VGA Planets is...the greatest game in the world! (LONG) From: reynolds@park.bu.edu (John Reynolds) Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1993 19:48:44 +0000 Ever since I downloaded VGA planets I've stopped playing other computer games -- it's that good! It runs on IBM PC's with vga graphics. It's a graphical, turn-based space conquest game that runs on multiple computers, with turns and results files transmitted between a host PC and players' PC's. I've appended the description below, and if you're interested in knowing more, download the shareware version from the following site, install it try it out! Host: ftp.ucsc.edu Directory: PC/vgaplanets-2.1 Files: hello.txt install.exe readme.txt vendor.doc vgapl211.exe vgapl212.exe You need all the exe files, then run install. VGA Planets(tm) Version 2.1 (9/12/92) (0.0) ABOUT VERSION NUMBERS This is version 2.1 and will work with all pervious other version 2.1 releases. There are two major bug fixes in this program. One in HOST.EXE that fixes the problem with it crashing when a starbase is built. The other fix is in MAKETURN.EXE. It now sends messages correctly. All names that may be considered by some to be trademarks have been removed. From now on the date that the program was last updated to take care of any bugs will be shown on the main title screen. If there is not a date shown at the bottom of main title screen then it is a version from before (9/12/92). See PLANETS2.DOC section 9.0 to see a history of bug fixes. (1.0) INTRODUCTION TO VGA PLANETS VGA Planets is a graphical multi-player play by turn war game which simulates combat in space between galactic empires. The game emphasizes mining, colonization and the construction of starships. The players compete against each other economically and militarily on a galactic scale. The game system allows players to construct their own starships by selecting various components and placing them on a given hull type. The game can handle from 2 to 11 players. The game is designed to be a BBS or Net game. This game can also be played on one computer alone. This is NOT a door game. The game can be played on any BBS that supports file transfers, with or without the sysop's help. VGA Planets can be compared to a 11 player chess game. The game is a play by turn game much like chess. The game can be played on any IBM compatible with VGA graphics and a 286 or faster CPU with a hard drive. (1.1) THE SCENARIO: Ten years ago a small fleet of freighters left your home world in a quest to find new worlds to colonize. Half way through your journey you lost all contact with fleet command. You then begin to fear the worst, a full scale galactic war may have broken out and your small fleet may be the last of your race. You left home with four very special ships that were equipped with tech 17 Bussard Ramscoops which gather low grade matter from the interstellar medium and converts it to anti-matter fuel. The tech 17 Bussard Ramscoop Fuel Ships served you well until you lost the last one a year ago when the final cobalt-lanthanide-boronite fractionator coil (CLBF coil) burnt out, your fleet was then forced to make the rest of the journey burning low grade neutronic fuel. Your fleet finally arrived at your goal, the small Echo open star cluster on the outer tip of third major arm of the Milky Way. This open cluster contains 500 planets that are all named after the stars from your home star sectors. The last fuel base you passed is over 7000 light years away and you are unable to build new CLBF coils. In fact, the only know source of CLBF coils is small super high tech research station ran by a group of Andromedians near the galactic core 30000 light years away. The coils are shipped to all the major homeworlds by Endoane traders. A shipment of supplies which included 20 new CLBF coils was following one year behind your fleet until it was lost to a unknown band of pirates. The highest tech level ever achieved by your race has been tech 10, so it is really very unlikely that you will ever be able to build any CLBF coils on your own. Unless you are able to reestablish contact with your homeworld or a supply shipment shows up you can regard this as a one way mission. Upon arrival at the first world you came to all your starships were landed on the planets surface to be converted into raw materials for the building of mines, factories and one low tech starbase. A small local system freighter and a small capital ship was built as soon as your starbase was completed. You soon learn that you are not alone. Moving across your starcharts are enemy races that have followed you to this star cluster. You must now put every effort into building the most powerful fleet of war ships possible before you are attacked. Your best hope is to send small freighters in every direction to drop off colonists and supplies so that they can grow in numbers on new planets and extract the minerals that your starbase needs to build more ships. You need to act fast because your enemies will most likely be trying to expand also. Pay close attention to the starchart, because you will be able to see your enemy's ships as they travel between planets. Good luck... (1.2) HELP! In the game you can press <H> on most screens to see a help screen that explains the that part of the game to you. (1.3) GAME MAIL PACKETS The game works in much the same way as a mail reader program. The game is played offline in the same way that a mail reader reads mail offline. The game is moderated by the one computer which is playing host. The host computer generates game results mail packets ( named PLAYER1.RST to PLAYER11.RST depending on which races are active in the game ) that are then transported to the players where ever they are... you can attach the files to EMail, use a BBS SIG to post the files to, send the packets over the Net or pass the files around on floppies. The players then run a unpack ( UNPACK.EXE ) program that decodes and expands the game results mail packet into several data files before running the planets main program ( PLANETS.EXE ) to actually play the game. When you are playing the game you will be able to order your starships around, build new starships, receive messages and perform many other fascinating activities. When a player has completed their game turn they exit the PLANETS.EXE program and run a program ( MAKETURN.EXE ) that packs the new data into a PLAYER1.TRN ( for player one ) file that is sent back to the host computer. After ALL the .TRN files from all the players are gathered together into one directory by the person hosting the game the program HOST.EXE is ran to decode all the .TRN files at once and generate the new PLAYER1.RST ... PLAYER11.RST files which are then sent back to all the players so that they can do this all over again. In many ways HOST.EXE acts like a mail server. NOTE: If any players miss out on a turn the game will continue just fine. Their ships and planets will continue performing their last order. Ships will continue on the same coarse and speed and planets will continue to mine minerals and produce supplies. A missed turn CAN'T be made up! The host can not use old .TRN files they are meaningless. (1.4) THE HOST.EXE PROGRAM ALL the .TRN files of the players from all the players who are taking part in the current turn must be in the game host directory when you run HOST.EXE. You can only run HOST.EXE ONCE per game turn. Running HOST.EXE outside the directory that contains the game universe data files DOES NOTHING! .TRN files from other games are rejected by HOST.EXE and erased. My main play tester called me up and told me the following problem: Nine people are currently playing a game. One person somehow lost their .RST file. So they had