Games PC MASTER OF ORION User Manual
Master
OF
MASTER OF ORION
MicroProse Software
The Ridge, Chipping Sodbury, Avon BS17 6AY
Tel: 0454 329510
All rights reserved
Copyright ©1993 by MicroProse Software, Inc.
This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part by any means
without permission, with the exception of quoting brief passages for the
purpose of review.
Printing: 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the UK
Master of Orion is a trademark of MicroProse Software, Inc.
I B M is a registered trademark of International Business Machines, Inc.
Tandy is a registered trademark of Tandy Corporation
Master of Orion
Credits
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Part I — Playing Master of Orion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
New Game Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Control Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0
Planet Production . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Fleet Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Colonizing Planets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The Ship Design Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
The Fleet Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Races Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
The Planets Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
The Technology Screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Ship Combat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Winning The Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Part II — Mastering Master of Orion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Growing Your Empire. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Diplomatic Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Trade and Tribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Espionage and Sabotage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
The Alien Races. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
The Alien Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Crises and Disasters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Ship Designs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Combat Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
C
O N T E N T S
C
R E D I T S
Designer: Stephen Barcia
Producer: Jeff Johannigman
Programmers: Stephen Barcia, Maria Barcia, Ken Burd
Artists: Maria Barcia, Jeff Dee, Frank Vivirito, Bill Willingham
Music Producer: The Fat Man (George Alistair Sanger)
Music Composer: Dave Govett
Sound Software: John Miles, John Ratcliffe
QA Manager: Michael Craighead
Lead Testers: Frank Brown, Destin Strader
Testers: Jen MacLean, Mike Rea, Tom Lu,
Hamilton Chu, Jeff Dinger, John Possidente,
Vaughn Thomas, Mick Uhl
Manual Writer: Stephen Barcia
Manual Design
& Layout: Decarol Smith, Joe Morel
Director of
Publications: Joe Morel
Manual Art: Bill WIllingham
Product Manager: John Dreibelbis
Package Design: John Emory
Package Art: Erik Olson
Special Thanks to Alan Emrich and Tom Hughes
for their invaluable design critiquing and suggestions.
Master of Orion
By the beginning of the 23rd century, ten races had emerged with the
technology necessary to colonize deep space. For nearly a century, population growth on all planets had outstripped planetary resources, and soon all
the races were forced to expand and discover new worlds to colonize. As history has proven time and time again, unrestrained expansion inevitably leads
to war.
Even though each race is very different from the others, all have legends
of a master race that once controlled the galaxy. It is said that the Masters left
behind a world that contained marvellous secrets and powerful technology.
The loremasters call it Orion and it is written in legend that he who masters
Orion masters the universe.
Master of Orion is a competitive game of interstellar conquest that combines exploration with conflict. You are cast as the immortal emperor who
shapes the future of your race, as contact is made with the neighbouring
races. Your objective is simple: control a majority of the known galaxy and
eliminate all who stand in the way.
As ruler you must ultimately decide the destiny of your race as you
make decisions on how planetary resources are allocated, where star fleets
will be deployed, which races to fight, and which races to ally with. You
begin with control of your home planet, from which you can explore and
colonize nearby star systems. Your first decisions will centre around the
rapid development of colonies into productive worlds, what types of technology to focus on, and which star systems to colonize. However, the true
challenge begins when contact is made with other races, and complex
strategies must be formulated to manage diplomacy, sabotage, espionage,
trade, and interstellar combat.
I
N T R O D U C T I O N
ME K L A R
5
6
P a rt 1 — Playing Master of Orion
The main menu allows you to continue currently running
games, load previously saved games, and start new games.
Continue Game: Any time you exit a game from the
game options screen, the game will be automatically saved.
The continue game option then loads and runs the most
recently played game.
Load Game File: This option allows the user to restart a previously saved game.
New Game: This option generates a completely new universe with random placement of the stars, different planetary
environments, and up to five opponents.
Quit To DOS: Exits the program and returns control back
to DOS.
T
H EMA I NGA M EME N U
7
N
E WGA M EOP T I O N S
When creating a new game, you have a great deal of control over the actual game play by deciding what size galaxy you
want to play in, the number of opponents, and the intelligence
of your adversaries.
