Universe II
Universe II
Universe II
Written By
Thomas R. Carbone & Kevin G. Zerber
Manual By
William G. M. Leslie III
Cover Illustration By
Pamela Kehlenbach
Manual Printed By
The Repich Group, Inc.
Pascal 1.3 128K Runtime, MouseGraphics Toolkit, and Finder, are copyrighted programs of Apple Computer, Inc., licensed to
Omnitrend Software, Inc. to distribute for use only in combination with Omnitrend's Universe II. Apple Software shall not be copied
onto another diskette (except for archive purposes) or into memory unless as part of of the execution of Universe II. When Universe II
has completed execution Apple Software shall not be used by any other program.
Fred Repich
Haywood "Woody" Nichols
Michael Gilchrist
Arlon Harris
Don and Hapy Mayer
All of Our Other Beta and Gamma Testers
and
Patricia Carbone
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
1 The Story So Far...
Getting Started
5 Game Warranty & Repair
7 How To Use This Manual
8 Running Universe II On Your Computer
13 Playing Tips
Playing Universe II
17 Spacecraft Systems
20 Crew: Use & Maintainence
22 Commerce In The Local Group
24 The On-Board Computer
25 Astrogation
27 24th Century Warfare
31 Time & Energy
33 Your Mission
File Control
37 Game
38 Save & Delete
Flight
Command & Support (C&S)
41 Logistics
42 Crew
43 Engineering
44 Vidcomm
45 Athena IRS
Drives
46 Sub-light
48 Hyperdrive
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Weapons
49 Ship To Ship
51 Boarding
54 Assault Capsules
Trade-Mining
56 Manifest
57 Shuttles
58 Resource Scanner
59 Processors
61 Ramscoop
Drydock
65 Pay Day
66 Supplies
67 Parts
68 Labor Mart
69 Gear
70 Spacecraft
Starport
75 The Text Adventure
77 Transaction Terminal
78 Products
79 Ores
80 Passengers
81 School
Appendix
85 Starsystem List
86 Planet List
87 Culture Types
88 Parts List
98 Weapons List
100 Spacecraft Designs
102 Universe BBS
103 Local Group Diagram
104 Index
INTRODUCTION
THE STORY SO FAR...
INTRODUCTION 1
THE STORY SO FAR ...
2 INTRODUCTION
GETTING STARTED
GAME WARRANTY & REPAIR
Technical Questions Limited Software Warranty
Should you experience a problem in running this This software and the enclosed manual are sold
software on your computer, Omnitrend Software, "As is" without warranty to their performance.
Inc. provides telephone assistance several times The entire risk as to the results and performance
per week. You may call (203) 658-6917 to find of the program is assumed by you.
out the current assistance schedule. We regret
that we cannot answer any questions regarding The Limited Software Warranty is the only
the play of the game or provide hints. warranty of any kind, either expressed or
implied, including but not limited to the implied
Should you run across a bug in the program, warranties of merchantability and fitness for a
please drop us a note. Be sure to include the particular purpose that is made by Omnitrend
version number of the game (this can be found Software, Inc.
on the title screen) as well as a description of the
computer you are using. All correspondence Neither Omnitrend Software, Inc. nor anyone
regarding the game should be mailed to: else who has been involved in the creation,
production, or delivery of this program shall be
Omnitrend Software, Inc. liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, or
M/S51 incidental damages arising out of the use, the
P.O. Box 3 results of use, or inability to use such product
West Simsbury, CT 06092 even if Omnitrend Software, Inc. has been
advised of the possibility of such damages or
claim. Some states do not allow the exclusion or
Limited Media Warranty limitation of liability for consequential or
incidental damages, so the above limitation may
Omnitrend Software, Inc. warrants all media for a not apply to you.
period of ninety (90) days from the date of
purchase. Should you experience a problem
within that period, return the defective disk along
with dated proof-of-purchase. Should you have
a problem out of warranty, Omnitrend Software,
Inc. will replace a defective disk for $6.00. We
regret that we will be unable to return any
packing materials you use to ship your disk.
Copyright
The enclosed software is copyrighted and all
rights are reserved by Omnitrend Software, Inc.
Copying (except for one backup for those disks
that provide for it), duplicating, selling, renting,
or otherwise distributing this product is a
violation of the law.
6 GETTING STARTED
HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
This manual is broken up into 8 major sections. enables you to buy and sell products,
They are: Introduction, Getting Started, exchanges ores for currency, accept and
Playing Universe II, File Control, Flight, discharge passengers, and send your crew to a
Starport, Drydock, and Appendix. technical school to increase their grade.
INTRODUCTION 7
RUNNING UNIVERSE II ON YOUR COMPUTER
Macintosh 512, or Macintosh XL computer, Apple lie with a 128K 80 column board or Apple
optional second disk drive. lie, 2 disk drives, optional Apple Mouse.
We suggest that you make backups of disks B To use the menus without a mouse, press the
and C. Disk A is copy protected, so you will ESC (escape) key in the upper left corner of the
need to contact Omnitrend Software, Inc. if you keyboard. This will enable you to use the arrow
should have a problem with that disk. You may keys to select the items in the menus. To move
use Finder to copy the files from disks B and C the pointer in a certain direction, just use the four
to your backup disks. arrow keys. When the item you want is
highlighted, press the RETURN key.
8 GETTING STARTED
RUNNING UNIVERSE II ON YOUR COMPUTER
You may also use the key equivalents to select Send all of the original game disks to:
menu entries in the game. When you pull down
a menu, you will see the apple character followed Omnitrend Software, Inc.
by a letter next to every menu entry. This is the M/S52
key equivalent for the entry. To select an entry, PO Box 3
press either apple key (located on either side of WestSimsbury.CT 06092
the space bar) and the letter for that function.
The apple key works in the same way that the Be sure to include $6.00 for postage and
shift key works, so you should press the apple handling. We regret that we are unable to return
key first and hold it down while you press the any packing materials you use to ship your disks.
letter. It is not necessary to pull down a menu to
use the key equivalents. Your current player files will not be transfered to
the new (3.5") disk.
You may often see a window on the screen in
which there will be one or two buttons. A button
is a rectangle with a word in it such as "Continue".
To press a button with the keyboard, just press IBM / Zenith
the key that corresponds to the first letter of the
work in the button. For example if the word in the System Requirements
button is "Continue" then you may press the 'C
key on the keyboard to press it. Note that IBM-PC, IBM-XT, IBM-PCjr, IBM-AT, IBM
buttons override menu entries, so if a menu Compatible, or Zenith Z-100 series computer
function's key equivalent was "C" and the button with at least 256K of memory, 80 column
"Continue" were on the screen, pressing "C" display, MS-DOS (or PC-DOS) 2.0 or higher,
would "click" the button instead of selecting the and at least 1 disk drive. IBM or IBM compatible
menu function. requires the Color Graphics Adapter or
Enhanced Graphics Adapter, optional Microsoft
You may use either upper or lower case letters Mouse.
when using the keyboard.
Starting Omnitrend's Universe II
Making Backups
Universe II is distributed on three disks labeled
We suggest that you make backups of disk sides A, B, and C. None of these disks contain an
B, C, D, and E. The disk with side A is copy operating system, so you will need to start your
protected, so you will need to contact Omnitrend computer off another floppy disk or your hard
Software, Inc. if you should have a problem with disk. They should not have a sticker over the
that disk. write protect notch. Your game will not work
properly with disks that are write protected. You
will also need to copy the file COMMAND.COM
Using the UniDisk 3.5
from your DOS disk onto the Universe II Disk A.
