This document describes how we run Hundred Years War, and what sort of nasty things players are not allowed to do so that all players can enjoy the game.
Hundred Years War is a social game, and much of the entertainment value comes from interaction between players. To a large extent, the players in each game of Hundred Years War keep the peace and create a society of their own. Players decide what is reasonable, or unreasonable behavior in any given game.
There are, however, certain things you can't do. You are bound our Terms of Service (TOS), while you are playing Hundred Years War, and anybody who persistently breaks TOS will be locked out of the game. The following no-no's are the Terms of Service and the Hundred Years War staff can't get you any exemptions.
Hundred Years War is a sophisticated, adult game. That means that we deal with more adult themes than the usual game including: raising a family, economics, sex, power, intrigue, seduction, corruption and money, rather than casting spells or operating high tech weapons. People of all ages play Hundred Years War, but by and large, Hundred Years War appeals more to adult, mature users. Therefore, we expect our players to behave in a mature and adult fashion. When they do not, we reserve the right to step in and deal with them.
The purpose of this policy document is not to limit your enjoyment of The Hundred Years War, but to request that you use some common sense and show consideration for the other players, so that everyone will have a good time in each Hundred Years War game.
Bad Language
There are certain words that you cannot say on television, or that you would not (we hope) use in front of your mother. Don't use them here either. When in doubt, err on the side of caution. This covers in game postings, posts to HYW bulletin boards and discussions in our Interactive Court, Jousting areas and Chat Rooms. HYW is an historical game and as such many of our players have access to and understanding of cursing and inappropriate words in other languages (Latin and the Medieval forms of French and English being the most prevalent). This is perfectly acceptable within the limits we have set. Be aware that while bawdiness and a certain degree of salaciousness will be tolerated, or even encouraged, there is a line between good fun and deliberate abuse of this policy. We reserve the right to make judgements as appropriate.
Harassment
Hundred Years War is a wargame as well as a role playing game, and you are expected to torment and abuse other players in the course of a game. But make sure you do it In Character (IC). If you persist in Out of Character (OOC) harassment or abusive behavior in any HYW run venue, you may find yourself not only unpopular with your fellow gamers, but also removed from games. If you're unsure whether what you are about to do to another player is going too far, ask a Herald or a Sysop and they will advise you. Many of the Staff are experts in the art of legal abuse.
Offensive Behavior
Defined as "That which prevents another player from enjoying Hundred Years War", this covers such behaviors as: Bombing, Position Surfing, Trashing Positions and so on. These behaviors usually involve someone who is in the game for the sole purpose of making the game unplayable for others.
Death in Hundred Years War
There are many ways to die in Hundred Years War, and provided you make sure your Player Character (PC) has an heir, your deaths will be no more than an inconvenience. If you have the misfortune to see your PC die without an heir, and you are not playing one of the few player positions that automatically regenerates, then you are out of that game. There is no recourse in this matter. Hundred Years War is a realistic, historical game and death plays its part. If you die without heirs, your line has come to an end and you must either join another game or rejoin the game you have been playing in to get a new PC.
Account Restrictions
HYW does not restrict the number of aliases or positions that you may play with your account, although you are restricted to 3 aliases per game. Because of this policy and to combat the position surfing, bombing, cross nationals and other troublesome behaviors, we do restrict you to one account per household/email address.
Please Note: If you currently have more than one HYW account, please contact us and let us know so that we can combine your accounts for you. If you don't contact us, we will probably be contacting you very soon.
Coping With Changes (Policy on Bugs and Programming Related Game Errors)
One of the big advantages of online games is that they are constantly upgrading and changing. However, with this constant bug fixing and addition of new features come the occasional problems.
Hundred Years War is constantly upgraded to make things easier and more enjoyable for the players. We welcome your suggestions, comments and ideas about the game. Many of our best features are a direct result of player suggestions. Because we are constantly developing Hundred Years War, the game is offered for play "as is". We consider that players are paying for the enjoyment of playing Hundred Years War, and to make that possible we must constantly work on the game software. This work on Hundred Years War is done to make Hundred Years War even more fun to play. New software is tested thoroughly in experimental games before being put into player games, but no matter how carefully run the tests may be, sometimes errors creep in. They are generally picked up and corrected within hours.
Occasionally problems happen that are beyond our control. We will try to make things right in such cases, but if a large number of players or an entire game or games are affected it may not be possible to repair all of the negative effects. We reserve the right to make awards (in ducats, the currency of the game) in compensation or to declare the problem to be an "Act of God" and allow the game to proceed without adjustment. Our decisions will be made with an eye to fairness for all players and to the balance of the game.
We will not reinstate any loss due to problems with your connection to your ISP, typing errors, faults in your software or your computer system. We do not support the use of third party software, including macros, while you play Hundred Years War and we won't reinstate losses caused by their use.
Always keep your alias and password secure. If you allow another person to use your alias to log onto Hundred Years War, we will not repair any damage they cause to your position or reputation.
We have purposely kept our guidelines general because we consider our players capable of behaving in a mature, adult fashion without having rules and regulations laid down in minute detail. However, should anyone show that they are unable to abide by the spirit of these terms and conditions, we may provide them with a more stringent set of rules to cover their activities. In extreme cases, we reserve the right to stop your participation in Hundred Years War, either temporarily or permanently.
In all matters regarding Hundred Years War, the decision of the Chief Sysop is final and we reserve the right to terminate any customer's participation in Hundred Years War without any further explanation.
By playing Hundred Years War you are agreeing to abide by the terms and conditions of this document.
We hope you enjoy playing Hundred Years War. If you have any comments or questions, please contact us.
Now, on that cheerful note, may we wish you happy gaming...