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10 <title>Super Star Trek</title>
14 <firstname>David</firstname>
15 <surname>Matuzsek</surname>
18 <firstname>Paul</firstname>
19 <surname>Reynolds</surname>
22 <firstname>Tom</firstname>
23 <surname>Almy</surname>
26 <firstname>Stas</firstname>
27 <surname>Sergeev</surname>
30 <firstname>Eric</firstname>
31 <othername>Steven</othername>
32 <surname>Raymond</surname>
37 <para>Permission is hereby granted for the copying, distribution,
38 modification and use of this program and associated documentation
39 for recreational purposes, provided that all references to the
40 authors are retained. However, permission is not and will not be
41 granted for the sale or promotional use of this program or program
42 documentation, or for use in any situation in which profit may be
43 considered an objective, since it is the desire of the authors to
44 respect the copyrights of the originators of Star Trek.</para>
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81 Produced For Your Enjoyment
98 SST 2K polishing and historical research by
103 <chapter><title>Introduction</title>
104 <para>The Organian Peace Treaty has collapsed, and the Federation is at war
105 with the Klingon Empire. Joining the Klingons against the Federation
106 are the members of the <quote>Romulan Star Empire.</quote> As commander of the
107 Starship U.S.S. Enterprise, your job is to wipe out the Klingon
108 invasion fleet and make the galaxy safe for democracy.</para>
110 <para>Your battleground is the entire galaxy, which for convenience is
111 divided up into eight rows of eight quadrants each, like a
112 checkerboard. Rows are numbered from top to bottom, and columns are
113 numbered left to right, so quadrant 1 - 8 would be in the upper right
114 hand corner of the galaxy.</para>
116 <para>During battle you will be concerned only with those enemies that
117 occupy the same quadrant as yourself. Quadrants are divided up into
118 sectors: ten rows of ten sectors each. Sectors are numbered in the
119 same way as quadrants, so the sector in the upper right corner is
120 sector 1 - 10. You have a short-range scanner which allows you to
121 look at the entire quadrant in a single display.</para>
123 <para>Enemies recharge during your absence. If you leave a quadrant
124 containing a weakened enemy, when you return to that quadrant he will
125 be strong again. Also, each time you enter a quadrant, the positions
126 of everthing in the quadrant (except your ship) are randomized, to
127 save you the trouble of trying to remember where everything in the
128 quadrant is. Notice that this refers only to the positions of things
129 in the quadrant—the numbers of each kind of thing are not changed
130 (except for black holes and the Super-commander, which move around
131 the galaxy). If you kill something, it stays dead.</para>
133 <para>The Romulans are not as serious a threat to the Federation as the
134 Klingons. For one thing, there are not as many of them. For
135 another, the Romulans are not as treacherous. However, Romulans are
136 not to be trifled with, especially when you are in violation of the
137 Romulan Neutral Zone.</para>
139 <para>There are two kinds of Klingons: Ordinary Klingons, which are
140 bad enough, and Klingon Commanders, which are even worse. Commanders
141 are about three times stronger than ordinary Klingons. Commanders are
142 more resistant to your weapons. Commanders can move about during
143 battle while Ordinary Klingons stay put. And finally, Commanders have
144 a thing called a <quote>long-range tractor beam</quote> which they can
145 use, at random intervals, to yank you away from what you are doing
146 into their quadrant, to do battle with them. There is also a special
147 commander, called the <quote>Super-commander.</quote> This character
148 is so bad he is reserved for the Good, Expert, and Emeritus games.
149 Fortunately, there is just one Super-commander in a game. In addition
150 to the undesirable traits of Commanders, he can move from quadrant to
151 quadrant at will, seeking out and destroying your starbases and any
152 helpful planets he runs across. He also has a spy planted aboard your
153 ship, giving him valuable information about your condition. Using
154 this information, he can do dastardly things like tractor beam your
155 ship when you are in bad shape. And once you've been tractor beamed
156 by the Super-commander —</para>
158 <para>But the advantages are not all on the side of the enemy. Your ship
159 is more powerful, and has better weapons. Besides, in the this
160 galaxy there are from two to five starbases, at which you can stop to
161 refuel and lick your wounds, safe from phaser attack or tractor
162 beams. But you had best not dally there too long, since time is not
163 on your side. The Klingons are not just after you; they are
164 attacking the entire Federation. There is always a finite <quote>time
165 left,</quote> which is how much longer the Federation can hold out if you
166 just sit on your fat behind and do nothing. As you wipe out
167 Klingons, you reduce the rate at which the invasion fleet weakens the
168 Federation, and so the time left until the Federation collapses may
169 actually increase. Since Klingons are the main threat to the
170 Federation, the Romulans do not figure into the <quote>time left.</quote> In
171 fact, you need not kill all the Romulans to win. If you can get all
172 the Klingons, the Federation will abide forever, and you have won the
175 <para>Space is vast, and it takes precious time to move from one place to
176 another. In comparison, other things happen so quickly that we
177 assume they take no time at all. Two ways that time can pass are when
178 you move, or when you issue a command to sit still and rest for a
179 period of time. You will sometimes want to do the latter, since the
180 various devices aboard your starship may be damaged and require time
181 to repair. Of course, repairs can be made more quickly at a starbase
182 than than can in flight.</para>
184 <para>In addition to Klingons, Romulans, and starbases, the galaxy
185 contains (surprise) stars. Mostly, stars are a nuisance and just get
186 in your way. You can trigger a star into going nova by shooting one
187 of your photon torpedoes at it. When a star novas, it does a lot of
188 dammage to anything immediately adjacent to it. If another star is
189 adjacent to a nova, it too will go nova. Stars may also occasionally
190 go supernova; a supernova in a quadrant destroys everything in the
191 quadrant andmakes the quadrant permanently uninhabitable. You may
192 <quote>jump over</quote> a quadrant containing a supernova when you
193 move, but you should not stop there.</para>
195 <para>Supernovas may happen spontaneously, without provocation. If a
196 supernova occurs in the same quadrant you are in, your starship has an
197 <quote>emergency automatic override</quote> which picks some random
198 direction and some random warp factor, and tries to throw you clear of
199 the supernova. If the supernova occurs in some other quadrant, you
200 just get a warning message from starfleet about it (provided, of
201 course, that your subspace radio is working).</para>
203 <para>Also a few planets are scattered through the galaxy. These can
204 sometimes be a great help since some of them will have <quote>dilithium
205 crystals,</quote> which are capable of replenishing the ship's energy
206 supply. You can either beam down to the planet surface using the
207 transporter, or take the shuttle craft <quote>Galileo</quote>.</para>
209 <para>Finally, each quadrant will contain from zero to three black
210 holes. These can deflect or swallow torpedoes passing near them. They
211 also swallow enemy ships knocked into them. If your ship enters one
214 <para>Star Trek is a rich game, full of detail. These instructions are
215 written at a moderate level—no attempt has been made fully to
216 describe everything about the game, but there is quite a bit more
217 here than you need to get started. If you are new to the game, just
218 get a rough idea of the kinds of commands available, and start
219 playing. After a game or two you will have learned everthing
220 important, and the detailed command descriptions which follow will be
221 a lot more meaningful to you.</para>
223 <para>You have weapons: phasers and photon torpedoes. You have a defense:
224 deflector shields. You can look at things: long-range scaners,
225 short-range scanners, and a star chart. You can move about, under
226 warp drive or impulse power. You can also dock at a starbase, rest
227 while repairs are being made, abandon ship, self destruct, or give up
228 and start a new game.</para>
230 <para>The Klingons are waiting.</para>
233 <chapter><title>Starting the Game</title>
235 <para>The program will ask you some setup questions. You can give it
236 command-line arguments that will be treated as answers. Any token
237 may be abbreviated to a unique prefix.</para>
239 <para>The first question concerns whether you want a regullar,
240 tournament, or saved game. For discussion, see the <link
241 linkend="freeze">description of the freeze command</link>.</para>
243 <para>The second question will concern the length of the game.
244 Longer games include more enemies.</para>
246 <para>The third question will set the game's difficulty level.
247 You should probably start out at the novice level, even if you are
248 already familiar with one of the other versions of the Star Trek
249 game—but, of course, the level of game you play is up to you. If
250 you want to start at the Expert level, go ahead. It's your funeral.