If you plan on using a mouse, be sure that your
Omnitrend Software is offering a free game
DOS disk has the mouse driver installed
update for UniDisk 3.5 Owners. When your
according to your mouse manual.
original game disks have been received, we will
mail you a 3.5" version of the game, which fits
entirely on one disk.
GETTING STARTED 9
RUNNING UNIVERSE II ON YOUR COMPUTER
Start your computer using your DOS disk or hard right of that may be displayed by pressing "2",
disk. Once you have an operating system and so on.
prompt (for example "A>"), you may continue
with one of the procedures below. Follow one When a menu is displayed, you can see the
of the three procedures below for your particular names of the entries that menu contains, as well
configuration. Universe II is copy protected, but as the key equivalent. Key equivalents are
you can still use it on a hard disk. displayed to the right of the entry following the
">". A menu entry may be executed by pressing
Single or Dual Floppy Disks the proper key. For instance, if the menu entry
looks like "End Phase >E", you may select it by
Insert disk A into drive A. If you have a second pressing "E". It is not necessary to display a
drive, place disk B into drive B. Type menu in order to select one of its entry.
"UNIVERS2" and press return.
Often you will see a window on the screen that
Hard Disks has a button. A button is a rectangle with a word
in it such as "Continue". You may "click" that
Copy all the files from any or all disks onto your button by pressing the key corresponding to the
hard disk. If you copy any files from a given disk, first letter of the word. In our example, you would
you must copy all the files from that disk. Place press "C". Note that buttons override menu
disk A into floppy drive A. Make sure the default entries, so if a menu function's key equivalent
drive is set to your hard disk. For example, if was "C" and the button "Continue" were on the
your hard disk is drive C, type "C:" and return. screen, pressing "C" would click the button
You will then see a "C>". Type "UNIVERS2" and instead of selecting the menu function.
press return.
Using the Menus With a Mouse
RAM (Electronic) Disk
If you have a mouse connected to your computer
Copy all the files from any or all disks onto your (which must be installed according to your
RAM disk. You must at minimum copy the entire mouse manual), you can use it for selecting
contents of disk A. If you have room left, you menu entries. To display a menu, point to its
can copy disks B and/or C onto the RAM drive. If name on the white bar at the top of the screen
you copy any files from a given disk, you must and press the mouse button (if your mouse has
copy all the files from that disk. Place disk A into two buttons, either will do). Hold the button
floppy drive A. Make sure the default drive is set down and move the pointer to highlight the entry
to your RAM disk. For example, if your RAM disk you wish to select. Once the pointer is
is drive C, type "C:" and return. You will then positioned correctly, release the button.
see a "C>". Type "UNIVERS2" and press
return. Often you will see a window on the screen that
has a button. A button is a rectangle with a word
Using the Menus Without a Mouse in it such as "Continue". You may "click" that
button by pointing to it with the mouse and
If you do not have a mouse, you may still use the pressing the button.
menus. Menus are displayed at the top of the
screen in a white bar. The leftmost menu can be
displayed by pressing "1". The menu to the
10 GETTING STARTED
RUNNING II ON YOUR COMPUTER
Making Backups Be sure that if you move any files from a disk,
you move all the files on that disk. Before
We suggest that you make backups of disks B running "UNIVERS2.PRG" from the hard disk,
and C. Disk A is copy protected, so you will need you must place disk A into drive A. Do not place
to contact Omnitrend Software, Inc. if you should this disk into drive B. Your game will not operate
have a problem with that disk. You may use the properly with disk A in drive B.
DOS program DISKCOPY to copy disks B and C.
If you need help using the menus, refer to your
Using GEM or Microsoft Windows Atari ST manual.
You may use the Digital Research GEM Desktop Making Backups
with Universe II. The Universe II disks also
contain a Program Information File (PIF) for use We suggest that you make backups of disks B
with Microsoft Windows. and C. Disk A is copy protected, so you will
need to contact Omnitrend Software, Inc. if you
should have a problem with that disk. You may
Atari ST use TOS to copy disks B and C.
System Requirements
GETTING STARTED 11
RUNNING UNIVERSE II ON YOUR COMPUTER
12 GETTING STARTED
PLAYING TIPS
These are a few playing tips to help you get • Check in. Check into the FWSF headquarters
started with Universe II. on Vromus Prime every so often. Admiral
Bresheliah may have something important.
• Check the vidcomm frequently. Many of your
assignments and clues will come from listening to • Plan ahead with crew. You may find that it will
vidcomm messages. Don't forget that the save you money to purchase low grade crew
government affiliation of the planet you are early in the game, so that when you need high
orbiting will determine which vidcomm messages grades, you won't have to send anyone to an
you receive. expensive technical school.
• There is a drydock nearby. When you are • Don't purchase too quickly. When you are at a
starting the game, take advantage of the drydock starport waiting to buy something, watch a single
above Axia to obtain additional supplies and brand of product to get an idea of what a good
parts. price is. Many times, buying the first product
you see won't yield much profit, especially when
• There is a starport nearby. When you are you are paying premium price for it.
starting the game, go down to the Axia starport
and pick up some products. Check the planet • Check part requirements. When purchasing a
chart and the culture chart so you will know what complicated system such as an ore processor,
products to buy and where to bring them. Hint: make sure that you have all of the accesories for
Zeath is a good place to bring products from using it (ex., pilots, marines, energy, resource
Axia. scanner, programs, etc.) before leaving the
drydock. This will eliminate many unnecessary
• Be patient! It takes some time to become trips.
familiar with Universe II.
• What to do first. When you begin the game,
• Use the Save & Continue feature. By your Agora class spacecraft is in the Hope
frequently backing-up your game, you can see starsystem, but not around any planet. Do a
whether a particular strategy works before solar transfer to Axia, get into a low orbit, take
committing yourself to it. the orbital shuttle down to the starport, get
products and passengers for the planet Zeath,
• Check your ship's status frequently. Go into and then go there. From there, it's up to you!
C&S every so often and check your ship's
damage levels, supplies, and the crew. Chances
are someone will get a promotion.
GETTING STARTED 13
PLA YING UNIVERSE II
SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS
This section of the manual illustrates the Sophistication - This is the same as the
functions of the various components (or sophistication of the drydock where the part was
systems) of a state-of-the-art spacecraft. There purchased. Only high-grade engineers and
are seven different types of systems. They are: high sophistication drydocks can repair the most
Drive, Energy, Command & Support (C&S), sophisticated parts. Typically, the high
Scanning, Lander, Weapon, and Mining. Notice sophistications parts are the best (and costliest).
that each spacecraft design availible to you has
these seven sections in it. The capacity of each In addition, some systems have the following
of the sections determines the spacecraft characteristics:
design's primary role. For example, ore
processors and the ramscoop may only be Partial Operation - Any system marked as such
placed in the mining section. If a spacecraft has a will operate at a fraction of its normal efficiency if
large mining section, such as the Sutter, then it is damaged. The percentage of efficiency is
primarily suited for mining. is calculated by dividing the current dp level of
the part by its maximum dp level. For example, if
All systems have several common characteristics. a sub-light drive with 15 dp maximum and 500
They are: gravities of acceleration is reduced to 11 dp,
then its top acceleration is reduced to 367
Damage Points (DP) - This is a measure of the gravities (11 / 1 5 = .734 and .734 * 500 = 367).
amount of damage that a part can take before it is Note: partial operation will affect all of a part's
destroyed. The higher the damage point level, functions adversely.
the more likely the part will survive an attack.
