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Fleet Captain
Joined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 1883
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 7:56 pm
Post subject:
I updated the other thread for empire performance.
What I was thinking was just use the [win - loss] as the handicap for player and empire. Probably doubled for a 450 pt game (but probably not for a 300pt one).
If you take the figures in that thread then If I choose Orions again I'd be on -14 points for my player record, and -18 for choosing orions. So I'd get -32 points to spend.
If the worst player, (who is -6) was to choose Feds they would get + 12 point for their performance to date and +36 for taking Feds, or a total +48 points.
So in a 450 pt tourney I'd have 418 orions vs 498 Feds in that match.
At first it may not provide great balance, but more games feeding in would eventually move empires and players to a fairly decent balance point.
Though a +/- 1% per win/loss system could work as well, I'd be at -15% with orions, and the worst player would be at +24% with Feds.
That would mean 382pts vs 558pts. Even Orions played by good players ought to be struggling at that point against the players with the worst record, no matter what weapons they bring.
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Fleet Captain
Joined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 1883
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 8:52 pm
Post subject:
Well one thing is that R-bolts are so good (better damage/energy return than photons!) that they would be a dandy heavy weapon if that was their only fire mode.
Not really. It was the point I was making earlier, 1 plasma R vs 1 photon looks good. 1 Pl-R and 2 Pl-F vs 4 photons not so obvious (which is what you are often looking at in reality), equally when comparing plasma you are often giving up 2 Pl-S for 1 Pl-R broadly speaking (e.g the Gorn CS vs the Gorn BC/CM).
Damage per energy is useful to a point, but simple raw damage without regard to energy is as well. I don't care if you inflict 10 damage for 1 power and I inflict 20 for 10 power, so long as I have the power and can inflict that 20 I'm winning.
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Patrick Doyle
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 18 Aug 2007
Posts: 208
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 9:56 pm
Post subject:
As far as the modifiers go, its clear that there would have to be limits to the modifiers. No matter how bad the player's record and how bad the Empire you choose is, there would have to be a maximum point value modifier to prevent what you just described. We would have to play with the numbers some to make it work.
About my record... Yes I remembered, I took one for the team by playing the Gorn. I'm curious how I end up when you don't include the tournament that I brought the Gorn. Anyhow, thanks for the work Lee. Also, Jim thanks for the work you do keeping this tournament going.
Once again I have proven that even in the future, your photon torpedoes are built by the lowest bidder.
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Lieutenant JG
Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Posts: 59
Location: Portland, OR
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 10:10 pm
Post subject:
storeylf wrote:
Well one thing is that R-bolts are so good (better damage/energy return than photons!) that they would be a dandy heavy weapon if that was their only fire mode.
Not really. It was the point I was making earlier, 1 plasma R vs 1 photon looks good. 1 Pl-R and 2 Pl-F vs 4 photons not so obvious (which is what you are often looking at in reality), equally when comparing plasma you are often giving up 2 Pl-S for 1 Pl-R broadly speaking (e.g the Gorn CS vs the Gorn BC/CM).
Damage per energy is useful to a point, but simple raw damage without regard to energy is as well. I don't care if you inflict 10 damage for 1 power and I inflict 20 for 10 power, so long as I have the power and can inflict that 20 I'm winning.
Oh I agree with what you say. But note that I didn't say 'any ship with PL-R is so good...' Yes, 4 photons are better than 1 PL-R, but that doesn't make PL-R a worse weapon. And of course, that fact that sweet weapons like PPD, PL-R, P4 and PG are severely rationed is what keeps it interesting.
Also quite agreed that efficiency isn't the whole story, not by a long shot. But it is an important metric in many circumstances, and a good thing to compare when judging preferred engagement distance. Actually I was originally just looking at when 2 P3s was better than a single P1 or P2, and it just kind of snowballed into including every weapon as I got curious about the exotic ones.
Average damage per turn, as you note, is very significant. And in those terms a lone Ph (fully OL) beats a PL-R, but only out to range 2. The only reason I find damage per turn less interesting is that I think there's less room for surprise there. Efficiency taking into account both accuracy and energy cost can yield less obvious results--at least I was surprised. The merits of R-Bolts and PPD's were the big ones for me.
If I can ever get my charts somewhere better than 'horribly ugly' I do mean to post proper results and see what discussion ensues.
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 766
Location: Chesterfield, MO
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:39 am
Post subject:
I appreciate all the comments, especially those from Pat and Lee.
However, there has been a serious drift of topic
I apologize in advance for the length of this and I would have preferred to dedicate the time I am now spending to write this epistle to finishing the preparation of the mock test of my proposed squadron selection method, but as a result of the posted comments I think I need explain how and why I ended up with my proposed method that is the topic here.
This said, you do not need to bother to read the following lengthy discussion if you don't care to or are fine with waiting to see how the mock testing goes. As much as anything, I just wanted to get all of my thoughts memorialized so I can move on to getting the mock test underway.
The online FC tournaments are at a crossroads for me. They were originally started for the purpose of helping to get online live play of FC going because several of us were having trouble finding opponents and scheduling games. The tournaments provided the opponents and a means for folks to force games onto their busy calendars.
From my perspective, I was never looking for a recreation of the SFB tournament experience in FC. I was looking for roughly balanced scenarios against a variety of empires and the opportunity to try out different types of squadrons. I also wanted to try to do well against my peers, but was prepared to be crushed by an opponent or two.
Terry O'Carroll made the first noble effort by trying to directly transfer the FC Origins Tournament to FC Online. Unfortunately, a bunch of folks got into their heads that the Kzinti were either unbeatable or really fun to play. Unfortunately, this devolved into a Kzinti civil war by the third round and the tournament collapsed between of this development and the delayed completion of matches leading up to this. In addition, an uproar with regard to playbalance between empires also developed in part due to what happened with so many folks picking the Kzintis. As an aside, I would note that the Kzintis today are not as strong as they were back then thanks to the addition of Offensive Fire for ADDs.
From the ashes of the first tournament, I stepped forward with what I will call the
1st Revolution
. Specifically, I introduced the concept of point multipliers on top of the FC Origins Tournament Rules. A default set of premiums and discounts at roughly 5% increments were established based on my initial perception of the relative strength and weaknesses of each empire. I then also instituted a rule where if more than 1/4 of the players that signed up picked the same empire, the point multiplier for that empire would increase up to the next increment for all players. This was safety valve with regard to both guessing wrong at the initial empire multipliers and the inevitability that some folks just want to play a particular empire. This was all for the greater good to avoid a repeat of a civil war collapse of the first tournament. I also laid out a path for decrementing the multipliers in future tournaments for empires that lost all their matches or were not selected (due to unpopularity or a perception they are very weak). The then in playtest starting with the 2nd turn of plasma loading completed rule was also used. Finally, I instituted what I planned as strictly enforced monthly deadlines for completion of matches in order to maintain interest.
In general, the 2nd FCOL Tournament was a great success. While we had the little controversy with my third round game with Paul, everything went off fairly smoothly and even the little controversy was that -- little, and solved by moving from a 6 Turn limit to a 10 Turn limit for the next tournament.