S i z e :
Small – 24 stars. A quick game, and contact with other races
is almost immediate. This is actually more difficuilt than play-
ing in larger galaxies.
Medium – 48 stars. Long enough to develop most technologies.
Large – 70 star systems.
Huge – 108 stars. For epic games with huge empires and
massive star fleets. Note that the game can be very slow in a
huge galaxy.
D i f f i c u l t y : The difficulty setting affects several components of the game,
including your opponents’ production rates, expansion rate, technology
development, and willingness to ally with you. It also determines the size of
your initial fleet.
O p p o n e n t s : Choose the number of opposing races in the galaxy, from 1
to 5. The fewer opponents you have the longer you will have to develop your
empire before contact is made.
Race Choice:Races are chosen from the following:
• The Alkaris – an avian race of superior pilots.
• The Bulrathis – a large bearlike race with superior ground troops.
• The Darlok – shape-changing spies.
• The Humans – outstanding diplomats and traders.
• The Klackons – productive insect workers.
• The Meklars – cybernetic masters of automated production.
• The Mrrshan – a catlike race with accurate gunners.
• The Psilons – brilliant researchers.
• The Sakkra – prolific lizards.
• The Silicoids – crystalline beings immune to hostile environments.
For more information, see the chapter “The Alien Races.”
8
Choose Banner: Your choice of banner will determine the colour used to
represent your space fleets and colonies during the games. This also determines the style of ship icons you can use.
Your Name: The name of your Emperor.
Home World: Customize the name of your home world or use the
default value given.
Cancel: Returns to the Main Menu.
OK: Accepts the settings currently displayed and starts the new game.
NE W GA M E OP T I O N S ( CO N T. )
9
T
H ECO N T R O LSC R E E N
The galaxy movement screen is the most commonly used
display in the game. From this screen you can move starships,
view star systems, and manage planetary production. You can
also examine unexplored star systems, scan incoming enemy
fleets, and view enemy colonies.
Galaxy Map: The galaxy map contains a variable number of
star systems and nebulas. Most of the star systems will have one
planet that can support life. The type and size of the planet
depends on the colour of the primary star. Yellow stars provide
the most habitable planets, while planets around purple neutron
stars are more likely to be mineral rich. When play begins, each
star system will remain unknown until scouted by one of your
ships. The only information that you will have until then will be
the colour of the star. One of your first objectives should be to
explore all nearby systems in order to decide where to begin colonization.
When a star system has been colonized, the name of that star system
will appear below the picture of the star, in the colour of the race that colonized it. If the star is outside of your scanner range, its name will appear in
a dark colour. You will only be able to see ships that are within the range
of your scanners.
N e b u l a s : Nebulas are great particle clouds of matter. Starships traveling
through a nebula are reduced in speed to warp 1 (one parsec per year), and
perhaps more importantly, deflector and planetary shields do not function
inside nebulas. However, nebulas increase the chance of planets inside being
mineral rich. Nebulas are illustrated on the galaxy maps as great purple clouds.
Changing Current Star System: The star system currently being viewed
is surrounded by a green pulsating border. The information on the right side
panel will refer to that star system. To change the currently viewed star system,
click on the intended star. If you have colonized the star system, the right side
panel will be replaced by the Planet Production panel. You will be able to
change the type of starship being constructed and alter the distribution of
resources. If you do not have a colony in the system, only the planet’s environment, size, and special characteristics will appear on the right side panel.
If you click on a star system that is already selected you will see the Planet
View Screen, a full screen view of the planet with all the information concerning that planet.
1 0
Viewing Starships: Scanners allow you to view incoming enemy starships or any of your own fleets. Clicking on a fleet icon will replace the right
side panel with the Fleet Scan panel.
Moving Starships: Click the mouse on the fleet that you intend to move.
If it is currently in orbit, the Fleet Deployment panel will appear on the right
side panel. If the fleet is currently in transit you will only get a report on its
composition, destination and ETA.
FU N C T I O N BU T T O N S
The row of buttons along the bottom of the screen are used to perform
various game functions and access reports.
Game: This button invokes the game and sound options menu, where
you can save the current game, load a previously saved game, quit to the
main menu or change the current sound setting.
