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BotF Links BotF Archive The BotF Cooperative TrekReal Gul Darheel's Mods Capt. Chao's Domain BotF Ship Editor ST: BotF Editors Fleet Command Dominion Invasion Play BotF Online!	Mod News-O-Plenty 10 December 2003 As the end of the year nears, we're suddenly getting an influx of news. Three items of interest today. First of all, Jiggalypuff has updated his mod and it is now available for download from this site. The number of files that he has modded in is up by about 50%, so that alone should give you a good indication of the amount of work going on. It looks like the focus with this release is on development of Dominion forces. Check out the work of one of BotF's up and coming modders. There is also news that Alfas and Raven of the Remnant Clan are working on an update of thier Remnant Mod. While their previous work focused primarily on shiplist changes, the new edition will take on structures as the focus. No word yet on specifics, but a release looks to be close at hand. Another BotF christmas present? Finally, and this is perhaps the most significant news, Joker of the the BotF Cooperative is unsure of whether or not to complete work on and release v1.8 of the Building Mod. Long time BotF gamers know that the Building Mod has been the longest developed and most updated mod out there, and that its a great piece of work as well. You can check the link above for details on his proposed changes but suffice to say that several of them would really make things interesting (my personal favorite change would be the adjustments to BotF's difficulty levels. Unfortunately, due to what he feels is a lack of interest on the part of the community, he doesn't plan on putting together this newest release unless he gets significant feedback from people like YOU! It would only take a second of your time to send Joker an email here. With enough support, we can hopefully see another edition of this terrific mod. Thanks for your help! Happy Holidays 30 November 2003 Its been a while, eh? I have a few news bits to relate. First, it looks as though Weyoun's Dominion Invasion Mod is well and truly dead. I'll be leaving the link up for the time being if for no other reason than that there is still some activity in the forum there. Still, I don't think that we can expect to see anything published by Weyoun anymore. Second, and this is better news, the 35th Anniversary Mod still looks like its seeing active development. No promises can be made regarding a release date, but based on talk over at the BotF Archive, this will likely be a pretty good mod. It certainly would be a nice Christmas present (*hint, hint!* *nudge, nudge!*). Third, Gul Darheel's website and ship and T10 mods have all been updated. Go to his site through the link on the left for all the details, though it looks as though the primary changes in his main work, the T10 mod, include an evening of the sides and the inclusion of Sir_Mickar's Planet Mod. Finally, as regards the Outpost itself, its clear that the frequent updates that I managed to sustain for many months haven't been evident as of late. Due to the lack of news, I've found it difficult to drum up content sufficient to make such updates worthwhile. Still, I do keep abreast of the goings-on in the BotF community and I'll certainly post news when it presents itself. Oh - one more thing. While I know that the Epic Gaming Mod's audience isn't huge, I want to note that I'm still working on it, tweaking it here and there. Right now I'm trying to add some significant differentiation between the various naval forces and balancing the Borg and other entities that show up when random events are turn on. No promises here, but a new release could be here by Christmas. Remnant Mod Now Available 9 September 2003 I am happy to report that Alfas and the White Raven of the Remnant Clan have released version 0.5 of their Remnant Mod. I am equally happy to say that the mod will be hosted here at Outpost Maasenstodt. You can download the mod through the link on the left. Just to give you an idea of what this mod entails, while there are plans for more extensive changes down the road, for the time being the mod only alters ship statistics. Similar in some ways to Gul Darheel's T10 Mod, the Remnant Mod focuses on providing a better multiplayer experience, though the changes are relevant for all players. I'll allow White Raven to speak of the changes for himself: All Strike Cruisers (except klingon) have been made heavier shielded and armoured and carry many more torps for the most part, (klingons SCs have been made into heavy gunships with lots of disruptors), all Colony ships have a Maintainence cost of 20, generally more realistic while still balanced stats for all races, Cruisers have been upgraded to make them a still useful craft in T5 games. Here is a list of fairly major race specific things: Ferengi: Raider II range is Long and speed dropped to 3, Strike Cruiser II range to Med and Speed to 2, War Cruiser I & II Maintainence dropped to 85. Federation: Quantum Torps power standardised and upgraded on most ships, Defiant can cloak and phasers have been powered up to make the illusion of Pulse Cannons, though there are less of them, Defiant hull increased as well, Sovy 2 can go Med 2 now, other changes you'll find on your own. Romulans: Not much changed except Cruiser design is powered up and Troop Transport II can cloak. Cardassian: Starbase design most powerful in game, cost changes to make up for larger industry. Klingons: Strike Cruiser design has been converted into a gunship of sorts. Attack Cruiser II can cloak as well as Battle Cruiser II and Scout I, armour upgraded on all ships. [sic] All in all, there are lots of interesting changes and we'll have to wait to see how they work out in play and how the mod continues to develop. In any case, you can be assured that the Outpost will have the latest news as it develops. Site Update, New Mod Epic Gaming Mod Revision 6 September 2003 I have a couple of pieces of news to relate this weekend. First, there has been a lot of talk over at the Remnant Clan's site over the past couple of weeks, including discussion of their own new mod to be released shortly. Being that there hasn't been much BotF talk anywhere else over