the person hosting the game run HOST.EXE again. The player with the missing file then put the new .RST file on floppy and went home. They next day everyone puts all nine of their .TRN files in the host directory and HOST.EXE is ran. Everyone notices none of their new commands are reconized and the HOST.EXE says all but one of the files are stale. What went wrong?!? Answer: When HOST.EXE was run the second time all old .TRN files and .RST files became stale files from last turn. Only the player that lost the .RST has a fresh file after they grabbed the new .RST file after the HOST.EXE program ran. All eight of the other players missed TWO turns because of this. The last turn because they had not turned in their .TRN files yet and the current turn because the files that they did turn in were stale and had to be rejected. Only ran HOST.EXE ONE TIME per turn. You may wish to make a backup directory to store all the current .RST files after you run HOST.EXE. Don't let anyone talk you into running HOST.EXE before the players have turned in their current .TRN files. HOST.EXE needs all the .TRN files all the players who are going to be in on the current game turn, because all the action and interaction between players TAKES PLACE AT ONCE, when HOST.EXE is ran. There is no reason for a anyone other then the game host's computer to run HOST.EXE. Stale File: A .RST or .TRN from a previous game turn. The HOST.EXE program rejects all stale .TRN files. The player with the stale file will miss a turn. If you unpack a stale .RST file all your data files will be stale and you will end up producing a stale .TRN file when you run MAKETURN.EXE. Fresh File: A .RST or .TRN from the current game. When a person misses a game turn. They MUST get a fresh .RST file from the host computer. Or they will end up with a stale .TRN file. (1.5) BBS HOST SYSOP Just how many turns there are per day are completely up to the person hosting the game. You may wish to have only one game turn per day. If you are a sysop you may wish to just put in a little batch file that is run every day at clean up time that has your machine copy all the PLAYER*.TRN files into the proper directory, perform a game turn ( run HOST.EXE ) and copy the PLAYER*.RST files into a directory from which the players can then download their file. If you have 120K or more of free memory you can run HOST.EXE from a DOS shell. The game administrator has the option when first starting the game to give each race their own password so that even if a player is able to download another player's .RST file that player will be unable to open it without the real player's password. I strongly advise the sysop set up the BBS in such a manner that the .TRN files can only be uploaded by the proper players, unless you feel that you can trust your players. For example: I am player 2 ( The Lizard Player ). The file that I upload to the BBS host computer is "PLAYER2.TRN". The file that I download from the BBS host is "PLAYER2.RST". Nobody else should have the ability to upload a file named "PLAYER2.TRN" and mess up my turn. Most BBS's are set up in such a way that I can upload my new "PLAYER2.TRN" over top of my old "PLAYER2.TRN" file and no one else can upload a file by that name. The .TRN and .RST are very small files and compressed by the game's programs. I really don't see any need to compress the files any more. I have never seen a UPLOAD (.TRN) take more then 2 SECONDS and a DOWNLOAD (.RST) no more the 20 SECONDS. (1.6) INDEPENDENT HOST An independent host is a BBS user ( or Net user ) that is hosting a VGA Planets game on their own computer. The independent host uses the BBS only for a means of transferring the .RST and .TRN files to and from all the players in the game. The easiest way of moving the files around is to attach the files to Email. Once a day the person acting as the independent host downloads all the .TRN files sent to him from all the players in the game and places the files into the planets directory, performs a turn and mails the .RST files back to all the players. The independent host should be sure to tell all the players what time the .TRN files have to be in by, when then next turn will take place and when they can log back onto the BBS to pick up their new .RST file. (1.7) PLANETS ON ONE COMPUTER A group of people can set up a game on one computer and take turns playing out their turn. After everyone has had their chance to play out their turn the game administrator will then exit the PLANETS.EXE program, run MAKETURN.EXE, HOST.EXE and finally UNPACK.EXE. All this will perform the math and file data file building for the next turn. The players can then once again take turns playing out their turn. All the files remain in one directory on the computer. You may use the TURN.BAT file to run all the above files in the correct order and return to the planets game automatically. (1.8) PLANETS ON MANY COMPUTERS IN THE SAME BUILDING All the computers must have the planets player files installed in a directory. One computer must act as host and have the host files installed. You can use a network to transfer .RST and .TRN file back and forth or you can use a pair of floppies. If you are going to be using a pair of floppies: .................................................................... Label floppy one ".RST result files". Place the ".RST result files" floppy into the host computer and copy all the *.RST files from the Planets directory onto it. Pass the floppy around to each player so that they can copy the file that belongs to them into their Planets directory. (HINT: player 2, the Lizard player, has the game installed in directory c:\PLANETS, so... the Lizard places the ".RST result files" floppy into drive a: and types "copy a:\player2.rst c:\planets" ... wham... bam... The Lizard player then passes the floppy along to the next player who hasn't yet gotten their .RST file yet.) Players must run UNPACK.EXE to unpack and decode the .RST files. The players may then run PLANETS.EXE and play the game. After they finish their turn they then exit the game and run MAKETURN.EXE which generates a .TRN file. Label floppy two ".TRN the players turns". Pass ".TRN the players turns" around to each player that has finished their game turn and ran MAKETURN.EXE already. The players then copy the .TRN file in their game directory onto the floppy and pass the floppy along to the next player. (HINT: player 1, the federation player, has the game installed in the directory c:\PLANETS, so the fed player places the floppy ".TRN the player turns" in drive a: and types "copy c:\planets\player1.trn a:" wham... bam... The fed player then passes the floppy along to the next player) After all the .TRN files are gathered they are all copied into the hosts directory from the floppy ".TRN the players turns". The game administrator will then run HOST.EXE which will decode all the .TRN files and generation brand new .RST files. The whole cycle repeats... .................................................................... (1.9) Playing planets from the HOST dir in a multi-computer game. You ready shouldn't play planets from the host directory if you are hosting a game where files (.TRN) and (.RST) are being transfered back and forth over modem or net. Set up another directory to play the game. The danger in playing from the HOST directory is you may clobber the in coming .TRN files by mistake when you run MAKETURN and the .RST files when you run UNPACK. If you do everyone but yourself will end up STALE! files and their commands will be thrown away. But if you MUST! play from the HOST directory then make sure you copy all the players .TRN files into the HOST directory AFTER!!!! you run maketurn to make your own .TRN file. After