"Welcome to Orientation! I'm Staff Sergeant Williams. This is my
bus. Alright, now everyone off my bus!"
The year is 845 DSY (Dominion Standard Year). In year 1, the Phyraxian
Dominions was born. Planet Earth, while recognized as the birthplace of
Man, is relegated to historical obscurity. The Phyraxian system is the new
center of the universe, due to the presence of the Cutter Interstellar
Spaceflight Research Laboratory on Phyraxis II and the enormous haltidon
gas reserves on Phyraxis V. For 400 years, prosperity reigns. More and
more systems come into the fold of the Dominions.Due to the greed of the mercantile guilds, economic imbalance prompted civil war in 491 DSY. In that year, five systems seceded, forming the Free Sagittarian Alliance. A year later, two more defected as well.
Civil war continues. Due to the difficulty of intercepting dropships, combat largely occurs on the ground. Ground shocktroopers, while still outclassed by armor, are more mobile and more easily deployed, making them the preferred weapon of hit-and-run raids.
For over 500 years, the Phyraxian Dominions Marine Academy has been training men and women to become elite ground forces. The call continues to this day.
"Welcome to Orientation! I'm Staff Sergeant Williams. This is my
bus. Alright, now everyone off my bus!"
Ever notice how in video games there's always a tutorial? Wouldn't it be nice if SIK games had that?
Oh, and by the way, ever notice how in every single video game, the bad guys always attack for real at the end of the training sims?
If you are new to SIK games, or are looking to brush up on your skills, the Academy is for you. We won't bother awarding scores: you can judge your progress for yourself. We'll present you with various situations that tend to be universal in SIK games. We'll show you how we do things. Is that the only way to do it? Of course not. But it'll give you a starting point.
With these basic SIK skills, you can then play in SIK games with the same tactical vocabulary as everyone else. So that means during the games, you can concentrate on advanced skills (e.g., flanking maneuvers, resource management, all matters of timing), rather than worrying about how to take a room. Or defend one.
The Academy will be Saturday, October 1st; time TBD (expect to be busy 3pm-7:30pm). We will have an optional "Armory" session (learn how to improve your guns) starting at 1pm. Applications are now being accepted.
What will you need for this game: a disc gun. Costuming is encouraged but never required. Packet handout will be done electronically: your character paragraph will be emailed to you, along with the usual logistical info.
The Academy is being written and run by Albanian Heavy Industries (Jim Waldrop, Dave Leung, and Clint Lohse) and is part of the Angels and Blades universe. Future games will be written in this universe whose starting conditions will be partially dependent on the outcome of the Academy runs.
| Albanian Heavy Industries | Jim Waldrop, David Leung, and Clint Lohse |