the last week, I've decided to add a link to their page. And while I'm discussing site updates, I should mention that I've added a link to Alan Pattee's Stiener Mod on the left. I've also updated some of my links. I've also managed to update my own Epic Gaming Mod to v0.7.8.. This update brings some additional changes to scientific structures and reduces the power of minor race vessels by a notch. The tests going on with reduced scientific output are not set in stone but are being tested for viability and could result in elimination of these changes if things are less than optimal. Your input is always appreciated. Updates have been a bit long in coming around here lately as I suggested would happen with work on my new house, but things are finally starting to come together there (rehab is at 75%) and I hope that things will pick up around here again before too long. Have a great weekend! Mod Update Complete, Terraforming at 60% 26 August 2003 Yes, I am way overdue on an update around here. Our new house has become, for all intents and purposes, a rehab project that is swallowing my waking hours. Fortunately, for all of our work, I think we've finally gotten over the hump and are probably at about 60% complete. We'll move in within a month. Still, I haven't forgotten about the Outpost and, during my few breaks from work, I've managed to update and do some playtesting of the latest revision of my Epic Gaming Mod, v0.7.5.. This latest revision features a number of new changes, all of which can be read about in a new yet woefully incomplete readme file. The highlights include slower research but faster crew training for all races, some adjustments to the minor races and (due to popular demand) the lengthening of Scout 2 vessel ranges from medium to long. I should mention that I am happy to receive feedback on the mod and will entertain requests for changes and additions that fit within the mod's design goals. In other news, it appears that we may see an update to the TrekReal mod in the near future. While the changes aren't of huge significance, if the update sees public release, it would be nice, especially since there hasn't been much movement among the big name mods out there in the past month or so. With some luck, we'll be able to get a copy of the revision within the next few weeks. New Mod Available 15 August 2003 As was suggested on the 12th, Alan Pattee has now released his new mod for distribution. Grab it here. Called the Stiener Mod 1.0 beta, this work makes a number of interesting changes to the basic game, including the following: Most ships are faster, including dreadnaughts with a speed of 5. Shield power has been increased on outposts, starbases and most ships. Starbases are now quite formidable. Build costs for ships have been lowered. Also, ship maintenance costs are 30-50% less on all ships. All building costs have been reduced and special buildings are more powerful (i.e., dilithium mines yield 3 dilithium). Food, energy and industry production as well as intelligence and research have been increased in productivity. This, along with decreased costs, results in faster paced games and more ships. Ships for all minor races have been increased in power as well, while minors are more likely to build more ships. Some new pics (races and ships) have been added. All in all, it looks like this mod has a lot of promise if development continues. With the new house, I haven't had an opportunity to give it a good run through. Perhaps you can give it a spin and write up a review for submission or even just post your thoughts in the forum. Colonization in Progress 12 August 2003 As I've mentioned previously, I am in the midst of buying my first home. We actually close tomorrow morning, and the past week has been filled with all manner of business that I've had no previous experience with. You know, things like signing treaties and getting ready for some terraforming. Thus aware, I hope that you'll forgive the lapse in updating the Outpost. Actually, I do have a bit of news to relate. There are two new modders in the BotF scene with work under development. The first, 'ddd', has already replaced the Ferengi with the Borg and reports that he has added new 3d models. I haven't had a chance to take a look at this mod as yet but hopefully it will see a wider release shortly. The second is Alan Pattee, who I hope to have a link to his new work within the next couple of days. In more local matters, I've updated the Epic Gaming Mod with some bug fixes to v0.7.1. I've also added a quick and easy to find email link at the top of the news so that those who want to get in touch with me can easily do so. With the addition of new staff here at the Outpost close at hand, we'll probably be moving to a better contact system shortly. In the meanwhile, however, the link above can serve as a stopgap. ~ Thanks to Jiggalypuff and Joker for their input! New Multiplayer Registry 3 August 2003 Joker over at the BotF Collective has put together a neat form for those with an interest in multiplayer BotF gaming. Basically, it allows you to fill out a form that lists your contact information, times available for play and preferences, allowing players to have an easier time setting up games with each other. For those who have voiced concerns about a lack of players playing BotF online, this may be a good resource. Check it out! Slow Week 29 July 2003 I've been holding off on a news post in the hopes of something notable coming to the fore, but unfortunately there hasn't been much on which to report. A number of smaller projects remain in active development but I can't confirm the current status of either the 35th Anniversary Mod or the Dominion Invasion Mod. Hopefully we'll get updated on their progress this week. As soon as I hear about it, so will you. Have a good week! Posting a Classified Ad 21 July 2003 As is so clearly evident from the lack of activity over the past week around here, I didn't have time to update the Outpost. The reason? My wife and I found and are in the process of buying our first house. And oh yeah, today is our wedding anniversary. Between the work and celebration resulting from these events, our time has been cramped like you wouldn't believe. Fortunately for me, its been a slow week news-wise in the BotF community and I didn't miss anything. