Space Empires III

Welcome to Space Empires III!

Space Empires III is a grand space strategy game which encompasses all aspects of controlling an empire that spans the stars. You are in control of every detail of your empires economy, research, intelligence, politics, and military. Your goal? To conquer all of known space! Or maybe just to maintain peace throughout the galaxy for many years. Its up to you.

If you have never played the game before, its advisable to start with the Overview for a quick introduction, or start with the tutorial for a detailed explanation on how to play. If youd like to go through a formal tutorial for the game, you should restart the game and select Tutorial on the Start Window. If youd just like to read about it, see Tutorial Page 1.

If you have played, but want more information on a particular area, use the Contents feature of this Help File.

If youre interested in ordering the Registered version of Space Empires III, please see the Ordering Instructions.

Overview

The dawn of a new era At the end of the 24th century, your race has developed the technology to leave its home planet and move out into space. At first, your ships are confined to your solar system, but soon you make a remarkable discovery. Regions of space known as warp points, which allow your starships to travel instantly to other nearby solar systems. Thus a new era began for your race, an era of exploring the vast regions of your galaxy. For more details see Structure of the Galaxy.

Purpose Your purpose in the universe is the same as any other sentient beings. To live and prosper. Of course, as with most life, yours is not unique in the galaxy. Other races have evolved and taken to the stars. When you encounter them, how you interact with them is up to you. You can go to war, or form some sort of treaty with this space-faring empire. As with most games, this one does have the obvious goal of conquering the galaxy for yourself. But you can also go the peaceful route and attempt to unite the peoples of your galaxy in a collective community. There are no rules of conduct to follow, the good guys do not always win.

Building blocks of an empire The life blood of an empire are its planets. You begin on your home planet, and then move out into the galaxy and colonize other planets. On each planet, you have a population of your people. They begin as colonists, but soon grow into a full planetary civilization. On each planet, your population constructs huge industrial complexes known as facilities. These facilities generate points of different types that can be spent by the empire. These points represent the industrial, technological, and intelligence capacity of your nation. As you spend points, you are directing resources towards different goals within the empire. In addition to providing the resources of your empire, facilities also provide valuable functions such as resupplying your ships, moving your goods, defending the planet, and much more. For more details see Planets, Points, and Facilities.

Ship Designs Before your people can build a starship, they need to have a design. Ship designs are the blueprint off of which your empire constructs ships. Before you can purchase a ship, you have to have a design upon which to build it. Designing a ship consists of picking a ship size for it, filling the ship with various components, and then naming it. Common components to put in ships are engines, weapons, a bridge, crew quarters, life support, armor, etc. The ship size you choose will dictate how much space you have for components. The components you place on the ship will dictate its speed and abilities. For more details see Ship Design.

Ships Ships are the hands and eyes of an empire. They can carry out colonization, exploration, combat, transport, and many other functions. Once you have a ship design, you can purchase starships of that design. But purchasing the ship, is only the first part. Next youll have to actually build it. This is where Space Yards come in. Space Yards are robotic factories which construct and repair starships. Planets with sufficient population have a built in space yard, and ships and bases can carry them as well. Each turn, your space yards will construct/repair ships that are in the same sector of space. For more details see Ships.

Once your ships are constructed, you can move them out into the galaxy. Ships complete their tasks by being given orders to MoveTo, Warp, Attack, Colonize, etc. As ships move through the galaxy, they expend resources. This amount is tracked by the Resupply Time on each ship. When you look at the ships report, you can see how long it will be until that ship needs to be resupplied. When a ship reaches 0 in resupply time, it will lose capabilities. For more details see Ship Orders and Ship Resupply.

Research The technology of your empire determines the level of sophistication of your ships and facilities. Your empire increases its technology through research. By expending research points (generated by Research Facilities), you can gain knowledge in a number of different technology areas. Each discrete advancement in a different area is called a Tech Level. For more details see Research.

Intelligence

Not all of your empires might is in its military. There is also the intelligence community which collects information and covertly influences other empires. By expending intelligence points (generated by Intelligence Facilities), you can perform sabotage and espionage activities against rival empires (or allies). For more details see Intelligence.

Politics Politics is the instrument by which different empires relate to each other. Most races meet, and then formalize their relationship through a treaty of some sort. This treaty is at the whim of the involved parties and can be broken at any time. Having allies has advantages far beyond just a friendly neighbor. For more details see Politics.

Units Besides the normal ships which swim the galactic void, there are other types of units which do not have space faring capabilities. Termed units, these are a group comprising fighters, troops, and mines. They cannot move on their own and must be transported by starships. In their own right, they are very powerful tools which at times eclipse starships in effectiveness. For more details see Units.

Next go on to Getting Started.

Structure of the Galaxy

As races moved out into their solar system, they soon found that they were trapped. Without a faster than light means of travel, the distance to nearby solar systems is insurmountable. However, with the detailed exploration of the outer reaches of the solar system, scientists discover strange regions of space. These regions of space are by their very nature soft. Using a combination of gravitational beams, these regions can be pushed through by starships. These regions are locations in the fabric of normal space that is weak and has folded over on another portion of the galaxy. Ships pushing through these regions found themselves in a new section of the galaxy. Thus was ushered in an era of extra-solar system travel which allowed races to move beyond the confines of their home system. These regions were called warp points.

Warp Points As the nature of warp points was further explored, it turned out that they were a rather common phenomenon. At a precise distance of from the center of a solar system, where the gravity well was just right, these warp points would occur. They most often fold space to a nearby solar system. Ships which pass through a warp point arrive instantly in the new system. Travel is immediate and free. It took time to perfect the manipulation of the warp point to perfect the entry process, but it was eventually accomplished. Warp points can now be passed through with no damage to the region itself. Ships can freely pass through warp points and move in no time to far off solar systems.

Solar System A solar system is typically a star surrounded by a number of orbiting planets. Warp points often form at the edges of a solar system. There can also be storms and other spatial anomalies. Each solar system is divided up into a 13 by 13 grid of regions of space called sectors. A sector is merely a region of space of a certain size.

Planets Planets are the result of stellar gas or rock debris being compacted together to form a solid mass. Empires can transport colonies to these planets and form new populations. Each planets consists of several properties which define it in relation to others. Most notable is the atmosphere of the planet. Your race starts the game only being able to colonize planets with the same atmosphere type as your home planet. Through research, you can learn to colonize other atmosphere types. For more details see Planets.

Suns Suns or stars are the heart of most solar system. They form the gravity well which keeps all the planets in the system in orbit around it. Stars dont have too much effect on day to day life, unless there isnt one. Suns come in different colors and ages. Typically, when a star dies out, it dissipates into a nebulae of some form.

Storms Storms are a general classification of all stellar phenomenon which obscure a sector of space. They are not overtly hazardous to starship travel, but they do obscure all sensors being used. Ships passing through a sector with a storm are invisible to other ships in the system.

Ship and Planet Detection When your ships have never entered a solar system before, it is considered Unexplored. When a ship of yours travels into the system, sensors on the ships will immediately scan the system and detect all planets and starships. From that points on, you will have a detailed map of that solar system. However, you will only be able to see starships in systems where you have a ship in the system as well. No known technology will allow a solar system to be scanned from another solar system, the distance is just too vast.

Typical Turn

A typical turn in Space Empires III is made up of the following elements:

Event Log is displayed When beginning a new turn, the event log is typically displayed. This will show you the events that have happened since your last turn. This may include things such as new technologies being discovered, intelligence operations perpetrated, and battles involving your empire. You can review the log messages at any time during your turn by selecting Empire\Events Log.

Ships execute their orders Any ships you own which have outstanding orders will now try to execute them. For instance, if you gave a ship orders to move to another system and it did not complete the task last turn, it will attempt to do so now. This part of your turn may go by rather quickly with ships zipping here and there. Dont worry about missing anything, though. If a ship runs into a battle, you will be asked if you want to attack. If you dont wish ships to carry out their orders, you can select that ship and clear their orders when you get to the Move Ships section. See Ship Orders for more details.

Review enemy designs As battles occur, you will acquire a library of enemy designs that you have encountered in battle. It is always wise to review these designs to look for what technology the enemy is currently using against you. You may need to change your battle strategies accordingly. Use the Designs\Enemy Designs menu item to view the Enemy Designs Window.

Design new ships Typically, you wont design new ships unless you have acquired new technology to use on them. If you have gained some new technology, its in your best interest to put it to use immediately. Remember that you can design as many ship classes as you want. Theres no use building old ships when you can just design a new one and begin buying those. Use the Designs\Ship Designs menu item to view the Designs Window. See Ship Design for more details.

Check on ships being built/repaired When a new ship is purchased, it will need to be constructed. As ships take damage from battle, they will need to be repaired. By using the Repair/Construction Queue Window , you can view all of the Space Yards in your empire. This window will display all of the ships that are being repaired or constructed. If you want to change the order in which components on your ship are repaired consult the Repair Priorities Window. See Ship Repair for more details.

Look for planets to colonize Before sending your ships off into the stellar void, you should have a game plan. This typically involved colonizing as many planets as possible. Use the All Known Planets List Window to view every planet you have ever encountered. By selecting the checkbox at the top of the window, you can display only those planets in the galaxy that can be colonized at your technology level. You can then click on the column headers to sort the list by value, size, atmosphere, or whatever. See Planet Colonization for more details.

Move Ships This is the largest segment of your turn. Here is where you go through the ships in your empire and give them orders to move, attack, colonize, etc. The easiest way to do this is to use the Next Ship and Previous Ship buttons on the Ship List Window. These buttons will take you to the next ship in your empire that has movement remaining. When you move a ship, you are actually just giving it orders to move to a location, and then those orders are executed. This means that if the ship does not get to the location you selected, it will continue toward its destination next turn in the Ships execute their orders phase above. See Ship Movement for more details.

Adjust Planet Productions Its always a good idea to keep an eye on your planet productions. If battles or sabotage have occurred, you may need to modify the construction queues to suit the changing needs of your empire. You can view your planets productions by entering the Planet Productions Window. You can use this window to scroll through all of the planets you have colonies on. To view the construction queue, select the Queue button on the middle right side of the window. See Planets for more details.

Adjust Research spending Anytime your empire gains new technology, its advisable to adjust your research spending. In the Research Window you can select what percentage of your research points are being spent on each research area. See Research for more details.

Adjust Intelligence spending Anytime you encounter new empires or have a change in politics, its advisable to adjust your intelligence spending. In the Intelligence Window you can select an empire and then what percentage of intelligence points to spend against them. See Intelligence for more details.

Send messages to other empires As events and time change players goals, politics will definitely follow. In the Politics Window you can view your current political relationship with the other empires youve encountered. By selecting one, you can send that empire a message ranging from Hello to We Declare War. See Politics for more details.

Select purchases Before you end your turn, you typically make new purchases. In the Purchases Window you can add new purchases of ships, fighters, or mines. These new purchases can be anywhere that you have a space yard (and planets of a given size have a built in space yard). Its also a good idea to get in the habit of using Empire Expenses Window as a starting point for spending. This window

shows your exact expenses in your empire and what you have available for new purchases. See Points for more details.

End Turn When you have finished with all of the above phases, you select End Turn. This will formally end your turn and proceed to the next players turn.

Processing after your turn

The following are the operations that are performed immediately after you have completed your turn:

Ship Maintenance The construction points needed to pay for your ship maintenance is paid. See Ship Maintenance for more details.

Increase Resources Your population reproduces, if theyre not rioting. Their anger goes up or down. You planets conditions and value will be modified by any Conditions Improvement Planet Facility or Value Improvement Planet Facility. Plagues will take their toll. See Planets for more details.

Intelligence Intelligence points are deducted and operations are carried out. See Intelligence for more details.

Research Research points are deducted and research is carried out. See Research for more details.

Repair Ships Ships that are being serviced by space yards are repaired. See Ship Repair for more details.

Create Purchases The purchase queue is moved through and each purchase is bought if you have enough remaining construction points. See Ship Purchases for more details.

Trade Trade points generated are added to your total points. See Trade for more details.

Increase Points Points from your facilities are added to your totals. See Points for more details.

New Repair Orders Ships that are in sector with space yards will get added to that space yards repair queue if they arent already. See Repair Queues for more details.

Getting Started

Starting a game is a very simple process. You can either quick start or do a more detailed setup of the game. If this is your first time playing, you should use the quick start option. The following details how to get your game started once you select quick start. For more details on the full setup of a game, see Game Setup.

If youd like to go through a formal tutorial for the game, you should restart the game and select Tutorial on the Start Window. If youd just like to read about it, see Tutorial Page 1.

Quick Start From the Start Window, select quick start. You will now see the Empire Status Window. You should select an empire name (or type one in), type in your name, and select a design name file. Do not enter a password as this is only a one player game. Next youll see a list of Empire Icons and Ship Styles. Move though the list and select the one you like. Next come racial advantages in the Racial Advantages Window. Merely go into this and select any one you want. It doesnt matter that much. Finally, hit OK on the window to complete the creation of your empire!

Your home system At the beginning of your turn, you will be presented with the Next Player Window. Just hit OK to begin your turn. You will be looking at the Tactical Window which displays 4 smaller windows. It is essential that you learn to use these 4 windows effectively. The first one youll notice is the System Window which displays your home solar system. You can tell which one is your home planet because it will have a little box with bars in it on the top right hand corner. This shows that you have a full population on the planet. In the bottom right of the Tactical Window is the Galaxy Window which displays a blue grid with a number of circles on it. You can click on different

circles to display that solar system in the System Window. They will all say Unexplored since you have never moved a ship into any of them. Select back on your home solar system so that it is displayed in the System Window. Left-click on the System Window so that a teal box appears. Left-click on your home planet so that it is surrounded by the box. If you look at the window in the bottom left of the Tactical Window, you will see the Status Window . In it, you will see information displayed about the planet you have selected. Youll see your planets name and properties.

Construct a facility Now its time to see what facilities there are on your home planet. Right-click on your home planet and select Planet Productions. This will take you to the Planet Productions Window where you can view the planets you own and what they contain. On the right side of the window is a section which says Under Construction. Push the button in this group which says Queue. You will now see the Construction Queue Window. On the left side of the window are all of the items that you can construct on your planet. On the right side is a list of the things that you have in your list to construct. Find the item in the left list which says Construction Center I. Select this item and press the Add button. You have just added a facility to be constructed by the planet. Hit the Close button and youll notice that the Under Construction section now shows that the planet is trying to construct the Construction Center that you just picked. Hit Close on the Planet Productions Window.

Create a ship design Now its time to create a ship design so that we can purchase some ships. From the menu select Designs and then Ship Designs. You should see the Designs Window. This is a list of all of the designs your empire has created. Select the Add button. You will now be in the ever imposing Add Design Window. From this window you will create a new starship design. The first task is to pick a size for our new ship. In the upper right hand of the window, there is a combo box which says Ship Size. Select this and choose the ship size Colony Ship. You may notice that the Statistics box in the lower left hand corner of the window is now filled with details about how many spaces you have left in the ship. Next we select the Design Type which will be COL - Colonizing Ship (this will be specific to the atmosphere type you are using. There are 6 colonizing design types defined for each of the 6 different atmosphere types there are. You should pick the one that corresponds to the atmosphere your home planet is comprised of). Next you need to give this design a name (select one from the combo box or type in something unique). All thats left is to add components to your ship. Well make this a simple design and just put all of the components in the Outer Hull. Select the options button which says Outer Hull. In the list to the left, locate a component called Bridge. You can either double-click on the component or select it and then press the Add button. You should see the component appear in the list on the right. Now repeat that process for 2 Life Support components and 2 Crew Quarters. Next you need to add a colonizing component. Finally, select 4 Ion Engine Is. Your design is now complete! Hit OK. On the Designs Window, youll see your new design in the list. Hit the Close button.

Purchase the ship Youve got a design, now its time to purchase it. From the menu select Empire and then Purchases. You should see the Purchases Window which lists all of the purchases you wish to make for this turn. Hit the Add button. This will take you to the Add Purchase Window. In the list on the left are all of the designs or units that you can purchase. In the right list are the locations where you can

purchase them. Select the new colony ship design in the left list, and select your home planet in the right list. Hit the OK button. In the Purchases Window, you should see your ship design and the cost of it. If you have enough money then its cost will be white, if you dont have enough, then it will show in red. Hit Close. On the next turn, if you have enough money, then you will purchase one ship of that design.

Set your research Now its time to start allocating our research points. From the menu select Empire and then Research. You should see the Research Window. From here you can select what technology areas you would like to spend your research points on. In the list, find the item entitled Ship Construction and select it. When you do, youll notice that its description will be displayed in the upper right hand corner of the window, and that the expected results will be displayed in the bottom right. Where it says % of spending, use the arrows to increase the amount to 50%. When thats done, select Weapons: Beam from the list of research areas. Set its spending to 25%. Finally, allocate the remaining 25% of your funds to the research area of Shields. Hit the Close button.

Next Turn Well, youve done about all you want to do for this turn. From the menu, select End Turn. The Tactical Window will disappear and you will see a banner showing that the other players are taking their turns. When they are finished, youll see the Next Player Window again. When you hit OK, you will see the Tactical Window again. At this point, if there is any new news to report to you, the Log Window will be displayed. If you have enough money to purchase your ship, then the log will display that the ship was purchased. If you ship hasnt been purchased, then hit End Turn again until it is.

Wait until your ship is constructed Now that your ship has been purchased, youll see it in orbit around your home planet. Left-click on it in the System Window and you should see the ship displayed in the Ships List Window which is in the upper right hand corner of the Tactical Window. Right-click on your ship in the Ship List Window and select the menu item at the top which says XXXX Report (where XXXX is your ships name). You will now see the Ship Report Window. You should notice that all of your components have a yellow and black picture to the left of them. This means that the components have not been constructed yet. This construction will be done automatically by the Space Yard which is built into your home planet. Hit the Close button. Youll notice in the Ship List Window that your ship has no movement points and its damage is full. You now need to wait a few turns until the ship is fully constructed. From the menu, select End Turn. When you return to the Tactical Window youll notice in the Ship List Window that your ship has less damage than it did before. You can bring up the Ship Report Window again to verify that some of the components have indeed been constructed. Continue hitting End Turn until the ship shows no damage at all.

Note: Normally you wouldnt play like this, but would be designing and purchasing more ships each turn. We just want to get you through the basics here.

Move the ship Once the ship is fully constructed, you will notice that it gets 4 movement points on the Ship List Window. This means that it can now move 4 sectors during this turn. The ship gets 1 movement point for each engine it has. Look around your home solar system and see if it has any planets with the same atmosphere type as your home planet. Remember that you can left-click on each planet in the System Window and see the properties of that planet displayed in the Status Window. If you can find one then go to Colonizing a Planet below. If you cant find one, then its time to leave your home solar system and explore new systems. Left-click on the sector that contains your ship. It will now be displayed in the Ship List Window and it should be highlighted (selected). Next, pick a warp point in your solar system and right-click on it. You will see the Ship List Window Menu which allows you to select orders to give the ship. Select the order entitled Warp. When you select this you will immediately see your ship begin moving towards the warp point. If it reaches it, it will warp through the point and end up in a new solar system. If it doesnt reach the warp point, then youll have to select End Turn and see it continue its orders next turn. Continue in this fashion of moving through solar systems until you find a planet that you can colonize.

Colonizing a planet When you find a planet that you can colonize, its time to colonize it. Left-click on your ship in the System Window and you should see it displayed in the Ship List Window. If your colonizer still has movement points remaining, it will be highlighted (selected) in the Ship List. If it has movement, then right-click on the planet you wish to colonize in the System Window. In the Ship List Window Menu select the order entitled Colonize. Your ship will immediately begin moving towards the planet. If it reaches the planet it will colonize it if it has movement points remaining. You now have a new planet!

For more information see Planets, Facilities, Ship Design, and Ships. For an example of the tasks you will perform in a turn, see Typical Turn.

Tutorial Page 1

Welcome! Welcome to Space Empires III. This tutorial is intended to give you an introduction to the game and present the many windows that you will use to interact with the game. In addition to this tutorial, there is extensive on-line help available in this Help File as well. At any window in the game, you can press F1 to bring up the Help File with a description of that window. If youre interested in general information, you can use the Contents and Index features of the Help File to assist you (see Help File Navigation below for more information).

Using the Tutorial The tutorial is a series of pages in this Help File which will give you instructions on how to play the game. When you complete a given page, you will press the Next Page selection at the bottom to advance to the next Tutorial Page. When the tutorial says to examine a window in the game, you will need to change between the Help File and the Space Empires III game. The easiest way to do

this is to press the Minimize button at the top of the Help File Window. This button is the leftmost of the three buttons at the top right-hand of the Help File Window. It has a small underscore picture on it. Pressing the button will minimize the Help File window so that you can see the Space Empires III game windows again. To bring the Help File window back up to view it, you can move down to the Windows 95 task bar at the bottom of the screen and select the Space Empires III button with the picture of the little book on it.

If for some reason you accidentally close the Help File, dont worry. You can always bring it back up by pressing F1 or by selecting Help Topics from the Help menu item in the Tactical Window. Once you bring the Help File back up, you will need to go back to the Tutorial Page you left off on. The easiest way to do this is to select Help Topics, and then open the book which says Tutorial. You just double-click on the Tutorial page you want.

Help File Navigation There are many features of the Help File which will assist you in its use. You can bring up the Help File during the game by pressing F1 at a window, or by selecting the Help Topics menu item under Help on the Tactical Window. If you select Help Topics from the Tactical Window, or press the Help Topics Button at the top of the Help File Window, you will be able to either Browse through the Contents of the Help File, or use the Index feature to search for a particular topic. If you ever wish to go back to a page that you just viewed, you can press the Back button at the top of the Help File Window. There are also left and right double arrows which allow you to move to the previous and next page within the Help File. The Previous and Next Page selections at the bottom of each of the Tutorial Pages are identical to the double arrow buttons at the top of the Help File Window.

Interrupting the Tutorial If, for some reason, you need to stop the tutorial and want to come back to it another night, you can follow this procedure. The first thing to do is to close the Help File by pressing the small button with the X in the upper right hand corner of the Help File. Now just the game should be running. From the menu, select File, and then select Save. In the Save Game dialog, merely type some simple name for the game that you will remember. Press the OK button. The current game will now be saved, and you can shut down Space Empires III (by selecting File/Exit). At a future date, when youre ready to play the tutorial again, you should start Space Empires III and select Tutorial again. When the Help File comes up with Tutorial Page 1, you should switch to Space Empires III and select File/Load from the main menu. You can then click on the name of your save game, or just type it in and press OK. Your save game will be loaded and it should look just like you left it. Flip back to the Help File, and press the right arrows (>>) until you get to the Tutorial Page you left off on.

Starting the Tutorial To start a tutorial game, you need to start Space Empires III. At the Start Window , you should select Tutorial. This selection will automatically start the pre-configured tutorial game.

The Tactical Window

When you start the tutorial game, you will be presented with the main window of the game, the Tactical Window . From here you control your empire and oversee all elements of its operation. The Tactical Window is made up of several sections. At the top is the main menu, and just below it is the tool bar with command buttons. The command buttons allow you quick access to the most common features from the menu. The Tactical Window is composed of 4 smaller windows, the System Window, the Status Window, the Galaxy Window, and the Ship List Window.

The System Window In the upper-left hand corner of the Tactical Window, resides the System Window. This window displays the current solar system that is selected in the Galaxy Window. In the title bar at the top of the window is the name of the system being displayed, which is Cretanis. This is your home system. You can see that the system has a green colored star which is surrounded by multiple planets of varying colors and sizes. At the very edge of the solar system are blue circle shapes which are known as warp points. There is one at the top of the system, and one at the bottom. For more information see Structure of the Galaxy and Planets.

You can click on the squares (known as sectors) of the solar system and you will see a teal square displayed where ever you click. This teal box denotes the currently selected sector within the system. If you select a sector with a planet in it, you will get information about that planet displayed in the Status Window. If you select a sector which has ships in it, these ships will be displayed in the Ship List Window. You can also right-click on the sectors of a solar system to get a menu of available options. These options vary based on what is present in the sector and if there are ships selected in the Ship List Window. More on this later.

The Status Window Below the System Window in the bottom left-hand corner of the Tactical Window is the Status Window. This is a simple window which displays your empire icon, your empire name, and your name. For this tutorial, you are Emperor Metok of the Restrat Empire. Your symbol is a red dragon and your empire is represented by the color red. As you left-click and select sectors in the System Window, the Status Window will display information about the planets you have selected.

Its time to find your home planet and select it. You can tell which planet is your home planet by the red bars in the upper right-hand corner of the square (and the small S and R at the bottom right-hand). Your home planet is a large green planet at the bottom-left of your system. If you leftclick on it, you will see its information displayed in the Status Window. You should see that the planets name is Cretanis I (146), its Large, has a Carbon Dioxide/Nitrogen atmosphere, Unpleasant conditions, and Good value. The number in parenthesis after your planets name is merely the sector number its in. The most important thing to note at this time is that the planet has a Carbon Dioxide/Nitrogen atmosphere. You will also notice that it is green in color. The atmosphere type and the color of the planet go together. If you look around your home system, and left-click as well, youll see that there are no other Carbon Dioxide planets in your home system. This is good to know. It means that you will have to leave your home system to find planets to colonize. Early on in your technology, you are only able to colonize planets with the same atmosphere as your own. For more information see Planets.

The Galaxy Window The window in the bottom right-hand corner of the Tactical Window is the Galaxy Window. This window displays your current view of the entire galaxy. If you look at it now, youll see a blue grid with a number of circles on it, with one in the middle which has the word Cretanis written under it. Youll also notice that it is teal in color. This is the currently selected solar system. By clicking on the other circles (actually they are representations of the solar systems), you will display that system in the System Window. Try it now. Youll notice that the System Window merely says Unexplored. This is because you have not actually traveled to that solar system yet with your ships. When you do, youll be able to see it. Youll also notice 2 dotted lines coming out of the Cretanis system. These represent warp point connections between your system and other systems. Each line is signified in the System Window by one of those blue circles at the edge of the solar system.

Maybe you miss clicked one of those Unexplored solar systems and you noticed that the circles seemed to move. This is how you move the galaxy map around to display different sections of the galaxy. If you left-click on an area that does not contain a solar system, then the map will redisplay with the section you clicked on being centered in the map. You can also use the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons at the top left-hand corner of the window to make the map grow larger or smaller. Try pressing the Zoom Out button a number of times. You see where your solar system is relative to the rest of the galaxy. Now press Zoom In and left-click to get the Cretanis system centered again in the Galaxy Window. If the Cretanis system is not selected, please do so now by left-clicking on it.

The Ship List Window In the upper right-hand corner of the Tactical Window is the Ship List Window. This window displays all of the ships in the currently selected sector in the System Window. Since you do not have any ships yet, there is nothing to display in this window. More on this window later.

Now that you have completed this page, you can go to the next page by pressing the Next Page selection below, or by pressing the double right arrows at the top of the Help File Window.

Next Page >>

Tutorial Page 2

Sector Report Now its time to take a closer at your home planet. Move your mouse over your home planet and then click the right mouse button. You will see a drop-down menu with several items to select (this is the System Window Menu ). The items that are displayed depend on what is in the sector that you click on. At the top of the menu are items titled Cretanis I Report and Cretanis I Productions. Use your mouse and select the first one called Cretanis I Report. Now, the Sector

Report Window will be displayed for that sector. It will show you a picture of your home planet and much of the information that was displayed in the Status Window. At the bottom of the window, you can see that you are present on the planet (you have a colony) and that there are 200M people on the planet. The M stands for million. In parentheses after the 200M, you see the word (Indifferent). This is just telling you the mood of your population. As a populations mood changes, so does their unhappiness. If they get too unhappy, they will riot and throw the planet into chaos. For more information, see Planet Populations. You should also notice that there are 4 Facilities and 0 Units on the planet. This is merely a summary report for your quick use. To get a more detailed look at the planet press the button called Productions at the bottom of the window (You could have also gotten to the Planet Productions Window by selecting the menu item Cretanis I Productions earlier).

Planet Productions You will now see the Planet Productions Window for your home planet. This is a very large window with a lot of information to convey about your planet. The first area to examine is the top left box in the window called Cretanis - Sector 146. This information should look pretty familiar by now. It is the basic properties of the planet such as size, atmosphere, value, and conditions.

The next section is called Facilities on Planet. This is a list of all of the facilities that you have on your planet. You will notice that you have 1 Space Port, 1 Resupply Depot, 1 Construction Center I, and 1 Research Center I. Facilities are essentially huge factories which are run by your populations. The main purpose of facilities are to provide services for your empire. The planets provide the raw materials for the facilities and living space for your populations. Planets can produce 3 different types of points which your empire requires to operate. The 3 types of points that your planets generate are Construction Points, Research Points, and Intelligence Points. These points are spent to build ships, research new technologies, and perform intelligence operations. These points are generated in turn, by Construction Centers, Research Centers, and Intelligence Centers. You will notice that you already have a Construction Center and Research Center on your planet. If you look directly below the list you will see 3 lines of text which say Construction Points Generated and so on. These display how much of each of the three different point types this planet is generating. You see that you are generating 600 construction points and 500 research points.

If you select a facility in the list, its background will change to teal. You can then press the Facility Report button at the bottom of the list to get a description of the facility. Select the Research Center I and then press the Facility Report button. The Facility Report Window will be displayed and will show you information about your Research Center. You will notice that it says that a Research Center I produces 500 research points per turn. Press Close and close the window. Next select the Construction Center I and repeat the process. You will notice that the report says that the Construction Center I produces 500 construction points per turn. Press Close and return to the Planet Productions Window. Question is, why does this window say that your planet is generating 600 construction points per turn? The reason is that the points your planet generates are modified by different factors. If you look at the Planet Value at the top of the window, it says Good (1.20). Your construction centers are essentially mining the planet and converting the metals into usable construction materials. Since the planet has a good value, you get even more points from it than normal. You get 500 * 1.20 = 600 construction points. There are other modifiers which you can read about under Points and the Planet Productions Window.

The Spaceport is used to collect your points for your empire within a system. Without a spaceport, you will not receive any points from that system. You also have a Resupply Depot on your planet. When you construct ships, they will need to be resupplied from time to time. This facility will automatically resupply any ships of yours which move through the sector. Resupply Depots are vital to your empire, because without them, your ships will run out of fuel and ammo, and become helpless in space. It is essential to your empires survival that you have plenty of Spaceports and Resupply Depots. You must always have at least 1 Spaceport in each system to collect points from it, but you should also have one Resupply Depot per system as well.

The next section of the Planet Productions Window is at the top-right entitled Planet Usage. This section merely tells you how much of the different items you have on the planet, and how much space is left for more. For example, it says that you have 4/12 facilities on the planet. This means that you currently have 4, and the planet can hold a maximum of 12. The total amount a planet can hold is based on its size.

The next section down is the Population group. This box tells you how many people you have on the planet and what their current mood is. The population also has a reproduction rate which is based on your race and what the conditions of the planet are. The better the conditions, the better the populaces reproduction. Next there is the production output for the planet. The production output is essentially how hard you are working the population of the planet. The higher the percentage, the more points you will receive. But be careful, the harder you work the populace, the angrier they will become. And below this is the Unhappiness bar. This bar will go from green, to yellow, to red. When it reaches red, your population has a good chance of rioting. For more information, see Planet Populations.

The next section is entitled Under Construction. This is where you select new facilities or units to be constructed on the planet. You will be using this next, but we will discuss that under Planet Constructions below.

The final section is called Units. This is a list of all of the units you currently have on the planet. When you start a new game, you have none. But when you construct some, or transport them, they will show in this list. Units is a group name for troops, fighters, and mines. These are items which cannot move through space under their own power.

Planet Constructions Now its time to have your planet begin constructing some new facilities. Press the button titled Queue in the Under Construction section of the window. You will now see the Construction Queue Window. You use this window to give the planet a list of items to construct. In the left-hand list (Items) you have all of the items available to you to construct. The right-hand list (Construction Queue) displays all of the items that are in line to be constructed by this planet. What we want to do is to build some Construction Centers and then some Research Centers. Select the item Construction Center I in the left-hand list (it will become highlighted). Next click on the button titled Add at the bottom of the Construction Queue List. You should now see a

Construction Center I in the right-hand list as well. Youll notice that it says 0.5 years in the Time column, and 300 in the cost per turn column. This means that it will take 0.5 years (5 turns) to build the Construction Center I, at a cost of 300 construction points per turn. Continue adding Construction Centers until there are 5 in the list. Then select the Research Center I and add about 4 of those. Youll notice that when you tried to add the last one, a message came up saying that that was too many. A Large planet like this can only support 12 facilities at a time. You already have 4, and youve added 8 to the construction list. You cannot add anymore. Now that youre done, you can press the Close button and return to the Planet Productions Window. You can press Close on this window as well. And then finally, press Close on the Sector Report Window. You should now be looking at the Tactical Window again.

Notes on points You may have noticed that different numbers were displayed in different colors on the windows. Throughout the game, the 3 main point types will be represented with 3 different colors. Construction Points are displayed in red, Research points in blue, and Intelligence points in green. In this way, if you see a cost, you can tell what type of points are required based on the color of the number.

Notes on constructions You may have asked yourself, why couldnt I select ships to construct at my planet? First off, you do not have any ship designs created yet. That comes on the next tutorial page. But the main reason is that planets do not construct ships. There are two different areas where items are constructed. Planets can construct troops and facilities on them by their populations. Troops are recruited from the local population, and facilities are constructed from the planets materials and take several years to complete. Ships, fighters, and mines, however, are constructed in space by factories known as Space Yards. These items can be constructed at planets, or anywhere in space where there is a space yard present. It is important that you remember this difference between where you can construct different items. You use the Construction Queue Window to select troops and facilities to be built on a planet, and you use the Purchases Window to purchase all of the other types of items. You will purchase your first ship on the next tutorial page.

Expenses Now its time to take a look at your overall spending for your empire. There are two different ways to bring up the Empire Expenses Window. You can use the menu and select Empire/Expenses, or you can press the toolbar button with the pie chart on it. Once you bring it up, you will see 4 different sections.

The first section is titled Points per turn. This group displays the total amount of each type of point we are generating on our planets, and then the amounts we are receiving through trade. Totals are displayed, and then at the bottom of the section is displayed the Maximum Construction Points Storage, which is merely the maximum number of construction points which you can accumulate.

The next section is titled Construction. This section details how you are spending your construction points for this turn. There are two columns of red numbers. The first column is the current spending, and the second column is the amount remaining after the first column is subtracted. So for Construction Points Available we have 2600. Of that, we are spending 0 on maintenance because we have no ships yet to maintain. We are spending 300 on Construction on Planets because of those facilities we added to our home planets Construction Queue. After the 300 is deducted, there is 2300 left. And we have not selected any purchases yet, so that is 0 as well.

The last two sections display how many Research and Intelligence points we have available. You can see that many of the items have a button to the right of them. By pressing these buttons you can jump quickly to the window which controls the spending for that point type. Theres no need to change anything now, so you can just close this window.

Research The next good thing to do is to set our Empires research. If you remember, we had one research facility on our home planet. This facility will generate 500 research points per turn. We need to decide how we want to spend those points each turn. From the menu you can select Empire\Research, or press the button on the toolbar which looks like a vial or beaker. Once the Research Window has displayed, you will be presented with a long list of research areas to put your money into. You can select each one in the list and see a description of that area displayed in the group at the top-right of the window. You will also notice that the Expected Results at the bottom-right of the window changes as well.

The list of research areas are all of the areas of science that we currently know of. Each area has a current level, and a Percentage associated with it. The level is a representation of our current understanding of that technology. For example, youll notice that Colonizing (Carbon Dioxide) is at a level of 1. This is because our home planet is of that atmosphere type, so of course, we know how to colonize other planets with that same atmosphere. The percentage associated with each research area is how much of our research points each turn we want to spend on this area. Youll notice that they are all 0% at the moment. Following the percentage is a gray box that is empty. As research is completed in an area, the box will fill up. When the box is full, our empire will achieve the next level in that technology area.

We want to make sure that we have some big ships to build with so first well put some points towards Ship Construction. Find the technology area called Ship Construction and select it in the list. Now press the little up arrow to the right of the list where it says % of Spending. As you press the up arrow, the percentage will go up. Put it at 40%. Youll notice that the Estimated Time till Completion went down from Never to 1.1 years. This is an estimate based on your current level of points. So if we continue to get 2500 research points per turn, we will achieve Tech Level 2 in Ship Construction in 1.1 years (11 turns). But we wont. We only get 500 research points per turn, and 2000 was just our starting amount. So next turn, if we check this estimate again, its going to be a bit larger. But keep in mind that we will be building Research Centers, so the amount of research points we get each turn will go up.

Next select Shields and give that 25%. Then select Weapons: Beams and give that 25%. Finally select Colonizing (Oxygen) and give that the remaining 10%. Why give points to Colonizing (Oxygen)? Because hopefully you noticed in the System Window that there was a planet right next to your home planet with that type of atmosphere. When you do achieve this technology, you will be able to create a colony ship that can go and colonize that planet. You may have also noticed that the text for the tech areas change color to yellow when you changed their percentage. The Research Window uses color to give you an indication of that tech areas status. White means available but with no percentage, yellow means that it has a percentage greater than 0, and green means that at the current spending percentage you will achieve that tech area on the next turn. If you want more details on this, see Research. When youre done, click on the Close button.

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>

Tutorial Page 3

Ship Designs Now were ready to design some starships. From the menu select Designs\Ship Designs, or you can press the button on the toolbar which looks like the silhouette of a starship in gray (third from the left). You should now see the Designs Window which lists all of the designs you have created. Since you havent created any, the list is currently empty. What you want to do is to press the Add button to create a new design. This will take you to the Add Design Window .

The Add Design Window is fairly large and complicated, but youll get familiar with it very quickly. There are essentially four sections to the window. The left side is taken up with the current components you have available to place on a starship. As you gain more tech levels through research, you will obtain more components to use on your ships. Below this section is the statistical information for the current design. As you can see right now, most of the information is blank. The right side of the window displays the current design you are working on. Below this section is a list of requirements and warnings that you must obey when making this design.

Creating a Colonizing Ship First we want to create a colonizing ship. These are vital to our empire because they allow us to move out into space and colonize other planets. The first step is to start in the top right hand corner and select a ship size. You can see from the list that we can choose from Escort, Space Station, Colony Ship, and Small Transport. You can see details about each ship size in Ship Sizes. You should select Colony Ship. When you do, you will notice that a picture for the ship is displayed, the statistical information in the bottom left is displayed, and some requirements show up in the Requirements section.

If youll notice in the Statistics section that we now have 30 spaces out of 30 to use. Each ship size will give you a certain number of spaces to fill. Each component in turn takes a certain number of spaces aboard a ship. So now, lets start putting some components on our ship. There are 3 sections

to a ship: the Inner Hull, Outer Hull, and the Armor section (for more details see Ship Sections). Sections get hit by damage from the outside in, so its a good idea to put our most vital components in the innermost section first. To do this, select the option button which says Inner Hull (25%). The percentages are there to tell us how many of the total spaces of the ship we can place in this section. So we can only place 25% of the total spaces of the ship within the inner hull.

The first thing a ship needs is a Bridge. All ships require a bridge. Look in the components list and find the component which says Bridge (it should be the first one in the list). Left-click it with the mouse so that it is highlighted. Then, under the Current Ship Designs components list, press the Add button. Youll now see that component in your ship design. Good job. Next we need to add 2 life support components (if you scroll through the Requirements List youll notice that there is an item which says that 2 life support components are required. As we add the life support components, this item will be removed from the list. Once all the requirements have been met, we have a valid design). Find the component called Life Support in the Components list and select it. Then press the Add button twice so that you have 2 life support components aboard your ship design. Finally, we need crew quarters for our crew. Add 2 crew quarters to the design.

Now a colony ship wouldnt be very effective unless it actually had a colony module on board. Since were almost out of space in the Inner Hull, its time to switch to the Outer Hull. Select the radio button which says Outer Hull (> 65%). Youll notice that all of the components in the list disappeared. Theyre still on the design, but we are now looking at the components which are in the Inner Hull. Find the component called Colony (Carbon Dioxide) I in the Components List. Select it, then press the Add button. You may have noticed that most of the requirements just vanished from the Requirements list. The only thing remaining to put on our colony ship is some engines to move it around. Find the component called Ion Engine I and select it. Press the Add button 5 times. You have now added 5 engines to the ship. But youll notice that a message appeared in the Requirements List which says There is a limit of 4 engines on a Colony Ship. Your design has 5. Whoops. Guess well have to remove one. Select one of the Ion Engine components in the Current Ship Design List and press the Remove button. Once the extra engine is gone, the warning message is taken away as well.

If you look at the Statistics section, it says that we have 1 space left to spend. Well, the only thing we can fit is some Armor. Select the radio button which says Armor in the Current Ship Design section, then select the component called Armor in the Components Available List. Press Add and we have now completed our ship design. The only thing left is to select its type and give it a name. At the top right, the second combo box down is called Design Type. Press the combo button and select the item called CLD - Colonizing Ship - Carbon Dioxide. This type is helpful when moving your ships around so that you know what general type it is. Next we give the ship a name. In the Name combo box you can either type a new name, or select one from the list. Lets call it Colonizer. Type this in the Name combo box. Were done! Press the OK button at the bottom of the window.

When we return to the Designs Window, there is now a new design in the list. It says its name is Colonizer, and costs 1964 construction points (you know that its construction points by the color). We can now purchase that design for our empire. But first, we should make one more design more suited towards exploration.

Creating an Exploration Ship Press the Add button on the Designs Window and reenter the Add Design Window. Well go through this a little quicker this time. For Ship Size, select Escort. For Design Type, select ATK Attack Ship. For Name, type in Explorer. In a real game, its a good idea to not name your ships something so obvious. Since the enemy gets to see your design names, if he saw something like Explorer, hed probably figure out what youre doing with it. Thats where Design Types come in. Only you get to see the design type you select for a particular design. So you can use that to tell you what kind of ship it is.

Select the Inner Hull section and add a Bridge and 1 Life Support component. Switch to the Outer Hull, and add a Crew Quarters component. Escorts are much smaller than colony ships and do not require as many crew members or life support. Next add 5 Ion Engines (you can also just doubleclick a component and it will add it automatically). Why only 5 engines? Well, with 5 engines we have 2 spaces left. With those 2 spaces we can fit 1 Meson Blaster. Add 1 Meson Blaster to the design and youre done. Press the OK button.

On the Designs Window, you should now see 2 designs. One for the Colonizer, and another for the Explorer. If you want to look at these designs again you can select them in the list, and then press the View button. This will display the Design Report Window for the selected design. When youre done, press the Close button on the Designs Window. If youd like more details on this, see Ship Design .

Purchasing the ships Now we need to purchase those ships based on the designs we just created. From the menu select Empire/Purchases, or you can press the button on the toolbar which looks like a dollar bill. You will now be looking at the Purchases Window which lists all of the purchases you have outstanding in your purchase queues. Press the Add button to go to the Add Purchase Window. In the Add Purchase window, you have two lists. The list on the left displays all of the items that your empire can purchase. This list will include ship designs, fighters, and mines (remember that troops and facilities are constructed by planets). Youll notice that your two ships designs are displayed in the list. The list on the right displays all of the locations in the galaxy where you can purchase new items. These are locations where you have at least 1 space yard.

Space Yards are huge robotic complexes which construct items for your empire. They take two forms. A planet with a sufficient population will receive a natural space yard. The second form is that of a component which you can place on your ships and bases. See Ship Construction for more details. Each space yard has a capacity of how many components per turn they can repair. Anywhere there is a space yard, you can purchase new items.

So in the list on the right, you can see your home planet of Cretanis I. It has a sufficient population to receive a built in space yard. First we want to purchase an Explorer ship. Select and highlight the Explorer ship in its list, and then select and highlight your home planet in the other list. Since we only want to buy 1 at this time, we do not need to change the Amount To Purchase number at the bottom of the Items list. By making these selections you have stated that you wish to purchase

1 Explorer ship at your home planet. Press the OK button. When you return to the Purchases Window you will see that you have selected an Explorer ship to be purchased in your home system and sector for a cost of 662. At the bottom of the window you will notice that you have 2300 construction points available to your empire this turn.

So lets purchase the Colonizer too! Press the Add button to go back into the Add Purchase Window. Select the Colonizer in the left list, and your home planet again in the right list. Press the OK button. Now the Purchases Window shows both the Explorer and the Colonizer to be purchased. But why is the text for the Colonizer red? Thats because you cannot afford the Colonizer in this turn. The Colonizer costs 1964, which, plus the 662 for the Explorer ship, is more than the 2600 construction points you currently have. Thats ok. The colonizer will not be purchased this turn, but next turn it may be. Were done adding purchases, so press the Close button. If youd like more details on this, see Ship Purchases.

End Turn Well, thats about it for this turn. We cant really do anymore until we have some ships. Its time to end our turn. You can either select the End Turn! menu item, or press the button from the toolbar which looks like a red arrow. When the game asks you if youre sure you want to end your turn, select Yes.

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>

Tutorial Page 4

Next Player Window After you said Yes to the end turn question, you saw something flash by about the players taking their turns. While the computer players are taking their turns, a window is displayed which lets you know whose turn it is. You cant do anything while this is going on, so just sit back and let it zip by. After that finished you were presented with a window which said Emperor Metok, your empire awaits . This window is presented at the beginning of every turn to let you know that its your turn. If there were other human players in the game, then they would get the same. Just press OK on the window.

Log Window Now when the Main Window came up, suddenly another window called the Log Window popped up. At the beginning of your turn, the first thing that happens is that your ships will execute any outstanding orders that they have. After that, you will get the Log Window if there are any new events for your attention. Youll notice that there is one item which says that the ship Explorer

0001 was purchased. You can double-click on this list item to be automatically taken to the location that its talking about.

When you do, youll notice that your home planet has been selected (its got the teal highlight box around it). You should also see in the Ship List Window your ship Explorer 0001. To get a better feel for this, left-click somewhere else in the System Window. Youll notice that the ship disappears from the Ship List. The Ship List Window displays only the ships that are in the currently selected sector. You should also notice the small icon in the top left-hand corner of the sector where your home planet is. This is a tiny version of your empire icon which signifies that you have ships in the sector. Left-click on your home planet so that its selected, and your Explorer 0001 shows in the Ship List Window.

Ship Report In the Ship List Window, you can see your empire icon, a picture of the ship, the ships name, and what class it is (a ships class is the same thing as its design name). You can also see that it is of size ES (escort, see Ship Sizes for a list), type ATK (Attack Ship), that it has 0/0 movement, and 9/9 damage. The ship has no movement because it has not actually been constructed yet. You have merely purchased its empty hull, and the raw materials necessary to construct its components. Now your space yard has to actually construct the components. Thats why the damage is 9/9. The ship has yet to have any of its components constructed, therefore its fully damaged. In this game, construction and repair are essentially the same thing. Whether youre building it for the first time, or repairing it after its been destroyed, its the same process and indistinguishable.

Lets take a look at our ship. Right-click anywhere in the row where the Explorer 0001 is in the Ship List Window. You will see the Ship List Window Menu , which has as the first item a menu selection called Explorer 0001 Report. Select this. The Ship Report Window will now be displayed for this ship. On the left side are statistics for the ship. Below that is a list of cargo that the ship is carrying. On the right side is a list of the components on the ship. Youll notice that they all have a sort of yellow and black icon where the picture should be. This means that they have not been constructed yet. If the component was destroyed, this would be a burnt component picture. When a component is functional, it will display its normal component picture. As the components in this ship are repaired, these pictures will change to normal.

If you want more information about a given component, you can double-click it (or select it in the list, and then press the Comp Report button). Doing so will take you to the Component Report Window for that component. Take the Meson Blaster as an example. Double-click on it. In the Component Report Window it will tell you details about the component such as the year it was discovered, its cost, and how many spaces it takes up. The Meson Blaster also has details about the damage it does in combat. To get more information about your weapons, press the Weapons Report button (this button is the same thing as the button which says Weapons on the Ship Report Window). Doing so will take you to the Weapons Report Window which shows the damage that each of your weapons do at increasing ranges. At this point, these are just useful windows to know about so that they can aide your decision making process when building future designs. Press Close and return to the Component Report Window. Press Close and return to the Ship Report Window. If youd like more details on ships, see Ships.