The 3rd FCOL Tournament and Winter 2012 FCOL Tournament used the same format with some point multiplier adjustments and the aforementioned 10 Turn limit. They were also generally successful with Pat and Paul adding some spice to the Winter 2012 Tournament by taking on the Gorns and Romulans, respectively. They voluntarily did this in order to voluntarily handicap themselves and to try to build data to support their thesis that Plasma is too weak in FC. Lee also added some spice to the Winter 2012 Tournament with his all drone Orion squadron. The only thing that did not work well in this period was that in my growing tolerance to allow folks more time to complete their matches, the schedule got off kilter in the Winter 2012 Tournament. We also had far too many folks simply not get their game in and take a double draw.
The Fall 2012 FCOL Tournament that just completed was variant of the ones that proceeded it. I went back to the intention of very strictly enforced monthly match completion deadlines with the threat of declaring double losses if both players were at fault rather than allowing double draws. I also decided to start at 26 hexes to save playtime and apply a minimum first turn baseline speed, forced facing and a shuttle destruction penalty. These were mostly intended to help speed play by shaving first turn playtime and further discouraging delaying tactics though, as I have indicated elsewhere, the shuttle penalty was a suspension of disbelief item for me as well.
To add variety (we have been waiting for the ISC, Vudar and Andromedans to added to the FCOL client for nearly two years) and to also help with playtime, I moved down from 3 to 4 ship , 450 point squadrons to 2 to 3 ship, 300 point squadrons. I also made some minor tweaks to the empire point multipliers. Finally, I eliminated the over subscription incrementing of the point multipliers because I felt the point multipliers had settled down enough and I thought the starting location and total squadron point value changes would not skew things much. We almost did run into over subscription at one point, but then a player voluntarily changed empires to avoid a problem. The other bit of variety added was that Lee chose a nearly all Plasma F Carronade Orion squadron.
The first few rounds of the Fall 2012 tournament went very smoothly. However, there were two things that came up. First, for whatever reason, two of Lee's opponents did not realize the Orion Plasma Fs have Carronade capability like the Gorns and Feds. One of his opponents was also not happy with having to deal with what he felt were somewhat wacky, broken squadrons and expressed a preference for fixed tournament squadrons like in SFB. The second issue was with regard to how long it took to complete the last round match for the two leaders in the tournament. This has led to the delay in starting the next tournament, but it has also led to me contemplating what to do next (a good thing).
Getting back to the crossroads, in my opinion the tournament is growing stale. Also, it has become abundantly clear that even minor changes to the tournament scenario can cause significant changes in the play balance between empires. In my opinion, this and some of the extremes that can occur with the Orions as demonstrated by some of Lee's squadron selections, clearly demonstrate that point to point comparison of empires does not work because the bang for buck for ships of each empire vary within the empire itself. Finally, we do not have enough granularity in the ship choices and enough consistency in that granularity between empires to allow a micromanaging of the point value multipliers we have been using (it is important to note that 1% is only 4.5 points for a 450 point squadron).
As a quick aside, there has been a lot of discussion by Pat and Lee with regard to handicapping. I do not believe we have any evidence that a FC shark tank is driving players away. I do think we have a few players that haven't liked some of the tough to beat squadrons they have run into and that has discouraged them. However, I feel most of the loss of players has been from folks who either just are not satisfied with their own play, have gotten their FC fix satisfied for the time being (e.g., Orgyockbo) or have had real life changes that don't allow them enough free time to participate right now (e.g., EricPhillips, Paul Scott and Garrett).
Personally, I have zero interest in a handicapping and I say that as a weak to average skill player (I am good a strategizing, but I am unfortunately poor at having consistently good performance in execution). Then again, I come from a perspective where I want my wins from skill to be real wins (not fabrications from handicapping) and it doesn't particularly bother me that I may not be able to beat certain players. As Pat will tell you, while his Tholians were a real challenge and did me in during the last tournament, I enjoyed every minute of it and I certainly picked up some useful ideas for the future from him. I bet I would have enjoyed going up against Lee's wacky Orion squadrons as well.
Returning to staleness and the challenge of maintaining play balance between empires, the past few weeks I have been reviewing possible options for future.
We could move to a scenario based tournament. This would add a lot of variety and test the skill of players in handling a lot of different empires and situations all within a single tournament. This is the great strength of Advanced Squad Leader tournaments. However, Advanced Squad Leader is blessed with thousands of well balanced scenarios. We do not have that luxury available to us for FC. We could try to get there for a tournament by tweaking the better balanced existing scenarios, but there are two challenges with doing so. First, not everyone has all of the products. So, using scenarios outside of Communique could be a problem unless we were to design new scenarios. Also, Communique scenarios are the most likely ones to be unbalanced since they are officially in playtest status. Designing new scenarios or using Communique scenarios creates the second challenge. Such an approach requires both the time and resources necessary to complete playtesting. So, in the end, I have concluded this is not a viable option at this time.
We might move to predesignated standard tournament squadrons per SFB. However, this would eliminate the ability to purchase or bid unique squadrons and further reduce variety. It would also require a fixed tournament scenario. Finally, we need a committee to take the time to define those squadrons. While I know Brandon recently expressed an interest in this and it is attractive in that it doesn't run the risk of a blowout in play balance, personally, for me, this would quickly get stale. More importantly, there is the question of how quickly we could convene a committee and get that committee to agree on those standard squadrons. We might want playtesting of those as well, but I guess that could take place in the tournaments itself. Ultimately, I will tell you I am not willing to be a committee of one to establish standard squadrons. If someone else wants to take it on, then I am good with that and good with letting the tournament move on to a new facilitator.
We might return to the 450 point format of the Winter 2012 tournament using the Fall 2012 point multipliers adjusting the Feds down an increment, the Tholians up an increment, the Orions up an increment and the Gorns down an increment (maybe some other empire adjustments as well). I think we have outlived the need for the over subscription rule and I agree with Lee that it has made the Feds too expensive. I would replace that with a first come, first served rule. Under this rule, you could not sign up for an empire if it would cause more than 1/4 of the players to be playing the same empire. It would take popularity out of the playbalancing. We would use a 32 hex start with a small hex location map with no terrain. There would be no starting facing or baseline speed requirements. There would be no penalties for shuttles. We would continue with a 10 Turn limit and strictly enforced monthly match completion deadlines. The advantage of this is that it is the easiest and quickest approach to getting the next tournament going. However, it does not solve my concern with staleness. Also, I think folks are looking for some additional new purchase restrictions on ships. So, there could be a delay in working this out. If folks conclude they really don't want to go down the road of my proposed 2nd Revolution (see below), I am willing to facilitate one more tournament of this format. After that, I would like to step down from facilitating, as I feel my interest level is failing due to the staleness that is growing with regard to ship choices and the sameness of the tournament scenario from tournament to tournament (Exception: If the ISC, Vudar and Andromedans are added to the client and all their weapons work in the client, my interest level would significantly increase).
And, now, finally, the proposed 2nd Revolution ...
This started with me thinking about adding variety and how to do it while maintaining rough playbalance. I examined once again Lee's previous idea of a reverse standard tournament format. This is one where you purchase the squadron you will always fight against in the tournament. The idea is to get folks to select mediocre ships that rarely are purchased and as a result rarely see play (e.g., Fed CL). It is abundantly clear the existing empire point modifiers would not work and other interesting unforeseen problems could develop. I decided that before I could try something as radical Lee's idea, or even simpler things like adding terrain to the standard tournament scenario, I needed to develop a way to dynamically establish rough playbalance such that playbalance could be readily adjusted to handle changes to the tournament scenario.
