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8 <title>Super Star Trek</title>
12 <firstname>David</firstname>
13 <surname>Matuzsek</surname>
16 <firstname>Paul</firstname>
17 <surname>Reynolds</surname>
20 <firstname>Tom</firstname>
21 <surname>Almy</surname>
24 <firstname>Stas</firstname>
25 <surname>Sergeev</surname>
28 <firstname>Eric</firstname>
29 <othername>Steven</othername>
30 <surname>Raymond</surname>
35 <para>Permission is hereby granted for the copying, distribution,
36 modification and use of this program and associated documentation
37 for recreational purposes, provided that all references to the
38 authors are retained. However, permission is not and will not be
39 granted for the sale or promotional use of this program or program
40 documentation, or for use in any situation in which profit may be
41 considered an objective, since it is the desire of the authors to
42 respect the copyrights of the originators of Star Trek.</para>
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79 Produced For Your Enjoyment
101 <chapter><title>Introduction</title>
102 <para>The Organian Peace Treaty has collapsed, and the Federation is at war
103 with the Klingon Empire. Joining the Klingons against the Federation
104 are the members of the <quote>Romulan Star Empire.</quote> As commander of the
105 Starship U.S.S. Enterprise, your job is to wipe out the Klingon
106 invasion fleet and make the galaxy safe for democracy.</para>
108 <para>Your battleground is the entire galaxy, which for convenience is
109 divided up into eight rows of eight quadrants each, like a
110 checkerboard. Rows are numbered from top to bottom, and columns are
111 numbered left to right, so quadrant 1 - 8 would be in the upper right
112 hand corner of the galaxy.</para>
114 <para>During battle you will be concerned only with those enemies that
115 occupy the same quadrant as yourself. Quadrants are divided up into
116 sectors: ten rows of ten sectors each. Sectors are numbered in the
117 same way as quadrants, so the sector in the upper right corner is
118 sector 1 - 10. You have a short-range scanner which allows you to
119 look at the entire quadrant in a single display.</para>
121 <para>Enemies recharge during your absence. If you leave a quadrant
122 containing a weakened enemy, when you return to that quadrant he will
123 be strong again. Also, each time you enter a quadrant, the positions
124 of everthing in the quadrant (except your ship) are randomized, to
125 save you the trouble of trying to remember where everything in the
126 quadrant is. Notice that this refers only to the positions of things
127 in the quadrant—the numbers of each kind of thing are not changed
128 (except for black holes and the Super-commander, which move around
129 the galaxy). If you kill something, it stays dead.</para>
131 <para>The Romulans are not as serious a threat to the Federation as the
132 Klingons. For one thing, there are not as many of them. For
133 another, the Romulans are not as treacherous. However, Romulans are
134 not to be trifled with, especially when you are in violation of the
135 Romulan Neutral Zone.</para>
137 <para>There are two kinds of Klingons: Ordinary Klingons, which are
138 bad enough, and Klingon Commanders, which are even worse. Commanders
139 are about three times stronger than ordinary Klingons. Commanders are
140 more resistant to your weapons. Commanders can move about during
141 battle while Ordinary Klingons stay put. And finally, Commanders have
142 a thing called a <quote>long-range tractor beam</quote> which they can
143 use, at random intervals, to yank you away from what you are doing
144 into their quadrant, to do battle with them. There is also a special
145 commander, called the <quote>Super-commander.</quote> This character
146 is so bad he is reserved for the Good, Expert, and Emeritus games.
147 Fortunately, there is just one Super-commander in a game. In addition
148 to the undesirable traits of Commanders, he can move from quadrant to
149 quadrant at will, seeking out and destroying your starbases and any
150 helpful planets he runs across. He also has a spy planted aboard your
151 ship, giving him valuable information about your condition. Using
152 this information, he can do dastardly things like tractor beam your
153 ship when you are in bad shape. And once you've been tractor beamed
154 by the Super-commander —</para>
156 <para>But the advantages are not all on the side of the enemy. Your ship
157 is more powerful, and has better weapons. Besides, in the this
158 galaxy there are from two to five starbases, at which you can stop to
159 refuel and lick your wounds, safe from phaser attack or tractor
160 beams. But you had best not dally there too long, since time is not
161 on your side. The Klingons are not just after you; they are
162 attacking the entire Federation. There is always a finite <quote>time
163 left,</quote> which is how much longer the Federation can hold out if you
164 just sit on your fat behind and do nothing. As you wipe out
165 Klingons, you reduce the rate at which the invasion fleet weakens the
166 Federation, and so the time left until the Federation collapses may
167 actually increase. Since Klingons are the main threat to the
168 Federation, the Romulans do not figure into the <quote>time left.</quote> In
169 fact, you need not kill all the Romulans to win. If you can get all
170 the Klingons, the Federation will abide forever, and you have won the
173 <para>Space is vast, and it takes precious time to move from one place to
174 another. In comparison, other things happen so quickly that we
175 assume the take no time at all. Two ways that time can pass are when
176 you move, or when you issue a command to sit still and rest for a
177 period of time. You will sometimes want to do the latter, since the
178 various devices aboard your starship may be damaged and require time
179 to repair. Of course, repairs can be made more quickly at a starbase
180 than than can in flight.</para>
182 <para>In addition to Klingons, Romulans, and starbases, the galaxy
183 contains (surprise) stars. Mostly, stars are a nuisance and just get
184 in your way. You can trigger a star into going nova by shooting one
185 of your photon torpedoes at it. When a star novas, it does a lot of
186 dammage to anything immediately adjacent to it. If another star is
187 adjacent to a nova, it too will go nova. Stars may also occasionally
188 go supernova; a supernova in a quadrant destroys everything in the
189 quadrant andmakes the quadrant permanently uninhabitable. You may
190 <quote>jump over</quote> a quadrant containing a supernova when you
191 move, but you should not stop there.</para>
193 <para>Supernovas may happen spontaneously, without provocation. If a
194 supernova occurs in the same quadrant you are in, your starship has an
195 <quote>emergency automatic override</quote> which picks some random
196 direction and some random warp factor, and tries to throw you clear of
197 the supernova. If the supernova occurs in some other quadrant, you
198 just get a warning message from starfleet about it (provided, of
199 course, that your subspace radio is working).</para>
201 <para>Also a few planets are scattered through the galaxy. These can
202 sometimes be a great help since some of them will have <quote>dilithium
203 crystals,</quote> which are capable of replenishing the ship's energy
204 supply. You can either beam down to the planet surface using the
205 transporter, or take the shuttle craft <quote>Galileo</quote>.</para>
207 <para>Finally, each quadrant will contain from zero to three black
208 holes. These can deflect or swallow torpedoes passing near them. They
209 also swallow enemy ships knocked into them. If your ship enters one
212 <para>Star Trek is a rich game, full of detail. These instructions are
213 written at a moderate level—no attempt has been made fully to
214 describe everything about the game, but there is quite a bit more
215 here than you need to get started. If you are new to the game, just
216 get a rough idea of the kinds of commands available, and start
217 playing. After a game or two you will have learned everthing
218 important, and the detailed command descriptions which follow will be
219 a lot more meaningful to you.</para>
221 <para>You have weapons: phasers and photon torpedoes. You have a defense:
222 deflector shields. You can look at things: long-range scaners,
223 short-range scanners, and a star chart. You can move about, under
224 warp drive or impulse power. You can also dock at a starbase, rest
225 while repairs are being made, abandon ship, self destruct, or give up
226 and start a new game.</para>
228 <para>The Klingons are waiting.</para>
231 <chapter><title>How To Issue Commands</title>
233 <para>When the game is waiting for you to enter a command it will
240 <para>You may then type in your command. All you have to remember for each
241 command is the mnemonic. For example, if you want to move straight up
242 one quadrant, you can type in the mnemonic (case insensitive)</para>
248 <para>and the computer will prompt you with</para>
254 <para>Say you type in <quote>manual</quote>. The computer then responds</para>
257 X and Y displacements-
