Well, another word or two from me - but I'll keep it brief...maybe.

Staff Stuff

For those that are unaware, we have lost a couple of staff members, namely; Vessicant and Syn. We wish them both the best, but in the end we have to press on. Departures from the staff come by way of 'lack of time' or 'burn out' usually, so we expect these things - though, it does come as a bit of a blow sometimes.

GJW

Just like the energizer bunny - its still goin'. The ACC portion will be done on the 26th - this Wednesday. At which time we'll wrap up all the battles, get them judged and get the tallies in. In these last couple of days - it's your chance to make your posts count!

If you'd like your voice heard concerning the war and the ACC's involvement, please feel free to drop me a line. Comments and concerns may help to improve the next war.

On the Horizon

Not gonna regurgitate all of this for you - you can use the "Coming Soon" link over there on yer left to see what's in the works. Rest assured, none of it will occur the day the GJW is done - people need a break, and I'm all about giving them that.

This Week's ACC Stuff

• Force Annotations (instituted in AUG 2003)

We've had some comments recently on the use of Force Power annotations in the ACC and their value as far as the win or loss of a battle. Rest assured, these annotations will cost you a match - only if it's a deciding factor. A judge won't look at a battle, see a 'bad' force annotation and declare the battle's outcome because of it. They simply make note of it and add it to the 'items'. If it's mentioned in the comments, chances are that it was worth mentioning because it was a) a repetitive mistake, b) something that 'decided' the battle, in that it was so close that something so miniscule had to be used or c) just a mention of it to help you out.

The annotations are a necessary part of the game and, though their formats may be illogical to some, they play an important role. First, they indicate what power is being used. Lest face it, for someone to write "...he used telekinesis on the Jedi's weapon..." is just not good writing; whereas "...the Force trickled through the distance between them as the sabre leapt from his opponent's hand [TE]..." is much better. The annotations are a reference to assist in good writing instead of having to try and treat the power as an object. The ability to be able to avoid spelling out the power is one that challenges your descriptive skill, a measurable commodity in the ACC and a skill that 'good' combatants have and/or cultivate.

In addition, the annotations serve to indicate to your opponent (and the judge) what power you're using. This is especially important in cases where the descriptive skill of the combatant is not yet up to speed or, as in cases of ACCLive!, there isn't much time to get too flamboyant.

The format of the annotations is also important, that is the way they are bracketed; i.e. [TE] for telekinesis. The reason is that there is a little pop-up for the powers that has a description, the whole name, the power's school and the FP system cost - failing to annotate the power properly won't show the info. Does that really matter? Not a whole bunch - we're more concerned with the way you write around the annotations and the creativity of it. However, don't be surprised if an incorrect format is noted by the judge.

All in all, no matter how difficult some of you make it, the process of Force Power annotations is quite simple and far more suited for 'creative' writing than treating powers as something tangible that you throw at people.

You may have caught wind of some workings in the DB's Force Power realm and coming changes that may occur. Well, I'm not here to confirm or deny that, but I will tell you that it won't effect the need for the annotations in the ACC - we will still use them, along with the FP system. Of all the complaints I have gotten about the force power annotations - they are vastly overshadowed by those that either a) just don't see them as anything worth making a fuss about or b) have found them to be useful and actually like their intent - both groups recognizing them as part of the game...which the ACC is, just in case you weren't aware :)