OS/2 Professional/OS2PRO194.ISO/os2/com/bbs/czarwars/czar_hlp.txt

Text File | 1989-12-28 | 14KB | 234 lines

Czarwars is a multi-player space war game where players fight it out for
military and economic control of the universe.  The universe is very large and
is separated into a number of galaxies of various shapes and sizes.  There is a
universal government that simply calls itself 'The Government'.  The Government
does not allow the deploying of military forces within the area that it
controls - currently the innermost 40 sectors and possibly other areas.

Your mission is to take your ship out into the vastness of space, build up
great economic and military power, and unite the entire universe under your
not-so-benevolent rule.  This task is not simple, however, since there are
others who dream of the throne.  Some hints for beginners:  Until you have
substantial military power, hide as best you can and be patient.  Form
alliances with others - its better to be a member of a ruling oligarchy than a
dead would-be monarch.

If you plan well your time will come...  Good Luck!

When you first log on you will be issued a flagship, a few fighters, some cargo
holds, some antimatter (fuel), and a bit of cash.  After christening the
flagship with an appropriate name, you will start in sector 1 near the Class 4
port, "Cosmos".  You can buy additional holds, fighters, and antimatter at
Cosmos.  Other ports deal in ore, organics, and equipment.  Class 1 ports sell
equipment, class 2 ports sell organics, and class 3 ports sell ore.  All ports
buy the two commodities that they don't sell.  You can make a profit by trading
at ports in order to buy more holds and fighters.  A point about prices at
ports:  Selling prices decrease as the amount of goods for sale increase.
Supply and demand also controls the prices that ports pay for goods.  Also, the
frequency of trading may affect prices.  Planets differ from ports in that they
don't buy anything.  They produce all three commodities and give them up
freely.  Like ports, they produce only a limited amount of goods per day.

Another way to make money is to win it from gamblers.  Most class 3 ports have
gamblers at them, but they are rare in the sectors near the government.  The
more remote the port (larger sector numbers) the greater the chance of
encountering gamblers.  Since the government outlawed gambling eons ago, these
fellows are pretty paranoid.  Sometimes they disappear for no obvious reason.
Anyway, when you can gamble the odds are heavily in your favor.  You can make
almost as much money this way as you can by trading but make sure you have
enough money to avoid going broke right away.

A third way to raise cash is to invest in signs.  Although you normally get
only 90% of your investment back when you remove a sign, on stardays that end
in the digits "00" sign refunds and sign prices double.  Therefore, if you
invest in a sign at the normal price (say, 1000 credits) on stardate 12345 and
then remove it on stardate 12400 you will be refunded 1800 credits - an easy
80% profit.  Also, signs are the only investment that you can make that survive
the destruction of your flagship.

The fourth way to acquire wealth involves using the <T>oll option when you
place fighters on guard.  For example, you can place 100 fighters on guard in a
sector and tell them to charge everyone who passes a toll of 1000 credits.  For
each player who enters that sector and pays the toll you will be paid 60% of
the toll - in this case 600 credits.

You can also use your fighters to attack other players' ships.  When you attack
fighters or ships you will be asked how many fighters to send into battle.
Every fighter that you send will face an enemy fighter and will win 50% of the
time.  This continues until all the enemy fighters are destroyed or all the
fighters you sent have perished in the fight.  If you destroy an enemy flagship
you can salvage up to 50% of its cargo holds.  The number you can salvage is
limited by the number of fighters you kill in the same attack that destroys the
flagship.  For example, if you destroy a ship guarded by 100 fighters you will
get more holds than if you destroyed a ship with 50 fighters.  Therefore, if
you attack the ship in multiple waves, the number of holds you can salvage is
limited by how many fighters you destroyed in the SAME WAVE THAT DESTROYED THE
FLAGSHIP!  If you plan to completely destroy a player's ship, then you should
do it in a single attack to maximize the number of holds that you can salvage.
Unfortunately, when you attack another player's flagship, they will be briefed
on the attack when they next log on.