you have ran host you must copy all the other players .RST files out of the HOST directory and into a safe directory (the down load directory) BEFORE!!!! you run UNPACK or you will clobber and erase all the players .RST files before they get a chance to grab them. NEVER run TURN.BAT in a multi-computer game! TURN.BAT is for local games (one computer, one game directory). Please write your own batch files to make sure you do it right every time. For example: maketurn copy c:\updir\*.TRN c:\planets\ host.exe copy *.RST c:\downdir\ unpack.exe planets.exe ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (2.0) PLANETARY ECONOMY The planetary economy is based on mining, factory production, taxes and population. (2.1) MINERALS There are 4 types of minerals: Neutronium is the super dense mineral used for fuel on starships. It is far too unstable for use in building ship components. Duranium is a very strong mineral used to build the frame work of starship components and the armor skin of starbases and fighters. Tritanium is a mineral that is able to withstand very high pressures and temperatures. It is used widely in starship construction. Molybdenum is used mainly in high power energy wave guides. It is important for weapon construction and engine construction. High tech components tend to use greater amounts of molybdenum then lower tech components. (2.2) MINES Mines extract minerals from the planet core as long as at least one of the four minerals are present. If no minerals are present mines are completely useless. The cost of building a mine is 4 megacredits and a supply unit. The maximum number of mines that can be constructed on a planet is limited by the size of your colonist population. Starships and colonists can take a mining survey of the planet which will show you a graph of the amounts of minerals remaining unmined in the planets core and a listing of the amounts of ore that have been mined so far and are ready for use. The survey will also tell you the number of mines present on the planet. The rate which your mines can extract ore out of the ground depends on the concentration of the ore. There are five grades mineral concentration. 1. very scattered 2. scattered 3. dispersed ( three mines can extract a KT per turn ) 4. concentrated 5. large masses ( one mine can extract a KT per turn ) The amount of mineral in a planet is rated at five different grades. 1. none 2. very rare 3. rare 4. common 5. very common 6. abundant (2.3) FACTORIES Factories produce one supply unit each turn. The cost of building a factory is 3 megacredits and one supply unit. The maximum number of factories that you can build on a planet is limited by the size of your colonist population. (2.4) DEFENSE POSTS Defense posts protect the planet from attacking starships. The cost of building a defense post is 10 megacredits and one supply unit. The maximum number of defense posts you can build on a planet is limited by the size of your colonist population. (2.5) SUPPLIES The supplies produced by your factories can be carried by starship to new planets to be used to build new factories, mines and defense posts. You can also sale supply units for one megacredit each. (2.6) TAXES AND POPULATIONS By taxing the colonist and native populations you can generate megacredits for building mines, factories, defense posts, a starbase and starship components. The populations will become upset with you if the tax rate is too high or there is over population. They may also become upset if there are too many mines, factories or defense posts, if an environmentalist movement begins within the population. Over a number of turns the populations of a planet may become very unhappy. If they ever become too unhappy they will start a riot or even a civil war. If this happens they will kill each other and destroy your mines, factories and defense posts. The tax rate tends to slow down the birth rate. You can use this factor to prevent over population. Keep in mind that a population with a tax rate of 0 will cause the population to expand at the maximum possible rate. A planet's climate will also effect the maximum population and the birth rate. Temperate warm planets provide the best possible conditions for all lifeforms. Desert and arctic planets are the worst possible conditions for life. If the population is ever greater then the population that the planet's climate can sustain the planet will consume supplies in order to survive. If the climate is too harsh you may have to make regular freighter runs of supplies to the planet to keep the colonists alive. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (3.00) STARSHIPS Starships are built at starbases out of three basic minerals, Tritanium, Duranium and Molybdenum. The starships travel at very high speeds between planets performing various missions. The funds needed to build starships is taken directly out of the planetary economy. The starships transport cargo and colonists as well as battle enemy ships. (3.01) TECH LEVELS There are four different tech levels at every starbase. These four tech levels are, starship hulls, starship engines, starship beam weapons and starship torpedoes. The tech levels range from 1 to 6 in the evaluation version of this game and 1 to 10 in the expanded registered version. You must spend megacredits for each leap in tech level you take. The cost of each jump in tech levels increases as you move up in tech levels. Your choice of starship components increases as you increase your tech level. The cost of high tech starship components is far most then basic low tech versions of the same components. Every starbase's tech levels are independent of all other starbases. When you build a new starbase all four tech levels start at level 1. (3.02) NEW SHIPS The most important part of a starship is the hull. At hull tech level one you have a choice of only about 3 different types of hulls. At higher tech levels you may have as many as 20 different types of hulls, depending on the galactic empire race you as playing. The hull is the spaceframe that all other starship components are mounted on to form a ship. Hulls require anywhere from one to as many as ten engines depending on the type. As a rule smaller ships have only one or two engines. Some hulls come with fighter bays. These ships are able to carry and launch fighters. Some ships have areas that you can mount torpedo launchers. Starships that have torpedo launchers can carry and fire torpedoes at enemy ships. There are 10 different types of torpedoes and torpedo launchers. Most ships are able to have beam weapons. These are the main weapons used on starships. There are 10 different types. Beam weapons are very useful at destroying enemy fighters as well as firing directly at the enemy ship. From the starbase's starship building screen you are given a chance to pick the components that you wish to put together to form a ship. If you lack a part you can call a sub screen that allows you to build a new part, such as a engine, a weapon or even a whole new hull. After you have decided on all the parts to put together to form a new ship your plan is submitted to the starbase. Your new ship will be completed the following turn. (3.03) WEAPON BANKS AND FIGHTER BAYS There are different types of weapons systems that a ship may have. The main weapon system is a beam type weapon ( lasers, phasers, etc ). A beam type weapon draws its power from the ships engines, so as long as an engine is working the weapon will have energy to fire. The auxiliary weapon system can be a torpedo launch tubes or fighter launch bays. A fighter takes up one kiloton in the cargo hold. In combat the fighter is moved from the cargo hold into the fighter launch bay to be fuel and