: . _________ ________ _____________ _____ | __ / : ___________/ _ \ \ __ _ / | \ ____: : \_/ -A : \______ \ | \_ _: \_/ \_/ | \ | \_ D_ / / _/ | / ___/ \_ | : : | _______/ `N _/ \ \_________/ | \________/ _____ | : \__________/ \ \_ : : \__________ \___________/ . CRaZY GaNG . +--------------------------------+ K240 FULL MANUAL ================== TYPED BY SHARD - N&B Part 2 MILITARY STRATEGY ----------------- Not too many clues here! Until you discover the weaknesses and strengths of each Alien, maintain a varied defence. If it appears that the enemy concentrate on missile strikes build plenty of Anti-Missile Pods. If you are constantly plagued by enemy attack fleets maintain a strong defence fleet which can intercept the enemy fleet as soon as it is detected. Protect your colonies with gun turrets and Screen Generators. Your attack tactics will also depend upon what you discover about the enemy and how they react when they are attacked. Sometimes it is better to build large and strong attack fleets and back them up with regular missile strikes. Other times regular attacks by small skirmish fleets may be enough to keep the enemy at bay whilst you plan something special for them! Examine the enemy defences carefully before you attack. Dont leave it too long in the game before constructing a Space Dock. This will allow you to buy the blueprints for the Terminator and Battleship from Sci-Tek and to add them to your fleet. One last tip: Watch where the enemy attacks carefully. It is possible that he does not know about all your asteroids and attacks the same ones over and over. If you think this is the case use the undetected asteroids for the bulk of your mining and ship production whilst they are safe. INTERVAL: --------- THERE WILL NOW BE A SHORT BREAK IN THE MANUAL. THERE WILL BE SOMEONE ALONG IN A MINUTE TO SELL YOU ICE-CREAMS AND COFFEE. PLEASE DO NOT OBSTRUCT THE WAY TO THE TOILETS. THANKS ZONE 009 : BACKGROUND --------------------- THE EMPIRE ---------- The Terran Empire governs a vast area of space, a sphere approximately 300 light years in radius with Earth at its centre. Over 1000 worlds have been inhabited and are home to countless billions of humans and a minor population of alien races discovered during the great expansion in the 23rd century. The Empire came into unofficial existence in the year 2215 when command of the homeworlds (the most densely populated worlds nearest to Earth) was seized by the Commander of the Fleet Parillo, during the 5 year war at Deneb Markab. Several years of uncertainty followed but most worlds quickly offered their support for Parillo when he began his Expansion Policy; promising to push out in search of new worlds to ease overcrowding. By 2250 he had discovered and opened up many new worlds for colonisation and established the Industrial Worlds so called because they concentrated industry away from population areas and maximised productivity. These advances led to Parillo being formally declared Emperor in the year 2253. Upon his death in 2274 title of Emperor passed to his son Marcissus Parillos policies were continued but his xenophobic nature led to many wars with newly discovered alien races, many of them highly advanced and capable of inflicting serious damage upon the Imperial Fleet. The Decade of Terror came about in 2294 when the Tharmaxlons declared war on the Empire. In a few short years they opened a great gash in the side of the Empire nearest their homeworlds in the Capella Sector. In 2301 they penetrated right to the heart of the Empire and attacked and destroyed the Industrial Worlds orbiting Beta Hydrae. Marcissus was blamed for his refusal to enter into peace negotiations with the aliens. That and the hatred of even the friendly alien minorities in the Empire for his open racism led to his being deposed as Emporer in 2303. Lynn Salaria, Marcissus daughter and greatest critic was crowned Empress that very year. Her first act was to push back the Tharmaxions with all the Imperial might and then negotiated treaty with them which was incidentally very preferential to the Terran Empire, Peace and prosperity returned and she is Empress to this day (the year 2380), though she is expected to abdicate in favour of her eldest son at any moment. SCI-TEK ------- Under the prosperity established by Parillo and later Marcissus many companies grew to immense size and profitability especialiy those directly linked to the Expansion Policy. One such company was Sci-Tek. Sci-Tek was founded in 2309 after decades of research into gravitational theory. It's first products were the much acclaimed Asteroid Engines and Gravity Nuilifier: allowing complete control of an asteroid independent of the gravitational influence of other space objects Countless other corporations bought the devices providing Sci-Tek with enough capital to channel more money towards R&D. Within ten years it led the way in the design and manufacture of obscure but useful devices and facilities. However its legal departments proved as cunning and resourceful as their technicians. They devised an incredibly complicated licensing agreement whereby its clients could buy the license rights to the design blueprints for a particular Sci-Tek product and manufacture it themselves. The results were phenomenal as were Sci-Teks profits. Other corporations preferred to use their own manufacturing facilities and this allowed Sci-Tek to phase out their own industrial plants and concentrate purely on development. They could put all their resources into developing a larger product line. Surpisingly, no loophole has been found in Sci-Teks license agreement and as a result none of their designs have been stolen. In the few cases where a client has broken the license agreement the Imperial Administrator himself has stepped in favour of Sci-Tek TETRACORP --------- Another, larger, Imperial company is Tetracorp. It began in 2221, manufacturing scout ships and sensory equipment for the Imperial Fleet. Its assets grew and it soon realised the potential of space exploration and asteroid mining. It began developing new techniques for extracting and transporting rare ores mined in the depths of space which were so successful that by the year 2280 it had grown to own and fill the entire Industrial World of Barnard Five. By the middle of the 24th century it had cornered the market in mining franchises. Having manufactured superior mining equipment and support ships. It offered packages to anyone with the ambition to take over one of the asteroid fields being discovered every year on the frontier of the Empire (known as the Fragmented Sectors). It would provide all the equipment and support required to establish one or more mining colonies on these ore rich asteroids. In return for a degree of control over the colonies and full rights to purchase all ore mined at standard Imperial prices. THE FRAGMENTED SECTORS ---------------------- As expansion continued in search of habitable worlds and resources the exploration fleets began to discover an increasing amount of star systems whose planets had been torn apart to produce huge asteroid fields orbiting the star. The cause of this widespread destruction in so many star systems is unknown but it proved incredible good fortune for Tetracorp. The fields of asteroids made it far easier to extract the valuable ores and several new and phenomenally valuable ores were discovered such as Traxium and Nexos. K240 ---- In the year 2380, Sector K240 was made available for colonisation by Tetracorp. K240 is one of the Fragmented Sector and occupies a cube of space 50 light years across. As a Tetracorp franchise holder you have claimed a section of K240 and are ready to begin your mining operations in the asteroid fields Good luck! TERRAN APPROVED: 2450 THE FOLLOWING SECTION IS FOR THOSE WITH SECURITY CLEARANCE BLUE AND ABOVE ONLY. ZONE 010 : BUILDING REFERENCE SECTION ------------------------------------- This section describes each building available and its features and purpose in the game. Some are unavailable at the start of the game but can be purchased from Sci-Tek. These are marked as (Blueprint). Note: This data is accurate at the present time but is subject to change without warning, as manufacturing techniques improve. Anti-Missile Pod (blueprint) ---------------------------- Cost: 7000 Cr Power: 3 MW/day Time: 36 days These are your major defence against incoming enemy missiles. They automatically detect enemy missiles and target them though their accuracy is low. To improve accuracy build several Asteroid Engines (blueprint) ---------------------------- Cost: 45000 Cr Power: 0-5 MW /day depending upon speed Time: 64 days This is a phenomenally advanced facility that provides the means to control the gravitational field of the asteroid enabling it to change direction and speed any time you want When you click on the building a control window appears: The current direction and speed of the asteroid is shown. To alter speed click on the right arrow button (increase) or the left arrow button (decrease). A speed of zero indicates that the asteroid will remain stationary. To alter the direction click on any of the yellow dots in the circle surrounding the asteroid. If the Engines run out of power the speed will drop to zero and the asteroid will no longer move. Power is essential to maintain the gravity field that moves the asteroid. Colony Preservation Unit ------------------------ Cost: 30000 Cr to start a new colony Power: none Time: 40 days This building can only be built when beginning a new colony on an uninhabited asteroid. (See the section on Colonising New Asteroids). The Transporter ship will automatically construct one when it arrives at the new asteroid provided enough funds are available. The purpose of the CPU is to establish a minimum survival colony allowing you time to construct. Further more specific buildings. To this end it provides: Living space for 100 employees 8 MW/day of power 300 units of air per day 250 units of food per day 250 units of water per day In addition it has storage capacity for: 1000 air units 