Design: Allows you to design new ship types for construction. You can
only maintain six ship designs at one time. If you already have six ship types,
you will first have to scrap one to create space for the new design.
Fleet: This button brings up the Fleet Screen, a report on all your currently
operating fleets. It shows each fleet’s location or destination and allows you to
examine the specifications of every design.
M a p : The map screen gives you an overview of the entire galaxy. The
player can see the distribution of colonies, environment types, or the location
of any planets with special characteristics.
Races: This screen gives you an overview of your relations with all races
you are in contact with. It shows any treaties that you have signed as well as
the race’s current attitude towards you. You may also initiate diplomatic contacts from this screen. You can ask for new treaties, threaten to break old
ones, or offer an exchange of technologies.
Your intelligence forces are controlled from this screen. You may build
new spy networks in each enemy empire and assign them a mission. If you
have at least one spy in an empire you can get an intelligence report on their
current technology levels. Finally, you may also set the percentage of
resources that will go towards strengthening internal security.
P l a n e t s : The planet screen gives you a quick summary of the vital data on
all of your colonies. It also serves as a convenient method of going directly to
one of your colonies to change their production settings. A breakdown on
your maintenance costs and income is shown along the bottom of this screen.
THE CONTROL SCREEN (CONT.)
1 1
TH E CO N T R O L SC R E E N ( CO N T. )
Tech: This option will allow you to review the technologies that you have
already discovered. A short description of the effects of each technology is
available. Allocation of your research points to six technology areas is also
accomplished from this screen.
Next Turn: The next year button sends the game to the next turn. Transports and ships will move, spies will attempt to steal technology and sabotage
enemy colonies, ground and space conflicts will be resolved, and new ships
and bases will be built.
1 2
Planetary production is measured in BC’s (billions of credits) and
is a measure of a star system’s resources and building potential.
The production can be used to build new ships and missile
bases, create new factories, improve your planet’s environment,
Planet Type
and research new technology. Production is displayed immediately above the production ratio bars in terms of actual and
total resources. The total resources are shown inside parentheses. The total represents not only the sum of colonists and
Population
in Millions
factory production, but also the revenues from existing trade
routes and other player tribute, plus revenues transferred to
that planet from the Planetary Reserve. The actual production is
the amount of resources remaining after maintenance, trading,
Production
Ratio Bars
tribute, espionage, security, and colony transport costs are
deducted from the planet’s total production. Actual production
is the amount of resources that can actually be used to build
ships, bases, and industry.
Production Ratio Bars: The ratio bars automatically divide
the planet’s total production into five areas: starship production,
planetary defense, new factory construction, ecology, and technological research. To make large adjustments in the current
ratios, place the mouse pointer in the appropriate bar and press the button.
For incremental adjustment click on the arrows on either end of the ratio bar.
The full length of the bar represents 100% of the planets production, and the
total allocations between the five areas cannot exceed the 100% limit. Therefore, increasing the production in one area will decrease the production in
another. If you want to lock the production so that it cannot be altered, press
the ratio description to the left of the bar. This will change the colour of the
bar to red and you will no longer be able to alter that production ratio bar.
Press the description again to unlock the ratio bar.
Ship (SHIP): Resources allocated toward ship production are used to construct new starships or stargates. Each planet can only build one type of ship
at a time. The type of starship built is shown inside the star dock in the lower
right portion of the screen. Once you have developed stargate technology
you can build stargates instead of ships. You select the stargate as if it were
another type of ship.
The rate at which the selected ships are constructed depends on the cost
of the ship, how large a percentage of resources has been allocated, and the
star system’s total production. The number shown to the right of the bar
P
L A N E TPR O D U C T I O N
Star System
Missile Bases
(Actual) Total
Production
Change Ship
Being Built
Send Ships Built
to Other Stars
Transport
Colonists
1 3
PLANET PRODUCTION (CONT.)
1 4
indicates the number of years left remaining to produce the ship given current
levels of production. If the star system is capable of producing more than one
ship per year, the time will be 1 year, and the number of ships produced will
be shown by the ship’s picture. New starships will either be placed in orbit
around the planet, or sent to another colony if you have specified a destination for relocation (see Relocate button).
