I-XII just to fill up space. Fewer, more meaningful techs is my preference.

Speaking of research, I love the idea of the skunkworks. I don't recall seeing anything like that in other games. For those who don't have the game, the skunkworks is a special type of research facility. It works at a faster rate than a standard lab and on a secret topic. You don't know what you're getting until it's done. Could be the best tech for your situation, or the worst, or one that your other labs have been researching via the standard methods. Russian roulette research!

[Martok]

Thanks. All very helpful and good to read. I shall be trying out the space battle button next time I play.

Hoping to get an afternoon with this at the weekend, seems like the perfect lazy Sunday game for armchair strategists.
Happy to be of service. :bow:

Yes, I find Armada has a nice easy pace as well. (I liked your point in an earlier post where said the music & atmosphere make for a "soothing" experience; that's as good an adjective to describe it as any.) It manages to avoid feeling frantic but without being slow or plodding.




And that changes a lot! I thought the idea was to research one of each category all of the time :feels stupid: Hence why I thought ~6 techs per branch of the tree was a bit alarming; 6 'rounds' of research and it would all be done. Goes to show that if you give a frog chance to research shiny new tech she'll grab everything she can with both hands :laugh4:
Ha, I better understand your wondering about the tech tree now.... :beam:

Yes, I definitely recommend focusing on just 1 or 2 (maybe 3) techs at a time instead of slowly working your way through every branch simultaneously. I've found it's far more efficient (or at least more effective) to do so, especially in the early game when you don't have that many research facilities, plus it's more crucial as to which techs you acquire first. Researching toys that improve your economy and/or colonies are definitely a priority in the beginning. Techs which improve ship range may be less of a concern (depending on how much expansion/colonization you plan on doing initially), although I find it's still useful to have at least 1-2 advancements in this field early on.




If you're meant to specialise a bit more then the tech tree should be plenty long; I'm not a fan of having laser techs I-XII just to fill up space. Fewer, more meaningful techs is my preference.
Same here. Massive tech trees can still be fun, but they do tend to get repetitive.




Speaking of research, I love the idea of the skunkworks. I don't recall seeing anything like that in other games. For those who don't have the game, the skunkworks is a special type of research facility. It works at a faster rate than a standard lab and on a secret topic. You don't know what you're getting until it's done. Could be the best tech for your situation, or the worst, or one that your other labs have been researching via the standard methods. Russian roulette research!
Hee! Yeah, skunkworks are definitely one of the more interesting features in Armada. I've had everything from useless stuff like Xeno-Plague (which I don't use since I'm generally not a genocidal maniac) to Super Arks (very handy if you have a lot of nearby dead/icy worlds with rich mineral resources). And sometimes the results are just a little odd.... ~;p



Oh, and another random tip: Your colonies don't always need to be building/producing something. There are times when their build queues will be idle (either because of lack of funds for construction and/or there's nothing left for them to build), and that's perfectly normal.

[Martok]

Incidentally, the beta for the new patch/update is available for those who want to try it out (see the announcement here (http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2379183)). For those preferring to wait, the "release" version of this update should be out in roughly a week.

[Martok]

Gah. Forgot to let everyone know that the release version of the 1.2 patch/update is now available. Those who purchased the game via DD sites like Impulse and GamersGate will need to obtain it through the site they bought it from; otherwise you can get the patch over at Matrix's main site (http://www.matrixgames.com/).



Also: Longjohn/Ntronium has already begun work on the next major update, which should be out sometime in April. As he's going to be focusing his efforts on the combat system, he'd like to hear your critiques/gripes/wishes regarding battles.

For best results, I advise posting in this thread (http://ntronium.com/simplemachinesforum/index.php?topic=514.msg0#new), as he generally checks his "home" forum the most frequently. Otherwise, he's also pretty active over on Matrix Games' Armada 2526 forum (http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=758); you can post your thoughts/complaints there as well.