Design Report Just in case we forgot what some of the capabilities of this ship are, lets look at its design to remind us. Press the button which says Design Report. You will now see the Design Report Window which looks very similar to the Ship Report Window. In this window you can see the actual pictures of all of the components on your ship, and the what some of the statistics of the ship will be when it is fully constructed. Press Close and return to the Ship Report Window. Press Close and return to the main Tactical Window. Empire Status Now each turn, your planets built in space yard will repair a certain number of components on the ship. To find out how many components your planets built in space yard is capable of repairing, select the menu item Empires/Status, or press the button on the toolbar which looks like an orange heart pulse. You will now see the Empire Status - General Window which has multiple tabs that you can select. Select the tab entitled Planets. On this tab is various information about the planets that make up your empire. It shows what your races reproduction rate is, how much population is needed on a planet to gain space yard capability, and how many components that built in space yard will repair each turn. So we can plan that our ship will have 4 components repaired each turn. You can also see that you need at least 100M people on a planet before it attains a built in space yard. Your home planet has 216M, thats why youve got one there. Switch through the different tabs on this window to see summary information about your empire. When youre done, press the Close button.

Construct/Repair Priorities Well, since only 4 components are going to be repaired on our ship, shouldnt we make sure theyre the important ones? By the way, which components will get repaired? You can set the repair priorities for your empire by selecting Empire/Construct Repair Priorities, or by pressing the button on the toolbar which looks like a wrench. You will now see the Repair Priorities Window which lists all of the different general types of components you can have on your ship. The order that these items are in are the order in which components will be repaired on your ship. For example, if Weapons are first, then all weapons on the ship will be repaired before any other type of component. Since a ship cannot function without a bridge, life support, and crew quarters, we should put those to the top of the list (for more details on the critical components on a ship see Ship Design ). Select the line which says Bridge, and then press the Up Arrow until it is at the top of the list. Then select Life Support, and press the Up Arrow until it is the second item in the list. Move Crew Quarters so that it is the third item in the list. Now our ships Bridge will be repaired first, then its Life Support, then Crew Quarters, then Weapons, then Engines, and so on. Press Close at the bottom of the window.

End Turn Well, theres still not much left to do. Press the End Turn button to end your turn (and answer yes to Are you sure?).

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>

Tutorial Page 5

Log Window Once were back in the game (by hitting OK on the Next Player Window), the Log Window will not come up. Thats because there was no news to report this turn. If you look at the Explorer 0001, you can see that its damage is now 5/9. It looks like 4 components were repaired by the planet. Right-click on the Explorer 0001 and select Explorer 0001 Report to bring up the Ship Report Window. You immediately notice that 4 components have been repaired. The components just happen to be our Bridge, Life Support, Crew Quarters, and our weapon. But our engines have still to be repaired. Until the engines are repaired we will not be able to move the ship. Press the Close button.

Expenses The question is, why didnt our Colonizer ship get purchased? Lets take a look at our Expenses. From the menu select Empire/Expenses, or you can press the toolbar button with the pie chart on it. In the construction section youll notice that we now have a few more values. Maintenance shows a cost of 99. This is the maintenance you have to pay on the Explorer 0001. Every ship requires 15% of its construction points be paid each turn in maintenance. Under that is Construction on Planets which shows a cost of 300. This 300 is the cost of building a Construction Center on our home planet. Lets take a look at how its doing. Press the button which says Productions. This brings up the Planet Productions Window. You can see in the Under Construction section, that we are currently building a Construction Center I. It will take 0.3 more years to complete with a cost each turn of 300 construction points (you should note that each 0.1 of a year is 1 turn in the game, so it will take 3 turns to complete). That explains why we couldnt afford our Colonizer 0001. We had to spend money on building our new Construction Center. Press Close.

In the Purchases row, it shows a cost of 1964. This means that we will be able to afford our colonizer this turn. The 1964 is the cost of the colonizer and we had just 76 construction points to spare!

Research Lets see how our research is going. Press the Research button. Well, it looks like weve got some blue bars. The blue bars represent how close we are to completing the tech level. Click on the Shields tech level. It shows that we are 15% complete with the tech level and that at our current spending level we will reach it in 3.4 years. Now that seems like a long time, but this is based on our current amount of research points. As soon as we start building more Research Centers, our amount of research points generated each turn will go up, and we will complete each of the tech levels faster. Press Close. Press Close on the Expenses Window as well.

End Turn

That was a short turn! Press the End Turn button to end your turn (and answer yes to Are you sure?).

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>

Tutorial Page 6

Log Window Once were back in the game (by hitting OK on the Next Player Window), the Log Window will come up and tell you that we have purchased Colonizer 0001. Double-click on the item and well have our home planet selected again. In the Ship List Window youll now see 2 ships: our Explorer 0001, and our new Colonizer 0001. If you look at the Explorer 0001, you can see that its damage is now 1/9. Another 4 components were repaired by the planet. Youll notice that the ship is selected in the Ship List. This means that it has movement points available to spend. You can see that its movement is 4/5. Its almost ready. It still has 1 component left to repair. We wont move it until its fully constructed.

Construct/Repair Queues Now it would seem that we have 2 different ships being repaired at the same location. But how does the planet know which ship it should be repairing. From the menu select Empire/Construct Repair Queues, or press the button on the toolbar which looks like a crane. You will now be looking at the Repair/Construction Queue Window. This window shows all of your repair queues for all of your space yards. Your repair queues are merely a line in which ships wait to be repaired by a space yard. Normally, you wont have to use this window since the computer will place your ships into the queues optimally. Meaning that it will always make sure that it spreads your ships out so that they are repaired in the quickest time possible. You would typically use this window if you wanted to change that order. For example if you needed a certain ship repaired first before all the others, you could use this window to put it to the front of the line.

At the top of the window is the one space yard we have, our home planet. Click on its row and select it. In the Space Yards section, you will now see a graph which has space yards down the left side, and years along the top. This is a depiction of the time and order in which your ships will be repaired. You can see that Explorer 0001 will take till turn 2400.3 to be complete. This makes sense if you think about the fact that there is 1 engine left on the ship to repair. Since your planet space yard repairs 4 components each turn, it will take only 1 more turn until the ship is complete. After that, the Colonizer 0001 will begin being repaired, and it will take 3 turns to finish. This is a satisfactory order, so we wont change anything. Press the Close button. If youd like more details about ship construction, see Ship Repair.

Expenses

Lets take a look at our Expenses again by selecting Empire/Expenses, or you can press the toolbar button with the pie chart on it. We have 676 construction points available, and of that we have to spend 393 on ship maintenance. Wow, thats a lot. How did it get so high? The reason is because we now have to pay maintenance on our new Colonizer. The more expensive the ship is, the higher the maintenance we have to pay on it. Fortunately, when the colonizer actually colonizes a planet, it will be deconstructed for raw materials to use on the colony. So not only do we get a new colony, but we no longer have to pay the maintenance on the colony ship.

Because were paying so much in maintenance, it looks like were not going to have enough to pay for constructions on our planet. You can see that we need 300 construction points per turn to continue building the construction center on our home planet. But we dont have enough. You can see that we have -17 construction points left after trying to pay the cost. This means that we will be unable to afford the construction of our facility. Thats okay. Nothing happens to the construction, it just sits until we can afford to continue. Press the Close button.

Ships List It would be handy to be able to see what the maintenance is for all of our ships. Luckily, there is a window that provides information about all of the ships our empire owns. From the menu select Reports/Ship List, or press the button on the toolbar bar which looks like a fully-colored ship (5th button from the left). You will now see the Ships List Window . This window displays all of the ships and mines that we have wherever they are in the galaxy. You can see that the list displays basic information about each ship such as size, name, class, type, location, movement, damage, maintenance cost, and orders. Youll notice that we are paying 99 construction points per turn in maintenance for Explorer 0001, and 294 construction points for Colonizer 0001. The total for all of the ships is displayed at the bottom of the window. Our total is 393, just as in the Expenses Window.

As you play more and more of the game, you will find that this window becomes more and more useful. For example, if you wanted to find out which ships have the highest maintenance costs, you can click on the column header for the table entitled Maint. When you do this, the list will be sorted by that column. Colonizer 0001 immediately jumps to the top of the list. You can also display other information about your ships by using the display combo box at the top of the window. Click on the Display combo box and select Status. The Orders column changes to say Status. And you can see that both of our ships are currently under construction. You can try the other options at your leisure. When you are done, press the Close button.

Planet List Like the Ships List, there is also a window which displays all of the planets you own throughout the galaxy. From the menu select Reports/Planet List, or press the button on the toolbar which looks like a planet with a green box on the top right (it will be the 6th button from the left). You will now see the Player Planets List Window. As you can see, your home planet is displayed in the list, but it is the only one. When you colonize more planets, they will be shown in the list as well. The window gives you basic information about each planet such as name, location, population, the populations mood, production output, and the number of points generated by the planet. Our home planet is generating 600 construction points per turn, and 500 research points per turn.

Like the Ships List, this window also has extra display modes so that you can see more information about each planet. Select the Display combo box and pick the item called Construction. The column will change so that now information about the number of facilities, maximum number of facilities, current construction item, time to finish that construction, and cost per turn will be displayed for each planet. You can see that we are currently working on a Construction Center I which is costing us 300 construction points per turn. It will take another 0.2 years (or 2 turns) until it is complete. However, since we will not be able to afford it this turn, its time will not decrease this turn. You can try the other display modes and when you are finished, press the Close button.

All Known Planets List But what about planets that we havent colonized? Well, theres a window for them as well. From the menu select Reports\All Known Planets List, or press the button on the toolbar which looks like a big red and blue planet (7th button from the left). You should now see the All Known Planets List Window. This window displays all the planets in the galaxy that you have ever seen, including planets you have colonized. Since we have only seen our home solar system, the list only shows planets that are in our home system. Information about each is displayed such as name, location, population (if there is any), atmosphere, size, value, and conditions.

This window is especially useful when looking for planets to colonize. At the moment, this window shows all planets that we have seen. If you click the checkbox at the top of the window which says Show only planets that can be colonized the list will change. All of the planets disappeared! The reason for this is that there are no planets in your home system that you can colonize. The only one that has an atmosphere of the type you can colonize, Carbon Dioxide, is your home planet, and you already have a colony there. Un-check the checkbox at the top of the window so that all of the planets are displayed again. If you look down the atmosphere column, youll see that only your home planet has a Carbon Dioxide/Nitrogen atmosphere.

This window, like the others, allows you to sort the items in the list by clicking on the headers of the list. For example, if you wanted to see the planets in order of size, you would press the Size column header. If you wanted all of the planets ranked by Size and then Value, you would press the Value header, then press the Size header. The window remembers the previous sorts so that each subsequent sort is using the last one as a basis. Press the Close button when you are done.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn (and answer yes to Are you sure?).

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>

Tutorial Page 7

Explorer 0001 ready for service The first thing youll notice in the Ship List is that our Explorer 0001 has been completed. You can tell because its damage is 0/9. Right-click on the ship and select Explorer 0001 Report. In the Ship Report Window you can see that all of its components have been repaired, and that some of its statistical information has changed. Most notably, its status is now normal, and its resupply time is 1.5 years.

What is resupply time? As a ship moves through space, it expends resources such as fuel, food, energy, etc. A ship cannot go indefinitely without eventually needing to resupply itself. This is where Resupply Depots come in (Resupply Depots on planet are denoted by a small R in the lower right hand corner). Youll notice that your home planet has both an R and an S). If your ship moves through a sector containing a resupply depot, it will have its resupply time reset to full (it is assumed that the ship makes a quick stop to resupply and that it is so brief that it does not take any movement points). When not at a resupply depot, your ships resupply time will decrease by 0.1 each turn. When a ship reaches 0.5 years left, its name and description will change to red. This is the resupply warning to let you know that youre getting near the time. If a ship hits 0 resupply time, then it is assumed that the ship has run out of essential materials such as fuel. Your ship will then begin to lose capabilities. For a complete list of what happens, see Ship Resupply. Press the Close button on the Ship Report Window when you are done.

Moving Explorer 0001 Its now time to set out and explore the galaxy. In the System Window, click on your home planet. In the Ship List Window, you will see the Colonizer 0001 and the Explorer 0001. Explorer 0001 will be highlighted in the ship list. This means that it has movement points available to use. We can now give Explorer 0001 orders to move to another solar system. We have two choices, we can either go through the warp point at the top of the solar system, or go through the warp point at the bottom of the solar system. Lets take the bottom one because its closer.

In the System Window, right-click on the blue warp point at the bottom of the solar system. When you do so you will get the System Window Menu, which has a number of different selections. The selections at the top of the menu are actions that the ships currently selected in the Ship List Window can execute. The first two items are Move To and Warp (If you dont see these options then you either do not have your Explorer 0001 selected in the Ship List Window, or you did not right-click on the warp point). Now we can either select Move To which will move us to the warp point, or we can give the ship orders to Warp, which will cause it to move to the warp point, and then warp through it. For now, lets just select Move To. Do this now. You should see your empire icon move from the planet over to the warp point, and then stop. Youve just completed your first ship movement!

In the Ship List Window, you can see your Explorer 0001 all by itself. It now has 0/5 movement because it moved 5 sectors to reach the warp point. Youll also notice that there is a small red dragon icon in the top left-hand corner of the warp points sector. This is there to show you that

you have a ship in that sector. There is still a small red dragon icon in the sector with your home planet because your Colonizer 0001 is still there being constructed. When the Explorer 0001 moved through space, you may have seen it as a large dragon icon like the one in the Status Window. If you have a ship in a sector that is empty, then you will see your large empire icon. If there is something in the sector, such as a planet, warp point, or storm, then the small icon is displayed. This is true for all empires that you will encounter.

At this point, you no longer have any ships with movement left so were done for now. If youd like more details about ship movement, see Ship Movement.

Empire Options Were about to end our turn, but before we do, do you want to get rid of those annoying Are you sure? questions when you end your turn? I thought so. From the menu select Empire/Options, or press the button on the toolbar which looks like a clipboard (if you are not sure what a particular toolbar button does, you can place your mouse over it and the name of that button will be displayed). You will now be presented with the Empire Options - Windows Window. This window allows you to set options for how you interact with your empire. If you read through the checkboxes on this window, youll see the one at the top which says Display confirmation dialog when ending turn. Go ahead and un-check this checkbox. Now there will be no more annoying messages! While were here, another helpful option is the one titled Display log message when ship completes its construction. Check this option. With this on, we will receive a log message when one of our ships completes its construction. A very helpful reminder.

Take a few moments to look through the rest of the tabs on this window. If you want a more detailed description of these options, you can press the help button. If you do press the help button, you can get back to this help page by pressing the Back button at the top of the Help Window. Press the Close button when youre done.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn.

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>

Tutorial Page 8

Moving Explorer 0001 When you start this turn, Explorer 0001 will have all of its movement points back. Its time to venture forth into unexplored territory! Left-click on the warp point where your Explorer 0001 is

(its probably already selected, but its a good habit to get into. When moving ships you need to select the sector they are in by left-clicking in the System Window, then you highlight which ships you want to move by left-clicking them in the Ship List Window, and finally you right-click on the location you want them to act on. The System Window Menu will display the valid actions at that location). The Ship List Window helps you by automatically highlighting all of the ships which have movement in that sector. Right-click on the warp point to display the System Window Menu. Select the menu item which says Warp.

Explorer 0001 has just entered the solar system of Zertak (the name of the solar system is displayed in the title bar of the System Window). Now that your ship has entered a new system, a number of things have happened. The first thing to look at is the Galaxy Window. It now displays a line between your home system of Cretanis and this new solar system of Zertak. You will notice that the Zertak solar system is teal and that your home solar system is red. Zertak is teal because it is the currently selected solar system, the one you are looking at in the System Window. Your home system is red because that is your empire color. It is showing red because you are the only one in the solar system. If there was another empire present, both your color and his empire color would be displayed.

Another thing you may notice is that the warp point Explorer 0001 is sitting on has the word Cretanis written under it. This is the name of the system that this warp point connects to. Once you have explored both systems connected by a warp point, then the warp points will display the name of the system that they connect to.

This is a fairly sparse system with only 2 planets. Lets take a close look at them. Left-click in the System Window on the gray planet at the top left. In the Status Window you will see details about this planet. Zertak I is a planet with no atmosphere, not much use to us. Next left-click on the other planet which is right next to the sun. Zertak II has a Chlorine atmosphere, again, not much use. Since we can only colonize Carbon Dioxide atmosphere, were looking for a planet with that atmosphere.

Extended Orders Its time to continue Explorer 0001s journey. Left-click on the warp point at the top of the system and you will see Explorer 0001 show up in the Ship List Window already highlighted. It has 4 movement points left. Were not going to make it to the other warp point this turn, but we can give the ship orders to move all the way to the warp point at the bottom of this system. Right-click on the warp point at the bottom of the system. Select the menu item entitled Move To. You should see Explorer 0001 move 4 sectors down and then come to a stop.

Explorer 0001 came to a stop because it ran out of movement points. However, it still has orders to move to that warp point. In the Ship List Window, right-click on Explorer 0001, and select Explorer 0001 Report. In the Ship Report Window , you can see under Orders that the ship has orders to Move to Zertak sector 162. This means that next turn, this ship will attempt to complete its orders by moving towards that warp point you selected. By giving ships orders, you can remove some of the tedium of having to move large numbers of ships each turn. At any time, you can clear

a ships orders by using the Clear Orders command. Press the Close button on the Ship Report Window. If youd like more details on ship orders, see Ship Orders.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn.

Log Window The Log Window has displayed to tell you that the construction center you were building on your home planet is done. Double-click on the highlighted log message, or just press the Goto button. The Planet Productions Window shows that you now have 2 Construction Center Is on your home planet. Your home planet is now generating 1200 construction points per turn. Excellent. Now you will be able to afford more ships to explore the galaxy. You should also notice that the Under Construction section says that your planet has already begun work on another Construction Center I. In 0.5 years, it will be complete. Because you filled up your construction queue for this planet, you do not need to come back and give it a new construction to work on. Construction on facilities will continue until all items in the queue are completed. Press the Close button.

Wouldnt it be nice if the Log Window just showed the new items instead of showing all of the past items as well? Press the Options button to bring up the Log Options Window. In this window, select the checkbox which says Only show new events in the list. Press the Close button. The Log Window now only shows the new message you received this turn. If you ever want to see all of the old items as well, you can just go back and un-check that option. Press the Close button.

Explorer 0001 moves When the Tactical Window displayed, for the briefest of moments, you saw Explorer 0001 move farther down the solar system. Then the Log Window popped up. But you can see now that Explorer 0001 has moved farther towards its destination. It will continue to do so until it reaches the warp point, which should be next turn.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn.

Log Window The Log Window has popped up to tell you that Colonizer 0001 has been completed! The only problem is that we dont have a planet for it to colonize. Well, hopefully Explorer 0001 will find something for us. Press the Close button.

Explorer 0001 moves

Well, it looks like Explorer 0001 has reached its destination and still has movement points left to spend. Left-click on the warp point at the bottom of the solar system where Explorer 0001 is sitting. Now right-click in that same place and select the menu item Warp. Another new system! This system is called Narcisus and looks a bit more promising than the last. In fact, isnt that a green planet in the upper right-hand corner. Left-click on that planet and look at the Status Window. Terrific, its got a Carbon Dioxide atmosphere. That means Colonizer 0001 can colonize it.

Next Ship/Previous Ship Another nice feature of the Ship List Window is the Next Ship/Previous Ship buttons. Using these buttons you can move quickly through the ships in your empire that have movement points available. Since Colonizer 0001 was just constructed, it probably has movement points available. Lets find out. At the top left of the Ship List Window there are two buttons with arrows on them. Click the button with the arrow pointing to the right. Explorer 0001 has been selected because it still has movement points left. Click the right arrow button again. Now Colonizer 0001 is selected. Since weve got a target for it, lets get it going.

We dont actually want to have to move Colonizer 0001 all that distance ourselves, so well just give the ship orders to do it on its own. Since Colonizer 0001 is selected in the Ship List Window, this will be the ship we are giving orders to. Now we need to go back to the Narcisus system. In the Galaxy Window, left-click near the Zertak system, but not directly on it. When you do this the map will center itself on the location that you clicked. Now you should be able to see the Narcisus system without difficulty. Left-click on the circle that represents the Narcisus system (it will be colored red and have the word Narcisus written next to it). When you do click it successfully, its color will change to teal. The System Window will now change and display the Narcisus system. You should notice that the Ship List Window still displays Colonizer 0001 and says in the title bar that these are Ships in Cretanis - Sector 146. This is because the Ship List Window will continue to display the ships that are in the currently selected sector (the one with the teal box around it) even if that sector is in another solar system.

This is immensely helpful since we can now give orders to ships in one system to perform an action in a completely different system. Right-click on the green planet. Select the menu item titled Colonize. The System Window will change to display the Cretanis system again and show the Colonizer 0001 moving towards the warp point. You have successfully given an order to Colonizer 0001 to move to the Narcisus system and colonize the planet you found. It will move each turn towards its destination without any action required from you.

Moving Explorer 0001 Lets not forget about Explorer 0001, it still had movement left. In the Ship List Window, click the button with the arrow pointing to the right. Explorer 0001 will now be displayed and it has 1 movement point left. Its not going to get far this turn, but we can at least give it an order to move to a new system. We now have 2 warp points to choose from. The one on the right side of the system looks a little closer so well move to that one. Right-click on the warp point on the right side of the solar system and select Move To. Explorer 0001 is on its way.

Purchase another Explorer Before we end this turn, lets buy another Explorer ship. From the menu select Empire/Purchases, or press the button on the toolbar which looks like a dollar bill. In the Purchases Window , press the Add button. In the Add Purchase Window , select the Explorer design in the left list, and select your home planet Cretanis I in the right list. Press the OK button. Press the Close button on the Purchases Window.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn.

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>

Tutorial Page 9

Log Window The Log Window has popped up to tell you that Explorer 0002 has been purchased. This isnt of much use to us until the ship is actually constructed. Press Close on the Log Window.

Ships Moved Before the Log Window displayed, you saw both your Colonizer 0001 and Explorer 0001 move through different systems. Lets see if we have any ships to move this turn. In the Ship List Window, press the Next Ship button which has an arrow pointing to the right. Nothing happened. Well, both of our ships moved which means that we dont have any ships around that have movement points left. Lets see how Explorer 0001 is doing. In the Galaxy Window, click on the Narcisus solar system. In the System Window you can see that our Explorer 0001 is about 2 sectors away from being at the warp point. It will be there next turn.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn.

Ships Moved Well, our ships have moved farther. Lets see if Explorer 0001 is ready to go. Press the Next Ship button on the Ship List Window (the one with the arrow pointing to the right). It looks like Explorer 0001 has 3 movement points left. Lets send it on to a new solar system. Right-click on the warp point its on, and select the Warp item. Uggh. Now thats an empty system for you.

Estopholes appears to only have one planet, and its not what were after. Well, we continue onward towards the unknown. Right-click the warp point on the right side of the system at the top. Select the Move To menu item.

Are there any ships left to move? Press the Next Ship button on the Ship List Window. Since nothing showed up, we can assume that the answer is no.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn.

Move Ships First order of business is to see if we have any ships to move. Press the Next Ship button on the Ship List Window. It looks like Explorer 0002 is almost ready, but not quite. Youll notice that it still has damage of 1/9. We shouldnt move it until its complete. Press the Next Ship button again on the Ship List Window. Nope, no other ships to move.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn.

Do you want to Attack? Well, that was unexpected. It seems that our Explorer 0001 has run into someone. You are now looking at the Strategic Combat Window. If you attempt to move into a sector containing another player who is not your ally, then this window is displayed to ask you whether you wish to attack. In the left hand list are your ships, and in the right hand list are the opposing ships. If youre wondering where this happened, you can find out. Press the Show Sector button at the bottom of the window. This window shows you a view of the Estopholes system where you encountered this new race. It looks as though he just came through the warp point as you were trying to enter the sector. Press the Close button.

Now we have a choice whether we want Strategic Combat, Tactical Combat, or not to attack at all. Tactical combat is a method of playing out the battle where you can control your individual ships during the conflict. Strategic combat has the computer play out the battle quickly in this window, with all of the pieces controlled by the computer. This method is used if you dont really want to take the time to go through the battle yourself. Since this is obviously our space, and this alien just came barging in here without regards to our borders, he must be hostile. Lets show him that we will defend our territory with deadly force.

Tactical Combat

Press the button which says Yes, Tactical Combat. Answer Yes to whether youre sure. Youre now looking at the Tactical Combat Window. This window is a blown up display of the sector where combat is taking place. You can see that you are on the left hand side, since you were entering the sector, and he is in the middle on the warp point. Tactical Combat is divided into distinct phases. The first is the placement phase where you can place your ships in a formation if you wish (this is why there is a big white box around your ship. Its the region in which you can place your ships). Well just skip this phase. At the top right of the window is a button with a big red arrow on it (just like the end turn button). Press this button to end the Placement Phase.

Move Explorer 0001 in combat Now its time for us to move our ships. Movement is just like we did in the System Window. Our ship is selected in the Combat Piece List, so we are giving it commands (unlike in the System Window, when you give a command to a piece in combat, it does NOT store these commands as orders to execute. It will execute them immediately and you will have to retell it what to do each phase). Right-click about mid-way between your ship and the enemy ship. Youll get a tiny menu which says Move To. Select this menu item. Your ship will move 3 squares to the right. Things to note are that in the Overview Map in the bottom right-hand corner, your red dot has moved closer to the teal dot. You should also notice that your ship only got 3 movement points to use during combat. In the Combat Piece List you can see that it now has 0/3 movement points. In combat, you will only get half your normal number of movement points.

Target weapons Now we need to target our weapons. At the top of the window is a toolbar with many buttons. Press the button which looks like a set of red crosshairs (the 4th button from the left). You will now see the imposing Combat Targetings Window . In the list on the left, are your combat pieces and the weapons that they possess. The list on the right contains all of the enemy pieces you can target your weapons against. Click on the enemy ship California 0001. Next click on your Meson Blaster I in the list on the left. The name California 0001 now appears as the target for that weapon. Thats it, were done. When we give our weapons targets, they will retain those targets until we decide to change them. The weapon will fire automatically when an enemy is in range (and if it has been targeted). Press the Close button.

Scanning the enemy Now that youve finished targeting, your phase is done. Press the End Combat Turn button (button with big red arrow). Now were back to our movement phase again (the Placement phase only happens once at the beginning of combat). The enemy had his movement phase and has moved closer to us. Lets take a look at what were up against. Right-click on the enemy ship and select the menu item titled California 0001 Report. The Ship Report Window will be displayed for the enemy. Because of the close proximity of combat, a detailed scan is possible of the enemy ship. Youll notice that this ship looks mighty familiar. Its an escort just like ours. Which means that we have an even chance of winning. Press the Close button. Right-click on the enemy ship and select Move To. Press the End Combat Turn button.

Shots are fired

After you pressed the End Combat Turn button, a number of things happened. The enemy ship moved closer to yours. Then the enemy fired on your ship with his Meson Blaster I. We then returned fire with our Meson Blaster. Both ships were damaged in the exchange. After both players move, the firing phase takes place where all ships get to fire what weapons they can. In the Combat Piece Window, you can see that we now have a damage of 1/9, and a movement of 2/2. Right-click on your ship in the Combat Piece Window and select the menu item titled Explorer 0001 Report. The Ship Report Window shows that we took 1 point of damage which destroyed one of our Ion Engines. Ouch. Thats why we now have a movement of 2/2. Press the Close button.

More shots are fired Since were close enough, lets just stay where we are. Press the End Combat Turn button. He has moved closer, and we both took damage again. Press the End Combat Turn button. More damage taken by both. It looks like a stalemate. Both ships have now taken 3 points of damage. Press the End Combat Turn button. Both ships damaged again. Press the End Combat Turn button. This looks like mutual destruction. Press the End Combat Turn button. Wait, what happened? He fired on us, but we didnt fire back. How come? Right click on our ship in the Combat Piece Window. The Ship Report Window tells us why. Our Meson Blaster has been destroyed. This battle is over for us. We could retreat, but with only 1 engine left wed never make it. Press the End Combat Turn button 3 more times. With a fiery explosion, we have been defeated. Press OK to the message box telling us that we have been repulsed.

Life continues When combat is completed, our ships continue to execute their orders.

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>

Tutorial Page 10

Log Window After our ships complete their orders, the Log Window is displayed to tell us of numerous events. First off, we have completed another Construction Center I on our home planet. Secondly, the Explorer 0002 has been constructed and is ready for service. Next we are told that we have encountered a new race called the Wootoid. This announcement means that we can interact with them now both politically and perform intelligence operations against them. The final event is a summary of the battle that we were in. Press the Close button when you have finished reading the events.

Enemy Designs

Whenever we engage another empire in battle, we make a record of the designs that we have encountered. From the menu select Designs/Enemy Designs, or press the button on the toolbar which looks like a red outline of a ship (4th button from the left). In the Enemy Designs Window you can see the design we just fought against. Since we remember this ship pretty well, we dont need to look at it again so soon. Press the Close button.

Politics Now that we have made first contact, we can communicate with that empire. And since we were soundly defeated in combat, it would probably be a good idea to form some sort of alliance with them to keep them from doing more of the same. From the menu select Empire/Politics, or press the button on the toolbar which looks like a multi-colored peace symbol. In the Politics Window you see a list of all of the empires that you have encountered and your current relations with them. Since many treaties come with some sort of trade pact, your trade levels with each empire are also shown. Click and select the Wootoid empire from the list so that it is highlighted. Press the Send Message button at the bottom of the window.

Sending a message The Send Message Window allows you to send a communication to another empire. The top combo box in the window is the message type. Click on this combo box and select the item titled Propose Military Alliance Treaty. Click the Send button. Our message has now been sent to the Wootoid empire and they will respond next turn. Press the Close button on the Politics Window. If you would like more details about politics, see Politics.

Moving Explorer 0002 In the Ship List Window, click on the Next Ship button. Explorer 0002 is ready to go. Right click on the warp point at the top of the solar system and select Move To. Press the Next Ship button again. Since there are no more ships to move this turn, lets end our turn.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn.

Log Window Only one event this turn, and it looks as though the Wootoid dont want to be our friends. Oh well, I guess they didnt like us attacking them without provocation like that. Press the Close button.

End Turn Press the End Turn button to end your turn.

New Colony It looks like our Colonizer 0001 has finally accomplished its objective. We have a new colony on Narcisus II. Press the Close button.

Things to do now Youve seen how its done, now its time to take it in your own direction. The Tutorial will leave you with these parting suggestions on what to do now.

1. Purchase more ships Purchase a number of new explorer ships. You might even consider creating a defensive station to defend your home planet in case of attack. Send the new explorer ships to the four corners of the galaxy to find those planets you can colonize.

2. Set your productions for new planets immediately For the planet you just colonized, get it constructing some facilities immediately. The best thing to start with would be a Resupply Depot so that your ships can resupply there without going all the way back to your home planet. Next would be a Spaceport so that your empire can receive the points generated by planets in this system, including this one. After that, its advisable to build at least one Intelligence Center. Now that youve encountered another empire, you will need to at least have defensive intelligence capabilities. After that, you need to keep a balance of Construction Centers and Research Centers. Without construction points, you cannot build a fleet. Without research points, you will not have a modern fleet.

3. Make some allies As you encounter new empires, try to be friendly. You do not need enemies this soon into the game. Make allies wherever possible. There are a number of advantages to having allies which are explained in Treaties.

4. Research the right areas As your research points grow, be sure to spend them wisely. Be sure to always be spending something on developing colonization technology. The more planets you can colonize, the more powerful your empire will become. Ship Construction is essential to building larger ships. Component Construction is very useful in that you will develop Space Yard components that you can place on your ships. A space yard base is a tremendous asset because it can build many ships in parallel. Do not neglect shield technology. Ships with shields will slaughter those who dont have them. A final suggestion is to pick a weapon area and concentrate on it. Beams are a good choice for beginners. Later you can try something more exotic.

Thanks for going through the Tutorial. We hope that you have learned the basics of playing this game. For more detailed information on any topic, use the Contents of this Help File and select an area.

<< Previous Page

Tips for Beginners

Expenses Watch that Empire Expenses Window. This window is invaluable in making sure that your ship maintenance and planet construction costs dont get out of control.

Politics NEVER go to war with more than one empire at a time. Doing so will usually result in your destruction. Make treaties with all of your neighbors and only attack them when you know you can win. Treaties can make even the puniest of empires powerful if they are getting massive amounts of points in trade.

Research Some research areas are definitely more important than others. Ship Construction and Shields are good examples. Ship Construction dictates the largest ship size you can build. Bigger is better when it comes to warships. Shields are also crucial to your starships longevity. If two ships engage in combat and only one of them has shields, the one with shields is going to win.

Intelligence Do not start building intelligence facilities until you actually meet some other empires. Intelligence is useless without someone to use it against. Also, be sure not to commit intelligence activities against your allies unless you dont mind them getting really mad at you. If you decide to go to war, its advisable to start sabotaging areas of their empire that will support the war effort.

Ship Design When ever you get new tech levels, create some new designs. Theres no limit to the number of designs you can have and theres no point in building a ship with old technology on it.

Ships

Dont let your ships get too far from your Resupply Depots. Having your ship hit zero resupply time in enemy territory is the same as hanging a piece of juicy meat in front of a starving dog. The result is identical as well.

Facilities The first thing built in any new system should be a resupply depot. Without a resupply depot, your ships are going to have to keep running back to your home systems to resupply. Also, dont forget to build a spaceport early on in each system. You will not receive any points from any facilities in the system unless you build a spaceport.

How do I...?

Ships Build a ship In order to create a starship, you must design it, purchase it, and then build it. See Ship Design, Ship Purchases, and Ship Construction. See Ship Design. See Ship Purchases. See Ship Movement. See Ship Movement and Warp Order. See Ship Orders. See Load Cargo Order. See Drop Cargo Order. You will attack any player that you do not have a friendly treaty with when you enter the same sector as one of their ships. See Combat. See Boarding Parties Component. You can prevent your ships from automatically moving through a system when executing their orders by making the system a Restricted System. You can do this in the Restricted Systems Window. You can stop cloaked ships with the Tachyon Sensors Component. You can also stop cloaked ships with mines.

Design a ship Purchase a ship Move a ship Move a ship through a warp point Give a ship orders Load cargo onto a ship Unload cargo from a ship Attack another player

Capture an enemy ship Prevent my ships from moving through a system

Stop cloaked ships

Give my ships strategies to use in combat Build a base on a warp point

See Combat Strategy Window. You can build a base on a warp point by building a ship with a space yard on it. When the ship has been constructed, you then move it to the warp point. Once the ship is there, you can purchase the new base at that location. For more details, see Ship Purchases.

Ship Designs Test my new designs You can test your new designs in the Combat Simulation Window.

Planets Colonize a planet Protect my planets See Planet Colonization. You can protect your planets in three different ways. One is to put ships or bases in the sector with the planet. The second is to build defensive facilities on the planet such as the Missile Base Facility and the Shield Base Facility. The last method is to put high level troops on the planet. You can make your population happier by either reducing your production output for the planet, or by building a Urban Pacification Center Facility in the system. See Render Medical Aid Order. You can capture a planet bloodlessly by dropping troops on the planet.

Make my population happier

Cure a plague Attack a planet without killing all the people

Systems Write notes about a system See System Notes Window.

Facilities See which systems dont have spaceports See which systems dont have resupply depots Use one of the special viewing modes in the Galaxy Window. You can also look at the Player Planets List Window. Use one of the special viewing modes in the Galaxy Window.

Build facilities

See Planet Construction.

Units Build troops Build fighters Build mines See Troops. See Fighters. See Mines.

Points Get points to spend See my overall expenses Give point or technology to another player See Points. See Empire Expenses Window. You can send tributes to other players which will transfer points or technology to them. See Politics.

Politics Make a treaty Trade with other players See Treaties. See Politics and Trade.

Research Research technology Steal technology See Research. You can steal technology though espionage operations. See Intelligence.

Intelligence Perform intelligence operations like sabotage and espionage Defend against intelligence operations See Intelligence.

Allocate more intelligence spending towards defense. See Intelligence.

Game Options Automatically save the game every turn Turn on the autosave options under the Tactical Windows File Menu. You can select to save in

various number of turns. Play a very hard game 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select multiple starting tech levels but dont pick any yourself. Select multiple racial advantages but dont pick any yourself. Check on the Game Setup option for Team Play. Set a high number of random computer players. Select only 1 starting planet for human players but multiple for the random players.

These options are in the Game Setup Window. Play a very easy game 1. 2. 3. Set the random computer players to Easy difficulty. Set a few number of random computer players. Select only 1 starting planet for random computer players but multiple for human players.

These options are in the Game Setup Window. Speed up the game Select the options for Fast Combat and No details in Strategic Combat in the Machine Options Window. Also, set your delay orders to 0 in the Empire Options - Ship Orders Window.

Pictures Draw my own ship pictures Draw my own empire icon See Ship Style Bitmaps. See Ship Style Bitmaps.

Computer Players Have the computer control parts of my empire Change a human player to a computer player See Empire Options - Ministers Window. Select Edit Players from the Tactical Window menu under Game. After entering the game password (which is usually master), you will see the Game Setup - Empires Window. From here you can edit a player and change them to

computer control.

Miscellaneous Get out of the Next Player Window when it requires a password Just fail to enter the password 3 times and the game will end.

How come...?

Ships My ship wasnt purchased Ships will not be purchased if you do not have enough construction points to afford them. This usually happens if they are farther down the list in the Purchase Queue and you have other costs such as Ship Maintenance and Planet Construction. To see your current expenses, see the Empire Expenses Window. This can happen because you have no working engines, your resupply time is zero, or your key components have been hit (namely bridge, life support, or crew quarters). For more details, see Ship Movement. This is because you have either lost one of your key components on the ship (bridge, life support, or crew quarters) or your resupply time is zero. See Ship Movement. The only reason you might not be able to move your ship into a sector is that it has zero movement points and cant move at all, or the sector is occupied by 2 empires engaged in combat. See Ship Movement. Your ships will only attack ships of an empire that you have a treaty of None, Non-Intercourse, or War. Anything other than these and you will merely move through the sector with their ships. See Treaties. You can only see ships in a solar system where you have a ship as well. It is also possible for enemy ships to hide in storms or be cloaked. The first requirement is that it be in a sector with a space yard. Next it needs to be added to a repair queue for a space yard. This is taken care of

My ship has zero movement points

My ship has half movement points

I cant move my ship into a sector

My ships wont attack another player

I cant see any ships in the system My ship isnt being repaired

automatically, but it does require a turn. Meaning that your ships will not be repaired if you keep moving it each turn. Next the ship has to be at the front of the repair queue to be repaired. See Ship Repair. My ship doesnt get all its weapons in combat My ships name is red Ships will not get all of their weapons in combat if their resupply time is zero. See Ship Resupply. Your ships name will turn red as a warning that it is getting near to needing resupply. See Ship Resupply. Certain types of weapons penetrate shields. See Weapon Damage Types.

Enemy weapons go through my shields

Designs I cant edit or delete one of my designs You cannot edit or delete a design once you have purchased it, are purchasing it, or if an enemy has seen it.

Units My fighters/mines didnt show up When fighters and mines are purchased they become work orders for a space yard to construct. 1 unit takes 1 turn to construct. The fighter or mine will not be constructed by the space yard if there is no space to place it. See Fighters and Mines. You can only see your own mines. You can never see anyone elses mines. You can, however, mark the locations where you have encountered mines. See the Known Minefields Window.

I cant see any mines

Planets My colonizing ship wont colonize a planet A colonizing ship must have the correct atmosphere colonizing component on board, and must have at least 1 movement point left. See Planet Colonization and Colonize Order. You population will grow unhappy if it is worked too hard, if there is a plague, or if sabotage operations have been performed. See Planet Populations.

My population is so unhappy

Politics The computer player wont accept my treaty Computer players are like you. They base their decisions on their strategic situation and how the other players have treated them. They may not except a treaty because you have attacked them and theyre angry. Or it might just be that they dont like you.

Research I cant see certain tech levels Certain tech levels, called hidden tech levels, are not available to be researched until you have reached a certain level in other tech areas. See Research. Some areas may not give you anything tangible other than general knowledge. Of course, general knowledge is essential in discovering new tech areas to research.

I dont get anything for researching certain tech areas

Q&A

The following are common questions and answers:

1. My design shows that I get 6 movement but my ship says 7/7. Why?

You must have selected the racial advantage "Fast Ships". This racial advantage will give each of your ships +1 movement.

2. How much do Ship yards repair? I've looked it up in both the Ship Yard Component, and Ship repair/construction areas, and came up with the fact that only one space yard can work on any ship at any time, and each ship can only be worked on by one space yard at a time, however I couldn't find out how much they repaired.

You can find out how much a particular Space Yard component repairs by

looking in the Component Report Window. If you're looking for how much your planet's built-in SY repairs, look at the Empire Status Window.

3. How do I use a Open Warp Point component on my ship?

First you need to move your ship to the sector in which you want to open the warp point. This must be on the outer edge of a solar system. Next, you select (highlight) the ship in the Ship List Window. Now you go to the Galaxy Window and right click on the solar system you would like to open a warp point to. You should get a menu option saying Open Warp Point. Be sure that your Open Warp Point component can reach the intended system. See the Open Warp Point Order topic in the Help File for more details.

4. I purchased fighters but I can't find them. I also can't figure out how to get them on my carrier.

When you purchase a fighter, it becomes an order in your Construct/Repair Queue to build that fighter. Each unit only takes one turn to construct. On the turn after you purchase the fighter, it will show in your repair queue for a space yard in that sector. On the next turn, if the fighter is at the front of the queue, it will be constructed and placed in that sector. First the computer will attempt to place it on a planet, then a base, then a ship. If it can't find any of these, or they are full, the fighter will not be constructed and you will get a log message. Once the fighter is on a planet or a ship, you can transfer it to another location be using the Transfer Window. You can get to the Transfer Window by right clicking on your ship in the Ship List Window and selecting Transfer. For more details on all of this, see the Fighters or Mines topics in the Help File.

5. I'm in Tactical Combat and there are purple lines on 3 edges of the combat map. Why isn't there one at the bottom of the map?

The purple lines at the edge of the Tactical combat map represent the edges of the map you can retreat through. If there isn't a purple line, then it means that your ships cannot leave the sector in this direction. The reason for this is that combat is taking place on the edge of the solar system. In the question above, combat was taking place at the bottom of the solar system. There was no purple line at the bottom of the Tactical Combat window because the ships could not leave the solar system. See Combat Map for more information.

6. Why does the computer player sometimes make 2 different designs that are exactly the same? Is he trying to trick me?

The computer will often make two different designs that are exactly the same. He does this not to trick you, but because he wants a specific design for each ship type that he is using. Typically this occurs for his offensive and defensive ships. Though they look exactly the same, he uses them in very different ways.

7. What is the difference in Colonization Module Levels I, II, and III?

Each level of colony module gives you a greater starting population. Level I gives you 5M, level II gives you 50M, and level III gives you 100M starting population.

8. How come I can see all of the solar system circles in the Galaxy Window when the game starts? I didn't select any of the options in the "Hidden Systems" section of the game setup window.

No matter what your starting settings, all players can see the locations of all of the solar systems in the galaxy when the game begins. Since simple telescopes can determine the presence of stars at great distances, we thought that most space faring races would at least know of the locations of the solar system merely by viewing their stars. Even though you can see the location of the system when you select it, the System Window will display "Unexplored". This means that you know there's a solar system there, but you have never actually had a ship enter the system.

9. Am I correct in assuming that if I turn on all the ministers for my empire, that it will be exactly the same as a computer, except that I can watch it and get to play out the battles myself?

Yes, for the most part. The only thing that's different is that you still have to make the choices of whether to attack or not. Also, it makes no difference to Team Play. You are still a human player for the purposes of Team Play.

10. Are ships supposed to miraculously jump clear across the galaxy? I was playing large universe with low warp point and not all points connected. I had omnipresent mode on, and one of my oppositions' ships jumped from HIS cluster of solar systems to ANOTHER completely separate cluster of solar systems, where he proceeded to go say hello to the resident computer player.

Yes, this does sometimes happen. There is a random event called "Temporal Vortex" or "Wormhole" which will transport a ship to another location in the galaxy against its will.

11. On a side note, I'm creating my own ship set, and I have a few questions, and hints for other prospective ship designers. Does each ship have to stick with the colors that it was in? For instance, can I only have two shades of gray and that bright green, or do I get to use all of them? Is there any special reason for my ships to be symmetrical?

When you are creating your own ship styles, you can draw anything and use any color you want. The only requirement is that you use the SE3 palette which is in all of the existing ship styles. We strongly recommend that you just copy one of the existing ship style bitmaps and then edit it. This way you'll have the palette all ready. Once you start drawing your own ships just keep a few things in mind. You can use any of the colors from the palette but we recommend not using the first and last 10. These are windows colors and are subject to change based on the user's windows color configurations. You do NOT have to draw your ships in gray and silver, we just choose to. And, no, your ships do not need to be symmetrical. The weirder the better.

Other things to note: All of the ship pictures are 32x32 pixels. You can draw anything you want within that area. There is a patch of color on the far right hand side of the bitmap. This is your empire color.

Style Tips: Its a nice look to pick your empire color first, and then have all of your ships with a touch of that color. It makes them easier to recognize. Also, another recommendation, please no jet black ships. When the ships are drawn in a list, the black will get masked out so that the selection color can be displayed behind them.

Remember to email us all of those ship styles that you're proud of.

Well make a library of the best ones and make them available for download at our WEB Site .

See the Help Topic on Ship Styles.

12. How do you stop a plague?

You can stop a plague by moving a ship with a medical bay into the sector with the planet and executing the "Render Medical Aid" ship order. As plagues come in different severity levels, so do medical bays. You must have a medical bay which can cure the level of the plague or higher. See the Help Topics on Medical Bays and Render Medical Aid Ship Order.

13. What affect do asteroids have in combat? How about Storms?

In Tactical combat, if your ship is in a square containing asteroids or a storm, then you get a +40% defense modifier. Seekers that move through a square containing asteroids or storms take damage. Ships are not obstructed in any way by storms or asteroids. See Combat Map for more details.

14. How do you launch fighters from a space station?

In Strategic combat they will launch automatically. If you are in Tactical Combat, then you need to actually select the space station and then press the Launch Fighters button at the top of the window. Be sure that your space station actually has fighters on it, not just fighter bays.

15. I can't seem to scrap ships every time - sometimes it works, sometimes it

doesn't. Do you need to have movement points left, or be at a home planet or something?

You can only scrap a ship if it is in the same sector as a space yard. It does not matter if the space yard is already busy repairing something.

16. If I move into a new system, discover a new alien species (ships or colonies), and move my ships directly into a storm and sit them there, all in the one turn, have the aliens detected me?

The moment you enter a solar system with another race, you will both receive announcements about the other race. Entering the storm will not prevent him from detecting you, but it will prevent him from seeing your ships on his turn.

17. Is there somewhere where the number of components repaired per level of Space Yard technology is detailed?

You can see how much your planetary space yards can repair in the Empire Status window under the Planets tab. To find out how much a particular space yard component repairs, bring up the Component Report Window.

Game Setup

There are two ways to start a game. You can either do a one player quick start, or do a full setup of a game. If you are new to the game, you should start with the quick setup. For more details on this, see Getting Started. A full setup of a game consists of several sections.

Galaxy

Structure of the galaxy and its relative size. See Game Setup - Galaxy Window.

Technology The technologies which are allowed in the game. As a default, all technology is allowed. See Game Setup - Technology Window.

Balance Balance is the starting levels of the empires. You can select how many racial advantages and how many starting technologies each new player gets to select. See Game Setup - Balance Window.

Placement Placement allows you to set how the empires are placed in the galaxy. You can also select the number of starting planets and their value for the empires you add to the game. See Game Setup Placement Window.

Events This section allows you select what random events will happen in the galaxy. You can set their severity and their frequency. See Game Setup - Events Window.

Empires Here you add players into the game. Typically, the players added here are the human players (like yourself) who are playing the game. See Game Setup - Empires Window.

Random Empires Here you set the parameters for how many random empires are added to the game. You can also select their difficulty, planet value, and number of starting planets. See Game Setup - Random Empires Window.

Victory Conditions Victory conditions are the conditions under which the game will end. As a default, there are no victory conditions. The game continues until only one player survives. Using this section, you can pace different conditions under which the game should end. See Game Setup - Victory Conditions Window.