260 <para>Now you type in <quote>0 1</quote> which specifies an X movement of zero and a Y
261 movement of one.</para>
263 <para>When you have learned the commands, you can avoid being prompted
264 simply by typing in the information without waiting to be asked for
265 it. For example, in the above example, you could simply type in</para>
271 <para>and it will be done. Or you could type in</para>
277 <para>and when the computer responds with the displacement prompt, you
284 <para>and it will understand.</para>
286 <para>You can abbreviate most mnemonics. For <quote>move</quote>, you can use any
293 <para>successfully. For your safety, certain critical commands (such as to
294 abandon ship) must be written out in full. Also, in a few cases two
295 or more commands begin with the same letter, and in this case that
296 letter refers to a particular one of the commands; to get the other,
297 your abbreviation must be two or more characters long. This sounds
298 complicated, but you will learn the abbreviations qGuickly enough.</para>
300 <para>What this all boils down to is:</para>
303 <listitem><para>You can abbreviate practically anything</para></listitem>
304 <listitem><para>If you forget, the computer will proompt you</para></listitem>
305 <listitem><para>If you remember, you can type it all on one line</para></listitem>
308 <para>If you are part way through entering a command and you change your
309 minde, you can cancel the command by typing -1 as one of the
310 parameters, with the exception of the manual move command.</para>
312 <para>If anything is not clear to you, experiment. The worst you can do is
313 lose a game or two.</para>
316 <chapter><title>List of Commands</title>
318 <sect1><title>Short-Range Scan</title>
322 Shortest abbreviation: S
323 Full commands: SRSCAN
328 <!-- This is new in SST 2K -->
329 <para>If you are using the screen-oriented interface, it should never
330 be necessary to call this command explicitly; a short-range scan will
331 always be present on the screen.</para>
333 <para>The short-range scan gives you a considerable amount of information
334 about the quadrant your starship is in. A short-range scan is best
335 described by an example.</para>
339 1 * . . . . R . . . . Stardate 2516.3
340 2 . . . E . . . . . . Condition RED
341 3 . . . . . * . B . . Position 5 - 1, 2 - 4
342 4 . . . S . . . . . . Life Support DAMAGED, Reserves=2.30
343 5 . . . . . . . K . . Warp Factor 5.0
344 6 . K . . . . . * . Energy 2176.24
345 7 . . . . . P . . . . Torpedoes 3
346 8 . . . . * . . . . . Shields UP, 42% 1050.0 units
347 9 . * . . * . . . C . Klingons Left 12
348 10 . . . . . . . . . . Time Left 3.72
351 <para>The left part is a picture of the quadrant. The E at sector 2 -
352 4 represents the Enterprise; the B at sector 3 - 8 is a starbase.
353 There are ordinary Klingons (K) at sectors 5 - 8 and 6 - 2, and a
354 Klingon Commander (C) at 9 - 9. The (GULP)
355 <quote>Super-commander</quote> (S) is occupies sector 4 - 4, and a
356 Romulan (R) is at 1 - 6. A planet (P) is at sector 7 - 6. There are
357 also a large number of stars (*). The periods (.) are just empty
358 space—they are printed to help you get your bearings. Sector 6
359 - 4 contains a black hole ( ).</para>
361 <para>The information on the right is assorted status information. You
362 can get this alone with the STATUS command. The status information
363 will be absent if you type <quote>N</quote> after SRSCAN. Otherwise
364 status information will be presented.</para>
366 <para>If you type <quote>C</quote> after SRSCAN, you will be given a
367 short-range scan and a Star Chart.</para>
369 <para>Short-range scans are free. That is, they use up no energy and no
370 time. If you are in battle, doing a short-range scan does not give
371 the enemies another chance to hit you. You can safely do a
372 short-range scan anytime you like.</para>
374 <para>If your short-range sensors are damaged, this command will only show
375 the contents of adjacent sectors.</para>
377 <sect1><title>Status Report</title>
381 Shortest abbreviation: ST
384 <para>This command gives you information about the current state of your
385 starship as follows:</para>
389 <term>STARDATE</term>
391 <para>The current date. A stardate is the same as a day.</para>
395 <term>CONDITION</term>
397 <para>There are four possible conditions:</para>
401 <listitem><para>docked at starbase.</para></listitem>
405 <listitem><para>in battle.</para></listitem>
409 <listitem><para>low on energy (<1000 units)</para></listitem>
413 <listitem><para>none of the above</para></listitem>
419 <term>POSITION</term>
421 <para>Quadrant is given first, then sector</para>
425 <term>LIFE SUPPOR</term>
427 <para>If <quote>ACTIVE</quote> then life support systems are functioning
428 normally. If on <quote>RESERVES</quote> the number is how many stardates your
429 reserve food, air, etc. will last—you must get repairs made or get to
430 starbase before your reserves run out.</para>
434 <term>WARP FACTOR</term>
436 <para>What your warp factor is currently set to.</para>
442 <para>The amount of energy you have left. If it drops to zero, you die.</para>
446 <term>TORPEDOES</term>
448 <para>How many photon torpedoes you have left.</para>
454 <para>Whether your shields are up or down, how strong they are
455 (what percentage of a hit they can deflect), and shield energy.</para>
459 <term>KLINGONS LEFT</term>
461 <para>How many of the Klingons are still out there.</para>
465 <term>TIME LEFT</term>
467 <para>How long the Federation can hold out against the
468 present number of Klingons; that is, how long until the end
469 if you do nothing in the meantime. If you kill Klingons
470 quickly, this number will go up—if not, it will go down. If
471 it reaches zero, the federation is conquered and you lose.</para>
476 <para>Status information is free—it uses no time or energy, and
477 if you are in battle, the Klingons are not given another chance to hit
480 <para>Status information can also be obtained by doing a short-range scan.
481 See the SRSCAN command for details.</para>
483 <para>Each item of information can be obtained singly by requesting it.
484 See REQUEST command for details.</para>
487 <sect1><title>Long-Range Scan</title>
491 Shortest abbreviation: L
494 <!-- This is new in SST 2K -->
495 <para>If you are using the screen-oriented interface, it should never
496 be necessary to call this command explicitly; a long-range scan will
497 always be present on the screen.</para>
499 <para>A long-range scan gives you general information about where you are
500 and what is around you. Here is an example output.</para>
503 Long-range scan for Quadrant 5 - 1
509 <para>This scan says that you are in row 5, column 1 of the 8 by 8 galaxy.
510 The numbers in the scan indicate how many of each kind of thing there
511 is in your quadrant and all adjacent quadrants. The digits are
512 interpreted as follows.</para>
518 <entry>Thousands digit:</entry>
519 <entry>1000 indicates a supernova (only)</entry>
522 <entry>Hundreds digit:</entry>
523 <entry>number of Klingons present</entry>
526 <entry>Tens digit:</entry>
527 <entry>number of starbases present</entry>
530 <entry>Ones digit:</entry>
531 <entry>number of stars present</entry>
537 <para>For example, in your quadrant (5 - 1) the number is 316, which
538 indicates 3 Klingons, 1 starbase, and 6 stars. The long-range
539 scanner does not distinguish between ordinary Klingons and Klingon
540 command ships. If there is a supernova, as in the quadrant below and
541 to your right (quadrant 6 - 2), there is nothing else in the
544 <para>Romulans possess a <quote>cloaking device</quote> which prevents
545 their detection by long-range scan. Because of this fact, Starfleet
546 Command is never sure how many Romulans are <quote>out there</quote>.
547 When you kill the last Klingon, the remaining Romulans surrender to
548 the Federation.</para>
550 <para>Planets are also undetectable by long-range scan. The only way to
551 detect a planet is to find it in your current quadrant with the
552 short-range sensors.</para>
554 <para>Since you are in column 1, there are no quadrants to your left. The
555 minus ones indicate the negative energy barrier at the edge of the
556 galaxy, which you are not permitted to cross.</para>
558 <para>Long-range scans are free. They use up no energy or time, and can be
559 done safely regardless of battle conditions.</para>
561 <sect1><title>Star Chart</title>
565 Shortest abbreviation: C
568 <para>As you proceed in the game, you learn more and more about what things
569 are where in the galaxy. When ever you first do a scan in a quadrant,
570 telemetry sensors are ejected which will report any changes in the
571 quadrant(s) back to your ship, providing the sub-space radio is
572 working. Spock will enter this information in the chart. If the radio
573 is not working, Spock can only enter new information discovered from
574 scans, and information in other quadrants may be obsolete.</para>
576 <para>The chart looks like an 8 by 8 array of numbers. These numbers are
577 interpreted exactly as they are on a long-range scan. A period (.) in
578 place of a digit means you do not know that information yet. For
579 example, ... means you know nothing about the quadrant, while .1.