251 The Emeritus game is strictly for masochists.</para>
253 <para>The fourth question, new in SST2K, sets your game options. A
254 blank answer or 'fancy' enables all SST2K features. The option
255 'plain' disables a number of features (Tholians, planets &
256 dilithium, Thingies shooting back, deep-space-probes, Klingon ramming
257 and movement, time-warping through black holes, death-ray upgrade),
258 approximating the original CDC 6600 FORTRAN game from UT Austin. The
259 option 'almy' approximates Tom Almy's C translation from 1979,
260 disabling Thingies shooting back, base shields, and time-warping
261 through black holes.</para>
264 <chapter><title>How To Issue Commands</title>
266 <para>When the game is waiting for you to enter a command it will
273 <para>You may then type in your command. All you have to remember for each
274 command is the mnemonic. For example, if you want to move straight up
275 one quadrant, you can type in the mnemonic (case insensitive)</para>
281 <para>and the computer will prompt you with</para>
287 <para>Say you type in <quote>manual</quote>. The computer then responds</para>
290 X and Y displacements-
293 <para>Now you type in <quote>0 1</quote> which specifies an X movement of zero and a Y
294 movement of one.</para>
296 <para>When you have learned the commands, you can avoid being prompted
297 simply by typing in the information without waiting to be asked for
298 it. For example, in the above example, you could simply type in</para>
304 <para>and it will be done. Or you could type in</para>
310 <para>and when the computer responds with the displacement prompt, you
317 <para>and it will understand.</para>
319 <para>You can abbreviate most mnemonics. For <quote>move</quote>, you can use any
326 <para>successfully. For your safety, certain critical commands (such as to
327 abandon ship) must be written out in full. Also, in a few cases two
328 or more commands begin with the same letter, and in this case that
329 letter refers to a particular one of the commands; to get the other,
330 your abbreviation must be two or more characters long. This sounds
331 complicated, but you will learn the abbreviations qGuickly enough.</para>
333 <para>What this all boils down to is:</para>
336 <listitem><para>You can abbreviate practically anything</para></listitem>
337 <listitem><para>If you forget, the computer will prompt you</para></listitem>
338 <listitem><para>If you remember, you can type it all on one line</para></listitem>
341 <para>If you are part way through entering a command and you change your
342 minde, you can cancel the command by typing -1 as one of the
343 parameters, with the exception of the manual move command.</para>
345 <para>If anything is not clear to you, experiment. The worst you can do is
346 lose a game or two.</para>
349 <chapter><title>List of Commands</title>
351 <sect1><title>Short-Range Scan</title>
355 Shortest abbreviation: S
356 Full commands: SRSCAN
361 <!-- This is new in SST 2K -->
362 <para>If you are using the screen-oriented interface, this command is
363 suppressed; instead, a short-range scan will always be present on the
366 <para>The short-range scan gives you a considerable amount of information
367 about the quadrant your starship is in. A short-range scan is best
368 described by an example.</para>
372 1 * . . . . R . . . . Stardate 2516.3
373 2 . . . E . . . . . . Condition RED
374 3 . . . . . * . B . . Position 5 - 1, 2 - 4
375 4 . . . S . . . . . . Life Support DAMAGED, Reserves=2.30
376 5 . . . . . . . K . . Warp Factor 5.0
377 6 . K . . . . . * . Energy 2176.24
378 7 . . . . . P . . . . Torpedoes 3
379 8 . . . . * . . . . . Shields UP, 42% 1050.0 units
380 9 . * . . * . . . C . Klingons Left 12
381 10 . . . . . . . . . . Time Left 3.72
384 <para>The left part is a picture of the quadrant. The E at sector 2 -
385 4 represents the Enterprise; the B at sector 3 - 8 is a starbase.
386 There are ordinary Klingons (K) at sectors 5 - 8 and 6 - 2, and a
387 Klingon Commander (C) at 9 - 9. The (GULP)
388 <quote>Super-commander</quote> (S) is occupies sector 4 - 4, and a
389 Romulan (R) is at 1 - 6. A planet (P) is at sector 7 - 6. There are
390 also a large number of stars (*). The periods (.) are just empty
391 space—they are printed to help you get your bearings. Sector 6
392 - 4 contains a black hole ( ).</para>
394 <para>The information on the right is assorted status information. You
395 can get this alone with the STATUS command. The status information
396 will be absent if you type <quote>N</quote> after SRSCAN. Otherwise
397 status information will be presented.</para>
399 <para>If you type <quote>C</quote> after SRSCAN, you will be given a
400 short-range scan and a Star Chart.</para>
402 <para>Short-range scans are free. That is, they use up no energy and no
403 time. If you are in battle, doing a short-range scan does not give
404 the enemies another chance to hit you. You can safely do a
405 short-range scan anytime you like.</para>
407 <para>If your short-range sensors are damaged, this command will only show
408 the contents of adjacent sectors.</para>
410 <sect1><title>Status Report</title>
414 Shortest abbreviation: ST
417 <!-- This is new in SST 2K -->
418 <para>If you are using the screen-oriented interface, this command is
419 suppressed; instead, a full status report will always be present on the
422 <para>This command gives you information about the current state of your
423 starship as follows:</para>
427 <term>STARDATE</term>
429 <para>The current date. A stardate is the same as a day.</para>
433 <term>CONDITION</term>
435 <para>There are four possible conditions:</para>
439 <listitem><para>docked at starbase.</para></listitem>
443 <listitem><para>in battle.</para></listitem>
447 <listitem><para>low on energy (<1000 units)</para></listitem>
451 <listitem><para>none of the above</para></listitem>
457 <term>POSITION</term>
459 <para>Quadrant is given first, then sector</para>
463 <term>LIFE SUPPOR</term>
465 <para>If <quote>ACTIVE</quote> then life support systems are functioning
466 normally. If on <quote>RESERVES</quote> the number is how many stardates your
467 reserve food, air, etc. will last—you must get repairs made or get to
468 starbase before your reserves run out.</para>
472 <term>WARP FACTOR</term>
474 <para>What your warp factor is currently set to.</para>
480 <para>The amount of energy you have left. If it drops to zero, you die.</para>
484 <term>TORPEDOES</term>
486 <para>How many photon torpedoes you have left.</para>
492 <para>Whether your shields are up or down, how strong they are
493 (what percentage of a hit they can deflect), and shield energy.</para>
497 <term>KLINGONS LEFT</term>
499 <para>How many of the Klingons are still out there.</para>
503 <term>TIME LEFT</term>
505 <para>How long the Federation can hold out against the
506 present number of Klingons; that is, how long until the end
507 if you do nothing in the meantime. If you kill Klingons
508 quickly, this number will go up—if not, it will go down. If
509 it reaches zero, the federation is conquered and you lose.</para>
514 <para>Status information is free—it uses no time or energy, and
515 if you are in battle, the Klingons are not given another chance to hit
518 <para>Status information can also be obtained by doing a short-range scan.
519 See the SRSCAN command for details.</para>
521 <para>Each item of information can be obtained singly by requesting it.
522 See REQUEST command for details.</para>
525 <sect1><title>Long-Range Scan</title>
529 Shortest abbreviation: L
532 <!-- This is new in SST 2K -->
533 <para>If you are using the screen-oriented interface, this command is
534 suppressed; instead, a long-range scan will always be present on the
537 <para>A long-range scan gives you general information about where you are
538 and what is around you. Here is an example output.</para>
541 Long-range scan for Quadrant 5 - 1
547 <para>This scan says that you are in row 5, column 1 of the 8 by 8 galaxy.
548 The numbers in the scan indicate how many of each kind of thing there
549 is in your quadrant and all adjacent quadrants. The digits are
550 interpreted as follows.</para>
556 <entry>Thousands digit:</entry>
557 <entry>1000 indicates a supernova (only)</entry>
560 <entry>Hundreds digit:</entry>
561 <entry>number of Klingons present</entry>
564 <entry>Tens digit:</entry>
565 <entry>number of starbases present</entry>
568 <entry>Ones digit:</entry>
569 <entry>number of stars present</entry>
575 <para>For example, in your quadrant (5 - 1) the number is 316, which
576 indicates 3 Klingons, 1 starbase, and 6 stars. The long-range
577 scanner does not distinguish between ordinary Klingons and Klingon
578 command ships. If there is a supernova, as in the quadrant below and
579 to your right (quadrant 6 - 2), there is nothing else in the
582 <para>Romulans possess a <quote>cloaking device</quote> which prevents
583 their detection by long-range scan. Because of this fact, Starfleet
584 Command is never sure how many Romulans are <quote>out there</quote>.
585 When you kill the last Klingon, the remaining Romulans surrender to
586 the Federation.</para>
588 <para>Planets are also undetectable by long-range scan. The only way to
589 detect a planet is to find it in your current quadrant with the
590 short-range sensors.</para>
592 <para>Since you are in column 1, there are no quadrants to your left. The
593 minus ones indicate the negative energy barrier at the edge of the
594 galaxy, which you are not permitted to cross.</para>
596 <para>Long-range scans are free. They use up no energy or time, and can be
597 done safely regardless of battle conditions.</para>
599 <sect1><title>Star Chart</title>
603 Shortest abbreviation: C
606 <para>As you proceed in the game, you learn more and more about what things
607 are where in the galaxy. When ever you first do a scan in a quadrant,
608 telemetry sensors are ejected which will report any changes in the
609 quadrant(s) back to your ship, providing the sub-space radio is
610 working. Spock will enter this information in the chart. If the radio
611 is not working, Spock can only enter new information discovered from
612 scans, and information in other quadrants may be obsolete.</para>
614 <para>The chart looks like an 8 by 8 array of numbers. These numbers are
615 interpreted exactly as they are on a long-range scan. A period (.) in
616 place of a digit means you do not know that information yet. For
617 example, ... means you know nothing about the quadrant, while .1.
