New AMRN Administrator- Illusion - 2004.05.23

The time has come to pass the torch of Administrator to a highly deserving soul. During this latest patch of lackluster posting and dropping out, he has stood firm, refusing to give up on the games. Under his guidance, I believe the AMRN will endure and thrive.

Our very own Azrael has committed himself to taking care of the AMRN from now on. There is no doubt in my mind that he will do an excellent job. Thank you, Az, for stepping up to the plate in this time of need.

Azrael will now be the main contact where the games are concerned. This includes both Macross and non-Macross. He will be in charge of board organization and moderation, and he is the one to go to with game-related worries or issues.

Hellfire and I are still the site owners, so if you have questions regarding the website, including advertising, links, or content, those should probably go to me. Game-related content will be up to Azrael and the GMs. GMs, if you need any of this sort of material uploaded to the site, send it to me for uploading.

Az has told me that he will be devoting most of his energies at first to pulling the Macross 2051 games together into a single game, a goal which the 2051 GMs agreed upon a few weeks ago. Everyone is encouraged to help him with this goal.

Congratulations, Azrael! Thank you for taking on this responsibility. I am very pleased to leave the AMRN in your capable hands.

Heather (Illusion)
Former Administrator, AMRN

HUMMING BIRD / Fukuyama Yoshiki sighting! (Or "hearing", I guess) - Illusion - 2004.02.19

I watched the first episode of a weird anime today, called Karakuri Zoushi Ayatsuri Sakon (aka Puppet Master Sakon). The premise essentially involves murder mysteries solved by a young man and his bunraku puppet, who happens to be alive [Edit: or not...? See the thread for details]. (Yeah, I know. Please consider that I am also into an anime about a boy, a board game, and a ghost from the Heian period.)

As the opening credits began, filled with beautiful traditional images of Japan, I listened to the lovely music and thought, "This is really cool!" The singing started out gentle, but then it got more intense, and suddenly I gasped (yes, out loud), "That's BASARA!"

I hurried to check the credits...and sure enough, the OP was done by Humming Bird, with vocals by Fukuyama Yoshiki.

Awesome!

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Happy New Year! - Illusion - 2004.01.02

Here's wishing a great 2004 to all of you :)

Macross Limerick Contest WINNERS! - Illusion - 2003.12.29

I told you guys I would announce a winner for this! Sure it took four months, but hey!

(At least I didn't wait until 2004, right? ^^;;)

In this purely subjective contest, I picked the limericks that I liked the best based on content and on how the story flowed. I wasn't too stringent about beat-counting; if it sounded remotely like a limerick, it was fine in my book. I only judged limericks that were Macross-based, since that was part of the rules.

Before I get to the winners, I would like to spotlight one OOC limerick by Drizzt o Durden that I found quite amusing:

I love all the limericks, you see,
be they good or annoying to me,
I try for proper beat,
but fall back on my seat,
For I can never get the right form on the very last line.

And now, on to the winners!

In second place, for being original and for telling a funny story, is the following limerick by Drizzt o Durden:

The Tinker with parts he had got
Made mods that he probly should not
The oversized blasters
Mounted on casters
Blew up and reduced him to snot

And in first place...we have a three-way tie! For writing hilarious limericks that comment on one of our game's most clichéd recurring subplots, the following limericks, by Barricade, Drizzt o Durden, and Foreman, respectively, are our winners:

Macross 12 was filled with elites
Yet were aching from several defeats
Then came the Lima Beans
Who served up some spicy scenes
As they all ended up under the sheets

Being nominally called a team,
'Fire was eclectic, eccentric, and ill seem'd.
But wasn't it great
Wingmates start to date
Now they kick tail like a dream.

There once was a pilot named Cookie,
Who to the squad was a rookie.
But the day was done
And the battle won
So now it is time for some nookie.

As I mentioned, I'll be giving each winner a Macross-related prize. I will be contacting each winner individually to work out the details (wouldn't want to give someone something they already have, would I?).

Congratulations to our winners!

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Macross Limerick Contest - Illusion - 2003.08.08

It's been awhile since we had a contest around here, and since I'm feeling generous...I'd like to give you all the chance to win some Macross-related stuff. (What exactly that stuff will be remains to be determined. Expect something digital though.)

What do you have to do to win this contest? Easy: Write the BEST MACROSS LIMERICK EVER.

It can be related to one of the Macross series, video games, or mangas...and hell, you can include Macross II, because I'm in a good mood today. Characters and events in our own Macross 2051 games are also fair game.

So what's a limerick? Well, here is an example, spouted by our very own Phantom during a posting frenzy on IRC:

There once was a guy named Dyson
Who thought he could fight better than Tyson
Got in a fight with Guld
But was knocked out cold
And ended up served as roast bison.

Please, write something better than that. ;)

The only rules are: 1) Keep to a standard limerick rhyming and beat pattern; and 2) Try to keep it PG-13 or below.