If I could solve that problem, we could radically change the tournament scenario from tournament to tournament introducing almost unlimited variety and avoiding the rut of a standard tournament scenario, limited workable ship selections and all sorts of ship purchase prohibitions.
One way to do this would be to have a committee work out empire point value multipliers and ship purchase restrictions before the start of each tournament.
However, that of course takes time and more importantly where do we get our volunteers for the committee and how do we get to a consensus? I also remembered my aforementioned conclusions on the inadequacy of the point system. We seem to try to work in terms of point multipliers, but it is really specific ship combinations that drive playbalance at a given total point level under a given tournament scenario.
This led me down the road of an idea.
What if I combined the committee and ship selection into one process?
Specifically, the players become the committee and they come to a rough consensus with regard rough playbalance through the process of selecting their ships.
This led me to the idea of using an auction where the players know the exact squadrons they are up against.
To make this concept work a baseline would be needed. Otherwise, the auction would be inherently unstable. Since total points have the flaws I have discussed,
I came up with the idea of the Base Squadron, which would be a predefined squadron of a specific empire. It sets the target for convergence for the players' bids on squadrons for each empire, but the target is the perceived strength of the Base Squadron in the tournament scenario that is to be played, not just the total point value of the Base Squadron, since the exact makeup of the Base Squadron is known.
To ensure convergence to the target of the Base Squadron, I assign it to a player. This player can force this squadron on another player by winning a bid for another squadron. This player should in most cases be willing to bid a specific squadron of another empire down to just short of the point where the squadron that would be bid is perceived by the player as being weaker than the Base Squadron. At the same time, all the other players know that as a minimum they might face the Base Squadron in combat in the tournament and, thus, will not be willing to bid a squadron for a particular empire that is weaker than the Base Squadron.
The auction itself is conducted to establish the remaining squadrons and assign them to players. Each squadron is determined by first selecting an empire and then opening bidding with a squadron for that empire that is far stronger than any player would find acceptable for the other players to have. Hence, it must have a starting total point value much higher than that of the Base Squadron. Downward bidding then proceeds by players bidding specific squadrons of that empire that have a lower total point value than the latest standing squadron bid. Bidding ends when all but one player has passed and that one player is assigned the squadron. Again, the threat of going up against the Base Squadron acts as a floor establishing a target.
Since the winning bidder may have already been assigned a squadron (perhaps the Base Squadron), something needs to be done with that previously assigned squadron if this happens. If it is not the Base Squadron, it is offered as is to each of the players who have not yet been assigned a squadron and discarded if none of them take it. If it is the Base Squadron, it is offered as is to each of the players who have not yet been assigned a squadron, but if they all pass, the last such player to pass on it must take assignment of it. It is never discarded.
It is possible irrational bidding (due to an overly strong desire to play a particular empire, gross misunderstanding of the relative strength of a particular squadron, or plain craziness) could lead to some unbalanced squadrons. However, as long as there is at least one rationale bidder, this irrational bid should only directly adversely affect that irrational bidder.
So, now you have the complete story with regard to how and why I arrived at my proposed ship selection method for the next tournament. I am now going to return to focusing on setting up the mock test of it, but if it doesn't work out, or if you all find me to be crazy, I have outlined above some of the other alternatives that are available for the next tournament.
Jim Dauphinais, Chesterfield, MO
St. Louis Area Fed Comm Group:
Last edited by JimDauphinais on Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Fleet Captain
Joined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 1883
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:17 pm
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From my perspective, I was never looking for a recreation of the SFB tournament experience in FC. I was looking for roughly balanced scenarios against a variety of empires and the opportunity to try out different types of squadrons. I also wanted to try to do well against my peers, but was prepared to be crushed by an opponent or two.
This is probably fairly close to my interest. Whilst I know I 'talk' a lot about the tourney, balance etc, that is because I find it an interesting topic. However, I have no interest in tourney play per se.
Given comments about wacky/tricked out Orions, and that as I have accounted for 40% of all orion games I may as well explain why I've played them.
I've been wargaming for about 30+ years, yet in all that time I've never entered a tourney/competition prior to the FC tourneys, all my gaming has just been with local friends. Wrongly or rightly I've always had a fairly dim view of the idea of 'real' competitive play, even though I am probably fairly 'competitive' myself.
In terms of FC I played the tourney scenario a lot back in 2009/2010 with local friends, but we quickly agreed it was just plain boring/stale/turgid, however you want to phrase it. The idea of this meaningless battle with artificial map boundaries and a fight to the death mentality just seemed, well, pointless. As some will note from the campaign section of the forum it is campaigns we like playing.
I missed the first tourney (that only got to round 2). But when Jim started the second tourney I decided to join. Mainly I was interested in playing online and 'meeting' other players beyond my local group, and there seemed no way of doing that apart from the tourney. As Jim notes there is not a lot of FC online activity.
I treat the first tourney as a competition and choose the most obviously potent empire, unfortunately Paul Scott got in first with the most obvious squadron, so I choose another to avoid 2 identical squadrons. Whilst I wasn't unhappy with where I came in that tourney, I had by the last match remembered just how awful I found the tourney. I was simply bored to death.
I therefore sat out the next tourney, whilst following it, and always like to discuss such things.
I was going to sit out the 4th tourney as well, but then while musing over what sort of squadrons you could get with the handicaps, noted that the pure drone Orion squadron looked amusing. It is really pretty weak, with no direct firepower and with drones themselves being reasonably easy to avoid losing to. It wasn't like a Kzinti squadron which uses drones to augment its disrupters and phasers. By all rights I should have got no where in that tourney, but I thought it would, for me, turn the tourney into something else - a test of how a wacky squadron would play against 4 different people.
As it happened my first game was against Kzinti, and that should have seen me wiped out against the empire that created drone fighting. Somehow I won that, then by sheer fluke all my next 3 matches were against the empires that have a total lack of dedicated drone defense - Rom/Gorn. There followed 3 bizarre seeker on seeker fights which neither side could easily win. The game against Patrick stands out to me as one of the Best games I've played. That was a marathon multi session game which went pretty close to 10 turns. I only won that due to a bad mistake by Patrick, had he not made that mistake it would have at least ended in a draw. The game against Paul Scott saw a similar game, but Paul didn't make a mistake and we called a draw after 5 turns as it was obvious neither of us were going to lose. The other Gorn game (I can't remember who) also ended with a win for me, again down to mistakes by the Gorn. I ended up winning that tourney (though only because someone else didn't play his final game as I remember).
In the last tourney I decided to follow the same philosophy - find something that I wanted to test rather than play for tourney winning sake. What I went with was the handicapping itself. The Orions were now the highest handicap, and were potentially facing large points deficits if facing those at the other end of the handicap scale. I decided to see if they could overcome that and do well. That pretty much meant going for one of the more 'broken' setups, photons or plasma or Phgs. As ever I ignored the PhG and decided on carronades, mainly because the mass photon Orions have been taken a couple of times before, and no one had tried carronades that I was aware. What would happen would be somewhat subject to the luck of the draw. I was expecting to lose at least a couple of games due to simple point deficit and my small ships facing cruisers. In the end, 3 games were simply me running over those who made very little effort to keep out of the way and try to weaken me before facing me up close (partly down to lack of rules knowledge). The game I lost was indeed against someone at the other extreme of handicapping. So despite the supposed brokenness of that Orion squad I didn't win the tourney, nor even come 2nd. Had I played against more people who knew what they were facing I doubt I'd have won 3 games, at least without a serious fight.