Mechanics

Mechanics is how the game is to be played. Specifically, it is used to set up multi-player games. See Game Setup - Mechanics Window.

Multi-Player Games

Multi-Player games involve multiple human players on different machines. This play mode allows players to compete against each other, even if they are not in physical proximity.

Preliminary Setup A host (a player who wishes to start the game) should set the starting settings for the game. Most importantly, he needs to decide how many tech levels and how many racial advantages will be allowed for each player. He should then collect a list of the players who will be involved and let them know what options will be in effect for the game, and what restrictions there are for the player setup.

Player Setup Each player who will participate should create an empire file. You can do this by selecting Game Setup in the Start Window and then entering all of the information for your empire in the Empire Setup Window. You should also set the numbers of tech levels allowed, and the number of racial advantages allowed in the game setup window before proceeding to the Empire Setup window. When you have finished entering all of your information, you should select Save Empire and save the information to a .EMP file. It can be named anything you wish.

For security reasons, you might want to enter a password for your empire so that only you can play it. You will be required to enter the password at the beginning of each turn. This is purely optional, and if you trust the other players who are in the game, is unneeded.

You should also fully complete all other information. This includes selecting a design names file for your empire. Though you may not use it (because you type in your own names), if you are ever changed to a computer player, the computer will need names to use.

Getting it all together Once a player has completed his empire file, he needs to send it to the host. In total, the player should put their empire file, their ship style bitmap file, and their design names file, in a package (maybe a zip file) and send it to the host. You do not need to include the ship bitmap file or the design names file if they are part of the standard files which come with Space Empires III. If, however, they are custom made, or from a source that not all of the other players might have, then you should send them to the host.

If you are playing a multi-player game, and the program cannot find a ship style bitmap for a player, then the program will randomly choose one for that player to show on your machine. There is no difference to game play, but it is nice to be able to see the style that the player chose to represent themselves. All you need to fix the situation is to get a copy of the ship style bitmap they are using and put it in your SE3/pictures/ships directory.

Players might also wish to tell the host what their personality settings should be (these are the settings made in the Empire Options - Minister Styles Window ). If a player knows that they will be gone for a portion of time, and wants the game to go on without them, they can be set to computer controlled until they return. The computer will need to be set with the styles that best match how that player would play. A host can, at any time, go in and edit the players in a game by using the Edit Players option under the Game menu item on the Tactical Window. A player can be edited and changed to computer controlled.

Game Setup Once the host has received all of the empire files (and other files) for each of the players who are participating, the host can then create the game. Its also a good idea if the host is setup as the first player in the game. The host should be sure to setup the game exactly as they have told the players. Especially when it comes to setting the number of starting tech levels and racial advantages. When the host reaches the section for adding players, he merely needs to select Add and then when the Empire Setup Window is displayed, select Load Empire and load each of the players files. Its also a good idea to let each player know what player number they are and who their fellow players are.

A multi-player game is begun by selecting the players on different machines option in the Game Setup - Mechanics Window. In this window, you specify what the name and location of the save game file is going to be. If you are going to be distributing the game over a LAN, then you should put a path to a directory that all players can get to. Be sure that the drive letter specified is one that all machines have in common. If they do not have a drive letter in common, you can omit the drive letter and just specify a path such as \games\save\multi1. If you are going to be sending the save game file from your PC to another PC then you should not specify a path, just a filename such as multigame. Then, at the end of each turn, the game will be saved to the savegames directory. You can then send the save game file to the next player.

If the program attempts to save a multi-player save game but the location you have specified does not exist, then it will save the game in the savegames directory.

Once a game is setup by the host (and he has played his first turn), he should put the save game file and all of the ship styles bitmaps and design names files in a package. Also a text file with the names of the players, email address, and player numbers should be put in as well. This package should then be sent to the second player in the game. As each player gets the package, they should put all of the ship styles and design names files into their own directories. They play their turn, and then send the entire package on. Once the host begins his second turn, he can remove the ship

styles and design name files from the package. At this point, every player should have had a chance to get a copy of them and the game can proceed just by passing the save game file around.

Each Turn At the end of each players turn, the game will be saved automatically and ended. When it ends, you will be told where the save game file is located. Now, if you are playing on a network, the next player can just load the save game file on their machine.

Transferring the Save Game file If you are playing on non-connected machines, then you will need to transfer the save game file to the next player. This can be done by emailing it, using a modem to perform a direct transfer, uploading it to a WEB site, or merely copied to a disk and mailed to the next player. When the next player receives it, they merely have to run the game, and load the save game file. They will take their turn like normal, and then at the end of their turn, send the save game file to the next player.

Restrictions Space Empires III is a strictly turn based game. No two players can be playing the same game at the same time. In addition, during multi-player games, Tactical Combat is disabled. You can only engage in Strategic Combat. The only battles you will see during your turn will be the ones in which you are the attacker. For all battles that you are involved in, you will receive a log message in the Log Window.

Victory Conditions

Victory conditions are settings which allows you to set when the game will end. As a default, the game ends when only one player is left alive, or when all the human players have been eliminated. The following options allow you to specify conditions more specific than these. Victory conditions are set for a game in the Game Setup - Victory Conditions Window.

Score The game will end when one player reaches a certain score first. This option is good for games that you dont want to have drag on, but be a race to the goal.

Years The game will end when a certain number of years have elapsed. This options is good in conjunction with setting a small galaxy size. It makes for a short game that is very cut-throat amongst the human players.

Percentage Score The game will end when one player is at a certain percentage of any other player. This is a good selection for making sure that no player gets too huge. Once a player gets 200% (for example) larger than any other, that player will surely win. This keeps the game from dragging on even though one player is assured victory.

Tech Levels The game will end when one player has attained a certain number of tech levels. An excellent option for a speed race amongst the human players. Do you build research facilities to make it to the goal, or build construction centers to defend against the others trying to stop you?

Peace The game ends when all players have friendly treaties will all others for a certain number of years. This is a tough one but a lot more satisfying than the usual conquer the galaxy approach. Instead of destroying your fellow players, you need to bring peace to them all. Once everyone is civil and the wars stop, peace is ushered in for the galaxy.

In addition, you can specify that the victory conditions do not take effect until a certain number of years have elapsed.

Ship Style Bitmaps

These bitmaps reside in the SE3\pictures\ships directory. They contain all of the ship size pictures including fighters, mines, and the empires icon. By copying one of these files, and then editing it, you can create your own ship styles and empire icons. These are the pictures you choose from in the Empire Setup Window. We suggest that you copy an existing one so that your new ship style will have the correct SE3 palette. If you attempt to use a bitmap with a different palette, your colors will go crazy during the game. You can create as many new ship styles as you want.

Position 0 1 2 3

Size 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32

Picture Escort Frigate Destroyer Light Cruiser

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 22

32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 32x32 7x8 Remaining area below Small Empire Icon

Cruiser Battle Cruiser Battleship Dreadnought Light Carrier Carrier Heavy Carrier Space Station Battle Station Starbase, Baseship Colony Ship Small Transport Medium Transport Large Transport Seeker Fighters Mines Empire Icon Small Empire Icon Empire Color - The game will check the pixel color of the region below the Small Empire Icon for your Empires color. Merely fill this entire region with the color you want. Be sure that this color is not already in use by another style.

If you create a ship style that youre really proud of, send it in to us. Well add it to the SE3 library which can be downloaded from our WEB site.

Design Names Files

These text files reside in the SE3\names directory. Each text file contains design names that you can use in the game. Just create a text file filled with names, like the ones already there, and put it in the names directory. When you run the game, you can select this Design Name File to use to select your design names from in the Add Design Window.

Empire Names File

This text file is in the SE3\files directory and is called empires.txt. This file contains a list of all of the empire names that are used in Space Empires III. If you want to, you can add more names to this list. Then, when you are in the Empire Setup Window , you can select that empire name to use.

We strongly recommend that you do not remove any names that are in the list. If there are too few, the computer players will not get any names. Fighting against empires with no names is sort of dull.

System Names File

This text files is in the SE3\files directory and is called systems.txt. This files contains a list of all of the system names that are used in Space Empires III. If you want to, you can add more names to this list. Then, when you start a new game, those system names will be automatically used for systems randomly in the game.

System Requirements

Hardware requirements 800x600 resolution display (see Display Notes below) 256 color display or better (See Color Notes below) 486/66 processor or better 8 megabytes of memory 10 megabytes hard drive space Mouse

Software requirements

Windows 95

Additional requirements The game was designed for a system running with Small Fonts. If you have Large Fonts enabled, some of the screens will be distorted. To change this setting on your machine, bring up the Control Panel and select Display. On the Settings tab, select Small Fonts in the Font Size combo box.

Display Notes Space Empires III was designed for a resolution of 800x600. It can be played with a minimum resolution of 640x480, but you will lose abilities that larger resolutions receive. When running in 640x480, the toolbar on the Tactical Window is removed, the Status Window is minimized, and the Ship List and Galaxy Window are difficult to work with. We apologize for this, but there is only so much that can fit on a screen of this size. You can play the game easily in resolutions of 800x600, 1024x768, or 1240x1024.

You can determine which setting you are in by bringing up the Control Panel and then selecting Display. On the Settings tab, there is a selection which says Desktop area and has a slider bar. Under this slider bar is written what display resolution you are currently running in. If your video card supports it, you should increase your resolution to 800x600. Please note that you should NOT do this at the expense of the number of colors you can display. The game must be run in at least 256 colors. As you move the slider larger, you will notice that the colors will decrease in the box entitled Color Palette.

Color Notes Space Empires III was designed for a color palette of at least 256 colors. For maximum performance, it is recommended that you run the game in 16 bit color or better. If you run the game in 16 colors, many colors will be difficult to see and look strange. You can determine which setting you are in by bringing up the Control Panel and then selecting Display. On the Settings tab, there is a selection which says Color Palette. This combo box should say 256 colors or better.

Installation

The initial ZIP file Most likely, you have just downloaded the Space Empires III zip file from a WEB site, bulletin board, CDROM, or other location. The first step is to un-zip the file. You can do this with many utilities for Windows which perform the decompression needed of zip files. You can also use the DOS program pkunzip which will decompress the files for you. You can decompress them anywhere, but its recommended that you do it in an empty directory. Be sure that you have enough disk space available before beginning the decompression. Once the file is decompressed, you will have a number of install files.

The install files Installation under windows is quite simple. There is a program among the install files called setup.exe. You merely need to run this program to begin the automatic installation process. This can be done under Windows 95 by double-clicking the program in the Windows Explorer, or by selecting Start\Run from the Windows 95 tool bar and then typing the path to the program. The installation program will describe the installation process in complete detail, and will prompt you for information. When the installation is complete, you will be returned to the normal Windows 95 desktop.

Running the game Once the game has been installed, you merely need to run the Space Empires III program. If installation was completed successfully, then there will be a group under your Programs section called Space Empires III. You just select this menu item and the game will run automatically.

Problems See Troubleshooting.

Troubleshooting

Installation Problem If you encounter an installation problem, the first thing is to clean up any files that were placed during the installation. The easy way to do this is to go under the Control Panel and select Remove Programs. You should be able to select Space Empires III and remove it completely. If the selection isnt there, then youll need to manually delete the files from the installation directory. Once the files are removed, attempt installation again from the original install files.

Game Crash If the game crashes for an unexpected reason, the first thing to try is to restart your system, then reload your game. Continue playing and see if the problem occurs again. If it does, attempt to reinstall the game after copying your savegame file to a safe location. After the reinstall, attempt to load the game and play again. If this fails as well, then you may have run into a bug in the game. See Game Bugs below.

Save Game or other file will not load The most common reasons for this are either the file is corrupted for some reason, or the version of the savegame is different than the version of the game you have. If the version of the game changes, it may mean that old savegames are no longer valid. You will need to check our WEB Site for more information on this.

Game Bugs If you encounter something in the game which seems strange and the Help file doesnt explain it, then it may be a bug. The first thing to do is to check our WEB Site to see if you have the latest version. You can also check the listing of known bugs on the WEB site as well, to see if your bug has been encountered already.

If you have a new bug on your hands, or just a question about something, well need you to email us. We will need the following information: Your name, address, phone number (with area code), email address, version number of the game (this is displayed in the About Box), window the problem occurred in, a complete description of the problem, and any savegames you might have that show the problem. We will respond promptly to your questions.

See About the Company for our email address.

Keyboard Shortcuts

The following are for the Tactical Window: Shortcut F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 F10 F11 F12 Ctrl-A Window/Function On-Line Help Tactical - System Window Tactical - Ship List Window Tactical - Status Window Tactical - Galaxy Window Ships List Window Players Planets Window All Known Planets Window Component Report Weapons Report Unit Report Facility Report Planet Productions Window

Ctrl-C Ctrl-D Ctrl-E Ctrl-G Ctrl-I Ctrl-L Ctrl-M Ctrl-N Ctrl-O Ctrl-P Ctrl-Q Ctrl-R Ctrl-S Ctrl-U Ctrl-X Insert Delete Shift-Insert Shift-Delete

Repair Priorities Window Designs Window Enemy Designs Window Load Game Intelligence Window Log Window Next Planet Previous Planet Empire Options Window Politics Window Repair Queues Window Research Window Save Game Purchases Window Expenses Window Previous Ship Next Ship Previous Fleet Next Fleet

The following are for the Ship List Window: Shortcut H R E Order Halt all selected ships Resupply at nearest all selected ships Resupply at the nearest location and then return to this location for all selected ships Clear Orders for all selected ships Repair at nearest all selected ships

C F

Z X S

Cloak all selected ships Decloak all selected ships Sentry all selected ships

The following are for the Galaxy Window: Shortcut + Window/Function Zoom In Zoom Out

Ships

The following items provide information on Ships and their capabilities:

Ship Design Ship Orders Ship Movement Ship Resupply Ship Sections Ship Sizes Ship Shields Ship Purchases Ship Construction Ship Damage Ship Repair Ship Cargo Ship Maintenance Fleets

Ship Orders

Orders are given to ships to have them perform various actions. To have a ship move, you give it MoveTo orders. To have a ship colonize a planet, you give the ship Colonize orders. A ship maintains its orders in a list which you can view in the Ship Report Window. A ship can have multiple orders at a time. The ship attempts to execute each order in turn and when it completes the order, it removes it from the list.

Giving Orders The majority of ship orders are given through the System Window Menu and the Ship List Window Menu. Orders are given to the ships displayed in the Ship List Window. If you are giving orders through the System Window then the orders apply to all of the highlighted ships in the Ship List Window. If you are giving orders through the Ship List Window , then the orders could apply to either the highlighted ships, or the individual ships that was right clicked on (see the individual order for more details).

MoveTo Many of the options you select in these menus are actually combinations of a Moveto order and then the order you selected. For example, you have a colony ship in one system and you want to use it to colonize a planet in another system. You left-click on the sector with the colony ship and it will be displayed in the Ship List Window. You then highlight that ship and then click the system you want it to go to in the Galaxy Window. You then right-click on the planet in the System Window and the System Window Menu comes up. The menu only displays the actions that are valid for the selected ships and the destination sector. One of the menu items is Colonize. You click on that one. Your colony ship now starts moving towards the planet. What you have actually done is given the ship Moveto orders to move to that planet, and then Colonize orders to colonize the planet. You can look at the Ship Report Window to see this is true.

Completing Orders A ship remembers its orders from turn to turn and will use its movement points at the beginning of each turn trying to complete these orders. Orders that you give ships will remain with that ship until it has completed the order, or cannot complete the order. If a ship has orders to move to a sector, and it does, the ship will clear the MoveTo order, and then attempt to execute any other orders it has. If, on the other hand, the ship cannot reach the destination sector, the orders will be cleared as well. If a ship is blocked by enemy ships, or gets into combat, it will clear its orders.

Groups All ships with similar orders in the same sector, will attempt to execute their orders as a group. So, for example, if you give 4 ships in the same sector orders to moveto a certain location, they will all move together at the same time. This is done for the purposes of fleets so that your ships always stay together as a cohesive group.

Orders The following are all of the available orders that can be given to ships:

Moveto Order Warp Order Attack Order Colonize Order Clear Orders Halt Order Repeat Orders Resupply Order Repair At Nearest Order Lay Mines Order Sweep Mines Order Load Cargo Order Drop Cargo Order Transfer Cargo Order Retrofit Order Scrap Order Self-Destruct Order Deconstruct and Analyze Order Fire on Ship and Destroy Order Cloak Order Decloak Order Open Warp Point Order Close Warp Point Order Create Planet Order Destroy Planet Order Create Storm Order

Destroy Storm Order Create Sun Order Destroy Sun Order Use Emergency Energy Pod Order Use Emergency Resupply Pod Order Long Range Scan Order Render Medical Aid Order Board Ship Order Sentry Order

Moveto Order

Description Commands a ship to move to a specific sector in a specific system. Each turn, a ship with this order will attempt to move by the shortest path possible (excluding any Restricted Systems or Known Minefields ) to the destination sector. The ship will clear this order if it reaches the destination, cannot find a path to the destination, or if it runs into enemy ships. Ships with moveto orders over multiple systems will warp as needed to get through warp points. See Ship Movement for more information.

If a ship that is attempting to move is part of a fleet, then its movement may be restricted. A ship that is part of a fleet will not move out of a sector containing other ships of the same fleet. For example, if you have a group of ships moving that are part of the same fleet, then if one of those ships runs out of movement points, all of the other ships in the fleet will stop moving as well. See Fleets for more information.

Cost Moving a ship costs 1 movement point per sector that is moved.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Moveto will give the ships orders to move to the sector in the system that was right-clicked on.

Warp Order

Description Commands a ship to warp through the current warp point. This order only succeeds if the ship is currently on a warp point.

Cost Warping a ship costs 1 movement point.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Warp will give the ships orders to warp through the warp point you have highlighted. You will only get the Warp menu option if you are right-clicking on a sector with a warp point. If you right-click on a sector that is not where your ships are located, you will be giving your ships orders to Moveto the sector and then Warp.

Attack Order

Description Commands a ship to initiate combat with any enemy ships that are in the same sector. If you wish to attack ships in a different sector, you merely have to moveto that sector and combat will begin. If, however, you are in the same sector as the enemy ships, you can just attack directly with this order.

Cost Attacking enemy ships costs 1 movement point.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Attack will give the ships orders to begin combat with any enemy ships in that sector. The Attack menu item will only be available if you right-click on the same sector as the ships and there are enemy ships in the sector as well.

Colonize Order

Description Commands a ship to moveto and colonize a given planet. To be able to colonize a planet, a ship must have a colonization module on it and it must be of the correct atmosphere type. When the colonization order is executed, the ship will be deconstructed for raw materials in building the new colony. You cannot colonize a planet that has an existing population. Of course, if there is no population, you can colonize it (even if there are existing Facilities).

Cost Colonizing a planet costs 1 movement point.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Colonize will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Colonize the selected planet. You will only get the Colonize menu option if you are right-clicking on a sector with a planet or asteroids.

Clear Orders

Description Commands a ship to clear all of its existing orders.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. This menu item will allow you to either clear the order for the ship you rightclicked on, or to clear the orders for all of the highlighted ships.

Halt Order

Description Commands a ship to clear its remaining movement points. This is typically used if you know that you do not want to move this ship in this turn. Players using the Next Ship / Previous Ship buttons on the Ship List Window will clear the movement points of a given ship so that it does not show. This order is instantaneous and is cleared immediately after executing. Halting a ship only effects the ship this turn and does not effect future turns.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. This menu item will allow you to either halt the ship you right-clicked on, or to halt all of the highlighted ships.

Repeat Orders

Description Commands a ship to repeat its orders when it has finished executing all of the ones listed. Normally, when a ship executes an order, it removes that order from its order list. If you turn on Repeat Orders, it does not do this. Instead, it keeps the order and merely moves on to executing the next one in line. When it finishes with the last order in the list, it starts with the first one again.

This setting is useful when you want to have a ship patrol through a set of locations and then repeat that patrol. You select the ship and give it MoveTo orders to Point A, then give it Moveto orders to Point B, and to Point C. You turn repeat orders on, and the ship will move from A to B to C and then back to A where it repeats the loop again. Be careful when using this setting. It is very easy to get your ships stuck repeating a Moveto order to the sector where they currently are. If this happens, your ship will just sit in the same place forever (until you clear its orders of course).

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. This menu item will only allow you set the repeat orders for the ship that was right-clicked on.

Resupply Order

Description Commands a ship to Resupply at the nearest Resupply Depot. This is actually not a true order in itself. When you select this, the computer will find the closest planet with a Resupply Depot and then give the ship orders to MoveTo that location. When choosing a Resupply Depot, it will examine yours and those of any of your allies that you can see. See Ship Resupply for more information.

Cost Since this is actually a Moveto order, it will cost 1 movement point per sector that is moved. The actual resupplying of the ship does not cost any movement points.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. This menu item will allow you to either resupply for the ship you right-clicked on, or to resupply for all of the highlighted ships.

Repair At Nearest Order

Description Commands a ship to go to the nearest location which has a space yard. This is actually not a true order in itself. When you select this, the computer will find the closest planet or ship with a space yard and then give the ship orders to MoveTo that location. See Ship Repair for more information.

Cost Since this is actually a Moveto order, it will cost 1 movement point per sector that is moved. The actual repairing of the ship does not cost any movement points.

Use

This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. This menu item will allow you to either repair for the ship you right-clicked on, or to repair for all of the highlighted ships.

Lay Mines Order

Description Commands a ship to lay mines in the current sector that it occupies. A ship, when laying mines, will drop all of the mines that it is carrying into space. These mines will then immediately become active and will damage any enemy ships moving through the sector. Mines that have been laid will be displayed in the Ship List Window when you select that sector. Mines that have been laid cannot be retrieved by any means, nor can they be moved or destroyed by you. Activated mines will remain where they are until they are swept or destroyed by enemy ships. Mines will not harm ships of your allies. See Mines for more information.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Lay Mines will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Lay Mines in the selected sector.

Sweep Mines Order

Description Commands a ship to sweep mines in the current sector. A ship can only sweep mines if it has a functioning Mine Sweeping component on it. Mines are automatically swept by any ship with a Mine Sweeping component when they are encountered. Just entering a sector with mines will automatically cause the ship to sweep for mines. This command is for the case where your ship is already in a sector with mines and you want to execute a sweep without moving your ship. The number of mines swept is based on the total of the mine sweeping capabilities of your Mine Sweeping components. Be warned that even though your ship sweeps for mines, it can still be hit by the remaining mines.

Executing this command on a sector that is not where your ship currently resides will cause it to MoveTo and then perform a Sweep. This has the effect of actually sweeping twice, since your ship will automatically perform a sweep when it enters a sector with mines. Of course, you may want to

have your ship perform multiple sweeps until there are no more mines detected and the sector has been cleared.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Sweep Mines will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Sweep Mines in the selected sector.

Load Cargo Order

Description Commands a ship to move to a location and then load a certain type of cargo. When loading cargo, the ship will attempt to load as much as is available and as much as it can carry. It will load the specified cargo type from planets first, and then from any bases in the sector. The easiest way to transfer cargo between ships and planets is by using the Transfer Cargo Order. You would use this order, for example, if you wanted to set up a route of transfer where the ships orders were repeated (see Repeat Orders for more information) and it continually picked up a type of cargo and transferred it to a new location. This is the reverse operation of the Drop Cargo Order.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Load Cargo will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Load Cargo in the selected sector.

Drop Cargo Order

Description

Commands a ship to move to a location and then drop a certain type of cargo. This is the reverse operation of the Load Cargo Order. The ship will attempt to drop all of the cargo it is carrying of the specified type. It will attempt to drop the cargo to a planet first, and then to any bases in the sector. It is possible that the ship will be unable to drop all of its cargo because the planet or base does not have enough space remaining for the cargo. The easiest way to transfer cargo between ships and planets is by using the Transfer Cargo Order.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Drop Cargo will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Drop Cargo in the selected sector.

Transfer Cargo Order

Description This command will display the Transfer Window to allow movement of cargo between ships and planets. All movement is instantaneous and does not take any time or cost any movement points. When you bring up the Transfer Window, only ships which have some sort of cargo capacity will be displayed.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. Selecting Transfer will bring up the Transfer Window with the highlighted ships in the right-hand list, and the remaining ships in the left-hand list.

Retrofit Order

Description

This command will display the Retrofit Ship Window for the selected ship. Using this window you can choose to retrofit a ship to a new design. Retrofitting is the process by which a ship can have its design changed to a new design. This has the advantage that old ships can be updated to carry the latest weapons available. When a retrofit takes place, a new design is chosen for the ship (the new design must be of the same ship size as the ship). Then the old components are removed and the new components are placed within it. Any components that are the same between the two designs remain untouched. New components have not been constructed yet and are present but unavailable for use. Retrofitting must take place in a sector with a Space Yard . Once a retrofit has been accomplished, the ship will need to be repaired since all of the new components will need to be constructed.

Another requirement to retrofit a ship is that the ship not be carrying any cargo. You cannot retrofit a ship if it is carrying cargo of any kind. It does no matter whether the cargo is in a storage component that is not going to change.

Cost It does not cost any movement points to retrofit a ship, but it does cost construction points. The cost of retrofitting a ship is the cost of the difference in components between the old design and the new design. You must pay for any component that is new to the ship (any component that was not in the old design).

WARNING: If you retrofit a ship which has space yards, be careful. If those space yards are being changed to something else (or a newer version of the component), then they will be destroyed. When space yards are destroyed, their repair queues are erased. If you happen to have fighters or mines in those repair queues, they will be lost. See Repair Queues for more information.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. The Retrofit Ship Window is then displayed for the ship that was right-clicked on.

Scrap Order

Description Commands a ship to be scrapped. Scrapping a ship is essentially deconstructing it for its raw materials (Construction Points). A ship can only be scrapped if it is in the same sector as a space yard. When a ship is deconstructed an empire gains its construction points immediately. Scrapping is useful in getting rid of old ships which are no longer useful and are just costing maintenance.

Cost

None. In fact, you will get 30% of the cost of the ship back in construction points.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. The ship that was right-clicked on will then immediately be scrapped.

Self-Destruct Order

Description Commands a ship to self-destruct. A ship can only self-destruct if it has a functioning self-destruct component. Self-destructing is useful for ships which are badly damaged and might be captured by the enemy. A self-destruct device will automatically detonate if a ship is being boarded and the ships crew and security stations cannot repel the boarders.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. The ship that was right-clicked on will then immediately self-destruct.

Deconstruct and Analyze Order

Description Commands a ship to be deconstructed and analyzed. This process is used to analyze enemy ships which have been captured and have technology that you wish to discover. You only benefit from this command if the ship contains components that are from a Tech Level which you do not possess.

Cost None. In fact, you will gain technology if any of the components are more advanced than your current technology.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. The ship that was right-clicked on will then immediately be deconstructed and the result will be relayed to you.

Fire on Ship and Destroy Order

Description Commands ships in a sector to fire on and destroy one of your own ships. This is usually done if the ship has been heavily damaged and you cannot get a ship with a space yard to it. The requirements to use this are that the damaged ship be in a sector with no enemy presence. Another requirement is that there be a ship in the sector you own which has functioning weapons available. Its assumed that the crew is taken aboard the firing ship before destruction commences.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. The ship that was right-clicked on will then immediately be fired upon and destroyed.

Cloak Order

Description Commands a ship to engage its cloaking device. A cloaking device is a component which generates a field that bends all Electro-Magnetic energy around the hull of a starship. This renders the ship effectively invisible to all known scanning methods (until Tachyon Sensors are invented). A ship that is cloaked cannot be seen by enemy ships and cannot be engaged in combat. Cloaked ships can move freely through the galaxy without hindrance. Cloaking is instantaneous and is denoted by the picture of the ship being surrounded by a dotted box in the Ship List Window.

Cost

There is no movement cost to engage the cloak for a ship. Ships which are cloaked, however, lose certain abilities. If a ship is cloaked it cannot be repaired by a space yard. For your ship to be repaired, it must decloak. The same is true for a ship with a space yard on it. If the ship is cloaked, that space yard will not be able to repair other ships, or be a location where you can purchase new items.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. All of the highlighted ships will immediately Cloak.

Decloak Order

Description Commands a ship to disengage its cloaking device. This is the reverse of the Cloak Order. A ship can decloak at any time, including times when the ship occupies a sector with enemy forces. Decloaking will never initiate combat. A decloaked ship, or normal ship, is visible to all other ships and can be engaged in combat.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. All of the highlighted ships will immediately Decloak.

Open Warp Point Order

Description Commands a ship to open a warp point to another solar system. New warp points opened in this fashion are indistinguishable from naturally occurring warp points.

Requirements Ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining.

Ship must currently be at the outskirts of the solar system (on the very edge of a solar system). The ship does not need to be on the side nearest the destination solar system. Ship must have a functioning Open Warp Point Component. There are no enemies in the sector with the ship. There is not already a warp point to the destination system. There are less than 10 warp points already in the source system and the destination system. The destination system is within the range of the Open Warp Point Component. The distance a system can be away is displayed in the Component Report Window for the component. To find out what the distance between systems is, select the Distance To Systems mode in the Galaxy Window.

Cost The ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. When the command is executed, the ship will lose any remaining movement points it has.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the Galaxy Window to get the Galaxy Window Menu. You must right-click on the solar system that you want to open the warp point to. The Open Warp Point menu option will only be available if the above criteria are met for opening a warp point.

Close Warp Point Order

Description Commands a ship to close an existing warp point. Closing warp points is useful in preventing enemy ships from getting into your systems.

Requirements Ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. Ship must currently be in a sector with a warp point. Ship must have a functioning Close Warp Point Component. There are no enemies in the sector with the ship.

Cost

The ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. When the command is executed, the ship will lose any remaining movement points it has.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Close Warp Point will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Close Warp Point in the selected sector. Be sure that the sector you right-click on actually contains a warp point.

Create Planet Order

Description Commands a ship to create a planet in the current sector. Planets are always useful for generating points for your Empire. The resulting size of the planet is based on the Create Planet component that is used. Also note that there is no way to determine or manipulate the atmosphere of a planet that is being created. The new planets atmosphere type is out of your control.

Requirements Ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. Ship must currently be in a sector with asteroids. Ship must have a functioning Create Planet Component. There are no enemies in the sector with the ship. The solar system must have a full-fledged sun at its center (no destroyed stars or empty space).

Cost The ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. When the command is executed, the ship will lose any remaining movement points it has.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Create Planet will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Create Planet in the selected sector.

Destroy Planet Order

Description Commands a ship to destroy the planet in the current sector. Destroying a planet is usually done to kill an enemy that is on the planet. It can also be done for reasons such as its too small (and you want to make it larger), you dont like its atmosphere type, or youre on a slash and burn campaign and dont want to leave anything behind for the enemy. When you destroy a planet, the entire population and any facilities will be destroyed. The result of a destroyed planet is an asteroid belt. Of course, if you have a Create Planet component, you can just recreate the planet again! Note that there is a defense against the planet destroyer. If you build a Gravitational Shield Base on your planet, this weapon will be useless.

Requirements Ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. Ship must currently be in a sector with a planet. Ship must have a functioning Destroy Planet Component. The Destroy Planet Component must be able to destroy planets of this size. The planet does not have a Gravitational Shield Base on it.

Cost The ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. When the command is executed, the ship will lose any remaining movement points it has. When the weapon fires and successfully destroys the planet, the huge energy release will burn the component out.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Destroy Planet will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Destroy Planet in the selected sector.

Create Storm Order

Description Commands a ship to create a storm in the current sector. Storms are useful because ships within them are invisible to other ships in the system. Storms also make ships more difficult to hit in combat.

Requirements Ship must currently be in a sector that is empty space. There cannot be any existing planet, star, or other stellar body. Ship must have a functioning Create Storm Component. There are no enemies in the sector with the ship.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Create Storm will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Create Storm in the selected sector.

Destroy Storm Order

Description Commands a ship to destroy the storm in the current sector. Destroying storms is useful because enemy ships can hide in sectors with storms.

Requirements Ship must currently be in a sector that contains a storm. Ship must have a functioning Destroy Storm Component. There are no enemies in the sector with the ship.

Cost None.

Use

This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Destroy Storm will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Destroy Storm in the selected sector.

Create Sun Order

Description Commands a ship to create a new sun in the current sector. Creating a new sun is an awesome spectacle. Once there is a working sun, new planets can be created and life can begin.

Requirements Ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. Ship must currently be in a sector that is empty space or has a destroyed sun present. Ship must be in the very center of the solar system (sector 84). Ship must have a functioning Create Sun Component. There are no enemies in the sector with the ship.

Cost The ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. When the command is executed, the ship will lose any remaining movement points it has.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Create Sun will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Create Sun in the selected sector.

Destroy Sun Order

Description Commands a ship to destroy the sun in the current sector. The destruction of a star is a terrifying spectacle. Very few who have seen it have survived the experience. When a stars core goes critical, it explodes outwards with tremendous force. All planets in the system are obliterated by the shockwave, and all ships are incinerated. The very first ship that meets its fiery doom is the very ship that uses the Sun Destroying weapon. This is not a weapon to be used lightly!

Requirements Ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. Ship must currently be in a sector with a healthy sun. Ship must have a functioning Destroy Sun Component. There are no enemies in the sector with the ship.

Cost The ship must have at least 1 movement point remaining. When the command is executed, the ship, every other ship, and every planet, will be destroyed.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Destroy Sun will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Destroy Sun in the selected sector.

Use Emergency Energy Pod Order

Description Commands a ship to use its emergency energy pods to gain extra movement points. The ship will gain movement points for each functioning emergency energy pod. In using the pods, the ship will burn them out, requiring them to be repaired before they can be used again. These pods are exceptionally useful on long range scouting ships, or on attack ships that need the extra movement to escape pursuit.

Using Emergency Energy Pods will not put your movement points higher than their normal maximum. They should only be used when your movement points are low, and you wish to get some more to use this turn.

Cost No movement cost, but the ship will destroy all of the Emergency Energy Pods on board.

Use

This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. All of the highlighted ships will immediately use their Emergency Energy Pods.

Use Emergency Resupply Pod Order

Description Commands a ship to use its emergency resupply pods to gain extra resupply time. The ship will gain resupply time for each functioning emergency resupply pod. In using the pods, the ship will burn them out, requiring them to be repaired before they can be used again. These pods are exceptionally useful on long range scouting ships, or on attack ships that need the extra time to complete their mission.

Using Emergency Resupply Pods will not put your resupply time higher than its normal maximum. They should only be used when your resupply time is low, and you wish to get some extra time to get to a Resupply Depot.

Cost No movement cost, but the ship will destroy all of the Emergency Resupply Pods on board.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. All of the highlighted ships will immediately use their Emergency Resupply Pods.

Long Range Scan Order

Description Commands a ship to long range scan an enemy ship. When a ship contains a Long Range Scanner, it can look at the intimate details of an enemy ships construction. Each Long Range Scanner has a rating as to how many sectors in distance it can reach to scan enemy ships. When your ship is within range, you merely select the enemy ship you want to scan and right-click on him (see below). You will then get the Ship Report Window providing the exact details of the ships construction and capabilities. Of course this wont give you information on the ships components or what its orders are. Scanning a ship will add that ships design to your Enemy Designs Window.

Cost

None.

Use This command is executed immediately by any given ship in the system. Select a sector containing enemy ships in the System Window. The enemy ships will now be displayed in theShip List Window Right-click on the enemy ship that you would like to scan. This brings up the Ship List Window Menu. If you have a ship within long range scanning distance of the enemy ship, a menu item entitled Long Range Scan will be displayed. Select this to bring up the Ship Report Window for the enemy ship.

Render Medical Aid Order

Description Commands a ship to render medical aid in the current sector. Rendering medical aid is the way to get rid of those pesky plagues that keep infecting your planets. If you have a functioning Medical Bay on your ship, and it can cure the level of the plague or higher, then you will remove the plague from the planet. You may still need to calm the population of the planet down after their scare, but theyll at least be healthy!

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by highlighting ships in the Ship List Window and then rightclicking on the System Window to get the System Window Menu . Selecting Render Medical Aid will give the ships orders to MoveTo and then Render Medical Aid in the selected sector.

Board Ship Order

Description Commands a ship to attempt to board another. This is a form of attack where your ships boarding parties attempt to cross from your ship to the enemy ship and board it. Once inside, they will have to combat the crew, and any security stations, for control of the ship. If they are successful, the ship will be yours and you will control it just as you would any of your other ships. Now comes the tough question, do you use this new prize against its former masters, or do you take it home and pick it clean of vital technology? Of course you may fail in boarding the enemy ship, which means that all of your boarding parties are dead. In addition, if the enemy has a self-destruct device, he

will activate it at the first sign that he is losing the battle. If this happens, both you and the enemy ship will go up in a magnificent fireball.

As a result of a boarding attack, all of your boarding party components will be destroyed. If you won, then your boarding parties are now on the enemy ship and manning it. If you lost, then all of your boarding parties were killed. When you do successfully capture an enemy ship, all of its security stations will be destroyed by your attack. In addition, other collateral damage may have been done in the fighting.

You can only board ships that have no shields. If an enemies shields are up, then your boarding parties cannot get to the enemy ships hull to attempt entry.

Cost Your ship must have at least 1 movement point available to board another ship. If the ship succeeds or fails, it will lose all of is Boarding Party components. If the ship being boarded activates its self-destruct device, then both ships will be destroyed.

Use This command is only used in Combat on the Selection List Window. When you have a ship with boarding parties in the same square as an enemy ship (which has no shields) then bring up the Combat Piece List Window. Left-click and highlight your ship which has the boarding party component on it. Right-click on the enemy ship and you will get a menu item entitled Board Ship. Select this menu item to attempt to board the enemy ship.

Sentry Order

Description Commands a ship to go on Sentry. When a ship goes on sentry, it will hold its current position and await enemy incursions. This is the ideal order for ships that you want to have stay at a location until the enemy shows up. Once a ship is on sentry, it will not be displayed when you press the Next / Previous Ship buttons in the Ship List Window . The ship does get its movement points each turn in case you need to use it for defense. But once a ship is on sentry, it will not execute any orders given to it until its sentry order is cleared.

A ship will clear its sentry order automatically if an enemy ship is in the same system, or if your ship needs to resupply. The order is only cleared when the ship goes to execute its orders at the beginning of a turn.

Be careful when using the Sentry command. You can easily lose track of ships that you own because they do not show up when you press Next / Previous. If an enemy does not show up, your ships will remain on sentry until they need to resupply. The ideal use for this order is for ships which are guarding a location and dont need to be moved.

Cost None.

Use This command is given to ships by right-clicking on the Ship List Window to get the Ship List Window Menu. This menu item will allow you to either sentry the ship you right-clicked on, or to sentry all of the highlighted ships.

Ship Design

Ship Design is the greatest military art form of the 25th century. The crafting of a great ship design, that stands the test of time, is a tribute to all of the brave men and women that boldly pilot them. It is part engineering, part artistry, that creates a robust, effective design that can serve completely in the capacity it was designed for. A design that proves itself has hundreds of Starships proudly bearing its name. A design that fails to meets its requirements is discarded as obsolete.

Design Types The first task of an Empire is to create starships to explore and colonize the galaxy with. But you dont just build a starship, you create a plan, a design, upon which to build one starship and then many more. A ship design is a blueprint for the construction of a starship. Its a model upon which many starships can be built in its likeness. A different design is created to fill a different role. These roles are typically called design types because they represent the different types of designs that exist.

Creating a design For example, an empire wants to create a ship to go and colonize a planet with an oxygen atmosphere. First, you would create a design type called Oxygen Colonizer (using the Design Types Window ). Then you would create a design (using the Designs Window ) of this design type. Finally, you would purchase (using the Purchases Window ) a starship of this design (also known as class). When the ship is constructed, you would send it to colonize the planet. As new oxygen planets are found, you can then purchase more starships based on this design. In the future, when you have new technology, you would create a new design, still of the Oxygen Colonizer type, using the latest components. New ships needed to colonize oxygen planets would be purchased based on

this new design. The old design, which is no longer used, would be marked as obsolete. Thus, a cycle begins of replacing old designs with new design of the latest technology which can best complete the task at hand.

The Design A ship design (and a ship for that matter) is a ship size filled with various components. First, a size is picked for this design. The size dictates how many components that will fit into the design (see Ship Sizes). Next, you pick what design type this design is of. This is a general classification for the design. Next you pick a name for this design. The name must be unique among all of your designs. Now its time to start putting components into the design. First thing to choose is what section of the ship to place the component in. You can choose from the Armor Section, Outer Hull, and Inner Hull (see Ship Sections). You then select ship components to add into the selected ship section. As components are added, the spaces remaining in the ship will decrease. When they reach zero, you cannot place anymore components on the design.

There are a few types of components that are required for all ships. The key control components are the Bridge, Life Support, and Crew Quarters (see Components). Without these, your ship cannot even function. Next, a ship (as opposed to a base) needs some engines for propulsion. After that, the components are up to you. If you intend the ship to fight, you might consider weapons (see Weapons). The components and ship sizes you have available are determined by your current tech levels (see Research). Whenever you achieve new tech levels, you should consider creating some new designs that use the new components that are available.

Design Windows The heart of ship design is the Designs Window and the Add Design Window. With these windows you can manage your existing designs and create new ones.

Ship Movement

The movement of Starships through the galaxy is a crucial part of any Empires efforts. Ships can be moved from planet to planet and from solar system to solar system.

Movement Points Each ship that is built can move at a certain speed through space. This speed is described Movement Points that the ship has to spend in a turn. A ship can move one sector at a cost of 1 movement point. When a ships movement points are expended, it can no longer move in this turn. Next turn, it will receive its full movement points again to spend. Left over movement points from one turn do not carry over to the next turn. For each order that a ship can execute, there is a movement cost that goes along with it. See Ship Orders for more information.

Movement Point Calculation Movement point are calculated by examining the number of undestroyed engines a ship has. Each Ship Size that a ship is based on has a certain requirement as to how many engines are needed to generate 1 movement point. See Ship Sizesfor a list of these requirements. For example, a ship of size cruiser requires that it have 2 engines to generate 1 movement point. So if your ship had 12 engines, and 2 of them were destroyed, you would receive 5 movement points each turn based on the 10 engines you have left. Movement points are always rounded down, so if, in the previous example, you had 9 engines remaining, you would only receive 4 movement points per turn.

Movement Point Modifiers There are also other modifiers to how many movement points a ship receives a turn. If your ship needs to Resupply, meaning that its resupply time is 0, then your ship will only receive half of its available movement points per turn. See Ship Resupply for more information on resupplying. If your ship no longer has a Bridge, then you will receive half your normal movement points. If your ship no longer has any Crew Quarters, then you will receive half your normal movement points. If your ship no longer has any Life Support components, then you will receive no movement points each turn. These effects are also cumulative so that if you have no Bridge, and no Crew Quarters, then you will receive only one-fourth the ships normal movement points. These cumulative effects will not take you below 1 movement point (if you would normally get that many movement points), except in the case of Life Support Components. Without those, your crew dies. See Components for more information on the effect of each of these different component types.

Bonus Movement Some engines will also give you bonuses to the number of movement points you receive. For example, the Ion Engine IV gives a ship +1 movement points per turn. This bonus only applies, however, if all of the engines on the ship are at the same level. Having one engine on the ship that is lower than an Ion Engine IV would lose you the bonus. The bonus applies after total movement is calculated. So if you have a destroyer with 6 Ion Engines IV, you will receive 7 movement points per turn.

Moving a Ship To move a ship, you need to give it orders. This is typically the MoveTo order. See Ship Orders for more information on giving ships orders.

Ship Resupply

As ships move through space they expend fuel. In engaging in combat, the ship expends ammunition and energy. As time goes by, the crew consumes the food supplies that are aboard. Each ship is rated as to how long it can operate before it needs to come back to base and reprovision itself. This time is called a ships Resupply time. When a ship leaves from port, it is

fully provisioned or supplied. Each turn, through, it consumes some of those supplies. A ships resupply time is like an internal clock which tells it how long there is before the ship will run out of supplies. You can view an individual ships resupply time by looking at the Ship Report Window.

Resupplying a Ship Resupplying a ship is simple. A ship will automatically resupply itself whenever it moves through a sector containing a Resupply Depot Facility. These depots always reside on planets and are usually denoted by a small R on the System Window. Resupplying takes no movement points and is instantaneous. Just move the ship through a sector with a Resupply Depot and presto, the ships resupply time is reset back to its maximum or initial value. An easy way to do this is to use the Resupply Order which will automatically choose the nearest resupply depot to that ship. Also keep in mind that you can use the Resupply Depots that you own, and those of your allies (see Treaties ).

Resupply Warning To aid players in noticing when a ship is getting near to needing resupply, the Resupply Warning setting was invented. In the Empire Options Window a player can set how many turns before resupply is needed that they should be warned. This is set for both ships and baseships because baseships move so slowly that they often need more time than normal ships. The warning is signaled to players by the name and class of the ship turning red. If you see this happen in the Ship List Window then you know that its time to send the ship back to a Resupply Depot. The easiest way to do this is by using the Resupply Order.

For example, lets say that in the Empire Options Window you select that you want to be warned 5 turns before a ship needs resupply. Now a ship normally starts with a Resupply time of 1.5 years so everything looks great. Now as the turns go by, your ships resupply time will go down by 0.1 each turn. When the ships resupply time reaches 0.5, its name will turn red. When you see this in the Ship List Window youll know its time to order that ship to Resupply at Nearest.

When the Resupply Time runs out Inevitably, a ships resupply time will get to zero before you can get it back to a Resupply Depot. This has some dire consequences for the ship. When the ships resupply time hits 0, it means that the ships has run out of fuel, food, energy, and ammunition. Your ship will only receive half its normal movement points each turn. In addition, if it is engaged in combat, it will on get half its normal shields and half its combat movement. Which weapons you will have enough ammunition for is an entirely random affair. Meaning that you may not have all or any of your weapons available to fire during combat. A quick stop at the nearest Resupply Depot will rectify this situation.

Initial Resupply Time A ships maximum resupply time is based on a number of factors, but is as a standard 1.5 years (racial advantages can change this). Also, baseships get a longer resupply time because of their

enormous size. Bases (Space Stations, Battle Stations, and Starbases) never need to resupply as they are entirely self-sufficient.

Ship Sections

A ships hull is composed of three sections, the Armor section, the Outer Hull, and the Inner Hull. If a ship is carrying shield generators, there will also be a protective shield surrounding the ship. These form layers on a ship as follows:

When damage is taken by a ship, it will hit the outermost section first. If that section is missing, or has holes in it (destroyed components), then the shot will pass to the next innermost section.

The sections of a ship are:

Shields This is not a section that you can place components in, but is generated by Shield Generators. The shield section on a ship is always hit first.

Armor This section can only contain armor components. You can place a maximum of 10% of the total ships spaces within this section.

Outer Hull

This section contains the bulk of a ships components. This section must contain 65% or more of the ships total spaces in components.

Inner Hull This is the innermost section of a ship. It contain a maximum of 25% of the ships component spaces. This section typically serves as the location of the critical components such as the Bridge and Life Support.

Damage Taken When damage is taken to the shield section of your ship, you merely lose shield strength. When damage is taken to the Armor, Outer Hull, or Inner Hull, then you will lose components. When a shot hits a particular section, it does so randomly. There is no order to the first component that will get hit by weapons fire.

Space Empires II Note For all of you Space Empires II fans out there, the order of the components within your ship does not matter. Which component is hit within a section is entirely random. But you are guaranteed that each section will be hit in order. Components in the Outer Hull will get hit before the components in your Inner Hull. Of course, holes in your Outer Hull, can allow shots to pass through the Outer Hull to hit the Inner Hull.

Ship Sizes

The following are the ship sizes that can be selected for a design:

Name Escort Frigate Destroyer Light Cruiser Cruiser Battle Cruiser

Cost 100 150 200 300 400 500

Spaces 10 14 18 22 35 40

Engines Per Move/Allowed 1/6 1/6 1/6 1/6 2/12 2/12

Battleship Dreadnought Baseship Light Carrier Carrier Heavy Carrier Space Station Battle Station Starbase Colony Ship Small Transport Medium Transport Large Transport

700 1000 3000 300 500 700 200 400 2000 500 500 1000 1500

50 65 150 25 45 75 35 75 200 30 26 50 75

3/15 5/20 10/20 1/4 2/8 3/12 0/0 0/0 0/0 1/4 1/6 2/12 3/15

Carriers must have at least 50% of their spaces used for Fighter Bays. Colony Ships must have at least 50% of their spaces used for Colony Modules. Transports must have at least 50% of their spaces used for Population Quarters or Troop Quarters.