A flagship is limited in how many cargo holds it can contain.  Once it is fully
upgraded, you will not be able to salvage or purchase additional holds.
Depending on an option set by the Sysop, it may be possible to acquire a Class
"A" ship which can be upgraded with more holds than a standard issue Class "B"
vessel.  In addition, a class "A" ship may be issued a larger daily ration of
antimatter.  If this option is permitted, you will be able to buy a class "A"
ship at any class 4 port (such as Cosmos in sector 1) but ONLY after you have
fully upgraded your class "B" ship.  When you port at any class 4 port it will
notify you if your ship is fully upgraded and, if you don't already have one,
it will tell you the price to acquire a Class "A".

Fighters left guarding a sector will not allow any other player to enter with
the following exceptions:
  1) When you leave fighters in a sector you get the option of giving them a
password.  If you give them a password and tell it to another player then that
player will be able to enter the sector, dock at ports and land at any planet
there.  He can also simply pass through the sector unharmed.
  2) If you select the password option and then at the password prompt you
press <ENTER>, the fighters will have a "blank" password and will spy for you.
Other players will be able to pass freely by 'spy fighters' but their passing
may be reported to you.  The more spy fighters you deploy in a sector the
better the chance of sighting ships.  (1 spy sights 10%, 100+ spies sight 100%
of travelers).
  3) When you encounter fighters charging a toll you will be able to pay the
toll and then enter the sector.  Of course, flagships parked in a sector with
ANY fighters on guard cannot be attacked (except by the owner of the fighters)
until all the sector guards are destroyed.

Some antimatter is used every time you move to a new sector.  Also, antimatter
is used to dock at ports, launch sector signs, jettison cargo, and each time
you place a bet when gambling.  Extra antimatter is expensive and is usually
purchased only in emergencys.  The amount of antimatter required to move to
another sector or to dock at a port varies with how many holds your ship has
and with the amount of cargo you are carrying.  The <I>nformation... command
will tell you how much antimatter is used by these operations.

There are a couple of strange phenomena in the universe that are useful in
traveling intergalactic distances:  Black Holes and Pulsars.  Entering a sector
containing a Black Hole will usually cause your ship to be warped to the other
half of the universe.  Some of your fighters may lose their lives in the jump
so be careful.  Entering a Pulsar does not carry the same danger to your
fighters but it will require quite a bit of antimatter to control your orbit
around the Pulsar itself.  A Pulsar will normally warp you between the 1st and
2nd quadrants if you are in the first half of the universe.  If you are in the
top half you will be warped between the 3rd and 4th quadrants.

NOTE:  The Pulsar will only warp you into sectors that end in the digits 01-50.

Another way to quickly cover long distances is by using a Hyperspace Crystal.
If you have enough money, you may be offered one of these when you dock at a
class 1 port.  The price varies depending on the size of your ship.  To use one
of these you simply type a sector number that isn't connected to the sector you
are in.  After the 'You can't warp there from here.' message you will be asked
if you want to use a Hyperspace Crystal.  If you answer yes, you will be
immediately transported to the sector you requested.


Commands can be executed by typing the capital letter in the angle brackets <>.
The following are the commands that can be executed from the
"command? (H=Help):" prompt.

<H>elp:  lists available commands.

move to sector <2>:  enables you to move to another sector.  Simply entering
the sector number by itself moves you to that sector (if a warp connects to
it).

dock at a <P>ort and trade:  used to dock at ports to buy and sell goods or, in
the case of class 4 ports, to buy fighters, holds and antimatter.

<I>nformation about your ship:  lists your flagship name, how many fighters you
have with your ship, how many holds your ship has, what you have in your holds,
and how much time and antimatter you have remaining.

list <O>ther players:  lists other active players, their ship names, and their
"power".  Power includes cash, cargo holds, and fighters with the ship.  Note
that power doesn't include deployed fighters.  For more information, use
<C>alculate player strength under <U>tilitys.

