from: Apple II TextFiles http://www.textfiles.com/apple/ +-------------------------------------+ | Universe Documention | | | +-------------------------------------+ +-------------------------------------+ | A T-Men & Wareforce Dox File | +-------------------------------------+ +-------------------------------------+ | Typed up by | | The Camel Jockey | +-------------------------------------+ +-------------------------------------+ | Special Thanx to | | Silicon Warrior | | & | | A.P.G | +-------------------------------------+ +------------------------------+ | How to Operate Your Starship | +------------------------------+ +------------+ | Hyperdrive | +------------+ Theory of Operation: The hyperdrive is a propulsion system that allows travel at faster-than-light speeds by pusing the spacecraft into an alternate dimension-set called hyperspace. Once in hyperspace, the spacecraft is no longer subject to the rules which govern motion in normal space. Due to the chaotic nature of hyperspace, the aiming system used in reentry is only accurate enough to return the user to a particular star, not a particular planet. Application: The hyperdrive is used to tracel between startsystems. It is not accurate enough to use for interplanetary travel. Hyperdrive motors are equipped with the special feature, overload. Overloading the hyperdrive will destroy any other ships within a 50,000 meter radius. It should only be used for emergencies, since it severly damages your hyperdrive. Warnings: Never attempt to operate the hyperdrive with an orbital radius of less than 20,000 kilometers or damage may result. Never attempt to make trips of less than 1 light-year; i.e., 0 light-years, as damage may result. +-----------------+ | Sub-Light Drive | +-----------------+ Theory of Operation: The sub-light drive comes in several different forms. some depend on ejecting matter at very high velocities while others use controlled gravity to drive the ship forward in space. Due to the speed of light being an absolute limit on anything traveling in normal space, a trip between even the closest of starsystesm would take years using sup-light drive. Applications: The sub-light drive is used for travel between planets in the same starsystem and manuevering between objects in orbit about a planet. +--------+ | Bridge | +--------+ Theory of Operation: The bridge is the section of the ship where the captain resides. Application: The bridge is not actually featured in the game except that it is assumed the captain is in it while giving commands. Warning: The ship is destroyed and the game ends if bridge damage goes below 1 damage point. +--------------+ | Accumulators | +--------------+ Theory of Operation: The accumulators are the intermediate storage area between power generation and consumption. They are nothing more than high-efficiency large-capacity batteries. Converters can only provide a slow, steady current while some application, such as using the hyperdrive, require brief bursts of enormous power. The accumulators can provide this capability by storing power over a period of time and releasing it instantly. Application: Power flow through the accumulators is automatic. +-----------+ | Converter | +-----------+ Theory of Operation: The converter tracnsforms Ore IV (a radioactive isotope of hydrogen) into electrical energy. Application: The converter operates automatically any time the power leve in the accumulators is less than the power required for a particular job. When the converter is running, it produces a low "whirring" sound. If there is not enough Ore IV for the amount of power required, the computer will beep rapidly and fail to complete its current job. The converter will automatically deplete your Ore IV supply. Warning: The ship is destroyed and the game ends if converter damage goes below 1 damage points. +-----------------+ | Docking Adapter | +-----------------+ Theory of Operation: Attached to the exterior of the ship, the docking adapter seals around the outside of another ship's airlock. this allows transfer of goods and personnel to be conducted without the need of breathing equipment. Applications: the adapter is used to transfer bouading troops into a target ship and transfer captured goods back to the attacking ship. It is automatically used when you are boarding another spacecraft in the Weapons section. +----------------------+ | Inertial Compensator | +----------------------+ Theory of Operation: The intertial compensator creates a localized internal gravity field in the spacecraft. Application: A sup-light drive will produce sufficient acceleration to squash the crew inside a spacecraft. The inertial compensator protects the crew from the effects of acceleraton by creating an artificial internal gravity field that protects the crew from acceleration. Note: If you do not have an inertial compensator, your maximun acceleration will be limited to 3 gravities. +-----------------+ | Orbital Scanner | +-----------------+ Theory of Operation: The orbital scanner is a sophisticated radar that detect objects spacecraft-size bodies on a solar scale. It cannot generate a picture or discern particular features of an object, it can only tell if something is there. Application: The scanner is used to find drydock, high resolution scanning targets, attacking spacecraft, planets orbiting about a star, and the spacecraft's position in space. Important: The user must be within range of a scanning beacon to produce an orbital scan. The scanning beacon is a satellite located at an orbital radius equal to five times the radius of the planet. +------------------+ | Resource Scanner | +------------------+ Theory of Operation: The resource scanner is used to scan planetary surfaces for traces of Ores I-IV and indicate optimum mining sites. Application: The resource scanner is automatically switched on when the user begins mining sites and displays ore concentration, natural hostility, and population sophistication daya on each one. This enables you to select the site with the best danger of payoff ratio. +-------------------------+ | High Definition Scanner | +-------------------------+ Theory of Operation: The high definition scanner uses a large part of the electromagnetic spectrum in order to produce a highly detailed picture of an object and an account of the spacecraft's most probable configuration. Application: The high definition scanner can be used to determine whether a particular target presents a threat. it can also be used to find choice targets to board and plunder. +-------------+ | Missle Rack | +-------------+ Theory of Operation: A term referring to the system of racks, conveyors, and lifts used to bring missles fro its storage area into firing position. Application: The storage of missles occurs automatically as they are purchased. Warning: If the missle rack is destroyed, all your ship's missles will be lost. +-----------------+ | Missle Launcher | +-----------------+ Theory of Operation: The missle launcher launches the missles and provides primary course guidance. Application: Operation of the missle launcher occurs automatically as firing is requested. +-------+ | Laser | +-------+ Theory of Operation: The lasers used as weaponry are the flexible-aperture micropulse type. They emit entese beams of coherent light to blind or puncture enemy targets. Application: The laser can be used for defense or offense against targets in orbit. Note that the laser cannot be aimed at ground targets (it diffuses and becomes ineffective) or at drydocks (programmed inhibition). +------------------+ | Shield Generator | +------------------+ Theory of Operation: the shield generator contains a very fast scanner that checks space around the ship for incoming fire. Within 10 millionths of a second after the scanner detects and incoming object or energy beam, the shield generator shoots a pulse of intense gravity. The gravity either destorys the object, as in the case of a missle, or it distorys and difusses it, as in the case of laser beam. Application: Functioning of the shield generator is automatic and occurs whenever you are fired upon. The shield may only be able to stop a fraction of the incoming fire. +---------------------------+ | Electronic Countermeasure | +---------------------------+ Theory of Operation: Electronic warfare dates back to the late Twentieth Century (Common Era) and the basic elements are still the same. Electronic countermeasure, or ECM, is the process of jamming your opponent's tracking radar and missle guidance systems. This dramatically reduces the odds of an incoming missle hitting your ship. Application: The ECM will automatically jam missiles as they come in. +-----------------+ | Assult Capsules | +-----------------+ Theory of Operation: Assault capsules are electro-gravitically driven space shuttles used to land troops on the surface. They are heavily armoured and contain two or more VoigtEffect cannons. Application: The assault capsule is used to clear a hostile area prior to deplyment of ore processors. +------------+ | Crew Armor | +------------+ Theory of Operation: Crew armor is used to protect the crew from injury and supply additional speed and payload capacity during boarding or ground assaults. Application: The computer will automatically ask you for armor when it is needed. You may have only one unit of armor per crew member. +---------------+ | Ore Processor | +---------------+ Theory of Operation: An ore processor is a gaint mining platform that can land on the surface of habitable and airless worlds. It has no defense capability +---------------+ | Cargo Hold | +---------------+ Theory of Operation: The cargo hold stores up to eighty (80) items of varying size in an atmosphere controlled enviorment. Application: Cargo is automatically stored in the cargo hold. Warning: If the cargo hold is destroyed, all the cargo inside is lost. +-----------------+ | Cryogenic Vault | +-----------------+ Theory of Operation: The cryogenic vault is a low-temperature (98 degrees K) storage area for passengers and prisoners. Putting non-essential personnel into suspended animation greatly reduces operating costs and accomodations size. A person entering the vauld it pumped full of cryo-protectant and his body temperature is reduced to that of liguid nitrogen. The thawing precess i rapid and a certain percentage of revivals fail. Application: The cryogenic vauld can be used most profitable to carry emigrants to other worlds. Many planets need hard-working immigrants. Underpopulated worlds encourage immigration with kickbacks to transport captains such as yourself. Passengers are placed into the cryogenic vault automatically after returing from a Starport or completing a ship-to-ship boarding in Weapons. Note: To find the loading status of the cryogenic vault, check the miscellaneous section of Report Status and look under the heading of "passengers." +-----------------+ | Orbital Shuttle | +-----------------+ Theory of Operation: The orbital shuttle is an electro-gravitic transport used for starport-to-ship operations. Application: The orbital shuttle is used to carry cargo, migrants and ore to and from starports. Warning: Orbital shuttles have extremly