1 While you are attending the Academy, you will have two lessons in 1 theory, and at least two training missions. After completing the 1 required training missions, you will be required to pass a simple 1 test on theory, before you can graduate from the Academy. It is 1 suggested that you read through the Instructions Manual to 1 familarize yourself with how to run this program. 1 A copy of this manual can be obtained from the following files: 1 "[100,100]STARTREK.INS" and "[100,100]UPDATE.INS", or by requesting 1 a set from Star Fleet Headquarters (via the feature built in to 1 the beginning of this program). 1 The first lesson will provide general information, while the 1 second lesson, which you will receive before starting your second 1 mission, will present advanced techniques, tactics and information. 1. 1 LESSON 1: GENERAL INFORMATION 1 ============================= 1 A. SERVICE RECORD & PROMOTION 1 -------------------------- 1 Your training will start at Mission Rank 1, which is only 1 a simulated computer training mission - the Klingons will not 1 move and there will be no Romulans. After you have successfully 1 completed 2 missions at this level, you will be promoted to 1 Lt. JG and given your first real command (Mission Rank 2). From 1 then on, you may choose any mission rank up to that for which 1 you are qualified, but only those missions at your maximum 1 level will be considered towards your promotion. You must 1 successfully complete 5 missions at this rank, with an overall 1 efficiency rating of at least 75% in order to be promoted. 1 However, since Commanding Officers usually improve with experience, 1 and since the more missions you have, the less each new one will 1 affect the overall efficiency rating, the promotion determination 1 is modified. If you haven't been promoted after 5 missions, then 1 each new mission will count as 20% of your overall rating, while 1 all previous missions count as the remaining 80%. Thus each mission 1 will have the same effect on you rating (as if it was one of the 1 original five). 1. The higher the rank you reach, the harder it will be to be 1 promoted. Here are the Ranks with corresponding Mission Ranks: 1 RANK MISSION LEVEL 1 ------------------------------------ 1 CADET (ENSIGN) 1 1 LIEUTENANT JG 2 1 LIEUTENANT 3 1 LT. COMMANDER 4 1 COMMANDER 5 1 CAPTAIN 6 1 COMMODORE 7 1 REAR ADMIRAL 8 1 VICE ADMIRAL 9 1 ADMIRAL 10 1. 1 B. GETTING STARTED AND COMMON PROBLEMS 1 ----------------------------------- 1 The program will start you in a Quadrant at Condition GREEN, 1 ie. without any enemy vessels in the same quadrant. This is a 1 good time to familiarize yourself with your surroundings and 1 doing simple commands, as described in the Instruction Manual. 1 Here is some clarification of things that new recruits 1 often have trouble with: 1 1) When asked for Course & Warp Factor by Navigation Control, 1 you should make both entries on the same line separated by a 1 comma. If you only enter 1 number, it will assume that as your 1 course, and turn your ship without using the main engines. 1 If you do not enter any numbers (ie. alone), then the 1 program will assume a course of 0 deg., and W.F. of 0. 1 Remember that in this version, the warp factor is actually a 1 distance (WF=1 is 10 sectors , WF=.1 is 1 sector). 1 2) Remember that all coordinates are in Row, Column. 1. 3) In response to a query by the program, the following 1 rules GENERALLY apply: 1 a) if the query is looking for a letter/word answer 1 then a alone will either repeat the query, or 1 give you a list of the options available. In order 1 to cancel the command, then enter "C" or "CA". 1 b) If the query is looking for a number answer, then 1 a alone will cancel the command (EXCEPTION is 1 Navigation Control, which was described above. To 1 cancel this, you must enter a negative W.F., e.g. 1 ",-1" is the shortest form). 1 c) if the query is expecting either a number or a 1 letter, then usually alone or "C" will cancel, 1 while to obtain options, enter "O" or "OP". 1 In some cases (Phasers & Mine retrieval), you can 1 enter "A[LL]" if all targets are selected, rather 1 than the number. 1. 1.C. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 1 ------------------------- 1 1. DEFENSIVE SHIELDS 1 Your ship has 4 Defensive Shields for protection against 1 enemy hits. Remember that your shield orientation depends on 1 your ship's bearing. Shield 1 ALWAYS covers the front of the 1 ship, regardless which way you're pointing. The other shields 1 are numbered COUNTER-CLOCKWISE from the front (don't complain 1 about this, I'm from Australia and because the Coriolis effects 1 are opposite there, that just felt more natural to me). Thus 1 to figure out which shield will be hit by the enemy, you have 1 to take into account your bearing, then work Left, Rear & 1 Right from there to find your other shield positions. To help 1 you with this, you can use the "D[ISPLAY]" option of Shield 1 Control, which will draw a little diagram of your ship showing 1 you your current bearing and orientation of the shields. 1. 1 Always be aware of your shield state and orientation in 1 a battle, because if a shield gets penetrated by a hit, 1 you will suffer damage & casualties. Don't be afraid to 1 change your shield allocation...the enemy will not shoot at 1 you when you use Shield Control unless it has been more than 1 a Stardate since you were last hit. Explore the options 1 available and make use of them. Battle Entry Configuration 1 is a favorite to use when entering into a hostile quadrant, 1 because it reinforces your front shield which will face the 1 enemy (probably) at the expense of your rear shield, which 1 is not needed if you stay on the outer row or column facing 1 in. There are other configurations which are more optimum 1 for other situations (which will be discussed in the next 1 lesson). 1. 1 Your ship's defensive shields use some power just by 1 being up (at a rate of 1 unit/1000 units in shields per 1 game cycle, which is approx. 0.15 stardates). 1 NOTE: IT IS STRONGLY SUGGESTED THAT YOU DO NOT TOUCH 1 YOUR AUTO ALERT SWITCH DURING YOUR FIRST MISSION(S). This 1 is what automatically raises your shields when you go to 1 Condition RED. This switch will be discussed in the next 1 lesson. To switch it off without knowing what you are 1 doing can be fatal! 1. 1 2. STARBASES 1 Starbases are provided for resupply & repair of your 1 ship. Crew casualties will be replaced when you dock (as 1 long as Starbase has not used up its 500 replacements). 1 To dock with a starbase, you must move to an adjacent 1 sector. The computer will ask you if you want to dock. 1 You can dock even if your Impulse engines are damaged, 1 because non-damagable maneuvering engines are used for 1 this purpose. You can NEVER dock with starbase using your 1 Warp Engines. 1 While docked, you can still use all your ship's systems 1 normally (eg. transporters, torpedoes, etc.) and your 1 ship will be protected by Starbase's shields. Beware of 1 docking with a starbase that has low shields and is being 1 fired on. If starbase is destroyed while you are docked, 1 you will be destroyed too! 1 NOTE: Do not run back to starbase everytime you use a 1 little power or a few torpedoes....there is a time penalty 1 for docking with starbase (up to 2 stardates). 1. 1 3. COLLISIONS & HYPERSPACE MOVEMENT 1 If your Navigation Computer is working and you collide 1 with an object (eg. star, Klingon, etc.), your ship will 1 be stopped automatically by the Navigation Computer in time to 1 avoid any damage. However, if your Nav. Computer is out, 1 manual shutdown is used instead (which is slower) and your 1 ship might suffer damage. 1 When you travel at high Warp Speed (WF>2), your ship enters 1 a special state called Hyperspace. While in Hyperspace, your 1 Nav. Computer will automatically divert your ship to avoid 1 collisions rather than stop it. Although you know what is 1 directly in front of you during Hyperspace travel, your sensors 1 will not sense what else is in your quadrant. 1. 1 Your ship will not immediately enter Hyperspace when 1 you start your movement. It requires a 10 sector length 1 acceleration & deceleration distance to enter & emerge from 1 Hyperspace. In this acc/deceleration region, your ship is 1 subject to collision as mentioned in a previous paragraph. 1 Thus if there are Klingons in your adjacent quadrant at the 1 beginning of your move, or in the quadrant preceding your 1 target quadrant, you stand the risk of being intercepted and 1 suffering the consequences. However, while in Hyperspace, you 1 do not have to worry about the enemy ships. If your Nav. 1 Computer is out in Hyperspace, you will be subject to collision. 