1000 food units 1000 water units 50MW of power. The facilities at the CPU will degenerate over time since it is meant to be phased out when you have your colony up and running. Because of this all production of air, water and food (NOT power) will decrease by 1 unit/day until they reach zero. Thus the CPU cannot sustain a colony after about 250 days. Command Centre -------------- Cost: 8000 Cr Power: 3 MW/day Time: 32 days This is a very important building and you are advised to have more than one amongst your asteroids. A Command Centre can control any number of colonies therefore its exact location is unimportant. It makes all your asteroids run more smoothly and also offers specific functions when clicked upon. These are: a) A window appears listing the prices at which the Imperial Home Worlds will buy your mined ore. Sometimes the Empire will guarantee prices for a number of years for a paticular ore type that it needs badly. In this case the letter "H" will appear after the ore price to indicate that the price has been held. The number after the "H" indicates the number of years that the price is held for. This window also indicates the number of days before the next Imperial Ore Carrier arrives at your colony. b) By clicking on the Space Dock button you have the option to construct an orbiting Space Dock around the current asteroid. See the section about Space Docks. c) By clicking on the Ship Button you can obtain a list of the location of all your Transporter ships whether they are around an asteroid or in space. Use this to manage your transporters more effectively. Note: You will be unable to command any fleets without at least one Command Centre. Construction Yard ----------------- Cost: 7500 Cr Power: 2 MW/day Time: 32 Days This large building extends underground into huge caverns (accessible via the Landing Pads). you can construct the smaller spacecraft in the yard, namely Assault Fighters, Combat Eagle, and Scout Ships. When ships are constructed they are left in the underground hangers. To issue orders to the hangered ships, click on the Landing Pads. Clicking on this building allows you to construct ships or obtain a status report of ships currently under construction. Full details on ship construction are given elsewhere. Decontamination Filter --------------------- Cost: 8000 Cr Power: 3 MW/Day Time: 36 Days The background radiation on some asteroids is high causing employee sickness which leads to loss of production. The Company advises the construction of one or more of these Filters which offer a screen against the heavier radioactive particles protecting the employees inside colony buildings. Deep Bore Mine -------------- Cost: 5500 Cr Power: 2 MW/Day Time: 36 Days This is a sophisticated mining drill for locating and extracting the more valuable Ores. It can extract: Quazinc Bytanium Korellium Dragonium All mined ores are sent directly to Stores. Environmental Control --------------------- Cost: 3200 Cr Power: none Time: 20 Days This facility primarily stores surplus environment commodities for later use. Each building can store up to 5000 air units, 600 food units and 600 water units. It also monitors the usage and production of these environment commodities to provide an uninterrupted supply in every section of your colony. Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window. Protected Environmental Control ------------------------------- Cost: 8500 Cr Power: 3 MW/Day Time: 32 Days This is an extension to the normal building, with an integral Laser Turret for colony defence. Bearing in mind the importance of environmental control, it would seem prudent to protect it. Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window. Gravity Nullifier (blueprint) ----------------------------- Cost: 35000 Cr Power: 4 MW/day if on Time: 52 days It can take considerable time to monitor the movements of your asteroids and those nearby and collisions are a constant danger. The Nullifier generates a gravitational field that stops all asteroids within a certain range from moving including the one the Nullifier is built on. As long as the field is active you don`t have to worry about collisions, however any asteroid using Asteroid Engines will be unaffected by the field. Note that the field will collapse if you have insufficient power to drive the Nullifier so regular checks on it`s operational status should be maintained Clicking on the Nullifier gives the option of turning the field on or off. Hydration Plant --------------- Cost: 5000 Cr Power: 1 MW/day Time: 20 days These buildings provide essential water for your employees. Each hydration plant provides water for up to 500 employees. A very efficiet chemical process is used to extract water and oxygen from ice crystrals trapped deep within the asteroid. Surplus water will be stored in Environmental Stores if you have any. Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window Hydroponics ----------- Cost: 7000 Cr Power: 2 MW/day Time: 16 days These buildings provide essential food for your employees. Each one provides food for up to 400 workers which is grown from a slurry tank of algae fed with concentrated nutrients. It sounds inedible but the basic slurry can be moulded into any foodstuff (In tests it was found that 8 out of 10 employees could not tell the difference and the drastic reduction in cost when compared to fresh food has made these units a Company Favourite) Surplus food will be stored in Environmental Stores should you have any. Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window. Landing Pad ----------- Cost: 300 Cr Power: none Time: 16 days These are the access points for ships to enter and leave the vast underground hangers. It is advisable to leave unused ships in the hangers as this keeps them safe from enemy attack and enables damaged ships to be repaired. Landing Pads cannot be built too close to the edge of the asteroid where the rock is at its thinnest. Clicking on a Landing Pad displays a list of all ships currently in the hangers or orbiting the current asteroid. You may issue orders to one or more of these ships from here. For more information see the section on Controlling Ships elsewhere in this manual. Laser Turret ------------ Cost: 3400 Cr Power: 2 MW/day Time: 24 days This low powered weapon offers defence against attack by enemy ship(s). It will automatically track and fire upon any enemy ship(s) around the current asteroid assuming it has sufficient power. Life Support ------------ Cost: 13000 Cr Power: 2 MW/day Time: 48 Days This building provides vital air and atmospheric control throughout the colony buildings. Each life support module can generate a breathable environment for up to 500 employees. A revolutionary (and top secret) chemical process is used to extract Hydrogen Oxygen and the various Noble gasses trapped within the asteroid and render them breathable. Surplus air will be stored in the Environmental Stores if you have any. Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window Living Quarters --------------- Cost: 1000 Cr Power: none Time: 32 Days The basic support building for employees in the colony. Much of the building is underground and has adequate facilities for about 50. They are quick to construct but very susceptible to damage from attack. Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window Medical Centre -------------- Cost: 5000 Cr Power: 1 MW/Day Time: 30 Days This is a state of the art facility incorporating all the medical equipment and staff you`d expect to find in a major planetary Hospital. It is capable of supporting a colony of up to 100 employees, handling both routine and emergency medical care. It is unwise to have a large colony without at least one Medical Centre. Having one improves employee morale and health and in addition lowers the number of fatalities through mining accidents. It is also invaluable in the rare cases when a virus spreads rapidly through the close confinement of a mining colony and can also offer treatment for low doses of radiation Mine ---- Cost: 4000 Cr Power: 1 MW/Day Time: 32 Days The basic mining drill for extracting the commoner types of ore. It can extract: Selenium Asteros Barium Crystalite All mined ores are sent directly to Stores Missile Silo ------------ Cost: 4300 Cr Power: none Time: 32 Days All your missiles are constructed and launched from these silos. For full details about Missiles see the appropriate section elsewhere in this manual. Each asteroid has underground caverns capable of storing 10 of each type of missile, a total of 110 missiles. Obviously no matter how many missiles you have in storage you cannot launch them without a silo. The advantage of multiple silos is that your launch rate is far greater. Clicking on a silo brings up the Missile Construction Window where you select which missiles to build. Launching missiles is done by clicking on the Missile Button (See the section on Missiles for details of both these operations) Ore Teleporter (blueprint) -------------------------- Cost: 45000 Cr Power: 1 MW/Day Time: 48 Day This is a very effective and swift means of transporting ores between asteroids you must have an ore transporter on both of the asteroids you want to move ore between. For best results install one on all your asteroids. To teleport some ore, click on the Ore Teleport on the asteroid you want to move ore FROM. A window appears listing all the ore available in the Stores on this asteroid both in bar chart form and numerical form You cannot do anything until you select the destination asteroid. To do so, click on the asteroid button. You will be taken to the Asteroid Field screen where you can move the cross hair over the destination asteroid and click with the left mouse button you must of course select an asteroid that is owned by you and that contains an Ore Teleporter. After selecting the destination you will be returned to the Ore teleport window where you will now see the contents of the stores on the destination asteroid (The second column of figures). To teleport ore simply drag the bar charts either left or right (similar to the means explained earlier in the manual) and Ore will be teleported instantaneously between the asteroids. To teleport from the current asteroid to the destination drag the bar charts to the right. To teleport from the destination to the current asteroid drag the bar charts to the left. Plasma Turret (blueprint) ------------------------- Cost: 5500 Cr Power: 3 MW /day Time: 30 days This weapon offers greater fire power than the standard Laser Turret. It automatically tracks and fires upon any enemy ships around the current asteroid providing it has sufficient power. Photon Turret (blueprint) ------------------------- Cost: 7500 Cr Power: 5 MW /day Time: 52 days This weapon offers the greatest fire power of the three turret types. The Photon Turrets power and accurracy is beyond compare and is only rivalled by some of the larger intergalactic warships. Having sold this however a warship moves pretty damn fast whereas a turret is rooted to the spot as you would expect. It too automatically tracks and fires upon any enemy ships around the current asteroid providing it has sufficient power. Powerplant (blueprint) ---------------------- Cost: 10000 Cr Power: variable Time: 40 days This is the major means of power generation upon your asteroids. It is a large and complicated building to construct but it offers superior power generation. It extracts Asteros ore direct from the asteroid and uses a fusion process to turn it into a daily output of 32 MW. Ensure you have an adequate supply of Asteros before construction since it uses 1 Asteros unit every 4 days. If there is an ample supply of Asteros it will generate 32 MW/day otherwise it will use less ores to give a much reduced output of 8MW/day. Clicking on this building brings up a list of all buildings currently without power if any. Power Store ----------- Cost: 1500 Cr Power: none Time: 32 days Unused surplus power is channelled into these for later use. They offer a good backup in the rarer cases where you may temporarily lose some of your power generation buildings, perhaps during an enemy attack. They will at least prevent you from being totally out of power for a short while. Each one has a capacity of 200 MW of power. Clicking on this building brings up a list of all buildings currently without power if any. Repair Facility (blueprint) --------------------------- Cost: 20000 Cr Power: none Time: 36 days Colony buildings get damaged in the harsh environment of the mining colony especially during enemy attacks, Normally there are insufficient resources to affect repajrs. This building controls a fleet of repair robots that routinely move about the colony and undertake building repairs. Resiblock --------- Cost: 3000 Cr Power: 2 MW/Day Time: 48 Days This is a more advanced support building, offering more facilities for employees especially in the way of entertiainment and leisure. It takes longer to construct than the basic Living quarters but supports 150 employees and is more space efficient. Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window Protected Resiblock ------------------- Cost: 8500 Cr Power: 5 MW/Day Time: 56 Days The standard resiblock is now protected by an integral Laser Turret giving better protection from enemy attack and subsequently safeguarding your workforce. Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window Satellite Silo -------------- Cost: 5000 Cr Power: none Time: 24 Days Gathering intelligence about the enemy requires the frequent launch of spy satellites. Satellites are both constructed and launched from these silos. For details see the section on spying. Screen Generator (blueprint) ---------------------------- Cost: 20000 Cr Power: 7 MW/Day if on Time: 52 Days Most buildings have very little defence against damage from enemy attacks and are easily damaged or destroyed. A screen generator uses power to erect a force screen over one or more buildings to offer greater protection. To identify the area of effect of a screen (an asteroid can have several Screen Generators) select Tactical Mode on the main asteroid view screen. All buildings shown with a white square are protected. Security Centre --------------- Cost: 4500 Cr Power: 2 Mw/Day Time: 24 Days The Company believes in high pay for hard work but sometimes the employees forget this and become slack or troubled by the long shifts and hard dangerous work. It is inevitable that there will be regular rebellions and standoffs between the management and the workers and this is where the highly trained security team steps in. They possess the power to discipline employees fine them, and imprison them if necessary. More importantly they also have guns. It is wise to have a Security Centre for about every 50 employees to prevent criminal activities taking a foothold. Clicking on this building will access the Colony Summary window Seismic Penetrator (blueprint) ------------------------------ Cost: 26500 Cr Power: 3 MW/Day Time: 42 Days This is the very latest mining equipment recently introduced by Sci-Tek. It takes more asteroid space and power than conventional Mines but is capable of extracting very valuable ores. It can extract: Traxium and Nexos All mined ores are sent directly to Stores. Sensor Array ------------ Cost: 3500 Cr Power: 2 MW/day Time: 36 days Without a sensor array an asteroid has a very small sensor range. (The small black circle on the Asteroid Field screen). The array improves this range (increases the circle) and gives better warning of enemy fleet movements. Whenever enemy missiles or an enemy fleet enters sensor range you will receive an on screen (and audible) warning. In the bottom left of the screen one or more icons will flash. A missile inside a circle indicates the presence of missiles and a ship inside a circle indicates the detection of a fleet. The Asteroid Field Screen will indicate their position as red dots (for Missiles) or a red logo (for fleets). For as long as these icons flash you are in danger! Solar Generator --------------- Cost: 1500 Cr Power: gen. 4 MW/day Time: 10 days A more effective means of harnessing solar power, this building can output up to 4MW/Day. It costs more but is more space efficient. Clicking on this building brings up a list of all buildings currently without power if any. Solar Matrix (blueprint) ------------------------ Cost: 5000 Cr Power: gen 8 MW/day Time: 32 days This is an expensive building but maximises space on smaller asteroids by containing a large tower of solar panels using a very small surface area. The output is 8MW/day. Clicking on this building brings up a list of all buildings currently without power if any. Protected Solar Matrix (blueprint) ---------------------------------- Cost: 7200 Cr Power: gen 8MW/day Time: 48 days This improved design contains an Integral Laser Turret for defence purposes. Clicking on this building brings up a list of all buildings currently without power, if any. Solar Panel ----------- Cost: 500 Cr Power: generates 2 MW/day Time: 8 days This is a very cheap and easily constructed array to harness power from the sun. It outputs a constant 2MW/day. Clicking on this building brings up a list of all buildings currently without power, if any. Storage Facility ---------------- Cost: 1500 Cr Power: 1 MW/day Time: 20 days This building stockpiles all types of ore for later use. It automatically handles ore arriving at the stores from the Mines via underground conveyor belts and feeds it to Construction yards or Missile Silos as needed. This small building can store a total of 300 ore units. Clicking on this building lists the ore stored by category. Storage Tower ------------- Cost: 3000 cr Power: 2 MW/day Time: 40 days This is a more space efficient Store capable of holding 600 ore units of any type. Clicking on this building lists the ore stored by category. Protected Storage Tower ----------------------- Cost: 7500 Cr Power: 4 MW/Day Time: 48 Days This is an improved design of the Storage Tower with an inbuilt Laser Turret to fend off unwelcome visitors. It should be noted that all ore storage devices will be prime targets for enemy attacks, as they are one of the prime requisites of any colony. It would therefore seem wise to protect them. This is done by putting a huge fake plastic gun on the top and a fairly pathetic real lasser turret inside it. This is in the vain hope that any attacking fleet will see the fake weapon and decide they are outgunned. The reality of course is that they see the tiny laser that it fires and think oh its another one of those realistic plastic guns I`m off. Honest. Don`t delay buy one today. Clicking on this building lists the ore stored by category. Weapons Factory --------------- Cost: 4400 Cr Power: 2 MW/Day Time: 32 Days This enables the manufacture of weapons, missile warheads and spacecraft engines. One of these buildings provides such facilities for an entire asteroid. ZONE 011 : SCI-TEK ------------------ Welcome to Sci-Tek! As you will be aware, at Sci-Tek we only deal in the galaxys most advanced blueprints. And since we dont waste any of our precious time with mass production plants, you, the customer, dont suffer in the long run. The more time we get to spend on our development, the better your equipment in the end. Here at Sci-Tek we put YOU, the customer first and foremost. And remember, this sign is your assurance of quality Sci-Tek Brochure 2425 To order call 075846653687 and one of our androids will be happy to take your order. Quote this ref. (Grem.226) for an extra 10% off. 2nd Generation Mines -------------------- Cost: 55000 Cr This is a computer controlled multi-headed drill assembly. It will automatically be added to all your existing Mines and all Mines built in the future. It doubles the speed at which a Mine can extract ore. 2nd Generation Deep Bore Mines ------------------------------ Cost: 75000 Cr This is a computer controlled multi-headed drill assembly for use on Deep Bore Mines. It will automatically be added to your existing shafts and all those built in the future. It doubles the speed at which a Deep Bore Mine can extract