Site of the Week -- April 12, 1999
heForce.net is possibly the most extensive fan-run Star Wars site on the Web. This exhaustive resource, which is well known to the folks over at LucasFilm, carries daily news about all things Star Wars, from books and prequels to comics and games. The news is usually first-rate, and The Force is clearly with these fans: over the years they've had more than their fair share of scoops, thanks to a vast array of spies and tipsters.
But there's more to this site than just breaking news stories. In fact, most visitors will probably never have time to explore every nook and cranny of TheForce.net, which includes trivia questions, an address list of famous Star Wars personnel, fan fiction, an art museum, and even other Web sites. One of the more interesting sections is a page devoted to false rumors about the various prequels, while one of the most useful is an area that lists upcoming coverage of Star Wars on TV, in magazines and in other media.
All in all, this is a site that's a must-visit for any serious Star Wars watcher. And hopefully this is one force that will be with fans...ahem...always.
-- Craig E. Engler
Site of the Week -- April 5, 1999
ake the rudeness of South Park, mix in the high-brow science
fiction of Babylon 5, and the result is Babylon Park, a site that
lampoons both shows. Instead of Cartman and Kenny, Babylon Park has Fartass, the engineer of the Not-So-Great-Machine ("It has many guns, but we no use them--it make good snow cone though") and Koshi, the alien ambassador with a bad habit of dying.
Naturally this site will make the most sense to fans of South Park and Babylon 5. References to characters like Johnny "Nuke 'em" Sherman, who won "Best Use of a Nuclear Device" during the Minboring-Earth War, just won't work for those who have never watched B5.
Those who are familiar with both series will enjoy the Babylon Park episodes, which are animated shorts available for download in Real Media format. Each one is rendered digitally, but they retain the cardboard feel of South Park. References to other classics, like Star Wars and Tron, abound, so even complete B5 neophytes will get a few chuckles from this site.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- March 29, 1999
panning light years and star systems, Starshield is a role-playing game hybrid that features a professionally crafted science fiction universe augmented and expanded by its fans.
At the site's core is the Starshield universe, which was created by novelists Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. It's a universe where "relativity" is taken to new heights. According to Starshield physics, the universe is broken into areas with different physical rules. In one, magic is possible. In another, faster-than-light travel is commonplace.
The authors let their fans build around this core. Using role-playing rules developed for the site, fans can create their own "empires" based on the series. Where Starshield differs from traditional games is that its fans are encouraged to post their thoughts, ideas and stories.
Bad links and unfinished pages occasionally mar Starshield, but it is still recovering from a bad crash earlier this year. Snags aside, the site delivers on its promises, providing a place where fans can get in on the ground floor of a new universe.
-- Kenneth Newquist