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to continue to work on site or mod development, and in the coming months, my time will continue to be cramped due to the increased commitments that working on and filling a house entails. I am still determined to continue to work at the Outpost and to guide its content, but I think that between my current responsibilities at home and the ever increasing site traffic that the Outpost is getting, the time has come to bring on an assistant or two to help ensure that the site continues to grow as the premier source of info regarding the BotF scene as a whole. So that means that I'm hiring! So what am I looking for? Good writing skills are a must, as is a willingness to monitor the BotF scene for new information daily. A desire to contribute to new projects at the Outpost would be nice but isn't necessary. Essentially, I'm looking for one or two solid news posts per week, as the news dictates. If you are interested, please either post to the forum or email me. To our general readership, note that I will not let this change degrade the quality of the news or the material to be found here at Outpost Maasenstodt. I have pride in this site's development and growth. The fact that we will have nearly as many visitors in July as in April, May and June combined is a testament to the Outpost's value and the strength of the BotF community, and I'm determined to see that things only improve. With the addition of some help around here, I think we'll do just that. Jigalypuff Mod v1.0 Released 14 July 2003 As was promised, Jigalypuff's latest has now been released and is downloadable from the link to the left. Worth noting is that the .zip file contains a saved game in which the UFP has just met the Vulcans. While this can be considered a milestone release, I've been informed that continued development can be expected, with a redone Klingon Empire and, down the road, new 3d models. Look for at least on more news post before the weekend. In the meanwhile, have a good week! Epic Gaming Mod Updated 10 July 2003 It's been rather slow over the past few days so I decided it was time to make a little news of my own and release an update to the Epic Gaming Mod, which I am designating v0.7. The changes include tweaks to special structures (including a redesigned Section 31 and modified Reman Dilithium Mine) and ship stats. I've found that the mod changes AI behavior from expansionist to developer, spending more resources on science, intelligence and, though with the AI's cheating this is less significant, industry. Check it out! I've also received word from Jigalypuff that his latest, which will feature among other things Industrial Replicators for all races with which he hopes the AI will produce additional combat vessels, will be forthcoming very shortly. Unfortunately, there has been no word on developments of either the Dominion Invasion Mod or the 35th Anniversary mod. With summer moving quickly along, we're hoping to see releases before fall. More updates to come. Weekend Update - Site News, Mod News and More 6 July 2003 Its been a very busy weekend and I apologise for not returning all of the emails I received until today. Nonetheless, I have lots of news to report since, like me, several people in the BotF community found time to squeeze some development into their schedules. I'll start with the latest news from the Outpost itself. The long awaited Outpost Maasenstodt Forum is here! This addition has been put off for some time but with the Outpost now having dozens of daily visitors (and growing!), I think the time is now right. The forum, which will be linked to just below the banner, will give you the chance to comment directly on news posts, user reviews and the Outpost in general as well as engage in conversation with other BotF gamers. In addition, while visitors are still welcome to email me, I plan to respond just as quickly to those brought to me via the forum, so please consider using it for that purpose. In more general mod news, I have two updates. First, Gul Darheel has updated his T10 Mod, though asides from a release date, I do not have any details on the changes in this latest revision as yet. Any information regarding the changes made could be made in the forum and would be most appreciated. Second, Jigalypuff's Mod has been updated with bug fixes. While no new features have been added, this release should help alleviate crashes in tactical combat. Finally, I have word from DeathTrapX that a new clan for multiplayer BotF gaming is being formed. Calling themselves The Remnant, they have established a forum (must be something in the air about launching new forums this week, eh?) and are planning on putting together a mod of their own. They encourage everyone to stop by, particularly for those of you who focus primarily on multiplayer BotF games. Before signing off, you can expect an update to my own small modding project, the Epic Gaming Mod, to be released this week. As per usual, I'll post the lastest news as soon as I can and, in the meanwhile, why not introduce yourself down in our new forum. Jigalypuff's Mod Updated 3 July 2003 Adding special Obsidian Order ships to the Cardassian Union that are capable of cloaking, Mark Nutley has once again updated his mod, which is downloadable through the link on the left. Mark's work is growing more distinctive over time and its worth taking a look if you haven't done so already. On a seperate note, it seems that Gul Darheel may have taken note of my review of his T10 mod as he has posted a disclaimer on his site noting many of the points that I made. The disclaimer basically states that the mod is designed expressly for Tech Level 5 multiplayer games and that others need not bother with it. I'm quite glad to see anyone specify what they are trying to achieve with their mod, since otherwise players may spend time on something that isn't for them. I therefore applaud Gul Darheel for doing this, and I hope that he continues development of his work. Building Mod 1.7.0 Released 2 July 2003 With new refinements to the ranges of phasers and torpedoes for the various races and ship types in combat, Joker's Building Mod has just had its latest update released. As per usual, this revision