NOTE: The number of spaces per ship size can be increased for a game by using the Ship Sizes game setting. See Game Setup - Technology Window for details.

Ship Shields

Shields are generated by shield generators. Shields surround a starship and protect it from weapons fire. Each shield generator on a starship generates a certain number of shields for that ship. When combat is entered, a ship puts up its shields to defend against enemy fire. The shields take damage points instead of the ship, and when the shields reach 0 damage points remaining, incoming fire will hit the ship. Shields get automatically regenerated anytime a ship enters combat. For example, if a ship has 50 shields in one combat and take 40 points of damage, its shields are now at 10 damage points remaining. If that ship then gets into another combat, its shields will be back to 50 damage points again. Keep in mind that shields are generated by shield generators. If a ships shield generators are damaged, then it will have less shields to generate. During combat, shields will not be regenerated unless the ship has a Shield Regenerator Component on board.

Types of Shields

There are actually two types of shields, normal shields and phased shields. With the development of phased weapons, phased shields were invented to stop the phased weapons. Phased weapons pass through normal shields as if they werent there. Phased shields, however, will stop both phased and normal weapons from doing damage to the ship.

Skipping Shields Be aware that there are weapons that skip both normal and phased shields. These weapons are of the type Weapon Damaging, Engine Damaging, and Shield Generator Damaging. These weapons cannot be stopped by any means. Sorry!

Ship Purchases

When an Empire wants to create new starships (or fighters or mines) it needs to purchase them. Purchasing is the process whereby an Empire converts its construction points into actual military vehicles. The purchase of new war materials cannot take place just anywhere, however. Purchases can only be made at locations where there are Space Yards. The space yards are the actual construction crews that will build the selected purchase. Once a purchase is selected, on the next turn it will actually be purchased, given that there are enough construction points available to meet the cost required.

Purchases Queue An empire stores its purchases in a queue. A queue is a list where the first thing you put in it, is the first thing that comes out. The second thing that gets put in it is the second thing that will come out. For example, if you select A, B, then C, the first item to be purchased will be A, then B, then C. When a player chooses the purchases that they wish to make, they are put into this queue, and purchased in order. This is important because if an item cannot be purchased because of a lack of construction points, then no items past that item will be purchased either. This means that if in the previous example, A costs 100, B costs 200, and C costs 50, and you have 150 points, only A will be purchased this turn. Next turn, the list will contain B and C. C will not be purchased until B is purchased first and removed from the queue.

Purchases Window The first thing to do when an Empire want to purchase new items is to go into the Purchases Window. This window displays your Empires purchase queue. The item at the top of the list is the first item your empire will attempt to purchase next turn. It will then proceed down the list until either all of the items are purchased, or you run out of construction points. Using this window you can add new purchases, delete existing ones, or change the order of the items in the queue. You may want to change the order of items so that you are assured that certain items will definitely get purchased next turn.

Adding a Purchase When your ready to add some purchases to your empires purchase queue, select Add which will take you to the Add Purchase Window. With this window, you can select which items you wish to add to your purchase queue. There are 3 things that you need to decide when adding a purchase: what item to buy, how many of them to buy, and where to buy them. The first list in this window allows you to select which fighter, mine, or ship design you wish to buy. Before you can purchase a ship, you must have a design on which to base it (see Ship Design for more information on designing a ship). Next you select how many of them you wish to purchase. The final list in the window is a listing of the locations in the galaxy where you have space yards. A lot of these locations will be planets, as planets get a built-in space yard when they reach a certain population. Other locations will be any bases or ships which contain a space yard component. You can select any of these locations as the location where the purchase item(s) will be purchased. When you complete the window by hitting OK, you will return to the Purchases Window where you will see your new purchases in the purchase queue.

Purchase Arrives On the next turn, the items in your purchase queue, that you can afford, will be purchased. If the purchased item is a ship, then you will see the ships empty hull in that sector. The ship still needs to be constructed, however. If you purchased a fighter or mine, then there will be nothing to see. The fighter or mine will be noted in your construction/repair queue (which can be seen in the Repair/Construction Queue Window) for that sector. When the fighter or mine is actually constructed, then it will be placed either on the planet or base in that sector. For more information on the construction of your starships, see Ship Construction.

Ship Construction

Once a ship has been successfully purchased, it still needs to be constructed. The act of purchasing a starship is merely your Empire allocating enough construction points to be used in the construction of the ship. What you get for your trouble, is an empty ship hull that sits lifeless in space. Now comes the task of building all of the components that make it up. For more information on purchasing a starship, see Ship Purchases.

Space Yards A ship has to be purchased where there is a space yard, and for very good reason. If there wasnt a space yard in the sector, the ship would never actually get built. Once your ship has been purchased, each turn some of its components will be repaired by the space yard thats in the sector. Each space yard is rated as to how many components per turn it can repair/construct. For each turn that goes by, the space yard will repair that many components on your newly purchased ship.

Note: You may have noticed that everything pertaining to construction and repair are very similar. In Space Empires III, constructing a ship and repairing it are exactly the same thing. Whether your ships hull has no components in it, or had components but theyve all been destroyed in combat, is treated in the same way. A ship that needs to have its components repaired or constructed merely

has to go to where a space yard is. That space yard will repair/construct a certain number of components per turn. When all of the components have been constructed/repaired, the ship is ready for action.

1 to 1 Now there are a few very important things to know about how space yards function. A ship can only be repaired by 1 space yard in a turn. Also, a space yard can only work on 1 ship in a turn. For example, if a ship has 2 components on it that are damaged, and it is in a sector with a space yard that can repair 6 components per turn. If the ship gets worked on , and its 2 components are repaired, the remaining 4 that the space yard could repair will not be used this turn. For more information on this see Repair Queues. Also, the order in which the components on your ship are repaired can be specified by you. Use the Repair Priorities Window to set the order in which components are repaired by space yards.

Ship Abilities As your ship gets more and more of its components repaired, it will gain more and more abilities. This means that if your ship has 2 engines built (and the ship size states that your ship gets 1 movement per 1 engine) then you will have 2 movement points at the beginning of the turn for the ship. This means that you can actually start moving the ship even though its not fully constructed. Its a good idea to not move your ships away from the space yard until they are completely constructed. This means waiting until the ship has zero damage (you can tell this by looking either at the Ship Report Window or the Ship List Window ). Why even allow the ship to be moved when its still damaged? Well, when an enemy comes knocking at your door, and all you have are a few half-built ships to defend your self with, youll want to move them pronto! For more information see Ship Movement and Components.

Ship Damage

As ships move through the galaxy, theyre going to take damage. This is usually as a result of enemy weapons, but it can be caused by meteors, mines, accidents, and a slew of other things. Now as your ships take damage, they are going to start losing theyre abilities. Its at this point that you typically take them back to a space yard for repair.

Having your ship take damage is simple enough. Just move it within weapons range of an enemy ship and see what happens. Every weapon in the game is rated with an amount of damage it will do. This amount of damage is the number of components it will destroy if it hits your ship. For example, if an enemy has a weapon that does 2 points of damage, then when this weapon hits your unprotected ship, it will destroy 2 components on your ship. For more information on the amount and type of damage that each weapon does, see Weapon Properties.

Taking Damage When your ship gets hit by enemy fire, there is a progression of things that happen. First, if your ship has any shields, they will take the damage first. So if your shields have a strength of 10, and you take 4 points of damage, then your shields will be down to a strength of 6. When your shields reach strength 0, they go down. Meaning, that they are no longer there to protect you. Now incoming damage will hit your ship directly. First it will hit the outermost section of your ship, the Armor section. Once that section is gone, or has holes in it (destroyed components), damage will pass through to the next section, the Outer Hull. Once the Outer Hull has taken damage, some shots will pass through to the innermost section, the Inner Hull. Of course, once all of the components on your ship have been destroyed, your ship has been destroyed. For more information on the sections of a ship, see Ship Sections.

Types of Damage See Weapon Damage Types for information on the specific types of damage that can be done by weapons.

Damage Effects So now that your ship has taken damage, whats that mean to you. It means that your ship has lost components and therefore lost abilities. If your ship loses an engine, then it will get one less movement point. If your ship loses a weapon, then it will have one less weapon to fire in combat. If your ship loses a shield generator, then your ship will lose the shields that the shield generator was generating. More dire consequences result from losing your Bridge, Life Supports, or Crew Quarters.

If you lose your Bridge, then your ship gets only half its normal movement. If you lose all of your Crew Quarters, then your ship only gets half its movement. If your ship loses all of its Life Support components, then it gets no movement at all. Be warned that needing to resupply your ship also has consequences for its abilities. See Ship Movement and Ship Resupply for more information.

Repairing Damage How to repair your damaged ship? Simple, get it to a space yard! See Ship Repair for details.

Ship Repair

Repairing your ships is a necessity. Thats what space yards are for. You can either move your ship to where theres a space yard, or move a space yard to where the damaged ship is. Once there, the space yard will do its work automatically.

Space Yards Finding a space yard is easy enough. They can be found on planets, bases, or ships. Planets that have a significant enough population get a built in space yard for use. The amount of population needed can be seen in the Empire Status Window . Bases and ships can have a space yard if you put one on them in their design. Space Yard components can be developed and used just like any other ship component. If you have a ship with a space yard, you can move the ship out to the sector where the damaged ship waits. To see a list of your space yards in the galaxy, you can go either to the Repair/Construction Queue Window or the Add Purchase Window.

Repair Queues Once your damaged ship and the space yard are in the same sector, the space yard will go to work. Now there may be a number of ships present requiring the space yards services. To regulate and organize this process, the Repair/Construction Queue Window was created. The process of repair can happen automatically without your intervention, or you can use this window to make manual changes to the order in which items in the sector will be repaired. Typically, its a first come, first served basis.

Construction/Repair Ship repair and ship construction are essentially one and the same. Constructing a new ship is merely repairing the components within a ship hull. For more information on this process, see Ship Construction.

Ship Cargo

Ships can carry what is termed cargo. Cargo can be one of four different things. It can be population, fighters, troops, or mines. Moving cargo is essential for getting non-space worthy items from one planet to another.

Storage Both ships and planets can store cargo. Planets have a certain capacity for storage which is shown on the Planet Productions Window . Ships have a capacity which is based on the number of storage components they contain. Different storage components give the ship added capacity to carry a particular cargo item. The following is a list of the component and the type of cargo it gives a ship the ability to carry: Population Quarters Troops Quarters Fighter Bay Population Troops Fighters

Mine Storage

Mines

Each component is rated with how much population or unit spaces it gives a ship. See the Component Report Window for the exact amounts. To find out how much capacity your ship has (when its fully functional), see the Design Report Window for the ships design.

Loading/Unloading/Transfer To get cargo from and to your ship is a simple process. You can give ships the Load Cargo Order or the Drop Cargo Order to load or drop cargo from planets and bases. The easiest way to transfer cargo is to use the Transfer Cargo Order.

Transport Once your ship is loaded with cargo, it merely needs to move to where it wants to go. Cargo has no effect on the ship what so ever. If your ship takes damage, and the cargo components are destroyed, the cargo will be lost as well. Cargo such as population and mines can do nothing while they are being transported. Troops can be dropped during Combat onto enemy planets to attempt to take them over. Fighters can be launched during combat to battle enemy ships. See the particular unit topic above for more details on their capabilities.

To see what cargo is currently on your ship, see the Ship Report Window.

Ship Maintenance

All ships require basic necessities to function. Each time a ship resupplies, it picks up fuel, food, ammo, and other materials needs to operate. These materials dont just appear out of the air, they have to be provided by the ships owner. Thats you. This requisition of needed ship materials is handled through the empire paying a certain maintenance cost in construction points. This maintenance cost is equal to 15% of the ships cost that has to be paid each turn for the ship to remain operational. Now, ship crews are highly resourceful when it comes to making ends meet. If the empire cant pay the entire required maintenance, not to worry. The ships will get by the best they can. Theyll survive, for a while. Until its time to resupply. If an empire cant pay its maintenance fees, then one ship which is at a resupply time of zero will fall to pieces each turn. This only effects ships that must resupply immediately, and you will only lost one ship per turn. Of course which ship is anyones guess.

Of course, maintenance is paid first, before anything else. This means that if you cant pay all of your maintenance, you wont have any construction points to spend on anything else. This is a severe liability when it comes to running an empire. You wont have any construction points left to spend on planet constructions or new ship purchases. To get a listing of your exact expenses for the turn, see the Empire Expenses Window.

Fleets

Fleets are groupings of starships which move as a cohesive unit. Designating a ship as part of a fleet means that you wish for it to remain with the other ships in the fleet as they move. It has long been known that individual ships are easy prey for enemies, but large groups fare much better. Effective use of fleets will help keep your ships alive as they battle enemy forces.

Fleet Numbers Your empire is allowed up to 100 different fleets. Each fleet is identified by a number in that range (for example, fleet 4). You can have as many or as few ships belonging to each fleet as you want. In fact, you can have no fleets at all, or have all of your ships as part of one huge fleet. Fleets are best used when the ships within each fleet have the same goal in mind (and usually the same orders as well).

Movement Ships that are part of a fleet behave identically to all other ships, with one difference when it comes to movement. When a fleet of ships moves, they will stay together. This means that as they execute their orders, they will wait for the slower ships in the fleet. Fleet ships which have movement points will not leave a sector if it contains a ship that belongs to their fleet and yet has no movement points remaining.

For example, you have 3 destroyers and 2 escorts who belong to fleet 1. They are all in the same sector and are given orders to move to a distant system. The destroyers have a movement of 6, while the escorts have a movement of 5. When the ships execute their orders they will begin moving towards theyre destination. When they have moved 5 sectors, the escorts will be out of movement points, but the destroyers will have 1 movement point left. Because they belong to the same fleet, the destroyers will not move out of the sector containing the escorts. You would be able to look at them and see that the destroyers still have 1 movement point left, but they will not use it.

The ideal situation for fleets is in keeping together groups of ships that have different movements. If your fleet is a convoy that is protecting some slow transports, you do not want your defensive ships to leave your transports behind. If all of the ships are designated as part of the same fleet, they will do so. It is also good to keep fleet ships in the same sector, and give them the same orders. If they have different orders, you may end up splitting your fleet. Once the ships are away from each other, the fleet designation doesnt mean much.

Requirements

The movement restriction on fleet ships is only active if the ships are in the same sector. If you separate ships of the same fleet then they are free to do as they please. Also be careful in using fleets. If one of your ships has to resupply, it may not be able to leave the other fleet ships because of the above movement restriction.

Using Fleets You specify which ships are part of a fleet by using the Ship List Window Menu. You highlight the ships you want in the Ship List Window , and then you can set what fleet they belong to. If you wish to find out what fleet an individual ship belongs to, you can see it in the Ship Report Window. A nice overview of your fleets can be had in the Ships List Window by setting the Display Mode to Fleets. You can also set the Ship List Window to display what fleets each ship in the list belongs to.

Politics

Politics is the science/art or communicating with other races. Through communication, your empire can ally itself with other empires, transfer goods, and make your intentions clear. All politics in the game are controlled through the Politics Window.

First Contact Until you meet another player, you obviously know nothing about them. This means that you will be unable to form any political alliances, or perform any type of intelligence operations on them. Once your ships encounter their ships in a solar system, then it is assumed that you at least know of each others existence. At this point, you will be able to send political messages, form treaties, and interact with them as long as there is some physical path between your two empires.

Treaties The highest goal of politics is to ally yourself with other empires through treaties. Treaties are agreements between players to act a certain way towards each other. Using politics, you can enter into and break different treaties with other empires. Since treaties have such an enormous impact on the game, it is very advisable that you acquaint yourself with them by going to Treaties .

Political Messages Politics are carried out through messages. Messages are sent back and forth between Empires via the Politics Window. A message sent to an empire will show in that empires log on the next turn. After which, that empire can respond to the message. The following are the types of messages that can be sent between empires:

General

This is a non-specific text message sent to another player. Use this to relay comments, accusations, threats, and any begging. This message warns another empire to stop their espionage activities against your empire. See Intelligence for more details on espionage. This message warns another empire to stop their sabotage activities against your empire. See Intelligence for more details on sabotage. This warns an empire to remove their ships from a specific system (usually because you own it!) This warns an empire to desist in attacking your ships or there will be trouble. Sometimes your allies choose to become allies with your enemies as well. This politely warns them that the situation is not acceptable. This message proposes a specific type of treaty to another player. For a list of the available treaties, see Treaties. This message accepts a proposed treaty. The moment an empire accepts a treaty, it is in effect. Refuses a treaty proposed by another empire. Be careful, refusing a treaty can be a grave insult. Cancels an existing treaty with another empire. Canceling a treaty is instantaneous and takes the two empires to a status of having no treaty. Declaring war means that you are actively hostile towards another empire. Declaring war is instantaneous and overrides an existing treaty. When other empires have got more than enough, you can demand a tribute. Tributes can be any combination of construction points, research points, intelligence points, or technology. Demanding something does not necessarily mean that youll get it. This sends a tribute to another empire. The tribute will immediately be sent and taken from your available points. You cannot offer tributes in excess of what you have. Asks an empire to assist you in your efforts against a third party.

Warning to stop Espionage activities Warning to stop Sabotage activities Warning to remove presence from specified system Warning to stop ship attacks Warning to cancel treaty with enemy empire Propose treaty

Accept treaty proposal Refuse treaty proposal Cancel treaty with Empire

Declare War

Demand a tribute

Offer a tribute

Request help against an enemy empire

Losing Contact Once you meet another empire, you can engage in any form of politics with that empire. This includes what ever intelligence operations you wish to perform. This contact between your two empire remains in effect until such time as there is no physical connection between your two peoples. If, at the end of a game turn, there is no path from one of your planets or ships to a planet or ship of another player that you have met previously, then you will lose contact with that empire. This means that any political relations you have with them will be severed, and you will not be able to send them any form of messages. It also means that you will not be able to perform any intelligence operations either. A path between two empires is any connection of warp points that would allow travel. It does not matter whether you have explored the solar systems or not. Once contact is lost, it can be reestablished by meeting an empires ships in space just like when you first encounter them. Also note that your ships must be decloaked to make or maintain contact with another empire.

Treaties

Treaties are agreements between empires to act a certain way towards each other. It is a formal description of how the empires will cooperate or not. Each treaty type carries with it certain benefits to each empire. Treaties can be made or broken at any time during the game.

Treaty Types The following are the treaties that can exist between 2 empires. They are in order from worst to best: War Non-Intercourse War means that 2 empires are actively hostile towards each other and will shoot on sight. Non-Intercourse is a somewhat cold relationship where the 2 parties agree to not get near each other or interact in any way. When 2 empires have met but there is no treaty of any kind. Non-Aggression means that the two empires are friendly towards each other and will not attack each others ships. Empires with this treaty in place can move through sectors with the others ships and combat will not begin. The 2 empires agree to allow free-trade across their borders. This results in prosperity across both empires. A Trade Alliance generates construction points for both empires. See Trade for more details. The 2 empires agree to allow cooperative research between their scientists. This results in improved research on both sides. A Trade & Research Alliance generates research points for

None Non-Aggression

Trade Alliance

Trade & Research Alliance

both empires. See Trade for more details. Military Alliance The empires agree to be cooperative in their military efforts. This means that ships can use the resupply depots of either their planets or their allies planets. Partnership is the best political relationship 2 empires can have. It means there exists total trust between the two nations. Partnership benefits are many. First, the empires will trade intelligence points (see Trade for more details). Next, the empires will share all military information. This means that you will be able to see all systems that your partner can see as if you were in them. You get knowledge of all systems that he explores. You also get copies of all enemy designs that your ally encounters.

Partnership

NOTE: These treaties are cumulative above treaty None. Meaning that each higher level gets all of the benefits of the previous treaties. For example, if you currently have a Military Alliance, you get all of the benefits of having a Non-Aggression, Trade Alliance, and Trade & Research Alliance.

Treaty Color When treaties are displayed in windows, they are displayed in a color representative of the alliance. War and Non-Intercourse are displayed in Red. None is displayed in Yellow. Treaties of Non-Aggression through Partnership are displayed in green.

Combat Of course, politics can make strange bedfellows. For example, your allies can in turn be allies with your enemies. Any political relationships are allowed. When it comes to combat this makes for certain conditions. If you are in a sector with your ally, and you are attacked, then both you and your ally will defend against the enemy threat. If you attack a sector where there are two empires who are allies, then they will both defend against you. But what happens if there are 2 empires in a sector which I attack, and one is a friend and one is an enemy? Well, if 2 empires are engaged in combat against each other (meaning that they are enemies to each other), you cannot enter the melee. You must wait until the combat has concluded, where one of the empires has left the sector. But what if the two empires in the sector are allies, and are not fighting? If you attack a sector which contains an enemy and a friend, and the 2 empires are friends with each other, then they will both defend against you. If your ally is consorting with an enemy of yours, then you didnt want them as a friend anyway.

Trade

Trade is where two empires with a friendly political relationship allow for a free flow of goods, research, or intelligence across their borders. This trade is automatic and is carried out by merchant vessels far too small to be tracked in this game. Suffice to say that if the opportunity exists, someone will fill the void.

Treaties When empires enter into a treaty of Trade Alliance or better (see Treaties), they will begin to establish trade routes. As the trade routes grow, more and more goods will flow between the two nations. If the treaty is Trade Alliance or better, then construction points will be traded. If the treaty is Trade & Research Alliance or better, then research points will be traded. If the treaty is Partnership, then intelligence points will be traded. Trade routes have a knack for finding a path even when one doesnt seem to exist. Trade cannot be interrupted, rerouted, or prevented unless the two empires allow it.

Trade Points When a treaty with trade is entered into, the trade routes begin. This means that you and your ally will begin to receive points each turn. How many points is dependent on the size of your ally. You begin by receiving 1% of the points they generate each turn in trade. These points are not taken from your ally, but are actually created from the new commerce. Each turn thereafter, the trade will increase by 1%. This will continue until you reach 20% which is the maximum amount of points which can be generated.

For example, you and empire X enter into a Trade Alliance. Empire X generates 10,000 construction points each turn. On the first turn, after the turn the treaty is begun, you will receive 1% of his output in trade. Which means you will get 100 construction points in trade. The next turn, you will receive 2%, or 200 construction points. This will continue until after 20 turns you are receiving 2000 construction points per turn. Of course, after 20 turns, empire Xs output will probably have increased and you will receive even more points. Also keep in mind that empire X will receive 20% of your construction output in trade as well. You dont actually lose any points, but he will get more than normal, and so will you.

Breaking the Treaty Of course, if you break the treaty for some reason, all trade ceases. No more free points. If you do reestablish the treaty, it will begin at 1% trade levels and rise from there. Be certain youre ready to forfeit those points before you do something rash like declare war!

Research

Research is essential to the progress of an empires technology. An empire must put effort into its research if it wishes to develop new technologies such as advanced weapons, bigger ship sizes, and

new facilities. Everything that an empire has to use is dictated by its current technology levels. As they increase, newer items will become available.

Research Points An empires ability to research technology is represented by the research points that it generates. Each research center that the empire builds on a planet, generates research points for the empire. You can imagine these research facilities as being huge complexes where scientists work on developing the latest technologies. The research points are a quantification of the number of scientists you have to work on research. All they need is to be told what they should be researching. Thats where you come in. You need to tell your scientists what technology areas to research.

Tech Levels Your empire spends research points on different technology areas to develop them. Each technology area, is divided into technology levels. These Tech Levels are discrete groupings of achievement in a given area. Each tech level that your empire attains is typically signified by there being new items available for its use. For example, if an empire reaches tech level 2 in Ship Construction, it now has available the ship size Frigate and the ship component Armor II. This means that your ships can now be of a larger size than previously, and you have the component Armor II available to place on ships. If your empire reaches tech level 1 in Colonizing Hydrogen, it will have the component Colonization Module - Hydrogen available. You can then design ships using this component and send them to colonize Hydrogen atmosphere planets. To see a listing of all of the different tech areas and what you receive for each tech level go to Tech Charts.

Hidden Techs When you begin a game, there are a large number of technology areas available to research. This list, however, is not complete. There are certain hidden tech areas that you cannot research straight off. These hidden tech areas are not known to your empire until you reach certain levels in other tech areas. Once your empire has attained the requisite tech levels in certain tech areas, the hidden technology area will be available to research. For a list of the hidden tech areas, see the Hidden Tech Chart.

Allocating Research Your empire specifies what technology areas it wants to research in the Research Window. Using this window, you get to set the percentage of spending that is allocated to each technology area. You give the tech areas youre interested in a percentage of the total research points you have each turn. When your empire attains a tech level, you will receive a log message reporting the new level.

NOTE: You do not accumulate research points over multiple turns. You either use them each turn, or you lose them. There is no conceivable reason why you would not use the Research Window and allocate 100% of the research points you have available. Technology is the dominant factor in most games, respect it and you may survive.

Intelligence

Intelligence is the endeavor of knowing about and influencing other empires through covert means. Some call it spying. Others call it information gathering. What ever you call it, its the hidden arm of your empire. If your military cant get it done, or doesnt want to, your intelligence operatives can. Through intelligence spending, you can gain information about other empires, steal their technology, sabotage their constructions, incite their populations to riot, and more.

Intelligence Points An empires ability to carry out covert operations is signified by the number of intelligence points it generates. Each Intelligence Center that an empire owns generates a certain number of intelligence points each turn. You can think of these Intelligence Centers as just that, centers where covert operations and intelligence activities are carried out. The empire spends intelligence points as a way of directing these great spy houses towards a specific action. Your empire directs the spending of intelligence points into three distinct areas - Espionage, Sabotage, and Defense.

Espionage Espionage is the act of gaining information covertly about another empire. This can range from gaining copies of ship designs to the number of points an empire generates each turn. As points are put into espionage, the covert intelligence agents of empire slip out and begin trying to retrieve the specified information. It may take many turns, and it depends on how much the target empire is spending on defense, but you will achieve your goals ultimately. When espionage activities are executed, the target empire has no knowledge of your actions.

Sabotage Sabotage is the act of causing some kind of physical damage to another empire through covert means. This is typically executed by deep cover agents who plant bombs, cause civil unrest, or just throw a wrench in the works. By spending intelligence points on sabotage, your agents attempt to cause damage to the target empires machinery. The more points you provide, the more damage will be done. Be warned that an empire will know that the sabotage was performed. If your operatives are good, you will not be blamed. The targets defense spending dictates your chances of success.

Defense Also known as counter-intelligence, this is how an empire defends itself against outside intelligence operations directed against it. The number of intelligence points spent in defense are actually deducted from the number that your enemies spend against you. Meaning that if you spend more on defense than they do on espionage or sabotage, no intelligence operations will happen against you. If your defense isnt high enough to actually stop them, then your defensive teams may at least be able to tell you who executed the operation.

Allocating Intelligence Intelligence spending is allocated in the Intelligence Window. You select an empire and allocate a percentage of your total intelligence points against them. This percentage is divided up into the areas of espionage and sabotage. Defense spending is on a global scale with it being defense not against a particular empire, but against any form of aggressive intelligence directed against you. Your total spending is the addition of the percentages spent on espionage and sabotage for each empire, and then the total spent on defense.

NOTE: You do not accumulate intelligence points over multiple turns. You either use them each turn, or you lose them. Of course, you may not want to spend your intelligence points. If you only have allies, its not good form to execute intelligence operations against them. If they find out, theyre liable to be a bit upset.

Target Empires Offensive intelligence can only be conducted against empires that you have actually met in the galaxy. Once your ships encounter the ships of another empire, you can then engage in politics and intelligence operations against them. For more details on this, see Politics.

Points

Points is a general term used to describe the specific points construction points, research points, and intelligence points. These points are a representation of your empires industrial, research, and intelligence capacity. The more points your empire generates the greater is capacity to build new ships, research new technologies, and conduct covert operations.

Facilities Each of the three point types are generated in turn by Construction, Research, and Intelligence facilities. When you build one of these facilities on a planet, you will begin to receive those types of points. The number of points you receive is primarily determined by the facility itself. Each facility is rated with an amount of points it will produce. As the technology of a facility increases, so does the number of points it produces. On a planet, the number of points produced is also influenced by the Production Output of the planet. The percentage the production output is set at is how many points you will receive. For example, if the production output is 110%, then you will receive 110% of the normal points (see Planets). In addition, Construction Centers are influenced by the value of the planet.

Gathering Points

Gathering the points from all of your planets is automatic. Small freighters and merchant vessels (too small to be tracked by the game) transport the goods from where they are to where they need to be. However, you do need a port in which all of these merchant vessels can dock. This is where spaceports come in. A spaceport in a system allows the merchant ships to transport your points effectively. You must have a Spaceport in each system if you wish to spend the points generated by that system. Without a spaceport in the system, the planets generate the points, but they go nowhere. The goods just rot in the warehouses. The points do not accumulate waiting for you, they are lost. Once the spaceport is functional, the points will be available to be spent by your empire. You an easily tell which system do not have spaceports by either using the Galaxy Window and its modes, or by using the Planets List Window.

Spending Points As each turn goes by, your empire receives these points from its planets, and can spend them as it sees fit. The following is a list of the different types of things that each type of point can be spent on: Construction Points Purchases Constructions on Planets Maintenance on Ships Tributes Research Points Research Tributes Intelligence Points Intelligence Tributes

Colors Each of the different points is displayed with a different color. Construction Points are shown in red, Research Points are shown in blue, and Intelligence Points are shown in green.

Repair Queues

What are Repair Queues? Repair Queues are the lists of ships to be repaired at each of your space yards. Each space yard has its own independent queue in which it puts an ordering on the ships that it will repair. Space Yards manage these queues on their own and can do so without any intervention from you. Of course, there come times when you want things done in a different way. To see and edit the Repair Queues for your empire, use the Repair/Construction Queue Window.

Repair Queue

Each space yard has its own repair queue. This queue lists the ships in the sector that the space yard will repair. The queue is used to put each ship in order so that they all get repaired. When a damaged ship enters a sector with a space yard, it automatically gets placed in the repair queue for the space yard that will get to it the soonest.

Going to the Bank You can imagine this like going to the bank. When you enter the bank, there are a number of tellers who can help you with your business. If there was no one else at the bank, then you could go to any of them and get helped immediately. But as we all know, there are usually plenty of other people going into the bank as well. When you go into the bank, each teller will have a line in front of it (a queue). You look at each of the queues, and pick the shortest one to get in to. Each person in the queue is helped in order, until its your turn to be helped. Repair Queues operates in exactly the same fashion. The bank is your empire, the people are the damaged ships, and the tellers are the space yards.

1 to 1 Since a ship can only be worked on by one space yard at a time, and a space yard can only work on one ship at a time, a ship will be in one repair queue only. When the ship gets to the front of the repair queue, the space yard will repair its components. Now the space yard may not be able to repair all of the ships components in one turn. The space yard has a rating as to how many components it can repair in a turn. The ship will remain at the front of the repair queue until the space yard has repaired all of its components.

Repair Queue Window Using the Repair/Construction Queue Window, the player can move ships from one queue to another, or rearrange them. This usually happens when the player needs a particular ship repaired in a hurry, and doesnt want the ship to have to wait at the end of the queue. You can also use the Repair Queue Window as a tool to approximate when your ships will be ready for use. Knowing when certain ships will be available is crucial to making strategic decisions.

Fighters and Mines Fighters and Mines behave a little differently than ships do in the repair queues. When a fighter or mine is purchased, it does not appear as an empty hull. Its far too small for that. Fighters and Mines only take 1 turn to construct. When a fighter or mines is purchased, it goes immediately into the space yards repair queue as an item that needs to be constructed. However, you will not see any actual unit until it is actually constructed. When the fighter or mine gets to the front of the queue, it will be constructed and be placed in the sector. Therefore, the typical lifecycle for a fighter or mine is to be purchased, on the next turn show up in the repair queue, and then on the next turn, show up in the sector.

Placing a Fighter or Mine

The placement of a new fighter or mine is also important. Fighters and Mines cannot just sit in space as a starship does. They must be carried by something. Planets can carry units and so can ships which have storage components on board. When a fighter or mines reaches the front of a repair queue, the space yard prepares to build it. First, however, it needs a place to put the new unit. It first looks to see if there is a planet in the sector. If there is, and it has enough unit spaces remaining, the space yard will construct the fighter or mine, and then place it on the planet. If this fails, it will next look for a base in the sector that can carry the unit. If it finds one, it will construct the fighter or mine. Now if the space yard looks but cannot find any place to put the new construction, it will NOT build the fighter or mine. The item will remain in the repair queue at the front until next turn. Each turn, the space yard will repeat its looking process. It is very important that there is space for new unit constructions. If there isnt, the space yard will sit idle with a queue filled with units. The space yard will not move on to the next item until that fighter or mine can be constructed. For more information see Fighters and Mines.

Space Yard destroyed If a space yard is destroyed (through damage or through retrofitting), the repair queue that is waiting for it will be erased. This isnt much of a problem for ships, since they will be put back into any other available repair queue for other space yards in the same sector. But watch out for fighters and mines! If the space yard is destroyed, the raw materials for the fighter or mine construction is lost. In essence, you lose that fighter or mine. If you are going to retrofit, be sure and move the units in the repair queues to other space yards that wont be damaged.

Planets

Planets are the lifes blood of an Empire. They are where the Empires populations exist and grow. They are the raw materials upon which all things are built.

The following items provide information on Planets and their capabilities:

Planet Properties Planet Sizes Planet Populations Planet Colonization Planet Constructions

Planet Properties

All planets have similar properties. These properties define it and categorize it in relation to the other planets in the galaxy. The following are the properties of a planet and what they mean:

Name

Every planet has a name. Planets are named as a default to the name of the system and then the planet number as a roman numeral. Asteroids, Tiny, Small, Medium, Large. The larger a planet is the more storage capacity it has. See Planet Sizes. None, Chlorine, Oxygen/Nitrogen, Hydrogen/Helium, Carbon Dioxide/Nitrogen, Argon/Nitrogen. No atmosphere type is inherently better or worse than any other type. The atmosphere of a planet determines what type of colonization module is needed to colonize it. See Planet Colonization. Terrible, Poor, Sub-Average, Average, Good, Excellent. These descriptions represent a planet value from 0.5 to 1.5. The value of a planet is multiplied by the construction points generated to get the true number of points generated. Deadly, Harsh, Unpleasant, Mild, Good, Optimal. The conditions of a planet determine the reproduction of any population on it. The better the conditions, the higher the reproduction. See Planet Populations. Every planet can contain a number of facilities. These facilities are constructed by the population of the planet at your direction. A planets size determines how many different items it can contain. The usage of a planet describes how much population, facilities, and units you have on the planet, and the remaining space that is left. See Planet Sizes. Once a planet is colonized, it has a population. The population will grow based on its reproduction percentage. The population is then put to work in the facilities by setting the production output. The production output is a modifier to the number of points your facilities generate. Also, the less people that are working, the more people that are free to reproduce. See Planet Populations. Without any racial advantages, a planet with a population of over 100M gets a built in Space Yard.

Size

Atmosphere

Value

Conditions

Facilities

Usage

Population

Construction Units

When a planet wishes to build something new, it begins a new construction. See Planet Construction. Every planet can contain a number of units. These units

can either be constructed by the planet, purchased by your empire, or transferred from another planet. See Units.

Planet Sizes

Each planet size has a capacity for storage. The following is a list of how much each planet size can store:

Size Asteroids Tiny Small Medium Large

Population 200M 500M 1000M 2000M 5000M

Facilities 3 5 7 9 12

Unit Spaces 20 40 60 100 150

Planet Populations

The populations of your empire are the workforce and citizens of your empire. Without populations, you cant build anything or grow as an empire. Never forget that an empire is not a military alone, it is built on the hard working backs of its populace. All dealings with your planets populations are controlled through the Planet Productions Window.

Reproduction People increase their number by reproducing (See Birds and Bees). The rate at which a population reproduces is influenced by group of factors. First there is the reproduction rate of your people as a race. Next, the reproduction rate is modified by the current Production Output of the planet. The harder the people work, the less time they have for reproduction. Lowering the production output is a good way to jump start a small population. Reproduction is also influenced by the conditions of the planet the population is on. The better the conditions, the higher the reproduction. Happiness also has its effect. People have a tendency not to reproduce as much during a riot.

Production Output

The Production Output of a planet is the percentage of the population that is hard at work. For simplicity sake, we say that 100% signifies that everyone is working hard. When a planet is generating points from its facilities, the points generated are modified by the current production output. For example, if you have 2 Construction Centers which produce a total of 1000 construction points per turn, and your production output is 120%, then your planet will generate 1200 construction points per turn. You can modify the production output to get different effects. If you lower the output, then youre giving the populace more leisure time. This has the effect of increasing a planets reproduction rate, and increasing the populations happiness. Increasing the production output has the opposite effect which is to decrease reproduction and anger the population. Be careful that you dont keep it too high for too long.

Happiness Keeping your people happy can become a full time job. When the people are happy, they reproduce and have festivals in your honor. When theyre unhappy, they grumble and plot behind your back. Many factors influence your populations happiness, but the most obvious is Production Output. If the people are worked too hard for too long, they will get angry. When a populations anger reaches a certain point, they will riot. A planet that has a rioting population will not produce any points what so ever. You can pacify the population by lowering the Production Output or maybe building an Urban Pacification Center. If a population is allowed to riot for too long, they may get together to form a new government. This new government would not look too kindly on the empire, and might even decide to form its own empire!

Space Yards Without any racial advantages, a planet with a population of over 100M gets a built in Space Yard. This is a single space yard that can be used to build ships, fighters, or mines in orbit. See Ship Construction for more details.

Larger Populations As your population grows, your planet gets added benefits. For every 2000M population, your time to construct new facilities on the planet will be cut in half. In addition, when enemy troops are landed on a planet, the population will rise up to defend it. Each 100M people will become 1 Light Infantry Troop unit for the course of the ground battle.

Planet Colonization

Colonizing planets is the process of moving your populations from one planet to another and creating a new home for them. Colonization is essential to expanding your empire. Before you can extract resources from a planet, you first have to colonize it. Once a population is in place, you can start building facilities to extract the resources.

Atmosphere Types

Each planet has a different atmosphere type. When your race evolves on a planet, it starts with the ability to colonize planets of its home atmosphere type. As your technology increases, you will be able to colonize planets of different atmosphere types. The planets you can colonize is determined by what colonization technology you have available (see Tech Chart - Colonizing).

Colonization Module The heart of colonization is the Colonization Module ship component. This component comes equipped with all of the materials needed to start a new civilization on another planet. It also includes a number of settlers who are ready to start a new life on the planet. Each colonization module has a particular atmosphere type that it can colonize. When a ship with this component enters a sector with a planet of the same atmosphere type, it can colonize the planet. Unfortunately, the materials in the colonization module do not include any power plants. When your colony ship colonizes a planet, it will be deconstructed for its engines and materials to be used in the new colony. Some sacrifices are necessary.

Colony Ships First you start with a colony ship. A colony ship is a ship size that you can base a ship design on. The size requires that you use a majority of its spaces for colonization modules (see Ship Sizes). Create a ship design using this ship size, and then put a colonization module on it (see Ship Design). Once the ship has been built, you send it out to a planet that you want to colonize (be sure the atmosphere type is correct). The easiest way to do this is with the Colonize Order.

Combat Settlers are notoriously bad at combat. You cannot colonize a planet if there is already another colony there (including your own). The settlers have no desire to fight it out for the planet, thats what the military is for! They can, however, colonize a planet that has a colony but no population. They love that.

Planet Constructions

Building new items on planets is vital to the growth of the planet. The population on its own is content to do nothing and just reproduce. But of course, they have a duty to the empire. They must work! Once a planet has been colonized, its time to start building facilities. You can also build troops on a planet as well.

Construction Queue Each planet has a construction queue. This queue is a list of the items that the planet is supposed to construct. The planets population will work on constructing the first item in the list, and when thats done, the next one in the list. Each planet can only construct one thing at a time. The new construction has a cost and a time. The larger your population, the shorter the time will be to

construct the item. Working on new constructions in no way effects the number of people who are already working at existing facilities. Keep in mind that if the population starts working on one item, and then you switch them to work on a new item before the first one is done, all work on the first item is lost. As the turns go by, the population will work on the first item in the queue until it is complete. Of course, they may get distracted if a riot breaks out.

Upgrading Facilities It sure would be nice. Unfortunately, these facilities are so huge and set in their ways, that it would cost just as much to upgrade them as it would to build an entirely new facility. Blame the unions! If your planet is full and you want to create a new facility, you need to bulldoze one of your existing facilities. At least youll get a little money back from scrapping them.

Construction Queue Window A player specifies a planets constructions by going into the Construction Queue Window through the Planet Productions Window. This window will allow the player to pick all of the items that they want the planet to build. You can also put the queue on hold, which will cause the people to stop working on a given item.

Combat

Combat is that state of being when starships decide to settle their differences through force. An unfortunate, but quite common, occurrence in the icy void of space. Combat is initiated any time starships from two enemy empires enter the same sector within a solar system.

The following are the various topics covering combat: Combat Types Combat Turns Combat Pieces Combat Map Combat Movement Combat Targeting Combat Options Ground Combat Combat Simulation

Combat Types

The two types of starship combat are Strategic and Tactical. These are two ways of classifying the level at which the combat is observed. There is also Ground Combat which covers the combat that takes place between troops on planets.

When combat is about to begin, the player is asked whether they wish to proceed with the attack in the Strategic Combat Window. If the player wishes to proceed with combat, they must next choose at what level they wish to observe the battle. They can choose between Strategic and Tactical Combat.

Strategic Combat Strategic combat is where you watch the battle between starships at a very high level. You do not get to directly involve yourself in the actions of the ships, but rather let their captains do as they will. In reality, this means that the computer will control your ships as if you had selected AutoMove and AutoTarget (see Combat Options for more details on these). The strategies your ships perform are set by you in the Combat Strategy Window for each design.

Once combat begins, you move through each of the Combat Turns automatically. Combat will continue until either one side is destroyed, one side has retreated, or the combat turn has reached 20. Strategic Combat takes place in the Strategic Combat Window.

Note: There is no difference between Strategic and Tactical Combat in the way they are resolved. The only difference is the level at which you observe the battle, and that the computer controls your ships.

Tactical Combat Tactical combat is where you get to see the exact details of the combat and can give your ships specific commands during each phase of combat. In each phase, you can direct each ship to perform different actions such as move and target its weapons. For more details on what can be done during each phase, see Combat Turns.

Tactical Combat takes place in the Tactical Combat Window.

Combat Turns

Combat progresses through turns much like the normal game does. Each combat turn is in real time about 2 minutes long. Each turn is divided into several phases, in which the different sides of the battle can direct their ships. Because of the nature of ship combat, when combat turn 20 is reached, the combat is over. If the attacker is still alive, he is then moved into the defenders sector. The attacker can attack again at his leisure. Each attack will cost one movement point.

The following are the different combat phases. They proceed in order from top to bottom and then repeat starting at the top. Most of the instructions on how to interact with your ships only apply to Tactical Combat. In Strategic Combat, this is all decided by the computer. The same phases are executed however. Attacker Placement This phase only takes place during Combat Turn 1. The Attacker gets to place his starships within his starting region. The starting region is denoted by a box on the Tactical Combat window where the player can place his ships anywhere inside. This phase only takes place during Combat Turn 1. The Defender gets to place his starships within his starting region. The starting region is denoted by a box on the Tactical Combat window where the player can place his ships anywhere inside. The only exception to this is when the attacker is coming through a warp point. In this case the defender must place his ships outside the box displayed. The Attacker gets to move his ships and target all of his weapons. Movement is taken care of by changing to the ship you wish to move by using the Previous/Next Ship buttons, and then just clicking where you want the ship to move. See Combat Movement for more details on movement in combat. Targeting of your ships weapons is handled through the Combat Targetings Window. Attackers Seekers Move Defender Move & Target Defenders Seekers Move All Ships Fire Any seekers that the Attacker has launched will get moved towards their targets. This is identical to the Attacker Move & Target phase except that only the Defender gets to act. Any seekers that the Defender has launched will get moved towards their targets. The very last phase of each combat turn is the firing phase. This is where all ships get to fire their weapons. First one ship of the Defenders fires, then one of the Attackers. This continues until all ships have gotten a chance to fire. For more information on weapons firing, see Combat Targeting.

Defender Placement

Attacker Move & Target

All of a players ships can be controlled by computer at their discretion during Tactical Combat (its automatic during Strategic Combat). See Combat Options for more details.

Combat Pieces

Combat pieces are the individual items that are present in combat. Now the typical items are ships, but there are others:

Ships

Any ship that attacks or any ship that is in the defending sector gets pulled into combat. Once combat begins, no new ships can enter combat. Ships can leave combat either by moving past the boundary of the sector, thereby retreating, or by being destroyed. Fighters become combat pieces when they are launched by another combat piece (a ship or a planet). Once launched, they can move and target enemy pieces. Fighters cannot leave the combat map. Fighters are automatically landed on their carriers when combat ends. Seekers become combat pieces when they are fired by another combat piece. Once fired, they become autonomous combat pieces, which move on their own. Seekers have no weapons and have no targeting capabilities. You have no control over where a seeker moves. Each combat phase, it will move towards its target until it either hits it, or is destroyed. Planets become combat pieces if they are in the defending sector when a combat begins. Planets only become combat pieces if they have a population on them. Without a population, other pieces have no reason to fire at them. Planets cannot move, and are very easy to hit with weapons fire because of their immense size. Planets take damage to their population, facilities, and units. When a planet is hit by weapons fire, 10M people will be killed for every 1 point of damage done. Also, with each damage point done, there is a chance that a facility or unit will be destroyed as well. Planets are effectively destroyed when their population has been eliminated. Planets can only target enemy ships if they have weapons to fire. Planets get weapons if they have Missile Bases or units of sufficient size. Planets will only get shields if they have Shield Bases.

Fighters

Seekers

Planets

Combat Map

The combat map is where combat takes place. It is representative of an entire sector worth of space. As long as ships remain within the combat map, they can be fired on by other combat pieces and they are considered in combat.

Empty Space Combat typically takes place in empty space, but it can take place in and around other spatial bodies as well. If combat takes place in a square with asteroids, the combat map will be filled with the asteroid belt. Asteroids pose no threat to ships, but they do make hitting other pieces with weapons fire more difficult. The same goes for combat which takes place in a storm sector. The combat map will be filled with storm squares which do nothing more than make hitting other ships a lot tougher. If combat takes place in a sector with a planet, or a warp point, it will be shown in the exact center of the combat map.

Although asteroids and storms pose no threat to large starships, they do cause trouble for seekers. When a seeking weapon of any kind moves through a square with asteroids or storms in it, they will take 1 point of damage.

Starting Placement When combat begins, the attacker and defender get to place their combat pieces within a certain region of the combat map. This region is determined by where the attack is coming from relative to the defending sector. For example, if the attacking sector is to the right of the defending sector on the System Window , then the attacker will start on the right side of the combat map. When the attacker is coming from an adjacent sector, the defender starts in the middle of the combat map. If the attacker is actually attacking from the same sector as the defender, then the attackers pieces are placed on one side of the map, and the defenders are placed on the other.

An interesting situation creeps up when the attacker comes through a warp point. In this case, the attacker actually starts in the center of the combat map, on top of the warp point they just came through. The defender is forced to stay outside of the immediate region of the warp point.

Retreat Retreat is always an option during combat. At the very edge of the combat map are boundary lines. Any ships that move beyond these boundary lines can retreat at their leisure. The boundary lines are only present if that direction is valid. For example, if the defending sector is on the edge of the solar system, there will be no boundary line on the edge of the combat map that faces out of the solar system. There is also one other retreat location. If there is a warp point present in the combat map, ships that move into the same square as the warp point can retreat through it.

Retreat can only be accomplished if certain criteria are met by a starship. First, the ship must move to a retreat location, which is past a boundary line or through a warp point. Secondly, the ship must have at least one movement point left to it (these are called combat movement points). So if your ship moved its last movement point to get past the boundary then it cannot retreat this combat turn. It will have to wait until the next combat turn. Same thing goes for a ship that is in a retreat location but has no movement at all. It cannot retreat.