ore. Anti-Missile Pod ---------------- Cost: 250000 Cr This is a powerful addition to your asteroid defences. The pods will detect and track any incoming enemy missiles and attempt to destroy them harmlessly in flight. The pod accuracy is low but can be improved by building several pods on each asteroid. Anti-Virus Missile ------------------ Cost: 100000 Cr This warhead is the only known means of halting the effects of a Virus missile launched against one of your asteroids, For further details see the description of this warhead in the Missiles section. Asteroid Engines ---------------- Cost: 190000 Cr Engines allow you full control over the direction and speed of an asteroid enabling you to steer it clear of collisions or even just position it exactly where you want it in space. For full details see the description in the Buildings section. Asteroid Tracker ---------------- Cost: 40000 Cr This powerful computer works in conjunction with your sensors to analyse the movement of all known asteroids. It provides data on the direction and speed of each asteroid, enabling you to anticipate collisions. Once you have the blueprint you must activate the computer from the Asteroid Field Screen Bring up the button panel and click on the Display Modes button. Two new buttons have now appeared in the Display Modes button panel: PATHS SPEEDS PAFW EXIT The PATHS button toggles on or off the display of asteroid paths. Once on the Asteroid Field Screen will display the path of an asteroid with a green dotted line. It will always show the path of the current asteroid (providing it is actually moving) and will temporarily show the path of any asteroid you move the cross hair over. You can therefore quickly get an idea of the direction of all the asteroids. The SPEEDS button toggles on or off the display of asteroid speeds. Once on, the Asteroid Field Screen will display the speed of an asteroid as a number next to it. It will always show the speed of the current asteroid and will temporarily show the speed of any asteroid you move the cross hair over. You can quickly get an idea of the speeds of all the asteroids. If the speed is shown in red then that asteroid is caught in some kind of gravity nullifying field and is not currently moving. The number indicates its speed should it escape the nullifying field. Building Armour --------------- Cost: 110000 Cr You have purchased the rights to a strengthened construction material. You can use this in all new buildings you construct making them more resilient to enemy attacks. Construction Droids ------------------- Cost: 20000 Cr Usually your Vehicle Construction Yards only have the resources to manufacture up to 3 craft at a time. Once you have this blueprint all your yards and all future yards will be modified to include a state of the art robotic assembly line. The sophistication of these droids allows you to construct up to 6 craft at a time. You can now build larger fleets with less of your time spent supervising the Yards. Deflector -------- Cost: 115000 Cr This is a hardpoint that can be added to newly constructed ships to improve their defence. It consists of a generator that pulses energy through the ships hull all the time that it is in flight using power from the main engines. The energised hull is more resilient to attacks and can absorb and deflect most attacks. The Deflector can be used with existing shields and greatly improves the lifetime of a ship. Fleet Battleship ---------------- Cost: 150000 Cr One of the most powerful ships produced in the Empire. Using this blueprint you can construct these battleships at any asteroid where you have a Space Dock. For further details see the description in the Spacecraft section Gravity Nullifier ----------------- Cost: 70000 Cr The Nullifier generates a powerful gravity field about the asteroid it is built upon. This prevents the asteroid and close neighbouring asteroids from moving. This is particularly useful to avoid asteroid collisions or simply to hold several of your asteroids together for quick movement between them. For further details see the description in the Buildings section. Hi-Energy Power Stores ---------------------- Cost: 15000 Cr This specialised capacitance circuit is automatically installed in all your existing Power Stores and any built from now on. It simply doubles the storage capacity of all Power Stores. Improved Sensors ---------------- Cost: 34000 Cr Sci-Tek have recognised the reliance most asteroid mining colonies put upon their Sensor Arrays Without them an asteroid is very vulnerable to an unexpected collision or surprise enemy attack. They have developed this device that is installed in all your existing asteroids and also added to the CPU building so that all future colonies will have this device also it renders Sensor Arrays unnecessary by hiding the sensors underground and using new techniques to allow them to probe surrounding space MEGA Missile ------------ Cost: 500000 Cr Incredibly expensive but then you are buying the most powerful weapon in the Empire capable of destroying an entire asteroid upon impact. For further details see the summary of this warhead in the Missiles section. Missile Bay Extension --------------------- Cost: 30000 Cr Conventional missile Silos can only store a maximum of 10 of each type of warhead on an asteroid. If they are to be loaded and launched as quickly as possible. This new loading rack system is installed in all your existing and future Missile Silos and allows them to store up to 20 of each type of missile. The rack system is compact but can arm any warhead on any silo in a matter of seconds. Missile Guidance System ----------------------- Cost: 35000 Cr This device uses your sensors to accurately measure the distance and relative vectors of the launching and target asteroids. It uses this information to provide you with an indication of the likelihood of each missile hitting the target asteroid. By using this device you can maximise your attacks and avoid wasting missiles by firing them at targets too distant. See the Missile section for details about how to use the Guidance System. Nuclear Missile --------------- Cost: 300000 Cr This missile inflicts large amounts of damage upon the asteroid it hits. For further details see the summary of this warhead in the Missiles section Ore Teleporter -------------- Cost: 150000 Cr Transporting ore between your asteroids via Transporter ships can take a lot of time and effort You can avoid this by constructing Ore Teleporters on all your asteroids. Any type of ore can be teleported between Teleporters instantaneously. For instructions on its use see the description of the Ore Teleporter in the Buildings section. Photon Turret ------------- Cost: 100000 Cr The most powerful turret on the market today. Very effective against enemy ships attacking your asteroids. For further details see the description in the Buildings section. Plasma Turret ------------- Cost: 60000 Cr A more powerful turret than the standard Laser Turret. For further details see the description in the Buildings section. Power Amplifier --------------- Cost: 100000 Cr This optimises your solar panels allowing them to double their power output to your colony. The Amplifier is automatically added to all present and future Solar Panels, Generators and Solar Matrices. Powerplant ---------- Cost: 40000 Cr The Powerplant is a very cost effective means of power generation using a fusion process to convert Asteros ore into power. For further details see the description in the Buildings section. Repair Facility --------------- Cost: 150000 Cr This building supports a fleet of repair droids that move through your colony buildings and carrying out repairs of battle damage. For further details see the description in the Buildings section Screen Generator ---------------- Cost: 175000 Cr The Screen Generator produces a defence screen around itself and neighbouring buildings absorbing some of the damage of an enemy attack. For furthur details see the description in the Buildings section. Seismic Genetrator ------------------ Cost: 120000 Cr This is the only type of drilling assembly capable of extracting the incredibly rare (and expensive) Traxium and Nexos ores from underground. It is a large and very complicated building but vital if you have ambitions of becoming a major ore supplier. For further details see the description in the Buildings section. Shield X40 ---------- Cost: 30000 Cr This is a Hardpoint that can be added to newly constructed ships to improve their defence. It simply adds an extra layer of armour to the ships hull. Shield X50 ---------- Cost: 40000 Cr This is another hardpoint that can be added to a newly constructed ship. It provides a state of the art defence system almost guaranteed to render the ship invulnerable (but not quite) And all for a mere 40000 Cr. Solar Matrix ------------ Cost: 30000 Cr This is a more space and cost effective means of power generation than the basic Solar Panel For furthur details see the description in the Buildings section. Static Inducer -------------- Cost: 80000 Cr This is a Hardpoint that can be added to newly constructed ships it uses the ships main engines to concentrate and emit a powerful electromagnetic pulse that temporarily confuses the electronics of enemy ships. The blueprint also shows how our own ships are protected against the e m pulse. During the pulse all enemy ships are unable to move or attack and are completely vulnerable to our own attacks. Stasis Missile ------------- Cost: 250000 Cr This state of the art missile encompasses the target asteroid with a temporary field that stops time, freezing the asteroid and all ships in orbit about it for a period of time. For further details see the summary of this warhead in the Missiles section. Terminator ---------- Cost: 90000 Cr This is a powerful Cruiser warship with 4 hardpoints making it a superior attack ship to everything but the fleet battleship. For further details see the description of this ship in the Spacecraft section. Turret Optimiser ---------------- Cost: 240000 Cr This