580 menas you know it contains a base, but an unknown number of Klingons
583 <para>Looking at the star chart is a free operation. It costs neither time
584 nor energy, and can be done safely whether in or out of battle.</para>
587 <sect1><title>Damage Report</title>
591 Shortest abbreviation: DA
594 <para>At any time you may ask for a damage report to find out what devices
595 are damaged and how long it will take to repair them. Naturally,
596 repairs proceed faster at a starbase.</para>
598 <para>If you suffer damages while moving, it is possible that a subsequent
599 damage report will not show any damage. This happens if the time
600 spent on the move exceeds the repair time, since in this case the
601 damaged devices were fixed en route.</para>
603 <para>Damage reports are free. They use no energy or time, and can be done
604 safely even in the midst of battle.</para>
607 <sect1><title>Move Under Warp Drive</title>
611 Shortest abbreviation: M
612 Full command: MOVE MANUAL <displacement>
613 MOVE AUTOMATIC <destination>
616 <para>This command is the usual way to move from one place to another
617 within the galaxy. You move under warp drive, according to the
618 current warp factor (see <quote>WARP FACTOR</quote>).</para>
620 <para>There are two command modes for movement: MANUAL and AUTOMATIC.
621 The manual mode requires the following format:</para>
624 MOVE MANUAL <deltax> <deltay>
627 <para><deltax> and <deltay> are the horizontal and vertical
628 displacements for your starship, in quadrants; a displacement of one
629 sector is 0.1 quadrants. Specifying <deltax> and <deltay>
630 causes your ship to move in a straight line to the specified
631 destination. If <deltay> is omitted, it is assumed zero. For
632 example, the shortest possible command to move one sector to the right
639 <para>The following examples of manual movement refer to the short-range
640 scan shown earlier.</para>
643 Destination Sector Manual Movement command
648 (leaving quadrant) M M 0 .2
651 <para>The automatic mode is as follows:</para>
654 MOVE AUTOMATIC <qrow> <qcol> <srow> <scol>
657 <para><para>where <qrow> and <qcol> are the row and column
658 numbers of the destination quadrant, and <srow> and <scol>
659 are the row and column numbers of the destination sector in that
660 quadrant. This command also moves your ship in a straight line path
661 to the destination. For moving within a quadrant, <qrow> and
662 <qcol> may be omitted. For example, to move to sector 2 - 9 in
663 the current quadrant, the shortest command would be</para>
669 <para>To move to quadrant 3 - 7, sector 5 - 8, type</para>
675 <para>and it will be done. In automatic mode, either two or four numbers
676 must be supplied.</para>
678 <para>Automatic mode utilizes the ship's <quote>battle computer.</quote> If the
679 computer is damaged, manual movement must be used.</para>
681 <para>If warp engines are damaged less than 10 stardates (undocked) you can
682 still go warp 4.</para>
684 <para>It uses time and energy to move. How much time and how much energy
685 depends on your current warp factor, the distance you move, and
686 whether your shields are up. The higher the warp factor, the faster
687 you move, but higher warp factors require more energy. You may move
688 with your shields up, but this doubles the energy required.</para>
690 <para>You can move within a quadrant without being attacked if you just
691 entered the quadrant or have been attacked since your last move
692 command. This enables you to move and hit them before they
696 <sect1><title>Warp Factor</title>
700 Shortest abbreviation: W
701 Full command: WARP <number>
704 <para>Your warp factor controls the speed of your starship. The larger the
705 warp factor, the faster you go and the more energy you use.</para>
707 <para>Your minimum warp factor is 1.0 and your maximum warp factor is 10.0
708 (which is 100 times as fast and uses 1000 times as much energy). At
709 speeds above warp 6 there is some danger of causing damage to your
710 warp engines; this damage is larger at higher warp factors and also
711 depends on how far you go at that warp factor.</para>
713 <para>At exactly warp 10 there is some probability of entering a
714 so-called <quote>time warp</quote> and being thrown foward or backward
715 in time. The farther you go at warp 10, the greater is the
716 probability of entering the time warp.</para>
719 <sect1><title>Impulse Engines</title>
723 Shortest abbreviation: I
724 Full command: IMPULSE MANUAL <displacement>
725 IMPULSE AUTOMATIC <destination>
728 <para>The impulse engines give you a way to move when your warp engines are
729 damaged. They move you at a speed of 0.95 sectors per stardate,
730 which is the equivalent of a warp factor of about 0.975, so they are
731 much too slow to use except in emergencies.</para>
733 <para>Movement commands are indicated just as in the <quote>MOVE</quote> command.</para>
735 <para>The impulse engines require 20 units of energy to engage, plus 10
736 units per sector (100 units per quadrant) traveled. It does not cost
737 extra to move with the shields up.</para>
740 <sect1><title>Deflector Shields</title>
744 Shortest abbreviation: SH
745 Full commands: SHIELDS UP
747 SHIELDS TRANSFER <amount of energy to transfer>
750 <para>Your deflector shields are a defensive device to protect you from
751 Klingon attacks (and nearby novas). As the shields protect you, they
752 gradually weaken. A shield strength of 75%, for example, means that
753 the next time a Klingon hits you, your shields will deflect 75% of
754 the hit, and let 25% get through to hurt you.</para>
756 <para>It costs 50 units of energy to raise shields, nothing to lower them.
757 You may move with your shields up; this costs nothing under impulse
758 power, but doubles the energy required for warp drive.</para>
760 <para>Each time you raise or lower your shields, the Klingons have another
761 chance to attack. Since shields do not raise and lower
762 instantaneously, the hits you receive will be intermediate between
763 what they would be if the shields were completely up or completely
766 <para>You may not fire phasers through your shields. However you may use
767 the <quote>high-speed shield control</quote> to lower shields, fire phasers, and
768 raise the shields again before the Klingons can react. Since rapid
769 lowering and raising of the shields requires more energy than normal
770 speed operation, it costs you 200 units of energy to activate this
771 control. It is automatically activated when you fire phasers while
772 shields are up. You may fire photon torpedoes, but they may be
773 deflected considerably from their intended course as they pass
774 through the shields (depending on shield strength).</para>
776 <para>You may transfer energy beteen the ship's energy (given as
777 <quote>Energy</quote> in the status) and the shields. Thee word
778 <quote>TRANSFER</quote> may be abbreviated <quote>T</quote>. The
779 ammount of energy to transfer is the number of units of energy you
780 wish to take from the ship's energy and put into the shields. If you
781 specify an negative number, energy is drained from the shields to the
782 ship. Transfering energy constitutes a turn. If you transfer energy
783 to the shields while you are under attack, they will be at the new
784 energy level when you are next hit.</para>
786 <para>Enemy torpedoes hitting your ship explode on your shields (if they
787 are up) and have essentially the same effect as phaser hits.</para>
790 <sect1><title>Phasers</title>
794 Shortest abbreviation: P
795 Full commands: PHASERS AUTOMATIC <AMOUNT TO FIRE> <NO>
796 PHASERS <AMOUNT TO FIRE> <NO>
797 PHASERS MANUAL <NO> <AMOUNT 1> <AMOUNT 2>...<AMOUNT N>
800 <para>Phasers are energy weapons. As you fire phasers at Klingons, you
801 specify an <quote>amount to fire</quote> which is drawn from your
802 energy reserves. The amount of total hit required to kill an enemy is
803 partly random. but also depends on skill level.</para>
805 <para>The average hit required to kill an ordinary Klingon varies from 200
806 units in the Novice game to 250 units in the Emeritus game.