Defenses (Def): Resources allocated to planetary defenses are used to
upgrade existing bases, build planetary defense shields, and construct new missile bases, in that order. Missile bases will always be equipped with the most
advanced technology available. When new weapons technology is discovered
that can be placed in a missile base, the current missile bases must be
upgraded to include the new weapons. If the defense ratio is insufficient to
cover the costs of upgrading the missile bases, the word U P G R D will appear to
the right of the ratio bar. Any remaining resources will be used to build planetary defense shields if you have the necessary technology. The word S H I E L D
will appear for those planets that are in the process but have not yet completed
construction of planetary shields. Otherwise remaining resources will be used
to build new missile bases with the number of years left to build the next base
shown to right of the ratio bar.
Industry (Ind): Resources allocated to industry will be used to build new
factories. You can build more factories than the colonies can operate, but you
will be warned with the message M A X in the construction box to the right of
the ratio bar. Be careful not to build too many factories without the technology necessary to clean up the waste generated by the factories. When the
game begins, colonists can operate two factories each. With advanced technology though, the level of control can be raised up to seven factories per
colonist. If you have built as many factories as your planet’s maximum popula-
tion can support, any excess spent on Industry will go to the Planetary Reserve
(see The Planets Screen) and be displayed as R E S E R V.
Ecology (Eco): Resources allocated to ecology are used to improve the
planet’s environment by cleaning up industrial waste, expanding the habit-
able regions with terraforming, converting the atmosphere, and enriching the
soil, in that order. Ecology resources are first used to eliminate industrial
waste. If you have not allocated enough resources to completely clean up the
planet, W A S T E will appear by the ratio bar. The Ecology allocation will automatically be set to the minimum amount needed to maintain a clean environment. If any resources remain and you have the technology to terraform the
planet beyond its current size, convert the atmosphere from hostile to stan-
dard, or enrich the planet’s soil to a gaia, resources will be allocated to the
appropriate terraforming operation in that order. A T M O S will appear in the
construction box when atmospheric terraforming is being conducted and
S O I L when soil enrichment is being performed.
If you do not have any new terraforming technology to build and all the
waste has been removed, C L E A N will be shown in the construction box.
Remaining resources will be used to improve the existing ecology and
increase the growth rate of the colony’s population. If sufficient resources
have been allocated to increase the normal growth rate, + # P O P will displayed
indicating the number of additional colonists being born. (For additional
details on population growth, see the Colonizing Planets.)
Technology (Tech): Resources allocated to technology are used to fund
research projects to develop new and useful devices. Resources are converted
to research points that are then combined with the research from all your
other planets and are used to achieve higher technology levels.
You will get more benefit from research by investing a few points in technology
over several turns than by allocating a large amount in a single turn.
Ships Button: Each planet is allowed to produce only one type of starship at a time. To change the current starship to another design, press this
button. You can cycle through the list of starship designs until you find the
one you prefer. If you have the technology necessary to build star gates, you
will also be given the option to build a star gate instead of a ship.
Relocate Button (Reloc): The relocate button allows you to direct the
planet’s newly built ships to another star system that you control. There will be
an appropriate delay from production to arrival since the ships must travel to
the new destination normally. This allows you to produce starships in a far
corner of your empire and then redirect those ships to a system along an
enemy border without having to move each ship yourself. A blue line will
appear on the star map to indicate those planets which are redirecting ship
production to other planets.
Colony Transports Button (Trans): You may transport colonists to any
planet where a colony has been established. No more than half of a planet’s
population can be transported in a single turn. Before sending colonists to
uninhabited planets, you must send a ship with a “Colony Base” Special
Device to establish a Base on that planet. Some planets will have hostile
environments that require advanced technology to land on. Colonists may
also be sent to assault enemy colonies if you have the technology to land
there. When your colonists arrive they will battle the enemy population for
control of the planet.
PLANET PRODUCTION (CONT.)
1 5
F
L E E TMO V E M E N T
The Fleet Deployment Panelis used to give your fleets move-
ment orders. It is invoked by clicking on a friendly fleet in orbit.
Each ship type has its own section and control buttons. The
number at the lower right of the ship picture is the number of
ships that are being moved. The “>” button increases this number by one while the “<” button decreases this number. If there
are a large number of ships of one type the “>” and “<” buttons
change the number in increments of 5% of the total number.