I would also add that the final tourney dropping to 300 pts favoured the Orions more than some others. I'd have still played a similar force at 450 pts, but that would probably not have been as effective, for a couple of reasons. Primarily, that I'd have less Bang for Buck, Gaining only about 33% more firepower for 50% more points. Orions are just one of those empires that are better in smaller games.
Are Orions broken and in need of weapon restrictions? not really. It certainly concerns me when one or 2 players start asking for rule changes based on the very limited tourney context. It all depends far too much on other factors. Map, scenario, victory conditions etc all make a big difference to what weapons are useful. Try taking your orions with Photons against a fleet with scouts, even more so in asteroids - when every shot you take is against a +2 photons are pretty sucky. Anything close range isn't so hot on a large map etc.
If the tourney scenario favours such setups then the tourney can have its own restrictions, I have no issue with the tourney saying no more than 2 PlasF , just as Hydrans can have no more than 8 stingers, or only 2 of a certain ship etc. Those limits are not in the rule book, they are specific to the scenario that struggles to cope with such things. The handicap system will eventually mean that facing all carronades/photons is not something to worry about. A bidding system as Jim is proposing probably also means there is no requirement to add restrictions, as peeps will just adjust accordingly.
Again, I am not sure whether or not I will play the next tourney. If the Orions were upped to 1.15 then I might take them again for the same reason as before (find out when will they be no longer viable if you actually want to win?), although after 2 tourneys with them I might have felt like a change, but nothing else jumps out at me as something I want to play in another tourney.
Going forward I'm more likely to play if we move further away from the tournament as it exists. No matter how much we balance things it is always the same matchups (with maybe minor ship variation) on the same map with the same lack of any real goal beyond demo derby style of play. Indeed if the goal is to get more games online, as Jim suggests, then is a tourney (with the competitive implication maybe turning some people off) the best way. Has anyone considered some sort of campaign system where the games are played online. I know I was looking forward to playing Eric in his little campaign a couple of years back (seems that long ago anyway), just before he seemed to totally disappear for a good while.
Last edited by storeylf on Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:04 pm; edited 3 times in total
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Patrick Doyle
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 18 Aug 2007
Posts: 208
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 5:50 pm
Post subject:
I haven't read everything posted above, but I will say this, my interest is in fun and interesting games. Scenario driven is good, and campaigns are my favorite. I do not require a Tournament to have fun. I do have a campaign idea that I will happily share to anyone interested.
Once again I have proven that even in the future, your photon torpedoes are built by the lowest bidder.
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Fleet Captain
Joined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 1883
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 7:01 pm
Post subject:
Patrick Doyle wrote:
I do have a campaign idea that I will happily share to anyone interested.
Share away.
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 766
Location: Chesterfield, MO
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:05 pm
Post subject:
Pat has privately shared it with me in the past. It's a little meaty, but it is interesting and it fits well into the SFU.
I only ask that any public sharing or discussion of it occur in a new topic in the FC & SFB Online folder on this forum in order to keep too many conversations from occuring within this topic.
Jim Dauphinais, Chesterfield, MO
St. Louis Area Fed Comm Group:
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Fleet Captain
Joined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 1883
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:10 pm
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Yes, sorry i didn't mean here particularly, either privately to me or in another thread.
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Lieutenant JG
Joined: 07 Mar 2007
Posts: 59
Location: Portland, OR
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:47 pm
Post subject:
For my part I'd say carry on as you see fit. You're obviously considering everything carefully, as as the one doing the organizing work you clearly earn the right to explore whatever notions interest you.
The scenario-based tournament idea is interesting, but the lack of balance data is indeed a serious issue. It does seem like scenarios that are balanced through the brute force of symmetry could be good, and perhaps whipping up a new scenario for the tournament could work in that case. What I really was thinking about was something that still allowed player fleet selection--eg both sides have a small base (or maybe a bare moon to function purely as a 'basket' to score on?) and your score is damage inflicted to their base minus damage inflicted to yours. Anything mirrored like that should be fair, and generate new parameters for empire selection.
Regarding the pre-built fleets vs the ability to dynamically balance the fleets and allow player choice, what if the prebuilt fleets were only partially specified along the lines of 'CA, DW, and 1-2 ships of player choice' The enforced ships could be used to prevent cheesy squads, but the open slots allow room for customization and for the dynamic bidding.
By the way, I really like the idea of the bidding stage. Estimating balancing multipliers for empires is great, and well worthwhile,
but I don't think it's possible to perfectly balance for empire strengths, player skill, scenario particulars, so by all means make it part of the game for players to determine on the fly. (viewing the whole tournament as one big game obviously)
And sorry about the topic drifting.
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 766
Location: Chesterfield, MO
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:56 pm
Post subject:
Update on Proposed Squadron Selection Method Mock Test
I expect to be able to begin it on Sunday evening (US time).
I will post something in this topic when I kick it off.
I'll be looking for folks to post "in character" in the Mock Test topic when it is opened and have all coments with regard to how the mock test is working be made here in this topic.
I will provide a Spring 2013 tournament announcement to Jean with a sign up deadline of March 20th and a starting date of April 1st (which may be the kick off actual ship selection depending on the final format for the tournament). Signups will only require that an e-mail be sent to me and the Assistant Judge. It will be indicated that the only requirements to participate are a copy of the FC Reference Rulebook and a subscription to FC Online.
Also, Garrett has informed me that he has gotten yet even more busy and will not be able to be an Assistant Judge this time around. So, I will be looking for a volunteer. The Assistant Judge can play in the tournament. The purpose of the Assistant Judge is to allow myself the opportunity to play in the tournament as well.
Jim Dauphinais, Chesterfield, MO
St. Louis Area Fed Comm Group:
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 766
Location: Chesterfield, MO
Posted: Sat Mar 02, 2013 5:27 pm
Post subject:
Version 0.3 is posted below with the changes italics. The changes only affect Steps b and d. The first change addresses where the Assistant Judge is placed in Bid Order if he or she is playing in the tournament. The second change is that when you have the opportunity to select an empire, you also now submit the first squadron bid for that empire. This will allow a player to immediately bid a squadron that he or she believes will be acceptable to the other players (given the squadrons assigned so far) and should hopefully shorten the auction. It should also give players a feeling of a little bit more control over their fate when they select an empire for bidding.
Squadron Selection Version 0.3
This tournament will use a declining cost auction-based method for squadron selection. It is intended to dynamically establish play balance between competing squadrons by rough consensus based on the established terrain, starting distance, size, length, etc. of the tournament scenario that is being used for all rounds in the tournament. When this method is in use, Section 8B2a of the Federation Commander Point Value Victory System (8B2) is not used (i.e., there is no adjustment for different total starting squadron point totals). The minimum point advantage over an opponent that needs to be achieved to score a win in a match will be equal to 25% of the point value of the lowest point value ship (not Fighter) involved in that match.