Damaged parts can be brought back to their Constant Drain - If a system has the note
original damage point level by an engineer or by "constant drain" in the Parts List, it will consume
the repair crew at a drydock. power at the rate of 3.038 energy units per
minute constantly. The system will consume
Size - The measurement of a part's bulk. The power even if has been severely damaged,
larger the part, the more room it will take to fit it in although it will stop draining if is removed or
a section. destroyed.
PLAYING UNIVERSEII 17
SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS
Gravity Generator - Generates gravity for Vidcomm - The video communications device
environmental and protective purposes. The for your spacecraft. In this game it is limited to
gravity generator will also protect you from receive only. Messages are stored by repreater
acceleration caused by the sub-light drive. units in orbit around all of the habitable planets,
so you won't miss any messages that you might
need.
Energy Systems
Cargo Hold - Stores cargo that you purchase
Converter - A power generator that transforms down at the-starports or that you capture from
Ore IV into energy units. enemy vessels.
Accumulators - Stores energy units made by Atmospherics - The environmental control for
the converter. This system is primarily used your spacecraft. If this system is destroyed,
when another system, such as the hyperdrive, everyone on the spacecraft will die.
requires a large amount of energy at a rate much
faster than the converter can produce.
Essentially a large collection of batteries. Scanning Systems
Ore Storage - Holds the 4 different types of Solar/Planetal Scanner - Scans the starsystem
ore (I-IV). that you are in or the planet that you are currently
orbiting.
Command & Support Systems (C&S) Resource Scanner - Scans the surface of
habitable or airless planets for the best available
Bridge - T h e command center of your ship. If mining site.
the bridge is destroyed, the game ends.
High Definition Scanner - Provides a detailed
Crew Quarters - The living quarters and off-duty scan of any spacecraft within your range.
stations for your crew.
18 PLAYING UNIVERSE II
SPACECRAFT SYSTEMS
Enhanced Beam Weapon (EBW) - A type of
highly destructive particle-beam weapon.
Mining Systems
PLAYING UNIVERSEII 19
CREW: USE AND MAINTAINENCE
Running a complex starship of the 24th century starsystem, thus saving a great deal of
requires the aid of many skilled technicians. time and energy.
Although you are initially provided with a few
crewmen, as you expand your ship you will find Gunner- The gunner is an expert on all
the need to hire more. Each crewman has a the various forms of weaponry that your
number characteristics on which they should be ship may carry. A superior gunner has a
judged. Hiring the right crewman can make the greater accuracy with missiles and more
difference between winning and losing. skill in using ECM's.
The characteristics for each crewman are: Pilot - The pilot is the person who flies
the orbital shuttles, ore processors, and
Health - A measurement of a crewmember's the assault capsules. All lander-type
ability to perform his duty. If the health vehicles require one pilot to operate.
percentage reaches 0, the crewmember dies. The higher-grade pilots' ships will
Reduced health may result from battle damage, receive less damage when descending
injury when moving dangerous cargo, and through the atmosphere. In addition,
changing watch. A crewman with a health when an assault capsule is on the
percentage of less than 70%, may die of ground, the pilot mans the cannon and
untreated injuries during any given watch. This the higher grades are better shots.
is especially true for the older crewmen. Pilots also move cargo to and from the
cargo hold.
Age - In the time period that Universe II depicts,
a crewman's age runs from 20 to 130. All Miner - They are the crewmen who land
crewman automatically retire when they reach on habitable and airless worlds to mine
130. On a dossier, the promotion date is also the various ores. They are required to
the birthdate. Age primarily determines a launch ore processors. The higher-
crewman's ability to resist death from injuries. grade miners (15 and above) will recover
Older crewmembers are more likely to die from even more ore than the resource
untreated (below 70% health) injuries. scanner indicated for the mining site.
Since miners work in gangs, it is
Specialty - Every crewman has a specialty, important to realize that their grades are
which they may not switch. They are: averaged and that it is the average which
determines a particular ore processor's
Captain - The supreme authority on a ore recovery rate.
spacecraft. Captains are invariably
asomnigenated and technically always Marine - Marines are used in two
on duty. circumstances: boarding and ground
assaults. When boarding an enemy
Astrogator - The person responsible for spacecraft, the marine works as an
getting the spacecraft from one place to individual, nuetralizing enemy marines,
another. An astrogator's grade is providing cover fire, or capturing control
especially important for hyperspace panels. During ground assaults, the
jumps. The higher grade astrogators will marines move as a squad, nuetralizing
break the ship out of hyperspace much enemy ground squads and attacking
closer to the habitable zone of a enemy defense stations. All marines are
20 PLAYING UNIVERSE II
CREW: USE AND MAINTAINENCE
outfitted with various types of exosuit up into three 8-hour watches. Astrogators and
armor and portable cannons. As a gunners stand regular watches. Pilots, miners,
marine's grade rises, his ability to move marines, and engineers have special watches:
and his accuracy of fire improve. they only work when their duties are needed.
You, as the captain, have undergone a process
Engineer - The fix-it man for your ship. called asomnigenation. Asomnigenation alters
Engineers are very expensive to keep, the body's chemistry and makes it unecessary
being the highest paid of all the for you to sleep. Astrogators and gunners can
specialties. As an engineer's grade also be asomnigenated. Anyone who is
rises, his speed and ability to repair the asomnigenated is on a "full" watch and are
various ship-board systems improves. always available.
Grade - A measurement of a crewman's
knowledge of his specialty. Grades run from 1 to Provisions
20, grade 20 being the highest. Once a
crewmember has been hired, his grade will rise
One provision includes enough food, water,
once a year. To speed things up, a crewman can
etc., to keep one person alive for one day.
be left at a technical school, where it will take
Usually it is convenient to think of the provisions
much less than a year per grade (and several
supply in terms of days, that is, with the current
thousand credits!).
complement of crew, how long before they
starve. To calculate the number of
Promotions - Promotions happen once a year, provision/days, divide the number of provisions
on the crewman's birthday. A promotion by the current number of crew.
increases the crewman's grade and income.
Once a crewmember's grade reaches 20,
promotion day only signifies his next birthday.
PLAYING UNIVERSE II 21
COMMERCE IN THE LOCAL GROUP
In the Local Group, the basic unit of currency is Cargo Size - A measurement of the product's
the credit. The credit has been fixed by the bulk.
Interworld Trade Commision, at the famous
Meeting of 2167, as being equivalent in value Sophistication - A measurement of the product's
to one unit of Ore IV. Since Ore IV is a common complexity. This figure is always the same as the
substance, but tedious to refine, it provides a product's planet of origin. At best, products
stable monetary base. appeal to a range of 20 sophistication points.
This reflects the fact that products too simple for
Your primary goal, as an interstellar merchant, is the buyer have been out-moded (no one buys
to earn money. The four sources of revenue grindstones anymore) and products that are too
availible to you are: trading, passenger complex do not have the other supporting
transport, mining, and orbital piracy. technologies required (an ancient Egyptian
would not have any use for a television set).
22 PLAYING UNIVERSE II
COMMERCE IN THE LOCAL GROUP
Passenger Transport
Orbital Piracy
In order to operate, your spacecraft must be High Definition Scan - Interprets the data
equipped with an on-board computer. The gathered by the high definition scanner. This
computer controls many of the other systems on program must be available for the high definition
your ship. scanner to work.