devise has been long awaited. It modifies all existing and future turrets of any type giving them the power to double the damage that they can inflict in each shot. Quite how the device works is a closely guarded secret, however the most popular theory is that a huge capacitor is used to charge the turret up when not in use and the surplus of power increases the damage it is capable of inflicting. Virus Missile ------------- Cost: 350000 Cr This warhead releases a volatile substance upon impact that causes the very rock of an asteroid to become unstable. It is impossible for buildings to stand upon this new, unstable substance. The virus will slowly spread across the asteroid destroying everything in its path. A very powerful weapon (hence its price). Upon its initial release the Virus missile was declared illegal on almost 200 separate worlds however modern thinking suggests it is a more humane method of warfare: Maximum results with minimum casualties. Such is the turnaround in the concensus of opinion that Sci-Teks PR department has won several awards for its work on this particular project. For further details see the summary of this warhead in the Missiles section. Warp Generator -------------- Cost: 75000 Cr This is a hardpoint that can be added to newly constructed ships. It is a limited defence device. A capacitor is charged from the ships main engines and then the charge is released as a powerful warp field phasing the ship out of the Spacial Matrix (tm). In its phased out state the ship is impervious to all damage but may still fire its own weapons. When the capacitor has discharged the ship phases back into normal space until the capacators charged again and is thus vulnerable to attack again. This pulsing warp field happens automatically. ZONE 012 : SPACECRAFT --------------------- Assault Fighter --------------- Imperial Code: 15KC/TC/4158137 Internal Code: KC651910067 Length: 13m Beam: 8m Speed: 15,700 km/h atmos. Speed: 3 FN = 1000 LS/day Mass: 40 tonnes Hull: 20 armour Build 20 days From: Construction Yard Hardpoints: 1 Ore: 2 Selenium, 2 Crystalite Cost: 6000 Cr Engine: Kerell Thruster MKII, x2 KA344325G Cargo: 10 tonnes Boost: +3000 LS/day Crew: 3 Sensor: Nembry Avionics NA6518PD Life Support: 1 year Computer: Kerell TR37, 200 MIPS Landing Gear: triple EW/ECM: 1 LD fwd & rear only Comms: Sensory Matrix transceiver 1 LY effective Inert Damping: none In use since its initial design in 2232. A proven ship that is cheap, quick to build and ideal in Combat situations. Developed by the Kerell Corporation, based on the Industrial World of Tau Ceti III. Its designer was L.G.R. Riley, Engineer Grade VII at the Kerell Corp. Incredible as it may sound, Ms Riley is the only female engineer to have ever held a senior position in Kerell. Ironically, this ship is one of their best selling ever, and has provided the funding for many of their more recent ventures. Combat Eagle ------------ Imperial Code: 12TC/B5/8778103 Internal Code: TC86608133X Length: 10m Beam: 9m Speed: 15,700 km/h atmospheric Speed: 3 FN = 1000 LS/day Mass: 120 tonnes Hull: 30 armour Build: 30 days From: Construction Yard Hardpoints: 2 Ore: 4 Selenium, 4 Crystalite Cost: 8000 Cr Engine: Fortuna Drive V3.4 (x2) MX3321H Cargo: 32 tonnes Boost: + 2500 LS/day Crew: 7 Sensor: XLR array, XLR793 V1.31 Life Support: 1.5 years Computer: Kerell TX5, 560 MIPS Landing Gear: triple EW/ECM: 2.5 LD, spherical Comms: Sensory Matrix transceiver 2.3 LY effective Inertia Damping: < 2 FN Designed by Engineer and Pilot R F Drake Stoker at the Morgan Design Institute on Barnard Five, under license to Tetracorp, in the year 2308. It has now become Tetracorps standard lowcost assault ship and widely used throughout the Empire. A general purpose Combat vessel. Scout Ship ---------- Imperial Code: 12TC/B5/8751113 Internal Code: TC-888132-712-F Length: 12m Beam: 6m Speed: 10,200 km/h atmospheric Speed: 2 FN = 740 LS/day Mass: 34 tonnes Hull: 5 armour Build: 20 days From: Construction Yard Hardpoints: 1 Ore: 4 Selenium, 2 Crystalite Cost: 3000 Cr Engine: Fortuna Impulse Dome, Mk3 RBW 690421-C Cargo: 5 tonnes Boost: + 200 LS/Day Crew: 3 Sensor: XLR sub array core, XLR-64 V5.2 TN sampling units, code:TN 87991 Life Support: 4.5 years Computer: SG Imagine os 5.1 910 MIPS Landing Gear: Triple EW/ECM: 1.2 LD, fwd only Comms: Sensory Matrix transceiver 12,8 LY Inertia Damping: none Designed by Engineer R Marax at the Tetracorp Central Construction Yards on Barnard Five, in the year 2345, This is the fourth issue of Tetracorprs Popular scout ship. Though the Imperial Navy uses the superior Class 7, this vessel is widespread amongst Tetracorp's franchised mining operations. Whilst it is near useless in combat situations, it carries superior XLR sensor arrays tuned to the discovery of ore rich asteroids. Destructor ---------- Imperial Code: 171GX/B7/3771826 Internal Code: GX48911-8834 Length: 34m Beam: 48m Speed: 9,700 km/h atmospheric Speed: 2 FN = 690 LS/day Mass: 1033 tonnes Hull: 40 armour Build: 48 days From: Orbital Space Dock Hardpoints: 3 Ore: 8 Selenium, 6 Crystalite Cost: 15000 Cr Engine: Gax V2 Hyper drive (7.1c) (x1) Gax RN35 Thrusters (x2) GRN35-7133 Cargo: 120 tonnes Boost: + 340 LS/day Crew: 16 Sensor: XLR array, XLR 793 V2.17 Life Support: 2.7 years Computer: Kerell NT-690, 1700 MIPS Landing Gear: none EW/ECM: 5.6 LD, spherical Comms: Sensory Matrix transceiver 4.4 LY Inertia Damping: < 2 FN Gax Industries are well known for their superior ship design, and this ship is no exception. It is widely used as a leading attack and support ship, and is extremely versatile, being capable of interstellar Jump travel, interplanetary and atmospheric use. Its designer was Y. Inars, working at the Gax R&D Facility on Brekon 7 , Initially designed in 2278, it was never built, instead it underwent a redesign and finally became operational in 2316. Terminator ---------- Imperial Code: 112ST/613922 Internal Code: ST-1D-7791337 Length: 52m Beam: 32m Speed: 2,100 km/h atmospheric Speed: 1 FN = 430 LS/day Mass: 7814 tonnes Hull: 50 armour Build: 80 days From:Orbital Space Dock Hardpoints: 4 Ore: 8 Selenium, 2 Dragonium Cost: 34000 Cr Engine: Sci-Tek InterSpacial Drive STC-87 revision 4.3 (x2) Sci-Tek Thrusting Unit STC-7133 revision 2 (x2) Cargo: 470 tonnes Boost: + 60 LS/day Crew: 38 Sensor: STC-7Y, sweep pattern Life Support: 4.5 years Computer: Sci-Tek Tek-16 2500 MIPS Landing Gear: none EW/ECM: 9.8 LD, spherical Comms: Sensory Matrix transceiver 16.4 LY effective Inertia Damping: full One of Sci-Tek's most popular warships, it is used widely by the Imperial Navy. Originally designed and built in 2321, this is the latest and updated version 5, newly built in 2371. Its original designer is unknown, but version 5 is credited to I. Atkin. He (Atkin) is considered by many to be one of the greatest naval architects the galaxy has ever seen. It is also widely believed that he has the worst colour sense of anyone in the known worlds, hence the Terminator's lurid (original?) colour schemes Transporter ----------- Imperial Code: 171GX/B7/3771663 Internal Code: GX42880-7515 Length: 105 m Beam: 74 m Speed: no atmospheric Speed: 1 FN = 400 LS/day Mass: 14320 tonnes Hull: 40 armour Build: 114 days From:Orbital Space Dock Hardpoints: 2 Ore: 6 Selenium, 1 Dragonium Cost: 24000 Cr Engine: Gax V2 Hyper drive (7.1c) (x1) Gax Drive DC-721603-K (x1) Cargo: 48000 tonnes Boost: +10 LS/day Crew: 8 Sensor: XLR array, XLR-793 V2.17 Life Support: 8 years Computer: Kerell NT-690, 1700 MIPS Landing Gear: none EW/ECM: 2.4 LD, spherical Comms: Sensory Matrix transceiver 14.2 LY effective Inert Damping: full Another ship designed by Y. Inara on Brekon 7, Inara obviously had a poor year when he designed the Gax Transporter as in many areas it is inadequate and in others it is woefully underspecced. As an example it has far too powerful a computer which is prone to system crashes when the Impulse Drives are used to manoeuvre the Transporter into orbit. Many clients have asked for better armour and longer range communicators and as a result it is likely that Inara will update the ship for re-release in the next few years. The reason the Gax Transporter sells is its enormous cargo bays and the ease of loading. Despite it's slow speed, the XLR Sensor Array is more than adequate for the ship to be used in an asteroid field. Shame it handles like a brick though. Fleet Battleship ---------------- Imperial Code: 112ST/617600 Internal Code: ST-1D-7785581 Length: 92m Beam: 63m Speed: no atmospheric Speed: 1 FN = 580 LS/day Mass: 45910 tonnes Hull: 70 armour Build: 114 days From:Orbital Space Dock Hardpoints: 6 Ore: 8 Selenium, 6 Dragonium Cost: 60000 Cr Engine: Sci-Tek InterSpacial Drive STC-87 revision 4.3 (x2) Sci-Tek Thrusting Unit STC-135 revision 3.1 (x4) Cargo: 1310 tonnes Boost: + 180 LS/day Crew: 74 Sensor: STC-7Y5, sweep pattern, globe Life Support: 12 years Computer: Sci-Tek Tek-18 5000 MIPS Landing Gear: none EW/ECM: 45.1 LD, spherical Comms: Sensory Matrix transceiver 38.6 LY effective Inert Damping: full One of Sci-Tek's most modern and powerful ships, it was designed by R. Giggs in 2364. Despite its grand name, it is a mere fraction of the size of the real Imperial Battleship, but is easily large enough to form the centrepiece of any independent fleet. Both Sci-Tek and Tetracorp use and recommend them as their primary warship, and its 6 hardpoints make it a very flexible vessel. Orbital Space Dock ------------------ Imperial Code: 12TC/B5?8799145 Internal Code: TC-734403-451T Diameter: 215m Speed: 1 FN = 50 LS/day Mass: 145512 tonnes Hull: 120 armour Build: 86 days Hardpoints: 4 Ore: 10 Bytanium, 20 Dragonium Cost: 200000 Cr Engine: Fortuna Thrusting Arrays MX-67-14 (x8) Cargo: 14400 tonnes Boost: + 5 LS/day Crew: 230 Sensor: XLR GlobCon MkIV XLR-GC-71334 Life Support: indefinite Computer: Kerell NT-690, 1700 MIPS Landing Gear: none EW/ECM: 1 LY, spherical Comms: Sensory Matrix transceiver, 70 LY effective Inert Damping: <1 FN Designed by M.D.Glossop at the Morgan Design Institute on Barnard Five in the year 2338. Tetracorp intended the O.S.D. to