The following procedure will be used for squadron selection:
a. The Judge will select and post a squadron for an empire of the Judge's choice. This will be the Base Squadron for the tournament. The Judge will also post the minimum number of ships that can be in any awarded squadron and the maximum number of ships that can be in any awarded squadron. The size of the Base Squadron will fall within these limits. The Judge will post a list of eligible empires, a list of all ships available for purchase in the tournament, the point cost for those ships and any limitations on ship purchases. Finally, any terrain, starting positions, turn limits and all other scenario parameters will also be posted by the Judge.
b. By random selection, the Judge will place all the players into a Bid Order. If the Judge
and the Assistant Judge are
playing in the tournament, the Judge shall always go last in the Bid Order
and the Assistant Judge shall always go second to last in Bid Order
c. In Bid Order, each player will be offered the Base Squadron. If a player does not post (on the FC Forum in this topic) an acceptance of the Base Squadron within 24 hours of it being offered to that player, that player will be obligated to pass on the Base Squadron. If all players pass on the Base Squadron, the last player in Bid Order must select it.
d. The next player in Bid Order who has not yet been awarded a squadron will be given the opportunity to select an eligible empire that has not yet been selected in the tournament. This will be the next empire offered for bidding. The player must post his or her selection within 24 hours of receiving the opportunity to select an empire for bidding. Otherwise, that player is obligated to pass to the next player in Bid Order. If all eligible empires have already been selected, the player may select an eligible empire that has not been selected any more times in the tournament than any other empire.
When a player selects the next empire for bidding, he or she will also submit a
squadron bid for
empire. The squadron bid
must be a valid squadron for the tournament
that has a total point cost equal to or less than 150% of the total point value of the Base Squadron.
e. Starting with the next player in Bid Order, each player may choose to outbid the latest standing squadron bid for the empire. If a player wishes to bid, the player must bid a valid squadron of that empire that has a lower total point cost than the current standing squadron bid. If a valid squadron bid is not posted by the player within 24 hours, the player will be obligated to pass. A player that has already been awarded a squadron (including the Base Squadron) may bid. However, if this player wins the bidding, the player will have to forfeit his or her previously awarded squadron. Bidding continues until all but one player has passed. Once a player has passed, that player may no longer bid for the empire being contested unless that empire comes up again in later bidding through Step d. Once bidding has ended, the player with the last standing squadron bid is awarded the squadron he or she bid.
f. If a player that has been previously awarded a squadron wins the bidding for an empire, this player's previously awarded squadron is forfeited and offered "as is" to the next player in Bid Order who has not yet been awarded a squadron. If this player does not post an acceptance of the previously awarded squadron within 24 hours of it being offered to the player, the player is obligated to pass. If all players who have not yet been awarded a squadron pass on the previously awarded squadron, the previously awarded squadron is discarded unless it is the Base Squadron. If it is the Base Squadron, the last player who passed on it must take it.
g. Steps d through f above are repeated until all of the players have been awarded a squadron.
If the last player without an awarded squadron fails under Step d to select an eligible empire for bidding within 24 hours of being offered that opportunity, that player will be withdrawn from the tournament.
If there are only two players left without an awarded squadron, and one of those two players fails twice consecutively under Step d to select an eligible empire for bidding, that player will be withdrawn from the tournament.
Regardless of the number of players left without an awarded squadron, if any player fails three times consecutively under Step d to select an eligible empire for bidding, that player will be withdrawn from the tournament.
Jim Dauphinais, Chesterfield, MO
St. Louis Area Fed Comm Group:
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Joined: 22 Nov 2009
Posts: 766
Location: Chesterfield, MO
Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 3:25 am
Post subject:
The mock test has started:
Please only post in the above topic if you are a participant in the testing. In addition, please only post "in character" in that topic.
Please post comments on the mock test here in this topic, not in the Mock Test topic.
Jim Dauphinais, Chesterfield, MO
St. Louis Area Fed Comm Group:
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Fleet Captain
Joined: 24 Jul 2008
Posts: 1883
Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2013 9:21 am
Post subject:
First 2 comments.
Terrain. You have changed to a planet and 2 moons. I much preferred the orignally proposed planet and dust ring. The dust cloud acts quite differently to moons and planets, you can fire through with a modifier and you can move through but take a bit of damage based on speed. A wide ring of dust feels more interesting and offers more tactical choices than the planet/moons.
Victory. I do feel quite strongly that you need to get rid of the draw/loss outcome. It is pretty perverse that having tried to beat the other guy and gotten a better result than a straight draw you are penalised in the tourney ratings because you have less tie breaker points. If you are not getting rid of that then at least change your tie breaker system. I'm aware of 2 games where people have just accepted the straight draw rather than try and do better for that reason, so you may as well just ditch it for a simple draw as in practise that has been effect anyway.
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text:
Guiomar Novaes – The complete published 78-rpm recordings
APR6015 for the price of 1 — Download only NEW
Granados: Goyescas; Albéniz: Iberia
CKD355 Download only
Albéniz: Iberia & other late piano music
2CDs Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads availableCDA67476/7
Stephen Hough's Spanish Album
Studio Master FLAC & ALAC downloads availableCDA67565
Moriz Rosenthal – The complete recordings
APR7503 Download only
Book 1 No 1: Evocación
Track 1 on CDA67476/7 CD1 [6'23] 2CDs
Book 1 No 2: El puerto
Track 2 on CDA67476/7 CD1 [3'56] 2CDs
Book 1 No 3: El Corpus en Sevilla
Track 3 on CDA67476/7 CD1 [8'14] 2CDs
Book 2 No 1: Rondeña
Track 4 on CDA67476/7 CD1 [6'38] 2CDs
Book 2 No 2: Almería
Track 5 on CDA67476/7 CD1 [10'48] 2CDs
Book 2 No 3: Triana
Track 6 on CDA67476/7 CD1 [5'07] 2CDs
Book 3 No 1: El Albaicín
Track 7 on CDA67476/7 CD1 [7'27] 2CDs
Book 3 No 2: El polo
Track 8 on CDA67476/7 CD1 [6'47] 2CDs
Book 3 No 3: Lavapiés
Track 9 on CDA67476/7 CD1 [6'20] 2CDs
Book 4 No 1: Málaga
Track 1 on CDA67476/7 CD2 [5'01] 2CDs
Book 4 No 2: Jerez
Track 2 on CDA67476/7 CD2 [9'57] 2CDs
Book 4 No 3: Eritaña
Track 3 on CDA67476/7 CD2 [5'08] 2CDs
Iberia represents Albéniz's distinctive merging of three principal style elements: Impressionist harmonies, especially the use of whole-tone scales; Lisztian virtuosity taken to the limits of human ability; and the Spanish nationalism he himself had developed and defined. This nationalism evoked a variety of regional styles of song and dance, especially Andalusian flamenco, along with intimations of the guitar's rasgueo and punteo (strumming and plucking) and of the singer's coplas (songs or song verses). However, as Albéniz insisted, 'I never utilize the "raw material" in its crude state'. Rather, as Debussy noted, he had absorbed native melodies and rhythms so completely that 'they have passed into his music, leaving no trace of a boundary line'.
