| Omonubi's "How to Host" Article |
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Now, a few of my suggestions.
First -- Start with a "Beginner" game in a small or medium universe and with 4 to 7 players. Also, set the victory conditions to end reasonably early -- say at 2475 or 2480 (so someone with a Demo version could play).
Why? Because the first thing you want to find out is IF you LIKE being a Host. It is a reasonable amount of work and you should set yourself a "finishable" game to start with. In addition, these games tend to be fun for the participants, they get to have run-ins with all of the other players -- and, even if trailing, they can see the end of the game (so are less likely to drop out). And, as Host, you can tough is out for less than three months, even if you don't like it, can't you?
By giving yourself an "easy" project to start with, you will learn a lot and not disappoint any players (believe me, bad reputations get around pretty quickly -- and you don't want one). Also, if you start with a "Beginner" game, you will start developing some players who will then want to be in your next game. Having a core group of players really helps -- and the easiest way to get one is to build it from scratch.
Another "must" is to establish some "Host Policies" and hold to them. Omonubi suggested some in his article. I have some slightly different ones for my games. You might have different ones yet -- that would be fine as long as you describe them. If it is on your website or sent to ALL players prior to the game's start, the players won't get very far complaining.
Well, for a start, where do you find your games? Isn't this a good place to start? Actually it is. Another good place to begin is with a "games" service such as that at the "Host's Guild". This site (and others) allow Host's to post information about their games. By the way, it is a good idea to join the "Host's Guild" while you're there -- after all, you're planning on being a Host.
If you are a non-playing Host, encourage your players to send you copies of their .h files every so often (I do it on a 10-year basis). It is amazing how often a computer will crash or an accident will happen and a player needs you to send them all of their files. If you have copies of recent .h files, they will not lose ALL of their scouting info.
Be sure to make regular backups to floppy disks (or zip drive disks) so that you have a "safety net" in the event that something happens to "your" computer. Also, encourage your players to do this as well -- and remind them on a regular basis.
It is very important to keep players informed of what is going on. If there is a "delay" in generation for ANY reason -- send them all an email to let them know why. Also let them know when you will generate. I try to send out at least one "Status Report" each day listing those players whose moves are not yet in. If you have problems (say you will be out of town for three days), let the players know -- giving advance warning if you can.
Finally, my policy is never to delay for more than 24 hours. Part of a player's responsibility is having a reliable connection to the Net. Remember, your responsibility is to the Entire game, not just to any individual player! If there are too many delays, or a lack of communication, the risk of players abandoning a game rises exponentially.
"But" you say, "I don't have a website".
No problem, I'll help you to get and build one.
Geocities provides free personal webpages for the asking. HOWEVER, before you get one with them, check out your local ISP. You are already getting your internet connection and email with them -- find out if they also offer free web space -- a lot of them do.
If they do, I suggest that you use theirs so that you can avoid the annoying "advertisements" that you will get on the Geocities pages. Nevertheless, I started with Geocities and they do provide a wonderful place to build a website and some very easy-to-use utilities for uploading new material.
Well, you have two choices. One is to use an HTML Editor. If you use Netscape 4 or IE 4 or one of the top Word Processing programs, they all have HTML (HyperText Markup Language) capabilities. You can also go to Tucows, find a mirror site near you and download an actual freeware or shareware "HTML Editor". Or your other choice is to do what I do and just write it on your own.
Relax, it isn't very difficult. HTML instructions are placed within angle brackets ("<" and ">"). Generally they are simple "start" and "stop" instructions.
For example, <I> starts italics and </I> stops it; <B> starts boldface and </B> stops it; and <U> starts underlining and </U> stops it.
The command <CENTER> will center justify text or images; while </CENTER> will cancel it and go back to left justification. Most of the text on this page is NOT "Centered"; but the images and "tables" are "Centered".
Speaking of images, they are very easy to do. First, if you find an image you like while surfing, right click on it and your browser will drop down a menu. One of the choices will be to "Save" that image.
(WARNING -- some images are copyrighted -- always check on the page to see if this is so and DO NOT USE "Copyrighted" MATERIAL WITHOUT PERMISSION OR CREDIT)!
Once you have an image that it is permissible to use -- and of a type it is possible to use (usually a ".gif" or a ".jpg"), you can include it in your page by using the following coding --
-- where imagename.gif (or imagenname.jpg) is the name of the image file. (Note: it will be necessary to "upload" the image file as well as the HTML file for them to work).
To make things easier, I've created a simple webpage for you to get started with. Copy it and substitute your information and you will have a webpage. It can be found at "Page Form".
In order to view and copy the HTML source code, all you have to do is to use your browser to "View Document Source", then copy/paste it in to "Notepad" or a similar text editor.
| Your Own First Web Page Form |
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"Wow! Way cool! How'd you make that cool button?"
"Well, I can't tell you ALL of my tricks, can I?"
Actually, I can't -- it would take too long. But here's a hint -- hit "View Document Source" and copy/paste that little "table" and try it out on your own page, substituting other "links" for the one I used. HOWEVER, if you are linking to a page not your own you will have to substitute the FULL address inside the quotation marks (i.e., "http://www.redshift.com/~bluebear/pageform.html").
And, remember, the key thing is that STARS! is a Game and we all play it to have "fun". Relax and enjoy!
This STARS! Network site is owned by
Bluebear.
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This page was created in March 15, 1999