The “>>” button allocates all ships of that type and the “<<”
button sets the number to 0.
To set a destination simply click on the desired star. Your
destination must be within fuel range of one of your colonies,
for all ships in that fleet. If the target is within range a green line
will be drawn from your present location to your destination. If
for any reason the move is illegal a red line will be drawn and you will receive
a message giving the reason.
Cancel Button: will return you to the main movement screen with no
orders being given.
Accept Button: accepts the current settings. The moving ship icon is
moved from the top right of the star system to the top left.
SC A N FL E E T PA N E L
1 6
The Scan Fleet Panel shows the composition of any fleet
within scanner range of a colony or fleet. If you have advanced
scanners or you are scanning one of your own fleets, this panel
will also show the fleet’s destination and how many turns it will
take to get there.
PL A N E T VI E W SC R E E N
The Planet View screen provides a summary of current pop-
ulation, population growth, industrial waste, factories, planetary
defense shields, and orbital fleets. Each icon on the planet is
equal to 10 units of whatever the icon represents.
Planetary Environments: There are 14 environmental
types in Master of Orion. The type of planetary environment dictates the size of the planet, which in turn determines how many
colonists the planet can support and how fast the population
will grow. Hostile environments (barren, tundra, dead, inferno,
toxic, and radiated) halve the normal population growth and
require advanced technology to colonize. Hostile environments
are also the systems most likely to have mineral rich resources
that double or even triple ship, defense, and factory production.
• T e r r a n planets are earth-like and can support the largest number
c o l o n i s t s .
• J u n g l e planets are young, undeveloped worlds reminiscent of the
Dinosaur Age on earth.
• O c e a n planets have very few land masses and are almost completely
covered by water.
• A r i d planets have only about one quarter of their surface covered by
w a t e r .
• S t e p p eplanets have rugged terrains that are difficult to clear for a colony.
• D e s e r t planets have very scarce water supplies and are plagued by
violent dust storms.
• M i n i m a l planets can barely support life with an oxygen poor atmosphere and little water.
• B a r r e n planets have no surface water supplies and little to no atmosphere.
• T u n d r a planets are basically huge balls of ice with sub-zero temperatures year round.
• D e a d planets have no water supplies or atmospheres whatsoever.
• I n f e r n o planets are similar to Venus with excruciatingly hot environments.
C
O L O N I Z I N GPL A N E T S
1 7
COLONIZING PLANETS (CONT.)
1 8
• T o x i c planets have corrosive atmospheres which destroy most types
of equipment.
• R a d i a t e d planets are constantly bombarded by solar radiation.
Planetary Specials: Not all planets have the same industrial potentials.
Some have special environments that modify population growth while others
may have abundances of important metals for construction.
• Mineral Poor planets lack sufficient amounts of the heavy metals nec-
essary for construction. Ship production, missile base construction,
and new factory construction is halved. However, ecology and
research are unaffected.
• Ultra Poor planets are the same as mineral poor planets, but produc-
tion is reduced to one-third.
• A r t i f a c t planets have ancient relics and devices left over from previous
races. Technology research is doubled on planets with artifacts.
• Mineral Rich planets have abundant supplies of heavy metals. Star-
ship production, missile base production, and new factory construction are all doubled on mineral rich planets. Ecology and technology
research is unaffected.
• Ultra Rich planets are the same as mineral rich planets except that
production is tripled.
• H o s t i l e planets have harsh environments that halve the normal population growth rate and require advanced technology to even land on.
• F e r t i l e planets are easier to colonize than normal. Population growth
is 1.5 times normal.
• G a i a planets are ecological paradises. Population growth is twice
normal rate.
Planet Size: The size of the planet indicates how many colonists can pop-
ulate the planet. The size shown on this screen includes the effects of indus-
trial waste as well as terraform expansion. At the start of the game, the planet
size is determined by the planet’s environment. Terraforming technology can
eventually be used to increase the base size of the planet and allow more
colonists to live on the planet.
Planetary Defense Shield: Planetary defense shields protect populations,
industrial factories, and military bases from enemy attacks. Planet shields are
the only defense that populations and factories have from space attacks. Without a shield both take full damage from attacks. Missile bases add the planetary shield to their force fields when absorbing damage. Planetary shields are
automatically built when the proper technology is acquired and sufficient
resources have been allocated to defense spending.