The third criteria that must be met is that the ship has at least 1 strategic movement point remaining. In combat, a ship is using combat movement points. When not in combat, and a ship is moving through the solar system, these are strategic movement points. Now the difference in movement points is the difference between moving in combat and moving in the solar system. These are two very different time scales to the ships movement. In combat, each movement point represents about 30 seconds of movement. When a ship moves through the solar system (strategic movement), each movement point represents about 5 days worth of movement.

When your ship retreats, it must expend strategic movement to do this because you are moving from one sector to another. When you attack a sector, you use 1 movement point to move into the sector. If you then must retreat, you need to expend an additional movement point to get back out of the sector into another. The same thing goes for the defender. If the defender is in a sector, and it retreats, it uses 1 strategic movement point to move to the next sector. In this way, it is required that a ship have at least 1 strategic movement point remaining for it to retreat. This has the added benefit that it prevents a someone from retreating forever.

Combat Movement

Movement in combat is very similar to standard movement through solar systems. Your ships are allotted a number of movement points that they can spend during each combat turn. Because of the short time frame of combat turns, ships only receive half their normal movement points during combat. Theyre not defective or anything, time is just shorter in a combat turn than it is in the normal 0.1 year you have to a standard game turn.

Moving During Tactical Combat, you move your ships simply by clicking on where you want them to go. Once they expend their movement points, they will not be able to move again until the next combat turn. Be warned that damage to your ship has the same standard effect it does in the normal game. If you lose engines, your going to lose movement points. Your ships movement can be handled automatically by the computer if the AutoMove option is turned on (see Combat Options for details).

Point Blank Range Dont worry if you get too close to the enemy ships. You cant run into them. There is no ramming in this game. The realities of space travel are that any lumbering hulk can get out of the way of

another ship with minimal effort. Point blank range does have other dangers, however. Weapons do a LOT of damage at a range of zero. Most starships dont last very long unless they have a lot of shields. Also be warned that your ships can be boarded at zero range. If an enemy ship has boarding parties, your shields are down, and he gets into the same combat square as your ship, he can attempt to board and capture your ship (see Boarding Parties Component for more details).

Combat Targeting

Targeting is where you tell your gunners (or computers) what enemy ship your weapon should fire on. For each of your weapons to fire, it needs to have a target. A target can be an enemy ship, planet, or seeker. Once it has a target, it will keep that target indefinitely until you tell it differently.

Setting Targets The easiest way to give your weapons targets, is to use the Combat Targetings Window. Through this window, you can give each of your weapons a specific target to fire on. The setting of your weapons targets will be handled automatically if the AutoTarget option is turned on (see Combat Options for details).

Each weapon can only shoot at one enemy target in each combat turn. In addition, your ship as a whole, can only target all of its weapons on one target in a combat turn. This means that if you have 50 weapons on your starbase, you have to fire them all on one single enemy ship in a combat turn (on the next turn you can target them all on someone else). You can increase the number of targets you can fire at each turn by placing Multiplex Tracking components aboard your ships. Your ship is rated with its Mx, or the number of targets it can fire on in any given combat turn. For example, all ships start with an Mx of 1. If, however, you put a Multiplex Tracking 2 component on your ship, then your ship will be rated as an Mx 2. This means that if it has 10 weapons, it could target 5 on one enemy ship, and the other 5 on a different enemy ship. It could fire on 2 targets in the same combat turn.

Reloading Each weapon has a certain reload rate. Once the weapon fires, it takes a certain amount of time for it to recharge or be reloaded with new ammo. This reload time determines how often your weapons will fire during combat. Each weapon is rated with a reload rate which is specified in combat turns (see Weapon Properties). If the weapon has a rate of 1, then it can fire every combat turn. If it has a rate of 2, then it can fire every other combat turn.

Range Each weapon has a certain range that it can fire out to in combat squares (see Weapon Properties). If the target for your weapon is outside this range, then your weapon will not fire at it. Your crews are smart enough not to fire a ships weapon when theres no chance of hitting the target. The crew

will wait until the target is within range and then fire the weapon. In this way, you can target your ships weapons even if the enemy is out of range.

To Hit When a weapon is fired at a target, there is a chance that the weapon will miss. This is called the To Hit chance for the target ship. You can see your current To Hit chances in the Combat Targetings Window. To Hit is a percentage value. The higher the number, the higher your chance to hit the target with your weapon. The To Hit percentage is computed using the following formula:

To Hit = Base Modifier + Attackers Modifier - Defenders Modifier - Distance - Terrain

Base Modifier Attackers Modifier

100%. If there were no external forces at work, youd always hit! This is the bonus your ship receives for Combat Sensors and its inherent crew bonus. If this combat piece is a planet, then it is assumed to be using the best Combat Sensors that your empire has discovered. This is the bonus that the target receives for ECM and its inherent crew bonus. Targets also receive a defense modifier based on their size. Standard ships get 0%, planets get -200% (big target!), fighters get 40%, and seekers get 40%. 10% for each combat square. 0% for empty space. 40% for asteroids. 40% for storms.

Defenders Modifier

Distance Terrain

The minimum possible To Hit is 1%, and the maximum is 99%. Theres always a chance youll hit a target, and theres always a chance youll miss.

Firing At the end of each combat turn is the firing phase. During this phase, each ship fires all of its weapons at whatever each weapon is targeted at. The weapon will only fire if the target is within range and the weapon is fully loaded (reload time is zero). This phase is automatic and proceeds rapidly. Damage incurred during the firing takes place immediately. Meaning that if your ship gets destroyed before it gets a chance to fire, then it doesnt ever get a chance to fire ever again.

Combat Options

Combat options are settings you can indicate for the current combat encounter. Many of these settings will also be remembered for future combat scenarios. These options are automatically set for you if you engage in Strategic Combat. They are only available within Tactical Combat in the Combat Options Window. The following options are available:

Fast Combat

Fast combat is where the details of combat are not displayed. Normally, when a weapon fires against a combat piece, information about the weapon and damage is displayed at the top of the Tactical Combat Window. With Fast Combat selected, this information is not displayed, and combat proceeds much quicker. This only applies to Tactical Combat.

Use AutoTarget

AutoTarget is where the computer will control the targeting of your pieces weapons. At the beginning of the Move & Target combat phase, the computer will automatically go through and assign all weapons of your pieces to target enemy combat pieces. You can then change these targetings if you wish to. The criteria that your pieces use to target other pieces is detailed in the Combat Strategy Window. Automatically set to true for computer players and during Strategic Combat.

Use AutoMove

AutoMove is where the computer will control the movement of your combat pieces. This will happen automatically at the beginning of the Move & Target combat phase. The criteria that your pieces use to move is detailed in the Combat Strategy Window. Automatically set to true for computer players and during Strategic Combat.

Dont center on current piece

When a piece is moved, or fires, the map is centered on that piece. With this selected, that will not happen and the view remains wherever you have selected. Only applies to the Tactical Combat Window.

Overview map size

This controls the size of the overview map that is displayed. Only applies to the Tactical Combat Window.

Ground Combat

Ground combat takes place when attacking troops are dropped onto a planet. Ground combat begins immediately and is resolved just as fast. The Ground Combat Window displays both sides in the battle and the result.

Attacker The attacker is the one who brings transports into the same square as the planet and drops troops. The ground combat is begun at this event. When dropping troops, all troops from all transports in the planets sector will take place in the ground combat.

Defender The defender is the player who owns the planet. Any troop units that are on the planet will help defend. In addition, the population of the planet will defend as well. Each 100M people will become 1 Light Infantry Troop unit for the course of the battle. These troops do not represent the entire population, but merely a small portion. Therefore, when units stored on the planet are destroyed, theyre gone. However, when population troops are destroyed, the population is not seriously effected. Unless, of course, they lose the ground battle.

Result Ground combat can only have one of two results. If the defender wins, the attackers troops have been completely annihilated. The space combat can continue at this point. If the attacker wins, the planet becomes his. The troops that took place in the battle will be stored on the planet. The population has been completely subjugated, and they are now, for all intents and purposes, the people of the attackers empire.

Note: When the attackers troops are dropped on the planet during an attack, theyre can be more than the planet can actually store. Once the ground combat completes, and the attacker has won, all of the troops who took place will be stationed on the planet. This may be more troops than the planet can actually support. They can remain there, but the population will grow angry fast at having such a huge troop force consuming their food and living in their homes.

Combat Simulation

Not all empires have the luxury of constant warfare. All militaries experience those unfortunate times when the aggressors are quiet and peace creeps in like a fog. Keeping an effective fighting force during these periods is dicey. How do you know how your forces will perform if theres no way to test them? Well, there is.

Combat simulators are invented early on in the history of all space faring militaries. They present a way for your empire to test its ships without actually losing any. Computers simulate every aspect of the battle and have ships react accordingly. You can test your ships against each other, or against the enemy designs that you have encountered. Theres nothing to lose, and testing your designs before spending the thousands of construction points and years of construction time is essential.

The first place to start in performing a combat simulation is the Combat Simulation Window.

Ministers

Ministers are your subordinates who control the smaller details of your empires management. Whether you use them is up to you. Without them you control all details of your empires operation yourself. If you choose to use them, they will automatically control sections of your empire for you. You can select which ministers you would like to use in the Empire Options Ministers Window .

Exactly how the computer decides to use each minister is based on lengthy algorithms for each minister. We do not describe them here because they would fill volumes of books.

Ministers The following are the different ministers you can choose and what each one will do.

Facility Construction Purchases Expenses Production Output Research Intelligence

Adds new facilities to your construction queues for your planets. Purchases new starships, fighters, and mines for your empire. Determines how many Construction Points to be spending on each area within expenses. Sets the production output levels for all planets that have colonies. Sets the spending percentage levels for each research area based on Minister Styles such as Weapons Mix. Sets the spending percentage levels for each intelligence area.

Politics

Sends out messages to other players making and breaking alliances. If you use this minister, you will not get to see the messages that are sent out. We recommend not using this minister. Goes through each ship we own and gives it orders to move to the nearest Space Yard if it is damaged. Designs new starships for the empire. The types of starships that are designed are based on need and technology available. New designs will also be created any time new technology becomes available that can be used. Gives orders to all troop transports to pick up troops from available planets. Goes through each ship we own and gives it orders to resupply at nearest if its resupply warning is on. Gives orders to all population transports to pick up populations at full planets and transport them to planets with a small population. Gives orders to all colony ships to colonize the most valuable and nearest planet. Gives orders to attack ships to attack the best enemy target. If this is selected, without Fleets being selected, then all ships will act as individuals. Gives orders to defense ships to attack the biggest threat to the empire. If this is selected, without Fleets being selected, then all ships will act as individuals. Gives orders to any attack or defense ships (without orders) to explore new systems. Gives orders to any attack or defense ships (without orders) to patrol the outlying colonies of the empire. If the empire cannot afford its ship maintenance costs, then this minister will pick an old ship and send it to a space yard to be scrapped. It will continue to do this until the ship maintenance cost can be afforded. Gives orders to all carriers to move to nearby planets and pick up fighters. Retrofits any bases we own to newer designs. Sends mine layers out to pick up mines and then lay them at strategic warp points. Also sends out mine sweepers to sweep known mine locations. Groups ships into large fleets for use against enemy targets. Without this selected, all ships will act (and

Repair Ship Design

Troop Transports Resupply Population Transports Colonization Attack

Defense

Exploration Patrol Scrap Ships

Carriers Retrofit Mines

Fleets

attack) as individuals. Stellar Manipulations Gives orders to all ships with stellar manipulation devices such as Open Warp Point component, Destroy Sun component, etc. and sends them to use their devices. Automatically cloaks and decloaks ships as necessary for them to perform actions. As ships move they will be cloaked, but before they attack (or attempt to perform any other action) they will decloak. Gives orders to space yard ships to move to locations where damaged ships are and repair them.

Ship Cloaking

Space Yard Ships

Minister Personality When selecting a minister personality, you should choose one that most closely resembles your attitudes and goals in the game. The following is a list of each of the minister personalities and a brief description.

Normal

Standard personality. About as middle of the road as you can get. Operates as a baseline for all of the other personalities. Will spend 40/40/20 on facilities (% Construction Centers, % Research Centers, % Intelligence Centers). Sets Defense style to Maximum. Will attempt to make alliances with most neighbors. Will never go to war with more than 1 empire at a time. A very aggressive personality. Has a very low threshold for declaring war. Will go to war with multiple empires at the same time. Loves to have the biggest most impressive ships available. Likes to keep a large standing fleet of attack ships at all times. Will launch unprovoked attacks on helpless planets of allies. Becomes more aggressive the more battles they win against you. Attempts to stay out of direct conflict and very rarely declares war. Will attempt to make alliances with most neighbors. Same as Normal personality except that spending on facilities is 20/60/20. Same as Normal personality except that spending on facilities is 20/20/60. A bit more aggressive than normal. Prefers small fast ships, grouped in small attack fleets. Likes to have a standing fleet of attack ships at all times.

Defensive

Conqueror

Neutral

Technologist Intelligist Marauder

Xenophobe

Dislikes all forms of politics. Very rarely forms alliances except in the cases where they are currently at war with other empires. Gets angry quickly at outside intrusion in its affairs. A bit more aggressive than normal. Likes to have a standing fleet of attack ships at all times. Has a tendency to attack allies undefended worlds. Prefers planet killing weapons. Loves Planet and Sun Destroyers. Becomes more agressive the more battles they win against you. Prefers to use troops to conquer planets. Will never use Planet or Sun Destroyers. Likes to instigate rebellions on enemy's planets. A very peaceful personality that abhors war unless absolutely necessary. Will never use Mines, Planet Destroyers, or Sun Destroyers. Will make alliances whenever possible and quickly forgets the aggressions of other empires.

Genocidal

Invader

Peaceful

Tech Charts

The following are technology charts of all of the different areas that can be gained through research.

Tech Chart - Colonizing Tech Chart - Ship Construction Tech Chart - Units Tech Chart - Weapons Tech Chart - Facilities Tech Chart - General Science Tech Chart - Stellar Manipulation

Hidden Tech Chart

Tech Chart - Colonizing

Tech Area Colonizing None Colonizing Chlorine Colonizing Oxygen Colonizing Hydrogen Colonizing Carbon Dioxide Colonizing Argon

Tech 1 Colony I Colony I

Tech 2 Colony II Colony II

Tech 3 Colony III Colony III

Tech 4

Colony I

Colony II

Colony III

Colony I

Colony II

Colony III

Colony I

Colony II

Colony III

Colony I

Colony II

Colony III

Tech Chart - Ship Construction

Tech Area Ship Construction

Tech 1 Bridge Auxiliary Control Life Support Crew Quarters Armor I Escort Space Station Colony Ship Small Transport Space Yard I

Tech 2 Armor II Frigate

Tech 3 Armor III Destroyer Medium Transport

Tech 4

Light Cru Battle Sta

Component Construction Propulsion

Space Yard II

Space Yard III

Ion Engine I

Ion Engine II Emer Energy Pod I Population Quarters II Multiplex Tracking II Self-Destruct Device

Ion Engine III

Contra-Te Engine I Emer Ene Pod II

Population Transport Computers

Population Quarters I Multiplex Tracking I

Population Quarters III Multiplex Tracking III Multiplex Tracking

ECM Sensors Shields

ECM I Combat Sensors I Shield Generator I

ECM II Combat Sensors II Shield Generator II

ECM III Combat Sensors III Shield Generator III Shield Base I

Scanner Jammer Long Ran Scanners Shield Generato

Phased Shields

Phased Shield Generator I

Cloaking Device Tachyon Sensors Emissive Armor Eternal Energy Source

Cloaking Device I Tachyon Sensors I Emissive Armor I Quantum Reactor

Phased Shield Generator II Phased Shield Base I Cloaking Device II Tachyon Sensors II Emissive Armor II

Phased Shield Generator III

Phased S Generato Phased S Base II

Cloaking Device III Tachyon Sensors III Emissive Armor III

Emissive IV

Tech Chart - Units

Tech Area Fighter Fighter Transport Troops

Tech 1 Fighters I Light Carrier Fighter Bay I Troops I

Tech 2 Fighters II Fighter Bay II Troops II Boarding Parties I Security Station I Troop Quarters II Mine Sweeper II Mines II Mine Storage II

Tech 3 Fighters III Carrier Fighter Bay III Troops III

Tech 4

Fighters I

Troops IV Boarding Parties II Security S II

Troop Transport Mines

Troop Quarters I Mine Sweeper I Mines I Mine Storage I

Mine Transport

Troop Quarters III Mine Sweeper III Mines III Mine Storage III

Mine Swe IV Mines IV

Tech Chart - Weapons

Tech Area Weapons Beams

Tech 1 Anti-Proton Beam I Meson Blaster I Capital Ship Missile I Anti-Matter Torpedo I Plasma Torpedo I Planetary Napalm I Point-Defense Cannons I Ripper Beam I

Tech 2 Anti-Proton Beam II

Tech 3 Anti-Proton Beam III Meson Blaster II Capital Ship Missile III Missile Base I Anti-Matter Torpedo III Plasma Torpedo III Planetary Napalm III Point-Defense Cannons III Ripper Beam III

Tech 4

Anti-Proto Beam IV

Weapons Missiles Weapons Torpedoes Weapons Plasma

Capital Ship Missile II Anti-Matter Torpedo II Plasma Torpedo II Planetary Napalm II Point-Defense Cannons II Ripper Beam II

Capital S Missile IV

Anti-Matt Torpedo

Weapons - Point Defense Weapons - High Energy Discharge Weapons Phased Energy Weapons - Shield Damaging Weapons Engine Damaging

Plasma Torpedo Planetary Napalm I Point-Def Cannons

Ripper Be

Phased Polaron Beam I Shield Depleter I Ionic Disperser I

Phased Polaron Beam II Shield Depleter II Ionic Disperser II Ionic Pulse Missile I Tachyon Projection Cannon II Tractor Beam I

Phased Polaron Beam III Shield Depleter III Ionic Disperser III Ionic Pulse Missile II Tachyon Projection Cannon III Repulser Beam II Wormhole Beam III

Phased P Beam IV

Shield De IV

Weapons Weapon Damaging Weapons Gravitational Weapons Wormhole

Tachyon Projection Cannon I Repulser Beam I Wormhole Beam I

Ionic Disp IV Ionic Puls Missile III Tachyon Projection Cannon I

Tractor B

Wormhole Beam II

Tech Chart - Facilities

Tech Area Facilities Construction Facilities -

Tech 1 Construction Center I Spaceport Research

Tech 2 Construction Center II Research

Tech 3 Construction Center III Research

Tech 4

Research Facilities Intelligence Facilities Resupply Facilities Terraforming Conditions Facilities Terraforming Value Facilities Planetary Defense

Center I Intelligence Center I Resupply Depot

Center II Intelligence Center II Emer Resupply Pod I Conditions Imprv. Plant II

Center III Intelligence Center III Emer Resupply Pod II Conditions Imprv. Plant III

Emer Res Pod III

Conditions Imprv. Plant I

Value Imprv. Plant I

Value Imprv. Plant II

Value Imprv. Plant III

Ground Base I

Ground Base II

Ground Base III

Tech Chart - General Science

Tech Area General Science Military General Science Medicine General Science Biology General Science Sociology General Science Math General Science Astrophysics General Science Ecology

Tech 1 Military College I Medical Bay I

Tech 2 Military College II Medical Bay II

Tech 3 Military College III Medical Bay III

Tech 4

Medical B

Plague Bomb I

Plague Bomb II

Plague Bomb III

Plague B IV

Urban Pacification Center I Neutron Bomb I

Urban Pacification Center II Neutron Bomb II

Urban Pacification Center III Neutron Bomb III

Neutron B IV

Radiation Bomb I

Radiation Bomb II

Radiation Bomb III

Radiation IV

Tech Chart - Stellar Manipulation

Tech Area Warp Point Manipulation Planet Manipulation Sun Manipulation Storm Manipulation

Tech 1 Close Warp Point Destroy Planet I

Tech 2 Open Warp Point I Destroy Planet II Create Sun Create Storm

Tech 3 Open Warp Point II Destroy Planet III

Tech 4

Open Wa Point III

Create P

Destroy Sun Destroy Storm

Hidden Tech Chart

Hidden Tech

Required Tech

Minimu m Value 1 1 1 6 3 8 1 6 3 3

Fighter Transport Troop Transport Mine Transport Phased Shields

Fighter Troops Mines Shields General Science Math

Cloaking Device Tachyon Sensors Emissive Armor

Shields Cloaking Device Ship Construction General Science Math

Warp Point Manipulation Planet Manipulation Sun Manipulation Storm Manipulation

General Science Astrophysics General Science Astrophysics General Science Astrophysics General Science Astrophysics

2 4 1

Eternal Energy Source

Propulsion Facilities - Resupply General Science Math General Science Astrophysics

12 7 5 4 3

Weapons - Phased Energy

Shields

Weapons - Beams General Science Math Weapons - Shield Damaging Weapons - Engine Damaging Shields

3 2 2

Ship Construction

Weapons - Beams General Science Math Weapons - Weapon Damaging Ship Construction

5 2 5

Weapons - Beams General Science Math Weapons Gravitational Weapons - Wormhole Facilities Terraforming Conditions Facilities Terraforming Value General Science Astrophysics Warp Point Manipulation General Science Ecology

5 3 2

2 3

General Science Ecology

Color Resolution

Space Empires III is designed to be run on a machine with a display of 256 colors or better. You receive even better performance from the game if you run in 16-bit color or better.

You can set you current color resolution by starting the Control Panel and then selecting Display. On the Settings tab there is a selection called color palette. Make sure that this is 256 colors or better.

Screen Resolution

Space Empires III has a lot of information to convey. Because of this, we designed the game for screen resolutions of 800x600 or better. The game is optimal at this resolution. You can play it larger and see even more.

If you cannot reach these levels in 256 colors, then you can still play the game in 640x480. Its just going to get a bit cramped. The Tactical Window will not be able to fit everything because the System Window will take up most of the space. To fit everything, we have made the following setup: The toolbar will be hidden. The Status Window will be minimized. The Ship List Window will be smaller than normal.

Only way to alleviate the problem is to overlap the windows and then use the F1-F4 keys to bring different windows to the front. Otherwise, you can use the special display modes in the System Window (See System Window Menu) to display the galaxy map on the system window. Youll have to play with these different options to see which one suits you best.

Game Windows

The following is a list of all of the game windows in Space Empires III:

Main Windows

Tactical Window System Window Status Window Ship List Window Galaxy Window

Designs Add Design Window Designs Window Load Designs Results Window Design Types Window Add Design Type Window Enemy Designs Window Design Report Window

Ships Ships List Window Ship Report Window Retrofit Ship Window Transfer Window Set Fleet Window

Empire Empire Options Window Empire Status Window Empire Expenses Window Empire Setup Window Production Output Window

Purchases

Add Purchase Window Purchases Window

Combat Combat Notification Window Combat Options Window Combat Simulation Window Strategic Combat Window Combat Piece Report Window Combat Strategy Window Tactical Combat Window Ground Combat Window Combat Targetings Window Combat To Hit Window

Planets Construction Queue Window All Known Planets List Window Player Planets List Window Planet Productions Window

Reports Component Report Window Facility Report Window Unit Report Window Weapons Report Window Empty Sector Report Window Sector Report Window

Options

Game Setup Window Machine Options Window

Intelligence Intelligence Window

Research Research Window

Repair Repair Priorities Window Repair/Construction Queue Window

Politics Politics Window Send Message Window Ally Treaties Window

Systems Find System Window

Miscellaneous Log Window Log Options Window Known Minefields Window Next Player Window Order Information Window Password Window Racial Advantages Window Registration Window

Restricted Systems Window Scores Window Starting Tech Levels Window Start Window System Display Window System Notes Window

Tactical Window

Please click on a region you would like information on.

This window is your main control center for the game. Each of the four smaller windows allows you to see the galaxy, different systems, and your ships. There is a toolbar at the top of the window with many speed buttons. Each of the buttons represents a menu item below.

Menu Items File New Load Save Starts a new game and takes you to the Game Setup Window. Displays a standard dialog which allows you to select a save game file to load. Display a standard dialog which allows you to specify a name and location for your save game file. This option allows you to specify that the game automatically save your game every so many turns. The game is saved in the savegame directory with the name autosave.gam. Displays the Machine Options Window. Ends the game. Displays the Design Types Window Displays the Designs Window Displays the Enemy Designs Window Displays the Combat Strategy Window Displays the Combat Simulation Window Displays the Component Report Window Displays the Weapons Report Window Displays the Unit Report Window Displays the Facility Report Window Displays the Ship List Window Displays the Player Planets List Window Displays the All Known Planets List Window Displays the Known Minefields Window Displays the Restricted Systems Window Displays the System Notes Window Displays the Empire Status Window Displays the Empire Options Window Displays the Log Window

AutoSave

Machine Options Exit Designs Design Types Ship Designs Enemy Designs Combat Strategy Combat Simulator Report Component Report Weapons Report Unit Report Facility Report Ship List Planet List All Known Planets Known Minefields Restricted Systems Edit System Notes Empire Status Options Events Log

Expenses Production Output Purchases Research Intelligence Politics Construct/Repair Priorities Construct/Repair Queues Planet Productions End Turn!

Displays the Empire Expenses Window Displays the Production Output Window Displays the Purchases Window Displays the Research Window Displays the Intelligence Window Displays the Politics Window Displays the Repair Priorities Window Displays the Repair/Construction Queue Window Displays the Planet Productions Window Ends your turn and allows the next player to take their turn. If the next player is a computer, then a small window will be displayed to tell you that they are taking their turn, When its your turn again, you will see the Next Player Window.

Game

Scores Edit Players

Displays the Scores Window Displays the Password Window after which, if you have entered the correct password, will display the Game Setup - Empires Window. The default password for all games is master. Cascades all of the windows within the Tactical window. This merely means that they will have their top left corners aligned in a descending order. Resizes all of the windows within the Tactical window so that they take up all of the available space evenly. Causes all of the windows within the Tactical window to be minimized. These selections allow you to revert the window settings to their startup positions for different screen resolutions. Displays the System Window Displays the Ships List Window Displays the Status Window Displays the Galaxy Window

Windows

Cascade

Tile

Minimize All Arrange

System Window Ship List Window Status Window Galaxy Window

Help

Help Topics Ordering Information Register About

Displays this Help File and shows you its contents. Displays the Order Information Window Displays the Registration Window Displays the About Window which presents information about the company and the credits for the game.

Buttons Load Game Save Game Ship Designs Enemy Designs Ship List Planet List All Planets List Expenses Purchases Research Intelligence Politics Repair Priorities Repair Queues Planet Productions Empires Status Empire Options Events Log Previous Planet Same as File - Load. Same as File - Save. Same as Designs - Ship Designs. Same as Designs - Enemy Designs. Same as Report - Ship List. Same as Report - Planet List. Same as Report - All Known Planets. Same as Empires - Expenses. Same as Empire - Purchases. Same as Empire - Research. Same as Empire - Intelligence. Same as Empire - Politics. Same as Empire - Construct/Repair Priorities. Same as Empire - Construct/Repair Queues. Same as Empire - Planet Productions. Same as Empire - Status. Same as Empire - Options. Same as Empire - Events Log. Changes the System Window and Galaxy Window to display the previous planet that you own. Changes the System Window and Galaxy Window to display the next planet that you own.

Next Planet

End Turn

Same as End Turn!

For a list of quick-keys that can be used in this window, see Keyboard Shortcuts.

System Window

This System window provides your main interface to the game. It displays the currently selected solar system in the Galaxy Window.

Each solar system is 13 sectors by 13 sectors with a sun typically occupying the center. When you left-click on a sector, your will make that sector the currently selected sector. It will be signified by being surrounded by a teal highlight box. When you select a sector, the ships in that sector will be displayed in the Ships List Window. In addition, information about the currently selected sector will be displayed in the Status Window.

The representation of the solar system is overlaid with information from your central computers. Ships that you can detect, including your own, are represented by their controlling empires icon. If they are in a sector that is not empty space, such as a planet, then only a small icon will be displayed in the upper-left hand corner of the sector. These small icons will also be used if there is more than one player in the same sector.

Planets that you own will display population bars in the upper-right hand corner. Each bar is representative of the a segment of population. One bar means that there are at least 1M people on the planet. Two bars means that there are at least 200M people on the planet. Three bars means that there are at least 1000M or 1 billion people on the planet.

In the bottom-right hand corner of sectors containing planets you own will sometimes be displayed a small S or R. These are displayed if there is a Spaceport or Resupply Depot on the planet. It is very useful to know the locations of these facilities at a strategic level because of their critical importance to military decisions.

You may also see a sector with a box around it and a small M in the bottom-right hand corner. This signifies that there is a Known Minefield in that sector. They will automatically be placed if your ships encounter a minefield, and will automatically be removed if your ships move through the sector and dont encounter any mines. Your ships will normally dodge any known minefields. To view a list of your known minefields, see the Known Minefields Window. For more details on the movement of your ships, see Ship Movement.

If you right-click on the system map you will get the System Window Menu.

For a list of quick-keys that can be used in this window, see Keyboard Shortcuts.

System Window Menu

If you right-click on the system map you will get the following menu:

This menu changes depending on where you click and if there are ships selected in the Ship List Window . The items at the top of this menu are dependent on there being selected ships. They detail what orders you can give to the selected ships. For more details on these see Ship Orders.

For example, if you left-click on a sector and make it the currently selected sector in the System Window, then all of the ships in that sector will be displayed in the Ship List Window. Then you can select ships in the Ship List Window to give orders to by highlighting them. You then return to the System Window and right-click on the sector where you wish the ships to go. When you rightclick, you will see the above menu be displayed. You can then select MoveTo, which will give the selected ships orders to move to the sector that you right-clicked on. The ships will immediately execute those orders and begin to move towards the sector.

Menu Items Attack

Sub-menu Items

Description Specifies that your selected ships in the Ships List Window should attack the enemy ships in this sector. Gives the selected ships in the Ship List Window orders to move to this location. Causes the selected ships in the Ship List Window to moveto this location and warp through the warp point in this sector. Gives the selected ships in the Ship List Window orders to moveto the nearest resupply depot and resupply. Causes any ships which are selected in the Ship List Window, and which have colony modules on them, to attempt to colonize the planet in this sector.

MoveTo Warp

Resupply at Nearest Colonize

Mines

Lay Mines

Gives the selected ships orders to moveto this

sector and lay mines. Sweep Mines Render Medical Aid Load Population Troops Fighters Mines Drop Population Troops Fighters Mines Stellar Manipulation Close Warp Point Create Storm Destroy Storm Create Planet Destroy Planet Create Sun Destroy Sun Sector Report Gives the selected ships order to moveto this sector and sweep for mines. Specifies that your selected ships in the Ship List Window should render medical aid to the planet in this sector. Loads population onto the selected ships from planets or bases in this sector. Loads troops onto the selected ships from planets or bases in this sector. Loads fighters onto the selected ships from planets or bases in this sector. Loads mines onto the selected ships from planets or bases in this sector. Drops population from the ships selected into any planets or bases in this sector. Drops troops from the ships selected into any planets or bases in this sector. Drops fighters from the ships selected into any planets or bases in this sector. Drops mines from the ships selected into any planets or bases in this sector. All selected ships attempt to close the warp point in this sector. All selected ships attempt to create a storm in this sector. All selected ships attempt to destroy a storm in this sector. All selected ships attempt to create a planet in this sector. All selected ships attempt to destroy the planet in this sector. All selected ships attempt to create a sun in this sector. All selected ships attempt to destroy the sun in this sector. Displays the Sector Report Window for this sector.

Planet Productions Construct\Repair Queues Add Purchase at Location Goto System Add Known Minefield Distance to Sector

Displays the Planet Productions Window for the planet you own in this sector. Displays the Repair/Construction Queue Window for this sector. Displays the Add Purchase Window with the current location highlighted in the locations list. Will take you to the system that this warp point connects to. Adds a known minefield at this location. See Known Minefields Window for more information. Displays the distance in sectors from the currently selected sector (the one with the teal box) to the sector you just right-clicked on. This will also work if the currently selected sector is in another system. The distance will be the shortest path in sectors. This menu item allows you to display the Galaxy Map within the System Window. This is useful when your screen resolution is at 640x480 and you cannot fit all of the windows on your screen. This menu item overlays the Galaxy Map on top of the System Map in the System Window. Once again, this is typically only used by players who cannot fit everything onto their screen. Show Warp Point Names Show Planet Names Show Resupply Depots\ Spaceports Toggles whether the warp point names are displayed under the pictures of the warp points. Toggles whether the planet names are displayed under the pictures of the planets. Toggles whether the small R and S are displayed in the bottom right-hand corner of a sector containing a planet when there are Resupply Depots and Spaceports present.

Galaxy Map

Overlay

Special Display

Status Window

The Status Window displays information about the currently selected sector in the System Window .

In the upper left hand is your empires icon, your empire name, and your player name.

On the right hand side, is information about the currently selected sector. Most of this information is only relevant if you have selected a sector in which there is a planet. The details will tell you the planet name, size, atmosphere type, conditions, and value. For more details see Planet Properties.

Galaxy Window

The Galaxy Window provides an interface to view the various solar systems in the galaxy and to be able to select them for display in the System Window .

At the top of the window is a gray bar which includes controls that effect how information in the Galaxy Window is displayed. The first two buttons, from the left, allow you to zoom in or out on

the displayed image of the galaxy. The combo box allows you to select the mode in which you view the Galaxy Window. The allowed modes are:

For all modes Dark Gray Light Gray Teal

For all modes the following colors apply. Unexplored. Youve been in this system before but you currently do not have a starship in it. It is the currently selected solar system. Its contents are displayed in the System Window .

Standard Other Colors

Displays each system with the colors of the players within it. If you have a starship within the system, then the circle for the system will be drawn in your empire color. If there are other players in the system as well, their color will be drawn in addition to your own.

Relations Red Yellow Blue

Displays each system based on your relations with it. Friendship is determined by whether you have a treaty better than None. You and an enemy empire are in the system. You and a friendly empire are in the system. Just you are in the system.

Space Ports Yellow Blue

Displays which systems you have spaceports in. You have planets in the system but you do not have a spaceport in the system. You have a spaceport in the system.

Resupply Depots Yellow Blue

Displays which systems you have resupply depots in. You have planets in the system but you do not have a resupply depot in the system. You have a resupply depot in the system.

Distance to

Displays a number indicating the distance in system units from this

Systems

system to the currently selected system.

The next button on the top bar looks like a magnifying glass. When this is pressed, the Find System Window will come up with all of the names of the systems you have ever seen. By doubleclicking one, you can jump directly to that system in the galaxy window.

The final button on the top bar is Lock Map. When this is depressed, the Galaxy Map will be locked to movement. When the Galaxy Map is locked, you can still select different solar systems, but you wont be able to click to center the map. You can turn this feature off by pressing the button again so that it pops up.

The galaxy map displays your current view of the galaxy. The circles represent the Solar System, and the lines between them represent the known Warp Point connections. If a system is dark gray, then you have never visited it before. It is Unexplored. If the system is light gray, than you have been into this system with starships before. The name of the system will be displayed to the lower right of the circle. Dotted lines emanating from a circle are the guessed warp point connections. They point in the direction where you think the warp point will connect to. Once a starship passes through the warp point, the dotted line will become a solid line.

By clicking on a system (circle), you will make that system the currently selected system. The circle will change to a teal color and the System Window will display that system. By clicking outside of the circles, you can move the galaxy map to display different sections of the galaxy. Where ever you click, the map will be centered on that location.

If you right-click on the galaxy map you will get the Galaxy Window Menu.

For a list of quick-keys that can be used in this window, see Keyboard Shortcuts.

Galaxy Window Menu

If you right-click on the galaxy map you will get the following menu:

This menu allows you to zoom in and zoom out. It also allows you to turn on or off the drawing of different elements of the map. For example, if you un-check the item named Grid Lines, the blue background grid lines to the map will not be drawn.

Menu Items Open Warp Point

Description If you have right clicked on a solar system, and have a ship available to open a warp point, then this menu item will open a warp point to that system. Displays the System Notes Window so you can enter notes for this solar system. Zooms in the galaxy window display. Zooms out the galaxy window display. Toggles whether the grid lines are drawn in the galaxy map. Toggles whether the solar system names are drawn in the galaxy map. Toggles whether the warp point lines are drawn in the galaxy map.

Edit Notes Zoom In Zoom Out Grid Lines Names Warp Lines

This menu is displayed by right-clicking on the Galaxy Window.

Ship List Window

The Ship List Window provides an interface to view the ships that are located in the currently selected sector on the System Window .

At the top of the window is a gray bar which includes controls that effect how information in the Ship List Window is displayed. The first two buttons, from the left, allow you to move through the ships you own that have movement points remaining. By clicking the Next and Previous Ship buttons, you will cause the System Window and Galaxy Window to change to view the next ship with movement.

The combo box allows you to select the mode in which you view the Ship List Window. The allowed modes are:

Normal Fleet Resupply Time Orders Cargo Only Show NonDamaged Only Show NonConstruction Only Show Non-Bases

Displays the ship movement remaining and the amount of damage taken for each of your ships. Displays the Fleet number for each of your ships. Displays the time left until your ships need to resupply. Displays the current orders for each of your ships. Display the description of the cargo that each of your ships are carrying. The Ship List will not display any of your ships which are damaged. The Ship List will not display any of your ships which are under construction. The Ship List will not display any of your bases. (Be careful that you dont leave the Ship List in this mode. You will not be able to see any of your bases when you

click on a sector).

The button on the right side of the combo box is the Select/Deselect button. Pressing this button will cause all of the ships in the list to become selected, and then when pressed again, they will be deselected.

The final two buttons on the top bar look a lot like the Next and Previous Ship buttons. These are actually the Next and Previous Fleet buttons. They work just like the Next and Previous buttons, but instead allow you to move through the different fleets that you have defined. They will move to the next fleet which has a ship with movement points remaining. Be careful, however, for if you have ships of the same fleet in two different locations, this feature will only take you to the first one. Also note that when the Ship List displays the ships for the sector, it will only highlight ships that belong to the current fleet.

Below the toolbar, is the header bar for the Ship List. This header bar allows you to change the size of the columns used to display information and to sort the ships in the list by that column. To resize the columns, click and hold between the sections of the headers and drag to the left or right. This will resize the column. If you want to sort the ships in the list, you can click the header section and the ships in the list will be sorted by that column. The sort criteria you select are remembered from turn to turn.

The list itself displays the ships that are in the currently selected sector of the System Window. Ships that you own will display all information available. Ships owned by other empires will only show limited information. The information displayed is which empire the ship belongs to, the picture of the ship, the name of the ship and its class (design), the size code for the ship and the design type, any status icons for this ship, the movement points remaining out of the total allowed, and finally the number of damage points the ship has taken out of the total amount it can take. Keep a close eye on the movement and the damage columns. You can use these to quickly determine the state of your ship. If it doesnt have any movement remaining then you wont be able to move it. You can also look at the status icons to get a quick overview of the status of your ship. A ships name and class will display in red if the ship needs to resupply. For more details see Ships.

When a sector is selected on the System Window, all of the ships that are in that sector will be displayed in the Ship List. In addition, all ships that you own, which have movement points remaining, will be highlighted in the list. Highlighted ships are the ships that you are currently giving orders to. When you right-click on the System Window and give MoveTo orders, you are giving them to all of the highlighted ships in the Ship List. For more details see Ship Orders.

Also note that the Ship List window will display ships for the currently selected sector even if that is not the system you are currently viewing in the System Window. At the top of the Ship List Window it states which system and sector the Ship List is currently displaying. If you want to give your ships orders to move to a far away system you merely have to select the sector they are in, highlight the ships you want to move in the Ship List Window, select a different solar system as the

currently selected system in the Galaxy Window, and then right-click and select MoveTo. Your ships will move from where they currently are to the location you just right-clicked on.

If you right-click on a ship in the ship list you will get the Ship List Window Menu.

For a list of quick-keys that can be used in this window, see Keyboard Shortcuts.

Ship List Window Menu

If you right-click on a ship in the ship list you will get the following menu:

This menu changes based on the ship that you select. If you select a ship that you do not own, you will get a completely different menu. The menu is specialized to the specific ship that you click on. Many of the options available are for the specific ship clicked on, but there are some that also effect all highlighted ships in the list. See below for more details. Since you can give many orders to the ships that you own, you will get a large menu (shown above). If you select enemy ships, you cannot give them orders but you may be able to get reports on them.

Right-Clicking on ships that you own:

Menu Items Ship Report

Sub-menu Items

Description Displays the Ship Report Window for this ship.

Transfer

Displays the Transfer Window to transfer cargo between the ships and planets in this sector. Retrofit Ship Retrofit Selected Ships Displays the Retrofit Ship Window for this ship so it can be retrofitted. If you have selected multiple ships in the Ship List Window, selecting this menu item will attempt to retrofit them to a new design. The Retrofit Ship Window will be displayed to allow you to select the design to retrofit to. The ships that you select should all be of the same design. If they are different, only ships of the same design as the first selected ship will be used. Scraps this ship. If you have selected multiple ships in the Ship List Window, then this menu item will attempt to scrap all of the selected ships. Deconstructs and analyzes this ship. Causes this ship to self destruct. Causes any ships in the sector to fire on and destroy this ship. This menu item is only available if you rightclick on a mine and wish to self destruct all of the selected mines in the Ship List Window. Gives this ship orders to resupply at nearest. Gives all selected ships orders to resupply at nearest. Gives this ship orders to resupply at the nearest location, then gives the ship orders to move back to this sector. Gives all selected ships orders to resupply at the nearest location, then move back to this sector. Gives this ship orders to repair at nearest. Gives all selected ships orders to repair at nearest. Clears what ever orders this ship has.

Modify Ship

Scrap Ship Scrap Selected Ships Deconstruct and Analyze Self Destruct Fire on ship and destroy Self Destruct selected mines Resupply Resupply at Nearest Resupply Selected Ships at Nearest Resupply and Return Resupply and Return Selected Ships Repair Repair at Nearest Repair Selected Ships at Nearest Clear Orders Clear Orders

Clear Selected Ships Orders Halt Halt Ship Halt Selected Ships Sentry Sentry Ship Sentry Selected Ships Repeat Orders Yes No

Clears the orders for all selected ships. Halts this ship. Halts all selected ships. Gives the Sentry order to this ship. Gives the Sentry order to all selected ships. Tells this ship to repeat its orders when it has completed them. Tells this ship to stop repeating its orders, and just normally clear its orders when it has completed them. Causes all selected ships to immediately cloak. Causes all selected ships to immediately decloak. Orders this ship to use its emergency energy pods. Orders this ship to use its emergency resupply pods. Clears the fleet setting of all ships that are currently highlighted. Displays the Set Fleet Window to set the new fleet number for all of the currently highlighted ships. Highlights all of the ships in the list that are of the same fleet as the ship that was rightclicked on. Automatically selects all of the ships in the Ship List Window. Clears all ship selections in the Ship List Window.

Cloaking

Cloak Selected Ships Decloak Selected Ship

Emergency Pods

Use Energy Pods Use Resupply Pods

Fleets

Clear Selected Ships Fleet Set Selected Ships Fleet Highlight Ships of this Fleet

Select All Select None

Right-Clicking on ships of other empires:

Menu Items

Sub-menu Items

Description

Enemy Design Report

If this is a ship that has a design that you have seen in battle, then this option will be displayed. When selected, the Design Report Window will be displayed showing you what you know about the enemy ship design. For more details on enemy ship designs, see Enemy Designs Window . If you have a ship with a Long Range Scanners Component on it, you may be able to scan this enemy ship and see its specific details. For more details on this, see the Long Range Scan Order .

Long Range Scan

For information on the orders that you can give ships, see Ship Orders .

Ship Status Icons

In the Ship List Window, and in the Ships List Window, you will notice small icons that are displayed next to a ship. These icons are a quick way for you to see that ships status. Each of the icons is displayed below with its meaning.

Icon

Name Needs Resupply

Description This icon is displayed if your ship needs to resupply (the ships name will also be displayed in red). This ship is currently under construction.

Under Construction

Damaged

This ship is damaged.

Sentry

This ship is executing a sentry order.

Cloaked

This ship is currently cloaked (the ships picture will also be surrounded by a dotted box). This ship has a space yard on it.

Space Yard

Repeat Orders

This ship is currently repeating its orders list.

Design Types Window

This window allows players to add, edit and delete any of their Ship Design Types .

Options available are: Add Edit Delete Add a new ship design type. Displays the Add Design Type Window. Edit an existing ship design type. Displays the Add Design Type Window. Delete an existing ship design type. This option is only available if the selected design type is not currently in use by a ship design. This will present the player with a file dialog to select the ship design type file to load. Loading design types will completely overwrite and replace the existing design types.

Load Types

Save Types

This will present the player with a file dialog to select the file to save the design types in. This file of design types can then be loaded into future games.

Designs Window

This window allows creation and modification of an empires Ship Designs . The header bar allows the player to sort the list of designs by any given criteria. These sort options will be remembered for the next time the player uses this window.

There are two types of designs shown in this list. They are classified as either Normal designs or Prototype designs. The distinction is whether the design has been purchased yet or not. Prototype designs will have the words [Prototype] below the design name. Different options are available for designs depending on whether they are Prototypes or not. A prototype is a design that has never actually been purchased, and so it can be edited or deleted at leisure. Once a design has been

purchased, it is being used in the game. When a ship is no longer a prototype, it cannot be edited or deleted. You can always view or copy a design.

Since you cannot delete designs that have been used, the game does it automatically for you. The game knows that you do not want to keep a design around if you mark it as obsolete. The game will automatically delete all designs marked as obsolete when they are no longer needed. You can mark a design as obsolete in the Design Report Window.

Options available are: View Add Displays the Design Report Window for the selected design. Displays the Add Design Window to create a new design. When a new design is added, it is immediately classified as a prototype. Displays the Add Design Window to edit a copy of the selected design. Displays the Add Design Window to edit the selected design. This option is only available if the selected design is a prototype. Deletes the selected design. This option is only available if the selected design is a prototype. This option allows the player to load a file containing a set of designs saved previously. There are various criteria that need to be met for a design to be loaded and these will be displayed in the Load Designs Results Window. Allows the player to select a file to save the current list of designs to. These designs can then be loaded into future games. This button toggles whether obsolete designs are shown in the list.

Copy Edit

Delete Load Designs

Save Designs

Hide Obsolete

See Ship Design for more information.

Add Design Type Window

Use this dialog to enter or edit a design type. The code is a 3 letter abbreviation for the design type that will be displayed in the Ship List Window. Each design type has a unique code. The description is the longer descriptive name for the type. For example, your defensive bases might use a design type with a code of DFB and a description of Defense Base.

See Ship Design for more information.

Combat Strategy Window

This window allows a player to specify what strategies will be used by each design when engaged in combat. These strategies are only used when the computer controls an empires ships such as in Strategic Combat or in Tactical Combat when the player wishes it. Each ship a player owns, that is of a particular design, will use the strategy specified for that design in this window.

Movement This section allows the player to specify for the selected design what movement strategy to employ. Selections are grouped by opponent strength in relation to your own (total fleet strength ratio). It is also subdivided into whether your ships are attacking or defending. This section is not available when you are giving combat strategies to planets. The selection options are: Retreat Dont Get Hurt Your ships will retreat out of combat immediately. Your ships will stay outside of the weapons range of enemy ships. This is a good selection for carriers which need to remain in combat but shouldnt directly engage the enemy. Your ships will attempt to close with an enemy planet and drop troops on it. If there is no planet, then this is the same as Dont Get Hurt. Your ships will move to the maximum weapons range where they can hurt enemy forces. Your ships will move to the location where they do the most damage and take the least. This is the ideal firing situation. This situation changes when you are the attacker, in that, it is assumed that the attacker wishes to destroy the enemy. If it is determined that the attacking ships cannot do enough damage at their present location to destroy the enemy ships, then they will move in closer to a point where they will destroy the enemy ships. This may mean that the attacking ships will take a lot of damage, but they will destroy their targets. Your ships will charge the enemy ships and move to zero distance with its enemy target. This does not mean that they will ram the enemy ship. There is no ramming in Space Empires III. Your ships (if they have boarding parties) will attempt to move to point blank range with their enemy target and board them. If your ship does not have boarding parties or cannot board because its targets shields are up, this option will work just like Dont Get Hurt, until the time when they can successfully board their target.