807 Commanders normally require from 600 (Novice) to 700 (Emeritus). The
808 Super-commander requres from 875 (Good) to 1000 (Emeritus). Romulans
809 require an average of 350 (Novice) to 450 (Emeritus).</para>
811 <para>Hits on enemies are cumulative, as long as you don't leave the
814 <para>In general, not all that you fire will reach the Klingons. The
815 farther away they are, the less phaser energy will reach them. If a
816 Klingon is adjacent to you, he will receive about 90% of the phaser
817 energy directed at him; a Klingon 5 sectors away will receive about
818 60% and a Klingon 10 sectors away will receive about 35%. There is
819 some randomness involved, so these figures are not exact. Phasers
820 have no effect beyond the boundaries of the quadrant you are in.</para>
822 <para>Phasers may overheat (and be damaged) if you fire too large a burst
823 at once. Firing up to 1500 units is safe. From 1500 on up the
824 probability of overheat increases with the amount fired.</para>
826 <para>If phaser firing is automatic, the computer decides how to
827 divide up your <amount to fire> among the Klingons present. If
828 phaser firing is manual, you specify how much energy to fire at each
829 Klingon present (nearest first), rather than just specifying a total
830 amount. You can abreviate <quote>MANUAL</quote> and
831 <quote>AUTOMATIC</quote> to one or more letters; if you mention
832 neither, automatic fire is usually assumed.</para>
834 <para>Battle computer information is available by firing phasers manually,
835 and allowing the computer to prompt you. If you enter zero for the
836 amount to fire at each enemy, you will get a complete report, without
837 cost. The battle computer will tell you how much phaser energy to
838 fire at each enemy for a sure kill. This information appears in
839 parentheses prior to the prompt for each enemy. Since the amount is
840 computed from sensor data, if either the computer or the S.R. sensors
841 are damaged, this information will be unavailable, and phasers must
842 be fired manually.</para>
844 <para>A safety interlock prevents phasers from being fired through
845 the shields. If this were not so, the shields would contain your fire
846 and you would fry yourself. However, you may utilize the
847 <quote>high-speed shield control</quote> to drop shields, fire
848 phasers, and raise shields before the enemy can react. Since it takes
849 more energy to work the shields rapidly with a shot, it costs you 200
850 units of energy each time you activate this control. It is
851 automatically activated when you fire phasers while the shields are
852 up. By specifying the <no> option, shields are not raised after
855 <para>Phasers have no effect on starbases (which are shielded) or on
859 <sect1><title>Report</title>
863 Shortest abbreviation: REP
866 <para>This command supplies you with information about the state of the
867 current game. Its purpose is to remind you of things that you have
868 learned during play, but may have forgotten, and cannot otherwise
869 retrieve if you are not playing at a hard-copy terminal.</para>
871 <para>You are told the following things:</para>
874 <listitem><para>The length and skill level of the game you are playing</para></listitem>
875 <listitem><para>The original number of Klingons</para></listitem>
876 <listitem><para>How many Klingons you have destroyed</para></listitem>
877 <listitem><para>Whether the Super-Commander has been destroyed</para></listitem>
878 <listitem><para>How many bases have been destroyed</para></listitem>
879 <listitem><para>How many bases are left</para></listitem>
880 <listitem><para>What bases (if any) are under attack; your subspace radio
881 must have been working since the attack to get this
882 information.</para></listitem>
883 <listitem><para>How many casualties you have suffered</para></listitem>
884 <listitem><para>How many times you have called for help.</para></listitem>
887 <para>This same information is automatically given to you when you start to
888 play a frozen game.</para>
891 <sect1><title>Computer</title>
895 Shortest abbreviation: CO
898 <para>This command allows using the ship's computer (if functional) to
899 calculate travel times and energy usage.</para>
902 <sect1><title>Photon Torpedoes</title>
906 Shortest abbreviation: PHO
907 Full commands: PHOTONS <NUMBER> <TARG1> <TARG2> <TARG3>
910 <para>Photon torpedoes are projectile weapons—you either hit what you aim
911 at, or you don't. There are no <quote>partial hits</quote>.</para>
913 <para>One photon torpedo will usually kill one ordinary Klingon, but it
914 usually takes about two for a Klingon Commander. Photon torpedoes
915 can also blow up stars and starbases, if you aren't careful.</para>
917 <para>You may fire photon torpedoes singly, or in bursts of two or three.
918 Each torpedo is individually targetable. The computer will prompt
919 you, asking for the target sector for each torpedo. Alternately, you
920 may specify each target in the command line.</para>
922 <para>Photon torpedoes cannot be aimed precisely—there is always some
923 randomness involved in the direction they go. Photon torpedoes may
924 be fired with your shields up, but as they pass through the shields
925 they are randomly deflected from their intended course even more.</para>
927 <para>Photon torpedoes are proximity-fused. The closer they explode to the
928 enemy, the more damage they do. There is a hit <quote>window</quote> about one
929 sector wide. If the torpedo misses the hit window, it does not
930 explode and the enemy is unaffected. Photon torpedoes are only
931 effective within the quadrant. They have no effect on things in
932 adjacent quadrants.</para>
934 <para>If more than one torpedo is fired and only one target sector is
935 specified, all torpedoes are fired at that sector. For example, to
936 fire two torpedoes at sector 3 - 4, you type</para>
939 PHO 2 3 4 (or) PHO 2 3 4 3 4
942 <para>To fire torpedoes at, consecutively, sectors 2 - 6, 1 - 10, and 4 -
949 <para>There is no restriction to fire directly at a sector. For example,
956 <para>to aim between two sectors. However, sector numbers must be 1 to 10
960 <sect1><title>Dock at Starbase</title>
964 Shortest abbreviation: D
967 <para>You may dock your starship whenever you are in one of the eight
968 sector positions immediately adjacent to a starbase. When you dock,
969 your starship is resupplied with energy, shield energy photon
970 torpedoes, and life support reserves. Repairs also proceed faster at
971 starbase, so if some of your devices are damaged, you may wish to stay
972 at base (by using the <quote>REST</quote> command) until they are
973 fixed. If your ship has more than its normal maximum energy (which
974 can happen if you've loaded crystals) the ship's energy is not
977 <para>You may not dock while in standard orbit around a planet.</para>
979 <para>Starbases have their own deflector shields, so you are completely
980 safe from phaser attack while docked. You are also safe from
981 long-range tractor beams.</para>
983 <para>Starbases also have both short and long range sensors, which you can
984 use if yours are broken. There's also a subspace radio to get
985 information about happenings in the galaxy. Mr. Spock will update the
986 star chart if your ask for it while docked and your own radio is dead.</para>
989 <sect1><title>Rest</title>
993 Shortest abbreviation: R
994 Full command: REST <NUMBER OF STARDATES>
997 <para>This command simply allows the specified number of stardates to go
998 by. This is useful if you have suffered damages and wish to wait
999 until repairs are made before you go back into battle.</para>
1001 <para>It is not generally advisable to rest while you are under attack by
1005 <sect1><title>Call Starbase for Help</title>
1012 <para>[Originally, this command was called <quote>HELP</quote>, but
1013 these days it might be misinterpreted as built-in
1014 documentation!]</para>
1016 <para>When you get into serious trouble, you may call starbase for
1017 help. Starbases have a device called a <quote>long-range transporter
1018 beam</quote> which they can use to teleport you to base. This works
1019 by dematerializing your starship at its current position and
1020 re-materializing it adjacent to the nearest starbase. Teleportation
1021 is instantaneous, and starbase supplies the required energy—all
1022 you have to do is let them know (via subspace radio) that you need to
1025 <para>This command should be employed only when absolutely necessary. In
1026 the first place, calling for help is an admission on your part that
1027 you got yourself into something you cannot get yourself out of, and
1028 you are heavily penalized for this in the final scoring. Secondly,
1029 the long-range transporter beam is not reliable—starbase can always
1030 manage to dematerialize your starship, but (depending on distance)
1031 may or may not be able to re-materialize you again. The long-range
1032 transporter beam has no absolute maximum range; if you are in the
1033 same quadrant as a starbase, you have a good chance (about 90%) of
1034 re-materializing successfully. your chances drop to roughly 50-50 at
1035 just over 3 quadrants.</para>
1038 <sect1><title>Abandon Ship</title>