618 menas you know it contains a base, but an unknown number of Klingons
621 <para>Looking at the star chart is a free operation. It costs neither time
622 nor energy, and can be done safely whether in or out of battle.</para>
625 <sect1><title>Damage Report</title>
629 Shortest abbreviation: DA
632 <para>At any time you may ask for a damage report to find out what devices
633 are damaged and how long it will take to repair them. Naturally,
634 repairs proceed faster at a starbase.</para>
636 <para>If you suffer damages while moving, it is possible that a subsequent
637 damage report will not show any damage. This happens if the time
638 spent on the move exceeds the repair time, since in this case the
639 damaged devices were fixed en route.</para>
641 <para>Damage reports are free. They use no energy or time, and can be done
642 safely even in the midst of battle.</para>
645 <sect1><title>Move Under Warp Drive</title>
649 Shortest abbreviation: M
650 Full command: MOVE MANUAL <displacement>
651 MOVE AUTOMATIC <destination>
654 <para>This command is the usual way to move from one place to another
655 within the galaxy. You move under warp drive, according to the
656 current warp factor (see <quote>WARP FACTOR</quote>).</para>
658 <para>There are two command modes for movement: MANUAL and AUTOMATIC.
659 The manual mode requires the following format:</para>
662 MOVE MANUAL <deltax> <deltay>
665 <para><deltax> and <deltay> are the horizontal and vertical
666 displacements for your starship, in quadrants; a displacement of one
667 sector is 0.1 quadrants. Specifying <deltax> and <deltay>
668 causes your ship to move in a straight line to the specified
669 destination. If <deltay> is omitted, it is assumed zero. For
670 example, the shortest possible command to move one sector to the right
677 <para>The following examples of manual movement refer to the short-range
678 scan shown earlier.</para>
681 Destination Sector Manual Movement command
686 (leaving quadrant) M M 0 .2
689 <para>The automatic mode is as follows:</para>
692 MOVE AUTOMATIC <qrow> <qcol> <srow> <scol>
695 <para><para>where <qrow> and <qcol> are the row and column
696 numbers of the destination quadrant, and <srow> and <scol>
697 are the row and column numbers of the destination sector in that
698 quadrant. This command also moves your ship in a straight line path
699 to the destination. For moving within a quadrant, <qrow> and
700 <qcol> may be omitted. For example, to move to sector 2 - 9 in
701 the current quadrant, the shortest command would be</para>
707 <para>To move to quadrant 3 - 7, sector 5 - 8, type</para>
713 <para>and it will be done. In automatic mode, either two or four numbers
714 must be supplied.</para>
716 <para>Automatic mode utilizes the ship's <quote>battle computer.</quote> If the
717 computer is damaged, manual movement must be used.</para>
719 <para>If warp engines are damaged less than 10 stardates (undocked) you can
720 still go warp 4.</para>
722 <para>It uses time and energy to move. How much time and how much energy
723 depends on your current warp factor, the distance you move, and
724 whether your shields are up. The higher the warp factor, the faster
725 you move, but higher warp factors require more energy. You may move
726 with your shields up, but this doubles the energy required.</para>
728 <para>You can move within a quadrant without being attacked if you just
729 entered the quadrant or have been attacked since your last move
730 command. This enables you to move and hit them before they
734 <sect1><title>Warp Factor</title>
738 Shortest abbreviation: W
739 Full command: WARP <number>
742 <para>Your warp factor controls the speed of your starship. The larger the
743 warp factor, the faster you go and the more energy you use.</para>
745 <para>Your minimum warp factor is 1.0 and your maximum warp factor is 10.0
746 (which is 100 times as fast and uses 1000 times as much energy). At
747 speeds above warp 6 there is some danger of causing damage to your
748 warp engines; this damage is larger at higher warp factors and also
749 depends on how far you go at that warp factor.</para>
751 <para>At exactly warp 10 there is some probability of entering a
752 so-called <quote>time warp</quote> and being thrown foward or backward
753 in time. The farther you go at warp 10, the greater is the
754 probability of entering the time warp.</para>
757 <sect1><title>Impulse Engines</title>
761 Shortest abbreviation: I
762 Full command: IMPULSE MANUAL <displacement>
763 IMPULSE AUTOMATIC <destination>
766 <para>The impulse engines give you a way to move when your warp engines are
767 damaged. They move you at a speed of 0.95 sectors per stardate,
768 which is the equivalent of a warp factor of about 0.975, so they are
769 much too slow to use except in emergencies.</para>
771 <para>Movement commands are indicated just as in the <quote>MOVE</quote> command.</para>
773 <para>The impulse engines require 20 units of energy to engage, plus 10
774 units per sector (100 units per quadrant) traveled. It does not cost
775 extra to move with the shields up.</para>
778 <sect1><title>Deflector Shields</title>
782 Shortest abbreviation: SH
783 Full commands: SHIELDS UP
785 SHIELDS TRANSFER <amount of energy to transfer>
788 <para>Your deflector shields are a defensive device to protect you from
789 Klingon attacks (and nearby novas). As the shields protect you, they
790 gradually weaken. A shield strength of 75%, for example, means that
791 the next time a Klingon hits you, your shields will deflect 75% of
792 the hit, and let 25% get through to hurt you.</para>
794 <para>It costs 50 units of energy to raise shields, nothing to lower them.
795 You may move with your shields up; this costs nothing under impulse
796 power, but doubles the energy required for warp drive.</para>
798 <para>Each time you raise or lower your shields, the Klingons have another
799 chance to attack. Since shields do not raise and lower
800 instantaneously, the hits you receive will be intermediate between
801 what they would be if the shields were completely up or completely
804 <para>You may not fire phasers through your shields. However you may
805 use the <quote>high-speed shield control</quote> to lower shields,
806 fire phasers, and raise the shields again before the Klingons can
807 react. Since rapid lowering and raising of the shields requires more
808 energy than normal speed operation, it costs you 200 units of energy
809 to activate this control. It is automatically activated when you fire
810 phasers while shields are up. You may fire photon torpedoes, but they
811 may be deflected considerably from their intended course as they pass
812 through the shields (depending on shield strength).</para>
814 <para>You may transfer energy beteen the ship's energy (given as
815 <quote>Energy</quote> in the status) and the shields. The word
816 <quote>TRANSFER</quote> may be abbreviated <quote>T</quote>. The
817 ammount of energy to transfer is the number of units of energy you
818 wish to take from the ship's energy and put into the shields. If you
819 specify an negative number, energy is drained from the shields to the
820 ship. Transfering energy constitutes a turn. If you transfer energy
821 to the shields while you are under attack, they will be at the new
822 energy level when you are next hit.</para>
824 <para>Enemy torpedoes hitting your ship explode on your shields (if they
825 are up) and have essentially the same effect as phaser hits.</para>
828 <sect1><title>Phasers</title>
832 Shortest abbreviation: P
833 Full commands: PHASERS AUTOMATIC <AMOUNT TO FIRE> <NO>
834 PHASERS <AMOUNT TO FIRE> <NO>
835 PHASERS MANUAL <NO> <AMOUNT 1> <AMOUNT 2>...<AMOUNT N>
838 <para>Phasers are energy weapons. As you fire phasers at Klingons, you
839 specify an <quote>amount to fire</quote> which is drawn from your
840 energy reserves. The amount of total hit required to kill an enemy is
841 partly random. but also depends on skill level.</para>
843 <para>The average hit required to kill an ordinary Klingon varies from 200
844 units in the Novice game to 250 units in the Emeritus game.