of the Building Mod is a hefty download, weighing in at over 14MB. Still, it has a neat self-installer and by using a download manager (like what I use, GetRight), its pretty accessible even for the bandwidth impaired. I'm downloading it now and hope to give it a spin this weekend. Get your copy while Joker's servers aren't yet overloaded! Great New User Review 1 July 2003 Just in this morning, Lakaj has sent in our latest review, this one taking an in-depth look at the TrekReal Mod. In my opinion, this is the best review to have as yet graced the Outpost. With lots of great detail, Lakaj gives a strong presentation of the strengths of the mod as well as a call out to those with modelling skills to finish it in style. This review certainly merits a read, especially for those who, like myself, haven't dusted off that particular stbof.res file for a while. Check it out! Quick Update 28 June 2003 Mark "jigalypuff" Nutley has apparently been pretty busy over the past few days, as he has already sent me an update of his new mod. I have the work uploaded and you can download it through the link on the left. From what I have been told, the primary changes have been to replace remaining Sheliak texts with Suliban ones. Enjoy! New Mod from Mark "jigalypuff" Nutley 26 June 2003 There has been a lot of development activity over the past couple of weeks. While we still await releases from the big guns, a number of new BotF modders have been working on new projects. Mark Nutley, who has become a vocal person of late in the various BotF forums, has requested my help in getting his latest work out to the public and I have decided to oblige. You can now download his mod here. I've only given the mod a brief go through as yet but to give you some idea of what he is working on, Mark has begun developed a more accurate ship history, better race pics and has even replaced the Sheliak (doh! They're one of my favorites!) with the Suliban of recent "Enterprise" fame. I have a feeling that updates will continue to be made, so stay tuned. For the time being, feel free to direct comments to me. I am also continuing work on my own Epic BotF Mod and hope to have a new release within a week or so. On my "to do" list are some editing of ship stats, changing some structures and maybe adding some new pics. Thanks to everyone who has sent me comments and criticism thus far. I really appreciate your input and would be happy to receive more. Epic Gaming Mod 21 June 2003 It's been another relatively slow week on the BotF scene. There is lots of activity going on but nothing in the way of published works. For myself, however, I've been modifying Giovannini's mod and combining it with some new structures to create a mod that attempts to make games more epic in scope. I've only done limited playtesting, but I've decided to make the work available to you here. I encourage you to download the files, add them to your BotF res file and give the game a try. As I've mentioned before, this isn't geared towards a fast, action packed game but rather one that is more deliberate. Let me know what you think! I'll be continuing to tweak the mod over time even as I continue to update things here. One final note - I was asked by Alan Pattee whether this work means an end to an edited Doomsday Mod. It does not. You can expect that work completed within a few weeks. Once it is done, I'll try to get Capt. Chao to integrate the changes as quickly as possible. Warp Engines Still Offline 16 June 2003 After a very slow week, I have very little to report in terms of updates on the major mods in development. The primary effort that I have made has been to answer the numerous emails that I have received as well as begin testing of a new mod under development by Pascal Giovannini, an avid BotFer out of Zurich, Switzerland. This mod, which is still a work in progress, doesn't alter the normal game all that radically but it does make for an interesting experience. It drastically shortens ship ranges, dramatically toughens the minor races, and cuts down the weapon packages of all vessels. Along with other changes that add a more authentic feel to BotF, I've enjoyed playing it, even though it, like everything else out there, could use some work. I'm currently communicating with Pascal regarding a collaborative project that may eventually see its publication here. Because this mod provides a more epic feel than almost anything else out there, a quality that I prefer to the rapid fire, multiplayer geared releases, I'm excited about this and will let you know how things progress. With any luck, I'll have more to report this week than last. Look for at least one update before the weekend. Take care! Running at Impulse 9 June 2003 I suppose it might be too much to ask for more than the two mod updates that we received last week, but I was hoping to have something more to report by yesterday. With no big news and with a big graduation party to attend, I decided to hold off until today to update the Outpost. Unfortunately, its been a slow few days of late, perhaps because of the onset of summer, and I have nothing of significance to report. I'll be keeping a close eye on developments this week and you can count on seeing any news being posted ASAP. In the meanwhile, I have something for you to consider. I've been playing around with ship ranges, particularly in the beginning game setting. On ships that have short ranges, I increase their range to medium when they upgrade to type II. Vessels with medium or long ranges have their ranges reduced to short and medium, respectively, in their basic type I incarnation. I've found that this change makes for a slower, more deliberate game that I'm quite enjoying. My question for you is whether you have any tweaks that you make to the game in order to make it more realistic or playable. If you have any thoughts, let me know here. I'll be posting the best of them in the next week or two. T10 Mod Updated 4 June 2003 As of yesterday, Gul Darheel's T10 mod has seen a new release. For those who have read my rather critical review, you will know that I wasn't completely impressed with the product. While most of the flaws that I mentioned in that review remain, Gul Darheel has added a few interesting additions that make this mod's potential all