be used as a control post in the Frontier Sectors, keeping each mining colony in touch with the Home Worlds and Tetracorp. Glossop originally designed larger cargo bays but altered them at the last moment into a ship construction facility. This is probably the sole factor that has made the O.S.D. as successful as it is - the ability to contruct large warships in the depth of space ZONE 013 : HARDPOINT WEAPONS ---------------------------- This is a summary of the devices available for installation in a hardpoint. Ones marked with (blueprint) are only available once the construction rights have been purchased from Sci-Tek Note: Costs given are correct at the present time but are subject to change without warning Ion Cannon ---------- Cost: 1000 Cr This is the basic (and very cheap) weapon for use against enemy asteroids. It has a minimum impact area and does little damage Disruptor --------- Cost: 6000 Cr This weapon is another Air-to- Surface weapon for use against enemy asteroids. It has a greater area of effect than the Ion Cannon but darmage is still limited. Napalm Orb ---------- Cost: 4000 Cr This fires a stream of high temperature plasma gas at an asteroid with its own Oxygen supply which will burst into flame upon impact. Damage will be inflicted upon any buildings caught in the flame. The area of effect is very limited however. Chaos Bomb ---------- Cost: 12000 Cr This is an improved version of the Napalm Orb but with a much larger area of effect. Like the Hellfire Missile the flames from this weapon can easily spread to neighbouring buildings and devastate huge areas of an asteroid. Very effective against densely populated asteroids. Vortex Mine ----------- Cost: 5000 Cr An electrical vortex is released upon the asteroid. It will wander at random upon the surface inflicting damage upon any building it touches. The longevity of the vortex is indeterminate. It can vanish at any time. It is possible for the vortex to split into two parts each continuing to wreak havoc and each with the possibility of splitting again Laser ----- Cost: 1000 Cr This is the standard Ship to Ship weapon based on a focused beam of light. It does very little damage. Photon Cannon ------------- Cost: 4500 Cr A more effective ship to ship weapon. The twin guns fire packets of energy held together by a force field. Plasma Cannon ------------- Cost: 9000 Cr The most powerful ship to ship weapon. It fires a focused disruptor beam housing superheated plasma gas and is capable of ripping through even the most powerful armour. Caution should be exercised in the use of this weapon, and the Company is not liable for any damage incurred to the user should anything untoward happen. Static Inducer (blueprint) -------------------------- Cost: 4500 Cr This devise uses the ships main engines to concentrate and emit a powerful electromagnetic pulse that temporarilly confuses the electronics of an enemy ship. During the pulse the enemy ship is unable to move or attack and completely vulnerable to our own attacks. Warp Generator (blueprint) -------------------------- Cost: 9000 Cr This is a limited defence device. A capacitor is charged from the ships main engines and then the charge is released as a powelful warp field phasing the ship out of the Spacial Matrix (tm) In its phased state the ship is impervious to all damage but may still fire its own weapons When the capacitor has discharged the ship phases back into normal space until the capacitor is charged again and is thus vulnerable to attack again. This pulsing warp field happens automatically Deflector (blueprint) --------------------- Cost: 12000 Cr This devise consists of a generator that pulses energy through the ships hull all the time that it is in flight using power from the main engines. The energised hull is more resilient to attacks and can absorb and deflect most attacks. The Deflector can be used with existing shields and greatly improves the lifetime of a ship Shield X10 ---------- Cost: 1500 Cr This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against damage. This shield adds 10 armour points and may be stacked with other Shields or defences Shield X20 ---------- Cost: 3000 Cr This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against damage. This shield adds 20 armour points and may be stacked with other shields or defences Shield X30 ---------- Cost: 5000 Cr This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against damage. This shield adds 30 armour points and may be stacked with other shields or defences Shield X40 (blueprint) ---------------------- Cost: 6500 Cr This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against damage. This shield adds 40 armour points and may be stacked with other shields or defences Shield X50 (blueprint) ---------------------- Cost: 8000 Cr This extends the armour of the ships hull to give better protection against damage. This shield adds 50 armour points and may be stacked with other shields or defences. TERRAN APPROVED: 2450 THE FOLLOWING SECTION IS FOR THOSE WITH SECURITY CLEARANCE ORANGE AND ABOVE ONLY ZONE 014 : MISSILE WARFARE -------------------------- Missiles are an integral part of the military might of your colony. You should rely on neither ships alone nor missiles alone, but use a combination of both of them. The advantage of missiles is that they are a long range weapon, allowing you to strike at the enemy deep in space. This is a disadvantage too since missiles cannot be used to combat enemy attacks on your asteroids. BUILDING MISSILES ----------------- To be able to build and launch missiles you must have one or more Missile Silos on an asteroid Select these from the Bullding Selection Window and construct them on suitable asteroids preferably ones with a variety of ore and not too distant from an enemy asteroid. You need only one silo on an asteroid but the more you do have the more missiles you can launch simultaneously for a quicker attack. To build a missile click on the Missile Silo building. A window appears detailing each of the missiles available to you at this time. See the end of this section for a summary of each missile warhead type. Some missile types are only available once you have purchased the blueprints from Sci-Tek. At the start of the game you have 6 types available but there are 11 in total LEFT RIGHT BUILD ABORT EXIT Use the Left and Right Arrow buttons to cycle through the missile types until you reach the one you wish to build. Click on the Build Missile button to build a missile and click successive times to build more than one. Click on the Abort button to abort the building of any of this type of missile. Other types will be unaffected. Missiles will be built over a period of time. Each type takes the same amount of time to build but clearly the more you want to build the longer it will take. The cost of each missile will be deducted when the missile is finally built and delivered automatically to the underground missile hangers. These hangers can hold up to 10 of each type of warhead on each asteroid. NOTE: Money must be pre allocated to the Missile Fund in the Financial Fund Window. See the appropriate section for how to do this. The type of Ore needed to build the missile is given in the information window but you will be warned if there is insufficient ore to build any particular missile. The ore must be held in Stores on the current asteroid so you may need Mines to extract ore (See the section on Mining) Similarly you will be warned if the current asteroid does not have a Weapons Factory. Missiles cannot be built without one. Even if you receive one of these warnings about insufficient ore, lack of money or lack of Weapons Factory the Missile Silos will continually check whether they can build another missile. So as soon as you rectify the fault (ie mine or transport more ore allocate more money to the Missile Fund or build a Weapons Factory) the construction will continue automatically. LAUNCHING MISSILES ------------------ To launch a missile click on the Launch Missile button either from the Asteroid View Screen or the Asteroid Field Screen. A window will list the number of each type of missile you have on the current asteroid. Each blob on the barcharts represents one missile. At the bottom of the window the current target is listed, if you have selected one, and the expected accuracy of any missiles launched against this target. This accuracy is unavailable unless you have purchased a Missile Tracker from Sci-Tek. So until you buy a Missile Tracker you will have to estimate your chances of success for a missile attack (see below) LAUNCH TARGET ABORT EXIT SETTING THE TARGET ASTEROID --------------------------- Missiles can only target asteroids not individual ships or fleets. To select a target from the Missile Control Window click on the Target button. You will be taken to the Asteroid View screen (unless you are already there) and shown all the asteroids known to you. A circle is entered on the current asteroid and this marks the range of your missiles. The circle is of little use unless you have a Missile Tracker. In which case it will be accompanied by a percentage chance to hit figure. If you don`t use a Missile Tracker you`ll have to experiment. As you move the cross hair with the mouse the circle will grow and shrink and the percentage chance to hit will alter. The percentage chance is an approximate indication of the chance of EACH of your missiles hitting but remember that even if a missile reaches its target successfully the enemy may have the means to shoot it down. To select a target asteroid move the cross hair over an asteroid and click the left mouse button. You will return to the Missile Control window. That target is now set and will remain so unless you alter it ot the targetted asteroid is destroyed SELECTING THE MISSILES TO FIRE ------------------------------ You can fire as many missiles at a time as you want but remember that the missiles will take longer to launch if you only have one or two Missile Silos. To select missiles move the mouse pointer over the name of a missile. Click right