This can only be from one cause. I haven't been playing any Space Empires. Why? Not in the mood for it.   No qualified opponents left in the game either.   Most moved on to that abomination, Space Empires 5, while others simply moved on to greener pastures. As fore me...

I actually managed to hook myself on First Person Shooters, such as Halo, Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead and such. It's fun to unwind every down and then with virtual testosterone pissing contests of button mashing expertise.  It's good to take breaks. I wanted to blend some elements I enjoyed from other games with my experiences in Space Empires, hopefully providing a nice blend of ideas which I used to be so prolific with and well known for doing.

Enter Commander Veldander.

He's simply the persona, the character of Hyperion Base Shipworks Depot. One of the many online persona I maintain for shits and giggles. He's also the most recent addition to, as Lord Kodos dubs them, Hadrian-Men.

So let us begin planning the updates. Current update plans call for 4 updates per month, one per week.

1. Space Empires III Salvage - I'll be posting a cleaned up and reviewed vintage space empires 3 ship style for download. I'll also make every due attempt to offer Space Empires Online versions of SE3 vintage sets.
2. Space Empires IV Shipworks - In week two, I'll review and post a collectible Space Empires 4 race style. My own personal collection will be updated and revised to the final editions, exclusively posted here first. Who knows, I might even get up the urge to post a new set or two if responses are good.
3. Inside Space Empires - A week 3 column where I'll post about images, news, and events in Space Empires that I feel are valuable to know or general updates from the various developers and community leaders.
4. Week 4 will be for a random topic from one of the previous weeks, a short piece of fiction, combat report, or just my ramblings.  I'll think of something.

And if we have a five week month? Screw it, I'm taking it off. Personal time for me.

Yes, I know I vowed to never get involved in the Space Empires Community again in terms of community, competition, etc. Ever! And I'm holding true to that. This site isn't a violation of that vow. Let me tell you what happened that prompted this.

S ee, I was fed up, pissed off, and managed to spectacularly destroy my standings in the space empires community with the space empires community.   There was too much politics, power playing, and games going on that wasn't space empires related I just finally had enough and left. And so let it rot. I didn't care any more. The fact remains is that the game was no longer fun for me and I left without a word.  That didn't stop speculation and theories from forming to the otherwise.

As a result, I've spent the last few years on other projects.

But just this last few months one of my old in-game foes and now a very good and knowledgeable friend came to me wanting to play a game of space empires 3. Not SE4 and not that abomination of a 4-x game called space empires 5. Well,  after about ten turns elapsed and we were having a boat load of fun relearning the game and trying to find each other. So I decided that I would launch this little corner of Rocket396 to redeclare my support for Space Empires III (and a little bit for SE4, but never 5) and have fun with my friends.

Good games are meant to be kept alive. And Space Empires  is a great game universe to play in.

Long Live Spreadsheet Empires in Space! And Welcome to the Hyperion Base Shipworks.