the more positive. Specifically, several of the minor races have been switched out with new races, including the Tholians. You can get all of the details from Gul Darheel's website, but overall I still don't see this mod as being ready for primetime. Nonetheless, there is a lot of creative mining and work being done there and if things get cleaned up a good deal, T10 could be among the better mods released for Birth of the Federation. Outside of this new release, its been rather quiet on the modding range. Still, with two new mod releases in less than a week, I think its hard to complain too much. Here's to a third release by week's end! I'll have a least one update up by Sunday night, regardless. Finally, I want to welcome all of those who have found the Outpost through Gone Gold. Site hits are up by about 33% since the BotF Gold Guide page was updated last week and I couldn't be happier about that! If you like what's going on here, please consider contributing a review, feature or whatever you would like, and thanks to all those who have written me. As those who have will affirm, I answer all the emails that you send in. Have a good remainder of the week! New Review, Mod News and More! 31 May 2003 Look's like I'm getting this post in just before the Saturday night buzzer (I reside in the Central Daylight Timezone). Nonetheless, there's quite a bit that I have to make note of. First of all, Alan Pattee has submitted a short review of the Dominion Mod (not to be confused with Weyoun's upcoming Dominion Invasion Mod), version 1.2 with Capt. Chao's "The End" shiplist modification. For those unfamiliar with this slightly older mod, its worth checking out. Second, we have a couple of mod updates. While Weyoun's project and the 35th Anniversary Mod are still in development, there is news elsewhere. Probably of most interest is yet another update to Joker's Building Mod. Actually posted for 1 June (Joker must live further east than do I), this is hot off the presses and makes a number of tweaks, including finally adding cloaking capabilities to the Romulan MkII Destroyer and Warbird. I'm downloading this latest release now and am eager to give it a try. After October of last year, things got pretty quiet at the Collective with regards to this mod, though now we've gotten two more updates (from 1.6.5 to 1.6.7) in less than a month. Thanks to Joker for the continued efforts! With less enthusiasm, I am sadden to report that Capt. Chao has decided to end development of his new mod - the one that I had taken some involvement in. Unfortunately, he is going to be focusing his efforts on other projects. There is, however, an upshot to this. I have gotten Chao's permission to do an update to his Doomsday Mod, something that I have already begun work on. My immediate goal is to overhaul the descriptions since I have always seen them as one of the mod's more serious flaws. If you have other suggestions for things that you would like to see, let me know. In the meanwhile, I'll be editing away. Finally, I am quite pleased that I have managed to get Andy over at Gone Gold, one of the premier gaming sites on the web, to update their Birth of the Federation page. Almost all of non-review links for the page were badly outdated if not unavailable previous to this. Being that many gamers use the Gold Guide as a primary source of information regarding games, I think that this update should help bring many old and new gamers into a fuller knowledge of what's available on the BotF scene right now. If you happen to check the page out, you might find some of the reviews of Birth of the Federation interesting, especially given the 4 years since the game was released. Check back shortly as I will almost certainly have more news (regarding both mods and the Outpost) to report this coming week. Enjoy the remainder of your weekend! Back to Business - Shortly... 29 May 2003 Sorry about the delay in getting an update up and out. I've had news to announce but have been sacked by 12+ hour days at work that have completely sidelined my time to spend here. I'll release a fuller post by Saturday, but just to tease you, I will tell you that I have major news in the mod arena and that I will be posting the latest contributed review for the Outpost. Interesting stuff, so be sure to stay tuned over the weekend. Great New Ship Editor 21 May 2003 I'd like to thank Susan Clark for giving me notice that there is a fairly new BotF ship editing utility that I was unaware of. Found here, I've given this editor a test drive and it is clearly the best one yet developed when you want to modify stats. The best part may be that it has seen recent development and (always important in my mind) documented updates. Matthias 'Raven' Faust, the author, has done a terrific job and you owe it to yourself to check out his work. As a quick side note, if you know of anything BotF related that I don't have a link to or haven't talked about, be sure to let me know. I'm especially interested in anything that is still being developed but I'd love to hear your contributions regardless. People like Susan make my work here a lot easier! Thanks! Building Mod Updated 20 May 2003 Zelli has released an update to his Building Mod, which is now at version 1.6.6. The only note on his page is that the Pakled Collection Center bug has been fixed. Being that I haven't been able to download and test drive this latest version, I don't know if anything else has been added or changed. I'd be happy to report on any results that you may have to offer. In other news, the ST: Evolution site has been discontinued and hence removed from the links. With a lack of any sort of productivity out of that group, I don't consider the collapse of this project (which wasn't going anywhere) to be much of a loss. On the other hand, the 35th Anniversary Mod continues to move forward with a release looking imminent. I'm really getting excited about what this release is going to offer. HammerHead and co. have been working on this for a long time and, along with Weyoun's Dominion Invasion Mod, it could add a lot of life to Birth of the Federation. And our eager waiting continues... Yikes! 