845 Commanders normally require from 600 (Novice) to 700 (Emeritus). The
846 Super-commander requres from 875 (Good) to 1000 (Emeritus). Romulans
847 require an average of 350 (Novice) to 450 (Emeritus).</para>
849 <para>Hits on enemies are cumulative, as long as you don't leave the
852 <para>In general, not all that you fire will reach the Klingons. The
853 farther away they are, the less phaser energy will reach them. If a
854 Klingon is adjacent to you, he will receive about 90% of the phaser
855 energy directed at him; a Klingon 5 sectors away will receive about
856 60% and a Klingon 10 sectors away will receive about 35%. There is
857 some randomness involved, so these figures are not exact. Phasers
858 have no effect beyond the boundaries of the quadrant you are in.</para>
860 <para>Phasers may overheat (and be damaged) if you fire too large a burst
861 at once. Firing up to 1500 units is safe. From 1500 on up the
862 probability of overheat increases with the amount fired.</para>
864 <para>If phaser firing is automatic, the computer decides how to
865 divide up your <amount to fire> among the Klingons present. If
866 phaser firing is manual, you specify how much energy to fire at each
867 Klingon present (nearest first), rather than just specifying a total
868 amount. You can abreviate <quote>MANUAL</quote> and
869 <quote>AUTOMATIC</quote> to one or more letters; if you mention
870 neither, automatic fire is usually assumed.</para>
872 <para>Battle computer information is available by firing phasers manually,
873 and allowing the computer to prompt you. If you enter zero for the
874 amount to fire at each enemy, you will get a complete report, without
875 cost. The battle computer will tell you how much phaser energy to
876 fire at each enemy for a sure kill. This information appears in
877 parentheses prior to the prompt for each enemy. Since the amount is
878 computed from sensor data, if either the computer or the S.R. sensors
879 are damaged, this information will be unavailable, and phasers must
880 be fired manually.</para>
882 <para>A safety interlock prevents phasers from being fired through
883 the shields. If this were not so, the shields would contain your fire
884 and you would fry yourself. However, you may utilize the
885 <quote>high-speed shield control</quote> to drop shields, fire
886 phasers, and raise shields before the enemy can react. Since it takes
887 more energy to work the shields rapidly with a shot, it costs you 200
888 units of energy each time you activate this control. It is
889 automatically activated when you fire phasers while the shields are
890 up. By specifying the <no> option, shields are not raised after
893 <para>Phasers have no effect on starbases (which are shielded) or on
897 <sect1><title>Report</title>
901 Shortest abbreviation: REP
904 <para>This command supplies you with information about the state of the
905 current game. Its purpose is to remind you of things that you have
906 learned during play, but may have forgotten, and cannot otherwise
907 retrieve if you are not playing at a hard-copy terminal.</para>
909 <para>You are told the following things:</para>
912 <listitem><para>The length and skill level of the game you are playing</para></listitem>
913 <listitem><para>The original number of Klingons</para></listitem>
914 <listitem><para>How many Klingons you have destroyed</para></listitem>
915 <listitem><para>Whether the Super-Commander has been destroyed</para></listitem>
916 <listitem><para>How many bases have been destroyed</para></listitem>
917 <listitem><para>How many bases are left</para></listitem>
918 <listitem><para>What bases (if any) are under attack; your subspace radio
919 must have been working since the attack to get this
920 information.</para></listitem>
921 <listitem><para>How many casualties you have suffered</para></listitem>
922 <listitem><para>How many times you have called for help.</para></listitem>
925 <para>This same information is automatically given to you when you start to
926 play a frozen game.</para>
929 <sect1><title>Computer</title>
933 Shortest abbreviation: CO
936 <para>This command allows using the ship's computer (if functional) to
937 calculate travel times and energy usage.</para>
940 <sect1><title>Photon Torpedoes</title>
944 Shortest abbreviation: PHO
945 Full commands: PHOTONS <NUMBER> <TARG1> <TARG2> <TARG3>
948 <para>Photon torpedoes are projectile weapons—you either hit what you aim
949 at, or you don't. There are no <quote>partial hits</quote>.</para>
951 <para>One photon torpedo will usually kill one ordinary Klingon, but it
952 usually takes about two for a Klingon Commander. Photon torpedoes
953 can also blow up stars and starbases, if you aren't careful.</para>
955 <para>You may fire photon torpedoes singly, or in bursts of two or three.
956 Each torpedo is individually targetable. The computer will prompt
957 you, asking for the target sector for each torpedo. Alternately, you
958 may specify each target in the command line.</para>
960 <para>Photon torpedoes cannot be aimed precisely—there is always some
961 randomness involved in the direction they go. Photon torpedoes may
962 be fired with your shields up, but as they pass through the shields
963 they are randomly deflected from their intended course even more.</para>
965 <para>Photon torpedoes are proximity-fused. The closer they explode to the
966 enemy, the more damage they do. There is a hit <quote>window</quote> about one
967 sector wide. If the torpedo misses the hit window, it does not
968 explode and the enemy is unaffected. Photon torpedoes are only
969 effective within the quadrant. They have no effect on things in
970 adjacent quadrants.</para>
972 <para>If more than one torpedo is fired and only one target sector is
973 specified, all torpedoes are fired at that sector. For example, to
974 fire two torpedoes at sector 3 - 4, you type</para>
977 PHO 2 3 4 (or) PHO 2 3 4 3 4
980 <para>To fire torpedoes at, consecutively, sectors 2 - 6, 1 - 10, and 4 -
987 <para>There is no restriction to fire directly at a sector. For example,
994 <para>to aim between two sectors. However, sector numbers must be 1 to 10
998 <sect1><title>Dock at Starbase</title>
1002 Shortest abbreviation: D
1005 <para>You may dock your starship whenever you are in one of the eight
1006 sector positions immediately adjacent to a starbase. When you dock,
1007 your starship is resupplied with energy, shield energy photon
1008 torpedoes, and life support reserves. Repairs also proceed faster at
1009 starbase, so if some of your devices are damaged, you may wish to stay
1010 at base (by using the <quote>REST</quote> command) until they are
1011 fixed. If your ship has more than its normal maximum energy (which
1012 can happen if you've loaded crystals) the ship's energy is not
1015 <para>You may not dock while in standard orbit around a planet.</para>
1017 <para>Starbases have their own deflector shields, so you are completely
1018 safe from phaser attack while docked. You are also safe from
1019 long-range tractor beams.</para>
1021 <para>Starbases also have both short and long range sensors, which you can
1022 use if yours are broken. There's also a subspace radio to get
1023 information about happenings in the galaxy. Mr. Spock will update the
1024 star chart if your ask for it while docked and your own radio is dead.</para>
1027 <sect1><title>Rest</title>
1031 Shortest abbreviation: R
1032 Full command: REST <NUMBER OF STARDATES>
1035 <para>This command simply allows the specified number of stardates to go
1036 by. This is useful if you have suffered damages and wish to wait
1037 until repairs are made before you go back into battle.</para>
1039 <para>It is not generally advisable to rest while you are under attack by
1043 <sect1><title>Call Starbase for Help</title>
1050 <para>[Originally, this command was called <quote>HELP</quote>, but
1051 these days that might be misconstrued as an attempt to browae built-in
1052 documentation! In some later versions it was CALL.]</para>
1054 <para>When you get into serious trouble, you may call a starbase for
1055 help. Starbases have a device called a <quote>long-range transporter
1056 beam</quote> which they can use to teleport you to base. This works
1057 by dematerializing your starship at its current position and
1058 re-materializing it adjacent to the nearest starbase. Teleportation
1059 is instantaneous, and starbase supplies the required energy—all
1060 you have to do is let them know (via subspace radio) that you need to
1063 <para>This command should be employed only when absolutely necessary. In
1064 the first place, calling for help is an admission on your part that
1065 you got yourself into something you cannot get yourself out of, and
1066 you are heavily penalized for this in the final scoring. Secondly,
1067 the long-range transporter beam is not reliable—starbase can always
1068 manage to dematerialize your starship, but (depending on distance)
1069 may or may not be able to re-materialize you again. The long-range
1070 transporter beam has no absolute maximum range; if you are in the
1071 same quadrant as a starbase, you have a good chance (about 90%) of
1072 re-materializing successfully. your chances drop to roughly 50-50 at
1073 just over 3 quadrants.</para>
1076 <sect1><title>Abandon Ship</title>
1083 <para>You may abandon the Enterprise if necessary. If there is still a
1084 starbase in the galaxy, you will be sent there and put in charge of a