armed. Fueling and arming a fighter can take up to 2 minutes. A ship with a greater number of fighter launch bays will be able to get more fighters into combat sooner. Fighter bays are designed into the hull and unlike torpedo launchers can not be added. Some races ( such as the federation ) have very few, hull designs that include fighter bays. A starbase has room for up to 60 fighters to be used in defense or to be transferred to a ship with fighter bays. The torpedo launch tube aims and arms standard torpedoes. A standard torpedo takes up one kiloton of cargo space. In combat the torpedo is moved from the cargo hold into the launch tube. Arming and energizing the torpedo takes 20 seconds on most ships. The torpedo is the most powerful weapon on any starship and have a range second only to fighters. (3.04) FIGHTERS For use on starbases as a long range defense against attacking enemy starships. Starships with fighter launch bays can carry fighters to attack enemy ships at ranges far greater then torpedoes or beam weapons. A starbase can hold up to 60 fighters. Some of the larger carriers can hold over 200 fighters. All fighters fire very powerful tightly focused energy beams that do a good job of wearing down an opponents shields and can punch holes in vital parts of enemy ships. Fighters are very good at defeating very large and heavily armored ships. Fighters can be destroyed by enemy fighters that are able to gain a weapons lock as the fighters passes within close range of each other as they close in on the enemy ship. An enemy ship can fire a beam weapon at a fighter to destroy it. Very few ships, however, are able to defeat a large scale fighter attack with beam weapons along. (3.05) WEAPON KILLING/DESTRUCTIVE POWER The damage done to an enemy target is measured in two different ways, killing power and destructive power. Killing power is a measure of how deadly the weapon is to the crew of an enemy ship. If a crew is killed off the ship is rendered helpless and is easily captured. The destructive power is a measure of how much damage can be done to the superstructure, engines and weapon systems of an enemy ship. Torpedoes have the most power at long ranges and beam weapons are most powerful at close ranges. (3.06) STARSHIP REFIT After a starship has returned from a mission or has just been constructed you can use the starbase to refit the ship. When you refit a ship you have the chance to load torpedoes or fighters onto the starship if it is capable of handling them. Use the planetside transporters to beam fuel and cargo onto and off of the ship. New ships begin the game with no fuel. (3.07) FUEL All starships use neutronium for fuel. Neutronium is a superdense material found at the core of many planets. It is also know as "neutronic" fuel. The fuel is millions of times denser then common elements such as lead or gold. The fuel must be stored in a very powerful inertial damping field to prevent damage to the starship's superstructure. The amount of fuel that a starship can carry is limited by the strength of the inertial damping field only and not the cargo room available on the ship. (3.08) CARGO The cargo that a ship may carry includes supplies, colonists, tritanium, duranium and molybdenum. If a ship has one or more torpedo launchers the ship may carry torpedoes. If the ship has one or more fighter bays the ship may carry fighters. You can have the ship unload cargo onto a world that you currently do not own. After one or more colonist clans are unloaded onto a planet that planet then becomes yours the following turn, unless there are enemy colonist already on the planet, in which case a planetside war will take place. Cargo can in an emergency be jettison into deep space to make the ship lighter so the ship can travel faster or to prevent an enemy from seizing the cargo if the ship is in danger of being captured. Ships can transfer cargo from and to any other ship located at the same location in space. The command is designed mainly for fuel tankers so they can transfer fuel to ships that are in need of fuel. (3.09) PRIMARY ENEMY You can set the primary enemy of each ship. This is a standing order to attack any ship that belongs to the primary enemy race that is located in the same position in space. (3.10) SHIP MISSIONS Each ship can perform one of eight various missions that include exploration, patrol, defense, kill, transportation, colonize, tow and intercept. The exploration mission orders the ship to spy on planets to see if any enemy colonists are living there and if they have a starbase. The kill mission orders the ship to attack all ships of any race other then your own that are located in the same position in space as your ship. The colonize mission orders the ship to disassemble the starship when it reaches an unowned planet and to use the ships parts to make supplies for the colonists after unloading any colonists, cargo and fuel on the ship to the planet's surface. The tow mission orders the ship to lock a tractor beam on any ship that is at the same position in space. The amount of fuel the towing ship will burn is proportional to the sum of the masses of both ships times the warp factor. If the ship that is the target of the tractor beam has a warp factor greater then the ship using the tractor beam the target ship will brake free of the tractor beam. If both ship are using tractor beams on each other the ship with the higher warp factor will tow the ship with the lower warp factor. The intercept mission orders the ship to intercept ships by ID number. You can use list and view commands to find the ship ID number of the ship you wish to intercept. Your ship will follow the intercept target ship until your ship runs out of fuel or the target ship disappears behind a planet. No matter which mission a ship is on when it enters a battle, the ship will do it's very best to win the fight. Mission in no way affects the way in which a ship will fight. (3.11) STARSHIP NAVIGATION Your starship can be in orbit around a planet or in deep space between the planets. Your ships which are traveling through deep space will show up are green dots on all your maps and charts. Your ship will also show up as a red dot on all enemy charts in the same way enemy ships will show up on your maps as red dots. The navigation map shows planets as white dots. Any planets that you own will have blue circles around them. If you have any ships in orbit around any planets they will show up as green circles. The WAYPOINT is a point in space that you are setting a coarse to travel to. The waypoint shows up on the navigation map as a green circle with a green line running to your current location. Use the arrow keys or the mouse to set a new waypoint. If you set your waypoint on an object such as a planet or a starship the green circle will turn yellow and the name of the new waypoint will appear under the navigation map. The distance is the number of light years to your current waypoint. The number of light years a ship will travel in a light year turn increases as a square of your warp factor. Speed Distance traveled in a game turn Warp factor 1 1 light year Warp factor 2 4 light years Warp factor 3 9 light years Warp factor 4 16 light years Warp factor 5 25 light years Warp factor 6 36 light years Warp factor 7 49 light years Warp factor 8 64 light years Warp factor 9 81 light years Your E.T.A. is your estimated time of arrival at your waypoint in months (game turns). E.T.A. is based on your speed and distance. (3.12) FUEL The amount of fuel needed to reach your current waypoint is dependent on the ship's mass and warp factor and the type of engine the ship has. Tech one engines (stardrive 1's) are very poor engines and waste large amounts of fuel at speeds above warp factor one. Tech six engines are very fuel efficient at speeds up to warp factor 6. At speeds above warp 6 the engine begins to waste large amounts of fuel. The engine construction screen will show you a graph of the fuel efficiency curve of each engine type that you have the both then engine tech level and materials to construct. It is a very good idea to invest the best engine technology possible. With high tech engines your ships will be able to travel very fast and use very little neutronium fuel. Engines may be the most important factor in expanding your empire faster then your enemies. The weight of your ship is the sum mass of all parts that make up your ship. The mass includes the hull, engines, weapons, cargo and fuel. The amount of fuel your ship needs to burn in order to move increases proportionately to your ship's mass. The max weight is the maximum mass your ship may have when it has a full load of cargo and a full fuel tank. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [ Continued.... SEE PLANETS2.DOC ] (4.0) STARBASES Starbases perform two important functions. They can construct one new starship per turn if they are ordered to do so and they add to the planets defenses by being a fighter base and defense platform. (4.1) DEFENSE AND FIGHTERS You may add to the starbase's defense strength through the use of duranium and megacredits. The higher the defense strength of a base, the better able the base is to defend against attacks from enemy ships. You may build and store up to 60 fighters in a starbase and you may put fighters on board any starship equipped with fighter bays. The fighters on board a starbase will be used to defend the base and planet against attacks from enemy starships. If a planet comes under attack the fighters on a starbase and the fighters on the planets surface are launched against the attacking ship. The defense posts on the planets surface and the defense weapons on the starbase will be fired against the attacking ship. The higher the defense strength of both the planet and the starbase the greater number and power of the planetary defense system beam weapons. (4.2) A BASE'S ROLE IN SHIP BUILDING AND ARMING Each starbase has four independent tech levels. The four areas of technology are starship hulls, starship engines, starship beam weapon and torpedo launcher construction. The starbase is able to repair one damaged ship per turn that is in orbit around the same planet as the starbase. Starbases are able to build both torpedoes and fighters. The starbase is able to load torpedoes and fighters onto ships that are equipped to handle them. When you build torpedoes remember to build only the torpedo types that matches the launcher types that you are using on your ships, otherwise the torpedoes will remain in storage. Starbases can construct one starship per turn from starship components in storage. You can also construct and store new starship components such as hulls, engines and weapons for use at a later time. (4.3) STARBASE ORDERS You can give a starbase a primary mission order. The primary base order instructs the base to take one of five automatic actions. 1. Refuel: The base will load neutronium onto any ship at the bases location that is of your race or have the same friendly code as the planet. 2. Max defense: The base will automatically build up defense strength to max. 3. Load Torpedoes: The base will automatically load torpedoes of the proper type onto all ships that have torpedo launchers at the base location that are of your race or have the same friendly code as the planet. 4. Unload Freighters: The base will automatically unload all cargo from ships at the base location that are of your race or have the same friendly code as the planet. 5. Repair Base: The base will repair damage done to the base by enemy ships. (4.4) PLANETARY / STARSHIP FRIENDLY CODE The friendly code is only valid when your ship is in orbit around an 'enemy' planet with a matching planetary friendly code and a starbase that has it's primary mission orders set to refuel, load torpedoes or unload all freighter cargo. A starbase with the primary mission orders set to refuel acts as a automatic refueling station to all ships that stop there that have the same friendly code as the planet. This is so different races can share fuel and torpedoes in the event they form an alliance against a common enemy. (4.5) STARBASE SCANNER The starbase scanner is the same as the planetary scanner. You can move the scanner beam around with the arrow keys or a mouse. You can use the beam to view or list enemy and friendly ships traveling through open space or in orbit around any of your planets. The circle at the end of the beam is green, but when you move the beam locks onto a planet or ship it turns yellow. Enemy ships show up as red dots and friendly ships show up as green dots. Planets with blue rings are one's that you own. Planets with green rings have one of your ships in orbit around them. Enemy ships can hide behind planets that you do not own and do not have a ship orbiting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (5.0) THE STARCHART The planets always have the same names and positions in space, only their stats are different every game. The starchart map shows planets as white dots, your ships as green dot and enemy ships as red dots. Any planets that you own will have blue circles around them. If you have any ships in orbit around any planets they will show up as green circles. Use the arrow keys or the mouse to move around the starchart. When you move the red cross in the middle of the screen on top of a planet or a starship a pair of arrows from the sides of the screen will indicate a lock on that object. The name of the object will appear in the information box. If you press the left mouse button you will lock onto the nearest planet. If you are very near a ship in deep space the right button will lock onto that ship. If the object you have locked onto is one of your ships you may press the <F1> button to switch to that ship's control screen.] If the object is a planet that you own you may press the <F5> to see a mineral / native life survey or you may press the <F2> button to switch to the planetary control screen. If you have a ship in orbit around an enemy or uncontrolled planet you also use the <F5> button to see the mining survey. The <S>earch command allows you to search for any planet by ID number (1-500). After giving a ID number from 1 to 500 the starchart will lock onto that planet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (6.0) VICTORY CONDITIONS It is best if everyone playing the game agrees on what the exact victory conditions are before starting the game. You could play a game so that when a player emerges as the most powerful and no other player has any hope of winning the players can call the game. You can also play a timed game. Set a date when the game will end. The player with the highest score at that date is declared The winner. The score is based on the number of planets, ships and bases you own. Here is a break down of the points for each idem owned. Freighters : 1 point each Planets : 10 points each Capital Ships : 10 points each Starbases : 120 points each (6.1) LIST OF STARSHIP TYPES ( * stolen ship design from another race ) Freighters: ( All races can build these ships ) Tech Level: 1 Small Deep Space Freighter Tech Level: 3 Medium Deep Space Freighter Tech Level: 6 Large Deep Space Freighter Tech Level: 10 Super Transport Freighter Solar Federation ships: Tech Level: 1 Willy Class Scout Tech Level: 2 Dole Class Destroyer Tech Level: 3 SCruz Class Survey Ship Tech Level: 3 Neutronic Fuel Carrier Tech Level: 4 Ergo Class Research Vessel Tech