limited range, usually less than 1500 kilometers. It is necessary to manuever your spacecraft in an extremly low orbit to facilitate their use. +------------+ | Autodoctor | +------------+ Theory of Operation: The atuodoctor is a complex medical computer/robot able to diagnose and tread a myriad of illnesses and injuries. Application: The autodoctor is used to heal boarding casualities only. It will operate automatically whenever you are running the Boarding section of Weapons. +-------------+ | Ore Storage | +-------------+ Theory of Operation: Ore storage is the series of compartments where ore is stored on your ship. Application: Ore is automatically placed and removed in the section of the ship. +---------------+ | Crew Quarters | +---------------+ Theory of Operation: The crew quarters are the section of the ship which contain the sleeping, food preparation, recreation, and sanitary facilities for the crew. Application: Crew usage of these facilities is automatic. +-------------+ | Rescue Pods | +-------------+ Theory of Operation: Rescue pods are a collection of 50 to 200 small plastic spheres, each with a 2 hour air supply. Application: Rescue pods are used for mass personnel transfer without the need for a docking adapter. +----------+ | Computer | +----------+ Theory of Operation: A machine which precesses data using predefined instructions which are provided by the programs kept in mass storage. Application: The computer is used to control many of the systems on the ship. A particular program is required for a particular system. Warning: The ship is destroyed and the game ends if computer damage goes below 1 damage point. Warning: The ship is destroyed and the game ends if computer damage goes below 1 damage point. +---------------------+ | Navigation & Orbits | +---------------------+ The area of space containing the Local Group is divide into a cubic volume of space 200 light years on a side. Appendix A contains a list of stars and their coordinates within this cube. Note that the home star of the Local Group, Hope, lies at the center of the cube. Navigation from star to star is accomplished using hyperspace. The X, Y, and Z coordinates of your destination are fed to the hyperspace navigation program and the rest is handled by the computer. A hyperspace jump, regardless of the distance, takes 6.8 days. Navigation within a solar system is accomplished using sub-light engines. In order to move from planet to planet, you need to feed te sub-light navigation program the current coordinates of the planet. Since plantes move, their locations cannot be presented in a table. Rather, the current coordinates of a destination planet can be obtained from the solar scan in the sub-light drive section. The coordinates for a planet are given in spherical coordinates, with one slight modification. When arriving at a planet, you are placed into a standard orbit which is to be defined as an orbit with a radius four times the radius of the planet. All other coordinates for the orbit are zero. Changing planetary orbits are also accomplished using sub-light engines. For planetary orbits, it is necessary to feed the sublight navigation program the coordinates for the new orbit. +------------------------------------+ | Operation of the On-Board Computer | +------------------------------------+ The computer system abord your ship consists of a computer processor and a mass storage unit. These units work together to perform all computer activites aboard your ship. The mass storage unit stores the programs, while the computer processor executes them. There are ten computer programs that you may purchase to run on your computer. Two of these programs, sub-light navigation and hyperspace navigation, are absolutely essential to operate your ship. The following is a description of each of the ten programs: +--------+ | Weapon | +--------+ Controls the loading and aiming of missiles and lasers. +----------+ | Autofire | +----------+ This program is not currently implemented. +--------------------+ | Amphibious Assault | +--------------------+ This program controls the descent and deployment of assualt capsules. It must be running for assault capsule use. +---------+ | Defense | +---------+ The Defense program causes systems aboard your ship to emit random radio-pulses in an effort to confuse incoming missiles. +----------+ | Resource | +----------+ Controls scanning of a planet surface for valuable ores. Must be used to land ore processors. +---------+ | Docking | +---------+ Performs all computations necessary in order to dock your ship with either another ship or a drydock. Docking attemps will not be allowed if this prgram is not running. +-----------------+ | Shuttle Control | +-----------------+ Controls the ascent and descent of orbital shuttles. Must be running to land orbital shuttles. +------------------+ | Sub-c Navigation | +------------------+ Performs all computations necessary in order to execute a sub-light nameuver. In addition, this prgram actually controls the ship attitude and engine thrust to make the maeuver totally automatic. If this prgram is not running, no sublight maneuvers will be permitted. +-----------------------+ | Hyperspace Navigation | +-----------------------+ Performs all computations necessary in order to execute a hyperspace jump. If this prgram is not running, no hyperspace traver will be permitted. +--------+ | Market | +--------+ Analyzes the cargo aboard your ship to determine the category (ie. food, narc, arti) of each piece. If this program is not running, you will not be able to determine the category