1085 weaker ship, the Faerie Queene.</para>
1087 <para>The Faerie Queene cannot be abandoned.</para>
1090 <sect1><title>Self-Destruct</title>
1097 <para>You may self-destruct, thus killing yourself and ending the game. If
1098 there are nearby Klingons, you may take a few of them with you (the
1099 more energy you have left, the bigger the bang).</para>
1101 <para>In order to self-destruct you must remember the password you typed in
1102 at the beginning of the game.</para>
1105 <sect1><title>Quit Game</title>
1112 <para>Immediately cancel the current game; no conclusion is reached. You
1113 will be given an opportunity to start a new game or to leave the Star
1114 Trek program.</para>
1117 <sect1><title>Sensor-Scan</title>
1121 Shortest abbreviation: SE
1124 <para>Utilizing the short-range sensors, science officer Spock gives you a
1125 readout on any planet in your quadrant. Planets come in three
1126 classes: M, N, and O. Only class M planets have earth-like
1127 conditions. Spock informs you if the planet has any dilithium
1128 crystals. Sensor scans are free.</para>
1131 <sect1><title>Enter Standard Orbit</title>
1135 Shortest abbreviation: O
1138 <para>To land on a planet you must first be in standard orbit. You achieve
1139 this in a manner similar to docking at starbase. Moving to one of
1140 the eight sector positions immediately adjacent to the planet, you
1141 give the orbit command which puts your ship into standard orbit about
1142 the planet. Since this is a maneuver, a small amount of time is
1143 used; negligible energy is required. If enemies are present, they
1147 <sect1><title>Transporter Travel</title>
1151 Shortest abbreviation: T
1154 <para>The transporter is a device which can convert any physical object
1155 into energy, beam the energy through space, and reconstruct the
1156 physical object at some destination. Transporting is one way to land
1157 on a planet. Since the transporter has a limited range, you must be
1158 in standard orbit to beam down to a planet. Shields must be down
1159 while transporting.</para>
1161 <para>The transport command is used to beam a landing party onto a planet
1162 to mine <quote>dilithium crystals</quote>. Each time the command is given the
1163 landing party (which you lead) moves from the ship to the planet, or
1166 <para>You are advised against needless transporting, since like all
1167 devices, the transporter will sometimes malfunction.</para>
1169 <para>The transporter consumes negligible time and energy. Its use does
1170 not constitute a <quote>turn</quote>.</para>
1173 <sect1><title>Shuttle Craft</title>
1177 Shortest abbreviation: SHU
1180 <para>An alternate way to travel to and from planets. Because of limited
1181 range, you must be in standard orbit to use the shuttle craft, named
1182 "Galileo". Shields must be down.</para>
1184 <para>Unlike transporting, use of the shuttle craft does constitute a
1185 <quote>turn</quote> since time is consumed. The time naturally
1186 depends on orbit altitude, and is equal to 3.0e-5 times altitude.
1187 Shuttling uses no ship energy.</para>
1189 <para>You should use the same travel device going from the planet to the
1190 ship as you use to go from the ship to the planet. However it is
1191 possible to transport to the planet and have the Galileo crew come
1192 and pick your landing party up, or to take the Galileo to the planet
1193 and then transport back, leaving the shuttle craft on the planet.</para>
1196 <sect1><title>Mine Dilithium Crystals</title>
1200 Shortest abbreviation: MI
1203 <para>Once you and your mining party are on the surface of a planet which
1204 has dilithium crystals, this command will dig them for you.</para>
1206 <para>Mining requires time and constitutes a <quote>turn</quote>. No
1207 energy is used. Class M planets require 0.1 to 0.3 stardates to mine.
1208 Class N planets take twice as long, and class O planets take three
1209 times as long.</para>
1211 <para>Dilithium crystals contain enormous energy in a form that is readily
1212 released in the ship's power system. It is an excellent idea to mine
1213 them whenever possible, for use in emergencies. You keep the
1214 crystals until the game is over or you abandon ship when not at a
1218 <sect1><title>Load Dilithium Crystals</title>
1222 Shortest abbreviation: CR
1225 <para>This is a very powerful command which should be used with caution.
1226 Once you have dilithium crystals aboard ship, this command will
1227 instruct engineering officer Scott and Mr. Spock to place a raw
1228 dilithium crystal into the power channel of the ship's
1229 matter-antimatter converter. When it works, this command will
1230 greatly boost the ship's energy.</para>
1232 <para>Because the crystals are raw and impure, instabilities can occur in
1233 the power channel. Usually Scotty can control these. When he
1234 cannot, the results are disastrous. Scotty will use those crystals
1235 that appear to be most stable first.</para>
1237 <para>Since using raw dilithium crystals for this purpose entails
1238 considerable risk, Starfleet Regulations allow its use only during
1239 "condition yellow". No time or energy is used.</para>
1242 <sect1><title>Planet Report</title>
1246 Shortest abbreviation: PL
1249 <para>Mr. Spock presents you a list of the available information on planets
1250 in the galaxy. Since planets do not show up on long-range scans, the
1251 only way to obtain this information is with the <quote>SENSORS</quote> command.</para>
1254 <sect1 id="freeze"><title>Freeze</title>
1259 Full command: FREEZE <FILE NAME>
1262 <para>The purpose of the FREEZE command is to allow a player to save the
1263 current state of the game, so that it can be finished later. A
1264 plaque may not be generated from a frozen game. A file with the
1265 specified <file name> and type '.TRK' is created (if necessary) in
1266 the current directory, and all pertinent information about the game
1267 is written to that file. The game may be continued as usual or be
1268 terminated at the user's option.</para>
1270 <para>To restart a game created by the <quote>FREEZE</quote> command,
1271 the user need only type <quote>FROZEN</quote> in response to the
1272 initial question about the type of game desired, followed by the
1273 <file name>.</para>
1275 <para>NOTE: A <quote>tournament</quote> game is like a frozen game,
1276 with the following differences. (1) Tournament games always start
1277 from the beginning, while a frozen game can start at any point. (2)
1278 Tournament games require only that the player remember the name or
1279 number of the tournament, while the information about a frozen game
1280 must be kept on a file. Tournament games can be frozen, but then they
1281 behave like regular frozen games.</para>
1283 <para>A point worth noting is that 'FREEZE' does not save the seed for the
1284 random number generator, so that identical actions after restarting
1285 the same frozen game can lead to different results. However,
1286 identical actions after starting a given tournament game always lead
1287 to the same results.</para>
1290 <sect1><title>Request</title>
1294 Shortest abbreviation: REQ
1295 Full command: REQUEST <ITEM>
1298 <!-- This is new in SST 2K -->
1299 <para>If you are using the screen-oriented interface, this command is
1300 suppressed; instead, a full status report will always be present on the
1303 <para>This command allows you to get any single piece of information
1304 from the <STATUS> command. <ITEM> specifies which
1305 information as follows:</para>
1311 <entry>Information</entry>
1312 <entry>Mnemonic for <item></entry>
1313 <entry>Shortest Abbreviation</entry>
1317 <row><entry>STARDATE</entry> <entry>DATE</entry> <entry>D</entry></row>
1318 <row><entry>CONDITION</entry> <entry>CONDITION</entry> <entry>C</entry></row>
1319 <row><entry>POSITION</entry> <entry>POSITION</entry> <entry>P</entry></row>
1320 <row><entry>LIFE SUPPORT</entry><entry>LSUPPORT</entry> <entry>L</entry></row>
1321 <row><entry>WARP FACTOR</entry> <entry>WARPFACTOR</entry><entry>W</entry></row>
1322 <row><entry>ENERGY</entry> <entry>ENERGY</entry> <entry>E</entry></row>
1323 <row><entry>TORPEDOES</entry> <entry>TORPEDOES</entry> <entry>T</entry></row>
1324 <row><entry>SHIELDS</entry> <entry>SHIELDS</entry> <entry>S</entry></row>
1325 <row><entry>KLINGONS LEFT</entry><entry>KLINGONS</entry> <entry>K</entry></row>
1326 <row><entry>TIME LEFT</entry> <entry>TIME</entry> <entry>TI</entry></row>
1327 <row><entry>BASES LEFT</entry> <entry>BASES</entry> <entry>BA</entry></row>
1333 <sect1><title>Experimental Death Ray</title>
1340 <para>This command should be used only in those desperate cases where
1341 you have absolutely no alternative. The death ray uses energy to
1342 rearrange matter. Unfortunately, its working principles are not yet
1343 thoroughly understood, and the results are highly
1344 unpredictable.</para>
1346 <para>The only good thing that can result is the destruction of all
1347 enemies in your current quadrant. This will happen about 70% of the
1348 time. Only enemies are destroyed; starbases, stars, and planets are
1351 <para>Constituting the remaining 30% are results varying from bad to
1354 <para>The death ray requires no energy or time, but if you survive, enemies
1355 will hit you.</para>
1357 <para>The Faerie Queene has no death ray.</para>
1359 <para>If the death ray is damaged in its use, it must be totally replaced.