1 When you get the Navigation Computer Report about no course 1 corrections were needed to avoid collisions, it is refering only 1 to the time in Hyperspace, not the acc/deceleration regions. 1. 1 4. REPAIRING DAMAGED SYSTEMS 1 You have the capability to speed up the repairs on damaged 1 systems, by allocating power via a computer link to Damage 1 Control. To do this, simply enter the command "REP[AIR]", 1 and after choosing the system # to be repaired, enter the 1 power to be allocated. As a rule of thumb, 100 units per 1 stardate Est. Recovery Time will repair the system (allocate 1 a little less, say 10-20 units, than 100*E.R.T., since some 1 time is used in carrying out this command). 1. 1 5. DEEP SPACE RECONN. PROBES 1 Your ships has 3 Deep Space Probes which can be used for 1 determining what is in any quadrants that they pass through. 1 For best use of these probes, get near an edge or corner of 1 the Region, and fire them off at an angle that will give them 1 the longest track. Allocating 75 units will take a probe 1 across the diagonal length of the region. 60-65 units will 1 take it across the width. No probe replacements are available. 1. 1 6. PRIMARY LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM 1 IMPORTANT: NEVER LET A DAMAGED PRIMARY LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM 1 GO UNREPAIRED. 1 Although your ship has a Backup Life Support System, which 1 takes over when the Primary is damaged, if your ship suffers 1 further damage (which can even happen while travelling in 1 Hyperspace, from an Ion Storm), which knocks out your Backup 1 System, then your entire crew is killed and ship disabled! 1 If you leave it go unrepaired, you do so at your own risk. 1. 1 D. BASIC STRATEGY 1 -------------- 1 Some pointers in Basic Strategy will now be presented. 1 More advanced techniques are provided in the next lesson. 1 1 1. FIND A STARBASE BEFORE YOU NEED IT 1 To ensure security, your starbase locations are kept secret 1 until they are attacked. Thus you will have to find them 1 yourself. You will never start a game within Long Range Sensor 1 Scan of a starbase. At Rank 1 & 2 there are 5 starbases, and 1 since they cannot be in adjacent quadrants, they are fairly 1 spread out and easy to find. To make certain you know where 1 one is when you need it (perhaps desparately), it's always a 1 good idea to fire some probes and/or move to locate one. You 1 might have to fight to clear out its quadrant if some enemy 1 are present. It's best to do this while your ship is strong. 1. 1 2. PHASERS vs. PHOTON TORPEDOES 1 Your ship has two main weapon systems - phasers & torpedoes. 1 You will generally use torpedoes most of the time, since they 1 only use 5 units of power per torpedo (5 can be fired in a salvo), 1 while phasers may use up to hundreds of units if there are several 1 targets. Of course, you can also run out of torpedoes. 1 Although torpedoes are the main weapon, there are some 1 advantages to using phasers. One of the most important is that 1 torpedoes cannot travel beyond objects (such as stars, etc.), 1 while phasers can. Also, phasers allow a degree of control 1 over the magnitude of the hit, just torpedoes don't. If you 1 want to only disable an enemy ship (so that you can capture it), 1 then it is better to use phasers. Phasers are more effective 1 at close range (less power input required), while torpedoes 1 are equally effective at all ranges (although chance of miss 1 is greater at long range). 1. 1 E. FINAL NOTES & WARNINGS 1 ---------------------- 1 1. DO NOT BELIEVE EVERY COMMUNICATION YOU RECEIVE FROM STAR 1 FLEET COMMAND (or other sources). The program will occasionally 1 inject a humorous message (often when least expected), the 1 purpose of which to to relieve the tension. Read any message 1 you receive very carefully....there will be some clue in 1 it if it is not to be taken seriously (usually, though, there 1 is no doubt). 