to add one missile of that type to the launch bay. Click left to remove one missile from the launch bay. Hold down the mouse button to add/remove several missiles. The red blobs show available missiles and green blobs show missiles selected for launch. The numbers at the right of the window echo this information showing how many missiles you have selected of each type. The abort button will clear all selected missiles of all types. LAUNCHING THE MISSILES ---------------------- To actually launch the selected missiles click on the Launch button. To quit without launching any missiles click on the Exit button. You can watch the progress of missiles in flight from the Asteroid Field Screen. Your missiles appear as yellow dots. MISSILE WARHEAD DATA -------------------- The data on each missile type follows. Missiles marked with (blueprint) are only available from Sci-Tek. Note: This data is accurate at this moment in time but is subject to change by Sci-Tek and the other missile manufacturers without warning. Explosive --------- Cost: 1000 Cr Ore: 1 Selenium This is the basic (and very cheap) warhead. It has a minimum impact area on the target and several such missiles may be required to destroy enemy buildings. For best results launch many at one time. Area Explosive -------------- Cost: 8000 Cr Ore: 2 Barium As an extension to the basic Explosive warhead, this warhead does similar damage but over a wider area. For best results use against densely populated asteroids. Napalm ------ Cost: 6000 Cr Ore: 1 Quazinc This warhead has a core of plasma gas which is released at a phenomenal temperature upon impact. It carries its own Oxygen supply causing the impacted buildings to erupt into flame. This flame will burn for some time inflicting further damage. The area of effect is very limited however. Hellfire -------- Cost: 20000 Cr Ore: 3 Quazinc The chemical substance encased in this warhead is a by product of the development of the Napalm warheads. Upon impact the core shatters and spreads high temperature plasma gas over a wide area. Any structure caught in this blast will begin to burn ferociously and suffer damage over a period of time. The hellfire substance has the capability to spread to neighbouring buildings and it is possible for one missile to devastate an entire asteroid if the hellfire burns long enough. Clearly it is most eftective against densely populated asteroids. Scatter ------- Cost: 10000 Cr Ore: 3 Selenium This is a larger version of the basic Explosive warhead. In fact it contains 25 such warheads. It will explode just above the surface of the asteroid and the multiple warheads will fall at random upon the asteroid. The damage is slight but the random pattern is good at weakening many buildings at once. Vortex ------ Cost: 9000 Cr Ore: 3 Crystalite Upon impact an electrical vertex is released upon the asteroid. It will wander at random upon the surface inflicting damage upon any building it touches. The longevity of the vortex is indeterminate and Sci-Tek are still attempting to develop a Vortex MkII that has a guaranteed longevity. It is possible for the vortex to split into two parts each continuing to wreak havoc, and each with the possibility of splitting again. Nuclear(blueprint) ------------------ Cost: 50000 Cr Ore: 5 Asteros This is a multi-megaton warhead capable of inflicting enormous damage to an asteroid possibly destroyirng every building upon it. Spacecraft in orbit will also suffer damage from the blast. WARNING: USE WITH CARE! The radiation effects from a nuclear attack can render an asteroid uninhabitable for many many years. Virus (blueprint) ----------------- Cost: 30000 Cr Ore: 1 Traxium This is a very powerful weapon which unfortunately reguires the very rare Traxium ore for its payload. Upon impact it releases a volatile substance which begins at once to eat at the fabric of the asteroid itself. It will alter the molecular consistency of the asteroid material, turning it a different colour as it does so. No building can stand upon a weakened section of asteroid, but will simply collapse. The mutated rock becomes radioactive too. Over time the virus will spread across the asteroid never stopping until it has affected the entire asteroid which is then incapable of supporting any colony at all. A virus infected asteroid is living on borrowed time! There is one way to combat the virus an Anti-Virus missile. Anti-Virus (blueprint) ---------------------- Cost: 10000 Cr Ore: 4 Barium The only known means to enadicate the effects of a Virus missile. Upon impact it disperses a bacterial agent over the entire surface of the asteroid. Within moments this will seek out and destroy the virus substance and halt its spread. It will then begin to act upon the parts of the asteroid that have been altered by the virus. It takes a long time to act but will eventually restore the asteroid to a more stable form capable of supporting buildings again. The only known side effect is an increased radiation. Since you will only be firing this missile aganst one of your own asteroids it is possible to target the same asteroid as the launching silo by using the same technique explained above. Mega (blueprint) ---------------- Cost: 65500 Cr Ore: 1 Nexos This is the most devastating weapon available! It took Sci-Tek some 40 years of research to perfect it. Quite simply it destroys an entire asteroid or even a small sized planet - nothing but rubble remains. The actual process is extremely complicated, relying upon a gravity pulse to rip apart the target asteroid rather than simply using huge amounts of explosives. Stasis (blueprint) ------------------ Cost: 40000 Cr Ore: 2 Korellium This is the latest warhead from Sci-Tek utilising their research into temporal physics. Upon impact it will establish a temporal field around the asteroid latching it to the Spacial Matrix (TM) of the surrounding space. The effect is to freeze time itself or at least the local time inside the stasis field. Nothing will happen on the affected asteroid and no spacecraft or missiles may arrive or leave. The field will decay and die over a period of time. ZONE 015 : THE ENEMY -------------------- KLL-KP-QUA Home world: Tau Ceti III Physical Description: At first glance they resemble a Terran Praying Mantis, standing just under 1m tall. Their face however bears more resemblance to a bird than an insect. They have two eyes, two ears and a single mouth positioned where we would expect a nose to be. It is not known whether they possess a sense of smell. Atop their heads they wear an ornate headpiece, whose complexity and colours denote theie social standing. At all times they dress in exquisite and colourful robes, usually adorned with large ruffs and gemstones. Habitat: Their native habitat varies from hot and arid grassland to steamy jungles. They can adapt to other habitats except they have little resistance to cold or ice. Technology: They have adapted to space very well, building well-insulated structures and large underground caverns, filled with native jungle fauna, their spaceships are basic and their technology generally barely adequate. Social Structure: They exhibit remarkable similarities to Terran hive insects. Each asteroid possesses a single Queen, responsible for laying and hatching all eggs, the rest of the population is split into two distinct and genetically different groups. One remains on the asteroid and fulfils a support role building, maintenance, serving the Queen, etc, the others operate the spacecraft and are never allowed to return to the asteroids. They spend their entire life inside the spacecraft. In normal circumstances a Queen is born every 2 to 3 Terran Years. Once the Queen reaches maturity, in a few short months, she commandeers a transport ship and goes in search of her own asteroid. It is not known whether their is a hierarchy amongst the Queens. Each asteroid appears to operate independently, but there is regular communication between Queens on different asteroids. Power Generation: The primary means of power generation is the burning of their own corpses. All dead are carefully recovered and taken to the burners. Secondary power generation is by means of solar panels Special Weapons: It is known that they possess a special type of warhead, but its effects are unknown. Military Strategy: Their actions appear very predicable so expect few surprises. LAK`MAJ`TRAAL (ORE EATERS) Home world: Their exact home world is not known. We beleive they originated in the M53 galaxy in Sagittarius, which they appear to have explored extensively. Physical Description: An adult male stands 1m high at the head and up to 12m long. They are very large wormlike creatures covered in hard scales. Their fangs and horns have the strength to break up rocks. Their diet is one of rock. They regurgitate a special chemical that can break down even the hardest ores, which they then eat hungrily, digesting them with extraordinarily strong stomach acids. Their heat signature in Infra Red is enormous. They are slow moving which is why they rely on technology to assist them. Habitat: They seem able to exist in any habitat but particularly in the vacuum of space. Examining the M53 galaxy, we have discovered that huge areas of it have been destroyed. planet literally eaten apart by great migrations of these creatures. Their appetite is enormous - an adult male will eat up to twelve times his own body weight in ores every day! They are a real threat to the Empire Technology: Most of their structures are simple domes, protecting areas of an asteroid from solar radiation and meteorite bombardment while they eat into the heart of the asteroid in search of food. They possess powerful spacecraft which have carried them to our galaxy from M53. We know little of their technology since whenever they evacuate an asteroid they destroy all remnants of their structures and devices. Social Structure: We have been unable to determine their heirarchy, other than the obvious dominance that the adult males have due to their size. Procreation is via egg laying, but the population grows slowly