1360 This can only be done at starbase. Because it is a very complex
1361 device, it takes 9.99 stardates at base to replace the death ray.
1362 The death ray cannot be repaired in flight.</para>
1365 <sect1><title>Launch Deep Space Probe</title>
1369 Shortest abbreviation: PR
1370 Full command: PROBE <ARMED> MANUAL <displacement>
1371 PROBE <ARMED> AUTOMATIC <destination>
1374 <para>The Enterprise carries a limited number of Long Range Probes. These
1375 fly to the end of the galaxy and report back a count of the number of
1376 important things found in each quadrant through which it went. The
1377 probe flies at warp 10, and therefore uses time during its flight.
1378 Results are reported immediately via subspace radio and are recorded
1379 in the star chart.</para>
1381 <para>The probe can also be armed with a NOVAMAX warhead. When launched
1382 with the warhead armed, the probe flies the same except as soon as it
1383 reaches the target location, it detonates the warhead in the heart of
1384 a star, causing a supernova and destroying everything in the
1385 quadrant. It then flies no further. There must be a star in the
1386 target quadrant for the NOVAMAX to function. </para>
1388 <para>The probe can fly around objects in a galaxy, but is destroyed if it
1389 enters a quadrant containing a supernova, or if it leaves the galaxy.</para>
1391 <para>The target location is specified in the same manner as the MOVE
1392 command, however for automatic movement, if only one pair of
1393 coordinates are specified they are assumed to be the quadrant and not
1394 the sector in the current quadrant!</para>
1396 <para>The Faerie Queene has no probes.</para>
1399 <sect1><title>Emergency Exit</title>
1403 Shortest abbreviation: E
1406 <para>This command provides a quick way to exit from the game when you
1407 observe a Klingon battle cruiser approaching your terminal. Its
1408 effect is to freeze the game on the file 'EMSAVE.TRK' in your current
1409 directory, erase the screen, and exit.</para>
1411 <para>Of course, you do lose the chance to get a plaque when you use this
1415 <sect1><title>Ask for Help</title>
1419 Full command: HELP <command>
1422 <para>This command reads the appropriate section from the SST.DOC file,
1423 providing the file is in the current directory.</para>
1427 <chapter><title>Miscellaneous Notes</title>
1429 <para>Starbases can be attacked by either commanders or by the
1430 <quote>Super-Commander</quote>. When this happens, you will be
1431 notified by subspace radio, provided it is working. The message will
1432 inform you how long the base under attack can last. Since the
1433 <quote>Super-Commander</quote> is more powerful than an ordinary
1434 commander, he can destroy a base more quickly.</para>
1436 <para>The <quote>Super-Commander</quote> travels around the galaxy at
1437 a speed of about warp 6 or 7. His movement is strictly time based;
1438 the more time passes, the further he can go.</para>
1440 <para>Scattered through the galaxy are certain zones of control,
1441 collectively designated the <quote>Romulan Neutral Zone</quote>. Any
1442 quadrant which contains Romulans without Klingons is part of the
1443 Neutral Zone, except if a base is present. Since Romulans do not show
1444 on either the long-range scan or the star chart, it is easy for you to
1445 stumble into this zone. When you do, if your subspace radio is
1446 working, you will receive a warning message from the Romulan, politely
1447 asking you to leave.</para>
1449 <para>In general, Romulans are a galactic nuisance.</para>
1451 <para>The high-speed shield control is fairly reliable, but it has been
1452 known to malfunction.</para>
1454 <para>You can observe the galactic movements of the
1455 <quote>Super-Commander</quote> on the star chart, provided he is in
1456 territory you have scanned and your subspace radio is working.</para>
1458 <para>Periodically, you will receive intelligence reports from
1459 starfleet command, indicating the current quadrant of the
1460 <quote>Super-Commander</quote>. Your subspace radio must be working,
1463 <para>Each quadrant will contain from 0 to 3 black holes. Torpedoes
1464 entering a black hole disappear. In fact, anything entering a black
1465 hole disappears, permanently. If you can displace an enemy into one,
1466 he is a goner. Black holes do not necessarily remain in a quadrant.
1467 they are transient phenomena.</para>
1469 <para>Commanders will ram your ship, killing themselves and inflicting
1470 heavy damage to you, if they should happen to decide to advance into
1473 <para>You can get a list of commands by typing
1474 <quote>COMMANDS</quote>.</para>
1477 <chapter><title>Scoring</title>
1479 <para>Scoring is fairly simple. You get points for good things, and you
1480 lose points for bad things.</para>
1482 <para>You gain—</para>
1485 <listitem><para>10 points for each ordinary Klingon you kill,</para></listitem>
1486 <listitem><para>50 points for each commander you kill,</para></listitem>
1487 <listitem><para>200 points for killing the <quote>Super-Commander</quote>,</para></listitem>
1488 <listitem><para>20 points for each Romulan killed,</para></listitem>
1489 <listitem><para>1 point for each Romulan captured.</para></listitem>
1491 <para>100 times your average Klingon/stardate kill rate. If you lose
1492 the game, your kill rate is based on a minimum of 5 stardates.</para>
1495 <para>You get a bonus if you win the game, based on your rating:</para>
1496 <para>Novice=100, Fair=200, Good=300, Expert=400, Emeritus=500.</para>
1500 <para>You lose—</para>
1503 <listitem><para>200 points if you get yourself killed,</para></listitem>
1504 <listitem><para>100 points for each starbase you destroy,</para></listitem>
1505 <listitem><para>100 points for each starship you lose,</para></listitem>
1506 <listitem><para>45 points for each time you had to call for help,</para></listitem>
1507 <listitem><para>10 points for each planet you destroyed,</para></listitem>
1508 <listitem><para>5 points for each star you destroyed, and</para></listitem>
1509 <listitem><para>1 point for each casualty you incurred.</para></listitem>
1512 <para>In addition to your score, you may also be promoted one grade in rank
1513 if you play well enough. Promotion is based primarily on your
1514 Klingon/stardate kill rate, since this is the best indicator of
1515 whether you are ready to go on to the next higher rating. However,
1516 if you have lost 100 or more points in penalties, the required kill
1517 rate goes up. Normally, the required kill rate is 0.1 * skill *
1518 (skill + 1.0) + 0.1, where skill ranges from 1 for Novice to 5 for
1521 <para>You can be promoted from any level. There is a special
1522 promotion available if you go beyond the <quote>Expert</quote> range.
1523 You can also have a certificate of merit printed with your name, date,
1524 and Klingon kill rate, provided you are promoted from either the
1525 <quote>Expert</quote> or <quote>Emeritus</quote> levels. This
1526 <quote>plaque</quote> requires a 132 column printer. You may need
1527 print the certificate to a file, import it into your word processor,
1528 selecting Courier 8pt font, and then print in <quote>landscape
1529 orientation</quote>.</para>
1532 <chapter><title>Handy Reference Page</title>
1534 <literallayout format='linespecific' class='monospaced'>
1535 ABBREV FULL COMMAND DEVICE USED
1536 ------ ------------ -----------
1537 ABANDON ABANDON shuttle craft
1539 CO COMPUTER computer
1542 DEATHRAY DEATHRAY (none)
1543 DESTRUCT DESTRUCT computer
1546 FREEZE FREEZE <FILE NAME> (none)
1547 I IMPULSE <MANUAL> <DISPLACEMENT> impulse engines
1548 IMPULSE AUTOMATIC <DESTINATION> impulse engines and computer
1549 L LRSCAN long-range sensors
1550 MAYDAY MAYDAY (for help) subspace radio
1552 M MOVE <MANUAL> <DISPLACEMENT> warp engines
1553 MOVE AUTOMATIC <DESTINATION> warp engines and computer
1554 O ORBIT warp or impulse engines
1555 P PHASERS <TOTAL AMOUNT> phasers and computer
1556 PHASERS AUTOMATIC <TOTAL AMOUNT> phasers, computer, sr sensors
1557 PHASERS MANUAL <AMT1> <AMT2> ... phasers
1558 PHO PHOTONS <NUMBER> <TARGETS> torpedo tubes
1560 PR PROBE <ARMED> <MANUAL> <DISPLACEMENT> probe launcher, radio
1561 PROBE <ARMED> AUTOMATIC <DESTINATION> launcher, radio, computer
1564 R REST <NUMBER OF STARDATES> (none)
1566 S SRSCAN <NO or CHART> short-range sensors
1567 SE SENSORS short-range sensors
1568 SH SHIELDS <UP, DOWN, or TRANSFER> deflector shields
1569 SHU SHUTTLE shuttle craft
1571 T TRANSPORT transporter
1572 W WARP <FACTOR> (none)
1574 L. R. Scan: thousands digit: supernova
1575 hundreds digit: Klingons
1576 tens digit: starbases
1578 period (.): digit not known (star chart only)
1580 Courses are given in manual mode in X - Y displacements; in automatic
1581 mode as destination quadrant and/or sector. Manual mode is default.