1 2. If you are a new recruit who has never played this game, and 1 has not yet read the instructions, then a lot of this 1 lesson was probably beyond you. Do not despair! After this 1 lesson is over, you will have a chance to get a set of 1 instructions (on [100,100]STARTREK.INS & UPDATE.INS) without 1 actually starting a mission if you want. Just answer "Y" to 1 the query about exiting the program, then get & read the 1 instructions, then review this lesson again next time you 1 sign-on by choosing the "L1" sign-on option. 1. 2 2 This is your second lesson in theory while attending the 2 Academy. Hard copies of these lessons can be obtained from 2 the file "[100,100]STARTREK.SFA". 2 2 LESSON 2: ADVANCED TECHNIQUES & TACTICS 2 ======================================== 2 2 Now that you have had experience flying a training mission, 2 we can examine some of the more detailed information, techniques 2 and tactics that can be utilized to successfully complete your 2 future missions. 2 2 1. ROMULAN HUNTING (for Mission Ranks >1) --------------- 2 Different tactics have been successfully employed against 2 Romulan vessels when they are invisible due to their cloaking 2 devices. Three basic tactics will be presented. 2. 2 (1) The first method is the most effective at lower ranks. It 2 basically consists of allowing your ship to be hit (eg. by 2 moving) and noting which shield(s) the hit by the Romulan 2 is registered on, thus obtaining the general bearing to the 2 target. As the Mission Rank increases, this method becomes 2 less effective, because the chance of the Romulan moving 2 between the time it fires and the time you can fire increases. 2 At high ranks, it is nearly as effective to just fire torpedoes 2 in any direction. It is also suggested that this method not be 2 used if you are running low on power or torpedoes, and used 2 sparingly if there are Klingons present (since it is harder 2 to figure out which shield was hit by the Romulan). 2. 2 (2) The second method is basically the same as the first, except 2 that phasers are employed instead of torpedoes. Using phasers 2 on manual rather than auto mode, permits six separate targets 2 to be entered simultaneously in an attempt to hit the sector 2 containing the Romulan. As well as determining likely direction 2 using shields, by noting hit magnitudes, approximate distance 2 can be determined. Each time that a sector is manually 2 targeted, the phaser shoots a 5 unit burst to ascertain if 2 anything is in the sector. The same limitations apply to this 2 method as the previous method, although power is the main 2 limiting factor rather than number of torpedoes. 2. 2 (3) The third method uses photon torpedoes as mines to catch 2 a Romulan unawares as it streaks about the quadrant. This 2 method is the most effective at high ranks, because the 2 Romulans move much more than they do at lower ranks. Thus 2 a string of mines laid across the quadrant is very likely 2 to damage or destroy the Romulan. Don't forget, though, 2 that mines are gone once you leave the quadrant. The mines 2 can also be retrieved after use to replenish your stock of 2 photon torpedoes. Time is a major consideration for this method. 2. 2 2. BYPASSING SHIELD CONTROL TO REGAIN POWER RESERVES 2 ------------------------------------------------- 2 One of the most common areas of trouble for new (or even 2 veteran!) starship commanders is running out of power in the 2 ship's reserves. Usually this can be easily corrected by merely 2 calling up Shield Control and reducing the allocation to shields. 2 However, what do you do if Shield Control is inoperative? Luckily, 2 there is a way to bypass Shield Control to lower 1 (or more) shield 2 thus sending power back to reserves. This is achieved using either 2 Tractor Beam or Transporters. Generally, Tractor Beam is the better. 2 All that you have to do is specify any object in the quadrant as 2 your target for Tractor Beam, and if the shield facing the object 2 is up, upon receiving your confirmation, Tractor Beam Control 2 will lower the shield facing the target, thus freeing up power to 2 reserves. You can then abort the use of the beam by allocating 2 zero power. Any object is valid (stars, etc., but not your own ship) 2 for Tractor Beam, but Transporters are more particular, and thus 2 might not work for this little trick. If there is no object in 2 the quadrant to lock onto, or the shield facing any object is 2 already down, or your Tractor Beam and/or Transporters are also 2 knocked out, then make out your will, and say your prayers! 