Level: 5 Loklear Class Frigate Tech Level: 6 Independence Class Cruiser Tech Level: 6 Banshee Class Cruiser Tech Level: 7 Jonl Class Escort Tech Level: 8 Bush Class Destroyer Tech Level: 8 Boston Class Frigate Tech Level: 8 Missouri Class Battleship Tech Level: 9 Hampsire Class Frigate Tech Level: 9 Ohio Class Cruiser Tech Level: 9 Finback Class Carrier Tech Level: 10 Nova Class Super-Dreadnought Lizard ships: Tech Level: 1 Serpent Class Escort Tech Level: 3 Reptile Class Destroyer Tech Level: 3 Neutronic Fuel Carrier Tech Level: 4 Lizard Class Cruiser * Tech Level: 4 Ergo Class Research Vessel Tech Level: 7 Saurian Class Light Cruiser Tech Level: 9 Madonnzila Class Carrier Tech Level: 10 T-Rex Class Battleship Bird Men ships: Tech Level: 1 Swift Heart Class Scout Tech Level: 3 White Falcon Class Cruiser Tech Level: 3 Bright Heart Class Destroyer Tech Level: 3 Neutronic Fuel Carrier * Tech Level: 4 Small Transport Tech Level: 5 Fearless Wing Class Cruiser Tech Level: 6 Valiant Wind Class Carrier Tech Level: 6 Deth Specula Class Frigate Tech Level: 7 Resolute Class Battlecruiser Tech Level: 10 Dark Wing Class Battleship Fascist ships: Tech Level: 2 D7a Painmaker Class Cruiser Tech Level: 2 Little Pest Class Escort Tech Level: 3 Neutronic Fuel Carrier Tech Level: 4 D7 Coldpain Class Cruiser * Tech Level: 4 Small Transport Tech Level: 5 Ill Wind Battlecruiser Tech Level: 5 D3 Thorn Class Destroyer Tech Level: 6 D19b Nefarious Class Destroyer * Tech Level: 6 Whitewind Class Carrier * Tech Level: 6 Deth Specula Class Frigate Tech Level: 8 Saber Class Frigate Tech Level: 10 Victorious Class Battleship Privateer ships: * Tech Level: 1 Willy Class Scout Tech Level: 1 BR4 Gunship * Tech Level: 2 D7a Painmaker Class Cruiser * Tech Level: 2 Little Pest Class Escort Tech Level: 3 Dwarfstar Class Transport Tech Level: 3 BR5 Kaye Class Torpedo Boat * Tech Level: 4 Small Transport Tech Level: 5 Meteor Class Blockade Runner Tech Level: 5 Skyfire Class Cruiser Tech Level: 5 Lady Royale Class Cruiser * Tech Level: 5 D3 Thorn Class Destroyer Tech Level: 8 Red Wind Class Carrier Tech Level: 10 Bloodfang Class Carrier Cyborg ships: Tech Level: 1 B200 Class Probe Tech Level: 1 Watcher Class Scout Tech Level: 2 B41 Explorer * Tech Level: 2 Iron Slave Class Baseship Tech Level: 5 B222 Destroyer Tech Level: 5 Quietus Class Cruiser Tech Level: 6 Firecloud Class Cruiser Tech Level: 9 Biocide Class Carrier Tech Level: 10 Annihilation Class Battleship Crystalline ships: Tech Level: 2 Opal Class Torpedo Boat Tech Level: 3 Ruby Class Light Cruiser Tech Level: 3 Topez Class Gunboat Tech Level: 4 Small Transport Tech Level: 5 Sky Garnet Class Destroyer Tech Level: 6 Emerald Class Battlecruiser Tech Level: 8 Onyx Class Frigate Tech Level: 9 Diamond Flame Class Battleship Tech Level: 10 Crystal Thunder Class Carrier The Evil Empire's Ships: Tech Level: 1 RU25 Gunboat Tech Level: 1 Mig Class Scout Tech Level: 1 PL21 Probe Tech Level: 2 H-Ross Class LT Carrier Tech Level: 3 Moscow Class Star Escort Tech Level: 4 Super Star Frigate Tech Level: 5 Super Star Carrier Tech Level: 6 Super Star Destroyer Tech Level: 9 Super Star Cruiser Tech Level: 10 Gorbie Class Battlecarrier Robot ships: Tech Level: 2 Cat's Paw Class Destroyer Tech Level: 2 Iron Slave Class Baseship Tech Level: 3 Q Tanker Tech Level: 3 Pawn Class Baseship Tech Level: 4 Cybernaut Class Baseship Tech Level: 6 Instrumentality Class Baseship Tech Level: 9 Automa Class Baseship Tech Level: 10 Golem Class Baseship Rebel ships: * Tech Level: 1 Cygnus Class Destroyer * Tech Level: 1 Taurus Class Scout Tech Level: 2 Falcon Class Escort Tech Level: 3 Rebel Deep Space Scout Tech Level: 4 Gaurdian Class Destroyer Tech Level: 4 Rebel Transport * Tech Level: 4 Small Transport * Tech Level: 4 Cobol Class Research Cruiser * Tech Level: 4 Aries Class Transport Tech Level: 5 Sage Class Frigate * Tech Level: 5 Sagittarius Class Transport Tech Level: 6 Tranquility Class Cruiser Tech Level: 6 Patriot Class Light Carrier * Tech Level: 6 Gemini Class Transport Tech Level: 9 Iron Lady Class Frigate Tech Level: 10 Rush Class Heavy Carrier The Colonies of Man Ships: Tech Level: 1 Taurus Class Scout Tech Level: 1 Cygnus Class Destroyer Tech Level: 2 Little Joe Class Escort Tech Level: 4 Cobol Class Research Cruiser Tech Level: 4 Aries Class Transport * Tech Level: 4 Small Transport * Tech Level: 4 Gaurdian Class Destroyer Tech Level: 5 Sagittarius Class Transport * Tech Level: 5 Sage Class Frigate Tech Level: 6 Gemini Class Transport Tech Level: 6 Scorpius Class Light Carrier * Tech Level: 6 Tranquility Class Cruiser * Tech Level: 6 Patriot Class Light Carrier * Tech Level: 9 Iron Lady Class Frigate Tech Level: 10 Virgo Class Battlestar (6.2) A REVIEW OF THE RACE FLEETS The Solar Federation Of Planets: The Feds fleet is made up of many medium size ship that are designed to serve a variety of different missions. They have only one ship that serves as a fighter carrier. The Feds do not like to use fighters except as a last ditch measure when starbases or planets fall under attack. The weapon they most favor is the torpedo. For some unknown reason they like to paint their warships bright white and put external lighting systems on them. This tends to make them easier targets in a fight, but it also has the effect of scaring the daylights out of enemies. After all any one who would light up their ships so brightly has got to be unafraid of all enemies and have a very powerful ship or they are just plain stupid. The Lizards: The Lizards are a very small alliance of large boulder throwing humaniod lizard men with large nasty teeth. There are only a few starships types that they build. They have the plans to one Fed research vessel that the like to use for scouting out minerals. The smaller Lizard ships tend to be solidly built with large cargo holds and medium firepower. The Lizards's high tech ships are very large and have a vast amount of firepower. Any ship that takes on a Lizard battleship will more then have their hands full. The Bird Men: The Bird Men share several ship designs with the Fascists. Bird Men like to paint their ships to look like giant birds so that they can make low passes over planets and really scare the pants off the native population before landing and jumping out in their armored bird suits to take over the planet. Bird Men ships tend to be solidly armored and pack heavy firepower. They have a tech 6 carrier that can hold up to 80 fighters that can be very dangerous. The Bird Men battleship is even larger then the Lizard battleship and has more firepower. Fascists: The Fascist weapon of choice is the beam weapon. Their ships do better then most when they are attacked by fighters, because of the higher them average number of beam weapons which can be used to destroy the incoming fighters. The tech level 5 Fascist D10 Battlecruiser as much beam weapon firepower as a battleship ( 10 banks! ). Many of the Fascist ships are of Bird Men design. Privateers: The Privateers tend to use very small ships. They have a few ship designs that they stole from the Fascists. Their favorite activity is stealing unescorted freighters. Privateers make very good use of mineral resources because of the small size of their ships, but in a toe to toe war they don't stand much of chance. The Cyborg: The Cyborg are a half humaniod and half machine race. The Cyborg have many small scout ships and probes. These come in very handy in finding their enemy's home world. The Cyborg battleship is the size of two Bird Men battleships. Any enemy that is foolish enough to allow the Cyborg to build one of these monsters stands very little chance of damaging it, let alone destroying it. Crystal People: Crystal People are a silicon based life forms about 