of each piece of cargo. Each of these programs has a characteristic called timeshare. This is the about of time-space the program occupies in the computer processor and mass storage. Appendix D contains a list of programs and their timeshare values. For instance, the resource program takes up two timeshare units. From Apendix C, under processors, you can see that the Alkis 2 processor can hold up to 12 timeshare units. This means that the Resource program consumes 2/12 of the processor space. Also from Appendix C, under Mass Storage, you can see that the Skandis unit can store up to twenty-five timeshare units. Thus the resource program consumes 2/25 of the storage space. It is important to not however, that processor space is only used when program is running. Storage space on the other hand is used regardless of the run state of the program. Aprogram in mass storage has three characteristics: Status, Load State, and Priority. All three of these chracteristics can be viewed or changed by you at any time in the Program Control section. The status of a program may either be "run" or "halt". If the status is read or set to "run", the program is in operation and uses up processor space. A "halt" condition suspends execution and frees up processor space. The status condition does not affect storage space. The load state of a program may either be "auto" or "manual". If a program is set to maual, the status of that program can only be changed by you. A program in auto can have its status changed by the computer itself. For instance, if the hyperspace navigation program were in a halt status with auto load, the computer could begin executing that program if needed. If you attempt to plot a hyperspace jump, the computer will run the program automatically without your having to change the status manually. The priority value of a program is only meaningful if the program is set on auto load. Priority values range from zero to nine, with nine having the highest priority. If the computer encounters the need to run a program which is set to auto load, it will first check if there is enough free space in the processor. If there is, it will simply go ahead and execute the program. If not enough free space exists, the computer will attempt to halt another auto load program. The only auto load prgram the computer will halt are programs with the same or lower priority than one it is trying to run. If the computer cannot free up enough space, it will abort the attempt. +-----------------------------+ | Commerce in the Local Group | +-----------------------------+ In the Local Group, the basic currency is the credit. The credit is fixed by the Interworld Trade Commission as being equivalent in value to one unit of Ore IV. This frees the interstellar trader from the problesm of barter and exchange difficulties usually found between currencies. Since Ore IV is a common substance but tedios to refine, it provides a stable monetary base. One of your primary goals, as an interstellar merchant, is to earn money. The four major sources of revenue available to you are: mining, trade in products, passenger transport, and piracy. +--------+ | Mining | +--------+ Mining is a fairly straightforward way of earning or actually producing money. It requires at least one ore processor, a resource scanner, a resource program for your computer, and many crewman. In addition, depending how intent you are in your pursuit of ore, you may need a few assault capsules and their various operating paraphenalia. Once the ore has been mined and refined, you bring it to a starport money exchange where it is converted into credits. The disadvantages of mining are numerors. The success of a trip out to a mining world depends on how rich the deposits ore are. The process of mining ore is very dangerous and tedious. The worst disadvantage for the beginning merchant is the enormous start-up cost. The equipment required for a resonabley profitable mining expedition comes to well over 50,000 credits. +---------+ | Trading | +---------+ The object of trading is to buy an item on a world where it is commonplace and relatively inexpensive and bring it to a world with a slightly lower sophistcation and run the price up 250%. Multiply that by the 80 products you can carry at a time and you can see the amount of profit involved in a successful trip. A Starport will offer products only within the range of numbers that have the same ten digit as the port's sophistication. Example, if Grotto's starport has a sophistication of 76, it will offer products that range in sophistication from 70 to 79 (notice these all start with the same tens digit). The value of a product is based on its sophistication and its base price (a value you will never know exactly). If the product has a base price of 7000 and a sopistication of 73, on Grotto it would sell for approximately 6500 credits. Contrawise, if a product has a base price of 7000 and a sophistication of 79, it would sell for about 7500. Other merchants at a starport will buy products that are up to 9 sophistication points greater than the starport's sophistication of 85, merchants at the Grotto starport will buy it. The best method of trading is to buy products with a sophistication slightly less than the sophistication of the starport of the starport you are at. For example, merchants on Grotto are trying to get rid of a product with a sophistication of 73, because on Grotto it's not current technology. You buy that product for a reduced price and bring it to the Stowe starport (sophistication = 67) where it's suddenly the latest thing! Plan on making