1045 <para>You may abandon the Enterprise if necessary. If there is still a
1046 starbase in the galaxy, you will be sent there and put in charge of a
1047 weaker ship, the Faerie Queene.</para>
1049 <para>The Faerie Queene cannot be abandoned.</para>
1052 <sect1><title>Self-Destruct</title>
1059 <para>You may self-destruct, thus killing yourself and ending the game. If
1060 there are nearby Klingons, you may take a few of them with you (the
1061 more energy you have left, the bigger the bang).</para>
1063 <para>In order to self-destruct you must remember the password you typed in
1064 at the beginning of the game.</para>
1067 <sect1><title>Quit Game</title>
1074 <para>Immediately cancel the current game; no conclusion is reached. You
1075 will be given an opportunity to start a new game or to leave the Star
1076 Trek program.</para>
1079 <sect1><title>Sensor-Scan</title>
1083 Shortest abbreviation: SE
1086 <para>Utilizing the short-range sensors, science officer Spock gives you a
1087 readout on any planet in your quadrant. Planets come in three
1088 classes: M, N, and O. Only class M planets have earth-like
1089 conditions. Spock informs you if the planet has any dilithium
1090 crystals. Sensor scans are free.</para>
1093 <sect1><title>Enter Standard Orbit</title>
1097 Shortest abbreviation: O
1100 <para>To land on a planet you must first be in standard orbit. You achieve
1101 this in a manner similar to docking at starbase. Moving to one of
1102 the eight sector positions immediately adjacent to the planet, you
1103 give the orbit command which puts your ship into standard orbit about
1104 the planet. Since this is a maneuver, a small amount of time is
1105 used; negligible energy is required. If enemies are present, they
1109 <sect1><title>Transporter Travel</title>
1113 Shortest abbreviation: T
1116 <para>The transporter is a device which can convert any physical object
1117 into energy, beam the energy through space, and reconstruct the
1118 physical object at some destination. Transporting is one way to land
1119 on a planet. Since the transporter has a limited range, you must be
1120 in standard orbit to beam down to a planet. Shields must be down
1121 while transporting.</para>
1123 <para>The transport command is used to beam a landing party onto a planet
1124 to mine <quote>dilithium crystals</quote>. Each time the command is given the
1125 landing party (which you lead) moves from the ship to the planet, or
1128 <para>You are advised against needless transporting, since like all
1129 devices, the transporter will sometimes malfunction.</para>
1131 <para>The transporter consumes negligible time and energy. Its use does
1132 not constitute a <quote>turn</quote>.</para>
1135 <sect1><title>Shuttle Craft</title>
1139 Shortest abbreviation: SHU
1142 <para>An alternate way to travel to and from planets. Because of limited
1143 range, you must be in standard orbit to use the shuttle craft, named
1144 "Galileo". Shields must be down.</para>
1146 <para>Unlike transporting, use of the shuttle craft does constitute a
1147 <quote>turn</quote> since time is consumed. The time naturally
1148 depends on orbit altitude, and is equal to 3.0e-5 times altitude.
1149 Shuttling uses no ship energy.</para>
1151 <para>You should use the same travel device going from the planet to the
1152 ship as you use to go from the ship to the planet. However it is
1153 possible to transport to the planet and have the Galileo crew come
1154 and pick your landing party up, or to take the Galileo to the planet
1155 and then transport back, leaving the shuttle craft on the planet.</para>
1158 <sect1><title>Mine Dilithium Crystals</title>
1162 Shortest abbreviation: MI
1165 <para>Once you and your mining party are on the surface of a planet which
1166 has dilithium crystals, this command will dig them for you.</para>
1168 <para>Mining requires time and constitutes a <quote>turn</quote>. No
1169 energy is used. Class M planets require 0.1 to 0.3 stardates to mine.
1170 Class N planets take twice as long, and class O planets take three
1171 times as long.</para>
1173 <para>Dilithium crystals contain enormous energy in a form that is readily
1174 released in the ship's power system. It is an excellent idea to mine
1175 them whenever possible, for use in emergencies. You keep the
1176 crystals until the game is over or you abandon ship when not at a
1180 <sect1><title>Load Dilithium Crystals</title>
1184 Shortest abbreviation: CR
1187 <para>This is a very powerful command which should be used with caution.
1188 Once you have dilithium crystals aboard ship, this command will
1189 instruct engineering officer Scott and Mr. Spock to place a raw
1190 dilithium crystal into the power channel of the ship's
1191 matter-antimatter converter. When it works, this command will
1192 greatly boost the ship's energy.</para>
1194 <para>Because the crystals are raw and impure, instabilities can occur in
1195 the power channel. Usually Scotty can control these. When he
1196 cannot, the results are disastrous. Scotty will use those crystals
1197 that appear to be most stable first.</para>
1199 <para>Since using raw dilithium crystals for this purpose entails
1200 considerable risk, Starfleet Regulations allow its use only during
1201 "condition yellow". No time or energy is used.</para>
1204 <sect1><title>Planet Report</title>
1208 Shortest abbreviation: PL
1211 <para>Mr. Spock presents you a list of the available information on planets
1212 in the galaxy. Since planets do not show up on long-range scans, the
1213 only way to obtain this information is with the <quote>SENSORS</quote> command.</para>
1216 <sect1><title>Freeze</title>
1221 Full command: FREEZE <FILE NAME>
1224 <para>The purpose of the FREEZE command is to allow a player to save the
1225 current state of the game, so that it can be finished later. A
1226 plaque may not be generated from a frozen game. A file with the
1227 specified <file name> and type '.TRK' is created (if necessary) in
1228 the current directory, and all pertinent information about the game
1229 is written to that file. The game may be continued as usual or be
1230 terminated at the user's option.</para>
1232 <para>To restart a game created by the <quote>FREEZE</quote> command,
1233 the user need only type <quote>FROZEN</quote> in response to the
1234 initial question about the type of game desired, followed by the
1235 <file name>.</para>
1237 <para>NOTE: A <quote>tournament</quote> game is like a frozen game,
1238 with the following differences. (1) Tournament games always start
1239 from the beginning, while a frozen game can start at any point. (2)
1240 Tournament games require only that the player remember the name or
1241 number of the tournament, while the information about a frozen game
1242 must be kept on a file. Tournament games can be frozen, but then they
1243 behave like regular frozen games.</para>
1245 <para>A point worth noting is that 'FREEZE' does not save the seed for the
1246 random number generator, so that identical actions after restarting
1247 the same frozen game can lead to different results. However,
1248 identical actions after starting a given tournament game always lead
1249 to the same results.</para>
1252 <sect1><title>Request</title>
1256 Shortest abbreviation: REQ
1257 Full command: REQUEST <ITEM>
1260 <para>This command allows you to get any single piece of information
1261 from the <STATUS> command. <ITEM> specifies which
1262 information as follows:</para>
1268 <entry>Information</entry>
1269 <entry>Mnemonic for <item></entry>
1270 <entry>Shortest Abbreviation</entry>
1274 <row><entry>STARDATE</entry> <entry>DATE</entry> <entry>D</entry></row>
1275 <row><entry>CONDITION</entry> <entry>CONDITION</entry> <entry>C</entry></row>
1276 <row><entry>POSITION</entry> <entry>POSITION</entry> <entry>P</entry></row>
1277 <row><entry>LIFE SUPPORT</entry><entry>LSUPPORT</entry> <entry>L</entry></row>
1278 <row><entry>WARP FACTOR</entry> <entry>WARPFACTOR</entry><entry>W</entry></row>
1279 <row><entry>ENERGY</entry> <entry>ENERGY</entry> <entry>E</entry></row>
1280 <row><entry>TORPEDOES</entry> <entry>TORPEDOES</entry> <entry>T</entry></row>
1281 <row><entry>SHIELDS</entry> <entry>SHIELDS</entry> <entry>S</entry></row>
1282 <row><entry>KLINGONS LEFT</entry><entry>KLINGONS</entry> <entry>K</entry></row>
1283 <row><entry>TIME LEFT</entry> <entry>TIME</entry> <entry>TI</entry></row>
1289 <sect1><title>Experimental Death Ray</title>
1296 <para>This command should be used only in those desperate cases where
1297 you have absolutely no alternative. The death ray uses energy to
1298 rearrange matter. Unfortunately, its working principles are not yet
1299 thoroughly understood, and the results are highly
1300 unpredictable.</para>
1302 <para>The only good thing that can result is the destruction of all
1303 enemies in your current quadrant. This will happen about 70% of the
1304 time. Only enemies are destroyed; starbases, stars, and planets are
1307 <para>Constituting the remaining 30% are results varying from bad to
1310 <para>The death ray requires no energy or time, but if you survive, enemies
1311 will hit you.</para>
1313 <para>The Faerie Queene has no death ray.</para>
1315 <para>If the death ray is damaged in its use, it must be totally replaced.