3 foot tall, with no limbs and a metallic color. They have two large glowing eyes in the middle of their polyhedron form. The larger Crystalline ships are very powerful and tend to favor beam type weapons. They have several small ship types that are useful in exploring planets and capturing freighters. The Evil Empire: The Evil Empire depends heavily on fighters for attacking enemies. They have only one ship type that is able to launch torpedoes. Most the Empire's ships are very large and expensive. The Empire's battle carrier is the largest and most heavily armored fighter carrier in the universe it has 10 beam weapon banks, which is most impressive for a carrier. Robots: The Robots are a race of that have survived the death of their makers. It is thought that the makers of the Robots were a race similar to the Lizards only smaller and weaker. The Robots base most their ship designs around the basestar fighter carriers. The Robots have only one ship type that can launch torpedoes. Even the Robot's fuel tanker is able to launch fighters which can come in handy at times. The favorite ship in the Robotic fleet is the tech 6 Instrumentality class baseship. It is the size of a battleship and can carry up to 80 fighters. The largest basestar can carry ( 300 fighters ) more fighters then any other ship. Rebels: The Rebels are a group of warriors who depend on their fighters to provide a low cost offensive power. Their ships follow no standard design. They are mostly converted freighters and armored transports. The ships may not be pretty but they get the job done. Rebel ships have only a few weapon banks at best. THE COLONIES OF MAN: The Colonies Of Man are very similar to the rebels and share many of the same ship designs. The however the flag ship of their fleet is one of the most powerful ships in the universe. This mighty ship is the tech 10 Virgo class battlestar that can hold up to 40 more fighters then the Evil Empire's battlecarrier and is only about half the size. Even with all those fighters it still has room for a pair of beam weapon banks. (6.3) PERSONALIZED RACE NAMES If you would like to change the race names you can. You may wish to name the race after yourself or your login. See NAMERACE.DOC for more details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (7.0) STARTING THE GAME If you are hosting the game you must run MASTER.EXE to build the game universe master data files, choose the races you wish to be in the game and assign a game password to each player. Only run MASTER.EXE when you want to start a new game. Running it after you have started a game will erase the game currently being played. After you have run the MASTER.EXE program, you must run HOST.EXE to generate the first set of .RST files that are then sent out to each player in the game so they can play out their first game turn. The whole game resides on the host computer in the .HST files ( these are the universe master data files ). The HOST.EXE program allows the .TRN files from the players to interact with the universe master data files and other player files. (7.1) STARTING IF YOU ARE NOT HOSTING THE GAME All you have to do is install the game in on your computer. Then you transfer your .RST file from the computer that is hosting the game by way of BBS, Email, Net or Floppy and run the UNPACK.EXE program to uncompress the .RST file into data files so you can then run PLANETS.EXE to play the game. After you are done playing run MAKETURN.EXE to compress your new game moves into a .TRN file that you then send back to the host computer. (7.2) THE GAME FILES ( A BRIEF LIST ) The host computer only needs the following host files MASTER.EXE HOST.EXE RACE.NM NAMERACE.EXE *.DAT *.HST *.MOF The players need the following player files on their machine PLANETS.EXE VCR.EXE UNPACK.EXE MAKETURN.EXE RESOURCE.PLN NAMERACE.EXE RACE.NM *.DAT *.MOF If you are ONLY hosting the game on a machine, such as a BBS you can erase following files to save disk space; PLANETS.EXE, VCR.EXE, UNPACK.EXE MAKETURN.EXE and RESOURCE.PLN. The following files are sent from the host machine to the players machines. PLAYER1.RST ( player 1 the Federation ) PLAYER2.RST ( player 2 the Lizards ) PLAYER3.RST ( player 3 the Fascists ) I think this is wrong. Fascists = player 4, birdmen = player 3. PLAYER4.RST ( player 4 the Bird Men ) PLAYER5.RST ( player 5 the Privateers ) PLAYER6.RST ( player 6 the Cyborg ) PLAYER7.RST ( player 7 the Crystal People ) PLAYER8.RST ( player 8 the Evil Empire ) PLAYER9.RST ( player 9 the Robots ) PLAYER10.RST ( player 10 the Rebels ) Unclear which is player 10 and which is player 11. PLAYER11.RST ( player 11 the Colonies of Man ) The following files are sent from the player machines to the Host machine. PLAYER1.TRN ( player 1 the Solar Federation ) PLAYER2.TRN ( player 2 the Lizards ) PLAYER3.TRN ( player 3 the Fascists ) PLAYER4.TRN ( player 4 the Bird men ) PLAYER5.TRN ( player 5 the Privateers ) PLAYER6.TRN ( player 6 the Cyborg ) PLAYER7.TRN ( player 7 the Crystal People ) PLAYER8.TRN ( player 8 the Evil Empire ) PLAYER9.TRN ( player 9 the Robots ) PLAYER10.TRN ( player 10 the Rebels ) PLAYER11.TRN ( player 11 the Colonies of Man ) (7.3) LIST OF PLAYER FILES UNPACK.EXE : This is a program that decodes .RST file from the host program. This program takes information encoded into the .RST file and splits it up into several data files used by PLANETS.EXE. You must run UNPACK.EXE before you run PLANETS.EXE. PLANETS.EXE : The main game program used by every one playing the game. It consists of many screens of controls, pictures, graphics and information. MAKETURN.EXE : This program is ran after you are finished with your game turn and exited PLANETS.EXE. This program reads the game data files and looks for any changes. It then encodes the new data into a .TRN file which you send back to the host computer. *.DAT : These files that contain all the data on a players game. *.DIS : Data files that are formed by UNPACK.EXE these contain all the new information from the host. TECH.MOF : The game's font file. VCR.EXE : A sub program used by PLANETS.EXE to show ship combat. It can NOT be ran outside of PLANETS.EXE and can only be ran from PLANETS.EXE after ship combat has taken place. RESOURCE.PLN : All the graphics used in the game. SWEEP.BAT : A batch file that erases non-vital data files, use this files to clean up your planets directory after you have uploaded your .TRN file to the Host. RACE.NM : A data file of all the different race names. NAMERACE.EXE : A program used to change the names of the different races to fit your personal tastes. (7.4) LIST OF ALL THE HOST FILES MASTER.EXE : The program that forms all the hosts data files. It is only run once at the beginning of the game to start the game. This is were you are able to activate which races you will have in the game and assign each one their own password. HOST.EXE : This is the program that takes all the .TRN files from all the players and forms .RST files to be sent back to all the players. This program is run once per turn to end the old turn and begin a new one. *.DAT : These files contain data important to the game. *.HST : The host data files. This is the universe. This is all the data on every ship, planet and base. TECH.MOF : The game's font file. TURN.BAT : A batch file for use when you are playing on a single computer. After ALL the players are done playing out their turns, exit planets and type in TURN and the batch file will run the MAKETURN, HOST, UNPACK and return you to the main program PLANETS. All the players can then play out their new turns. RACE.NM : A data file of all the different race names. NAMERACE.EXE : A program used to change the names of the different races to fit your personal