a 250% profit. You must take into account a planet's culture as well as its sophistication. On Rouvchorra (culture = 4 Formation f Aristocratic States), for example, many product types are illegal and will be confiscated if you try to bring them down to the starpost. Consult Appendix G to make sure none of the types of products you bring down to a planet are illegal. +---------------------+ | Passenger Transport | +---------------------+ Some planets in the Local Group have a surplus of people. Other planets are rapidly expanding and need all the manpower they can get. The object of passenger transport is to take people from a planet in the former category and take them to a planet in the latter. Planets offering emigrants will actually pay you to take people away. Planets that need people will pay you for immigrants. The problem is that many cultures do not accept transportees and all of them want people who are at least 1 and no more than 10 sophistication points greater that of the planet. Transport captains can expect over 1000 credits per passenger on a well-planned run. +--------+ | Piracy | +--------+ In orbit above many of the planets, complete anarchy is the rule. Properly armed, you can profit from this situation. To capture another spacecraft, however, is a long and dangerous process. You must carefully analyze your target and be able to outmaneuver it into a forced docking. Your troops must be stronger and better equipped than your target's to successfully capture it. Once captured, though, the ship's entire crew are your prisoners, all their credits and ore are yours, and all their cargo. But only if you live. +-------------+ | Using Menus | +-------------+ The Flight and Starport disks are "menu drive". This means that all sections are accessed by selecting the section from a menu (or list) of sections on the screen. When a menu is displayed on the screen, you will see a pointer that points to one of the sections on the menu. This pointer may be moved from section to section by pressing the option key. To run a section, you must first use the option key to move the pointer to that section. Pressing the select key will then run the section. To exit a menu and return tothe previous menu (if any), press the start key. This procedure is used for all menus in the game. +----------------------------------+ | Sound Effects and their Meanings | +----------------------------------+ There are several sound effects that are used throughout Universe. These are detailed as follows: +-------------------+ | Ship Under Attack | +-------------------+ If your ship is hit by an enemy weapon, you will hear a sound that resembles an explosion. When this {ound occurs, one of the parts abourd your ship may take some damage or be destroyed. Upon hearino this noise, you should either transfer to a different orbit (in an attempt to escape the attaacker) or fire back. +-----------------------+ | Ore Converters in Use | +-----------------------+ Whenever the ore converters run, you will hear a whirring sound. This sound will last from a few seconds to as long as a minute, depending on how much ore is being converted. A few short beeps will occur if you run out of ore during the conversion process. +---------------------------+ | Mortgage, Buying a Ship | | & | | Creating the Players Disk | +---------------------------+ +---------+ |Mortgage | +---------+ +---------+ | Purpose | +---------+ Here is where the game begins. In order to purchase a ship and supplies, you need money. Since stealing is out of the question (morals are assumed here), you must take out a loan. The Central Bank of Axia, so you hear, is the easiest to borrow from. In fact, they don't even do a credit check! +-----------+ | Operation | +-----------+ The back, being located at the commercial center of the Local Group, sees a lot of your type looking to buy a ship. Thus, they have devised a load called the "Merchant's Loan Package". The total value of this package is 300,000 credits and includes the following: +----------+---------+----------------+---------------+--------+--------------+ | Part # | Sys # | System Name | Type | Quan | Cost (Units) | +----------+---------+----------------+---------------+--------+--------------+ | | | | | | | | 00 | 00 | Hyperdrive | Quantum Div | 00001 | 35,000 | | 04 | 01 | Sub-Light Div | Ion | 00001 | 20,000 | | 11 | 02 | Bridge | Xorconn | 00001 | 03,500 | | 14 | 03 | Accumulators | Alkis Group | 00008 | 08,000 | | 17 | 04 | Converter | Fuel Cell | 00001 | 10,000 | | 88 | 36 | Processor | AE3504 | 00001 | 10,000 | | 93 | 37 | Mass Storage | Skandis | 00001 | 05,000 | | 27 | 07 | Orbital Scan. | Manx | 00001 | 10,000 | | 49 | 13 | Shield Gen. | Koto Co. | 00001 | 08,000 | | 68 | 26 | Cryogenic V. | Ageless Ind. | 00001 | 07,000 | | 71 | 27 | Orbital Shu. | Quentrix | 00001 | 10,000 | | 79 | 33 | Ore Storage | Baynus | 00001 | 02,000 | | 82 | 34 | Crew Quarters | Kraakobinir | 00001 | 02,000 | | n/a | n/a | Fuel | Ore IV | 15000 | 15,000 | | n/a | n/a | Hulls | Standard | 00031 | 77,500 | | | | | | | | +----------+---------+----------------+---------------+--------+--------------+ | | +--------------------------------------+--------------+ | Total Cost (if purchased Seperately) | 223,000 | +-----------------------+--------------+--------------+ | Package Cost | 173,000 | +--------------+--------------+ The part number and system number of the item in the package are given so that you may use appendix C to look up the specifics on the parts listed. You must, of course, eventually pay back the load. The payback periosd is flexible, however. You