15 May 2003 So much for a quick update. Unfortunately, Mother's Day events conspired against me and I wasn't left with time to update the page. As things turned out, there wasn't much to update anyway. I'm working on a new addition to Outpost Maasenstodt that's taking up most of my site development time. Indeed, between family events and work, I haven't played a game of BotF in a week, a situation I hope to remedy shortly. I've received a couple more emails about contributions that should be making their way to the Outpost before long. It seems that with the end of the semester and the beginning of summer, there should be more time to work on these projects. That seems to be the case with mods as well. Weyoun is currently adding in new 3D models for Dominion vessels into his Dominion Invasion Mod, but won't commit to a release date. Elsewhere, things are pretty quiet. Finally, I have received word that my minor race numbers may be off. At this point, I'm still working on trying to verify the problem. Perhaps difficulty level plays a role? Since I only play on the Impossible setting, that might be an issue. I would appreciate anyone who could help with this discrepancy. You can send emails to me here. New Review, Site Update, etc. 9 May 2003 Just a quick update since I have spent all evening working up the Outpost's latest review. Focusing on my experiences with Gul Darheel's T10 mod, I hope that you'll check out this review that you can find linked to on the left. Without a doubt, you'll be seeing more reviews soon. Why not take a stab at writing a review yourself? Just use the provided template and let us know what you've got to say! Again, you can reach me by clicking on the Romulan emblem at the bottom of this page. In other news, I've been doing some research and have compiled a simple chart that tells you how many minor races you can expect to find given a particular galaxy size and minor race frequency setting. To my knowledge, this hasn't been listed anywhere else and while its not earth-shattering knowledge, it will hopefully come in handy for some of you. Another addition is a link to what I believe is Calladice's website. The primary feature of this site is the availability of the best set of BotF editors that you're likely to find on the web. Finally, I'll note that there hasn't been any news over the past couple of days in the development scene. Hopefully that means that work is in progress! Look for another update here later this weekend. Mod Update 6 May 2003 Things are moving along pretty well right now. Gul Darheel has, as of yesterday, updated his T10 mod, though I don't have any information regarding what in the mod has been updated. I've also been talking to Capt. Chao regarding the new mod we're putting together and I can tell you that is is quite ambitious in scope, removing the Cardassians in favor of the Dominion and replacing the Ferengi with the Borg. Clearly, this has the potential to provide a whole new breath of life to BotF, so stay tuned. In other news, I am nearing completion of school for the summer and hope to have a bit more time for site and mod development. Tomorrow I will finish my work with a big presentation and then I'm free! In terms of BotF, there is still no word as yet concerning release dates for the Dominion Invasion or 35th Anniversary Mods, though we eagerly anticipate both. I'll have more updates later in the week. New Link and Mod 29 April 2003 It's pretty unusual for me to happen upon a new BotF site and mod but just that has happened this past weekend. Now linked to the left is Gul Darheel's ST:BotF mod page, where you can find his T10 mod. I have yet to try this mod out, but I will be giving it a go in the near future and once I've given it a thorough testing, I will be writing a review of it. What is especially nice about this mod is that it is under continuing development, with the latest update coming just yesterday. Speaking of mod development, there isn't too much else to note. As I mentioned, the 35th Anniversary Mod continues to press forward, with the original team of PrezEmeritus and HammerHead once again working together. A release doesn't seem far off, though there is no time table. Of course, as we have seen with Weyoun's Dominion Invasion Mod, time tables are only worth so much when it comes to works of passion. We'll remain optomistic that development on all of these fronts will be made soon. A final note on this site's development: I've added an archive section to Outpost Maasenstodt that contains all of the old posts that I have made. This may only prove to be of limited use, though it may provide a better guide over time of where this site has been and where it hopes to head towards the future. You can link to the archive by clicking on the link below the Outpost's banner. After the Static 22 April 2003 The past week has had little in the way of news and development. What's more, I'm home sick and haven't had the energy to do much new site building. What is going on can be summed up quickly. First, it appears as though the 35th Anniversary Mod is beginning to pick up steam once again. Second, you should see at least two new reviews here within the next couple of weeks. I have a BotF LAN game planned to go all of Saturday afternoon and evening. Hopefully there will be more to report on by Sunday, but if not I might write up a summary of the games that we play through. And Now the First User Review is Up! 14 April 2003 Wow! It didn't take long for the first review to be sent in once the template was made available. Guyute03 has put together a capsule review of Captain Chao's Doomsday Mod that you ought to check out. Do you agree with his assessment? Disagree? Have more to add? However you feel, you have a chance to respond! Spend some time analyzing this mod or anything else that tickles your fancy and let's get your take on it. Just grab the template and get typing, then send me your work. It will be posted straight away! Review Template is Up! 13 April 2003 As you can see in the column to the right, there is now a new section that has been designated for your reviews and I have finished a template for you to use in writing them. I think this template should work well, though if you have any suggestions, please send them to me. In the meantime, please consider making use of this resource. Not only will it allow you to get your own ideas out among the community, it