Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Game Related

Turn Processing


Rules

  • Q: Can warships carry money (£ Louisdore) ?
  • Q: How do I demolish a baggage train to recycle its economic points?
  • Q: Can you explain the rule about the presence of enemy brigades and barracks?
  • Q: Can unfederated brigades with colonial troop (KT) battalions move over unowned co-ordinates in the colonies without conquering them?
  • Q:Can there be more than one simulated battle on a coordinate?
  • Q:How many nations can be involved in a ship battle?


Q: I played the paper version of Austerlitz. Is this the same game?
A:  Yes, this is the same Austerlitz PBM that has been played in Europe for over a decade, except you will use a Microsoft Windows graphical user interface (GUI) to view your turn and write your orders. 

Q: I am new to Austerlitz. Where do I start?
A:  Look at our introduction page About Austerlitz and download the GUI and some example empires.  Download the rules and begin looking at those, too.  If you have any questions, email us at GM@austerlitz.biz.  Or click the Forum link at left to visit our message board to ask questions or see player comments.

Q: What are your polices regarding take over of "free" empires?
A:  Empires are declared "free" when a player drops an otherwise viable position.  "Free" empires are discounted $2.00 USD per turn.  For each turn that orders are not submitted for the "free" empire, a player receives 5 free production site and 2 free brigade (line troops, EF5) builds (M and T also receive 2 free large corsair builds).  Email us if you want to take over an empire.

Q: How do I pay?
A:  We use the secure online payment service PayPal, which accepts credit cards and in some countries bank account information.  See our signup page, or Paypal.com.

Q: I can not get PayPal to work. 
A:  Some people have had trouble getting PayPal setup correctly.  It also takes time to get your account activated.  If you try a few times and continue to have trouble, contact us.

Q: How does a game start?
A:  Once all 16 positions have been reserved and all players setup their PayPal accounts the game will start.  At this time you will receive your empire start position, which is identical to the example empire positions available for download, except that the contact information will be updated.

Q: How long does a game last?
A:  For the standard two week turnaround game, one year of real time will equal two years of game time.  Games will typically go into the year 1812 or 1813, so your game could last 2-3 years.

Q: How do I win?
A:  The game ends when the players declare that one empire or an alliance of up to 3 empires has won.  Although your invasions may have gone sour, there is always next time. 

Q: I missed the orders submission deadline.  What now?
A:  We do try very hard to ensure that all players submit orders by the 5 PM GMT deadline.  But, we are obligated to the other players in the game to process turns in a timely manner.  If we have not heard from you then we can only assume you do not plan to submit orders this turn.  If you email us before hand and let us know, we will try to extend the deadline for you.  Just let us know.

Q: I'm going on holiday and will not be able to submit orders for a deadline. Help?
A:  Email us as soon as you know you'll completely miss a turn deadline and cycle.  We'll try to work something out to get your orders in. We are also working on software for online submission via the world wide web.

Q: What happens when a player fails to submit orders for a Simulated Battle?
A:  The battle is still processed.  Federations that do not have orders are lined up in order in the front of their setup area.  All federations will receive order 33 alternate order 0 (shoot at anything).  For the attacking empire this will continue until Round 15, at which time they will retreat the battlefield and lose the battle.  If a defender (co-ordinate owner) does not submit orders, its federations will line up but not automatically retreat.

Q: There is an error in my turn report.  What do I do?
A:  First, take a look at the error codes and determine if the error could have been caused by the actions of another player, for example, another empire bought goods before you, or they moved their merchant ship before you could load your brigade onto it.  If you still aren't sure, send us an email.

Q: There is an error in my turn report and its your fault.
A:  We have tested our software for three years, but sometimes a bug slips through.  Please accept our apologies, and we'll fix the problem and do our best to right the situation.

Q: There is an error in my turn report.  I lost a battle because of it.  I should win the battle and get the co-ordinate.
A:  This is important.  We have worked hard to create software designed not to make errors, but it always seems to happen sometimes in play-by-mail games.  If a turn has to be re-processed, we will try to inform all players immediately, and will reprocess and email the updated turns.  Sometimes this will fix a problem you had.  Othertimes you will have a fantastic victory "negated" because we made a mistake and you really should have lost.  We think the games will run better if everyone knows we will always correct these mistakes (even if it makes us look stupid).  But every time there is an error it is usually something we can fix so it never happens again.

Q: How does the newsletter work?
A:  You can write as many newsletter articles as you wish.  These are sent with a player's turn report.  Newsletters can be anonymous or signed, consist of gossip, rumors, or declarations of war (or peace), and are usually written in character.  We ask that you write newsletter articles without foul language and avoid the usual sensitive subjects such as race and religion.

Q: How does diplomatic mail work?
A:  Diplomatic mail is sent with a turn report only to the empire you specified.  Even if you do not sign the diplomatic mail, your empire will be identified.

Q: Can warships carry money (Louisdore) ?
A:  No, the rules do not allow it.

Q: How do I demolish a baggage train to recycle its economic points?
A: No, the rules do not allow this, either.

Q: Can you explain the rule about the presence of enemy brigades and barracks?
A: This may be different than other versions of Austerlitz run in Germany or Greece.  If enemy brigades (brigades of a country at war with you, or with which you are at war) are on the same co-ordinate as one of your barracks, the following orders will not work: (-03-) Build Brigades, (-04-) Add Additional Battalion, (-05-) Increase Headcount, (-06-) Increase Experience and (-13-) Build Fortress.  There are two exceptions to this rule: 1) the barracks is a Trade City; 2) the barracks is a large fortress.

Q: Can unfederated brigades with colonial troop (KT) battalions move over unowned co-ordinates in the colonies without conquering them?
A: No, if a brigade meets the colonial troop requirements it will always conquer unowned territory in the colonies.

Q: Can there be more than one simulated battle on a coordinate?
A: No, there can be only one simulated battle on a coordinate per turn, regardless of the empires involved.

Q: How many nations can be involved in a ship battle?
A: Ship battles can be 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, or 3 vs. 1. Empires must be allied to fight the same enemy.