may choose any period between five and sixteen years. +----------------+ | Implementation | +----------------+ Payment of the load is done entirely at the end of the period. The nack officer will tell you what year the load is due based on your decision. If, for instance, the offiver informs you that the load is due in 112, you must apy the load between 112.00 and 112.99. Since you are paying interest on the loan, the longer the payback period you select, the more credits you will eventually have to pay. The bank officer will give you the current interst rate and the amount that will be due at the end of the load period. To pay back the load, you must visit the Axia drydock withing the due year. The customs agaent will guide you over to a back official and giv eyou the opportunity to pay the loan. You will also be required to give your name and the name of your ship to the bank officer. This is recorded on your loan agreement in the even that the back needs to locate you. You should enter you last name only. The goods will be sent to the Axia drydock where you can later place them on your ship. When you have finished obtaining your loan, you will be ushered over to the drylock to select a ship design. +---------------+ | Buying a Ship | +---------------+ +---------+ | Purpose | +---------+ Once you have secured a loan from the back, it is time to purchase a ship. You may use part of the 127,000 credits remaining from your "Merchant's Loan Package" to pay for the ship. +----------------+ | Implementation | +----------------+ You find yourself in the drydocks of Axia, talking with Zefrep, the sales manager. he will lead you over to a terminal from which you can view the current selections of ten ships. It is important to remember that these ships are merely framework, and that you must fill it with hulls and parts from the Merchant's Load Package in order to make it operational. A menu of ship names will appear on the screen. to obtain information on one of the designs, type the number corresponding to the name and then press the return key. The terminal will go blank for a few seconds while it accesses the proper information, then display the first of several screens of information on the ships. The top half of the screen will give you an angled view of the ship. The bottom half will relate the specifications of the ship. The specifications are defined as follows: +-------------------------------------+ | Designation...The model name for the| | design | + + | Company.......The company who | | constructed the ship | + + | Year..........The year construction | | was completed | + + | Price.........Current cost of | | purchase | + + | Length........Overall length of the | | ship in meters | + + | Beam..........Overall width of the | | ship in meters | + + | Draught.......Overall height of the | | ship in meters | + + | Mass..........Mass of the ship in | | millions of kilograms | + + | Max. Hulls....The maximum numbers of| | hulls the ship can | | hold | + + | Visibility....The overall visibility| | of the ship (this is a| | number between 0 and | | 99; the higher the | | number, the more | | visible the ship is to| | other ships.) | + + | Integrity.....The overall strucural | | integrity of the ship | | (this is a number | | between 0 and 99, the | | higher the number, the| | more strucurally sound| | the ship is.) | +-------------------------------------+ When you are finished reviewing the data, press the return key and the computer will access the next screen information. The last screen of data is a ship overview. When you are finished reviewing the data, hit the return key and you will find yourself back at the selection menu. You may now select another design to review. You can obtain additional information on the ships from Appendix H. This will list the size and visibilies for each section on the ship. Ships are divided into maximum of eight different sections. Each section is capable of holding a particular number of hulls. Hulls are the main measure of a parts size. The larger sections will be able to hold more hulls, therefore more parts. Sections also have visibility factor. This is a measure of how visible the individual section is to another ship. This is a value between one and ten inclusive. The higher the value, the more visible the section is. The more visible sections have the greatest chance of being hit by enemy fire. A good strateg is therefore to place vital parts in the section with te lower visibility factors. Once you are finished reviewing ship designs, you may purchase a ship by pressing the select key when at the selection menu. Zeprep will thn ask you which ship you want to purchase. To do this, press the number corresponding to the ship you want, then press the return key. The cost of the ship will automatically be deducted from the credits you have. The ship will be moved from the storag area to the drydock area so that you will later be able to place your hulls and parts aboard yur ship. +----------------------------+ | Creating the Player's Disk | +----------------------------+ +---------+ | Purpose | +---------+ This section will create the player's disk for the game. This is the disk that is used throughout the game to keep track of all the data on your ship. (See version specifics section for more information on this process.) +----------------+ | Implementation | +----------------+ While Zefrep is moving your ship into the drydock area, he will ask that you assist the computer in creating the player disk. You wil be asked to remove the construction disk from the disk drive, then press the