The speed of the computer is measured in Shuttle Guidance - Controls the ascent and
tevops per minute (trillions of operations per descent of orbital shuttles. This program must
minute). Program size is measured in the be available to launch orbital shuttles.
number of operations which must be executed
in a complete run. So, to find the amount of time Ore Processor Guidance - Controls the ascent
it takes for a program to completely run, divide and descent of ore processors. This program
the program's size (tevops) by the computer's must be available to launch ore processors.
tevops per minute figure. This will give you the
time in minutes. Assault Capsule Guidance - Controls the ascent
and descent of assault capsules. This program
The following is a list of the programs available must be available to launch assault capsules.
for your computer:
Missile Track - Aims and launches missiles at a
Hyperspace Navigation - Calculates the course, target object. This program must be available to
energy, time, and distance required to make a launch missiles.
hyperspace jump. This program must be
available for the hyperdrive to work. EBW Track- Aims and fires the EBW at a target
object. This program must be available to fire the
Normalspace Navigation - Calculates the EBW.
course, energy, and time required to move your
ship anywhere within a starsystem. This ECM - Controls the ECM unit. The program
program must be available for the sub-light drive must be available for the ECM to function.
to work.
Athena IRS - The information retrieval system
Autodoctor - Controls the autodoctor. This program. This program contains hundreds of
program must be available for the autodoctor to important facts and figures which can be recalled
work. by typing in a key word.
Hibemaculum - Controls the freezing and When you sell a computer, all of the programs
thawing of passengers in the hibemaculum. you have purchased for it will be lost. Once a
This program must be available for the program has been purchased, there is no way to
hibemaculum to work. remove it short of selling the computer.
24 PLAYING UNIVERSE II
ASTROGATION
Astrogation is the art of steering a spacecraft In short, although the more powerful sub-light
from planet to planet. Yours comes equipped drives will often move the ship from one point to
with two types of engines: the hyperdrive and another the fastest, that isn't always the case.
the sub-light drive.
Scales
Hyperdrive
There are two different scales used when
The hyperdrive uses multi-dimensional physics operating the sub-light drive. One is the solar
to propel your spacecraft faster than light. The scale, which gives a view of the entire
hyperdrive "kicks" the spacecraft into another starsystem, with the sun in the center and the
continuum called hyperspace. From planets orbiting it. The other view is the planetal
hyperspace, all points in normalspace are scale. This shows the planet that you are
equidistant. So, no matter the length of a currently orbiting and all the objects in orbit
hyperspace jump, it always takes 6.8 days to do. about it. The objects include other spacecraft,
orbital drydocks, and the hyperspace booster. If
When a ship in hyperspace "breaks-out" and you are currently not orbiting a planet, then the
reenters normalspace, there is some positioning planetal scale is not availible.
error, such that you can aim for a particular
starsystem, but not a particular planet. The
hyperdrive is too inaccurate to use for travelling Solar Scale
from one planet to another.
The solar scale is used to move from one planet
in a starsystem to another or, after a hyperspace
Sub-light Drive jump, move from an empty point within the
starsystem to a planet. There is only one kind of
The sub-light drive is used for travelling from transfer that you can make in the solar scale.
planet to planet within a starsystem. Since it
operates at entirely sub-light speeds, travelling
from one starsystem to another would take Planetal Scale
decades. Moving from one object or planet to
another using the sub-light drive is called a There are a variety of transfers which can be
transfer. made in the planetal scale. They are:
A sub-light drive's ability to accelerate your Escape Orbit - To use the hyperdrive around a
spacecraft is measured in gravities (gravs). A planet, your ship must be sufficiently far away
grav is an acceleration of 9.8 meters/second2. from the planet's center. Escape orbit will move
The drives with higher accelerations will move you to that point.
your ship faster.
Low Orbit - The lowest possible orbit your ship
A transfer calculation, or course plot, is very can make under ordinary circumstances. This is
complicated. Usually the ship is moving to a the ideal spot from which to launch orbital
target, which is also moving. This means that shuttle, ore processors, and assault capsules,
many times there is only one "best course" to as it allows the landers to use the least amount
follow at a certain acceleration, seldom the of energy necessary.
maximum acceleration of the drive.
PLAYING UNIVERSE II 25
ASTROGATION
26 PLAYING UNIVERSE II
24TH CENTURY WARFARE
Warfare in the 24th Century is mainly limited to Under the shield generator entry in the Parts
conflicts between individual spacecraft owners. List section of the Appendix, there is a column
Weaponry is openly available through out the labeled "Maximum Damage Points Blocked."
Local Group and can be aquired without trouble. This is the amount of damage which the shield
will subtract from any incoming attack. Any
The systems of defense are the ECM and the damage that is received above that amount will
shield generator. For offensive purposes, there pass through and damage systems on the ship.
are missiles, EBW's, boarding squads, and For example, your ship is equipped with a
assault capsules. Deflect Technologies shield generator and it
receives a 30 unit hit. Since the shield blocks
up to 26 damage points, the systems on your
ECM & ECCM ship will only be hit with 4.
28 PLAYING UNIVERSE II
24TH CENTURY WARFARE
Exosuits are important for their movement After a site has been found by the resource
bonuses and health damage protection. scanner, the assault capsules are sent down.
Once on the surface, they must destroy any and
The number of movement points availible to a all defense stations found near the mining site.
marine determines the distance he can travel in
one turn. Different types of terrain (clear Defense stations are fixed gun stations manned
squares, doors, diagonal movement, etc.) by the planet's militia. The number, strength,
require different amounts of movement points and range of the defense stations is directly
and thus affect the speed of travel. The proportional to the planet's sophistication.
movement factor is dependent upon the
marine's health, his grade, and the exosuit Although towns near the landing site may not
movement bonus (some suits are "faster" than attack you directly, each is capable of sending
others and give correspondingly greater out 2 militia squads. These squads are
movement bonuses). For example, a marine with approximately equal in strength to your own
a base movement factor of 4 has an exosuit with assault squads.
a movement bonus of 4. This means that the
marine could expend a maximum of 8 The assault capsule's mission is to clear out all of
movements points in a turn. the ground defense stations in the target area,
so that ore processors may land there without
The exosuit's health damage protection interference from the natives.
measures the amount of incoming health
damage blocked by the exosuit. It works in much Assault capsules may not be launched against
the same way as the ship's shield generator. For starports or population centers, only mining
example, if a marine wearing an exosuit that sites.
protected 24% health damage were hit with a
50% damage portable shot, he would lose 26% Ground Combat
health (50% damage - 24% blocked by the
exosuit). An exosuit is not damaged by portable Any force on the battle grid may attack any other
shots, just the contents. Frequently, an exosuit enemy force. This means that you can deploy
outlives its owner! your assault squads against a defense station,
or your assault capsules against enemy militia
squads.
Assault Capsules
When one of your assault squads attacks an
Assault capsules are used when it is desirable to enemy squad, each member of the enemy
mine on a planet with a population sophistication squad receives an equal portion of the damage.
greater than 40. Assault capsules carry a squad The damage your squad inflicts is the sum of all
of marines, which may move and attack of the marine's portable health damage. This
seperately from the capsule once it is on the damage is distributed evenly among all of the
ground. Assault capsules also carry a Voigt- members in the enemy squad, of which there
effect cannon, which is operated by the pilot. are usually 3 or 4. The enemy wears exosuits
too.
30 PLAYING UNIVERSEII
TIME AND ENERGY
Energy
All of the systems on your ship need energy to
operate. Energy is produced by transforming
Ore IV into energy via the converter. The
converter draws Ore IV directly from the ore
storage system as needed.
Time
The Local Group uses the standard years, days,
hours, and minutes of Earth. The calendar even
includes the correct leap-years.
Date
32 PLAYING UNIVERSEII
YOUR MISSION
You are a deep-cover operative of the Federated
Worlds Special Forces (FWSF). As such, you
have a responsibility to immediately respond to
official communications and orders. In addition,
you must maintain your Agora class spacecraft in
a state of combat readiness.