due to the longevity of each male. It appears that duties are simply performed by whoever is in the right place at the right moment. Their must be some form of overall control, even if it is only the signal which makes them suddenly board the transporters and head for another asteroid which they do the minute they have drained it of ore. Power Generation: They use chemical reactions to break down useless rock, harnessing the power created. Special Weapons: No information Military Strategy: They are vicious when disturbed. We have observed that they only ever attack our mining colonies and never inhabited planets, as if they identify that our mining colonies are robbing them of food. Be prepared for regular missile strikes. AX-ZILANTH`S Home world: Beta Hydrae IV, though they are extensive in the Capella and Arcturus Sectors, where we have fought skirmishes with them on many occasions. Physical Description: The bulk of their 2m tall bodies are a hard carapace that protects their vital and sensory organs The lower part of their body consists of six extremely sensitive and flexible tentacles which they use both for movement (fast!) and manipulation of objects. Their eyes see in a greater spectrum than our own, allowing them access to Ultraviolet and Infrared light. Habitat: Varies from sparse desert and rocky badlands to temperate forest and grassy plains. Technology: Their technology has developed upon similar lines to our own. They use smelting processes to produce steel and use silicon and germanium components in their electronic circuits. Their spacecraft are certainly on a par with our own, if not superior and many possess cloaking devices. Social Structure: They operate on a strict hierarchy as does our Empire. Each asteroid is divided into sections responsible for a particular aspect such as engineering, food supply spacecraft manufacture, etc. Each section head reports to an asteroid council which determines overall policy for that asteroid. The chair being of each council participates in a regional council that comprises twenty or more asteroids and planets. We conclude that a representative of these regional councils sits upon a higher council that governs their entire Empire. Power Generation: Standard techniques of Fission and Fusion as well as harnessing solar energy. Special Weapons: No information. We suspect that they have Military Strategy: Our skirmishes with them in other sectors have led us to determine that they are never first to initiate an attack. They parade a threatening arsenal of weapons and warships but always wait for us to take the initiative before retailaiting. Try to use this to your advantage. TYLARAN EMPIRE Home world: Deneb Mira III Physical Description: They resemble hideous lizards, standing over 3m tall. Though they have no balancing tail, the bulk of their body and their strong legs enables them to walk easily as a biped. Their clawed hands are surprisingly dextrous and capable of manipulating very fine objects. They possess large mouths with fangs, identifying them as carnivores, and their craniums support a brain larger than our own. Habitat: Their homeworlds are ice worlds, far from their primary sun and covered with continual ice and blizzards. They are at home in the cold of space! We believe that their hide contains special insulating layers to protect them against temperatures up to -100 degrees below freezing. Technology: Their technology varies greatly. On the one hand they have only recently developed spacecraft capable of crossing interstellar space, (though we have monitored their home world for over a century and know that their weapons technology is spohisticated). On the other hand we have yet to understand other aspects of their technology, such as power generation. Social Structure: They seem to operate on the principle of Imperial supremacy, where each region of space has a sub Emperor who has complete control over his region, but reports to the real Emperor on Deneb Mira III. They are very social creatures and work well with each other. Discipline is strong and absolute and apparently welcomed. Power Generation: We can only suspect that they harness power directly from the Spacial Matrix, which would give the access to practically unlimited power. We have detected new kinds of radiation from the buildings that we have called Flux Convertors and Power Collectors and we suspect that these play an important part in the process. Special Weapons: One of their structures emits a huge surge of energy at regular intervals. This could well be a weapon proceed with caution. Their asteroids also have a screen generator whose purpose is unclear. Military Strategy: Unknown. THE RIGELLIAN CONFEDERATION Home world: Rigel system Physical Description: We were very surprised when we first identified their species over a century ago. They corresponded almost exactly with historical depictions of vampires, which makes it conceivable that they visited Earth in the long distant past to provide a source for the classic legends. They appear similar to a human but with bald domed heads, and of course those legendary fangs. Their eyes glow an eerie red, which we know to be the reflection of light off their retinas. All their senses are well developed. Habitat: Unknown Technology: Their technology is sophisticated, though not in the area of power generation. Their devices appear to require vast amounts of power, and several of our scout ships have been mysteriously drained of all power after entering Rigellian Space. They are also extremely advanced in the areas of Warp technology. Social Structure: From the few communications we have made with them, we know them to be an extremely ancient race. It is likely that they were developing technology when dinosaurs walked the Earth. They name themselves a Confederation, which suggests that they operate as a series of individual states or worlds that are independently governed but have allegiance and common laws with each other under the authority of a federal government. They are highly developed socially, but steadfastly refuse to open negotiations with us for the trade of materials or information. Power Generation: Primitive methods of burning fossil fuels. They only recently aquired the secrets of atomic power, stolen from one of our research vessels. Special Weapons: They have the abilility to drain power from our batteries. Otherwise, we expect few surprises. Military Strategy: We would best describe their strategies as muddled. They are very trigger-happy with missiles. We also know that their ships carry advanced warp engines. SWIXARANS Home world: They originate from the densely grouped star systems at the heart of our galaxy. We have detected their presence in over thirty star systems. Physical Description: The Swixarans are one of those rare cases when plant life has developed intelligence and the ability to develop technology. A typical Swixaran is between 1m and 4m high and composed of a mass of soft and pliable shoots and creepers. Constantly moving. Their exact form varies with their surroundings - if they enter corridors they flatten their body and use many of their creepers to probe the way ahead. We are unsure of their sensory organs but it is likely they possess very sensitive touch sensors in their extremities and maybe motion detectors as well. There is a small part of their body which we suspect houses their vital organs and brain, but it is always well protected by the creepers. Habitat: Unknown, but we suspect either dense jungle worlds or huge forests. Technology: Almost incomparable to our own, since much of their technology is based on biological proteins and DNA encoded, self replicating tissue. They are very advanced in areas of shield generation and cloaking devices. Social Structure: Difficult to determine. We suspect that they possess a group intelligence and there is evidence to support the theory that a great deal of this intelligence is located in a particular location on each asteroid. Their aims seem only to be expansion and colonisation. Power Generation: We do not understand their method of power generation. It is certainly biologically based and undoubtedly bears more resemblance to blood sugar levels in their organic structures, rather than the harnessing of nuclear power. Special Weapons: Our spies report several closely guarded weapons, the details of which are unavailable at this time. Be prepared for anything! Military Strategy: They seem to react to our own strategies and attacks rather than initiating their own they are especially susceptible to fire-based weaponry, but otherwise their structures are well protected. There does seem to be a pattern to their attacks, but we have yet to understand it. ANY PROBLEMS ? If you have prohlems loading K240, then return it to your retailer, or to Gremlin Graphics at the address on the packaging. If you have any questions relating to the game, then Gremlin Graphics Helpline is available between the hours of 09:30 and 17:30 U.K. time Monday to Friday, on 0742 753423 COPYRIGHT Copyright 1994 Gremlin Graphics Software Limited. All Rights Reserved. This manual and the information contained on the disks are copyrighted by Gremlin Graphics Limited. The owner of this product is entitled to use this product for his or her own personal use only. No one may transfer give or sell any part of the manual or the information on the disks without the prior permission of Gremlin Graphics Software Limited. Any person or persons reproducing any part of the program, in any media, for any reason, shall be guilty of copyright violation and subject to civil liability at the discretion of the copyright holder. ------------------------------------END------------------------------------ * ********************** * * * TYPED F/\STER * * BY * * SHARD NUT & BOLT * * * *********************** /\_ ____________ ______/\___________/\___ / \/ |\ __ / \____ / \ |\ __ / / | \ | \/ \/ & | _ \ | \ _\/ \/ \_________/\__/ _____________/\__/ +-------------------------------------------+ sHARD pROdUCTiONS 1994 ------------------------