return key. You will need a black disk to use as the player disk. The computer will ask you to place this disk in the disk drive and press the return key to begin formatting. The format procedure will take almost a minute. If the format is successful, the computer will ask you to replace the construction disk. The format may fail if the disk proves to be defective. In this case, the computer will allow you to place a different disk in the drive and try again. When you get a successful format and have replaced the constuction disk, the computer will then begin the process of moving data onto the player disk. Simply follow the instructions the omputer gives for inserting disks. Several disk insertions will need to be made during this process. Above all, be patient! Universe is a complex game that requires over three quarters of the space on the player disk for data. Zefrep will inform you when the process is complete. At this point, your ship, parts, and hulls are in position and you are ready to boot the computer with the flight disk. After booting the flight disk, you must proceed DIRECTLY to docking control (this is a section on the docking control menu). This section will allow you to place the parts included in the load onto your ship. after placing the parts, you must select purchase items (also on the docking control menu). Here, you will need to hire at least 10 crew members (you may wish to hire at least 15 if you plan to use orbital shuttles) and to purchase enough provisions to last them until you return to a drydock. This procedure must be followed in the given order. If you fail to do so, you may find yourself sitting in your ship with no parts or crew. This will end the game rather abruptly. +--------------+ | Drive System | +--------------+ +---------+ | Purpose | +---------+ This section will allow you to ue the sub-light and hyperspace drives to move from star to star, planet to planet, or change your planetary orbit. This section requires that the sub-light navigation program be running to use the sub-light engines, or the hyperspace navigation program be running to use the hyperspace engines. +----------------+ | Implementation | +----------------+ After selection drive system from the flight menu, the computer will display the drive system sub-menu. Select the sub-light drive for planet to planet or orbital transfers, or the hyperdrive for star to star transfers. +------------+ | Hyperdrive | +------------+ The computer will display a list of star names, their coordinates, and a visit flag which displays "Y" if you have visited there before, of "N" otherwise. Use the up and down arrow keys to select the starsystem you wish to visit. Note that you do not need to use the shift key when using the arrow keys. Near the top of the screen is an area for entering coordinates manually. This is used if the distance to your destination is too great for your drive an you must make several jumps. You may enter coordinates here by moving the starsystem pointer up to the amnual entry line (use the up arrow key). After positioning the starsystem pointer, you may then jump to or obtain daya on that system. At the far right hand side of the screen you will see a "visited" indicator that is set to "Y" if you have been to that system before, or an "N" if you have not. If the indicator is set to "Y", you may obtain data on the planets orbiting that star by pressing the option key. The planetary data will include the planet name, the sophistication levels of the drydock and starport (including of course whether or not the planet has a starport drydock), and the type of planet. You may return to the starsystem list by pushing the start key. You may select a star as your destination by pressing the select key. If the starsystem pointer is on the manual entry line, it will first be necessary to enter the proper coordinates. To do this, press the option key and a small cursor will appear after the "X". Enter the X, Y, and Z coordinates, pressing return after each. Then you may press the selection key to select those coordinates as your destination. You will now see the Local Group map as the hyperspace navigation program plots the appropriate coordinates. The source coordinates will be displayed on te left, while the destination is displayed on the right. The distance between the two locations is given at the center of the map, measured in light-years. The amount of energy needed for he jump is displayed at the bottom of the map. To make the jump, push the select key. To abort the jump, push the option key and you will return to the starsystem list. If the computer beeps when you push the select key, the hyperspace navigation program has rejected the jump due to insufficient energy or an illegal jump distance. Once the hyperspace navigation program has accepted a valid jump, the computer will begin calculating, fueling, and sequencing for the jump. Dont be alarmed if you see strange patterns of light on the screen. This is simply sensory distortion due to the hyperspace effect. providing you obeyed the orbital radius minimum for a hyperspace jump, you will find yourself at the destination. If you were too low in the orbit (less than 20,000 kilometers), you will find that you did not move. You may also have damaged your hyperdrive. To return to the drive system menu, you must first have the starsystem list displayed on the screen. Pushing the start key from this point will return you to the drive system menu. +-----------+ | Sub-Light | +-----------+ At the bottom of the screen is the status area. Here is where the computer displays the current