Section # 1 Title Window After the program loads, you will see a title picture with a small window across the top. The text display reads "USE THE MENU TO CHOOSE STARTING OPTION". There are neither gadgets nor variables to control on this window. The project menu will offer you these options: "Version and credits", "start New game", "Restore saved game", "modify Galaxy's design", and "Quit program"; each of these menu selections is followed by a keyboard shortcut (see the sections dealing with these menu entries: "Credits", "New Game", "Restore Saved Game", "Design Galaxy", and "Quit Program".) Section # 2 Version and Credits "Version and credits" (keyboard shortcut + v), displays the author's name, the copyright date, and the version number. Selection of the close window gadget (a box with a dot, in the window's top left corner), will close this window. Section # 3 Design Galaxy "modify Galaxy's design" (keyboard shortcut + g), opens a window providing control of general features, and allows you to adjust the framework of the galaxy numerically (if you choose to modify the default settings, you must do so before starting a new game.) The "NUMBER OF STARS" in the galaxy may be adjusted, the maximum is 999 and there must be at least one star per player. Star systems will randomly be created with from zero to the number displayed in the "MAXIMUM NUMBER OF PLANETS PER STAR" planets (with six being the limit.) The "MINIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN STARS" gadget affects the galactic density, "MINIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN OPPONENTS" regulates the approximate amount of time between initial player contacts. The "MINIMUM PLANETS IN HOME SYSTEM" gadget can be used to insure large home planetary systems (minimum is 1.) "MAXIMUM DETECTION RANGE" sets the best case distance at which a target can be detected. Three gadgets, "MAXIMUM X COORDINATES", "MAXIMUM Y COORDINATES", and "MAXIMUM Z COORDINATES" define the galaxy bounds, and are limited from zero to 999, and by memory. The default X and Y maximums keep the map window from drawing stars in it's borders. "AUTOMATICALLY SAVE EVERY # MINUTES IS TURNED OFF" comprises two gadgets. The string gadget expects a number in minutes between notifying the current player that the save timer has expired, the bounds are 1 and 10080 (the time delay and on/off state may be changed most any time-- defaults: 15 minutes and OFF.) Three gadgets turn details on or off--"DEPRECIATION", "POLITICAL EFFECTS", and "SOCIAL EFFECTS". The gadget labeled "EDIT INITIAL RESOURCES" takes you to a new window modifying resource bounds on planets. The "RESTORE DEFAULT SETTING!" resets all non-resource settings to their original state. Close the window when you are satisfied with the galaxy's design. After play has started, this information is available for display and inspection by pressing the + `g' key combination simultaneously during a player's phase, or by menu selection under "STATISTICS". Section # 4 New Game "start New game" (keyboard shortcut + n), starts the process of defining the scope of the game, gives access to the handicapping and map editing features, and may lead to the beginning of the defined game. The first data required will be the number of players, and their status (human or computer.) The player data window has two rows of gadgets, you may select any combination of players--at least one must be human. Select the close window gadget when through, which brings up the verification requester. An affirmative response will bring up the enter player names window, which has string gadgets for each player's name. Enter the names of all human players (duplicate names are not an error condition but may lead to confusion.) You may enter computer player names of your choice, though the computer will randomly select from a short list of historical names if you make no entry (computer names may not duplicate any other names!) Closing the window, when you finish editing the names, brings up the verify player names window; this allows you to check for mistakes or re-edit the random computer names. Your acceptance of the names brings up the password requester for each human player--each human MUST have a password. After entering all passwords, if the game will be moderated via a BBS, you will have the chance to enter your BBS handle. When all players have entered a password (and possibly a handle) you will see the verification requester allowing you your first chance to edit the galactic map. A negative response, or termination of the map editor, will open the general handicap window. If desired select each player in turn, handicapping them as desired, by using the menu items or gadgets, or use the menu item to load a handicap file for any or all players. When you close the player handicap selection window the game begins. Section # 5 Restore Saved Game "Restore saved game" (keyboard shortcut + r), brings up the file requester for your specification of the file name of the game to be restored. Play will be resumed showing the phase window currently active when the game was saved. When run from the CLI, a single parameter following the program name will be taken as the name of a file (optionally with complete path) containing a saved game to be restored. Section # 6 Depreciation Effect The depreciation effect