will also help to keep the BotF conversation ongoing. Particularly for all of those who don't do much design of their own but are just typical gamers, this is your chance to make your voice heard! Reviews can cover anything, from the game itself to mods, editors, web sites, whatever! Check out the template for more details. On a separate note, I have also posted a link to another strategy guide for BotF. This one was posted almost 3 1/2 years ago in Computer Games Magizine and is now hosted by Chips & Bits. Written in three parts by Xavori (under whose name it is linked), it is a guide of OK quality geared especially toward the beginning BotF gamer. In addition to any guides that you may offer, I plan on getting at least one more guide up and linked in the near future (I know that that is vague but if it turns into another project like the Calladice strategy guide, it will take a while; rest assured, though, because I want it up soon, hopefully by month's end). That completed, I plan to next focus my energies on releasing a guide of strategies advanced by Kyle Brink, a BotF designer, in the Official Strategy Guide. Also on the agenda is completing a few reviews of my own and assessing needs in regards to building a forum for Outpost Maasenstodt. And of course, I'll continue to keep close tabs on all the latest news. Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Items of Interest 11 April 2003 After all of the work getting Calladice's guide up, I had to take a little break. Having taken it, however, I wanted to give you a head's up on what I'm working on and what's going on in general. For myself, I'm still working out the particulars of the review template. In a fit of inspiration, I thought about some sort of web-based application where you would just fill in the blanks in a form. This is not practical, though, as it would require too much time to put together (more, indeed, than I can invest right now). So getting back to reality, I plan on making a .html template available that you can work with and then email back to me. With a little ambition, I'll have it up this weekend. At the very least, expect another update, probably on Sunday, possibly sooner. As regards news, there is nothing to report on either the Dominion Invasion Mod or the mod under development with Captain Chao. There is, however, word from the 35th Anniversary Mod camp. Apparently, they may be making a (beta?) release within the next month or so. There has been relatively little news from this group, so word that development continues is very encouraging. We here at the Outpost are eagerly awaiting the release. As always, we'll let you know of any releases as soon as we know. The FAQ is Here!!! 5 April 2003 Phew! After many hours of work in converting a .txt file to .html format and doing proofreading and minor editing, I have finally finished the latest addition to Outpost Maasenstodt: Calladice's superb BotF strategy guide. Probably the most comprehensive and readable guide to the game that has ever been released, I have enhanced it with better navigation and readability. There are so many good tips on playing BotF in Calladice's guide that it should be considered required reading. While Leyba's guide focuses on stats and rules, Calladice's emphasizes stategy and tactics, giving the reader many examples. It is also very enjoyable to read, as Calladice uses a very conversational tone. In short, it's a fantastic read! Check it out in the link to the left. While I have a couple more FAQ/guides that I intend to make available at the Outpost, my next project will be getting the game/mod review template created and ready to go. I really want to be ready for Weyoun's Dominion Invasion Mod as well start developing a stash of user reviews on the mods already out there, as this is something that is completely lacking in the BotF community. Look for the template to be made available within the next week, and more news to be posted as it emerges. Have a good weekend and enjoy the new guide! Updates on News and the Latest FAQ 5 April 2003 First of all, you can expect this to be the first of at least two updates this weekend. The lack of posts over the past week can be blamed squarely on my work on getting the latest FAQ ready. This may seem to be a small matter, but I am really working it over to give it a lot of polish and extra utility. Again, once complete, I'll post more details about it. Rest assured, however, if you've been looking for a great guide to BotF, this is it! There has been other news this week. Most notable (and disappointing) is the fact that the Dominion Invasion Mod was not released. While the reasons for the delays are unknown to me (they probably concern the day to day responsibilities that we all have), Weyoun has commented that the mod will be released this month in a beta form that is sans the new models he is working on. Nonetheless, we're still excited to see that work continues and that we should be able to give Weyoun's product a test drive shortly. Finally, regarding the new mod under development by Capt. Chao, we have been working on getting the design team together and a game plan constructed. Certainly, we can't expect results in the short term, but you can be assured that work continues apace. That's all for now. Expect another update shortly, either later today or, at the latest, by Sunday evening. Be sure to check back, because what I'll be making available is the most significant addition to Outpost Maasenstodt thus far. 2nd FAQ Arriving Soon 29 March 2003 I failed to add in yesterday's news post that I am working fastidiously on readying a second FAQ for the Outpost. If I have sufficient time this weekend, I might get it done and posted, so be sure to check back here. More notes on the FAQ will be made when I have it up. I'm still working on overall web site development here and am trying to figure out the best way to make these FAQs, as well as all of the other material that will be going up, available and organized. As more things get posted here, there will need to be a clean means to get at them. I don't plan on keeping more than a month's news on the front page, so items will be falling off within a couple of weeks. What all of this means is that I have a lot of work to do! As you may have