1316 This can only be done at starbase. Because it is a very complex
1317 device, it takes 9.99 stardates at base to replace the death ray.
1318 The death ray cannot be repaired in flight.</para>
1321 <sect1><title>Launch Deep Space Probe</title>
1325 Shortest abbreviation: PR
1326 Full command: PROBE <ARMED> MANUAL <displacement>
1327 PROBE <ARMED> AUTOMATIC <destination>
1330 <para>The Enterprise carries a limited number of Long Range Probes. These
1331 fly to the end of the galaxy and report back a count of the number of
1332 important things found in each quadrant through which it went. The
1333 probe flies at warp 10, and therefore uses time during its flight.
1334 Results are reported immediately via subspace radio and are recorded
1335 in the star chart.</para>
1337 <para>The probe can also be armed with a NOVAMAX warhead. When launched
1338 with the warhead armed, the probe flies the same except as soon as it
1339 reaches the target location, it detonates the warhead in the heart of
1340 a star, causing a supernova and destroying everything in the
1341 quadrant. It then flies no further. There must be a star in the
1342 target quadrant for the NOVAMAX to function. </para>
1344 <para>The probe can fly around objects in a galaxy, but is destroyed if it
1345 enters a quadrant containing a supernova, or if it leaves the galaxy.</para>
1347 <para>The target location is specified in the same manner as the MOVE
1348 command, however for automatic movement, if only one pair of
1349 coordinates are specified they are assumed to be the quadrant and not
1350 the sector in the current quadrant!</para>
1352 <para>The Faerie Queene has no probes.</para>
1355 <sect1><title>Emergency Exit</title>
1359 Shortest abbreviation: E
1362 <para>This command provides a quick way to exit from the game when you
1363 observe a Klingon battle cruiser approaching your terminal. Its
1364 effect is to freeze the game on the file 'EMSAVE.TRK' in your current
1365 directory, erase the screen, and exit.</para>
1367 <para>Of course, you do lose the chance to get a plaque when you use this
1371 <sect1><title>Ask for Help</title>
1375 Full command: HELP <command>
1378 <para>This command reads the appropriate section from the SST.DOC file,
1379 providing the file is in the current directory.</para>
1383 <chapter><title>Miscellaneous Notes</title>
1385 <para>Starbases can be attacked by either commanders or by the
1386 <quote>Super-Commander</quote>. When this happens, you will be
1387 notified by subspace radio, provided it is working. The message will
1388 inform you how long the base under attack can last. Since the
1389 <quote>Super-Commander</quote> is more powerful than an ordinary
1390 commander, he can destroy a base more quickly.</para>
1392 <para>The <quote>Super-Commander</quote> travels around the galaxy at a speed of about
1393 warp 6 or 7. His movement is strictly time based; the more time
1394 passes, the further he can go.</para>
1396 <para>Scattered through the galaxy are certain zones of control,
1397 collectively designated the <quote>Romulan Neutral Zone</quote>. Any
1398 quadrant which contains Romulans without Klingons is part of the
1399 Neutral Zone, except if a base is present. Since Romulans do not show
1400 on either the long-range scan or the star chart, it is easy for you to
1401 stumble into this zone. When you do, if your subspace radio is
1402 working, you will receive a warning message from the Romulan, politely
1403 asking you to leave.</para>
1405 <para>In general, Romulans are a galactic nuisance.</para>
1407 <para>The high-speed shield control is fairly reliable, but it has been
1408 known to malfunction.</para>
1410 <para>You can observe the galactic movements of the
1411 <quote>Super-Commander</quote> on the star chart, provided he is in
1412 territory you have scanned and your subspace radio is working.</para>
1414 <para>Periodically, you will receive intelligence reports from
1415 starfleet command, indicating the current quadrant of the
1416 <quote>Super-Commander</quote>. Your subspace radio must be working,
1419 <para>Each quadrant will contain from 0 to 3 black holes. Torpedoes
1420 entering a black hole disappear. In fact, anything entering a black
1421 hole disappears, permanently. If you can displace an enemy into one,
1422 he is a goner. Black holes do not necessarily remain in a quadrant.
1423 they are transient phenomena.</para>
1425 <para>Commanders will ram your ship, killing themselves and inflicting
1426 heavy damage to you, if they should happen to decide to advance into
1429 <para>You can get a list of commands by typing
1430 <quote>COMMANDS</quote>.</para>
1433 <chapter><title>Scoring</title>
1435 <para>Scoring is fairly simple. You get points for good things, and you
1436 lose points for bad things.</para>
1438 <para>You gain—</para>
1441 <listitem><para>10 points for each ordinary Klingon you kill,</para></listitem>
1442 <listitem><para>50 points for each commander you kill,</para></listitem>
1443 <listitem><para>200 points for killing the <quote>Super-Commander</quote>,</para></listitem>
1444 <listitem><para>20 points for each Romulan killed,</para></listitem>
1445 <listitem><para>1 point for each Romulan captured.</para></listitem>
1447 <para>100 times your average Klingon/stardate kill rate. If you lose
1448 the game, your kill rate is based on a minimum of 5 stardates.</para>
1451 <para>You get a bonus if you win the game, based on your rating:</para>
1452 <para>Novice=100, Fair=200, Good=300, Expert=400, Emeritus=500.</para>
1456 <para>You lose—</para>
1459 <listitem><para>200 points if you get yourself killed,</para></listitem>
1460 <listitem><para>100 points for each starbase you destroy,</para></listitem>
1461 <listitem><para>100 points for each starship you lose,</para></listitem>
1462 <listitem><para>45 points for each time you had to call for help,</para></listitem>
1463 <listitem><para>10 points for each planet you destroyed,</para></listitem>
1464 <listitem><para>5 points for each star you destroyed, and</para></listitem>
1465 <listitem><para>1 point for each casualty you incurred.</para></listitem>
1468 <para>In addition to your score, you may also be promoted one grade in rank
1469 if you play well enough. Promotion is based primarily on your
1470 Klingon/stardate kill rate, since this is the best indicator of
1471 whether you are ready to go on to the next higher rating. However,
1472 if you have lost 100 or more points in penalties, the required kill
1473 rate goes up. Normally, the required kill rate is 0.1 * skill *
1474 (skill + 1.0) + 0.1, where skill ranges from 1 for Novice to 5 for
1477 <para>You can be promoted from any level. There is a special
1478 promotion available if you go beyond the <quote>Expert</quote> range.