PLAYING UNIVERSEII 33
FILE CONTROL
GAME MENU
File Control is the program section for quitting Old Game
Universe II, verifying the disks, starting a game,
aborting a game, and saving a game in progress To use a previously created player file, simply
to the disk. select it by name. Current player files will appear
under the New Game... entry.
Quit
Verify
New Game...
FILE CONTROL 37
DELETE & SAVE MENUS
Save Menu
Save Game
Save As...
38 FILE CONTROL
FLIGHT
LOGISTICS
Stores
Provisions - Shows the current amount of
provisions and the number of days they will last
before the crew starts starving. Since one
provision will feed one crewmember for one day,
the "day supply" figure is calculated by dividing
the number of provisions by the number of crew.
Load/Unload
Load - Moves ore from the ore storage unit to
the selected lander (either an ore processor or
shuttle). Enter the ore type as an number from 1
to 4 and the quantity. To cancel a transfer, enter
zero for the quantity.
FLIGHT 41
CREW
Use the Crew section to examine a crewman's crewman's health by 10% of its current level. For
dossier, repair his health, and change his watch. example, Mesdee, an astrogator with 80%
health, has his watch changed to Watch 3. His
The Crew Data window shows all of the crew health after the change will be 72%.
members, including the captain, and their watch,
health percentage, and specialty.
Astr Astrogator
Capt Captain
Engr Engineer
Gunr Gunner
Mari Marine
Minr Miner
Pilt Pilot
Crew
42 FLIGHT
ENGINEERING
The Engineering section gives you the
capability to examine individual parts for damage
and even repair them, if you have an engineer.
Detail
Displays the parts brand name, size, visibility,
sophistication, and original cost.
Repair
This function is only available if you have an
engineer. The engineer's grade determines the
maximum sophistication of the parts he can
repair. The maximum sophistication can be
determined by the formula: (60 + (Engineer's
Grade x 2).
FLIGHT 43
VIDCOMM
44 FLIGHT
ATHENA IRS
FLIGHT 45
SUB-LIGHT
The sub-light drive is used for travelling from Planetal Transfers
planet to planet within a starsystem. Since it
operates at entirely sub-light speeds, travelling Object - Object selection works the same as in
from one starsystem to another would take the solar scale. Ships are listed by their class,
decades. Moving from one object or planet to which means there may be several with the same
another using the sub-light drive is called a class name on the object list. For example, the
transfer. first two objects may both be listed as
"Hideyoshi." They are not the same ship; merely
There are two different scales used when two ships of the same design. The drydock and
operating the sub-light drive. One is the solar hyperspace booster will also appear on this
scale, which gives a view of the entire menu.
starsystem, with the star in the center and the
planets orbiting it. The other view is the planetal Orbit - There are several different kinds of
scale. This shows the planet that you are orbits your ship can take around a planet. They
currently orbiting and all the objects in orbit are:
about it. These objects include other
spacecraft, orbital drydocks, and the Escape - This transfer will chart a course to a
hyperspace booster. If you are not orbiting a point where it is possible to use your hyperdrive.
planet, then the planetal scale is not available. The Escape orbit does not require you to select
an object first. If you have already selected an
You must have an astrogator on-duty at the object, the Escape selection will ignore it.
beginning of the transfer. Since the astrogator's
services are called upon only at the beginning, Low - This function will chart the lowest possible
you do not need to have an astrogator on each normal orbit around a planet. The Low orbit does
watch during a transfer. This is true for solar or not require you to select an object first. If you
planetal transfers. have already selected an object, the Low
selection will ignore it.
Use the Scale menu to move between the solar
and planetal views of the starsystem. Skim - Skim will plot a course to a point just within
the atmosphere of a gaseous type planet. It is
not availible around habitable or airless planets.
Solar Transfers The Skim orbit does not require you to select an
object first. If you have already selected an
Object - Selects the object and charts a object, the Skim selection will ignore it.
course for it. The transit time and energy use
are shown in the Transit Data window. If an Approach... - Approach will plot a course that will
object's name is "greyed-out", then you are in put you a specified number of kilometers behind
orbit about it already. the currently selected object. You will be asked
to enter a range which can be between 1 and
Transfer - Once an orbit has been plotted, 17,000 kilometers. This is ideal for attacking
select Solar in the Transfer menu to execute the other ships or moving into position to dock. You
transfer. must select an object for this function to work.
46 FLIGHT
SUB-LIGHT
Dock- This function will plot a docking orbit only
if you are within 100 kilometers of another object
in orbit and the object is currently selected. You
ship must have a docking adapter and the other
ship must not have a working shield generator.
In addition, there cannot be any crew alive (but
their may be marines) or the target ship's sub-
light drive has been destroyed. Your ship does
not need a docking adapter to dock with a
drydock.
Note
You can move directly from the Drives section to
the Weapons section by selecting "Weapons" in
the Misc menu.
FLIGHT 47
HYPERDRIVE
The hyperdrive uses multi-dimensional physics Use the Manual... function in the Other menu to
to propel your spacecraft faster than light. The travel to an empty point in interstellar space.
hyperdrive "kicks" the spacecraft into another Each coordinate (X, Y, and Z) may range from -25
continuum called hyperspace. From to +25.
hyperspace, all points in normalspace are
equidistant. So, no matter the length of a
hyperspace jump, it always takes 6.8 days to do. Hyperdrive
Of course, if the trip requires more than one
hyperjump, it will take the number of jumps times Engage - Once you have charted a course,
6.8 days to complete. use this function to make the hyperjump(s). You
need only have an astrogator on duty at the
When a ship in hyperspace "breaks-out" and beginning of the maneuver.
reenters normalspace, there is some positioning
error, such that you can aim for a particular
starsystem, but not a particular planet. The
hyperdrive is too inaccurate to use for travelling Note
from one planet to another.
You can move directly from the Drives section to
The accuracy of your reentry into normalspace is the Weapons section by selecting "Weapons" in
affected by your astrogator's grade. The better the Misc menu.
astrogators will make the ship reenter closer to
the center of the starsystem. Since the transfer
from the reentry point to your destination planet
usually takes the largest chunk of time in
travelling from a planet in one starsystem to a
planet in another starsystem, a superior
astrogator will dramatically reduce the total trip
time.
48 FLIGHT
SHIP TO SHIP
The Ship to Ship section allows you to scan and Scan
fire upon other ships in orbit. There are three
steps to shooting at a target: target selection, This will make a high definition scan of the
target analysis, and weapon firing. The menus current target vessel. Scanning takes time, and
Target, Scan, and Fire handle these steps it is not automatically updated, so you will have
respectively. to use this function sparingly and carefully
during combat. You must have a target selected
The screen is broken up into four windows. in order to make a high definition scan. A high
They are: Planetal Scan, Ship In Orbit, Target definition scan is not necessary to do prior to
Ship Data, and the Target Ship Schematic. firing at a target ship.
FLIGHT 49
SHIP TO SHIP
Note
You can move directly from the Weapons
section to the Drives section by selecting
"Drives" in the Misc menu.
50 FLIGHT
BOARDING
The objective of deploying a boarding squad is The Combat Screen is divided into three
to capture the target vessel and remove all of its sections: the Marine Data window, the Combat
valuables. Status window, and the Bridge Layout window.
Cursor Marine ^
Marines
Next - Displays the next marines on the crew
roster. The Combat Screen
Previous - Moves to the previous marine on
the roster. The Marine Data window shows the current
marine's name, health, maximum movement
Select - Places the marine currently in the allowance, expended movement allowance,
Marine Data window onto the squad list. combined weapon accuracy, and weapon
range. The Combat Status window shows the
Select All - Places all of the marines on the current combat phase, the number of marines
ship onto the the squad list. left in the boarding squad, the number of enemy
marines, and the number control panels needed
Remove - Removes the marine currently in the for a surrender.