can be turned on or off only before game play begins. When turned on, each build phase includes the depreciation of all industries on all occupied planets. The rate is adjustable for each industry of each player, but must always remain below one and may not go below zero. For example: if a player's planetary computer industry is fifty, and the player's computer depreciation is ten percent (.1), the new number of computer industries is forty-five, 50 - (50 * .1) = 45. The various rates of depreciation are set in the handicap window. Section # 7 Political Effects The political effect can be turned on or off only before game play begins. Politics, if activated, affect the food production (not consumption), population growth, and industrial output of each planet during the build phase. Each planet has it's own optimum political style, which changes slowly over many turns. Section # 8 Social Effects The social effect can be on or off only before game play begins. The social atmosphere of each planet can affect it's food production (not consumption), population growth, and industrial output. A quality social climate must be found balanced among ten different measurements, each of which depict two extreme answers to hypothetical questions as posed to the planet's society. Random social targets are chosen originally for each planet, but these change over time. Section # 9 Edit Initial Resource Window The initial resource ranges window has three kinds of gadgets, plus the close window gadget. The first is a cycle gadget, which cycles the display through the various classes of stars (there are 21--three sizes: dwarf, giant, and super giant; and seven letters: O, B, A, F, G, K, and M.) Next come six gadgets representing planetary position, or orbital distance, from the star. Finally come sixteen pairs of gadgets defining the range (0 minimum to 65535 maximum) between which a random number will be selected representing the amount of the specific resource which will be created given the stellar class and the position of each planet. Entering the same two numbers for minimum and maximum will force the use of that specific quantity--zero minimum and zero maximum are acceptable. This allows for the creation of more or less logical galaxies--a stellar class may share basic resource attributes across all same class stars, and planetary orbital position can influence resource makeup even more specifically. The similarity of a colony planet to the player's home planet (stellar class and position) affects the ease of colonization and the colony's growth. The menu allows for the saving and loading of specific ranges of resources, as well as the whole galaxy. Savings keeps either the currently displayed sixteen ranges, or the whole galaxy of ranges; loading a range has six potential targets, while loading a galaxy fills all ranges. You may chose to load a set of ranges into just this stellar class--either for the currently displayed planetary position (the currently displayed position's gadget is the one which is "ghosted" and may not be selected), or into all six positions of this class. Similarly you may affect all three sizes of this stellar class with the same ranges--either this planetary position or all. You may alter all stellar classes, this position, or all. You may save a galactic design for further work or use, then load it back when you wish to re-use that design. Section # 10 Quit Program "Quit program" (keyboard shortcut + q), will bring up the verification requester, a positive response will terminate the game--all unsaved play will be lost. This option is not available during any player's phase--the player must end their phase or relinquish control to quit the game. Section # 11 Verification Requester The verification requester presents one or more lines of information, representing the possible result of your most recent action. There will be a specific question at the bottom of the window--answer by selecting either the "YES" or "NO" gadget as appropriate, or you may press the `y' (for yes) or `n' (for no) keys. Occasionally, the computer must get input from a player other than the one currently playing their phase. When this occurs the verification requester will cover the entire screen so that no confidential information may be viewed by the responding player. This only occurs if one player is trying to load or unload cargo from an opponent's planet. If you are playing this game by exchanging disks after each player takes their turn, a communications method must be devised and trust must be complete if trade between players is contemplated. Section # 12 Edit Galactic Map The edit map data widow has no menus and nine or ten gadgets. This editor allows customization of the galaxy. The first line of text tells if this is someone's home star and if so, who's. The "EDIT NAME:" gadget allows editing of the star's name. The "NUMBER OF PLANETS:" gadget allows entry of the stars existing planets (restricted by the previously set variables `maximum planets per star' and `minimum planets for home'.) If this is a player's home star, a "POSITION OF HOME PLANET:" gadget displays the position of the player's home planet and allows it to be changed. The "Star's Class" cycle gadget allows you to change the star's class (the planetary resources also change to reflect the new class resource