Re: Galaxy Questions

From: Tim Hughes <t.hughes@bbcnc.org.uk>

Date: Mon, 22 Jan 1996 00:00:00 +0000

bri@dtseven.demon.co.uk (Brian Greenfield) wrote:
>I have just started playing in a Galaxy game and there are a few
>questions that I would like answered:

Here are my thought on the questions posed by Brian.  These should not be
  taken as gospel and I would be grateful if someone has any corrections
my answers.

>1. If I have a route set from A to B and another from B to C, how will
>   loaded ships arriving at B be allocated to the routes once they
>   have unloaded; will they be returned to A or load up and proceed to
>   C?
I believe that in the simple case they will continue to C.  However, you
should watch for the following cases:-

a)  If you have a route from B to D for a higher priority item then the
ships will load up an move to D.  E.g  routes for MAT from A to B and B
to C, with route for COL from B to D.  The priority for routes is COL,
CAP, MAT, EMP.

b)  If you are in the process of colonising B then _ANY_ (I mean ANY,
regardless of whether they came from B or not) COL or CAP arriving at B
will unload and increase the population or industry there.

>2. Can I order a single ship to leave a group and transport cargo to
>   another planet?
>3. Can I predict the group numbers given to new groups? If my
>   highest-numbered group is 10 and I split it, can I assume the
>   split-off ships will become group 11 and issue orders to them?

These two questions are related.  The answer to 2 is YES.  The answer to
three is also YES... sort of.  I believe that the safest way to perform
this sort of action is to use the keyword MAX.  MAX can be used in place
of a group number in orders.  For example:-

You have a group (20) of 10 cargo ships.  You want to load one with COL
and send it to Planet_A,  three with CAP and send them to Planet_B and
upgrade 4 of the remainder.  Orders are as follows:-

B 20 1               // Break off one ship
L MAX COL            // Load it with COL
S MAX Planet_A       // Send it to Planet_A

B 20 3               // Break off 3 ships
L MAX CAP            // Load them with CAP
S MAX Planet_B       // Send them to Planet_B

G 20 4               // Upgrade 4 of the remaining 6 ships

Note the ORDERING of these orders is important.  In Galaxy orders are
processed linearly, as submitted.  MAX is much safer than trying to guess
group numbers, because if you try to split several groups within your
orders and somewhere along the way one order fails to create a new group
or unexpectedly creates an extra group then you're in BIG trouble!

>4. If I have ships on a route and I then change the destination to
>   somewhere else, what happens to the ships currently en-route?

They continue to their current destination.  In Galaxy, ships in transit
cannot change their destination.  Whether or not they will unload
automatically at that destination will depend on whether you establish
another route from a different planet or the destination or set
AUTOUNLOAD ON and with COL, of course, whether or not the planet has been
occupied by someone else in the meantime.

>5. If I upgrade part of a group, will all the ships remain in the same
>   group?

No.  Galaxy ship groups consist of ships which have identical (or zero)
tech levels.  I could not say whether the upgraded or the new ships form
the new group.  i.e from the example above I cannot say whether the 4
upgraded ships will be group 20 or the remaining 2 ships retain the old
group number.  Can someone correct me on this??

>6. In what order are ships allocated to routes; can I ensure that only
>   ships from selected groups are used?

I suspect that group number order is used?  You can override the
allocation of ships to routes by manually loading cargos onto specific
groups.  For example, if you have three groups 21, 22, 23 at a planet and
you specifically want 23 to carry COL and 21 to carry CAP on your routes
you can order:-

L 21 CAP
L 23 COL

These groups will automatically follow the routes for CAP and COL.

>7. Do group numbers remain constant from turn to turn?

Yes, unless you have the option SORTGROUPS ON.  If you use this option
then all groups are renumbered each turn so that groups at a planet are
numbered consecutively.  The ordering is such that groups at your planets
will be numbered first in planet order, then all your groups at planets
belonging to other races and finally groups at unoccupied planets

>I would like to help all fellow galaxy newbies, so I will post the
>answers to this group. Perhaps this may be the beginning of a FAQ.

Me too.  Shameless plug follows.... ;-)

*******   BEGIN PLUG    *********

If you have a PC and Windows then get a copy of GalaxyTV from:-

ftp://cs.utk.edu/pub/bampton/Galaxy/tools/galaxytv.zip

This will read your turn reports (if you have UNDERLINES ON) and give an
interactive graphical map of the Galaxy.  It also does orders.

*******    END PLUG      *********

--
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+  Tim Hughes                   We are such stuff                 +
+      as dreams are made on; and our little life                 +
+      is rounded with a sleep.    The Tempest, Act 4 Scene 1     +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

References

Galaxy Questions
bri@dtseven.demon.co.uk (Brian Greenfield)
Mon, 22 Jan 1996 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Galaxy Questions
bri@dtseven.demon.co.uk (Brian Greenfield)
Mon, 22 Jan 1996 00:00:00 +0000