noticed, I've created a new section of links to the right for the FAQs, though I think this list will eventually get rather unwieldy as more and more things get posted. For now, though, its a stopgap that will keep things easily available while I figure out something better. If you have any ideas or feedback, I'd be more than happy to hear it! Jamal Leyba's FAQ Posted 28 March 2003 Having finished up exams, I've managed to get Jamal's FAQ posted. This is a great read and my thanks go out to Jamal for putting together such a fine piece of work. If you're new to Birth of the Federation, consider this a must read. It really puts the printed manual to shame. Even if you're a seasoned BotF player, you might find some items of interest in it. Check it out! Quickly touching on other news, the biggest item has to the upcoming release of Weyoun's Invasion Dominion Mod, which is supposed to be posted within the next few days. Hopefully it won't be delayed, since I know I'm not alone in eagerly anticipating this mod from a member of the dissolved ST: Evolution team. I'm also in continued contact with Captain Chao regarding the formulation of a new mod, though it is clear that we are still in the planning stages. All the same, any suggestions or volunteers would be very welcome. My email address is available through the Crest of Romulus below. As soon as I get word that Weyoun's mod has been released, I'll make it known here. I'm planning on getting some first impressions up as soon as possible, to be followed by a full review at a later date. Stay tuned... 1st FAQ Received 24 March 2003 Just a quick note today. Jamal Leyba has sent me his revised FAQ (which is version 1.6, FYI). I had hoped to get the FAQ a little earlier, thereby giving me time to get it posted this weekend. However, I have grad school mid-terms this week and it is unlikely that I'll manage to get it posted before Thursday or Friday. Feel free to check back before then on the chance that I do get the FAQ posted, but I'm making no promises! Still, the FAQ is pretty good and worth your browsing through, particularly for newer players, so make sure to stop by later this week. New Mod in Development, FAQ update, etc. 19 March 2003 It has come to my attention that Captain Chao (whose site is now available in the link to the left), developer of the Dooms-Day Mod, is now interested in pooling resources for a new mod. I've offered my assistance with this task and hope that work will begin soon. It would certainly be great if this bears fruit. If it does, and if Weyoun's mod sees release shortly, this could be the most exciting time for BotF gamers in over 6 months. In the FAQ arena, I've received word from Jamal Leyba that a new revision of his work has been completed, one that hasn't seen a wide release. Hopefully, I'll get the guide and permissions to post it by this weekend. If so, turn around in getting the guide posted on the site should be pretty short, so stay tuned. Finally, I've received word from Matt Parker, a BotF gamer, who plans on submitting a couple of mod reviews over the coming months. With a little community support, we might compile a thorough database of all the mods available along with reviews for each of them. We'd love your help in this endeavor. To make things easier, I'll be releasing a review template within the next week or so to make writing up a review as painless as possible. To contact me for this or any reason, you can click on the Crest of Romulus below. Update on Things to Come 15 March 2003 Its been a slow week news-wise, though it appears that Weyoun will be releasing his eagerly awaited Dominion Invasion Mod this month. Weyoun's own site is accessible from the link on the left. Once the mod has been made available, the news will be posted here. In terms of site development, I'm currently seeking permissions to post some of the various user FAQs / Strategy Guides that can be found around the net. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the authors' consent to bring them together under one roof. If all goes as planned, at least one guide will be made available each week in a clearer, more readable .html format. I should add that if you have a guide or anything else to add, it would be appreciated. A final note at this time: I now have a copy of the official BotF Strategy Guide which includes advice from Kyle Brink, one of the game's designers, as well as a lot of information that probably should have been included in the game's manual or at least the official FAQ. I'll be working on making some of this information posted as well, so stay tuned. Inaugural Post 8 March 2003 This is the first post of what I hope will soon become the essential resource for those interested in the PC strategy classic Birth of the Federation. Right now the BotF mod scene is disperate and not accessible for the newcomer. Several mods and editors exist, but few are well defined or have been reviewed. Outpost Maasenstodt has been created in large part to fill this gap. In the coming weeks, I'll bring updates on the latest developments by the BotF community, reviews of mods and links to essential sources of information. While a number of forums for BotF already exist, a new one that will hopefully become THE place for communication between gamers will be established here. While there is often little word about ongoing projects provided on the various sites that are accessible, I will be updating the site weekly, if not with greater frequency. At the same time, other interests will be touched on by this site as well. Foremost amongst them are PC hardware and software, the use of the Sega Dreamcast for surfing the web, role-playing games and even politics and social issues. Basically, I intend to use this site as an outlet for all of my interests - and maybe yours' as well. Feel free to contact me if you have something to add to this site. After all, Outpost Maasenstodt has been conceived to cater to the community, not just myself. Welcome to Outpost Maasenstodt!
Hosted BotF Mods Jigalypuff Mods Star Trek Colonies Dominion Invasion Jigalypuff's Email Other Hosted Mods Epic BotF Mod Remnant Mod
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BotF FAQs Calladice's Jamal Leyba's Xavori's
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