'Evocación' ('Évocation') is a prime example of these traits. But what most impresses us is the profoundly interiorized mood that pervades this piece, as Albéniz views his homeland from a distance in time and space, through a haze of memory and nostalgia. This is one of the eight Iberia selections in sonata form, with its attendant exposition, development, and restatement of themes. While the principal theme here harkens to southern songs and dances of the fandango/ malagueña type, the second theme evokes the northern jota. Thus, this 'evocation' (entitled 'Prélude' in the manuscript) seems to embrace the entire country in a sweeping musical gesture. 'El puerto' exudes a completely contrasting atmosphere of noisy good spirits, the hustle and bustle of a seaport, El Puerto de Santa María near Cádiz. It is in the style of the zapateado, a dance based on an insistent rhythm in 6/8, and Albéniz highlights his score with occasional rhythmic flourishes suggesting rasgueo. 'El Corpus en Sevilla' (or 'Fête-Dieu à Séville') is a programmatic piece in ternary form (aba) that paints a captivating picture of Corpus Christi in Seville, during which a statue of the Virgin is carried through the streets accompanied by marching bands, singers, and penitential flagellants. The piece begins with some rataplan, then introduces a march-like theme inspired by the popular song 'La Tarara'. What follows in the 'b' section is an evocation of the soulful saeta (literally 'arrow'), a piercing cry of religious ecstasy. Despite all the festive tumult, the piece concludes in a tranquil mood, as if the procession had passed into the cool evening of the composer's romantic imagination.
Book Two commences with 'Rondeña', a type of song and dance named after Ronda in western Andalusia. But this piece bears only passing resemblance to it and is a hybrid of various styles. The hemiola rhythm of the principal theme marks it as Spanish, while the copla secondary theme is suggestive of the jota. 'Almería' is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Andalusia, where Albéniz's father once worked briefly in the 1860s. Hemiola rhythms dominate this piece as well, but the mood is altogether different, and there is a strong suggestion of the siguiriyas, a jondo (literally 'deep') gypsy song and dance. The secondary theme is again a copla à la jota, but stretched out in slow motion, over a gently rocking accompaniment. As in 'El Corpus en Sevilla', Albéniz resorts to three staves here, giving the score the appearance of organ music. 'Triana' is the gypsy quarter in Seville and one of the cradles of flamenco. This number resounds with all the clamor of a juerga (flamenco party), with the strumming of guitars, snapping of castanets, palmas (clapping), and percussive zapateo (footwork). After a pasodoble-like introduction, the principal theme evokes the sevillanas, a lively and lighthearted song and dance popular in Seville.
Book Three begins with 'El Albaicín', the gypsy quarter of Granada, a city Albéniz loved and often evoked in his works. This number is structured as a series of three alternations between a dance-like principal theme and a freer, copla-style secondary melody. The dance section recalls the rhythm of the flamenco bulerías, while the distribution of the notes simulates a guitar technique alternating thumb and index finger. The jondo-style copla has a chant-like quality that creates an entrancing reverie. Albéniz's 'El polo' does not bear much of a resemblance to the flamenco song after which it is named, except in its inconsolably melancholy character. The most famous concert polos are those of Manuel García, but Albéniz does not seem to have used them as a model either. What most interests us about this selection is the persistence of the rhythmic pattern from the first beat to the last, giving the piece an almost obsessive quality consistent with its mood. In fact, Albéniz instructs the performer to play as if 'sweetly sobbing' and again 'always in the spirit of a sob'. The rhythmic figure itself suggests this. Book Three concludes with 'Lavapiés', a district in Madrid named for the local church where a foot-washing ritual was performed on Holy Thursday. This locale was known in Albéniz's time for its low-class denizens called chulos. There was a lot of noisy street life in this district, which Albéniz simulates through a riot of wrong-note dissonance. Both principal and secondary themes are based on the Cuban habanera, which was all the rage in Madrid in the late nineteenth century.
Book Four opens with 'Málaga', one of the shortest pieces in the collection. The rhythmic freedom, triple metre, and modality of the principal theme suggest the malagueña, while the secondary theme evokes a jota malagueña, one of many regional varieties of jota. The reappearance of the jota throughout the collection, in one guise or another, gives it the character of a leitmotif, unifying the various numbers. 'Jerez' is a city in western Andalusia famous for producing the liquor named after it: sherry. This is the only piece in the collection with a key signature of no flats or sharps. Its emphasis on A minor and melancholy mood have reminded some of the soleá, one of the most jondo of flamenco songs and dances. The rhythms may not be quite right for a soleá, but the unusual alternation of metres gives the piece a rhythmic complexity thoroughly flamenco in character. In any case, Albéniz masterfully elicits from the keyboard colourful suggestions of singing and guitar-playing. The final piece in Iberia takes us again to Seville, this time to the Venta Eritaña, a popular inn on the outskirts of the city that was famous for its flamenco entertainment. The rhythms of the sevillanas permeate the entire piece, and there is no contrasting copla section. The exuberant spirit and piquant dissonance of 'Eritaña' convey in unforgettable fashion the excitement of a juerga, and Debussy singled out this number as the finest in the entire collection.
from notes by Walter Aaron Clark © 2005


text:
The act of Laughing Out Load (LOL), expressed as a noun.
"Dude, that shiz was total LOLage."
"Fuck, you'll LOlage and spill your drink if you don't wise up, fool."
"Fuck, you'll LOlage and spill your drink if you don't wise up, fool."
ayon kay voiceinsideyou ika-29 ng Mayo, 2003
The same as lol just better!
George - My cat just fell over :L
Sophiee - lolage!
Sophiee - lolage!
ayon kay Sophiee Baybee ika-13 ng Abril, 2009
A more sophisticated way of saying Lol, used to feel more unique than just saying Lol like everyone else.
1st Guy: 'What do you do when your dishwasher stops working?'
2nd Guy: 'I dunno'
1st Guy: 'Hit her!'
2nd Guy: 'Lolage'
2nd Guy: 'I dunno'
1st Guy: 'Hit her!'
2nd Guy: 'Lolage'
ayon kay Galactrix93 ika-06 ng Nobyembre, 2009
A longer and cooler way of saying lol used if something is actually funny.
dat guy is BUFF!
r u jkin? LOLAGE
r u jkin? LOLAGE
ayon kay dont cough on me.... ika-20 ng Pebrero, 2011
the word lolage derived from chatrooms to mean "that joke was so imature how old are you?" and was seperated like this "lol age?" people then started to drop the "?" and just said "lol age" as you can imagine some people didnt get what this ment and assumed it was a way of saying something was very funny and that the word had been spelt wrong thus giving us the word "lolage".
why'd the chicken cross the road?
to get some ham!!!!
lolage? :S
to get some ham!!!!
lolage? :S
ayon kay pyrosnype ika-07 ng Oktubre, 2008


text:
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
News about Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.