1582 Distances are given in quadrants. A distance of one sector is 0.1 quadrant.
1583 Ordinary Klingons have about 400 units of energy, Commanders about
1584 1200. Romulans normally have about 800 units of energy, and the
1585 (GULP) "Super-Commander" has about 1800.
1586 Phaser fire diminishes to about 60 percent at 5 sectors. Up to 1500
1587 units may be fired in a single burst without danger of overheat.
1588 Warp 6 is the fastest safe speed. At higher speeds, engine damage
1589 may occur. At warp 10 you may enter a time warp.
1590 Shields cost 50 units of energy to raise, and double the power
1591 requirements of moving under warp drive. Engaging the high-speed
1592 shield control requires 200 units of energy.
1593 Warp drive requires (distance)*(warp factor cubed) units of energy
1594 to travel at a speed of (warp factor squared)/10 quadrants per stardate.
1595 Impulse engines require 20 units to warm up, plus 100 units per
1596 quadrant. Speed is just under one sector per stardate.
1600 <chapter><title>Game History and Modifications</title>
1602 <sect1><title>Origins</title>
1604 <para>The original Star Trek seems to have been written by Mike
1605 Mayfield at the beginning of the 1970s. His first version was in
1606 BASIC for a Sigma 7 in 1971; in 1972 he rewrote it in Hewlett Packard
1607 BASIC. The source is <ulink
1608 url="&sst-site;www/historic/mayfield.basic">available</ulink> on the
1609 SST2K website. In January 1975 it became part of the DECUS library
1610 under the name <ulink
1611 url='http://www.trailing-edge.com/~shoppa/decus/110174.html'>SPACWR</ulink>.</para>
1613 <para>While some people claim to have recollections of playing Trek
1614 games in the late 1960s, the earlier ones seem actually to have been
1616 <ulink url='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacewar!'>
1617 SPACEWAR</ulink>, the earlier space-combat game on the
1618 PDP-1. Mayfield <ulink
1619 url='http://www3.sympatico.ca/maury/games/space/star_trek.html'>wrote
1620 in 2000</ulink> that he invented the Trek-style galactic grid, and the
1621 evidence seems to back that up. Some of the confusion probably stems
1622 from the fact that Mayfield's original and several early descendants
1623 were distributed under the name SPACWR.</para>
1625 <para>Many different versions radiated from Mayfield's original; most
1626 of the ones in BASIC are descended from a SPACWR version that David
1627 Ahl published in <citetitle>101 BASIC Computer Games</citetitle>,
1628 July 1973. This was a port of Mayfield's version obtained from the HP
1629 Contributed Programs library. </para>
1631 <para>Our SST2K is descended from a Taurus BASIC program by Grady
1632 Hicks dated 5 April 1973. This does not appear to have been derived
1633 from Ahl's SPACWR. The header says "GENERAL IDEA STOLEN FROM
1634 PENN. U.", and the game has several features not present in SPACEWR:
1635 notably, the Death Ray, ramming, and the Klingon summons to surrender.
1636 And, of course, it predates Ahl's book. The source is <ulink
1637 url="&sst-site;www/historic/UT-Trek.basic">available</ulink> on the
1638 SST2K website.</para>
1640 <para>Dave Matuszek, Paul Reynolds et. al. at UT Austin played the
1641 Hicks version on a CDC6600, but disliked the long load time and
1642 extreme slowness of the BASIC program. (David Matuszek notes that the
1643 Hicks version he played had a habit of throwing long
1644 quotes from Marcus Aurelius at the users, a feature he found
1645 intolerable on a TTY at 110 baud. It must, therefore, have been
1646 rather longer than the one we have.) The Austin crew proceeded to
1647 write their own Trek game, loosely based on the Hicks version, in
1648 CDC6600 FORTRAN. At that time, it was just called "Star Trek"; the
1649 "Super" was added by later developers. In the rest of this history
1650 we'll call it the "UT FORTRAN" version.</para>
1652 <para>At the time the UT FORTRAN source was last translated to C it emitted
1653 the message "Latest update-21 Sept 78". Thus, it actually predated
1654 (and may have influenced) the best-known BASIC version, the "Super
1655 Star Trek" published by David Ahl in his November 1978 sequel
1656 <citetitle>BASIC Computer Games</citetitle>.</para>
1658 <para>This 1978 "Super Star Trek" had been reworked by Robert Leedom and
1659 friends from (according to Leedom) Mayfield's HP port. There is
1660 internal evidence to suggest that at least some features of Leedom's
1661 SST may have derived from the UT FORTRAN version. In particular, Dave
1662 Matuszek recalls implementing command words to replace the original
1663 numeric command codes, a feature Leedom's SST also had but the
1664 1973 and 1975 SPACWRs did not.</para>
1666 <para>One signature trait of the UT FORTRAN game and its descendants
1667 is that the sectors are 10x10 (rather than the 8x8 in Mike Mayfield's
1668 1972 original and its BASIC descendants). The UT FORTRAN version also
1669 preserves the original numbered quadrants rather than the
1670 astronomically-named quadrants introduced in Ahl's SST and its
1673 <!-- Dave thinks his Fortran Star Trek used the clockface for quadrant -->
1674 <!-- navigation. -->
1676 <para>Eric Allman's BSD Trek game is one of these, also descended from
1677 the UT FORTRAN version via translation to C. However, the mainline version
1678 (now SST2K) has had a lot more stuff folded into it over the years
1679 — deep space probes, dilithium mining, the Tholian Web, and so
1683 <sect1><title>Tom Almy's story</title>
1685 <para>Back in (about) 1977 I got a copy of the Super Star Trek game for
1686 the CDC 6600 mainframe computer. Someone had converted it to PDP-11
1687 Fortran but couldn't get it to run because of its size. I modified
1688 the program to use overlays and managed to shoehorn it in on the 56k
1689 byte machine.</para>
1691 <para>I liked the game so much I put some time into fixing bugs, mainly
1692 what could be called continuity errors and loopholes in the game's
1693 logic. We even played a couple tournaments.</para>
1695 <para>In 1979, I lost access to that PDP-11. I did save the source code
1696 listing. In 1995, missing that old friend, I started converting the
1697 program into portable ANSI C. It's been slow, tedious work that took
1698 over a year to accomplish.</para>
1700 <para>In early 1997, I got the bright idea to look for references to
1701 <quote>Super Star Trek</quote> on the World Wide Web. There weren't
1702 many hits, but there was one that came up with 1979 Fortran sources!