Marine Data window from the squad list.
Combat ends when: All of your marines in the
Deploy - Causes the docking adapter to burn a squad have died, none of the squad is on the
breach through the target ship's outer hull. All bridge at the end of the movement phase, 30%
of the marines on the squad are moved into of the enemy control panels have been
position, ready to board. Now the fight begins! captured, or all of the enemy marines have been
killed.
FLIGHT 51
BOARDING
Cursor
Enemy Movement - The enemy moves his Door Square- 3 movement points.
marines.
Diagonal Movement - 1 additional movement
Own Attacks - You may have all, some, or none point. For example, moving diagonally onto a
of your marines attack the enemy. Only marines door square would cost 4 movement points (3 for
on the bridge may attack. Once a marine has the door+1 for the diagonal move).
appeared in the Marine Data window, he will not
reappear until the next phase. If all of the enemy Movement onto wall squares, friendly or enemy
marines are killed during this phase then you marines, and accessway squares is not allowed.
have successfully captured the target ship.
If a marine ends his movement phase on a
breach square, he is removed from the bridge.
52 FLIGHT
BOARDING
FLIGHT 53
ASSAULT CAPSULES
Defense stations are fixed gun stations manned T El id 39 danage points "
Capsule 1, 2, & 3 - Selects the assault Down - Moves the cursor one square down.
capsule. The functions in the Load menu will
affect this capsule.
Capsule
Launch - Launches all capsules with a "go"
launch status. For a "go" status, the capsule Move - Moves the current assault capsule to
must be loaded with energy, have a pilot, and a the square indicated by the cursor. The assault -
full complement of marines. capsule can move anywhere on the battle grid at
an initial cost of 5,000 eu plus 1,000 eu for every
kilometer (grid square). The assault capsule may
only move onto empty squares. If you are using
a mouse, you can simply click the square you
wish to move onto. A beep indicates that your
capsule has insufficient energy or the square is _
occupied.
54 FLIGHT
ASSAULT CAPSULES
Fire - Fires the current assault capsule's cannon move the squad onto the same square. If you
at the square indicated by the cursor. This costs are using a mouse, simply click the square you
3,000 eu. Your capsules have 100% accuracy wish to move into. The computer will beep if you
against defense stations and a limited accuracy try to move into an invalid square.
against enemy squads. Your assault capsules
are equipped with shields which block enemy rFire
ue — - The squad will
i ne SLJUCIU win fire
me their
men weapons
w at the
shots at the rate of 80 energy units per damage squareire indicated
indicated bybv the
the cursor.
cursor. The square
point, up to the assault capsule's shield must be adjacent.
maximum.
End Phase - Ends the current squad phase
Retreat - The current assault capsule will leave (squad movement or close combat).
the battle grid and return to the main ship. If the
assault capsule's squad is not inside, then they
are left behind. However, the abandoned squad
will continue fighting until they die, the site is
secured, or there are no more capsules on the
battle grid. Retreating may only be done during
the capsule movement phase.
Enemy Marine
Squad \
in jr
Assault
Capsule
lul
Town-
Squad
Move - Moves the current marine onto the
square indicated by the cursor. A squad may
only move 1 square per phase. The square must
be unoccupied with exception of the base
capsule. Squads enter the battle grid inside of
their base capsules (ex., Squad 1 lands inside of
Capsule 1). To reenter the base capsule, simply
FLIGHT 55
MANIFEST
Areas
Cargo Hold, Shuttles 1, 2, & 3 - Selects
the destination area. For example, if you wish to
move an product from the cargo hold to shuttle
2, select shuttle 2.
56 FLIGHT
SHUTTLES
Shuttles is the section used for landing your the one you are in. So, if you lose a shuttle on
orbital shuttles at starports. the way down, the game ends.
There are three windows on the Shuttles screen. If you successfully land at a starport, return to
The Orbtial Shuttle Data window shows the the Section menu and select Starport to enter
energy status, damage points, pilot status, the the starport.
amount of ore on the shuttle, the amount of
passengers on the shuttle, and the launch
status. Loading
The Pilot Data window shows the current pilot's Load Energy - Loads the currently selected
name, grade, health, and load status. If the pilot shuttle with energy.
is already on a shuttle, the status will be "loaded"
followed by shuttle number in parentheses. Load Pilot - Loads the pilot in the Pilot Data
window onto the currently selected shuttle.
The Passenger Data window shows the total This will move the pilot even if he is already in
number of passengers on the ship (either in a another shuttle.
shuttle or the hibernaculum), the maximum
number of passengers, their destination, and the Next Pilot - Moves the next pilot on the crew
fare to be collected for each one delivered. roster into the Pilot Data window.
If you cannot enter the Shuttles section, your Passenger... - Enter the number of
spacecraft may be in too high an orbit. Make sure passengers to load into the currently selected
that you are in a low orbit around a habitable orbital shuttle. It may not be more than the
planet with a starport. shuttle's capacity. This function adds the
specified number of passengers to the shuttle's
current count. For example, if a shuttle has a
Shuttle maximum capacity of 10, and 8 passengers have
already been loaded, then the maximum
Shuttle 1, 2, & 3 - Selects the shuttle and number of passengers that could be added is 2.
makes it current. The current shuttle's number in
the Orbital Shuttle Data window will be inverted. Unload All - Unloads the energy, pilot, and
passengers from the currently selected shuttle.
Launch - Launches the orbital shuttles. Only
those shuttles with a "go" launch status will be
launched.
FLIGHT 57
RESOURCE SCANNER
58 FLIGHT
ORE PROCESSORS
Ore processors are used for mining ore from the Processor
surface of airless and habitable planets.
Processor 1, 2, & 3 - Selects the ore
There are three steps to mining: preparation, processor and makes it current. The current ore
descent, and mining. The preparation and processor's number in the Ore Processor Data
descent stages are almost identical to stages in window will be inverted.
Shuttles.
Launch - Launches the ore processors. Only
The first screen shows the Ore Processor Data those ore processors with a "go" launch status
window, the Pilot Data window, and the Miner will be launched.
Data window.
An ore processor must have energy, a pilot and
The Ore Processor Data window shows the the required number of miners for a "go" status.
energy status, damage points, hours per tonne
of raw rock processed, energy units per tonne of Ore processors may lose damage points during
rock processed, the pilot status, miners loaded, their descent, particularly over planets with a
and the ore processor launch status. high natural hostility. If an ore processor's
damage points go to zero, it is destroyed.
The Pilot Data window shows the current pilot's
name, grade, health, and load status. If the pilot
is already on a ore processor, the status will be Loading
"loaded" followed by ore processor number in
parentheses. Load Energy - Loads the currently selected
ore processor with energy.
The Miner Data window shows the current
miner's name, grade, health, and load status. If Load Pilot - Loads the pilot in the Pilot Data
the miner is already on a ore processor, the window onto the currently selected ore
status will be "loaded" followed by ore processor processor. This will move the pilot even if he is
number in parentheses. already in another ore processor.
Mining Ore Next Pilot - Moves the next pilot on the crew
roster into the Pilot Data window.
Ore concentrations are measured in units per
tonne. This means that, using miners with an Load Miner - Loads the miner in the Miner
average grade of 15, there are x units of Ore for Data window onto the currently selected ore
every tonne of raw rock processed. With higher processor. This will move the miner even if he is
grade miners, you will recover even more ore already in another ore processor.
than the resource scanner indicated.