scale, coordinates, selected object, and status. Upon entering sub-light drive, you will be in the select scale mode, use the option key to toggle between solar and planetary scales. the select key will activate that scale. The start key will activate that scale. The start key will return you to the drive systems sub-menu. +-------------+ | Solar Scale | +-------------+ If you select the solar scale, the computer will begin by doing a solar scan. This scan will look for all planets and stars for your current location. The star, if present will be displayed at the center of the display area. Planets will appear as dots, and your ship will appear as a dot with a box around it. The computer will switch to the destination select mode. To select your destination, use the option key. One of the dots will begin to blink, indicating the current object. Information on this object can be seen at the bottom of the screen. These objects are always planets, with the exception of the one object which is your ship. The data on the object includes the object name and its coordinates, displayed as rho, phi, and theta respectively. All angles are displayed in degrees. Pressing the option key again will select the next object. Continue pressing the option key again until the destination planet you want is displayed. At this point, press the select key to select the select the current object as your destination, or the start key to return tothe select scale mode. After selecting your destination, the sublight navigation program will make the appropriate computations. At the bottom of the screen you will see the following information: +-------------------------------------+ | Time........Time in minutes needed | | for the transfer | + + | Ore.........The amount of Ore IV | | needed | + + | Energy......The amount of energy | | needed | +-------------------------------------+ Push the select key to begin the transfer, or the start key to abort. If the computer beeps after pressing the slect key, the sub-light navigation program has rejected the transfer. This is due to either insufficient energy, ore, or the number of gravities of thrust needed for the maneuver is too great. During the transfer, time will be speeded up to approximately 500 game minutes per 1 second of real time. After the transfer, you will return to the select scale mode. +-----------------+ | Planetary Scale | +-----------------+ If you select the planetary scale, the computer will begin by doing an orbital scan, then a planetary scan. A polar view of the planet will appear at the center of the display. If your ship is within the range of the orbital beacon for the type of orbital scanner you have, one or more dots will appear, indicating objects in orbit. The computer will switch to the destination select mode and a cursor will apprear in the "rho" coordinate. You are now in the destination select mode, and the computer is waiting for you to enter the coordinates of your destination. The coordinates are as follows: rho, epsilon, theta-epsilon, and theta. To enter the coordinates, simply type in the numbers, entering all angles in degrees. A radius or angle that is too small or large will be rejected. The minimum radius will be 5% greater than the radius of the planet. For example, the minimum orbital radius around Axia would be 6615 kilometers. The maximum radius will be around tem times the radius of the planet. You may hit return for the radius without entering a number if you do not wish to manually enter coordinates. If you have entered coordinates, you may press the select key to select those as your destination. Otherwise, you may press option to display the coordinates of the objects in orbit. You may select an object as a destination by pressing select when the object's data is at the bottom of te screen. Due to the physics of planetary orbits and te limitations of sub-light engines, you will not be able to select a destinatin whose orbital radius is within 500 kilometers of your ships's orbital radius. Objects other than an orbital drydock or your ship appear with the description "HRS#". This is a hi-resolution scanner section and enter the appropriate contact must be within range of the scanner, so you may wish to first transfer to the contact's location. In order for your orbital scanner to pick up other objects in orbit, you must be within range of the orbital scanning beacon. The beacon is a ring of satellites surrounding the planet at an orbital radius equal to five times the radius of the planet. To be within range, the difference between your orbital radius and that of the beacon must be less than the maximum range of your orbital scanner. After selecting a destination, the sublight navigation program will compute the course and resources needed. The following data will be displayed: +-------------------------------------+ | Time........Time in minutes to | | complete the transfer | + + | Ore.........Amount of Ore IV needed | + + | Energy......Amount of energy needed | +-------------------------------------+ If you now press the option key, a "V" will appear at the end of the status line indicating that the transfer will be "visual". This means that you will be able to watch the maneuver on the screen. This will be interesting to watch since the transfer uses real formulas, however it will take considerably longer than a "non-visual" transfer. To select a non-visual transfer, press the option key again. This will turn off the "V" on tthe screen. At this point, you may press select to begin the transfer. After the transfer, you will return to the select scale mode.