F a c t o r i e s : Each factory must be operated by people and the number of
factories that can be controlled by colonists is limited by the player’s level of
robotic technology. The better the robot controls the more factories that can
be operated by each colonist. You must be careful not to build too many factories without the technology to either clean up the resulting industrial waste
or reduce the amount produced by each factory. Otherwise, you will be
spending a considerable amount of your resources just removing the pollution and keeping your populations from dying off.
Industrial Waste: Waste reduces the habitability of a planet and may
actually kill colonists if the amount grows too large. Each factory produces
roughly one unit of waste, modified by the amount of waste already present
on the planet. The amount of waste each factory generates can be reduced
by advanced construction technology while the cost of cleaning up existing
waste can be decreased with advanced planetology tech.
Planetary Missile Bases: Missile bases are marvellous for planetary
defense. Although they are immobile, bases are per unit the cheapest military
unit. Unlike starships, missile bases are always equipped with the best
available technology: missiles, force fields, ECM jammers, and battle computers. Note that missile bases do require maintenance, and although they
are not as costly to maintain as starships, they nevertheless can be expensive if
too many are built.
P o p u l a t i o n : Colonists provide two functions: generating production to
build starships, missile bases, technology etc., and operating industrial
factories to provide even more production. Generally, the larger the population, the more the colony can build in a single year.
Population Growth: Each year your colonies will grow an amount that
depends on the current number of colonists, the maximum planetary population (including industrial waste), and the planet’s environment. You grow the
most people when the planet’s population is at half of its maximum size.
Should the population maximum ever fall below the current population, the
growth rate goes negative and colonists begin to die off. Hostile environments (barren, tundra, dead, inferno, toxic, and radiated) slow population
growth while fertile and gaia environments increase it. Technology will
eventually allow you to convert hostile environments to standard environments and standard environments to fertile and gaia environments.
Orbital Fleets: The ships shown circling the planet represent the space
fleet currently in control of the planet. The count shown to the lower right
indicates how many of each type of ship are in that group.
COLONIZING PLANETS (CONT.)
1 9
2 0
CO L O N Y TR A N S P O R T S
Colony transports can be used to move populations and
ground troops to assault enemy worlds. In both cases, you must
have the required ship range to reach the star system and the
appropriate planetology tech if the planet has a hostile environment. No more than half of a planet’s population may be transported to the new star system and only a single destination may
be chosen per turn.
Transport Speed: Colony transports move at one less than
the maximum speed of your best known engine type. For
example, if you have developed Sub-Light engines which move
starships at warp 3 (three parsecs per turn), your transports
would then move at warp 2.
Forming A New Colony: The first step in colonizing a new planet is to
create a ship design that includes a colony base as one of its special devices.
When a ship with a colony base is in orbit around an unclaimed planet that you
can land on, you will be given the option to start a colony on that planet. If you
choose to do so, the ship will be scrapped and the materials used to build the
new colony. You may now transport more colonists to the planet to enable the
colony to grow faster. In addition, you can now use the planet as a base for
starship operations, allowing your ships to move deeper into the galaxy.
Invading Enemy Planets: Only star systems that have been explored
can be invaded. Enemy starships in orbit and missile bases on the ground can
destroy colony transports attempting to land on an enemy planet. If you
intend to land on another player’s planet, you should eliminate the ground
and space forces first. Otherwise, a significant number of the colonists will be
destroyed. Once the transports have landed, both sides engage in ground
combat with the winner retaining control of the planet. Space combat is
resolved prior to transport landings.
Ground Combat: Ground combat is resolved in a series of engagements
until one side has been completely eliminated. Each side receives a bonus
according to any ground combat technological advances it has acquired. The
Bulrathi also have a natural advantage in ground combat.
Taking an Enemy World: There are several advantages in capturing
enemy colonies, compared to colonizing unoccupied planets. First, you do
not need to build a ship with a colony base to start the colony. Second, you
can use the factories that were previously owned by the enemy player
(enemy factories must be refit, however). Finally, there is a chance that you
will discover some advanced technology that you did not already have.
