K240 FULL MANUAL ================== PART FIVE 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 ·------------------------·