Next Miner - Moves the next miner on the
Depending on the hostility of the planet, your crew roster into the Miner Data window.
mining crew(s) will be subjected to attacks by
natural forces. These attacks range from Unload All - Unloads the energy, pilot, and
sandstorms to crushing plant vines. Attacks miners from the currently selected ore
affect the ore processors and their associated processor.
miners.
FLIGHT 59
ORE PROCESSORS
Processor
Processor 1, 2, & 3 - Selects the ore
processor and makes it current. All commands
issued from the Mine and Liftoff menus will
affect the selected ore processor.
Mine
Ore I, II, III, IV - The current ore processor
begins mining the selected ore type. Any ore
collected will appear in the Ore Data window.
Liftoff
Liftoff - Sends the currently selected ore
processor back to the main ship. If the ore
processor's energy level fails below the liftoff
minimum, then the ore processor is considered
lost.
60 FLIGHT
RAMSCOOP
The ramscoop is designed to collect Ore IV from
the atmospheres of gaseous planets. To use
the ramscoop, your ship must be in a skim orbit
above a gaseous planet and there must be one
astrogator and one miner available.
FLIGHT 61
DRY DOCK
PAY DAY
DRYDOCK65
SUPPLIES
Use Supplies to purchase provisions, Ore IV, Programs - Displays all of the programs
programs, and missiles for your spacecraft. available. Any programs that you already own
are marked "have" under the Cost column. With
the mouse, a program type can be selected by
Cursor simply "clicking" its name.
Next - Used in conjunction with the Programs Missiles - Lists all of the available missiles,
and Missiles menus. Moves the highlight to the their cost, the amount you already own, available
next program or missile on the list. missile rack space, and your on-hand credits.
With the mouse, a missile type can be selected
Prev. - Used in conjunction with the Programs by simply "clicking" its name.
and Missiles menus. Moves the highlight to the
previous program or missile on the list.
Option
Purchase - Used in conjunction with the
Programs and Missiles menus. Purchases the
currently highlighted missile or program.
Supply
Provision - Displays the total number of
provisions on your ship, the number of days the
supply will last, and the amount the drydock is
charging per provision/day. Provisions are
purchased in terms of provision days.
66 DRYDOCK
PARTS
Use the Parts section to purchase new parts, Purchase
repair old parts, or sell off parts for some quick
cash. List - Displays the Parts For Sale window which
lists all of the different brands of parts available
The screen is divided into three windows. They for the currently highlighted system. A highlight
are: the Part Data window, the Details window, will appear on the first item of the list. Use the
and the Credits Data window. Parts menu or a mouse to move it.
Part Data lists all of the parts that you have or are Purchase - Purchases the currently
available for your spacecraft. If you do own a highlighted part on the Parts For Sale Window.
particular part, it will have its operational You may not purchase a part if you already have
percentage listed next to it. This is calculated by one of the same system.
dividing the part's current damage point level by
its maximum damage point level. For example, a
part at 13 dp's with a maximum of 15 dp's would Sell
have a 87 operational percentage.
Sell - Sells the currently highlight part for the
The Details window shows the currently resale value displayed in the Details window.
highlighted part's name and resale value if you
happen to own the part.
Repair
Repair - Repairs the currently highlighted
system. The amount of damage, the cost, and
the repair duration are displayed before you give
the drydock the ok to repair it. The sophistication
of the part must be less than the sophistication of
the starport in order to have it repaired.
DRYDOCK 67
LABOR MART
Crew
Release - Releases the currently highlighted
crewman from your employment. Releasing
does not cost anything and any back-pay owed
to the crewman is voided. Unfortunately, once a
crewman has been released, it is highly unlikely
that he will reappear on the Hiring Data window.
68 DRYDOCK
GEAR
Marine
Portable
Exosuit
Select the name of an exosuit to purchase it for
the marine currently displayed in the Marine Data
window. If the marine already has an exosuit, you
will be given a trade-in allowance.
DRYDOCK69
SPACECRAFT
View
Allows you to view the selected spacecraft
design. The ship data, along with a schematic,
are displayed.
Purchase
Purchases the selected spacecraft and moves
all of your parts into it. If the size totals of any of
the sections are too high for the new ship, you
will be informed and the sale will be cancelled.
70 DRYDOCK
STARPORT
THE TEXT ADVENTURE
The Starport section of Universe II is divided into Movement With the Text Parser
two sections. They are the Text Parser and the
Transactions Terminal. Note: Boldface entries inside of curly braces ({})
must be typed exactly as they appear, including
When you are in the text parser section, punctuation.
commands are entered by typing them instead of
being selected off a menu. This means that the North, South, East, West - These will
proper command may not always be readily move you in the appropriate direction if there is a
apparent, or that there may be more than one clear path. These can be abbreviated n, s, e,
correct command. It also means that there is and w respectively.
greater flexibility - problems may be solved by
more than one method. Enter, Exit - Use these to enter and exit
structures such as gravsleds and transaction
In addition, you will be able to talk with other booths.
characters in the game, explore the hidden areas
of certain starports, and collect valuable tools and {Pilot, Liftoff} - Typing this inside of the
clues to complete the game. orbital shuttle will cause you to leave the text
parser and return to the main ship.
At every starport is a room with transaction
booths. Inside these booths are transaction
terminals, which allow you to buy and sell Manipulating Objects With the
products, exchange ore for credits, load and
unload passengers, and leave some of your crew Text Parser
for training. Type "Activate Terminal" inside of a
transaction booth to use a terminal. The Take [object], Drop [object] - Take and
computer will leave the text parser mode and drop objects respectively. You may not carry
switch to the standard pull-down menus. When more than 5 objects at any time.
you exit the terminal, you are returned to the text
parser. Give [object] To [person] - Gives the
specified object to another character.
STARPORT 75
THE TEXT ADVENTURE
76 STARPORT
TRANSACTION TERMINAL
STARPORT 77
PRODUCTS
The Products screen is divided into four The computer will automatically place the product
sections. They are: the Products For Sale in a shuttle with sufficient space.
window, the Cargo (Surface) Manifest, the
Cargo Size Remaining window, and the
Monetary Data window. Sell
The Products For Sale window is a constantly Requests an offer for the currently highlighted
updated display of products available for item on the Cargo (Surface) Manifest. An offer
purchase. It lists the product's brand name, its will be posted and you can select whether to
type, cargo size, sophistication, and cost. The accept it or decline.
sophistication will always be that of the planet.
Products
Next - Highlights the next item on the Cargo
(Surface) Manifest window.
Buy
Buys the corresponding product on the
Products For Sale window. For example,
selecting the menu entry Product 3 would
purchase the third item on the Products For
Sale window.
78 STARPORT
ORES
Use Ores to sell ore you have obtained using ore
processors, a ramscoop, or captured from
another ship.
Exchange
Ore I, Ore II, Ore III, Ore IV - Exchange
this type of ore. Enter the number of units you
wish to sell to the starport. This function will take
ore from as many of the shuttles as necessary.
STARPORT 79
PASSENGERS
Planet
Next - Highlights the next planet on the Fare
Data window.
Fares
Load - Loads as many passengers into the
shuttles on the ground as possible. Once the
passengers have been loaded, the computer
will display the money you will receive upon
delivering the passengers. You may not load
passengers if you already have passengers in
the hibernaculum or on the shuttle with a
different destination.
80 STARPORT
SCHOOL
Crew
Next - Displays the next crewman on the crew
roster on the Crew Data window.
STARPORT 81
APPENDIX
STARSYSTEM LIST
APPENDIX 85
PLANET LIST
86 APPENDIX
CULTURE TYPES
All cultures go through a distinct evolution. This Culture Type 9
evolution can be broken up into 9 parts or culture The Final Political Form - The world as a Spoil.
types. They are: Barbarians at the borders. Political control falls
into a permanent rut of ineffectual leaders.