1703 This version had a few additional features that mine didn't have,
1704 however mine had some feature it didn't have. So I merged its features
1705 that I liked. I also took a peek at the DECUS version (a port, less
1706 sources, to the PDP-10), and some other variations.</para>
1708 <para>Modifications I made:</para>
1710 <para>Compared to original version, I've changed the
1711 <quote>help</quote> command to <quote>call</quote> and the
1712 <quote>terminate</quote> command to <quote>quit</quote> to better
1713 match user expectations. The DECUS version apparently made those
1714 changes as well as changing <quote>freeze</quote> to
1715 <quote>save</quote>. However I like <quote>freeze</quote>.</para>
1717 <para>I added EMEXIT from the 1979 version.</para>
1719 <para>That later version also mentions srscan and lrscan working when
1720 docked (using the starbase's scanners), so I made some changes here
1721 to do this (and indicating that fact to the player), and then
1722 realized the base would have a subspace radio as well — doing a
1723 Chart when docked updates the star chart, and all radio reports will
1724 be heard. The Dock command will also give a report if a base is under
1727 <para>It also had some added logic to spread the initial positioning of
1728 bases. That made sense to add because most people abort games with
1729 bad base placement.</para>
1731 <para>The experimental deathray originally had only a 5% chance of success,
1732 but could be used repeatedly. I guess after a couple years of use, it
1733 was less <quote>experimental</quote> because the 1979 version had a 70% success
1734 rate. However it was prone to breaking after use. I upgraded the
1735 deathray, but kept the original set of failure modes (great humor!).</para>
1737 <para>I put in the Tholian Web code from the 1979 version.</para>
1739 <para>I added code so that Romulans and regular Klingons could move in
1740 advanced games. I re-enabled the code which allows enemy ships to
1741 ram the Enterprise; it had never worked right. The 1979 version
1742 seems to have it all fixed up, but I'm still not overly happy with
1743 the algorithm.</para>
1745 <para>The DECUS version had a Deep Space Probe. Looked like a good idea
1746 so I implemented it based on its description.</para>
1749 <sect1><title>Stas Sergeev's story</title>
1751 <para>I started from an older Tom Almy version and added features I had
1752 seen in other mainframe variants of the game, I wrote a screen-oriented
1753 interface for it based on the curses library.</para>
1757 <para>The Space Thingy can be shoved, if you ram it, and can fire back if
1761 <para>The Tholian can be hit with phasers.</para>
1764 <para>When you are docked, base covers you with an almost invincible shields
1765 (a commander can still ram you, or a Romulan can destroy the base,
1766 or a SCom can even succeed with direct attack IIRC, but this rarely
1770 <para>SCom can't escape from you if no more enemies remain (without this,
1771 chasing SCom can take an eternity).</para>
1774 <para>Probe target you enter is now the destination quadrant. Before I don't
1775 remember what it was, but it was something I had difficulty using.</para>
1778 <para>Secret password is now autogenerated.</para>
1781 <para>Victory plaque is adjusted for A4 paper rather than 132-column greenbar
1785 <para>Phasers now tells you how much energy needed, but only if the computer
1789 <para>Planets are auto-scanned when you enter the quadrant.</para>
1792 <para>Mining or using crystals in presense of enemy now yields an attack.
1793 There are other minor adjustments to what yields an attack
1794 and what does not.</para>
1797 <para>Ramming a black hole is no longer instant death. There is a
1798 chance you might get timewarped instead.</para>
1801 <para>"freeze" command reverts to "save", most people will understand this
1802 better anyway.</para>
1805 <para>Screen-oriented interface, with sensor scans always up.</para>
1809 <para>My changes got merged into SST2K in 2005, and I work on it now.</para>
1812 <sect1><title>Eric Raymond's story</title>
1814 <para>I played the FORTRAN version of this game in the late 1970s on a
1815 DEC minicomputer. In the late 1980s Dave Matuszek and I became
1816 friends; I was vaguely aware that he had had something to do with the
1817 original Star Trek game. In October 2004, sitting in Dave's living
1818 room, we got to talking about the game and I realized it would make a
1819 great exhibit for the <ulink
1820 url='&retro;'>Retrocomputing Museum</ulink>.</para>
1822 <para>A few quick web searches later we found Tom Almy's page. We
1823 downloaded his code and Dave verified that that it was a direct
1824 descendent of UT Super Star Trek — even though it had been translated
1825 to C, he was able to recognize names and techniques from the FORTRAN
1826 version he co-wrote.</para>
1828 <para>This game became an open-source project; see the <ulink
1829 url='http://developer.berlios.de/projects/sst/'>project
1830 site</ulink>.</para>
1832 <para>After I launched the Berlios project, Stas Sergeev contacted me.
1833 We worked together to merge in his changes.</para>
1835 <para>Modifications I've made:</para>
1839 I converted the flat-text SST.DOC file to XML-Docbook so it can be
1840 webbed. (That's what you're reading now.)
1843 The command-help code needed a rewrite because the flat-text form of
1844 the documentation is now generated from XML and doesn't have the
1845 easily recognizable section delimiters it used to. I wrote a script
1846 to filter that flat-text form into an sst.doc that's easy to parse for
1847 command descriptions, and changed some logic in sst.c to match.
1850 I've cleaned up a lot of grubby FORTRANisms in the code internals --
1851 used sizeof(), replaced magic numeric constants with #defines,
1855 I fixed a surprising number of typos in the code and documentation.
1858 All the game state now lives in one big structure that can be
1859 written to and read from disk as one blob. The write gives it an
1860 an identifiable magic number and the thaw logic checks for same.
1863 I made the internal pager work, and in the process got rid of a number
1864 of platform dependencies in the code.
1867 The HELP/CALL/SOS command is now MAYDAY.
1870 Status report now indicates if dilithium crystals are on board.
1873 At Dave's prompting, restored the Space Thingy's original elusive behavior.
1876 Clean separation of game engine from the UI code, improving Stas
1877 Sergeev's excellent work on the curses interface.
1881 <para>Here are some good pages on the history of Star Trek games:</para>
1885 <ulink url='http://www.dunnington.u-net.com/public/startrek/'>http://www.dunnington.u-net.com/public/startrek/</ulink>
1888 <ulink url='http://www3.sympatico.ca/maury/games/space/star_trek.html'>http://www3.sympatico.ca/maury/games/space/star_trek.html</ulink>
1891 <ulink url='http://www.cactus.org/%7Enystrom/startrek.html'>http://www.cactus.org/%7Enystrom/startrek.html</ulink>
1896 <sect1><title>Authors' Acknowledgments</title>
1898 <para>These are the original acknowledgments by Dave Matuszek and Paul
1901 <para>The authors would like to thank Professor Michael Duggan for his
1902 encouragement and administrative assistance with the development of
1903 the Star Trek game, without which it might never have been completed.</para>
1905 <para>Much credit is due to Patrick McGehearty and Rich Cohen, who assisted
1906 with the original design of the game and contributed greatly to its
1907 conceptual development.</para>
1909 <para>Thanks are also due to Carl Strange, Hardy Tichenor and Steven Bruell
1910 for their assistance with certain coding problems.</para>
1912 <para>This game was inspired by and rather loosely based on an earlier
1913 game, programmed in the BASIC language, by Jim Korp and Grady Hicks.
1914 It is the authors' understanding that the BASIC game was in turn
1915 derived from a still earlier version in use at Penn State University.</para>
1918 <sect1><title>References</title>
1921 <listitem><para><citetitle>Star Trek</citetitle> (the original television
1922 series), produced and directed by Gene Rodenberry.</para></listitem>
1924 <listitem><para><citetitle>Star Trek</citetitle> (the animated
1925 television series), produced by Gene Rodenberry and directed by Hal
1926 Sutherland. Also excellent, and not just kiddie fare. If you enjoyed
1927 the original series you should enjoy this one (unless you have some
1928 sort of a hangup about watching cartoons).</para></listitem>
1930 <listitem><para><citetitle>The Making of Star Trek</citetitle>, by
1931 Steven E. Whitfield and Gene Rodenberry. The best and most complete
1932 readily available book about Star Trek. (Ballantine
1933 Books)</para></listitem>
1935 <listitem><para><citetitle>The World of Star Trek</citetitle>, by
1936 David Gerrold. Similiar in scope to the above book.
1937 (Bantam)</para></listitem>
1939 <listitem><para><citetitle>The Star Trek Guide</citetitle>, third revision 4/17/67, by Gene
1940 Roddenberry. The original writer's guide for the television
1941 series, but less comprehensive than (3) above.
1942 (Norway Productions)</para></listitem>
1944 <listitem><para><citetitle>The Trouble With Tribbles</citetitle>, by
1945 David Gerrold. Includes the complete script of this popular show.
1946 (Ballantine Books)</para></listitem>
1948 <listitem><para><citetitle>Star Trek</citetitle>, <citetitle>Star Trek
1949 2</citetitle>, ..., <citetitle>Star Trek 9</citetitle>, by James
1950 Blish. The original shows in short story form.
1951 (Bantam)</para></listitem>
1953 <listitem><para><citetitle>Spock Must Die</citetitle>, by James Blish.
1954 An original novel, but rather similar to the show <citetitle>The Enemy
1955 Within</citetitle>. (Bantam)</para></listitem>
1957 <listitem><para>Model kits of the Enterprise and a <quote>Klingon
1958 Battle-Cruiser</quote> by AMT Corporation are available at most hobby
1959 shops.</para></listitem>
projects / super-star-trek.git / blob