May the contest begin!

Post your entries here.

Macross 2051 Academy Recruiting Office - Illusion - 2003.05.28

In order to handle the influx of new cadets, Macross 2051's UN Spacy Academy now has a recruiting office. From now on, instead of going to a particular GM or moderator's email address, all applications should be sent to academy@unspacy.com. Applications that are not sent to the proper address will be deleted unread! Cadets who are already in the system do not need to resubmit their applications, but all new applications must be sent to academy@unspacy.com only.

With this change comes a new member of the UN Spacy Academy team. Foreman, who has served as an Instructor in the past, will now be reviewing applications. Mr. Justice will be expanding his attentions to updating the Academy website with background material and organizing the overall consistency of the Academy. Remember, do not send applications directly to Foreman or Mr. Justice, but only to academy@unspacy.com.

Revamp of Macross 2051 Website - Illusion - 2003.05.16

Time off? Hah!

Since stepping down as Macross 2051 Admin, I've been spending my time working on the Macross 2051 website. I have created an entirely new design for the site that should make it much easier to add new content, and hopefully also easier to find what's already there. You'll note that several new sections have been added, mostly story-centered. I'm hoping that hosting information from various character sheets in a central location will encourage players to establish ties among their characters and bring a depth to the plotlines that has only been hinted at so far.

In order to make this site a success, I will need input from all of you. Many of the sections are incomplete, and will stay that way without information. Here's how you can help:

First, you'll notice that there is a random quote in the top right hand corner. Unfortunately, there are only four quotes cycling so far. Please give me some quote suggestions! Macross canon quotes only, please (no Macross II; sorry). You may definitely include quotes from Macross 2051 characters, and I encourage that; just be sure to give me the full name of the character and the board the character is from.

Second, I need all of you to look over the People, Places, Governments, Corporations, and Syndicates areas. If you believe that your character or something from your character history should be listed in any of those sections, please email me and let me know! The richer the game universe can be, the better.

Third, there are some general things that really need to be fleshed out, like Hobbies and Equipment. Carver is working on a list of firearms for our use, so that will be a great help, but really, anything goes as far as equipment is concerned. What have you seen in Macross that you think should make the list? It would be great if you have pictures, but just a description is fine too. And the old Uniforms section, as always, needs more data.

GMs, you'll notice there is now a News section. That's there for you. Write up, or get someone else to write up, whatever, some brief news stories about what's happening on your boards, and I'll stick them up. Information that applies to all of the Macross games can go there too. With a little collaboration, we could really get some good background going.

Finally, is there anything you would all like to see beyond the sections that are already listed? Anything that can make this Macross 2051 Sourcebook better would be fantastic.

Post your thoughts and suggestions here.

Macross 7 Fansub by Anime-in-Action - Illusion - 2003.05.13

Making its way around fansub circles is a new translation and encode of the first episode of Macross 7 by a relatively new group called Anime-in-Action. As 7 is both very relevant to our Macross 2051 games and unfortunately unavailable to many of us, a new fansub offers the promise of broader distribution of canon information...not to mention a fabulous, yet frequently overlooked anime. The question I'd like to answer here is whether or not this fansub's quality will be pleasing to die-hard Macross fans.

Read the rest here.

New Macross 2051 Admin; Site Changes to Come - Illusion - 2003.05.01

As of today, I am resigning my position as Macross 2051 Admin to focus on my site and cross-game responsibilities. With my attention free to concentrate on improving the website and the AMRN as a whole, I will finally set about fixing and completing things that have been left undone for too long. On the agenda are revising and improving the Fuzion guidelines and the Players Handbooks, and incorporating new content that will supplement the games. I'm also looking forward to reenstating some fun but languishing features, such as the Caption Contest and IRC Stats.

I have assigned Vertigo the task of finalizing the Fuzion system; once his work is complete, I will incorporate it into the website in a more intuitive way, so that hopefully everyone will have an easy time understanding Fuzion.

Shade has accepted his appointment as new Macross 2051 Admin. This means that all questions and concerns from GMs and players alike involving Macross canon and mecha should now be directed to him. Shade is also tasked with ensuring that the Macross 2051 games are consistent with one another.

There are some exciting things in store for the AMRN. We hope you enjoy them.

If you have questions or comments, please post them here.

Macross 2051 Academy Reopens - Illusion - 2003.04.07

The Academy is once again accepting applications for characters for the Macross 2051 games. Please see here for how to make your character sheet, and then send the completed sheet, and any questions you might have, to our Academy Administrator, Mr. Justice.

As a reminder, Fuzion stats are not required. However, if you choose not to create stats, you need to indicate the abilities of your character in the text of your sheet. The character sheet template should help you with this, but if you have questions, feel free to ask either me or Mr. Justice. We're available through email, on the General Discussion board, and on IRC.

And finally, please remember that you do not need to go through the Academy to play in the games outside the Macross 2051 universe.

Questions or comments? Post them here.