Drop Troops (if carrying)

Maximum Weapons Range Optimal Weapons Range

Point Blank

Board Enemy Ships

Targeting This section allows the player to specify what the targeting criteria are for the current design. The following selections can be made: Linked Targeting Linked Targeting determines whether a given ship in combat will take into account the targeting of the other ships on its side. For example, you have 3 ships in combat and 2 are firing on a small

destroyer. With linked targeting on, the 3rd ship will take into account that the first 2 ships are firing on the enemy destroyer when deciding who it should fire on. It uses the Kill Factor below to determine how much damage that is needed to be done to the destroyer. If the 3rd ship calculates that the first 2 ships will destroy the destroyer with their firing, then the 3rd ship will target a different ship so as to do as much damage to enemy ships as possible. Linked Targeting provides a method for ships to work as a team when targeting and not to bunch up their fire on a single target. Kill Factor Kill Factor is how much damage your ships should try to do when targeting enemy ships. If the factor is 1.5, then when your ships are targeting enemy ships, they will assign enough weapons to do at least 1.5 times the amount of damage to the ship as it could actually take. The reason these factors go beyond 1.0 are because of weapons missing when they fire. You cant be assured that all targeted weapons will actually hit the target. Its a good precaution to assign extra weapons to be sure the job gets done. The general priorities are used by your ships in picking an enemy ship to fire on. The computer makes a list of all enemy targets and then sorts the list by the criteria here. Priorities include Nearest, Type, Largest, Most Damaged, and Fastest. These priorities can also be inverted so that something like Largest will become Smallest, Fastest will become Slowest. The priority Type refers to the type of the ship and uses the Type Priorities list to do a sort based on the types specified. For example, if you specify Nearest, Type, and then Largest, the list will be sorted such that the enemy ships are in order of distance to the current ship with the nearest being first. Next, for all of the ships that are at the same distance, they will be sorted by the Type of the ship (the order of the types is specified in the Type Priorities List). Next for all of the ships that are at the same distance, and are of the same Type, they will be sorted according to Size, with the largest being first. You get the idea. The Type Priorities specify how you want enemy ships to be sorted when the Type priority is selected in the General Priorities list. Items that are red in the list have been marked as Dont Fire On. This means that if there are ships other than this type, fire on them first. This is used for ship types that typically are no threat and can be saved until the end of combat to kill. Items in the Type Priorities List are sorted in the order they are listed.

General Priorities

Type Priorities

Controls Design Report Press this button to go to the Design Report Window for the design of this ship.

Ship Report Window

The Ship Report Window displays information about a Starship.

Ship Statistics This section details general information about the current status of the ship. Name The name of the ship. When a ship is first created, the default name is the class name plus a number identifier. You can change the name of a ship by pressing the Rename Ship button. The class (design) name of this ship. You can view the Ship Design by pressing the Design Report button. This is the Ship Size of the ship. The size of the ship is selected when its design is made. See Ship Sizes for more information. This is the Ship Design Type. The current status of the starship. The possible values are Normal, Under Construction, and Cloaked. When a ship is first purchased, it has a status of Under Construction. Once the ship

Class Size Type Status

is fully constructed, the status will change to Normal. Cloaked status is invoked when a ship cloaks. Movement The number of movement points remaining out of the total available. The total available is based on how many engine components are functioning, and if there is a Bridge, Life Support, and Crew Quarters. See Ship Movement for more information on how movement is determined. The total number of shields this ship will generate when it enters combat. See Ship Shields for more information. The time remaining before this ship must Resupply. See Ship Resupply for more information on resupplying ships. The fleet number that this ship belongs to. Any bonus that this ship has. A bonus is given to a ship if it was constructed at a site where there is a Military College. For more information see Facilities .

Shields Resupply Time Fleet Bonus

Orders This is a list of the orders that this ship currently has. For more information on orders see Ship Orders .

Cargo This displays a list of the items of cargo this ship is transporting. These will always be a particular Unit or Population. See Ship Cargo for more information.

Ship Components This list displays the Ship Components that are on the ship. At the left is the picture of the component. If the component is unconstructed as yet, it will show an unconstructed picture. If the component has been destroyed, then the picture will be a destroyed picture. Next to the picture is the name of the component. Next is the location of the component in the ship. The three areas are Armor, Outer Hull, and Inner Hull. See Ship Sections for more information. You can double-click on a component to get the Component Report Window , or press the Comp Report button. Press the Weapons Report button to get the Weapons Report Window . Press the Comp View button to have the list just display the component picture without any name or section.

Controls Design Report Rename Ship Press this button to go to the Design Report Window for the design of this ship. Allows the player to rename the ship.

Jettison Cargo

This button will jettison all of the cargo you have on the ship. The cargo is lost for good once jettisoned.

See Ships for more information.

Design Report Window

The Design Report Window displays information about a Ship Design .

Ship Design Statistics This section details summary information about the design. Name Size The name of the design. This name is unique among all designs. This is the Ship Size of the design. The size of the design is selected when the design is made. See Ship Sizes for more information. This is the Ship Design Type. The number of total movement points available for a ship of this design. See Ship Movement for more information on how

Type Movement

movement is determined. Shields Year Designed Cost Population Troop Spaces Fighter Spaces Mine Spaces Design Obsolete The total number of shields a ship of this design will generate when it enters combat. See Ship Shields for more information. The year that this design was created. The current year of the game is shown at the top of the Galaxy Window . The cost of purchasing this design in Construction Points. The amount of Population a ship of this design could transport. The amount of troop spaces (Unit Spaces) a ship of this design could transport. The amount of fighter spaces (Unit Spaces) a ship of this design could transport. The amount of mine spaces (Unit Spaces) a ship of this design could transport. This checkbox signifies whether this design is obsolete. By checking this, the design will not be displayed in the Add Purchase Window .

Ship Design Components This list displays the Ship Components that are on the design. At the left is the picture of the component. Next to the picture is the name of the component. Next is the location of the component in the design. The three areas are Armor, Outer Hull, and Inner Hull. See Ship Sections for more information. You can double-click on a component to get the Component Report Window , or press the Comp Report button. Press the Weapons Report button to get the Weapons Report Window .

Controls Combat Strategy Pressing this button will take you to the Combat Strategy Window for this design. In this way, you can be sure that your combat strategies are correct when the computer is controlling your ships (such as in Strategic Combat).

See Ship Design for more information.

Add Design Window

This window is used for Adding, Editing, and Copying Ship Designs .

Components Available Component Type This combobox allows the player to specify what component types are displayed in the Component List. For example, if the player selects Engines, then only engine component types will be displayed in the Component List. This lists the available components for use by your empire on starships. The list will only display components that your empire has researched and has knowledge of. The list displays the picture of the component, name of the component, spaces that the component takes up in a ship, cost of the component, and year that the component was discovered. You can doubleclick on this list to add the component to the current section of the design. Press this button to display the Component Report Window for selected component. Press this button to display the Weapons Report Window . This button toggles between Show Latest Only and Show All. If the button is pressed when it says Show Latest Only, the Component List will be restricted to only the most advanced component of each type.

Component List

Comp Report Weapons Report Show Latest Only

Statistics Spaces Remaining The number of spaces used in the design out of the total number available. The total number of spaces on a ship is determined by its Ship Size . See Ship Sizes for a list of the spaces for each size. The number of movement points a ship of this design will get each turn. In parenthesis is an indicator of how many engines are required to receive 1 movement point. The number of movement points per engine is based on ship size and is listed Ship Sizes. For more information on ship movement calculation see Ship Movement . This is the total amount of shields that a ship of this design will receive when it is in combat. See Ship Shields for more information. This is the amount of Population that a ship of this design could transport. This is the amount Unit Spaces that a ship of this design could transport. The numbers are in the order Troops / Fighters / Mines. This is the total cost in Construction Points of the design. The number in parenthesis is the cost of the Ship Size. See Ship Sizes for a list of the costs for each size.

Effective Movement

Effective Shielding Transport Capacity Unit Spaces Cost

Current Ship Design Ship Size This combo box will allow you select a Ship Size for the current design. The list displays all of the ship sizes that your empire currently has the technology for. When you select a size all of the values for the design will be cleared (including any existing components). See Ship Sizes for a list of the available sizes. This combo box displays a list of all of the Ship Design Type that have been defined. You define Design Types in the Design Types Window . You do not need to set this item. It is optional. This combo box allows you to select a design name from the list or type one in. The list is comprised of the design names from the Design Names File you chose for your empire. This option button changes the Component List to display the components in the Armor section of the design. See Ship Sections for more information. This option button changes the Component List to display the components in the Outer Hull section of the design. See Ship Sections for more information. This option button changes the Component List to display the components in the Inner Hull section of the design. See Ship Sections for more information.

Design Type

Name

Armor Outer Hull

Inner Hull

Component List

This list displays all of the components that are in the currently selected section of the design. When adding, removing, or replacing components, they will be placed into the current section. At the bottom of the list is a percentage and a cost. The percentage is the percentage of spaces used in this section to the total spaces available in the design. Use this percentage to determine if you have overfilled a section of the design. The cost is the total cost for the components in this section of the design. This button will add the selected component in the Components Available List to the Current Ship Design list. You can also double-click on the Components Available List to perform the same function. This button will remove the currently selected component from the Current Ship Design List. This button will replace the currently selected component from the Current Ship Design List with the currently selected component from the Components Available List.

Add

Remove Replace

Requirements Warnings Warning Listing This displays a list of warning text about your design. If there is a warning in the list then you will not be able to save this design. Common items are There must be at least one Bridge on a ship, and There must be at least 2 Life Support components on a ship. When there are warning messages, modify your design until they all disappear.

See Ship Design for more information.

Load Designs Results Window

This dialog is displayed from the Designs Window when you select to Load Designs. The list will display the result of attempting to load each design that was in the file. Common reasons you cannot load a design are that the name is already in use, or your current empire does not have sufficient tech to support the design.

Purchases Window

This window displays the current purchase queue for your empire. The list is ordered from top to bottom such that at the end of your turn (see Processing after your turn ), your remaining construction points will be spent on the first item in the list. If that is successfully purchased, it will be removed from the list, and the next one in line will be attempted. This will continue until the list is empty, or you have run out of construction points.

Each row will be displayed in either white or red. If a row is displayed in white, then based on your current expenses, you will be able to purchase this item at the end of your turn. If the row is displayed in red, then you will not be able to purchase the item. The items will be purchased in the order they are in the list, from top to bottom.

You can sort items in the list by pressing the buttons at the top of each column.

Controls Add Take you to the Add Purchase Window.

Delete Move Up Move Down Total that can be afforded Construction Points Available

Deletes the currently selected item in the list. Moves the currently selected item up one row in the list. Moves the currently selected item down one row in the list. This is a total of all of the rows that are displayed in white. It shows you the total of the items that do not total more than the Construction Points Available. This is the calculated construction points that you will have available for new purchases. To see how this number is calculated, go to the Empire Expenses Window.

See Ship Purchases for more information.

Add Purchase Window

This window allows you to select an item to purchase, how many of that item you wish to purchase, and where you wish to purchase these items.

Items for Purchase Items List This list displays the 3 things that you can purchase at an empire level: Ships, Fighters, and Mines. Ships are shown as the designs that the ship can be based off of. Only designs which are not marked as Obsolete are shown (see Ship Design). Items in this list can be sorted by pressing the buttons at the top of each column. Only one item can be selected in this list at a time. Item Report Show Latest Only Displays a report dialog about the selected item. This can be either the Ship Report Window or Unit Report Window. Selecting this will have the Items List only display the latest of each type of item. This only applies to Fighters and Mines which have a direct line of tech improvement. This selection will be remembered for the next time you come into this window. This specifies the number of items PER location that you wish to purchase. For example, if you select a fighter then set the amount to purchase to 3, and then you select 2 different locations, you will return to the purchases list and see 6 fighters. 3 fighters will be purchased for the first location, 3 for the second location.

Amount to Purchase

Select locations to purchase items at Locations List This list displays all of the locations in the galaxy where you have a space yard. Typically this is planets which have achieved a sufficient population, but it can also be ships that have a space yard component on board. Be warned, however, that if you purchase something for a location, and then move the space yard away, the item will sit unconstructed. You can select multiple items in this list. You will purchase the specified Amount to Purchase for each location selected in this list. You can sort the items in this list by pressing the buttons at the top of each column. Prch This column displays the number of items that are in your purchases queue for this location. So if you see a 3 here, then when you go to the Purchases Window , you will see 3 items in the list for this location. This is a helpful guide so that you know how many items you have already purchased for each location. This column displays how many space yards you have at this location. This column displays how long it will take to complete the selected Item at this location. The time takes into account items that are already being constructed/repaired at the location in addition to the time it will

SY Time

take to construct the selected item.

Other Controls View Repair Queues Planet Productions OK Displays the Repair/Construction Queue Window. Displays the Planet Productions Window for the first selected planet in the locations list. Pressing this means that you want to add the selected items to your purchases queue. This will close the window and return you to the Purchases Window. You should now see the item you selected at the bottom of the list. Note: If you add a purchase to your purchases queue that you want to get rid of, there is a Delete feature in the Purchases Window. Cancel Pressing this means that you do not want to purchase the selected item. This will close the window and return you to the Purchases Window without making any changes to it.

See Ship Purchases for more information.

Component Report Window

This window displays information about the Components your empire possesses and can use on its starships. For more information on the properties of a component, see Component Properties.

Controls Component Type This restricts the components that you can see to just components of this type. When you scroll the scroll bar, you will be moving through only components of this type. Displays the components you have discovered. If the Component Type selected is All, then moving this scroll bar will display all of the components you know of. If the Component Type is set to something specific, then this scroll bar will only display components of the selected type. Displays the Weapons Report Window. It does not matter what components you are looking at when you press this button.

Scroll Bar

Weapons Report

See Components for more information.

Weapons Report Window

This window displays information about the Weapons your empire possesses and can use on its starships. This windows main purpose is to allow you to compare the different weapons against each other to pick which you like the best. The list displays properties such as Spaces, Cost, and Rate. It also details exactly what damage will be done by the weapon at different ranges from the firing ship.

Note: The values showed for seekers are if the seeking weapon is not fired upon. If it is, it will have a much shorter range and possibly less damage. For more details see Weapon Firing Types.

Also Note: This window does not indicate what type of damage each weapon does. This means that a weapon may look poor because it only does one point of damage at all distances. Keep in mind that it may do a special type of damage such as skipping shields or destroying only weapons. For more details see Weapon Damage Types.

Controls Weapon Type Allows you to choose either All, Direct Fire, or Seeking Weapons. When chosen, the list will only display weapons of that type.

Damage at Range

Details the amount of damage that is expected to be done at each square in distance from the firing ship. This is assuming that the weapon hits its target and isnt obstructed in any way. Selecting this will display only the latest weapons in the list of each type.

Show Latest Only

See Weapons for more information.

Facility Report Window

This window displays information about the Facilities your empire possesses and can construct on its planets. For more information on the properties of a facility, see Facility Properties.

Controls Facility Type This restricts the facilities that you can see to just facilities of this type. When you scroll the scroll bar, you will be moving through only facilities of this type. Displays the facilities you have discovered. If the Facility Type selected is All, then moving this scroll bar will display all of the facilities you know of. If the Facility Type is set to something specific, then this scroll bar will only display facilities of the selected type.

Scroll Bar

See Facilities for more information.

Unit Report Window

This window displays information about the Units your empire possesses and can utilize. For more information on the properties of a unit, see Unit Properties.

Controls Unit Type This restricts the units that you can see to just units of this type. When you scroll the scroll bar, you will be moving through only units of this type. Displays the units you have discovered. If the Unit Type selected is All, then moving this scroll bar will display all of the units you know of. If the Unit Type is set to something specific, then this scroll bar will only display units of the selected type.

Scroll Bar

See Units for more information.

Sector Report Window

This window displays information about the currently selected sector in the System Window. There are two different versions of this window. This window is displayed if a report is requested on a sector that contains a planet or asteroid belt. If the sector does not contain one of these, then you will see the Empty Sector Report Window.

Planet Information The top section of this window displays information about the planet. To see more details on these items, see Planet Properties.

Owner Information If the planet is inhabited, then there will be a second section to the dialog. It displays basic information about the inhabitants of the planet such as the owning empire, population, number of facilities on the planet, and number of units on the planet.

Controls Productions This button will be enabled if the planet has a population on it that you own. Pressing this button will take you to the Planet Productions Window for this planet.

See Planets for more information.

Empty Sector Report Window

This window displays information about the currently selected sector in the System Window. There are two different versions of this window. This window is displayed if a report is requested on a sector which does not contain a planet or asteroid belt. If the sector does contain one of these, then you will see the Sector Report Window .

The only information displayed for an empty sector is the system name, sector number, and a description of what is in the sector. See Structure of the Galaxy for more information.

Transfer Window

This window allows you to transfer cargo between ships, planets, and bases in the same sector. Only ships which have some sort of cargo capacity will be displayed in the Transfer Window.

An example of how to transfer cargo between a planet and a ship First off, lets assume that you have purchased fighters on a planet and want to transfer them onto a carrier that is in the same sector.

Moving Items The first thing to do is to be sure that the planet is in one list and that the ship is in the other list. It doesnt matter which list each is in, just as long as they are in opposite lists. If they arent in opposite lists, then you can select one of the items, and use the Move Items to List buttons to move it to the other list.

Selecting the Items Next, you need to select the planet in one list, and then select the ship in the other list. You select them by clicking on them in the list. This will highlight them.

Choosing the Cargo Type Next you need to select what type of cargo you wish to transfer. Look through the Cargo List and select the cargo type you wish to transfer(in this example, you would be selecting the type of fighters that you have on the planet). When you do select it, you will see the two lists change to display how much space and amount of that unit each item has. The planet should show that there are a few units on it already. The ship (carrier) should show that it does not have any units on it.

Moving Cargo You can use the Transfer Cargo buttons to actually move the cargo from the planet to the carrier. You can use the single arrows to transfer one unit at a time, or use the double arrows to transfer as much as the planet has, and can fit on the carrier. When you are done, the list will show that there are now units on the carrier and less on the planet. You can hit Close at any time to return to the System Window.

Controls Lists This window is mainly composed of two lists, one on the left and one on the right. These lists display the ships, bases, and planets that are in the current sector. It does not matter which list an item is in as long as the two items you wish to transfer cargo between are in different lists. The lists allow you to select which items you want to transfer between. The lists will also display information about each item. For population, they will show how much population out of total that can be stored. For units, the lists will display how many units are currently being stored, and how many spaces they take up out of the total that can be stored. This list displays all of the different cargo types that are present on the items in the lists. When you select a cargo type, the lists will change to display storage information for each item about the cargo type. When you actually transfer cargo, you will be transferring cargo of the type selected in this list. If a unit is selected as the cargo type, then this button will be enabled. Pressing it will display the Unit Report Window. The spaces required will only be displayed if a unit type is selected in the cargo list. This will display the number of spaces that the selected unit type requires. These buttons transfer the selected cargo type in the cargo list, between the two items selected in the two lists. The single arrow buttons transfer 1 of the cargo type with each press. The double arrow buttons transfer all of the available cargo that the destination ship can fit. These buttons will move items from one list to another. They operate on the currently selected item in each list.

Cargo List

Unit Report Spaces Required

Transfer Cargo

Move Items to List

See Ship Cargo and Transfer Cargo Order for more information.

Retrofit Ship Window

This window allows you to select the design that you would like to retrofit the selected ship to.

Controls Ship to Retrofit Info New Design To Change Ship To This box displays information about the currently selected ship. Pressing this button will display the Ship Report Window for the currently selected ship. This list displays all of the designs that you can retrofit the currently selected ship to. This list will only display designs that are not obsolete, and which are of the same size as the currently selected ship. The columns display information about the design including how much it will cost to retrofit to that design. You must select a design in this list before pressing OK. Displays the Design Report Window for the currently selected design in the design list.

View

See Retrofit Order for more information.

Enemy Designs Window

This window displays all of the enemy designs that you have encountered in combat. Designs are automatically added to this list anytime you engage in combat with a ship design that is not already on this list.

Controls Enemy Design List This list displays all of the enemy designs that you have encountered in combat. The columns display information such as name, owning empire, and the date you encountered the design last. By pressing the header buttons you can sort the list by any of the displayed criteria. These sort options will be remembered for each time you open the window.

Header Buttons

View

This displays the Design Report Window for the selected enemy design.

You can engage in mock combat against enemy designs you have encountered by using Combat Simulation.

See Combat for more information.

Empire Options Window

There are 5 tabs to the Empire Options Window. They are:

Empire Options - Windows Window Empire Options - Resupply Window Empire Options - Ship Orders Window Empire Options - Ministers Window Empire Options - Minister Styles Window

Empire Options - Windows Window

These selections control the warning windows and general options that are displayed. By unselecting these, you are saying that you do not want the warning or option to be used. Experienced players should turn these off.

Empire Options - Resupply Window

These selections allow you to specify the time at which you will get a resupply warning. The first is for ships, the second is for baseships (if you have them). The number of turns is how long before you reach 0 resupply time that you should get the warning. For example, if the setting is 5, then you will get a warning when the ships is at 0.5 years of resupply time or less. The resupply warning is displayed to you be the name of your ship being displayed in red in the Ship List Window. For more details, see Ship Resupply.

Empire Options - Ship Orders Window

Delay when executing ship orders When your ships execute their orders, there is a slight delay so that you can see your ships in action. If you increase this number, then your ships will move slower. If this number is decreased, then the delay for your ships will get smaller. You should adjust this number based on the speed of your machine and personal preference.

If you set this number to zero, there will be no delay at all in executing the orders of your ships. With no delay, they will execute VERY fast. The result is sort of a flash of solar systems being displayed and ships zipping here and there faster than you can track with your eyes. When you become an experienced player, we recommend setting this number to zero.

Clear orders for our ship These option buttons allow you to select what happens when a ship enters a system and there is another empire present in the system. You can have the ship automatically clear its orders if it encounters either an enemy presence or any other empire at all. So if you select Ignore all other Empire, then when your ship is executing orders and comes into a system where there is another empire, it will essentially ignore that empire and continue executing its orders. If you select Enemy or neutral empires, then when your ship enters a system with an enemy presence, it will clear its orders and sit waiting for you to give it new orders.

Empire Options - Ministers Window

Ministers are essentially computer players. By selecting these items you can have the computer take care of parts of your empire. For example, if you select Ship Design, then the computer will automatically design ships for you. If you select Colonizing, then the computer will automatically give orders to your colonizing ships for you. If you are going to use the Ministers, we suggest that you also set the Minister Styles to reflect your personal tastes.

For more information about what each minister does, see Ministers.

Empire Options - Minister Styles Window

These are styles which tell the computer players (your ministers) how to run your empire. These setting only have an effect if you have selected at least 1 minister to use in the Ministers Window. These are basically settings which specify the personality and attitude of your empire. You use these to have your ministers carry on in the same style that you would play.

For more information about what each minister does, see Ministers.

Empire Status Window

There are 5 tabs to the Empire Status Window. They are:

Empire Status - General Window Empire Status - Ships Window Empire Status - Planets Window Empire Status - Facilities Window Empire Status - Racial Advantages

Empire Status - General Window

This tab displays general summary information about your Empire. Items such as your home planet, home atmosphere type, and current points are displayed.

See Points for more information.

Empire Status - Ships Window

This tab displays general summary information about the ships you own. It displays what percentage of the ships design cost that you pay in maintenance each turn, and gives total numbers of your ships by size. It also displays the total number of each type of unit that is currently being carried on your ships as cargo.

See Ships for more information.

Empire Status - Planets Window

This tab displays general summary information about the planets you own. Items such as your reproduction rate, population needed for a space yard, number of planets, and moods totals are displayed. It also displays the total number of each type of unit that is currently on your planets.

See Planets for more information.

Empire Status - Facilities Window

This tab displays general summary information about the facilities you own. It displays points generated, number of facilities of basic types, and numbers of basic facilities that are in your planets construction queues.

See Planets , Facilities , and Planet Construction for more information.

Empire Status - Racial Advantages

This tab displays the racial advantages that you have selected for your empire.

See Racial Advantages Window for more information.

Empire Setup Window

This window allows you to set the basic attributes for a new empire.

Controls Empire Name Player Name Password This combo box allows you to type in or select a name for your empire. This edit box allows you to type in your name. This is an optional entry which allows you to require a password for entry to your turn. If you do not enter anything here, then no password will be required for your turn. If you do enter one, then you will be required to enter the password at the beginning of each turn in the Next Player Window. It is highly recommended that you do NOT put a password in one player games. Design Names File This combo box allows you to select a design names file for your empire. The design names file is a text file which contains a list of names that you can choose from when creating new designs in the Add Design Window. See Design Names Files for more information. This list displays the empire icons and ship styles that you can choose from. The one you select will be the graphics which will represent your

Empire Icon and Ship

Style

empire for the rest of the game. The game comes with a set of standard ship style bitmaps, but you can also create your own. See Ship Style Bitmaps for more information. Pressing this will display the Racial Advantages Window which will allow you to select the racial advantages for your empire. This will only be enabled if you have selected the option for racial advantages in the Game Setup - Balance Window. Pressing this will display the Starting Tech Levels Window which will allow you to select the starting tech levels for your empire. This will only be enabled if you have selected the option for starting tech levels in the Game Setup - Balance Window. This check box selects whether you want this empire to be computer controlled or not. If you select this, then you will also need to select the computer difficult and personality as well. Pressing this button will take you to the Empire Options - Minister Styles Window to set the personality and styles that this computer player will use. This combo box allows you to select the difficulty of this computer controlled empire. Easy means that the computer players are fairly dumb and not much of a challenge. Difficult mean that they are very smart and pose a real threat. This button allows you to load an empire setup file that was saved at a previous time. If you cannot get all of your selections from the setup file, then you will need to select them. For example, if you saved your empire setup with 20 tech levels selected, and yet this game allows you to pick 100, then you will need to go in and pick them after loading your empire. This button allows you to save your empire definition to an external file. If you find that you use a certain setup often, then you can save it and just load it the next time.

Racial Advantages

Starting Tech Levels

Computer Controlled

Personality

Computer Difficulty

Load

Save

See Game Setup for more information.

Production Output Window

This window allows you to set the production output percentage for all of your planets. This window displays your total empire population and the break down of how many planets are at each different mood. By setting the empires production output percentage, and then pressing the Set all Planets button, you can set all of your planets to the same production output percentage.

See Planet Populations for more information.

Research Window

This window allows you to set the amount of spending your empire performs in each different technology area that you know of.

Research List Research Area This column displays the name of the research area. Only technology areas that you know of are displayed in the list. If the name is displayed in white, then it is available for research but has no percent allocated to it yet. If it is displayed in yellow, then it has a percentage greater than zero assigned. If it is displayed in green, then it is estimated that you will achieve this tech level next turn based on your current spending. If it is displayed in dark gray, then you have reached the maximum tech level in that area and you cannot allocate any more spending to it. This is your current tech level in this technology area. This is the amount of spending that you currently have allocated towards this research area. This blue bar displays an approximation of how complete you are with the current technology area. If you have a percentage allocated for this tech area, then each turn this bar will increase in size. Then it reaches full, then you will attain the next tech level in that area.

Lvl Pct Completion

Controls Percentage of Points Used This displays a total of the Pct column of the Research List. You can never spend more than 100% of your research points each turn. Also note, that since your research points do not accumulate, you should be sure and spend 100% of them each turn. This the total number of research points you have available to spend. This amount was generated at the end of your last turn by your Research Center Facilities. This box displays a description of the currently selected research area in the Research List. This displays you empires current tech level in the selected tech area. It is the same as the number displayed in the Lvl column. This displays the amount of spending that you currently have allocated towards this tech area. You can use the arrow buttons to increase or decrease this amount. If you hold the Shift key, the amount will change in 10% increments. Pressing this button will set the Pct of Spending to as much percentage as there is remaining depending on the setting of Only Spend Remaining. Pressing this button will set the Pct of Spending for the currently selected tech area to zero. This is an approximation of how complete the tech level is. It is a percentage equivalent of the Completion bar in the Research List. This gives an estimate in years on how long it will take to achieve the next tech level based on the current Pct of Spending and how many Research Points are currently available. This gives an estimate of the remaining cost in Research Points to complete the next tech level. This box lists the expected results of attaining the next tech level. It will display ship components, ship sizes, facilities, and unit that can be attained at each new level. This check box determines how the Pct of Spending arrows will work. If this is checked then you will not be able to increase the Pct of Spending if your total spending is already at 100%. If this is not checked, then when you increase the Pct of Spending and you are at 100% of total spending, percentage points will be taken away from other tech areas to give to the currently selected one. Pressing this button will divide the 100% of allocation to all of the available tech areas. Pressing this button will set all of the spending for each tech area to zero.

Research Points Available Tech Description Current Level % of spending

Max

Min % complete Estimated time till completion Estimated remaining cost Expected Results

Only spend remaining

Divide equally to all Clear All

For more information see Research.

Intelligence Window

This window allows you to set the amount of spending your empire performs in each intelligence area.

Offensive Empire List Empire Name This lists the empires that you have encountered. By selecting an item in this list, you can set the amount of offensive intelligence spending you wish to direct against them. This column lists the current treaty you have with this empire. This column presents a total of the spending in both espionage and sabotage against this empire. Pressing this button divides the remaining percent you have available against all of the empires in the list. The percentage is divided equally between espionage and sabotage.

Treaty Spending Divide equally to All

Clear All Total of Spending

Pressing this button sets all of the Pct of Spending for both espionage and sabotage to zero for all of the empires in the list. This is a total of the Spending column. This amount plus the amount spend on defense is the total Percentage of Points displayed at the bottom of the window.

Covert Intelligence/Espionage/Surveillance % of spending This sets the percentage of intelligence points you wish to spend in this area against the currently selected empire. If you hold the Shift key, the amount will change in 10% increments. Pressing this button will set the Pct of Spending to as much percentage as there is remaining depending on the setting of Only Spend Remaining. Pressing this button will set the Pct of Spending to zero. The specific intelligence area that you wish to direct your points towards. Selecting All means to perform all areas listed.

Max

Min Focus Area

Sabotage/Instigation % of spending This sets the percentage of intelligence points you wish to spend in this area against the currently selected empire. If you hold the Shift key, the amount will change in 10% increments. Pressing this button will set the Pct of Spending to as much percentage as there is remaining depending on the setting of Only Spend Remaining. Pressing this button will set the Pct of Spending to zero. The specific intelligence area that you wish to direct your points towards. Selecting All means to perform all areas listed.

Max

Min Focus Area

Defensive % of spending This sets the percentage of intelligence points you wish to spend in this area. Defense is against all enemy intelligence operations and does not need to be directed against a particular empire. If you hold the Shift key, the amount will change in 10% increments. Pressing this button will set the Pct of Spending to as much percentage as there is remaining depending on the setting of Only Spend Remaining. Pressing this button will set the Pct of Spending to zero. The specific intelligence area that you wish to direct your points

Max

Min Focus Area

towards. Selecting All means to perform all areas listed.

Controls Percentage of Points Used This displays a total of the offensive spending against each empire, plus the amount allocated for defense. This total can never go above 100%. Also note, since intelligence points do not accumulate it is a waste of points not to spend 100% of your intelligence points each turn. This the total number of intelligence points you have available to spend. This amount was generated at the end of your last turn by your Intelligence Center Facilities. This check box determines how the Pct of Spending arrows will work. If this is checked then you will not be able to increase the Pct of Spending if your total spending is already at 100%. If this is not checked, then when you increase the Pct of Spending and you are at 100% of total spending, percentage points will be taken away from other areas to give to the currently selected one.

Intelligence Points Available Only spend remaining

For more information see Intelligence.

Politics Window

This window displays all of the empires you have encountered and your political relation with them, if any.

Controls Empire List This lists displays all of the empires you have encountered. An empire will not be displayed in this list until you have actually encountered them in a solar system. Once first contact is made, then you can continue communications even if you are no longer near each other. Displays the current treaty you have with this empire. If this empire has proposed a treaty to you, then it will be displayed here. If you wish to accept the treaty then you need to send a message to that empire. Once you accept a treaty, it is immediately in effect. This is a listing of the amount of points that you generate with this empire in trade. Each turn after a treaty is created, these points will go up until they reach 20% of each players total generated amount. Each turn, you will receive this many points in each area. These numbers will fluctuate from turn to turn because of the changes in the other empires point generation. As they make more points, you trade amounts go up.

Current Treaty Proposed Treaty

Trade Points Generated

Send Message View Treaties

Pressing this button will take you to the Send Message Window so that you can send a message to the selected empire. If you have a standing treaty of Non-Aggression or better with an empire, you can view that empires treaties with the other empires that exist. You may even be able to determine the existence of empires that you have never met. Pressing this button will display the Ally Treaties Window .

For more information see Politics.

Send Message Window

This window allows you to select a message to send to another empire.

Controls Message Type This is a list of all of the different messages that you can send to

another empire. The lists only displays messages that are valid for your empire. See Politics for a list of the message types that can be selected. Enemy Empire For some messages, you need to select a third empire as the target of this message. For example, if you are sending the message Need help against enemy empire, then you would select the empire you need help against in this combo box. If you select the message Demand Tribute or Offer Tribute, then this box allows you to select the nature of the tribute. The arrows allow you to select how many points to use for the tribute. If you are offering a tribute, then the points selected will immediately be deducted from your point totals. Suffice to say that you can only offer what you actually have. Contested System For some messages, you need to select a particular system as the target of this message. For example, if you send the message Remove presence from specified system, then you use this combo box to select the system that you want the empire to vacate. This is an area where you can type some general text for the message. This can be anything you want.

Tribute to Demand (or Offer)

Message Text

For more information see Politics.

Planet Productions Window

This window allows you to view all of the attributes of a planet that you have a colony on.

Planet Properties This box displays details on a planets properties.

Facilities on Planet Facility List This lists all of the facilities that you have on this planet. A picture of the facility is displayed, followed by its name, then how many of that type are present. Pressing this button will take you to the Facility Report Window for the selected facility in the list.

Facility Report

Scrap Facility

Pressing this button will scrap the currently selected facility. The benefits of doing this are to free up space on the planet and to get some construction points back from the facilities raw materials. You receive 30% of the cost of the facility back in construction points. Total of the construction points that this planet generates. It is calculated as the total of the construction centers points generated multiplied by the production output, and then multiplied by the value of the planet. Remember that your empire will only receive these points each turn if you have a spaceport in the system with the planet. Total of the research points that this planet generates. It is calculated as the total of the research centers points generated multiplied by the production output of the planet. Total of the intelligence points that this planet generates. It is calculated as the total of the intelligence center points generated multiplied by the production output of the planet.

Construction Points Generated

Research Points Generated Intelligence Points Generated

Planet Usage Facilities Population Unit Spaces Total number of facilities on the planet out of how many the planet can hold. Total amount of people out of the total the planet can hold. Total number of unit spaces used on the planet out of how many it can hold.

Population Population The amount of people on the planet. This also displays in parenthesis the current mood of the population. The current mood is based on the conditions of the planet and the production output setting. The worse the current mood of the population, the more their unhappiness will increase each turn. This is the current reproduction rate of the population. It changes based on the conditions of the planet and the production output. The current production output for this planet. The higher this setting, the harder the population is working. This percent modifies how many points you receive from the planets facilities. See Planet Populations for more details. This colored bar represents how unhappy the population is. It will get higher each turn that the current mood of the population is Unhappy or worse. As the bar gets bigger it will go from green to yellow to red. When it reaches a high level of red, the population will riot. See Planet Populations for more details.

Reproduction Rate Production Output

Population Unhappiness

Under Construction Construction Name Time Remaining Cost per turn Queue This is the name and picture of the current item that is being constructed on the planet. See Planet Construction for more details. This is the estimated amount of time remaining before the item under construction is completed. This is the cost to the empire each turn in construction points to construct the current item. Pressing this button will take you to the Construction Queue Window for this planet.

Units on Planet Units List Unit Report Scrap Unit This is a list of the units that are currently on the planet and how many of each type there are. Pressing this button displays the Unit Report Window for the selected unit in the list. Pressing this button will scrap the currently selected unit. The benefits of doing this are to free up space on the planet and to get some construction points back from the units raw materials. You receive 30% of the cost of the unit back in construction points.

Controls Scrollbar Repair Queues Moving this scrollbar will display all of the other planets that you have colonies on. Pressing this button will display the Repair/Construction Queue Window for this location if this planet has space yard capability. See Planet Properties under population.

For more information see Planets.

Construction Queue Window

This window allows you to set the construction queue for the planet. Items in the construction queue are constructed by the planet in order from top to bottom. Filling up the construction queue for a planet means that you dont have to come back after each item is completed.

An item is selected in the Items List and then added to the Construction Queue List. Items in the Construction Queues List can be moved around to get the precise order desired. Items are constructed in the Queue List from top to bottom, with the item at the very top of the list being the item that is currently being constructed. As each item is completed, it is removed from the top of the list, and the remaining items moves up.

Items Items List This list displays all of the troops and facilities that are available to your empire. The Time and Cost per Turn are based on the population of the planet. The higher your population the faster an item can be completed. The less time it takes, the higher the per turn cost. Pressing this button will display either the Unit Report Window or the Facility Report Window depending on what item you have selected in the Items List.

Item Report

Show Latest Only

This is a toggle switch which will either show all of the items available or only the most advanced of each kind. This setting is remembered for the next time you are in the window.

Construction Queue Queue List Add Remove Move Up This is a list of the items that are in the construction queue for this planet. The top most item is the item currently being constructed. Pressing this button will add the currently selected item in the Items List to the bottom of the Queue List. Pressing this button will delete the currently selected item in the Queue List. Pressing this button will move the currently selected item in the Queue List up one position. Be careful when it comes to the top most item. If you try and replace it, and it already has construction started on it, then you will be asked to confirm its replacement. Replacing the item being currently constructed will cause any time spent in its construction to be lost. Pressing this button will move the currently selected item in the Queue List down one position.

Move Down

Controls Construction queue on hold Checking this box means that you wish to put the planets construction on hold. With this on, the planet will halt in its construction and will not work on the top item in the list. This is useful when you need to cut down you costs, but you dont want to get rid of everything in the construction queue. You can just put it on hold for a while, and then resume it when you can afford it.

For more information see Planet Constructions.

Repair/Construction Queue Window

This window allows you to view and modify all of the construction queues throughout your empire. For each location with a space yard, you can view exactly what the repair queue is for each space yard. It is sometimes necessary to use this window to put a particular item to the front of its repair queue so that it is completed immediately.

Location This list displays all of the locations throughout the galaxy which have space yard capability. This can be either a planet with sufficient population, or a ship which carries a space yard component. For each location, the number of space yards present is displayed. You can click on the header of a column to sort the list by the elements in that column.

Space Yards Space Yard Grid This grid displays the space yards present as rows with time as the columns. For each space yard, its name is displayed in the first column, and each subsequent column is the ship or unit which is in its repair queue. Each column represents 0.1 year (or 1 turn) of time. At the head and tail of each ships block of time will be its name. You can select an item and use the arrow keys to move it around in the repair queues. Items which are at the front of the queue (the furthest most left) are the

items which will be repaired first. Double Arrows Pressing the double arrow buttons will move the selected item in the Space Yard Grid either to the front or back of the queue (to the very left or the very right). Pressing the single arrow buttons will move the selected item in the Space Yard Grid one increment in direction. If moving an item up or down, the item will be placed at the end of the row it is placed in (all the way to the right). Pressing this button will scrap the currently selected item in the Space Yard Grid. You will receive construction points back after scrapping an item. Pressing this will display either the Unit Report Window or the Ship Report Window depending of the type of item selected.

Single Arrows

Scrap Item

Item Report

For more information see Repair Queues.

Repair Priorities Window

This window allows you to set the order in which components are repaired on your ships.

Component Repair Priority

Component Type List

This is a list of the different component types. The order of these is the order in which components of these types will be repaired. For example, if the top 2 items are Weapons and then Engines, then when your ship is repaired, weapons will be repaired first. After all of the weapons on the ship are repaired, engines will be repaired next. Pressing the arrow buttons will move the currently selected component type in the Component Type List up or down in the list.

Arrow buttons

For more information see Repair Queues.

Player Planets List Window

This window displays information about all of the planets that you have colonies on. By clicking on the header bar of a column, you can sort the planets in the list by that criteria.

Display

This combo box allows you to select what type of information is displayed in the list. The following sections detail what information is displayed for each selection.

All Display Modes Picture Name Location Pop Displays the picture of the planet or asteroids. The population bars are omitted because the population is displayed in a column. The name of the planet. The system and sector location of the planet. The amount of Population that is on the planet.

Points Generated Mood Output CP The mood of the population. See Planet Populations for more information. The current production output setting for the planet. The amount of construction points that are generated by this planet. If the number is displayed with brackets around it - [], then these are the points generated, but your empire is not receiving them. The normal reason for this is that you do not have a spaceport in the system. See Points for more information. The amount of Research Points that are generated by this planet. If the number is displayed with brackets around it - [], then these are the points generated, but your empire is not receiving them. The normal reason for this is that you do not have a spaceport in the system. See Points for more information. The amount of Intelligence Points that are generated by this planet. If the number is displayed with brackets around it - [], then these are the points generated, but your empire is not receiving them. The normal reason for this is that you do not have a spaceport in the system. See Points for more information.

RP

IP

Physical Statistics Atmosphere Size Value Conditions The name of the atmosphere of this planet. See Planet Properties for more information. The size of the planet. See Planet Sizes for a list of the possible sizes. The value of this planet. See Planet Properties for more information. The conditions which exist on this planet. See Planet Properties for more information.

Construction Facil Max Under Construction Time Cost The number of facilities which are on the planet. The total number of facilities which can fit on this planet. The name of the facility which is currently under construction on the planet. See Planet Construction for more information. The time required to complete the item under construction. The cost per turn (in construction points) to construct the item.

Units Unit Spaces The number of unit spaces currently being used on the planet out of the total number of unit spaces that the planet can support. See Unit Properties and Planet Properties for more information. The number of troops which are currently on the planet. The number of fighters which are currently on the planet. The number of mines which are currently on the planet.

Troops Fighters Mines

Controls Goto Report Productions Pressing this button will return you to the Tactical Window and will display the selected planet in the list in the System Window. Pressing this button will display the Sector Report Window for the selected planet. Pressing this button will display the Planet Productions Window for the selected planet.

For more information see Planets.

All Known Planets List Window

This window displays information about all of the planets that you have seen throughout the galaxy. By clicking on the header bar of a column, you can sort the planets in the list by that criteria.

Display This combo box allows you to select what type of information is displayed in the list. The following sections detail what information is displayed for each selection.

Show only planets that can be colonized By selecting this check box, you restrict the list of planets to only those planets which have an atmosphere which you are able to colonize.

All Display Modes Picture Displays the picture of the planet or asteroids. Population bars are shown for all planets which are inhabited (that you can currently see).

Name Location Atmosphere Size Value Conditions

The name of the planet. The system and sector location of the planet. The name of the atmosphere of this planet. See Planet Properties for more information. The size of the planet. See Planet Sizes for a list of the possible sizes. The value of this planet. See Planet Properties for more information. The conditions which exist on this planet. See Planet Properties for more information.

Physical Statistics Pop The amount of Population that is on the planet.

Colony Ships Targeted Colnz The number of colony ships you own which have orders to colonize this planet.

Controls Goto Report Pressing this button will return you to the Tactical Window and will display the selected planet in the list in the System Window. Pressing this button will display the Sector Report Window for the selected planet.

For more information see Planets.

Ships List Window

This window displays information about all of the ships which you own. By clicking on the header bar of a column, you can sort the ships in the list by that criteria.

Display This combo box allows you to select what type of information is displayed in the list. The following sections detail what information is displayed for each selection.

All Display Modes Picture Size Name Type Location Mvt Displays the picture of the ship. The size abbreviation for the ship. See Ship Sizes for a list. The name of the ship. The design type of the ship. The current system and sector location of the ship. The number of movement points remaining out of the total number of

movement points the ship can have. Dmg Maint The number of damaged components out of the total number of components on the ship. The amount of construction points that must be paid each turn to maintain this ship.

Orders Orders A listing of the orders that this ship currently has. See Ship Orders for more information.

Cargo Cargo A listing of the cargo that this ship is currently carrying. See Ship Cargo for more information.

Status Status Displays status icons for this ship.

Resupply Resupply Time The amount of time remaining before the ship must resupply.

Fleet Fleet The fleet number that this ship belongs to. The last column changes to display the orders for each ship.

Controls Show Mines When this check box is selected, the list will display all ships and mines that your empire owns. If you unselect this box, then the list will not display any of your mines. Pressing this button will return you to the Tactical Window and will display the selected ship in the list in the System Window. Pressing this button will display the Ship Report Window for the selected ship. Pressing this button will display the Design Report Window for the selected ship.

Goto Report Design

For more information see Ships.

Empire Expenses Window

This window gives you an overview of the expenses for your empire. It gives a high level break down of the way that your empire is spending each of its point reserves each turn.

Points per Turn Generated by our Empire Generated by Trade This row displays the number of points of each type which are generated by planets we own. These are only the points from systems in which you have a Spaceport Facility. This row displays the number of points of each type that are received each turn from trade. See Trade for more information.

Total Maximum Construction Points Storage

This row totals the previous two rows. This is the actual amount that you will receive at the end of this turn. Indicates the total number of Construction Points which can be stored by your empire. This number is calculated based on the number of Construction Center Facilities you have.

Construction Construction Points Available Maintenance Construction on Planets Purchases Prod. Output Ship List Productions Purchases The number of construction points you have available before any expenditures. The total maintenance cost for all of your ships. The total for all of the constructions you are building on your planets. The total that can be afforded from the items in your purchase list. Pressing this button will display the Production Output Window. Pressing this button will display the Ship List Window. Pressing this button will display the Planet Productions Window. Pressing this button will display the Purchases Window.

Research Research Points Available Research The total number of research points that you have available to spend this turn. Pressing this button displays the Research Window.

Intelligence Intelligence Points Available Intelligence The total number of Intelligence Points that you have available to spend this turn. Pressing this button displays the Intelligence Window.

For more information see Points.

Strategic Combat Window

This window serves two purposes. It can allow you to select whether you wish to enter combat, and then if you select that you wish to engage in Strategic Combat, it displays the results of that combat. Below are descriptions of the differences between the two windows and what each of the controls does.

This window can be displayed at two different times. If, during your turn, you move your ships into an enemy sector, then this window will be displayed asking you whether you wish to attack. If another empire attacks you, then the Combat Notification Window will be displayed, the followed by this window which will go straight to the Combat in Progress stage.

Do you want to Attack? Yes, Strategic Combat Selecting this button will change this window to the Combat in Progress phase. You have agreed to enter into strategic combat at this point. Selecting this button will bring up the Tactical Combat Window where you will resolve the combat. This choice means that you do not wish to attack the ships that you have encountered. By saying no, your ships will be moved back to the sector from which they started.

Yes, Tactical Combat No

Combat in Progress Complete Combat At this point you have entered into strategic combat. The selections available are between resolving all of the combat rounds quickly, or stepping through them slowly. Selecting this option means to just let the computer run through the combat turns quickly and end when combat is over. No matter which of these two you choose, you will not be able to interact with combat in any way. Selecting this option allows the combat to progress by one turn. Each side will move, target, and fire its weapons just as if its was in tactical combat.

One Round

Lists Emp Pic Name/Class Size Damage The empire which controls this combat piece. A picture of this combat piece. This could be a ship, planet, fighter, or seeker picture. The name and class of the combat piece. If combat has begun, then class is replaced by the position of the piece on the combat map. The size of the combat piece. This only really applies to ships. The amount of damage that has been done to this piece. The top number in parenthesis is the amount of shields the piece has remaining. The bottom numbers are the number of destroyed components out of the total components (or hit points) that the piece has.

Other Controls Show Sector Displays the System Display Window for the system that this combat is taking place in. The sector where the combat is taking place will be highlighted. Displays a small overview map of the combat in the lower left hand corner. It is identical to the map that is displayed in the Tactical Combat Window.

Map

For more information, see Combat.

Tactical Combat Window

This window allows you to personally conduct combat. There are five main sections to this window. At the top of the Tactical window is a toolbar containing buttons which allow for different commands during combat. Below the toolbar, is the main combat area. This area is filled with stars and the ships that are participating in combat. At the bottom left of the combat area is the Combat Piece List Window. To the bottom right of the combat area is the Overview Map. At the very bottom of the Tactical Combat window is the status bar which displays the current combat phase and the location where combat is taking place.