2. 2 3. AUTO ALERT SWITCH (AAS) 2 ----------------------- 2 Your ship is equipped with an Auto Alert Switch, which will 2 monitor the present situation and automatically raise your shields 2 if the situation changes and it calculates that your shields are 2 not strong enough, when you might not have enough time to adjust 2 them yourself. The two situations where this will occur are when 2 your ship enters a new quadrant, and when a Romulan ship arrives. 2 In either case you might not have enough time to adjust shields 2 before receiving a hit. The AAS is normally left on as a safeguard, 2 and will ALWAYS be reset to the ON position when you dock with a 2 starbase. 2. 2 There are, however, some drawbacks to the AAS. Namely, it tends 2 to be overcautious and stupid sometimes. It has some checks that 2 it makes to see whether the current shield settings are adequate, 2 and these checks are fairly conservative (better that than too 2 risky). It's primary goal is to ensure that you will survive 2 even if all enemy ships are adjacent to you, and to also prevent 2 receiving damage if possible. However, it is stupid in the fact 2 that it does not take into account the current position of the 2 enemy ships, nor your current shield settings, and will just 2 blindly allocate power evenly to all shields, which is often not 2 the optimum setting. Often a carefully allocated setting, such 2 as when in the process of capturing or delivering an enemy vessel, 2 is ruined by the interference of the AAS. More about this later. 2 NOTE: Someday it is intended to make the AAS "smarter". 2. 2 To help you understand the workings & limitations of the AAS, 2 here are the checks that it makes (assuming Condition is RED): 2 1) If you have just specified Battle Entry Configuration in 2 Shield Control, then AAS checks that you have at least 2 475 units in shields per enemy vessel to ensure survival 2 even if they are all adjacent to you. If it passes this 2 test, then the rest of AAS is bypassed, otherwise it 2 continues on. 2 2) If your total shield strength > 800 units * no. of enemy 2 ships, then exit AAS. 2 3) If your total ship power (shields + reserves) < 25 units, 2 or you have < 26 units in reserves, then exit AAS. 2 4) If a Romulan has just arrived, and your total shield 2 strength > the total of hits last received + 2000 units, 2 then exit AAS (this will allow and extra 500 units per 2 shield to absorb the hit from the Romulan). 2. 2 AAS will then allocate the required power to shields, ensuring 2 that all shields are of equal strength & that at least 25 units 2 are left in reserves. If your total power > 4400 units, then AAS 2 will effectively put your shields in Maximum Strength Configuration. 2 If your AAS is ON, and your ship goes from Condition RED to 2 Condition GREEN (without leaving the quadrant), then your shields 2 will automatically be lowered in order to conserve power. This 2 will NOT happen if your AAS is OFF. 2 If an enemy vessel initiates a self-destruct sequence, your 2 shields will be automatically adjusted (if Shield Control is 2 operational), regardless of the setting of the AAS. 2. 2 There are some situations in which you might want to turn the 2 AAS switch off. The most usual ones are: if you are very low on 2 power & probably wouldn't survive a full assault anyway; if you 2 want to enter a quadrant with a special shields setting & don't 2 want it spoiled by AAS; if you are using Transporters or Tractor 2 Beam and don't want the the facing shield raised if a Romulan 2 arrives; and lastly, if you are towing a vessel (which requires one 2 shield to be down), and you don't want to have that shield raised 2 by AAS, thus having the Tractor Beam cut off. 2. 2 ** WARNINGS: DO NOT TURN AAS OFF UNLESS REALLY NECESSARY, AND 2 REMEMBER THAT IT IS OFF. Accidentally entering a quadrant with 2 several enemy vessels present & AAS turned off , or having it 2 off when a Romulan arrives are a couple of the most common 2 ways to lose the game. In conjunction with this, 2 WHEN TOWING A VESSEL WITH AAS OFF, YOU SHOULD SET YOUR 2 SHIELDS IN A BATTLE ENTRY TYPE CONFIGURATION. This will offer 2 some protection against running into a hostile quadrant or 2 against an intruding Romualn ship. 2. 2 ***** THIS LESSON IS INCOMPLETE *****