Culture Type 1 Primitve human conditions thrusting up into the
Pre-Cultural - Clans and tribes. No universal highly civilized way of living.
political authority. No organized Art, Religion or
Science.
Illegal Imports By Culture
Culture Type 2
Fuedalism - Warriors and the Priesthood in Culture Illegal Product Types:
power. Art as a response to Nature.
1 Food/Spice, Information
Culture Type 3 2 Art/Artifact, Entertainment,
Breakdown of Fuedalism - The Reformation. Information
Early types of art disappear. 3 Art/Artifact, Narcotics, Jewelry,
Entertainment
Culture Type 4 4 Art/Artifact, Entertainment, Clothing,
Formation of Aristocratic States - Growing Information
political absolutism. Art begins to mature along 5 Weapons
with Philosophy. The rise of puritanical religions 6 Weapons, Transport, Information
to oppose the new absolutism. 7 Food/Spice, Lifeforms, Narcotics
8 Weapons, Information
Culture Type 5 9 Information
Absolutism - The Aristocracy is controlled by the
King and the Middle Class. Art becomes
intellectual. The great conclusive Philosophies.
The zenith of Mathematical thought.
Culture Type 6
Revolution and Napoleonism - The Middle Class
combats alliance of the Aristocracy and King.
The victory of Money over Blood. Exhaustion of
Art forms.
Culture Type 7
Contending States - Dominance of Money.
Rational social ethics replace Religion.
Conceptual Art. Final Thought in Mathematics.
Culture Type 8
Caesarism - The victory of Force Politics.
Nations decay into a formless mass, soon to be
forged into an Imperium of gradually increasing
despotism. Archaic, exotic Art.
APPENDIX 87
PARTS LIST
Hyperdrive
Damage EU Range
Brand Name Points Size perLY in LY Soph Cost
Sub-light Drive
88 APPENDIX
PARTS LIST
Gravity Generator
Max Gravs Compensated - Maximum acceleration in gravities that the generator can withstand.
Notes:
•If this system's damage points are zeroed, your ship will be destroyed.
•This is a constant drain device.
•This is a partial operation device.
Converter
Damage EU
Brand Name Points Size perOrelV Soph Cost
APPENDIX 89
PARTS LIST
Accumulators
Notes:
•If this system's damage points are zeroed, your ship will be destroyed.
•This is a partial operation device.
Ore Storage
Damage Maximum Units
Brand Name Points Size per Ore Type Soph Cost
Bridge
Damage
Brand Name Points Size Soph Cost
Notes:
•If this system's damage points are zeroed, your ship will be destroyed.
•This is a constant drain device.
90 APPENDIX
PARTS LIST
Crew Quarters
Damage Crew
Brand Name Points Size Capacity Soph Cost
Notes:
•This is a constant drain device.
•This is a partial operation device.
Computer
Autodoctor
Damage Max Health % Health
Brand Name Points Size Restored per Hour Soph Cost
APPENDIX 91
PARTS LIST
Hibernaculum
Damage Passenger Revivals
Brand Name Points Size Capacity Lost% Soph Cost
Revivals Lost % -The percentage of hibernation revivals that die on the average.
Notes:
•This is a constant drain device.
•This is a partial operation device.
Vidcomm
Damage Maximum
Brand Name Points Size km Range Soph Cost
Maximum km Range - The maximum range (in kilometers) for message reception.
Cargo Hold
Max Cargo Size Units -The maximum number of cargo size units which can be held.
Note:
•This is a constant drain device.
92 APPENDIX
PARTS LIST
Atmospherics
Damage
Brand Name Points Size Soph Cost
Notes:
•If this system's damage points are zeroed, your ship will be destroyed.
•This is a constant drain device.
Solar/Planetal Scanner
Damage EU
Brand Name Points Size per Scan ECCM% Soph Cost
Resource Scanner
APPENDIX 93
PARTS LIST
Orbital Shuttle
Damage Energy Maximum Csize Ore
Brand Name Points Size Capacity Passengers Capacity Maximum Soph Cost
94 APPENDIX
PARTS LIST
MISSILE LAUNCHER
MISSILE RACK
Damage MSU
Brand Name Points Size Capacity Soph Cost
APPENDIX 95
PARTS LIST
SHIELD GENERATOR
Note:
•This is a constant drain device.
•This is a partial operation device.
DOCKING ADAPTER
Damage
Brand Name Points Size Soph Cost
ToloolloA/5 4 1 84 2500
Hinto/KotoCo A/9 6 2 84 2800
Damage
Brand Name Points Size Jam% Soph Cost
Note:
•This is a constant drain device.
96 APPENDIX
PARTS LIST
ASSAULT CAPSULE
ORE PROCESSOR
RAMSCOOP
Units Ore IV per Minute - The average number of units of Ore IV collected per minute of use.
APPENDIX 97
WEAPONS LIST
Missiles
Brand Damage Range
Name Inflicted Accuracy% km MSU Cost
Notes:
• PN Pritchard SBR's damage shield generators directly for up to 5 dp's
(damage points). Shield blockage does not count against this type of
missile.
• Franklin Lab FE's are anti-personnel weapons. They will not work at all
if the shield level of the target ship is above 3 dp's. If they do pass
through, they will destroy up to 300% health of the enemy crew.
• Woden FE's are anti-personnel weapons. They will not work at all if the
shield level of the target ship is above 9 dp's. If they do pass through,
they will destroy up to 500% health of the enemy crew.
Exosuits
Brand Name Blocks% Move Cost
Portables
Brand Name Range HealthDam% Cost
Drives 13 0
Sutter Class
Energy 14 +2
C&S 32 -2
Section Size Visibility Modifiers Scanning 5 -2
Landers 10 -2
Drives 12 +2
Weapons 27 +2
Energy 20 -4
Mining 1 +2
C&S 24 -4
Scanning 5 +4
Landers 8 +4
Kotor Class
Weapons 24 0
Mining 16 -2 Section Visibility Modifiers
Size
Drives 17 +4
Morgan Class
Energy 18 -4
C&S 34 -4
Section Size Visibility Modifiers Scanning 6 -4
Landers 8 +8
Drives 15 -4
Weapons 14 0
Energy 18 0
Mining 1 0
C&S 39 -4
Scanning 5 +4
Landers 8 +4
Weapons 25 0
Mining 1 0
100 APPENDIX
SPACECRAFT DESIGNS
APPENDIX 101
UNIVERSE BBS
102 APPENDIX
LOCAL GROUP DIAGRAM
APPENDIX 103
INDEX
104 APPENDIX
INDEX
Products
Buying 22,78
Cargo Size 22
Illegal 87
Manifest (list) 56
Price 22
Selling 22,78
Sophistication 22
Type 22,56
Programs
Functions 24
Purchase 66
Removal 24
Running 23,45
Provisions 21,41,66
Ramscoop19,61,97
Resource Scanner 18,58,93
Salvo 28
Shield Generator 18,27,28,96
Shuttle, Orbital 18,57,94
Spacecraft
Classes 100-101
Designs 100-101
Purchase 70
Sales 70
Specialty See Crew
Solar/Planetal Scanner 18,93
Sub-light Drive 17,25,88
Time 32
Vidcomm 18,44,92
Visibility 17
Visibility Modifiers 17,100
APPENDIX 105
3jjfe
Q M I M I T R E N D
S O F T W A R E
P.O. B O X 733 • W E S T SIMSBURY, C T 0B09S