take/leave <F>ighters:  this command allows you to deploy fighters in a sector
or to take fighters left in a sector (by leaving 0 fighters there).  You get
the option of giving the fighters a password that can be used to allow other
players to pass.  You can also instruct the fighters to charge a toll to all
who enter (you will get 60% of tolls paid to your fighters).  For a report on
all your fighters left in the entire universe, use <F>ighter report under the
<U>tilitys menu.  Also, if you encounter fighters guarding a sector, you will
be confronted with the fighters and the following menu:  <A>ttack, <R>etreat,
<P>assword, or <S>elf-destruct.  Entering an "A" will enable you to attack the
fighters.  Entering an "R" will cause your ship to retreat to the LAST SECTOR
YOU OCCUPIED.  If you know their password (assuming they have one!) you might
enter a "P".  With the proper password, the fighters will permit you to enter
the sector normally.  Last, there is the suicide option: "S".  Sometimes a
particularly treacherous enemy will put fighters in your path of retreat,
trapping you between 2 fleets of fighters.  Assuming you don't have enough
fighters to fight your way out (or a Hyperspace crystal), you might enter the
"S" to self-destruct.  The explosion of your ship may kill some of the
attacking fighters.  When you self-destruct, you will lose a day's antimatter
ration by not being able to log on for 24 hours.  If you encounter fighters
charging a toll (of, say, 1000 credits), you will get a menu containing "<T>oll
( 1000 )".  In this case, pressing the "T" key would deduct 1000 credits from
your account, deposit 600 into the account of the owner of the fighters, and
allow you to enter the sector.

leave <S>ign in sector:  this option allows you to leave a sign of up to 32
characters in a sector.  Signs are expensive but you get reimbursed for 90% of
the cost when you remove one.  It also takes some antimatter to launch a sign.
To locate signs that you have left throughout the universe, use <F>ighter
report under the <U>tilitys menu.
NOTE:  signs are the ONLY investment that you can make that will survive the
destruction of your ship.
NOTE:  signs 'expire' if not removed within 56 days (8 weeks).

<R>emove sign:  use this command to remove a sign that you left and you will be
given a refund of 90% of the going price of the sign.  You can also use this
command to remove signs left by others but it is quite expensive.

<L>and at a planet:  this allows you to take equipment, organics and ore from a
planet's surface.

<J>ettison cargo (dump holds):  this command allows you to empty your cargo
holds - say, when you get an opportunity to haul something more profitable or
just need to increase you fuel economy for a long trip.  Using this command
will cost you 10 grams of antimatter to eject the cargo of each full hold.

<A>ttack fighters or ships:  use this command to attack other players flagships
or enemy fighters guarding a sector.


<C>ommerce report on port:  C123 gives quantities needed and goods for sale at
port 123.

<B>uy fighters mail-order:  the expensive way to get extra fighters.  Use this
when you need fighters and can't make the trip to a class 4 port.  Sometimes
you may lose a few fighters in shipping with this one.

<M>anufacture or upgrade a Starbase:  this will build (or upgrade) a Starbase
in the current sector.  Once built, you cannot remove a Starbase.  It will
guard the sector against all other players and requires an attack of 125 to
4000 fighters to destroy it.  There is a chance that a player self-destructing
in the sector will damage or destroy the Starbase (the chance varys inversely
with the size of the Starbase).  These defensive devices are usually cheaper
than the equivalent number of fighters but are only useful for guarding a
sector (and whatever it contains - ships, planets, etc).  Unlike fighters, you
cannot give a Starbase a password or instruct it to charge a toll.
Type 1 Starbases=125 fighters strength, 2=250, 3=500, 4=1000, 5=2000, 6=4000

<U>tilitys menu:  allows you to send mail to other players and to change your
password.  It also lets you see statistical information on yourself and others.

<N>avigation info on sector:  N97 lists the sectors that connect to sector 97.

re<D>isplay sector:  This will redisplay the current sector.

<Q>uit the game:  This is what you do when you run out of fuel.


The ; key can be used to enter multiple commands at once.  For example, to move
from sector 1 to 2, land at the planet there, then on to 3, port there, then
back to 2, and then to return to 1 you could enter:  2;L;3;P;2;1

To repeat that sequence (or the last command containing a semi-colon) simply
type the / key by itself and press <ENTER>.