As you develop technology you will want to design new
ships to take advantage of the advanced weapons, force fields,
computers, and engines that you have developed. Only six
designs can be in commission at one time, and you may have to
scrap other ships to make room for the new designs.
Technology is not the only consideration in ship design. Ship
size also limits how many devices can be mounted on the ship
and cost determines how fast the ships can be produced.
In order to change a ship’s equipment, press the mouse on
either the title or name of the item to alter. If the item cannot be
increased in size or power due to space constraints or lack of
technology, it will appear darkened. Once selected, a list of all
available technology will be shown on the screen, with their
cost, space, and power requirements. The total space column
shows the total space requirements for the item including extra engines
needed to power the item. Any item too big to fit on the ship as currently
configured will be darkened.
Ship Name: Each time that you design a new ship it will have a default
name that suits the current ship size and your race. If you wish to change the
name, press the mouse on the name field and enter the new name.
Ship Size: The size of a starship determines how many devices can be
placed on a ship, how much damage the ship can take before being
destroyed, and how maneuverable the ship is in combat. Smaller ships are
more maneuverable and so are harder to hit in combat while the larger ships
are much easier to hit.
Battle Computers: Battle computers direct all ship’s fire. The more
advanced the battle computer the better the chance a ship has of hitting an
enemy target. In addition, in combat better battle computers provide faster
response time and improve a ship’s initiative (the order in which ships move
and fire).
S h i e l d s : Force fields are essential to the survival of a starship. Shields
absorb damage from all incoming attacks an amount equal to their class. For
example, Class V shields absorb 5 points of damage from all attacks. Obviously, a superior shield can make a ship nearly immune to enemy attacks.
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H ESH I PDE S I G NSC R E E N
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ECM Generators: ECM units (Electronic Counter Measures)
reduce the chance of enemy missiles striking the protected ship.
A ship’s missile defense is the sum of the ship’s normal defense
plus its ECM rating. Without a powerful ECM generator, most
advanced missiles will almost always hit.
A r m o r : Armor protects a ship from all attacks by increasing
the ship’s total hit points. There are two type of armor for each
material: standard and double hull. The standard hull always
take the same amount of space, regardless of the material. Double hulls (displayed as II) increases a ship’s hit points at the sacrifice of ship space.
E n g i n e s : Not only do ship engines move a starship, but
they also power all of the ship’s devices. On the galaxy map,
each level of warp moves the starship one parsec per year, i.e.
Fusion engines (warp 4) move a ship 4 parsecs per turn. In combat, a ship’s
maneuverability increases its defense against beam and missile weapons.
Older engine types have a better power to space ratio than new engines so it
will take less space to power all the devices on a ship if older engines are
used. Unfortunately, this also means the ship won’t be able to move as fast
and will be easier to hit.
M a n e u v e r a b i l i t y : Unlike galaxy map travel, combat movement requires
rapid changes in direction and speed. On the galaxy map, ships can take a
long time to accelerate into hyperspace. In combat, ships require more thrust
to overcome inertia and alter course quickly. To do so requires more engines
to provide the needed thrust. The larger the ship, the more engines that are
required to move in combat. Huge ships rarely have a high maneuverability
while small ships generally move very quickly. A ship can move one space
per turn in combat for every two points of maneuverability it has. Maneuverability also affects the initiative of the ship, since faster ships react quicker
than slower ones.
Weapon Types: Each ship may have up to four different types of
mounted weapons. Click on each weapon row to select a weapon for that
slot. Click on the small up and down arrows next to the weapon count to
increase or decrease the number of weapons of that type.
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Special Devices: Special devices give ships unique capabilities. For example, a ship with a colony base is required to start any new colonies, and ships
with battle scanners can analyze enemy ships in combat. Each ship may carry
up to three special devices, and no more than one of each type.
Clear Button:the Ship Design screen keeps the design settings of the last
ship built, so you may modify your most recent design in building a new class
of ship. If you prefer to start your design from scratch, CLEAR resets all the
design settings.
Build Button: when you are satisfied with your design, press the build
button to accept the design and return to the galaxy map. You can now
produce ships of that design by selecting it with the SHIPS button in a
planet’s Production Panel.
Cancel Button: if you change your mind and wish to leave the screen
without saving the ship design, press the cancel button.
SHIP DESIGNS (CONT.)
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