tastes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (8.0) SUPPORT If you need help with a problem you are having with the game or have a question you can call me during my "office" hours here at home or you can write me. Tim Wisseman PO BOX 204 NORTH FORK CA. 93643 My phone number is (209) 877-2320 please call on Saturdays between 10:00 AM and 8:00 PM PST and on Sundays between 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM PST (8.1) REGISTRATION The Shareware version of this program is for you to try out for a limited period of time. If you find that you like the game please register it. The fee is only $10. Everyone who becomes a registered user will be sent a special expanded non-shareware version that only registered users are allowed to have. The expanded registered version has the following new features 1. tech levels 7 through 10 2. two or more new hull types per race 3. three new engine types 4. three new torpedo types 5. four new beam weapon types The expanded registered version is completely compatible with the evaluation version. ( You can switch to the registered version in the middle of a game without messing up your game. ) If you have a printer you can print up the file ORDERFRM.DOC send it in. I have made a set of four 8 1/2" X 11" starcharts that show the position, names and ID numbers of all the planets in the game. If you would like a set of starcharts send $3 and I'll sent you a set postpaid. If you want more then one set of starcharts send $1 for each additional set. You don't have to be a registered user to order the starcharts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (9.0) Bug in version 1.1 There was a bug in the HOST.EXE and UNPACK.EXE files in version 1.1. The HOST.EXE was not packing data on the planets into the .RST files. The only way around that error was to send the XYPLAN.DAT file along with the PLAYER*.RST files to the player machines. Version 1.2 fixes the problem. (9.1) Version 2.0 Version 2.0a Many small bugs fixed. 1. The Shift 3 transporter key 2. The 5 transporter key 3. The "None" colonist bug 4. Disappearing fighter(starbase) 5. Disappearing torp(starbase) New features! 1. Host saves messages when a turn is missed. 2. ESC key pops you out of <F1> <F2> <F3> windows. 3. Shields are worn down by multi-ships battles. 4. Ship pick window gives you more info. 5. Mouse buttons work on mini scan windows. (9.2) Version 2.0b Bugs fixed: 1. Ghost ships crashed program 2. Maketurn crashed on dead empires 3. Bug in build ship display 4. VCR was showing false battle outcomes 5. Some little screen printing goofs New!: 1. The unload freighter command (starbase) works on in coming freighters now. It was working on out bound freighter...(silly). 2. Host writes to a error log (ERROR.LOG) to tell the host person what went wrong! 3. Shields are now worn down from attacks from multible ships in the same turn. 4. Shields can not be greater then 100-damage 5. If you miss a turn your messages are held over til next turn 6. Revolts on planets no longer crash host (9.3) Version 2.1 Same as Version 2.0b, but with some doc changes. Game seems very solid now. Small glich that I currently can't figure out the cause: Sometimes the XYPLAN.DAT file is corrupted I think it is a problem with my hard drive. If this should ever happen to you install the game again. This will over write the bad XYPLAN.DAT file with a good copy. Installing again won't harm your current game data files. All vga planets program read data from XYPLAN.DAT and never write to the file. You can make XYPLAN.DAT a read only file, maybe that will help. I have only had this problem one time. There was a bug in the HOST.EXE in version 2.1. When a player tried to build a starbase the HOST.EXE would crash. The Host program on this disk has been fixed. When you run HOST.EXE the version number should read version 2.11 (9/1/92). Please pass this version of HOST.EXE along to anyone who is hosting a game using the old version of HOST.EXE ( version 2.1 ). They will also need a RACE.NM data file. A bug in MAKETURN.EXE that cause many copies of the same message to be sent the same person has been fixed. The fixed MAKETURN.EXE should read Version 2.11 ( 9/6/92 ). Pass this fixed EXE file along to anyone using the old version of MAKETURN.EXE ( version 2.1 ) One very strange bug that I have trying to track down has been a problem with two planets showing up with exactly the same stats. Then the next turn they revert back to normal. It is almost like a dimensional rift opens up in the planets linking two planets together, one over laping the other. I haven't been able to find the cause. I have also heard of whole planets disappearing and ships blinking out... and then reappearing as if nothing ever happened. True it does make the game more interesting but, I would still like to know what exactly is going on. The bug tends to happen to players who are suffering from a lack of sleep or are confused... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I have found and fixed the dimensional rift bug as of (9/12/92) The bug was in PLANETS.EXE. My friend Dave found it one night when he was really sleepy. Thanks Dave! This fixed version of PLANETS.EXE should read version 2.1 (9/12/92). New feature added due to player DEMAND! The MASTER.EXE program now allows you to set the distance between home worlds to be farther apart when you start a new game. You now have a choice of short, medium, long and very long ranges. The game in the past used the medium range, which is the range that I like the best, because it makes the game far more interesting to know all your enemies are very close. Even if you know where your enemy's homeworld is, defeating the enemy's main planet in the first few turns will be almost impossible. Use "very long" range at your own risk. You may end up homeworlds at opposite ends of the star cluster. At warp factor 9 it may take up to 34 turns to reach your enemy's homeworld. If you use "long" range the maximum time between homeworlds is 8 turns at warp factor 9. If you use "medium" range the maximum time between homeworlds is 5 turns at warp factor 9. At "short" range the maximum time between homeworlds is 4 turns at warp factor 9. Small bug fixed in HOST.EXE New Version 2.11.(9/17/92). The beam weapon tech level of planets fighting starships is now fixed. The bug caused planets with defence greater then 200 to have the same beam weapon tech level as the attacking ship. The tech level now will be 10. (9.4) What versions will work together. Version 1.0,1.1 and 1.2 will not work with version 2.0 and later programs. Version 2.0b and Version 2.1 are 100% compatible. (9.5) Future Versions.... I am working on Version 3.0 right now which will include many improvements based on suggestions from players. I am planning to add to the game. 1. A HOST configure program 2. A way for the host person to send messages to the players 3. Meteor showers 4. A way to recycle old starships 5. Worm holes 6. Starship ID Library program 7. Special Race Ablities 8. Strange events 9. Mysterious areas of space 10. The Natives will be more interesting 11. Mine (BOOM!) fields in space 12. Mine sweeping Version 3.0 will not be released until spring 1993. So if you have any suggestions please write and mean while enjoy Version 2.1. VGA Planets will continue to grow and change until it is the very best game possible, but I don't want to put out a long series of releases, so Version 2.1 is frozen in time. The only changes to Version 2.1 will be any needed bug fixes. All my new improvements that players and myself come up with will be put into Version 3.0. I am very happy with Version 2.1 and I hope you are having fun with it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Up