Toolbar Previous Ship Pressing this button will select the previous ship you have available that has movement points remaining. This button is only useful during the movement phase of combat. Pressing this button will select the next ship you have available that has movement points remaining. This button is only useful during the movement phase of combat. Centers the Combat Area on the currently selected ship in the Combat Piece List. Displays the Combat Targetings Window for all of your combat pieces in combat. This option is only available during the movement phase of

Next Ship

Center on Ship Targetings for All

Ships Targetings for Selected Ships Launch Fighters

combat. Displays the Combat Targetings Window for all of the selected pieces in the Combat Piece List Window. This option is only available during the movement phase of combat. Launches all available fighters on all of the ships which are selected in the Combat Piece List Window. This options is only available during the movement phase of combat. See Fighters for more information. Recovers all available fighters for all of the ships which are selected in the Combat Piece List Window. Any fighters which are in the same sector with the ships, will be landed in the order of the selected ships in the list. This options is only available during the movement phase of combat. See Fighters for more information. Drops troops from your ships to attack an enemy planet. This operation will drop all of the troops you have on your ships which are in the same square as an enemy planet. It does not matter if the enemy planet has shields or weapons. If there are troops to drop, the Ground Combat Window will be displayed. See Troops for more information. Displays or hides the Combat Piece List Window. Displays or hides the Overview Map. Pressing this button will cause all combat pieces to be controlled by the computer. The game will then quickly go through the remaining combat turns until there is a winner and combat is concluded. You should only use this if you want to quickly finish combat without having to do anything. Displays the Combat Options Window. Pressing this button will end the current combat phase. Once you have completed all of the actions you wish to for the current phase (for example, during the movement phase, all of your ships have moved and expended all of their movement points) then you must press this to proceed to the next phase. The current phase is displayed in the Status Bar. Combat will proceed until 20 combat turns have elapsed, or one side has defeated the other.

Recover Fighters

Drop Troops

Show/Hide Combat Piece Window Show/Hide Overview Map Completely Resolve Combat

Combat Options End Combat Phase

Combat Area The combat area is an overhead display of the sector where combat is taking place. If combat takes place in a sector with a sun, then there will be a sun in the middle of the combat area. If it takes place in a storm sector, then the combat area will be filled with storm squares. The majority of the combat area is typically filled with empty space. Spatial bodies in the combat area have no effect on combat. The only items which effect combat are storms and asteroids, which cause ships to be more difficult to hit. Warp Points are also useful because ships can retreat through them.

Your ships will also be displayed in the combat area. If your ship is by itself in a square, then it will show its picture. If there are multiple ships in a square, then the empires icon will be displayed in that square. There can be an unlimited number of ships in a single combat square. Your ships cannot run-into other ships. In fact, you cannot run into planets or suns either. The simple maneuvering thrusters on your ships are enough to avert that.

Often you will see a purple line at the very edge of the combat area. This is the boundary of the sector. If your ships pass across this line, they will retreat into the adjoining sector, and leave combat. These lines will only be displayed in areas where there is a sector adjoining the current one. For example, if you enter combat on the very edge of a solar system, then there will not be a purple line on the outer edge of the sector.

To select ships in the combat area, you merely need to left click. Left clicking anywhere in the combat area will select that square. All ships in the selected square will be displayed in the Combat Piece List Window. After selecting ships in the Combat Piece List Widow, you can right click on a destination sector and select a menu item. Typical menu items are MoveTo and Place Here. There is also a selection for receiving a Combat Piece Report Window .

Combat Piece List Window The combat piece list window displays all of the combat pieces (ships, fighters, seekers, planets) in the currently selected square in the combat area. Pieces that are highlighted in the piece list, are the pieces that orders will be given to when you right click on the combat area. They are also the pieces that will get orders when you use one of the commands in the tool bar.

You can right click on a piece in the combat piece list to get Combat Piece Report Window , and to execute commands. For example, if you wish to board another ship, you would select the source ship, and then right click on the ship you wish to board. If the attack is legal, you will get a menu item called Board Ship. There are also menu options for Select All and Select None to change the selected ships in the list.

The combat piece list window displays information for all of the pieces in the currently selected square. Information displayed is the owning empire, the picture of the piece, the pieces name, movement left for the piece, and any damage done to the piece. Damage is displayed as two different numbers. The number in parenthesis is the amount of remaining shields the piece has. The other number is the number of destroyed components out of the total number of components on the piece (this may also be population in the case of planets, or hit points in the case of fighters).

The combat piece list window is a top-most window. This means that it will be displayed above all other windows. You can even move it completely off of the Tactical Combat Window and use it side by side. When you move and resize this window, it will be remembered for the next time you enter Tactical Combat.

Overview Map The overview map displays the entire combat area. Color dots are used to specify where opposing pieces are. The dot is in the color of the empire, with yellow being used for squares where two empires have pieces. By clicking on the overview map, you can center the combat area on the area that is clicked on.

Status Bar The status bar displays basic information about combat. On one side is a lighted box which displays what the current combat phase is. To the right is displayed the name of the system and sector where combat is taking place.

For more information, see Combat.

Ground Combat Window

Ground combat occurs when troops are landed on an enemy planet. The process of combat is automated (much like Strategic Combat), to the point of merely stepping through the turns of the combat. Ground combat continues until one side eliminates the other. Ground combat occurs

quickly, and the ship combat in which it took place, is merely put on hold until the ground combat is resolved.

Ground combat forces are divided into the attacker and the defender. The attacker has on his side all of the troops which were dropped on the enemy planet during the ship combat. The defender has all of the troops which are present on the planet, plus an equivalent amount of troops based on the population of the planet. When the combat begins, the defending planet gets 1 Light Infantry troop for each 100M in population.

Planet The planet on which the ground combat is taking place. If the attacker is successful in his attack, he will control the planet at the end of the ground combat.

Attacker/Defender Troop Lists Empire Name Damage Done The name of the controlling empire. As each turn of ground combat is proceeded through, the amount of damage done to the other side will be displayed. Each troop piece has an amount of damage it can take and give. These amounts of damage given is randomly computed and then applied to the other side. As the amount of damage exceeds each troops amount of damage that it can take, that troop will be destroyed. The list of troops which are on the planet (this can also be fighters as well). As troops are destroyed, they will be removed from the list. The side which loses all of its troops, loses the ground combat.

Troop List

Controls Proceed By pressing this button, one turn of ground combat is executed. Damage for each side will be computed and distributed to the other side. Once one side is destroyed, this button will change to a close button.

For more information, see Troops and Ground Combat.

Combat Options Window

This window allows you to set options for the Tactical Combat Window. All of the options selected will be remembered from one combat to the next.

Controls Fast Combat With this option enabled, your combat will proceed as quickly as possible. This means that there will be no pauses to display the movement of seekers, or to display the details of weapons firing. This option determines if the combat area will be centered on the currently selected pieces. For example, if you press the Next Ship button, and have this option enabled, then the combat area will center on the next ship. The combat area will also be centered on the current piece that is firing during the firing phase. This selection allows you to pick the size of the overview map. With this option selected, your ships will automatically be moved by the computer on your turn. The strategy your ships use is the movement strategy that is selected in the Combat Strategy Window. When you go through Strategic Combat, it is the same as Tactical Combat but with the AutoMove and AutoTarget options selected. Computer players automatically have this option set on. When you play a multi-player game, this option is automatically set on for the defender. Use AutoTarget This option makes the computer control the targeting for all of your combat pieces. The method it uses to pick its targets is specified in the Combat Strategy Window. With Autotargeting, you can have the computer pick your targets, and then you can change them before ending the phase.

Dont Center on Current Piece

Overview Map Size Use AutoMove

Show Sector

Pressing this button will display the System Display Window. The sector that combat is taking place in will be highlighted.

For more information, see Combat Options.

Combat Notification Window

This window is displayed when a computer player attacks a human player during the computer players turn. The window displays the attacking empire and the defending empire. Pressing proceed will take you to the Strategic Combat Window.

For more information, see Combat.

Combat Piece Report Window

This window displays information about the selected combat piece. When damage (or population for planets, or hit points for fighters) is displayed, the number in parenthesis is the number of remaining shields the piece has. Other information specific to the piece type is also displayed.

If the combat piece report is requested for a ship, then the Ship Report Window will be displayed instead of this one.

For more information, see Combat.

Combat Simulation Window

The Combat Simulation window allows you to enter a mock combat scenario with your designs and enemy designs. The combat is purely fictional and will have no effect on your empire or ships, what so ever. You use this window to select which forces will comprise the attack and defender and then you begin the combat. The mock combat takes place above your home planet.

Source Designs Design List This list contains all of the designs your empire has, plus all of the enemy designs that you have encountered. By highlighting an item, and then pressing the Add button under one of the other lists, you can add the item to one of the other lists. Pressing this button will display the Design Report Window for the selected ship design.

Design Report

Attacker Ships Ship List Add Remove This lists the ships that will comprise the attackers forces. The attacker will be represented in the combat by a red circle. Pressing this button will add the currently selected design in the Design List to this list. Pressing this button will remove the currently selected design in this Ship List.

Defender Ships Ship List Add Remove This lists the ships that will comprise the defenders forces. The defender will be represented in the combat by a blue triangle. Pressing this button will add the currently selected design in the Design List to this list. Pressing this button will remove the currently selected design in this Ship List.

Controls Begin This button will begin the combat simulation by displaying the Tactical Combat Window. Combat will proceed until one side destroys the other, or 20 combat turns elapse.

For more information, see Combat Simulation.

Combat Targetings Window

The combat targetings window allows you to specify the specific target each of the weapons on your combat pieces will fire on. Remember that each ship has a specific level of Multiplex Tracking, and this determines the total number of targets it can fire on.

Firing List Pic The picture of the combat piece which contains the weapons. On the next level below each combat piece is the weapons which it contains. The weapons can be displayed or hidden by double-clicking on an item, or by pressing the collapse all button below. The name of your combat piece, followed by additional information. For example, ships show the class of the ship below the name of the ship. After the ship name, in parenthesis, is the multiplex tracking level of the combat piece (Mx:1). The multiplex tracking level of the piece determines how many different targets its weapons can fire on in one turn. Below the combat piece is a list of all of the weapons that this piece contains. In this column will be displayed the name of that weapon. When there is a combat piece selected in the Target List, clicking on weapons in the firing list will cause the weapon to be targeted on the

Firing Ship/Weapons

selected piece. Target Reload For each of the weapons in the list, this column will display the name of the combat piece that this weapon is targeted on. For combat pieces, this column displays the number of weapons the piece contains in the form Wp: 1. For weapons, this column displays the number of turns required before the weapon can fire out of how many it needs to reload. For example, if the number displayed is 0/1, then the weapon can fire this turn, and only requires 1 turn to reload. A weapon which only requires 1 turn to reload, will be able to fire each and every turn.

Firing Controls Target All Weapons Clear Target Clear All Targets Target Every Weap. Collapse All Causes all weapons of the currently selected combat piece in the Firing List, to be targeted on the currently selected piece in the Target List. Clears the target for the currently selected weapon in the Firing List. Clears the targetings for all of the weapons on the currently selected piece in the Firing List. Causes all weapons of all combat pieces in the Firing List, to be targeted on the currently selected piece in the Target List. This button toggles between Collapse All and Expand All. This will either hide or show all of the weapons on the pieces in the Firing List. You can manually get a piece to show or hides its weapons by doubleclicking on it in the Firing List. Pressing this button will return you to the Tactical Combat Window and will highlight the piece that was selected in the Firing List. Displays the Weapons Report Window. Displays the Component Report Window for the currently selected weapon in the Firing List. Displays the Ship Report Window for the currently selected ship in the Firing List (this can also be the Combat Piece Report Window for certain piece types).

Goto Weapons Report Component Report Ship Report

Target List Pic Target Dmg The picture of the target combat piece. This list will display all of the enemy combat pieces that can be targeted. The name of the enemy combat piece. If this piece is a ship, then the name is followed by the design name (class) of the ship. This column displays the amount of damage the combat piece has taken. The top number in parenthesis is the number of shields that the

combat piece has remaining. The bottom numbers are the number of damaged components out of the total number of components on the ship (this can also be population for planets, and hit points for fighters). When the damage amount equals the damage total, the piece is destroyed. There are cases where a ship will have this amount of damage but still be alive. This is typically the case where the ship was under construction but had not actually been worked on yet. One shot will destroy it. Rng The range in combat squares from this piece to the currently selected piece in the Firing List. You can use this range to find out how much damage your weapons will do on the Weapons Report Window. This column displays the percentage chance for the ship selected in the Firing List to hit this ship. This number takes into account all modifiers such as size, ECM, Combat Sensors, and such. It does NOT take into account specific bonuses the weapon may add to the chance to hit. See Combat Targeting for more details.

To Hit

Target Controls Goto Ship Report Pressing this button will return you to the Tactical Combat Window and will highlight the selected ship in the Target List. Displays the Ship Report Window for the currently selected ship in the Target List (this can also be the Combat Piece Report Window for certain piece types). Displays the Combat To Hit Window for the currently selected pieces in the Firing List and the Target List.

To Hit Calc

For more information, see Combat Targeting.

Combat To Hit Window

The To Hit Calculation window displays the chances of one combat piece hitting another with weapons fire during Tactical Combat. It is displayed from the Combat Targetings Window.

Modifiers Base Modifier Source Piece Modifier Target Piece Modifier Distance Modifier Terrain Modifier Total With no obstructions, all pieces have a 100% chance to hit another ship. The firing piece gets bonuses to its ability to hit other ships based on its Combat Sensors Component and any innate bonuses it may have. The piece being fired on gets defensive modifiers based on its size and any ECM Components it may have. For each square in distance between the two pieces, there is a 10% less chance to hit. Certain terrains such as storms and asteroids can lower the chance to hit another piece. The total chance for the source piece to hit the target piece as a percentage. The lower the percentage, the lower the chance that weapons will hit the target piece. Be aware that all seeking weapons will never miss when firing their seeking projectile. Regardless of the modifiers that are present, there is always a minimum 1% and a maximum 99% chance to hit. Weapon modifier are not shown on this window, because this is just a general to hit chance from one piece to another. Only special weapons gets a modifier in their chance to hit. See the Component Report Window for specific details.

Weapon Modifiers

For more information, see Combat Targeting.

Log Window

The Events Log window displays events that have occurred in your empire. Things such as ships being purchased, battles, and political messages are displayed here. The messages are arranged in order of oldest to most recent. At the beginning of each turn, after your ships have executed their orders, this window will be displayed if there are new log events to be read.

Controls Log List A list of the last 50 events that have occurred in your empire. They are listed with the most recent log message being at the bottom of the list. By double-clicking on the list, you can execute the Goto function below. By selecting an item in the list and pressing this button, a corresponding window to the event will be displayed. For example, if the message is about a ship being purchased, and you press Goto, then the system where the ship was purchased will be displayed in the System Window. If the message was about a new facility being completed on a planet, then this button would display the Planet Productions Window. There are some messages which have no corresponding window.

Goto

Options

Displays the Log Options Window.

Log Options Window

The Log Options window is called by the Log Window to set options for its display.

Controls Show Events Log With this option enabled, the Log Window will be displayed at the beginning of each turn if there are new events. With this option disabled, the Log Window will not be displayed unless you specifically select it from the Tactical Window. It is highly advisable to keep this option enabled. With this option enabled, the Log Window will only display events that you have not read before. This is useful for keeping the list clear and a manageable size.

Only show new events

Find System Window

This window is displayed from the Galaxy Window to allow you to select a system to display in the System Window. The list displays all of the names of the systems you have seen before. You can either double-click on a name, or just select one and press OK. Selecting a name will cause that system to be selected in the Galaxy Window and displayed in the System Window just as if you had selected it yourself.

Game Setup Window

There are 9 sections to the Game Setup Window. They are:

Game Setup - Galaxy Window Game Setup - Technology Window Game Setup - Balance Window Game Setup - Placement Window Game Setup - Events Window Game Setup - Empires Window Game Setup - Random Empires Window

Game Setup - Victory Conditions Window Game Setup - Mechanics Window

Game Setup - Galaxy Window

The Galaxy setup window allows you to set parameters which control the creation of the galaxy.

Options Galaxy Size Chance for Warp Points Determines the number of solar systems which will be created. The higher the chance for warp points, the more there will be. This means that the solar system connections will be more web like with less spiraling arms. This ensures that there will be a path from one solar system to any other solar system via the warp points. If this option is turned off, there is no guarantee that passage between sections of the galaxy will be possible. You should only turn this option off if you intend to start a game at high

All Warp Points Connected

tech where Open Warp Point technology is available. All Systems Seen With this option turned on, you will start the game having seen all solar systems in the galaxy. To see ships in the solar system, you will still need to have one of your own ships in it as well. With this option, you can see exactly what is in all systems, all the time. There will be no requirement that you have a ship in the solar system.

Omnipresent View of Systems

Game Setup - Technology Window

The Technology setup window allows you select settings for the technologies present in the game.

Options Technologies Allowed Selects which technologies you want to allow in the game. As a default, these are all selected. Excluding some technologies will also exclude others as well. For example, if you exclude Normal Shields, then Phased Weapons and

Shields will no longer be available either. For a complete list of the technologies which are dependent on others, see the Tech Charts. Technology Costs These three settings control the overall cost of the advancement of technology. If you select high, it will take a long time to get all of the technologies, where as, low will cause technologies to be acquired quickly. These settings allow you to increase the number of spaces in the standard ships sizes. Normal (100%) means that the spaces listed in Ship Sizes will be the amount of spaces actually used in the game. The next two settings allow you to increase the number of spaces per ship size to 120% and 150% of normal. Changing this setting allows for a game with a slightly different flavor than the norm. Larger ship sizes means more components and weapons for each ship, which in turn means higher maintenance costs. But if you always wanted a Light Cruiser that could fit everything, this is the option for you!

Ship Sizes

Game Setup - Balance Window

The Balance setup window allows you select what level the various empires in the game start at.

Options Number of Racial Advantages allowed per Empire Starting Tech Levels allowed per Empire The number of racial advantages allowed per empire in the game. When creating an individual empire, you can select racial advantages in the Racial Advantages Window. The number of tech levels that each empire is allowed to start with. Players can select which starting tech levels they want in the Starting Tech Levels Window. This is the number of points of all three types that each empires will receive when they begin the game. This selection lets you pick whose scores will be visible to each player. Scores can be viewed in the Scores Window.

Starting points per Empire

Score Display

Game Setup - Placement Window

The Placement setup window allows you select where empires begin in the galaxy, and the number of planets they get.

Options Allowed to start in the same system This option allows 2 different empires to start in the same solar system. Turning this option on makes the game quite difficult if you start in the same system with another player. This option tells the computer to attempt to put each empire into separate sections of the galaxy. This is a nice starting option because it gives empires a chance to grow a little before they run into each other. It also evenly distributes them in the galaxy so that you dont have all of the empires end up right next to each other in one corner of the galaxy. This specifies the value of the human players starting planets. This specifies how many planets the human players start the game with. If players only start with one planet, then that planet will start with a minimum number of facilities. If the players start with multiple planets, then each planet will get a full complement of facilities. Multiple starting planets are usually placed close together but may actually be in different solar systems. When you start with multiple planets, the idea is that you have sent out some form of basic colony ships and colonized these planets. To that effect, you will have explored many of your nearby systems. You will not, however, start with any ship designs, or have any ships in existence.

Distributed evenly through the galaxy

Home Planets Value Number of Starting Planets

Game Setup - Events Window

The Events setup window allows you select how random events occur in the game.

Options External Event Severity This selection allows you to select whether random events are allowed, and if they are, what the maximum severity can be. Minor events are things like population happiness changing or planet value changing. Major events are things like planet exploding and advanced technology being found. Specifies how often random events will happen.

Event Frequency

Game Setup - Empires Window

The Empires setup window allows you add empires to the game. You should typically only add human players to this list and use the Game Setup - Random Empires Window to add computer controlled players.

Empires Empire List Displays the list of empires that are currently in the game. If the player is a computer, its player name will be surrounded with brackets like this: [Computer]. Add an empire to the list. This will take you to the Empire Setup Window. Edits the selected empire in the list. This will take you to the Empire Setup Window Deletes the selected empire from the list.

Add Edit Delete

Game Setup - Random Empires Window

The Random Empires setup window allows you specify the nature of computer controlled empires that will be added to the game.

Options Randomly generate computer players If this is checked, the game will add random computer players before you start. If you do not select this option, the only empire in the game will be the ones you selected in the Game Setup Empires Window. Selects the number of players to add to the game. Selects the difficulty at which the computer players will play. This is simply a way of setting how smart the computer players are. Easy means that the computer players are fairly dumb and not much of a challenge. Difficult mean that they are very smart and pose a real threat. Sets the value of the planets the random computer player starts with. Sets the number of planets the random computer players start with. This selection allows you to play in a mode where the computer players will fight against the human

Number of random computer players Random computer player difficulty

Home planets value Number of starting planets Teams: Computer player

versus Human players

players. Now they do this normally, but they also fight amongst themselves as well. This option makes the computer players very friendly towards each other, and very unfriendly towards the human players.

Game Setup - Victory Conditions Window

The Victory Conditions setup window allows you specify under what conditions the game will end. If none of the options are selected, the game will end when only one player survives. Selecting multiple victory conditions means that if any of the conditions is met, then the game ends.

Victory Conditions First player to reach a score of The following number of years have elapsed Player has a score of this As soon as any player reaches the specified score the game will end. When the specified number of years has gone by, the game will end. This is a good option for playing a short game. If any player is at the specified percentage of

percent of any other player

score of any other player, the game will end. This is good for ending games when its clear that one player will dominate the rest. Setting this at 200% means that the game will end if any player has double the score of any other. The game will end as soon as any player reaches this number of tech levels. This is a good options for a cut and run game. Do you go for tech, or do you try and prevent others from getting the tech? For a game where everyone doesnt die, this is a good option. The game ends as soon as every player has a good treaty with every other, and this condition lasts for the specified number of years. Not an easy task! This is a modifier for the above victory conditions. It means that no victory condition can be met until the specified number of years has gone by. Selecting this as the only victory condition will not do anything to your game. This should only be selected if one of the previous victory conditions has been selected.

Player has this many tech levels

Galaxy is completely at peace for this many years

Victory conditions only apply after this many years

Game Setup - Mechanics Window

The Mechanics setup window allows you specify how the game is to be played.

Options All players on one machine This means that all human players of the game will be playing hotseat, meaning that they will all play on the same machine. As each players turn comes up, that player takes their turn in front of the machine. Players should not watch as other players take their turns. This should always be selected if there is only one human player. This means that the human players are playing Multi-Player, meaning that they are not all playing on the same machine. For more details on this, see Multi-Player Games. Specifies the path and filename for the save game file. As each players turn is completed, the game will be saved. At this point the next player can load the file from their machine, or the file can be emailed to the next player. When the game is saved, the filename will have the current players number and the game date appended to it. For example if the save game name is battle then it would be saved with something like this: battle_2_24055.gam. This file signifies that the battle game is ready for player 2 and the current year is 2405.5. With multi-player games, its sometimes a good idea for each player to have their own password. This helps keep players from accidentally looking at other players turns. Even with all their individual passwords, there need to be one password which can override all the others. The Game Master password specified here, is the password thats used to edit the players from the Tactical Window. This item defaults to master. There are certain cheat codes in the game which will allow you to gain points, resupply your ships magically, and more. When you play in a multiplayer game, its sometimes safer to not allow the cheat codes just to keep everyone honest. The temptation can be great when your worlds start to crumble.

Multiple players on different machines

Save Game name and location

Game Master password

Allow secret cheat codes

Machine Options Window

The Machine Options window allows you to select options for the current machine you are playing on. These are options which apply to all games that you play on the current computer.

Options Sound Simple details in Strategic combat This options turns sound on or off for the entire game. With this option enabled, you are specifying that you only want very simple details during Strategic Combat. This means that the ships will not turn, no overview map will be available, and details will be updated less frequently. This option is used to greatly speed up Strategic Combat if you find that it is too slow on your machine. This option is the same as the option in the Combat Options Window . It determines whether full details will be displayed during Tactical Combat such as the report of how much damage is done by each weapon. By selecting this, Tactical Combat will proceed as quickly as possible. Determines whether the game uses a complete 256 color palette for drawing the empire colors. If you are running in 16-bit or 24-bit color, this option has no meaning for you. If you are running in 256 colors, and the drawing (and ship movement) is very slow, then you can try setting this option on. It will cause the graphics to be drawn much more quickly be sacrificing drawing the true empire color. The empire color will be resolved to 16 colors, which may be very different than the true color. It is highly recommended that you do not turn this option on

Fast Tactical Combat

Dont use 256 color palette for Empire color

unless you are experiencing extreme game slowdowns. Maximum ships allowed per player This is the maximum number of ships that any player can have in their empire. Once this limit is reached, no more ships will be able to be purchased. It is highly recommended that you do not change this setting. Note: If you increase this number, you may experience much slower wait times (as the computer players have many more ships to move), slow combat resolutions, and Out of Memory Errors (or just an incredibly slow game because of disk swapping). If you have a machine with a lot of memory and a very fast processor, then you should be able to increase this amount without incident. Maximum mines allowed per player This is the maximum number of layed mines that any player can have in their empire. Once this limit is reached, no more mines can be layed. (See the note above for Maximum Ships Allowed Per Player).

Known Minefields Window

The Known Minefields window lists all of the enemy minefields in the galaxy that your ships have encountered. Each known minefield is added to the list when a ship encounters it. When a ship moves through a sector containing a known minefield, and doesnt encounter any mines, then the known minefield is removed from the list automatically.

Known minefields can be added to the list be using the System Window Menu. A player might want to do this if there is a sector that they do not want their ships to move through.

Known minefields are signified on the System Window by a box and a small M in the lower right hand corner. The minefield is displayed in the color of your empire and is visible regardless of whether there are ships in the system.

Controls Ships should avoid With this option selected, your ships will not move through a sector containing a known minefield. They will attempt to find an alternate route if one exists. If one doesnt, then the ship will not move at all. Ships that are given orders to move to that sector specifically, will still move there. A list of the minefields which your ships have encountered in the galaxy. By selecting a minefield in the list, and then pressing this button, the System Window will be changed to display the sector where the minefield exists. Deletes the selected minefield from the minefield list.

Minefield List Goto

Delete

See Mines and Moveto Order for more information.

Next Player Window

The Next Player window is displayed at the beginning of each players turn. By pressing OK, you will be taken to the Tactical Window where your ships will execute any orders they have. For more details on the phases of a turn, see Typical Turn.

If a password is required for this player, then a password entry box will be displayed. You will not be able to start the turn unless you enter the password correctly. If you fail to enter the password three times, then the game will end.

If you have forgotten your password, or want to change a player to be computer controlled, you can bring up the edit players window by holding the Ctrl key down and pressing F9. Before the edit players window is displayed, the Password Window will request that you enter the game master password. The default master password for a game is master, but this can be changed in the Game Setup - Mechanics Window when a game is started.

Order Information Window

This window displays order information for Space Empires III. You can press Print Order Form to print a sample order form for ordering the game. For more information about ordering, see Ordering Instructions.

Password Window

The Password Window is displayed when a player wishes to edit the players in the game. The password required to do this is the Game Master Password. The default Game Master Password is master, but it can be changed for each game in the Game Setup - Mechanics Window . This

password is used in multi-player games so that only the owner of the game can change any of the players who are in it. For more information on multi-player games, see Multi-Player Games.

Racial Advantages Window

The Racial Advantages Window is a setup window which allows a player to choose which racial advantages that they wish their empire to have. Each racial advantage selected will mean added abilities for your empire. This window is displayed from the Empire Setup Window when you are selecting the options for your empire.

You will not be allowed to leave this window until the number of selected racial advantages is within the total number allowed for your empire. It is allowable for you to select less than the total number allowed.

Controls Racial Advantages Used This is the number of racial advantages that you have selected out of the total amount allowed for an empire. This total number of racial advantages

per empire is set in the Game Setup - Balance Window. Racial Advantage List This lists all of the racial advantages allowed in the game. Each racial advantage has a name and a description of the bonus that it will give your empire. When you click on a racial advantage, a check mark will be displayed in the first column of the list. Each racial advantage with a check mark is a racial advantage that you have selected for your empire. Pressing this button will select all of the racial advantages in the list. Pressing this button will remove all of the check marks from the list.

Select All Unselect All

See Game Setup for more details on game options.

Registration Window

The Registration Window is where you enter your information and registration code. You will receive a registration code after purchasing the game. You must enter all of your personal information exactly as it was written on your order form. Then you enter your registration code in the boxes at the bottom. When you have completed entering your information, press the OK button. If your registration code is valid, then a welcome message will be displayed. If the registration code is incorrect, a warning message will be displayed.

If you cannot get your registration code to work, go back and be sure that you have entered all of your personal information correctly. Next, be sure that the registration code is correct. If all of the information is correct as it was reported to you, then contact us at Malfador Machinations and we will determine the problem.

Once you have successfully entered your registration information, the game will now be registered. This means that you will have the full tech levels available. Have fun!

Restricted Systems Window

The Restricted Systems window lists all of the systems in the galaxy that your ships should not enter. Each restricted system is completely at your discretion. It is merely a way of marking systems that your ships should not move through when they are executing their orders. This is often useful when there are systems with heavy enemy activity.

Controls Ships should avoid With this option selected, your ships will not move through a restricted system. They will

attempt to find an alternate route if one exists. If one doesnt, then the ship will not move at all. Ships that are given orders to move to that system specifically, will still move there. System List Goto A list of the systems which your ships should avoid. By selecting a system in the list, and then pressing this button, the System Window will be changed to display the selected system. Displays the Find System Window so that you can select a system to add to the list. Only known systems can be added to the list. Deletes the selected system from the minefield list.

Add

Delete

See Moveto Order for more information.

Scores Window

The Score Window displays the current scores of players and the victory conditions which have been met.

Score The Score section displays the scores of the players in the game. Which players are visible depends on the score visibility settings made in the Game Setup - Balance Window . Information about the total values of the empire are displayed in different rows under each empires icon. The player with the highest value in each row will have their numbers displayed in white, with lower values of other players being displayed in gray.

Score is computed as follows: Score = Total Construction Points Generated + Total Research Points Generated + Total Intelligence Points Generated + Number of Techs * 200 +

50,000 points if you have attained all tech levels + 10 * number of spaces for each ship and base (excluding colony ships, transports, and mines)

Victory Conditions This option will only be enabled if victory conditions have been selected for this game in the Game Setup - Victory Conditions Window. If they have been, then this list will display which players have met the victory conditions which apply to this game.

See Game Setup for more information.

Start Window

The Start Window is displayed at the beginning of each game. It allows you to proceed with a new game, load an old game, or register the game.

Controls 1 Player Quick Start This selection will start a 1 player game with as little setup as necessary. You will be taken to the Empire Setup Window to set your empires options, and then the game will begin. This is highly recommended for new players. This selection will allow you to have complete control over the setup of the game. You will be taken to the Game Setup windows to select all of the options for the game. This option will start a simple 1 player game and will display the Help Files tutorial section to help walk you through a new game. See Tutorial Page 1 for more details. This option will display the standard Windows File Open dialog to allow you to select a savegame to play. Only a save game file is selected, the game will be loaded and you will be taken to the Tactical Window. Select this option if your wish to register the game. This will display the Registration Window. This item is only available if you have never registered the game before. Once you have, this option is removed. Quits the game.

Setup Game

Tutorial

Load Game

Register

Quit

See Getting Started for more information.

System Notes Window

The System Notes Window allows you to enter general information for any solar system in the game (that you have seen). By selecting a system in the System combo box, you can see and edit notes that you have entered for that system.

This window is displayed by right-clicking on a system in the Galaxy Window and then selecting the menu item on the Galaxy Window Menu. It can also be reached from the Tactical Window menu.

System Display Window

This window is used to display the system that combat is taking place in. The information displayed is what can be seen by both players taking place in the combat. The sector that is selected is the specific sector where combat is taking place.

This window is usually displayed from the Combat Options Window or the Strategic Combat Window.

Starting Tech Levels Window

The Starting Tech Levels Window allows a player to set the tech levels they wish theyre empire to start at. You will not be able to leave this window until the number of tech levels used is within the maximum tech levels allowed. It is the players choice if they wish to not use all of the tech levels available.

Controls Maximum Tech Levels Allowed Tech Area List This is the maximum number of tech levels that may be selected for your empire. This number is set in the Game Setup - Balance Window. This is a list of all of the tech area that are available in the game. The name of the tech area is displayed, followed by your current tech level in it, and then the maximum tech that is allowed for that area. Some techs will have a name of Hidden. These are hidden techs which will only become available when you reach certain levels in other tech areas. You cannot add tech levels to a hidden tech area. For more information see the Tech Charts. The total techs used by your empire over all of

Tech Levels Used

the tech areas available. Increase Selected Tech When you select a tech area in the tech area list, this number will display your current tech level in that area. By clicking the arrows up and down, you can increase or decrease it. You will not be able to increase it past its maximum. Pressing this option sets all of the available techs to their maximum possible value.

Select All

For more information, see Game Setup.

Ally Treaties Window

This window allows you to view the current treaties of one of your allies. The list presents each empire that your ally knows about, and what their current relation is. You will notice that your empire is in the list as well.

See Treaties for more information.

Set Fleet Window

The Set Fleet Window allows you to set the fleet number for all of the currently highlighted ships in the Ship List Window .

Controls Existing Fleets List This list displays all of the fleets you currently have. Its main purpose is for you to know what fleet numbers are in use. The first column displays the picture of the largest ship in the fleet, then the fleet number, then the number of ships in that fleet. For more details on your fleets, you should use the Fleet display mode of the Ships List Window. Use the arrow buttons to select the fleet number to give to the selected ships in the Ship List Window. You can hold the Shift key to have the arrows change the number in increments of 10. Pressing OK will give the currently selected fleet number of all of the highlighted ships in the Ship

New Fleet Setting

OK

List Window. If the fleet number is 0, then all of the selected ships will no longer belong to a fleet. Cancel Returns you to the Ship List Window without making any changes.

For more information, see Fleets .

Components

A Component is a single module which can be placed on a starship. Every component has similar properties which define its use and abilities. See Component Properties for more details. The following are the types of components in the game:

Bridge Auxiliary Control Master Computer Life Support Crew Quarters Engine Component ECM Combat Sensors Multiplex Tracking Armor Shield Generator Phased-Shield Generator Colonizing Module Space Yard Population Quarters Troop Quarters Fighter Bays Mine Storage

Mine Sweeper Medical Bay Emergency Resupply Pod Emergency Energy Pod Resupply Pod Quantum Reactor Shield Regenerator Cloaking Device Tachyon Sensors Long Range Scanners Scanner Jammer Open Warp Point Close Warp Point Create Storm Destroy Storm Create Planet Destroy Planet Create Sun Destroy Sun Boarding Parties Security Stations Self-Destruct Device

Also see Weapons for information on the various weapon components in the game.

If you want specific information on a given component, go to the Component Report Window for that component.

Component Properties

The following are the properties that all components share:

Name

The name of the component. Every component has a unique name. Components which are improvements over previous components, are signified with the same name followed by a roman numeral. Every component is categorized as begin of a particular type. This allows you to select only certain groups to view in the Component Report Window and the Add Design Window. This is the date that your empire discovered this component. When you acquire new technologies through Research , you will discover new component to use on your starships. An empire can only ever use the components that it has discovered. This is the cost in construction points of the component. When you place this component on board your ship design in the Add Design Window , this cost will be added to your total design cost. This is the number of spaces that this component requires on your ship design. For more details see Ship Design. Different components have different abilities. If a component has a special ability, then this value will be displayed in the Component Report Window. For example, a shield generator component generates so many shields. Its special value would be the number of shields that it generates.

Type

Date Discovered

Cost

Spaces Special

If you want specific information on a given component, go to the Component Report Window for that component.

To see a list of the types of components found in the game, go to Components.

Bridge Component

Description A Bridge is the command center of a starship. This is where the captain and his command crew reside. From here they issue orders to the rest of the ship. All ships (and bases) require a Bridge. When a ship loses its bridge, it is assumed that commands are being given from another location. The command crew has hastily reassembled in a non-destroyed locale. Because the command crew

no longer has all of the information at hand, the ship takes a penalty of half its movement (as long as there is no auxiliary control). A ship will regain its full movement when the bridge is repaired.

Auxiliary Control Component

Description Auxiliary Control is a backup to the bridge component. It serves no purpose other than as a backup bridge just in case the bridge is destroyed. Without auxiliary control, if the bridge is destroyed, the ship only gets half its normal movement. If there is an auxiliary control, and the ship loses its bridge, the ship will still function normally (get full movement). Of course, if you lose both the bridge, and the auxiliary control, your ship goes to half movement.

Master Computer Component

Description As computer technology develops, AI research will come to the point where starships can actually be completely controlled by a computer. This means that with a Master Computer on board, the ship does not need a crew. This computer will act at an equal ability level as its fellow crewed starships. When you place a Master Computer component on your starship, you do not need to place a Bridge, Life Support, or Crew Quarters on it. This is a great savings in space!

Life Support Component

Description Life Support is the machinery needed to provide a livable atmosphere on board your starships for your crew. As a ships size gets bigger, you will need more life support components to adequately service it. The requirement is 1 life support component per every 30 spaces on the ship (see Ship Sizes). If your ship should take damage and a life support is damaged, not to worry. Even if there is 1 life support component functioning, your crew will survive. If, however, you lose all of your life support components, your crew will suffocate (or freeze or explode). This results in your ship not getting any movement points at the beginning of each turn until the life support components are repaired. Its assumed that when you get the life support working again, that you get a new crew as well (and a few ghosts).

Crew Quarters Component

Description Crew quarters are the living quarters for your crew. They contain beds, bathrooms, rec rooms, dining rooms, and the like, The bigger your ship, the larger a crew youll have, the more crew quarters youll need. It is required that every ship have 1 crew quarters for every 30 spaces in the ship (see Ship Sizes). If your ship should take damage, and you lose all of your crew quarters, then your ship will get a penalty of half its normal movement. As long as you have 1 crew quarter available, your crews will work in shifts and share bunks, so no penalty will be incurred.

Engine Component

Description An Engine is the standard propulsion mechanism of all starships. It is a standard sub-light engine which moves a ship forward by a variety of means. Many scientists have tried and failed in the pursuit of the dream of faster than light travel. In the realm of this game, faster than light travel is just not possible. Most other things are though. As you place engines on a starship they will generate propulsion for the ship. The amount of engines needed to generate 1 movement point, is determined by the ships size (see Ship Sizes). When a ship takes damage to its engines, it will begin to lose movement points.

Some engines are so advanced that actually generate bonus movement in addition to normal movement. This bonus movement is added to a ships movement after all other movement is totaled. For example, if a destroyer has 6 engine IVs, it will get the normal 6 movement points plus 1 bonus movement point. This means that at the beginning of each turn, the ship will get 7 movement points to spend. Note that a ship must have all of the same engine type to receive a movement bonus.

ECM Component

Description ECM stands for electro-magnetic counter-measures. You can think of it as a kind of interstellar noise which disturbs the sensors of enemy vessels. A ship which contains a functioning ECM component is more difficult to hit with weapons fire because sensors are confused by this noise. Each ECM component is rated with a percentage that it adds to a ships defense modifier in combat (see Combat). Keep in mind that ECM components are not cumulative. If you have 2 ECM modules, it doesnt make you twice as hard to hit. The only advantage in having 2 ECM components would be if one gets hit, you have another to take its place.

Combat Sensors Component

Description Combat Sensors are the searching eyes of a starship during combat. Combat Sensors are used to track and target enemy vessels. Now all ships have built-in standard sensors that they can use to track enemy ships. Combat Sensors, on the other hand, are specific to the job. They are advanced sensors which track and give your weapons an accurate firing solution on enemy targets. Each Combat Sensor component is rated with a percentage that it adds to a ships offensive modifier during combat (see Combat). Keep in mind that Combat Sensors are not cumulative. If you have 2 Combat Sensors, it doesnt make you twice as good a shot. The only advantage in having 2 Combat Sensors would be if one gets hit, you have another to take its place.

Multiplex Tracking Component

Description Multiplex Tracking is an advanced sensor system used to track multiple targets during combat. As a standard, all starships can track 1 target during combat and fire on it with all their weapons. Each combat turn, you can switch to a new target, but you can only have 1 target in a given turn (see Combat). With Multiplex Tracking, you can target more than one enemy in the same combat turn. This means that if you had Multiplex Tracking II, you could fire on target A with half your weapons and fire on target B with the other half, in the same combat turn. This component is essential for bases which have large numbers of weapons.

Armor Component

Description Armor is a very strong alloy placed on the exterior of a starship to help protect it from damage. With the invention of shield technology, armor becomes fairly obsolete. Its still somewhat useful, however, since there are weapons that skip shields and would hit your internal components, if not for armor in the armor section of your ship (see Ship Sections). As metallurgy and chemistry is advanced, cheaper and more light-weight materials are developed to be used as armor.

The greatest advance in the field of armor is the invention of Emissive Armor. This armor is made from a highly energy absorbent material. When enemy weapons fire is hits the emissive armor, the energy is absorbed and then radiated back into space. Each Emissive Armor component is rated with how much damage it can withstand before being destroyed. For example, your ship has Emissive Armor II which is rated at 2 points of damage. Your ship is then hit by enemy weapons fire for 1 point of damage. The emissive armor would absorb this damage and bleed the energy off into space. Your ship would take no damage. If, however, your ship took 2 points of damage, then the emissive armor would attempt to absorb it and be destroyed. You would only lose the emissive armor and thats it. Since the energy is immediately bled off into space by the armor, you can take an infinite amount of hits for less than the damage amount and not suffer any internal damage to your ship.

Shield Generator Component

Description A shield generator is a component which generates a protective energy barrier around your starship. This energy barrier, known as your ships shields, will absorb damage from enemy weapons fire and not allow the damage to reach your starship. The strength of your shields is rated in damage points. So if you have 20 shields, you can take 20 points of damage before your shields go down. Once your shields go down during combat, they do not come back again until you have left the combat situation. The shield generators on your ship provide a cumulative amount of shields. Meaning that if you put 3 shield generators rated at 10 shields each, then your ship will have 30 shields when it enters combat. Every time your ship enters combat, your shields will be regenerated to their full strength. As your ship takes damage, and you lose shield generators, you will lose that many shields at the moment you take the damage.

Be warned that there are weapons that can skip normal shields. Shield Generators generate normal shields. For more information on the different types of damage, see Ship Damage.

See Ship Sections and Combat for more information.

Phased-Shield Generator Component

Description Phased-Shield generators are exactly the same as shield generators except that they generate a phased shield as opposed to normal shields. Normal shields can be penetrated by phased weapons. To defend against these weapons, intrepid scientists created phased shields. These shields will not allow phased weapons to penetrate them. For more information on damage types, see Ship Damage.

Colonizing Module Component

Description A colonization module is a shake-and-bake colony in a can. How are colonies created on planets? This is the answer! Each colonization module includes all of the materials and settlers needed to create a self-sufficient community on another planet. Their one oversight is that they cannot include power reactors necessary for supplying the colony. Because of this, when a planet is colonized with a colonizing module, the settlers cannibalize the colony ship that brought them.

They need the engines to use as power generators and terraforming reactors. Colonization modules are most often place aboard colony ships which are specially suited ship sizes designed just for them (see Ship Sizes).

Each colonization module is specific to an atmosphere type. You can only colonize a planet with the same atmosphere type as the colonization module.

For more information on colonizing, see Planet Colonization.

Space Yard Component

Description A Space Yard is a robotic ship yard which can repair and construct starships. Each space yard is rated with how many components per turn it can repair on a single starship. A space yard can only repair/construct one ship during a turn. These yards are largely computer controlled and will automatically repair any damaged ship which enters the sector. The order in which space yards repair is based on the ships in their repair queue. For more information on construction and repair see Ship Construction and Ship Repair.

Also note that planets with a significant population get a built in space yard. The details about this space yard can be seen in the Empire Status Window.

Population Quarters Component

Description Population quarters are storage containers for population aboard starships. Each population quarter can transport a few million people (they sure cram em in!) based on its technology. If a ship wants to load some population as cargo, it needs to have population quarters.

See Ship Cargo for more information.

Troop Quarters Component

Description

Troop quarters are storage containers for troops aboard starships. Each troop quarter provides the ship its on with a number of unit spaces. These spaces can be used to transport different troop types. The number of spaces is based on the technology level of the troop quarter. If a ship is carrying troops, it can drop them on enemy planets during combat. This begins a ground combat scenario where the troops attempt to take over the planet for your empire. See Combat for more information on troop combat.

See Ship Cargo for more information.

Fighter Bays Component

Description Fighter Bays are storage containers for fighters aboard starships. Each fighter bay provides the ship its on with a number of unit spaces. These spaces can be used to transport different fighter types. The number of spaces is based on the technology level of the fighter bay. If a ship is carrying fighters, it can launch them during combat. These fighters can participate in combat, but they cannot exist outside of combat without being contained in fighter bays. Fighters have no long range movement capability of their own. See Combat for more information on fighters in combat.

See Ship Cargo for more information.

Mine Storage Component

Description Mine storage is a way to transport mines aboard starships. Each mine storage provides the ship its on with a number of unit spaces. These spaces can be used to transport different mine types. The number of spaces is based on the technology level of the mine storage component. A ship that is carrying mines, can choose to lay them in space for other enemy ships to hit. See Lay Mines Order for details.

See Ship Cargo for more information.

Mine Sweeper Component

Description

A mine sweeper component is a highly sensitive detection net used to find mines in a sector of space. Each mine sweeper is rated with how many mines it can sweep on a pass. When a mine sweeper sweeps the mines, it detonates it so that it wont hit passing ships. Of course, mine sweeping is a very dangerous job. Even though your ship sweeps for mines, it may still get hit by them as well. Mines in the 25th century are a little more advanced than just sit and wait for something to run into it. They will also home in on targets that pass near them and charge the ship. For more information on laying mines see Lay Mines Order.

Medical Bay Component

Description A medical bay on a ship is where the medical staff lives and works. They are useful in situations where a plague breaks out on a planet. A ship with a medical bay merely has to enter the sector and the hard working doctors will cure that troublesome plague in moments. Plagues come in varying levels, however. The plague may be too advanced for the medical bay to handle. Each medical bay is rated with the level of plague that it can cure. If the level of the plague is higher than the level of the medical bay, the doctors will be out of luck (and the population as well).

Emergency Resupply Pod Component

Description An emergency resupply pod is an emergency store of supplies that are only used in dire situations. In practice, this emergency pod can be used at any time the captain feels like. Using the emergency resupply pod gives the ship some extra resupply time. In using it, the component is destroyed.

Using the Emergency Resupply Pod will not increase your ships resupply time above its normal maximum. You should only use these pods if your resupply time is low, and you need some extra time to get to a Resupply Depot. Using them while your ship is at full resupply time is useless.

See Use Emergency Resupply Pod Order for more details.

Emergency Energy Pod Component

Description An emergency energy pod is an emergency battery of power for the ship. Using the emergency energy pod gives the ship some extra movement points for the current turn. This can be quite

useful if your ship is just a few short sectors from home, or from its target. In using it, the component is destroyed.

Using the Emergency Energy Pod will not increase your ships movement points above its normal maximum. You should only use these pods if your movement is low, and you need some extra movement points. Using them while your ship is at full movement points is useless. When your ship gains these extra movement points, they will not carry over until next turn.

See Use Emergency Energy Pod Order for more details.

Resupply Pod Component

Description A resupply pod is the machinery needed to extend a ships time in space by recycling food, water, ammo, and fuel. A resupply pod on a ship gives the ship a permanent extra amount of resupply time. For example, if the ship normally gets 1.5 years until it needs to resupply, and you add a resupply pod rated at 0.3 years, the ship will only need to resupply every 1.8 years. See Ship Resupply for more details.

Quantum Reactor Component

Description The intense study of stars and the cyclic nature of matter and energy eventually lead to a remarkable discovery. Scientists found that quantum particles, which are often found in stars, undergo a self-perpetuating energy cycle. Though not a true eternal source of energy, it will last for several millennia, which is quite enough for most ships. A quantum reactor is an eternal energy source. This means that it will generate power forever on board a ship (well at least for the first thousand years or so). The power can be adapted for fuel, ammo, and used to replicate food and water. A ship that carries a quantum reactor NEVER needs to resupply. This has some obvious advantages.