Chronology of Coverage
Nov. 26, 2014
United States Special Operations forces and Yemeni troops rescue eight hostages being held in cave in eastern Yemen by Al Qaeda's affiliate there; freed captives include six Yemeni citizens, a Saudi and an Ethiopian, all of whom are unharmed; seven Qaeda militants are killed in rescue shootout. MORE
Oct. 17, 2014
At least 10 people are killed in fighting between Houthi tribesmen and militants linked to Al Qaeda in central Yemen. MORE
Sep. 29, 2014
Suicide bomber linked to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula drives car filled with explosives into hospital used as base by Yemen's Shiite Muslim Houthi movement in Majzar, Yemen, killing at least 15 people. MORE
Jul. 3, 2014
Department of Homeland Security tightens passenger screening on many United States-bound flights from Europe, Africa and the Middle East in response to intelligence reports of increased threat from Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen; intelligence of new threat is latest indication that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is trying to bring down a United States-bound airliner. MORE
May. 15, 2014
Fighting between soldiers and militants in southern Yemen kills at least 42 people and sends residents fleeing; comes amid an army offensive against Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. MORE
May. 13, 2014
Ansar al-Shariah, affiliate group of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, is using stream of online videos to accuse Yemeni Army and its American allies for killing bystanders in their drone attacks and military campaigns targeting suspected militants; propaganda push comes after years of Western condemnation for civilian casualties of terrorist attacks. MORE
May. 11, 2014
New details emerge about shooting in Sana, Yemen, in which Obama administration said two Americans from United States Embassy killed two armed Yemenis who were trying to kidnap them from a barbershop; Yemeni officials say that assailants were part of a cell linked to Al Qaeda that had planned and executed several attacks on foreigners in the country; shooting offers rare look into American clandestine operations in Yemen. MORE
Apr. 30, 2014
First day of Yemeni government ground offensive aimed at dislodging militants from Al Qaeda in the southern part of the country leads to deaths of 20 people, mostly Yemeni soldiers. MORE
Apr. 22, 2014
American drones and Yemeni counterterrorism forces kill more than three dozen militants linked to Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, one of the largest such attacks in months. MORE
Apr. 21, 2014
Airstrikes by drones in southern Yemen kill about 25 people suspected of being members of Al Qaeda, in second operation of its kind within two days. MORE
Dec. 23, 2013
Qassim al-Raimi, commander of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, issues rare public apology in which he acknowledges that one of his fighters disobeyed orders and attacked hospital attached to Yemen's Defense Ministry during December assault that killed 52 people. MORE
Dec. 6, 2013
Suspected Qaeda members carry out a two-pronged attack on Yemen's heavily guarded Defense Ministry headquarters in Sana, killing 52 people and wounding more than 160. MORE
Oct. 19, 2013
Marcos Alonso Zea, Long Island man who authorities say tried to fly to Yemen to join branch of Al Qaeda, is charged with conspiring to commit murder overseas and other terrorism counts. MORE
Sep. 21, 2013
Suspected members of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula are believed to be responsible for attacks on two military targets in south of Yemen that killed at least 21 soldiers, although the government and witnesses give varying death tolls. MORE
Aug. 9, 2013
Three American drone strikes in Yemen kill total of 12 people suspected of being members of Al Qaeda, raising to eight the number of attacks in less than two weeks; Obama administration is stepping up its efforts against Yemen's Qaeda offshoot, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, amid fears of attacks after interception of message between its leader and global leader of terrorist network. MORE
Jan. 25, 2013
Yemen government says that Said Ali al-Shihri, second-ranking operative in Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen, has died from wounds he received during counterterrorism operation late in 2012. MORE
Jan. 22, 2013
American drone strike east of Sana, Yemen, kills three suspected Al Qaeda members. MORE
Dec. 25, 2012
Airstrike by American drone kills two militants from Al Qaeda in Radda, Yemen. MORE
Oct. 23, 2012
Man claiming to be Saeed al-Shihri, Al Qaeda's No 2 in Yemen, releases audio tape denying reports that he was killed in American drone attack in September. MORE
Oct. 19, 2012
American-operated drone fires on group of people preparing to attack Yemeni troops, killing local leader of Al Qaeda and at least eight other potential attackers. MORE
Oct. 12, 2012
Qassim M Aklan, senior Yemeni officer working in United States Embassy in Sana, is killed in attack that security sources say bears hallmarks of regional franchise of Al Qaeda; killing comes amid sharp American scrutiny of security at foreign diplomatic posts in wake of militant assault on United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya. MORE
Sep. 12, 2012
Car bomb explodes in Sana, Yemen, alongside a convoy of vehicles used by Defense Minister Maj Gen Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, killing seven bodyguards and five civilians; Ahmed escapes unharmed; attack comes one day after a top operative of Al Qaeda was killed in what Yemeni officials called an American drone strike. MORE
Sep. 11, 2012
Airstrike kills Saeed al-Shihri, a top leader of Al Qaeda's branch in Yemen, along with six others traveling with him in the southern province of Hadramawt. MORE
Aug. 19, 2012
Militants suspected of being with Al Qaeda attack a Yemeni intelligence headquarters, killing 14 people in a bold strike in the country's main southern city of Aden. MORE
Aug. 5, 2012
Suicide bomber strikes at a funeral in a village in Yemen's southern province of Abyan, killing at least 25 tribal fighters and wounding dozens more; bomber targeted tribesmen who fought alongside the Yemeni Army during an offensive against militants in Abyan linked to Al Qaeda. MORE
Jul. 3, 2012
Militants with Al Qaeda in Yemen post a new video online of a kidnapped Saudi diplomat, Abdullah Mohammed Khalifa al-Khaldi, appealing to the kingdom's rulers to grant his captors' demands and save his life. MORE
Jun. 30, 2012
United States indicts Minh Quang Pham on charges that he helped to develop online propaganda for Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen; Pham is currently being held in Britain, and is expected to be sent soon to New York. MORE
Jun. 19, 2012
Maj Gen Salim Ali Qatn, an important Yemeni military commander, is assassinated by a suicide bomber in the port city of Aden, just days after the government announced a major military victory over Qaeda militants in the region; Al Qaeda and Ansar al-Shariah, a local terrorist group it is linked to, have a strong presence in Yemen's south. MORE
Jun. 13, 2012
Yemeni government announces that the army has driven out militants linked to Al Qaeda from their southern strongholds of Jaar and Zinjibar; southern region has become a focal point of American concerns about terrorism. MORE
Jun. 8, 2012
Killing of Al Qaeda's deputy leader Abu Yahya al-Libi is likely to accelerate a shift in power from the group's dwindling leadership in Pakistan to its increasingly autonomous franchises, particularly the branch in Yemen; analysts say Libi's death may even augur increased violence as younger, more impetuous fighters vie to seize the mantle of global leadership. MORE
May. 22, 2012
Suicide bomber blows himself up in the midst of a military parade rehearsal in Sana, Yemen, killing and wounding hundreds of people; bombing stuns the country's beleaguered government and delivers a stark setback to the American counterterrorism campaign against Al Qaeda's regional franchise, which has repeatedly tried to plant bombs on United States-bound jetliners; Al Qaeda militants claim responsibility for the attack. MORE
May. 15, 2012
Yemeni warplanes attack Al Qaeda fighters, killing at least 16, while seven soldiers die in clashes with militants in the south. MORE
May. 14, 2012
John O Brennan, Pres Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, meets with Yemeni Pres Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi, one day after stepped-up campaign of American airstrikes reportedly killed 11 militants allied with Al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate; meeting reflects the close cooperation of the two countries in attacking the affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. MORE
May. 11, 2012
Two airstrikes in southern Yemen kill seven militants, including two top operatives of Al Qaeda; there is no immediate word from Washington on whether it was behind the airstrikes. MORE