1479 You can also have a certificate of merit printed with your name, date,
1480 and Klingon kill rate, provided you are promoted from either the
1481 <quote>Expert</quote> or <quote>Emeritus</quote> levels. This
1482 <quote>plaque</quote> requires a 132 column printer. You may need
1483 print the certificate to a file, import it into your word processor,
1484 selecting Courier 8pt font, and then print in <quote>landscape
1485 orientation</quote>.</para>
1487 <para>You should probably start out at the novice level, even if you are
1488 already familiar with one of the other versions of the Star Trek
1489 game—but, of course, the level of game you play is up to you. If
1490 you want to start at the Expert level, go ahead. It's your funeral.
1491 The emeritus game is strictly for masochists.</para>
1494 <chapter><title>Handy Reference Page</title>
1496 <literallayout format='linespecific' class='monospaced'>
1497 ABBREV FULL COMMAND DEVICE USED
1498 ------ ------------ -----------
1499 ABANDON ABANDON shuttle craft
1501 CALL CALL (for help) subspace radio
1502 CO COMPUTER computer
1505 DEATHRAY DEATHRAY (none)
1506 DESTRUCT DESTRUCT computer
1509 FREEZE FREEZE <FILE NAME> (none)
1510 I IMPULSE <MANUAL> <DISPLACEMENT> impulse engines
1511 IMPULSE AUTOMATIC <DESTINATION> impulse engines and computer
1512 L LRSCAN long-range sensors
1514 M MOVE <MANUAL> <DISPLACEMENT> warp engines
1515 MOVE AUTOMATIC <DESTINATION> warp engines and computer
1516 O ORBIT warp or impulse engines
1517 P PHASERS <TOTAL AMOUNT> phasers and computer
1518 PHASERS AUTOMATIC <TOTAL AMOUNT> phasers, computer, sr sensors
1519 PHASERS MANUAL <AMT1> <AMT2> ... phasers
1520 PHO PHOTONS <NUMBER> <TARGETS> torpedo tubes
1522 PR PROBE <ARMED> <MANUAL> <DISPLACEMENT> probe launcher, radio
1523 PROBE <ARMED> AUTOMATIC <DESTINATION> launcher, radio, computer
1526 R REST <NUMBER OF STARDATES> (none)
1528 S SRSCAN <NO or CHART> short-range sensors
1529 SE SENSORS short-range sensors
1530 SH SHIELDS <UP, DOWN, or TRANSFER> deflector shields
1531 SHU SHUTTLE shuttle craft
1533 T TRANSPORT transporter
1534 W WARP <FACTOR> (none)
1536 L. R. Scan: thousands digit: supernova
1537 hundreds digit: Klingons
1538 tens digit: starbases
1540 period (.): digit not known (star chart only)
1542 Courses are given in manual mode in X - Y displacements; in automatic
1543 mode as destination quadrant and/or sector. Manual mode is default.
1544 Distances are given in quadrants. A distance of one sector is 0.1 quadrant.
1545 Ordinary Klingons have about 400 units of energy, Commanders about
1546 1200. Romulans normally have about 800 units of energy, and the
1547 (GULP) "Super-Commander" has about 1800.
1548 Phaser fire diminishes to about 60 percent at 5 sectors. Up to 1500
1549 units may be fired in a single burst without danger of overheat.
1550 Warp 6 is the fastest safe speed. At higher speeds, engine damage
1551 may occur. At warp 10 you may enter a time warp.
1552 Shields cost 50 units of energy to raise, and double the power
1553 requirements of moving under warp drive. Engaging the high-speed
1554 shield control requires 200 units of energy.
1555 Warp drive requires (distance)*(warp factor cubed) units of energy
1556 to travel at a speed of (warp factor squared)/10 quadrants per stardate.
1557 Impulse engines require 20 units to warm up, plus 100 units per
1558 quadrant. Speed is just under one sector per stardate.
1562 <chapter><title>Game History and Modifications</title>
1564 <sect1><title>Tom Almy's story</title>
1566 <para>Back in (about) 1977 I got a copy of this Super Star Trek game for
1567 the CDC 6600 mainframe computer. Someone had converted it to PDP-11
1568 Fortran but couldn't get it to run because of its size. I modified
1569 the program to use overlays and managed to shoehorn it in on the 56k
1570 byte machine.</para>
1572 <para>I liked the game so much I put some time into fixing bugs, mainly
1573 what could be called continuity errors and loopholes in the game's
1574 logic. We even played a couple tournaments.</para>
1576 <para>In 1979, I lost access to that PDP-11. I did save the source code
1577 listing. In 1995, missing that old friend, I started converting the
1578 program into portable ANSI C. It's been slow, tedious work that took
1579 over a year to accomplish.</para>
1581 <para>In early 1997, I got the bright idea to look for references to
1582 <quote>Super Star Trek</quote> on the World Wide Web. There weren't
1583 many hits, but there was one that came up with 1979 Fortran sources!
1584 This version had a few additional features that mine didn't have,
1585 however mine had some feature it didn't have. So I merged its features
1586 that I liked. I also took a peek at the DECUS version (a port, less
1587 sources, to the PDP-10), and some other variations.</para>
1589 <para>Modifications I made:</para>
1591 <para>Compared to original version, I've changed the
1592 <quote>help</quote> command to <quote>call</quote> and the
1593 <quote>terminate</quote> command to <quote>quit</quote> to better
1594 match user expectations. The DECUS version apparently made those
1595 changes as well as changing <quote>freeze</quote> to
1596 <quote>save</quote>. However I like <quote>freeze</quote>.</para>
1598 <para>I added EMEXIT from the 1979 version.</para>
1600 <para>That later version also mentions srscan and lrscan working when
1601 docked (using the starbase's scanners), so I made some changes here
1602 to do this (and indicating that fact to the player), and then
1603 realized the base would have a subspace radio as well — doing a
1604 Chart when docked updates the star chart, and all radio reports will
1605 be heard. The Dock command will also give a report if a base is under
1608 <para>It also had some added logic to spread the initial positioning of
1609 bases. That made sense to add because most people abort games with
1610 bad base placement.</para>
1612 <para>The experimental deathray originally had only a 5% chance of success,
1613 but could be used repeatedly. I guess after a couple years of use, it
1614 was less <quote>experimental</quote> because the 1979 version had a 70% success
1615 rate. However it was prone to breaking after use. I upgraded the
1616 deathray, but kept the original set of failure modes (great humor!).</para>
1618 <para>I put in the Tholian Web code from the 1979 version.</para>
1620 <para>I added code so that Romulans and regular Klingons could move in
1621 advanced games. I re-enabled the code which allows enemy ships to
1622 ram the Enterprise; it had never worked right. The 1979 version
1623 seems to have it all fixed up, but I'm still not overly happy with
1624 the algorithm.</para>
1626 <para>The DECUS version had a Deep Space Probe. Looked like a good idea
1627 so I implemented it based on its description.</para>
1630 <sect1><title>Stas Sergeev's story</title>
1632 <para>I started from an older Tom Almy version and added features I had
1633 seen in mainframe variants of the game, I wrote a screen-oriented
1634 interface for it based on the curses library.</para>
1638 <para>The Space Thingy can be shoved, if you ram it, and can fire back if
1642 <para>The Tholian can be hit with phasers.</para>
1645 <para>When you are docked, base covers you with an almost invincible shields
1646 (a commander can still ram you, or a Romulan can destroy the base,
1647 or a SCom can even succeed with direct attack IIRC, but this rarely
1651 <para>SCom can't escape from you if no more enemies remain (without this,
1652 chasing SCom can take an eternity).</para>
1655 <para>Probe target you enter is now the destination quadrant. Before I don't
1656 remember what it was, but it was something I had difficulty using)</para>
1659 <para>Secret password is now autogenerated.</para>
1662 <para>Victory plaque is adjusted for A4 paper rather than 132-column greenbar
1666 <para>Phasers now tells you how much energy needed, but only if the computer
1670 <para>Planets are auto-scanned when you enter the quadrant.</para>
1673 <para>Mining or using crystals in presense of enemy now yields an attack.