See Ship Resupply for information on resupplying starships.

Shield Regenerator Component

Description As shield technology progresses, scientists will discover a way to regenerate shields in a very short expanse of time. Specifically, they will develop the shield regenerator which will allow a ship to regenerate its shields during combat. Each shield regenerator is rated with how many shields it will provide the ship during each combat turn. The shield regenerator is not specific to a particular type of shields and will work with all. Of course, if you dont have any shield generators on your ship, then this component is useless.

Cloaking Device Component

Description With the development of energy barriers around starships came the inevitable development of an energy barrier which bends all incoming EM radiation around a ship. This has the effect of rendering the ship entirely invisible, or cloaked. A cloaking device on a ship provides this capability. A ship, when cloaked, is undetectable by any means. You can pass through sectors which contain enemy ships and not be engaged in combat. They are the ultimate reconnaissance tool. See Cloak Order for more details.

Ships which are cloaked, however, lose certain abilities. If a ship is cloaked it cannot be repaired by a space yard. For your ship to be repaired, it must decloak. The same is true for a ship with a space yard on it. If the ship is cloaked, that space yard will not be able to repair other ships, or be a location where you can purchase new items.

Of course, the same brilliant scientists who brought you this technology, also came up with a way to defeat it. Tachyon sensors can detect cloaked ships. If a ship is cloaked, it cannot enter a sector which contains an enemy ship with tachyon sensors.

Tachyon Sensors Component

Description Tachyon sensors were developed to defeat the nefarious cloaking device. Unfortunately, tachyon sensors are not active sensors, they cannot locate cloaked ships in space on their own. Tachyon sensors require that the cloaked ship move across their detection grid to be detected. In practice, this means that a cloaked ship cannot enter a sector where there is an enemy ship which has tachyon sensors. This is especially useful for ships on warp points since no cloaked vessels will be able to pass through the warp point.

Long Range Scanners Component

Description Long range scanners are super long range detection sensors which can scan enemy ships at many sectors distance. Each long range scanner is rated with how many sectors in distance it can scan. If you bring the long range scanner within this range of an enemy ship, you can scan that ship without its knowledge. Scanning a ship allows you to see its internal details such as components and damage. See Long Range Scan Order for more details.

For every yin, there is a yang. If a ship has a scanner jammer on board, you will not be able to use your long range scanners on it.

Scanner Jammer Component

Description The Scanner Jammer is a high-intensity dampening field which will prevent Long Range Scanners from examining your ship. The Scanner Jammer does not need to be activated, nor does it cost any movement points. As long as your ship has a functioning Scanner Jammer it will generate the dampening field. The field will not protect your ship from weapons fire or hide it like a cloaking device. It merely prevents eavesdroppers from getting a good look at your ship.

Open Warp Point Component

Description As the study of stellar mechanics and gravitation advance, scientists will learn more about the nature of the warp point. They will find that warp points are a direct result of the strong gravity well of a solar system. They will also discover a way to manipulate a gravitational beam to simulate the birth of a solar system. With an incredibly precise combination of graviton beams, a new warp point can be formed between 2 solar systems. No longer do empires have to settle for the warp points that nature forms, they can create their own!

The formation of a stable warp point is a delicate operation. Warp points that are unstable, collapse immediately. For a warp point to be stable, it has to be formed at the outer edge of a solar system. Warp points formed anywhere else fail immediately. They are crushed by the gravitational well of the solar system. At the edge of the solar system, the warp point gets just enough gravitational stability to remain with the solar system, but not be collapsed by it.

When warp points are opened, they connect 2 solar systems together. The strength of the graviton beam used to open the warp point determines how far through space the warp point can connect. Traveling through a warp point is instantaneous, but the warp point is effected by the distance between the two systems. Each Open Warp Point Component is rated with how far it can open a warp point. For simplicity sake, the distance is measured in 20 light year increments. Each square in the Galaxy Window, represents 20 light years in distance. So if the component has a rating of 5, it can connect with a system that is 5 squares (or 100 light years) away. You can find out the distance between systems by changing to the Distance to System mode in the Galaxy Window.

See Open Warp Point Order for more details.

Close Warp Point Component

Description The endless study of warp points by scientists will eventually bring about the discovery of the complex gravitational machinery that makes them work. Of course, it doesnt take long before someone figures out how to screw up that machinery. A powerful burst from a gravitational beam will collapse a warp point. The collapse is sudden and fairly uneventful. Weapon manufacturers are quick to think that this makes a tremendous weapon, but it doesnt. Since ships passing through a warp point arrive at the destination system instantaneously, you cannot collapse the warp point while they are still inside. They never actually are inside!

See Close Warp Point Order for more details.

Create Storm Component

Description Storms are the navigational bane of space travel. They cause havoc with sensors and ships are often lost when traveling threw them. In the endless study of stellar processes, scientists discover how storms are formed by stellar gasses and cosmic debris. With special ionic concussion blasts, ships can actually induce storm activity in a given sector. Why would anyone want to create a storm? Military strategists have long taught the advantages of being able to hide starships from enemy detection within storm sectors. Now fleets can cloud the sector theyre in by creating their own storm!

See Create Storm Order for more details.

Destroy Storm Component

Description Having long been frustrated with the endless number of hazardous space storms, safety conscious scientists learned how to dissipate them. They found that Beta waves had a deleterious effect on the gasses and ionized clouds that comprised storms. By sending displacement Beta pulses, ships can clear an entire sector of storms. Local police forces found this very useful in removing the often used hiding places of commerce pirates.

See Destroy Storm Order for more details.

Create Planet Component

Description It has long been the dream of beings to be able to re-create the incredible forces that formed the solar systems. Specifically the very planets on which all life formed. As the gravitational and astrophysics sciences advanced, scientists found a way to generate incredibly powerful gravitational singularities (much like black holes but far less powerful). Now this didnt seem very useful at first, until someone had the bright idea of using it in a location where an asteroid belt existed. The intense gravitational field pulled in all matter in the sector and condensed it into a sphere like shape. This new sphere was for all intents and purposes, a new planet! It fell into an orbit around the nearby star and even formed an atmosphere. Scientists could now create new planets from sectors filled with useless asteroids.

Creating planets using this method requires a number of things. First you need a sector with asteroids. Next, you need the asteroids to be in a system with a working sun. Scientists that tried to create planets in systems without suns had the unfortunate sight of seeing their newly formed planet go shooting off into space. Without a star to generate a gravitational field, the planet does not attain a stable orbit in the solar system.

Each Create Planet component is rated with how large a planet it can create. Early gravitational field generators were not very powerful and could only create very tiny planets. As the technology advances, larger planets can be formed.

NOTE: The Create Planet component has no control over the atmosphere of the new planet. If an atmosphere even forms, it is entirely determines by the mineral properties of the asteroids, the type of sun, and the stellar gas already found in the solar system. In short, there is no way to know what type of atmosphere will form on a new planet.

See Create Planet Order for more details.

Destroy Planet Component

Description The long years of studying planets and the internal processes that cause earthquakes had an unexpected result. Though scientists found that they could not prevent earthquakes, they found that they could actually cause them. In fact, they could send a bomb into the core of a planet which would cause massive tectonic stress on the planet. The planet would begin to suffer devastating earthquakes which in a span of hours would rip the planet apart. Scientists were not happy with this development, but the military was. Oh yes, very happy.

Each Destroy Planet Component is rated with how large a planet it can destroy. Early tectonic bombs would only cause minor irritation to a large planet, later versions were a bit more effective.

See Destroy Planet Order for more details.

Create Sun Component

Description Stars, the mother of all life. The energy they generate spawns all life and provides for the sustenance of them as well. The life cycle of stars is one of a fiery birth, a slow burning of their internal fuels, and then a cataclysmic death. As most stars extinguish, they leave behind a minute core which is a shadow of their former selves. This core, accompanied by the surrounding gasses of the solar system, constitute what is left of the now faded star. What if it were possible to force a re-ignition of these primary elements, and cause the core to come to life once more? An imploding plasma sphere was found to do just the trick. It sucks in nearby stellar gasses and forces them together in a hyper-dense inferno. Thus, there was light.

Strangely enough, the creation of a new star is a rather peaceful event. No planets or ships are effected by the making of a new sun. There is an initial gravity wave which sweeps over everything, but this causes little damage. Most asteroid belts and planets will fall into a natural orbit.

See Create Sun Order for more details.

Destroy Sun Component

Description Stars, the mother of all life. But what would happen if something were to upset her? As it turns out, a stars subtle nucleonic reactions are a careful balance indeed. It only takes a slight disruption of these activities in the core of the star to get things rolling. The most difficult part of the whole thing was creating a delivery device that could survive the temperatures to get to the core. Some advanced ceramics were cooked up and then they had it!. A torpedo that could be fired into a star and cause its nucleonic reactions to degrade. The result was inevitable. The star would go supercritical within moments. A once sedate, life-giving star, would go through a rapid implosion. But the core could only collapse so far, it would then expel outward, in what could be called a violent outburst. Well, someone might say that, if they ever lived through the experience of seeing it.

The shock wave produced by the exploding star sweeps through its solar system in minutes. It obliterates everything in its path. Ships disintegrate like burned tissue paper. And planets, well, they get turned into ground chuck. Asteroids are all that remains of the ancient planets that once spun in orbit of this sun. Luckily, warp points are not effected by physical-space events. Warp Points will remain as they always were.

The realities of a Destroy Sun component are these. When launched into a sun at point blank range, it will destroy the sun. The resulting shock wave will destroy ALL ships in the system. The shock wave will also turn all planets into asteroids. Any populations or facilities on those planets are gone, just gone. Because of the speed of the shock wave, there is no way for anyone or anything to escape the system before the shock wave hits. Sorry.

See Destroy Sun Order for more details.

Boarding Parties Component

Description Ever wanted to reach out and touch someone? Thats why the Space Marines are here. Its their job to go to enemy ships and take them over. Boarding parties use small attack pods to quickly move from one starship to another during combat. Once they board the enemy ship, they proceed to quell the often upset crew. At this point, a series of skirmishes occurs between the boarding parties and the crew and any security station personnel. If the boarding parties are successful, they get to become the new crew of the starship. The ship, is in effect, yours.

Boarding Parties are rated with how strong they are. An attack strength is computed and compared against a defense strength (plus some random modifiers). The following is how the strengths are computed: Attack Strength Defense Strength total strength of all boarding parties total strength of all security stations + total strength of all boarding parties + 4 * the number of crew quarters

Combat is resolved instantaneously. If the space marines are successful (have the higher total in points), you now own the ship. If they are unsuccessful, they all die. If you successfully take over an enemy ship, all of its security stations and boarding parties will be destroyed. Regardless of who wins, all of the attackers boarding party components will be destroyed as well.

For a ship to attempt to board another ship during combat, it must be in the same combat square. The enemy ship must also have no shields to block the boarding pods.

Oh, yes, we almost forgot. If the defending ship has a self-destruct device, and they appear to be losing a boarding battle, they will detonate the device. This will obviously destroy their ship, but it will also destroy the attackers ship as well.

See Board Ship Order and Deconstruct and Analyze Order for more details.

Security Stations Component

Description Security stations are armed defense posts on your ship. Their only real purpose is to protect the ship from external invasion. They provide defense against someone who is attempting to board your ship with boarding parties. For more information on boarding, see Boarding Parties Component.

Self-Destruct Device Component

Description

This simple device is used only as a last resort. It merely causes the engines and energy pods on your ship to overload simultaneously. Just in case, the ship is heavily damaged (and you have no engines left), the component comes equipped with a small amount of anti-matter to get the party started. There is no way to prevent a self-destruct once its begun.

Self-Destruct can be activated at any time at a captains discretion. It will automatically be used if the ship is successfully boarded by enemy troops. See Boarding Parties Component for more information on ship boarding.

See Self-Destruct Order for more details.

Weapons

The following items provide information on Weapons:

Weapon Firing Types Weapon Properties Weapon Damage Types

If you want specific information on a given weapon, go to the Component Report Window for that weapon. If you wish to see an analysis of your weapons ranges and damages at those ranges, go to the Weapons Report Window.

Weapon Firing Types

Weapon in the game come in two distinct categories: Direct Fire and Seeking.

Direct Fire Direct fire weapons are weapons that move so fast that they strike another ship within a minute. Examples of direct fire weapons are beams and cannons. They fire a round which will hit its target in any where from a millisecond to several seconds later. In combat, this means that the weapon firing is resolved immediately. The weapon either hits or misses, and if it hits, the damage is applied to the ship at that moment.

Seeking Weapons Seeking weapons (or seekers) are weapons that move at the same speed as starships. These weapons are either missiles or heavy energy torpedoes. When the weapon is fired, it launches a projectile which will seek after its target until it either hits the target, is destroyed, or runs out of fuel. In combat, the weapon becomes an actual combat piece which will move much like a starship. Players have no control over them, they simply seek towards their target. These seekers are now actual items in combat which can be targeted by starship weapons. Seekers have no offensive weapons capability other that ramming their target.

As seekers take damage, they lose their ability to do damage. If they take enough damage, they will be destroyed. In addition, some seekers expend fuel as they move. When theyre fuel is exhausted, they are destroyed.

Weapon Properties

The following are the properties that all weapons share:

Type Range

This refers to whether the weapon is Direct-Fire or Seeking. See Weapon Firing Types for more information. The number of combat squares over which this weapon can fire. For example, if this is a 3, then the weapon can fire out to a distance of 3 combat square from your ships location. If this is a seeker, range only dictates how far away the target can be when the weapon is fired. After that, the seeker has no range limitations.

Rate

The number of turns that is required to reload the weapon. If this is a 1, then the weapon can fire each combat turn. If this is a 2, then the weapon can fire every other combat turn. The amount of damage the weapon will do at point blank range (in the same combat square, a distance of 0). If this weapon is a seeker, then the damage is not only how much damage it will do to its targets when it hits it, but how much damage it can take before it is destroyed.

Damage

Dec Damage

The amount Damage will decrease as the weapon fires farther out into space. This usually only applies to beam weapons which lose strength the farther the beam has to travel. This is the amount of damage that will be

subtracted from Damage for each combat square in distance the target is. For example, if the Dec Damage is 0.5, then the damage will decrease by 0.5 for each square it travels. If the target is 4 combat squares away, and the Damage for this weapon is 7, then the target will only take 7 - (4 * 0.5) = 5 pts of damage. If this weapon is a seeker, then the Dec Damage is the amount of damage the seeker will lose for each combat square it travels. Speed This is the speed at which the seeker will move during combat. This is identical to the combat movement points that ships get. This only applies to seekers.

To see all of your weapons with a comparison of firing ranges and damage, see the Weapons Report Window.

For more information on how weapons are targeted and used, see Combat.

Weapon Damage Types

Different weapons do different types of damage. The following is a list of damage types and what they mean to your ship:

Normal

This is the standard type of damage in the game. Damage hits shields first, then armor, then the outer hull, and finally the inner hull. This type of damage is done by phased weapons. These weapons will ignore normal shields as if they werent there. Of course, if you have phased-shields, then this damage type behaves just like normal damage. Will only damage your shields. Once your shields are gone, this damage is harmless. Will only damage engines. It also has the added benefit that shields and armor will not stop it. Will only damage weapons. It cannot be stopped by shields, armor, or other components in the way. It is a pulse that burns out your weapons without mercy. Once your weapons are gone, you wont take any more damage

Shield-Skipping

Only Shields Only Engines Only Weapons

from this type (some consolation). Only Shield Generator Plague Will only damage shield generators. It also has the added benefit that shields and armor will not stop it. Causes a certain level of plague on a planet. Other than causing a plague on a planet, it does no damage to ships or planets. These are bombs which are only effective against planetary targets. Using them against ships is useless. Biological weapons that kill people, but have no effect otherwise. Ecosystem destroyers which harm planets conditions only. Smart bombs which seek and destroy Resupply Depots. Smart bombs which seek and destroy Spaceports. Repulser beams which push enemy ships away but do no real damage. Tractor beams which pull enemy ships closer but do no real damage. Wormhole generators which cause hit ships to randomly appear in another part of the sector. Some weapons are only used to target small objects and destroy them. A good example are the Point Defense Cannons. These weapons can only track and destroy fighters and seekers but are useless against large starships or planets. Some weapons are so large and bulky that they cannot effectively hit small objects in space. Good examples of these are Capital Ship Missiles and Torpedoes. These weapons are so large that a small fighters or seeker could easily dodge them. These weapons are only effective against large targets such as ships, bases, and planets.

Only Planets Only Population Only Conditions Only Resupply Depot Only Spaceport Push Ship Pull Ship Random Move Only Fighters and Seekers

Only Ships and Planets

Facilities

Facilities are the huge industrial complexes which an empire builds on a planet to furnish it with the goods it needs. All facilities have similar properties which you can see in Facility Properties. The following are the types of facilities in the game:

Construction Center Facility Research Center Facility Intelligence Center Facility Resupply Depot Facility Spaceport Facility Conditions Improvement Planet Facility Value Improvement Planet Facility Ground Base Facility Missile Base Facility Shield Base Facility Phased-Shield Base Facility Gravitational Shield Base Facility Military College Facility Urban Pacification Center Facility

You can find out more information on the facilities you have available in the Facility Report Window.

Facility Properties

The following are the properties that all facilities share:

Name

The name of the facility. Every facility has a unique name. Facilities which are improvements over previous facilities, are signified with the same name followed by a roman numeral. Every facility is categorized as begin of a particular type. This allows you to select only certain groups to view in the Facility Report Window. This is the cost in construction points of the facility. When you place this facility in the construction queue of a planet in the Construction Queue Window, this cost will

Type

Cost

be charged per turn. Time This is the time to construct this facility on a planet with minimal population. If your population is large enough, it can get the facility done in a shorter amount of time. When you view the facility in the Construction Queue Window it will display the actual time it will take to construct the facility based on this planets population. If the population can get it done faster, the cost will be higher than normal because you are going to complete the facility in less time. Each facility has its own special abilities. For example, Construction Centers will display the number of construction points that they will generate each turn.

Special

If you want specific information on a given facility, go to the Facility Report Window for that facility.

To see a list of the types of facilities found in the game, go to Facilities.

Construction Center Facility

Description Construction Centers are the generators of Construction Points for an Empire. They process the raw materials of a planet and convert them into usable construction materials. The technology level of a Construction Center dictates the number of construction points that it will generate each turn. This amount is also modified by the value of the planet and the production output of the populace. For example, if the Construction Center generates 500 construction points per turn, the planet has a value of Good (1.2), and the production output is 120%, then the Empire will receive 500 x 1.2 x 1.2 = 720 construction points per turn.

Research Center Facility

Description Research Centers are the generators of Research Points for an Empire. They are high-tech factories of intellectual study and research. What they research is dictated by the Empire in the Research Window. The number of research points generated depends on the technology level of the Research Center.

For more information see Research.

Intelligence Center Facility

Description Intelligence Centers are the generators of Intelligence Points for an Empire. They are super-secret information gathering and administration centers. They train spies and manipulate other empires through subtle and covert means. What intelligence operations they employ is dictated by the Empire in the Intelligence Window. The number of intelligence points generated depends on the technology level of the Intelligence Center.

For more information see Intelligence.

Resupply Depot Facility

Description A Resupply Depot is a storehouse for food, fuel, ammunition, and energy needed by your starships. They are huge factories which generate the supplies needed by ships automatically. A ship passing through a sector with a Resupply Depot will resupply immediately and be on its way. This operation is so streamlined that a ship does not even need to expend movement points to resupply. Without these depots, your ships will wither and die in the icy cold of space. You would be well advised to have one near to any ship operations.

For more information see Ship Resupply.

Spaceport Facility

Description Spaceports are the commercial centers of your Empire. They facilitate all transport of materials throughout the different planets that are in the system. An Empire uses Spaceports to transport the points generated by its facilities to the places where they are needed. This transport is automatic and does not require military ships of your fleet to operate. As points are generated by planets in a system, they are transported to the planet in the system with the Spaceport. They are then immediately sent to the Empires coffers to be spent on needed items. Without a spaceport, however, the points generated by planets in a system will not go anywhere. These points are essentially lost, and the Empire has no access to them. It is imperative that you have at least one spaceport in each system where you have colonized planets.

Conditions Improvement Planet Facility

Description A Conditions Improvement Planet (or CIP) is a huge atmospheric processing plant and terraforming factory. It improves the conditions of the planet by making the landscape and the atmosphere more tolerable. It does not actually change the atmosphere type, but it does keeps the killer storms to a minimum. It also smoothes out the terrain and makes it more hospitable to colonization. By improving the conditions of a planet, you will make the population of your planet happier, and thus increase their reproduction (everyday is Spring!).

See Planet Properties for more information.

Value Improvement Planet Facility

Description A Value Improvement Planet (or VIP) is a huge mining complex. It improves the value of a planet by providing access to new deposits of minerals and resources. It also uses a variety of techniques to pull resources from previously worthless sections of the terrain. Improving the value of a planet is always beneficial because the Construction Points generated by Construction Centers on the planet will increase.

See Planet Properties for more information.

Ground Base Facility

Description A Ground Base Facility is a special fortress design for troops. It enhances the ability of your troops to repel ground attack from enemy troops. Each Ground Base is rated with a certain percentage. This percentage is the amount of damage your defending troops will be enhanced by. For example, if your troops normally would do 20 pts of damage, and they are on a planet with a Ground Base rated at 100%, then they will actually do 40 pts of damage when they defend. Ground Base enhancements are cumulative so that if you have 2 bases rated at 100%, your troops get a bonus of 200%. Keep in mind that a Ground Base is useless without troops to man it. A Ground Base cannot defend against enemy troops without some of your own troops there to operate it.

See Troops for more information.

Missile Base Facility

Description A Missile Base Facility is a ground based launching pad for Capital Ship Missiles. When space combat is begun, and you have a planet with a Missile Base, then the planet will be able to fire at enemy ships as if were carrying 3 Capital Ship Missile Launcher components. If the Missile Base is destroyed, then you will lose the ability of the missile components.

Shield Base Facility

Description A Shield Base Facility is a huge shield generator stationed on the planet. It will generate normal shields covering all of your population centers and facilities on the planet. During space combat, this will protect your planet from enemy ships attacks. The shields operate just like normal ship shields. If the Shield Base is destroyed, then your shields will drop. Be warned that planetary shields do not prevent enemy troops from landing on the planet and attacking you.

See Ship Shields for more information.

Phased-Shield Base Facility

Description A Phased-Shield Base Facility is identical to a Shield Base Facility except that it generates PhasedShields instead of normal shields. Phased-Shields will stop phased weapons which skip normal shields. See Shield Base Facility for more information on planetary shields.

Gravitational Shield Base Facility

Description A Gravitational Shield Base Facility is a complex which generates an anti-lepton gravitational field. This shield is generated with the sole purpose of stopping planet destroying weapons. With

this facility functioning on your planet, no planet destroying weapon will have any effect on your planet. This base will not, however, generate any kind of shield to protect your planet against ship weapons. It merely generates a field to stop planet destroying weapons.

Military College Facility

Description A Military College is a center for learning the military arts. Ships that are constructed at planets where there is a Military College get a crew that has recently graduated from the college. This means that the ship will get a bonus when it comes to combat. The Military College itself is rated with a bonus percentage that will be passed on to any ship that is purchased in the same sector as the planet. For example, if you have a Military College that is rated at 10% on a planet, then a ship built in that sector will get a bonus of 10%. Then when the ships gets into combat, it will get +10% to its defense and +10% to its offense.

See Combat for more information.

Urban Pacification Center Facility

Description An Urban Pacification Center is a center for the people. It serves as a location where the populations of a system can go and relax. It provides entertainment and diversion for an entire system of planets. Building an Urban Pacification Center in a system helps to keep the populations of the planets in that system happy. Each turn, the happiness of all of the populations of the system will get a little better. The technology level of the facility dictates how much happier they will get.

See Planet Populations for more information.

Units

Units are the additional weapons that an empire employs. They have no space movement capability of their own and must be transported as cargo. All units have similar properties which can be seen in Unit Properties. The following are the types of units in the game:

Troops Fighters

Mines

You can find out more information on the facilities you have available in the Unit Report Window.

Unit Properties

The following are the properties that all units share:

Name

The name of the unit. Every unit has a unique name. Units which are improvements over previous units, are signified with the same name followed by a roman numeral. Every unit is categorized as begin of a particular type. This allows you to select only certain groups to view in the Unit Report Window. This is the cost in construction points of the unit. When you purchase this unit, or construct it on a planet, this cost will be charged. This is the amount of space that the unit requires. When placed on a planet, or being transported by a ship as cargo, this number of spaces will be taken up. Different units have special abilities. For fighters, this will be the combat abilities of the fighter. For troops, this will be their combat strength. For mines, this will be the damage that they will cause to enemy ships.

Type

Cost

Spaces

Special

If you want specific information on a given unit, go to the Unit Report Window for that unit.

To see a list of the types of units found in the game, go to Units.

Troops

Description Troops are the ground based forces of an empire. Though starships may be adept at patrolling space and enforcing an empires will, they are too bulky and clumsy when it comes to planet based combat. This is where troops come into play. They can land on a planet and capture the indigenous

population and facilities. In combat, they are dropped onto a planet and must battle any defending troops and the native population. If the troops successfully conquer their adversaries, the planet becomes owned by their controlling Empire. In this way, you dont have to have ships utterly decimate the population and facilities from space. They can take the planet intact. The existing population and facilities become theres.

Troops have no space movement capability of their own. They must be transported with the use of Troop Quarters aboard starships. A ship size specifically designed for this purpose is the Transport. This ship size is specialized for housing Troop Quarters or Population Quarters (see Ship Sizes). While the troops are being transported, they have no offensive or defensive capabilities. If the ship thats carrying them takes damage, and their Troop Quarters is destroyed, then they will be destroyed as well. Troops can only actively participate in combat when they are on a planet, or when they are dropped onto a planet during combat.

Some of the higher technology troops also have the advantage of having very powerful weapons that can actually fire into space from a planet. These troops provide weapon components to a planet during combat (much like Missile Bases do). For more information on planets in combat see Combat.

Purchasing Troops are constructed/recruited on planets. In the Construction Queue Window an Empire can specify which troops or facilities they wish to build on the planet. Troops always take 1 turn to construct/recruit, and have a specific one-time construction point cost. Troops do not require maintenance or resupply of any kind.

Transport Troops can be loaded onto ships using the orders Load Cargo and dropped with the orders Drop Cargo. The easiest way to load and unload them is using the Transfer Cargo Order. For more information about using them in combat, see Combat.

Fighters

Description Fighters are small single-person space vehicles designed to travel very fast for short distances. They are adept at combat and can inflict tremendous damage on enemy starships. They are constructed with a single weapon component built into their hull. The technology of the fighter determines the type of weapon that they will possess. More advanced fighters can even carry ECM, Combat Sensors, and Shields.

Fighters have no interstellar space flight capability and must be transported by starships. Fighters are transported with the use of Fighter Bays. The carrier ship size is specialized to carry Fighter Bays (see Ship Sizes). A Fighter is purchased, then constructed, then loaded onto a carrier for transport into a combat situation. When combat begins, the carrier launches all of its available fighters to attack enemy ships. At the end of combat, the surviving fighters are loaded back onto their carriers. If, however, the carriers have been destroyed, the fighters will die as well. Fighters will land back on any carrier they can, but if theres no room for them, they perish.

Fighters can only stay in space for a short span of time. They can only be launched during combat and cannot move through a solar system without transport. Fighters that are on planets, can be launched from the planet during combat and then land back on it when combat is completed.

Purchasing Fighters are purchased in the Purchases Window just like a starship. They always take 1 turn to construct and must be purchased at a location with a space yard. When they are purchased, they will show up in that locations Repair Queue on the next turn. This signifies that the raw materials are present, the fighter just hasnt been constructed yet. When the fighter gets to the front of the Repair Queue (and there is space to put the fighter), on the next turn it will be constructed. It will then be placed either on a planet in the sector or a base in the sector. The computer will try to place the fighter on the planet, but there may not be enough space for it. If there isnt, it will try to place it on a base. If there is no room anywhere for the fighter, then the fighter will not be constructed at all, and will wait in the Repair Queue until there is space for it to be placed. For more information see Repair Queues.

Transport Fighters can be loaded onto ships using the orders Load Cargo and dropped with the orders Drop Cargo. The easiest way to load and unload them is using the Transfer Cargo Order. For more information about using them in combat, see Combat.

Mines

Description Mines are small, computer-controlled warheads which detonate near enemy ships. They are undetectable and will detonate near any enemy ship that enters the sector in which they lay in wait. When mines explode, they do damage to themselves and to the enemy ship that is near.

Mines have no movement capability whatsoever. They must be transported in Mine Storage components aboard starships. A starship merely has to load the mines, and then take them to a location is space and deploy, lay, them. Once mines have been laid, there is no retrieving them (though they can be self-destructed). They will then sit in wait for any enemy ship to move through the sector. They consider an enemy to be any Empire that your Empire currently has no political

relationship with or worse. See Politics for more information on political relationships. Mines will damage all enemy ships, including ones that are cloaked.

Mines are completely invisible. They cannot be detected by any means. The only mines that you can see are your own mines sitting in space. As you encounter enemy minefields, though, you can mark them so that your ships dont move through that sector again. Your Empire designates the sector as having a Known Minefield. Your ships will not move through this sector unless you give them specific orders to do so.

Though mines cannot be detected through normal means, they can be eliminated, swept, by special Mine Sweeping Components. A ship that has a Mine Sweeping component will automatically sweep for mines when it enters a sector. For more information see Sweep Mines Order.

Mines only damage ships which move completely into a sector. This means that enemy ships can attack a sector containing mines, but will only take damage from those mines once they win combat and move into the sector. It is best to use mines in sectors containing warp points, since you know that the enemy ships have to move through them. You should also try and avoid defending in sectors that contain your mines. The enemy ships will get to battle your ships first, and will only take damage from the mines if they destroy your ships and enter the sector.

Purchasing Mines are purchased in the Purchases Window just like a starship. They always take 1 turn to construct and must be purchased at a location with a space yard. When they are purchased, they will show up in that locations Repair Queue on the next turn. This signifies that the raw materials are present, the mine just hasnt been constructed yet. When the mine gets to the front of the Repair Queue (and there is space to put the mine), on the next turn it will be constructed. It will then be placed either on a planet in the sector or a base in the sector. The computer will try to place the mine on the planet, but there may not be enough space for it. If there isnt, it will try to place it on a base. If there is no room anywhere for the mine, then the mine will not be constructed at all, and will wait in the Repair Queue until there is space for it to be placed. For more information see Repair Queues.

Transport Mines can be loaded onto ships using the orders Load Cargo and dropped with the orders Drop Cargo. The easiest way to load and unload them is using the Transfer Cargo Order.

Mines are put into space, laid, with the Lay Mines Order. Mines can be swept by ships either by moving the ship into the sector with the mines, or by using the Sweep Mines Order.

Cheat Codes

The following are the secret cheat codes that can be used in the game. Please do not use them unless you are in dire need!

Window Empire Options Ship Report Ship Report Ship Report

Keys to Enter Hold CTRL - Type money Hold CTRL - Type resupply Hold CTRL - Type movement Hold CTRL - Type repair

Result All points set to 100,000. Ship is immediately resupplied. Ships movement is restored. All ships damage is repaired.

You can disallow secret cheat codes in your game by deselecting the option in the Game Setup Mechanics Window .

Ordering Instructions

There are a number of ways you can order the registered version of Space Empires III. Orders are taken through Altus Software using any of the following methods. Once you make your payment with them, we will email you your registration code. You will also receive a letter via normal mail with all of your order information as well. In this way, we can get you up and playing the registered version in a matter of days!

When you receive your registration code, you can select Register in the Start Window and enter your information in the Registration Window.

Since these orders are taken by Altus Software, they will not be able to answer any of your tech support questions. For tech support, you should contact us directly.

Space Empires III is $25 US. You can also include an additional $10 US if you would like us to mail out Space Empires III on floppy diskettes (3.5"). In the future there may be additional products you can purchase from us. To see a complete list of available products, youll need to visit our web site.

If you want to send Space Empires III as a gift, contact us and we will generate custom registration codes for the recipients. Give the gift of galactic conquest!

For each of the methods below, please have the following information available: Full Name, Mailing Address, Country, Phone Number, Email Address, Credit Card Number.

Online Ordering

The quickest method of ordering is using the WWW online ordering system. You can access this easiest by going to our WWW page, and selecting Order. (801) 530-7161 (888) 282-5887

Fax Orders 800 Number Orders (phone) Email Orders

altus@inquo.net (Please print and fill out our standard Order Form)

Standard Mail Orders

Altus-Software Attn: Space Empires III Registration 12244 So. Business Park Drive Suite 200 Draper, UT 84042 USA (Please print and fill out our standard Order Form) Instead of a credit card, you should include a check made payable to Altus-Software.

Thanks for supporting shareware!

What is the Registered Version?

The registered version is the same as the shareware version except with a lot more tech levels. How many? Oh, about 215 more! Thats right. If you thought the game was good before, wait till you get your hands on these.

You get things like:

Battlecruisers, Battleships, Dreadnoughts, Starbases, and BaseShips Advanced Fighters, Troops, and Mines The Stellar Manipulation components - Open Warp Point, Close Warp Point, Create Planet, Destroy Planet, Create Sun, Destroy Sun, Create Storm, Destroy Storm Advanced weapon technology - Phased Energy, Shield Damaging, Weapon Damaging, Engine Damaging, Gravitational, Wormhole Advanced facilities - Conditions Improvement Plant, Value Improvement Plant, Ground Base, Military College, Phased Shield Base, Gravitational Shield Base, Urban Pacification Center Advanced ship components - Emissive Armor, Master Computer, Quantum Reactor, Cloaking Device, Tachyon Sensors, Long Range Scanners

When you register the game, you will receive a registration code from us. All you need to do is enter that code into the game, and your game has been registered. Because of this code system, we can get you up and playing the registered version in a matter of days. You can also come to our web site and download the latest version of the game and it will automatically be registered when you install it. Gone are the days of having stacks of disks with multiple versions sitting around. When you want the latest version, just download it and youre ready to play!

To get the registered version of the game, see the Ordering Instructions.

Order Form

Space Empires III Order Form

Name:

______________________________________________

Address:

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

City:

___________________________

State:

___________________________

Country:

___________________________

Zipcode:

___________________________

Phone:

___________________________

Email:

___________________________

How did you obtain the shareware version? (check one) (please specify the name)

____ Internet Site ____ BBS ____ Compuserve ____ Shareware Vendor

________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

____ Shareware Catalog ________________________________ ____ Magazine ____ Friend ____ Other ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________

Please write the amount of each you wish to purchase: Registered version of Space Empires III (Email and US Postal delivery of codes) US Postal Delivery of Disks (3.5") $10 = $________ _____ x $25 = $________

Total

$________

Make check payable to Altus-Software. Mail Registration form and check to: Altus-Software

Attn: Space Empires III Registration 12244 So. Business Park Drive Suite 200 Draper, UT 84042 USA Comments about Space Empires III or things you'd like to see in future versions: ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________

New Versions

To pick up the latest version of Space Empires III, visit our WEB site. You can download the very latest version and install it. The installation merely replaces the files you have and does not delete your save game files. Unless major changes are made, the versions will be backward compatible as well so that you can continue with your saved games.

For registered owners of the game, you can download the latest version too. Your system remembers your registration code and you will not need to enter it after you install. You can just start the game and it will already be registered!

If you have the shareware version of the game, you should register it to get all of the tech levels that youre missing.

We welcome you to come and visit our WEB site from time to time to get the latest information and releases.

WEB Site

Come visit us at our web site: http://www.crl.com/~malfador

At our WEB site youll find: New Versions Ordering Information Ship Styles Library The FAQ Anytime a new version of the game is created you can find it here first. All the details for ordering the game including an online ordering system! Get the registered version today! Pick up the latest ship styles library with new ship styles for SE3. If you have questions that arent answered by this Help File, then you should check our Frequently Asked Questions list. As bugs in versions are detected, well add them to our bug list. You can check this list for known problems. A list of other Space Empires III resource sites. Our grand list of players throughout the world who want to join in on multi-player games.

Bugs SE3 Sites Players for MultiPlayer Games

Credits

Space Empires III Development Team Design Programming Graphics Sound Effects Help File Additional Design Lead Testers Aaron Hall & Russell Saito Aaron Hall Russell Saito Russell Saito & Aaron Hall Aaron Hall Noah Maximov & Richard Blackwell Noah Maximov & Richard Blackwell

Ship Styles Styles 1 - 5 Styles 6 - 14 Aaron Hall Russell Saito

About the Company

Malfador Machinations
PO Box 471885 San Francisco, CA 94147-1885

Phone: Email: WEB:

(415) 281-9971 malfador@crl.com http://www.crl.com/~malfado r

Who are we? Malfador Machinations is a small game company started with the release of Space Empires II in 1995. Since then, we have been hard at work on our second release, Space Empires III. We hope that you enjoy playing this game as much as we did in writing it. If you have any comments or suggestions, wed love to hear them.

Whats next? For our next release, were planning an RPG that returns to the wonder years of Rogue and Moria. Expected release date: summer of 1999!

Legal Stuff

Comments If youd like to send us any comments or suggestions please mail them to the registration address, email us at malfador@crl.com, or call us at (415) 281-9971.

Copyright Space Empires III software and manual 1997, Malfador Machinations, All rights reserved. Space Empires III and the Malfador Machinations logo are trademarks of Malfador Machinations. Space Empires III music and sound effects 1997, Malfador Machinations.

Conditions under which this software may be copied and distributed Individual users may freely copy this disk and share it with friends and family. Nonprofit groups (including user groups and BBSs) may distribute copies of this disk. A fee of no more than $5 may be charged to cover disk copying costs. If the files on this disk have dates more than a year old, we request that you contact us for a free upgrade to the current version. Disk Distributors and dealers may distribute copies of this disk. A fee of no more than $10 per disk may be charged for this software. If, as a distributor, you supply copies to other resellers, the end price to the user my not exceed $10. A copy of each catalog, magazine, or publication that this software appears in must be sent to Malfador Machinations. Anyone distributing copies of this software, whether for profit or as a nonprofit organization, must conform to the following: The files on each disk may not be modified or adapted in any way. All of the files provided on the disk must be distributed together. Individual files or groups of files may not be sold separately. Additional files may be added and this software may be combined on a disk with other programs. This software may not be represented as anything other than shareware and the shareware concept must be explained in any ad or catalog that includes this software and on any packaging used to display the disk. You must immediately stop selling/distributing copies of this disk upon notice from the author or Malfador Machinations.

Warranty Disclaimer MALFADOR MACHINATIONS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES RELATING TO THIS SOFTWARE, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ALL SUCH WARRANTIES ARE EXPRESSLY AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMED. NEITHER MALFADOR MACHINATIONS NOR ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CREATION, PRODUCTION, OR DELIVERY OF THIS SOFTWARE SHALL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE SUCH SOFTWARE EVEN IF MALFADOR MACHINATIONS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIMS. IN NO EVENT SHALL MALFADOR MACHINATIONS' LIABILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES EVER EXCEED THE PRICE PAID FOR THE LICENSE TO USE THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF CLAIM. THE PERSON USING THE SOFTWARE BEARS ALL RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF THE LIMIT OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND SHALL INURE TO THE BENEFIT OF MALFADOR MACHINATIONS AND ANY SUCCESSORS, ADMINISTRATORS, HEIRS, AND ASSIGNS. ANY ACTION OR PROCEEDING BROUGHT BY EITHER PARTY AGAINST THE OTHER ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE BROUGHT ONLY IN A STATE OR

FEDERAL COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION LOCATED IN SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. THE PARTIES HEREBY CONSENT TO IN PERSONAM JURISDICTION OF SAID COURTS.

Glossary

Solar System Warp Point Planet Asteroids Sun Storm

Starship Ship Design Type Ship Design Ship Component Ship Size Resupply Shields Space Yard Movement Points Scrapping Seeker

Tech Level

Log Message

Construction Points

Research Points Intelligence Points Population Production Output Facility

Unit Spaces Fighter Mine Troops

Racial Advantage

Design Names File Ship Styles File Empire Icon

Restricted System Known Minefield

Warp Point
A region of space on the outskirts of a solar system where the fabric of space is weak. A starship can pass through this region and travel instantaneously to another point in the galaxy. Warp Points typically connect two neighboring solar systems and allow passage between them.

Ship Design

A ship design is the blueprint upon which actual starships are built. Every starship is constructed based on a ship design, which is often called the "class" of the starship. The ship design details its size and the components that make it up.

Ship Component
A ship component is a single module within a starship such as a bridge, weapon, engine, or crew quarters. A starship is merely a hull (ship size) filled with many of these ship components. Each component performs some function on the starship and is destroyed by 1 point of damage.

Ship Size
Each starship is of a certain size that dictates how large it is. The larger a ship is, the more components it can contain. The size of a starship determines how many spaces it starts with that can be filled.

Unit
A unit is an item which is smaller than a starship and does not need to be designed. Units consist of Fighters, Mines, and Troops. They can be purchased or constructed, and then transported by starships to different locations.

Facility
A facility is a vast industrial complex that resides on a planet. These facilities perform vital functions such as generating points or providing defense for a planet. Each facility occupies hundreds of square miles and employs millions of workers to operate. They can only exist on planets and must have a population to operate them.

Starship

A starship is a vehicle that is designed to move through the void of outer space. They carry a crew and can perform functions for an empire such as exploration, colonization, and defense. Without starships, interstellar movement would not be possible.

Fighter
A fighter is a small space vehicle which typically only carries one passenger. These vehicles are very fast and powerful. They are typically housed on planets or carriers and are launched to attack other starships. They have a single weapon built into their chassis which they use to deadly effect. Because of their size and speed they are difficult to hit.

Mine
A mine is a small space vehicle which is filled with explosives. It carries no crew and is completely computer automated. These vehicles have no movement capability and have to be placed or "laid" by starships. They are completely undetectable by enemies and will explode when an enemy starship comes near. They can, however, be detected with special mine sweeping components.

Troops
Troops are the ground attack forces of an empire. They have no movement capabilities of their own and must be transported by starships to their destination. They are adept at ground combat on planets and capturing enemy facilities.

Planet
A planet is a large body in space formed by the collection of stellar gasses over millions of years. They are the platform upon which all life forms. Planets and asteroids hold the various populations of the galaxy and provide the raw materials used in construction.

Asteroids

Asteroids are pieces of a planet that has been destroyed for some reason. They are still large enough, however, to support a population and a limited number of facilities.

Sun
A sun, or star, is a huge natural fusion reactor which generates the energy needed to allow life on planets. They are formed much as planets are by the collection of stellar gasses over millions of years. Stars also form the gravitational field which forms a solar system of planets.

Storm
A storm is a natural phenomenon that obscures a sector of space. Be it caused by burning gasses or severe energy fields, these are navigational hazards. Starships can typically pass through them unharmed, but they render all sensors useless. A ship within a storm cannot be seen by other ships in the system.

Ship Design Type

A ship design type is a player created designation for each of his designs. Through the course of the game, a player will create many designs of different sizes that serve the same purpose. For example, there are ships who's purpose it is to colonize, attack, defend, etc. Design types are created by the player to categorize each of his designs as performing the same tasks. A ship's design type is displayed only to the owning player and is seen in the Ship List window.

Solar System
A solar system is a galactic body comprised of a star (sun) and a group of planets that orbit around it. Typical solar systems are light-years apart from each other. Because of the great distances involved, travel between them would not be possible if not for the use of warp points.

Resupply

Resupply is the term used to describe the upkeep and supplying of a starship. A ship's resupply time is a measure of how long it will be until a ship runs out of supplies. When this happens, a ship will lose capabilities such as movement, shields, and weapons to fire. Ships can resupply by passing through a sector containing a Resupply Depot facility. Upon doing this, a ship's resupply time will be reset.

Construction Points
Construction points are the raw building power of an empire. Construction Center facilities on planets turn the planets resources into usable raw materials for construction of items. An empire spends construction points to build starships, facilities, troops, fighters, and mines.

Research Points
Research Points are the intellectual power of an empire. Research Center facilities on planets generate Research Points. They represent the intellectual output of an empire and are spent on researching technologies.

Intelligence Points
Intelligence Points represent an empire's intelligence ability. Intelligence is any sort of espionage, sabotage, or information gathering ability. Intelligence Points are generated by Intelligence Center facilities on planets. Intelligence operations conducted by an empire are fueled by these points.

Spaces
The number of spaces that a unit takes up. Each unit (fighter, troop, or mine) takes up so many spaces. The number of units a certain ship can carry is measured in the amount of unit spaces it has.

Population

Population is the number of individual people of a given race. Because of the huge numbers of people on planets, population is always measured in millions. All population numbers will be followed by the letter "M" signifying the amount in millions.

Shields
Shields are an energy barrier generated by shield generators on a starship. This energy barrier surrounds a starship and protects it from all incoming weapons fire. Shields are only put up in combat situations. Shields that are damaged in combat, are automatically regenerated for the next combat.

Design Names File

The Design Names Files is a text file that you select when setting up your empire. The text file contains names that you can pick for creating new ship designs. You are not limited to the names in the file, but can also type in anything you wish.

Ship Styles File

The Ship Styles File is a bitmap which contains the pictures for your empire icon and all of your ships. Every empire must have a ship styles file. Players can choose from the set of existing files, or create their own.

Restricted System
A system that a player has designated as an area that his ships should not enter. When ships are executing their moveto orders, they compute the shortest path from where they are to the destination location. They will not compute a path which takes them through any restricted systems. These systems are typically used for areas where there are enemy ships or because of a treaty.

Known Minefield

A known minefield is a sector of space where an empire's ships have encountered a hostile minefield. Your empire maintains a list of all known minefields so that other ships do not run into them again. When a ships encounters a minefield an entry is created in the Known Minefields list. When a ship passes through a known minefield and does not encounter any mines, the entry is removed from the list.

Space Yard
A space yard is a robotic factory designed to build and repair ships. Planets with sufficiently high population have a single built-in space yard. Space Yards are also components which can be placed on starships. A space yard can only repair one ship per turn, and a ship can only be worked on by one space yard per turn. New purchases can only be created at locations that contain a space yard. Once the purchase is created, it is then repaired by the space yard each turn.

Tech Level
A tech level is a level of technology in a given area of research. By spending your research points, you can gain tech levels in different areas. With each tech level comes new components, facilities, units, and ship sizes for your use.

Movement Points
Movement points are a description of how much a ship can do in a given turn. At the beginning of a turn, a ship has its full movement points to use. For each sector that the ship moves, the ship expends 1 movement point. When the ship has exhausted its movement points, it can no longer move until next turn. The number of movement points a ship receives is based on the number of functioning engines it has.

Log Message
A log message is a report to you, the emperor, of the events that have happened in your empire. At the beginning of each turn, the log window will appear and display any new log messages. You receive log messages for things like purchasing a new ship, messages from other empires, natural disasters, and so on. If something happened since your last turn, it will be reported in a log message.

Production Output
Production Output of a planet is a percentage representing how hard your people are working. If the percentage is 100%, then everyone is working and content. From each of your facilities you will receive 100% of the points. If the percentage is 80%, then some of your population is getting vacation time, making them happier. Of course, your only getting 80% of the normal points from your facilities. If the percentage is over 100%, you'll get more than normal points, but your people will get angrier.

Empire Icon
Every empire is represented by a small picture, or icon. Anytime you see another empire, it will show its icon as a unique identifier for that empire. In the system window, ships of various empires are shown with their Empire Icon at the location. When you begin a new game, you can select which ship style you want to use, with each style comes a particular Empire Icon. When you draw your own ship style, you can create a custom Empire Icon as well.

Scrapping
Scrapping something is the act of demolishing it and harvesting its raw materials. If you scrap a ship, you are deconstructing the ship for its parts which are turned into construction points. The ship is destroyed, but you get a few construction points back. You can scrap ships, facilities, and units.

Racial Advantage
A racial advantage is a unique trait for a race that makes them superior in some way. For example, one racial advantage is Brilliant Thinkers. With this racial advantage, the race generates more research points than normal because of their great mental ability.

Seeker

A seeker is a name for an automated weapon which when launched, will seek after its target until it hits it. There are two types of weapons, direct-fire and seeking. Direct-fire weapons are resolved immediately, while seeking weapons are launched and then home in on their target. Once launched, they become a new combat piece which can be targeted, and moves on its own towards its target.