May. 11, 2012
Latest attempt by Al Qaeda to make an underwear bomb designed to be detonated on a plane headed to the United States sets off a fierce debate among security officials in Washington and their critics in Congress about whether the current measures to protect airliners would have detected the bomb. MORE
May. 10, 2012
Saudi Arabia and the United States's successful attempt to foil a plot by Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to smuggle a bomb onto a US-bound jetliner offers a glimpse of the crucial partnership the two countries have developed to stamp out militant networks in Yemen. MORE
May. 9, 2012
American and foreign officials reveal that the would-be suicide bomber dispatched by Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula to blow up a United States-bound airliner was actually a Saudi intelligence agent who infiltrated the terrorist group and volunteered for the mission; in an intelligence coup, the Saudi spy turned over both the bomb and key data on the terrorist group; officials say that the agent operated in Yemen with the full knowledge of the Central Intelligence Agency, but not under its direct supervision. MORE
May. 8, 2012
Intelligence officials say Central Intelligence Agency, working closely with foreign partners, thwarted plot by the Yemeni branch of Al Qaeda to smuggle an experimental bomb aboard an airliner bound for the United States. MORE
Apr. 26, 2012
Obama administration has given the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon broader authority to carry out drone strikes in Yemen against terrorists who imperil the United States; the policy shift reflects rising concerns about the country as a safe haven for Al Qaeda. MORE
Apr. 10, 2012
Attack by militants linked to Al Qaeda on a Yemeni Army post in Abyan Province sets off clashes that left 64 people dead and prompted local civilians to take up arms alongside the soldiers to repel the militants. MORE
Mar. 6, 2012
Death toll in the ambush by Al Qaeda militants on a military post in southern Yemen grows to at least 90 soldiers, making it the deadliest attack on the armed forces in the past year. MORE
Feb. 27, 2012
Obama administration is embarking on an ambitious and potentially risky plan to help Yemen overhaul its military to take on a Qaeda franchise that has exploited political turmoil there. MORE
Oct. 16, 2011
Airstrikes, believed to have been carried out by American drones, kill at least nine people in southern Yemen, including senior official of regional branch of Al Qaeda; fighting also escalates in capital Sana, where at least 12 anti-government protesters are killed by security forces. MORE
There are no additional abstracts to display.
U.S.-Led Raid Frees 8 Qaeda Hostages From a Yemeni Cave
The freed captives were six Yemeni citizens, a Saudi and an Ethiopian, who were unharmed, Yemeni officials said in a statement.
November 26, 2014, Wednesday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Yemen , Kidnapping and Hostages , Rescues , Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , Terrorism , United States Defense and Military Forces , United States Special Operations Command , Hadi, Abdu Rabbu Mansour , Houthis , Mekhlafi, Khalil al-
5 Guantánamo Inmates Are Sent to Eastern Europe
The Obama administration has been struggling with where to send four Yemenis among the five released prisoners, because Yemen is chronically unstable.
November 21, 2014, Friday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Detainees , Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (Cuba) , Yemen , Slovakia , Georgia (Georgian Republic) , Houthis , Hagel, Chuck , Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Yemen: Shiite Rebels Clash With Qaeda Militants
At least 10 people were killed in fighting between Houthi tribesmen and militants linked to Al Qaeda in central Yemen on Thursday, witnesses said.
October 17, 2014, Friday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Yemen , Houthis , Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , Al Qaeda
Qaeda Group Attacks Shiite Base
A suicide bomber linked to Al Qaeda drove a car filled with explosives into a hospital used as a base by Yemen's Shiite Muslim Houthi movement on Sunday, killing at least 15 people.
September 29, 2014, Monday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Yemen , Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , Bombs and Explosives , Terrorism , Al Qaeda , Sana (Yemen) , Ansar al-Shariah (Yemen) , Hadi, Abdu Rabbu Mansour
Yemen Rebels Gain Concessions From Government After Assault on Capital
President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi announced that the rebels, known as the Houthis, had agreed to an immediate cease-fire and the formation of a new government, a process in which they were expected to hold sway.
September 22, 2014, Monday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Yemen , Deaths (Fatalities) , United Nations , Sana (Yemen) , Muslims and Islam , Hadi, Abdu Rabbu Mansour , Shiite Muslims , Ahmar, Ali Mohsin al- , Sunni Muslims , Islah Party (Yemen) , Defense and Military Forces , Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Violence Erupts in Yemen Capital After Weeks of Rallies
Pro-government forces in the capital opened fire on Tuesday at thousands of demonstrators from the Shiite religious minority, killing six and injuring dozens, officials and witnesses said.
September 10, 2014, Wednesday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Yemen , Houthis , Demonstrations, Protests and Riots , Sana (Yemen) , Terrorism , Defense and Military Forces , Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ) , Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Secret Papers Describe Size of Terror Lists Kept by U.S.
Documents show that more than 20,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents are included in a federal database.
August 6, 2014, Wednesday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Hamas , National Counterterrorism Center , Intercept, The (Magazine) , Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , Airport Security , Taliban , Al Qaeda , Classified Information and State Secrets , Terrorism , Hezbollah , Surveillance of Citizens by Government
New T.S.A. Rules for Electronics on Flights Bound for U.S.
American officials are responding to intelligence reports that explosives could be disguised inside devices like cellphones.
July 8, 2014, Tuesday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , Transportation Security Administration , Airlines and Airplanes , Homeland Security Department , Terrorism , Electronics , Airport Security , Bombs and Explosives
Flights to U.S. Face Scrutiny After Threats Are Reported
The Department of Homeland Security said it would increase screening of passengers and cargo on United States-bound flights in response to threats from Al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen.
July 3, 2014, Thursday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Yemen , Airlines and Airplanes , Homeland Security Department , Middle East , Transportation Security Administration , Europe , Johnson, Jeh C , Terrorism , Airport Security , Africa , Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
The Extremist Organizations 'on the Front Lines'
Islamic extremism has decentralized over the past decade. Some groups have links to Al Qaeda, but most of them focus more on waging local battles than on attacking the West.
May 29, 2014, Thursday
MORE ON AL QAEDA IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA AND: Zawahri, Ayman Al- , Boko Haram , Islamic State of Iraq and Syria , Al Nusra Front , Al Qaeda , Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia , Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb , Terrorism , United States International Relations , Shabab
Al Qaeda Letter on the Importance of Kidnapping Revenue
In a letter dated Aug. 6, 2012, the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and second in command of Al Qaeda, wrote to the leader of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb about the groups' reliance on kidnapping ransoms to fund operations.
Justice Department Memo Approving Targeted Killing of Anwar Al-Awlaki
Following Freedom of Information Act lawsuits, the Obama administration released a 2010 Justice Department memo signing off on killing Anwar Al-Awlaki, an American citizen, without a trial.
TimesCast | May 21, 2012
Dozens are killed by a suicide bomber at a military parade rehearsal | The Rangers-Devils Stanley Cup semifinal series resumes on Monday night.
TimesCast | May 21, 2012
Dozens are killed by a suicide bomber at a military parade rehearsal | The Rangers-Devils Stanley Cup semifinal series resumes on Monday night.
TimesCast | Al-Awlaki's Influence
September 30, 2011 - A look at Al-Awlaki's radicalizing influence on young Muslims in the English-speaking world.
Rss Feeds On Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
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