1674 There are other minor adjustments to what yields an attack
1675 and what does not.</para>
1678 <para>Ramming a black hole is no longer instant death. There is a
1679 chance you might get timewarped instead.</para>
1682 <para>"freeze" command reverts to "save", most people will understand this
1683 better anyway.</para>
1686 <para>Screen-oriented interface, with sensor scans always up.</para>
1691 <sect1><title>Eric Raymond's story</title>
1693 <para>I played the FORTRAN version of this game in the mid-1970s on a
1694 DEC minicomputer. In the late 1980s Dave Matuszek and I became
1695 friends; I was vaguely aware that he had had something to do with the
1696 original Star Trek game. In October 2004, sitting in Dave's living
1697 room, we got to talking about the game and I realized it would make a
1698 great exhibit for the <ulink
1699 url='http://www.catb.org/retro/'>Retrocomputing Museum</ulink>.</para>
1701 <para>A few quick web searches later we found Tom Almy's page. We
1702 downloaded his code and Dave verified that that it was a direct
1703 descendent of UT Super Star Trek — even though it had been translated
1704 to C, he was able to recognize names and techniques from the FORTRAN
1707 <para>Thus, this game is a cousin of Eric Allman's BSD Trek game, which is
1708 also derived from UT Super Star Trek. However, this one has had a lot
1709 more stuff folded into it over the years — deep space probes,
1710 dilithium mining, the Tholian Web, and so forth.</para>
1712 <para>One signature trait of this group of variants is that the sectors are
1713 10x10 rather than the 8x8 in Mike Mayfield's 1972 original and its
1714 BASIC descendants) Also, you set courses and firing directions with
1715 rectangular rather than polar coordinates. It also preserves the
1716 original numbered quadrants rather than the astronomically-named
1717 quadrants introduced into many BASIC versions.</para>
1719 <para>This game is now an open-source project; see the <ulink
1720 url='http://developer.berlios.de/projects/sst/'>project
1721 site</ulink>.</para>
1723 <para>After I launched the Berlios project, Stas Sergeev contacted me
1724 me. We worked together to merge in his changes.</para>
1726 <para>Modifications I've made:</para>
1730 I converted the flat-text SST.DOC file to XML-Docbook so it can be
1731 webbed. (That's what you're reading now.)
1734 The command-help code needed a rewrite because the flat-text form of
1735 the documentation is now generated from XML and doesn't have the
1736 easily recognizable section delimiters it used to. I wrote a script
1737 to filter that flat-text form into an sst.doc that's easy to parse for
1738 command descriptions, and changed some logic in sst.c to match.
1741 I've cleaned up a lot of grubby FORTRANisms in the code internals --
1742 used sizeof(), replaced magic numeric constants with #defines,
1746 I fixed a surprising number of typos in the code and documentation.
1749 All the game state now lives in one big structure that can be
1750 written to and read from disk as one blob. The write gives it an
1751 an identifiable magic number and the thaw logic checks for same.
1754 I made the internal pager work, nd in the process got rid of a number
1755 of platform dependencies in the code.
1758 The HELP/CALL/SOS command is now MAYDAY. SOS and CALL are still accepted.
1762 <para>Here are some good pages on the history of Star Trek games:</para>
1766 <ulink url='http://www.dunnington.u-net.com/public/startrek/'>http://www.dunnington.u-net.com/public/startrek/</ulink>
1769 <ulink url='http://www3.sympatico.ca/maury/games/space/star_trek.html'>http://www3.sympatico.ca/maury/games/space/star_trek.html</ulink>
1772 <ulink url='http://www.cactus.org/%7Enystrom/startrek.html'>http://www.cactus.org/%7Enystrom/startrek.html</ulink>
1777 <sect1><title>Authors' Acknowledgments</title>
1779 <para>These are the original acknowledgments by Dave Matuszek and Paul
1782 <para>The authors would like to thank Professor Michael Duggan for his
1783 encouragement and administrative assistance with the development of
1784 the Star Trek game, without which it might never have been completed.</para>
1786 <para>Much credit is due to Patrick McGehearty and Rich Cohen, who assisted
1787 with the original design of the game and contributed greatly to its
1788 conceptual development.</para>
1790 <para>Thanks are also due to Carl Strange, Hardy Tichenor and Steven Bruell
1791 for their assistance with certain coding problems.</para>
1793 <para>This game was inspired by and rather loosely based on an earlier
1794 game, programmed in the BASIC language, by Jim Korp and Grady Hicks.
1795 It is the authors' understanding that the BASIC game was in turn
1796 derived from a still earlier version in use at Penn State University.</para>
1799 <sect1><title>References</title>
1802 <listitem><para><citetitle>Star Trek</citetitle> (the original television
1803 series), produced and directed by Gene Rodenberry.</para></listitem>
1805 <listitem><para><citetitle>Star Trek</citetitle> (the animated
1806 television series), produced by Gene Rodenberry and directed by Hal
1807 Sutherland. Also excellent, and not just kiddie fare. If you enjoyed
1808 the original series you should enjoy this one (unless you have some
1809 sort of a hangup about watching cartoons).</para></listitem>
1811 <listitem><para><citetitle>The Making of Star Trek</citetitle>, by
1812 Steven E. Whitfield and Gene Rodenberry. The best and most complete
1813 readily available book about Star Trek. (Ballantine
1814 Books)</para></listitem>
1816 <listitem><para><citetitle>The World of Star Trek</citetitle>, by
1817 David Gerrold. Similiar in scope to the above book.
1818 (Bantam)</para></listitem>
1820 <listitem><para><citetitle>The Star Trek Guide</citetitle>, third revision 4/17/67, by Gene
1821 Roddenberry. The original writer's guide for the television
1822 series, but less comprehensive than (3) above.
1823 (Norway Productions)</para></listitem>
1825 <listitem><para><citetitle>The Trouble With Tribbles</citetitle>, by
1826 David Gerrold. Includes the complete script of this popular show.
1827 (Ballantine Books)</para></listitem>
1829 <listitem><para><citetitle>Star Trek</citetitle>, <citetitle>Star Trek
1830 2</citetitle>, ..., <citetitle>Star Trek 9</citetitle>, by James
1831 Blish. The original shows in short story form.
1832 (Bantam)</para></listitem>
1834 <listitem><para><citetitle>Spock Must Die</citetitle>, by James Blish.
1835 An original novel, but rather similar to the show <citetitle>The Enemy
1836 Within</citetitle>. (Bantam)</para></listitem>
1838 <listitem><para>Model kits of the Enterprise and a <quote>Klingon
1839 Battle-Cruiser</quote> by AMT Corporation are available at most hobby
1840 shops.</para></listitem>
projects / super-star-trek.git / blob