ranges.) The X, Y, and Z maximum coordinate variables are given for referral, and three integer gadgets allow the star's coordinates to be precisely fixed. The "VIEW STAR:" gadget opens a specifically named star for editing, while the "PREVIOUS STAR" and "NEXT STAR" gadget step through the star list in either direction. Close the window to terminate the edit session. Section # 13 General Handicap The general handicap window has a "PROJECT" menu, with player gadgets as well. Selecting a player gadget opens the player's handicapping window. The "PROJECT" menu has three selections, "Load all player handicaps from one file", "load one player's handicap from a file", and "edit the galactic Map data". Loading all handicaps from one file brings up the file requester allowing specification of a previously saved handicap to be used for all players identically. After giving all players the same handicap, you may go into any player's handicap and modify it. Close this window ONLY WHEN COMPLETELY FINISHED with all handicapping! Section # 14 Handicapping Players Player handicaps are player specific--two individual players may or may not have the same handicap. The player handicap window has either two or three menus (depending upon which aspect is being handicapped), the first two are constant, the third is only available while any one of the first four items of the second menu are selected. The first menu "HANDICAP FILES" has two options--"load a handicap file", and "save this handicap file"; both bring up the file requester asking for a file name. The save file will be a complete player handicap file which can be used by any single player via this window's `load handicap' command, or by all players using the general handicap `load all handicap' command. As soon as construction may begin, player's may revisit their handicap window--inspecting the entries, but may change only a few items on the last (other single factors) aspect menu item's display. The second menu "ASPECT TO HANDICAP" lists fourteen different aspects. The first four relate the cost (or return) of a given operation (in resources consumed or generated) and each adds a new menu to the window. This third menu allows you to pick which specific industry or accessory is being handicapped. All sixteen resources are represented by floating point gadgets and may be positive or negative. For example: the first aspect listed is "planetary industrial expansion"--the growth of new businesses; it has a third menu "INDUSTRY TO ADJUST" which offers twelve possibilities. Selecting one of these mutually exclusive items updates the resource displays allowing you to modify them to suit yourself. Let's imagine that "School" was selected, and that these entries only have been made in the resource gadgets--TITANIUM = 2.5, IRON = .06, KRYPTON = -1, leaving all others at 0. Now each time a school is constructed by this player the resources on the planet upon which the school is built are changed: titanium is REDUCED by 2.5 units per school built, iron is REDUCED by .06 units per school built, and krypton is INCREASED (note the negative entry) by 1 unit per school built. These entries may be positive, negative, very large, or very small and zero is quite acceptable--you must be sure to use reasonable amounts or the game play may be ridiculous! Another example: the second aspect to adjust is "building starships" and has a third menu of "SHIP'S ACCESSORY TO ADJUST". Imagine selecting the "Missile" accessory, then entering these figures: URANIUM = 3.2, EMPLOYEES = 2.1, MONEY = 4, all the rest are at 0. Now, each time you build a ship's missile the planet at which the ship is docked will lose resources--3.2 uranium resource units, 2.1 employee units, and 4 credits (money.) The "manufacturing drones" aspect has "DRONE ACCESSORY TO ADJUST" as it's third menu, proceed just like the starship menu. The "planetary resource production" aspect has a third menu listing all twelve industries and relates the number of resources produced or consumed in the operation of any given industry in the growth phase. No other aspects have third menus. The "planetary industry depreciation" is only effective when depreciation is turned on. The "planetary resource spoilage" is always active, but setting all resource factors to zero effectively eliminates it from consideration. The "player combat factors" weight each player's combat strength (offensively and defensively) against all other players. The "unit combat factors" weight each type of offensive weapon against each type of object (ship's lasers against ship, drone's shield against planet's lasers, etc.) The "cargo weights" set the unit weight of each kind of cargo a starship may carry. The "ship weights" and "drone weights" set the weight of the vessel's accessories. Cargo, ship, and drone weights are used in calculating the minimum weight of a vessel which (along with fuel and power) directly affects the vessel's travel range. The "home planet's starting industries" and "home planet's starting resources" set the initial level for these items on the player's home planet (changing the stellar class will change the home resources.) The "other single factors" aspect is a mixture of separate factors, some of which will be available later for change. You may enter your choice of home planet names, "STARTING POPULATION" sets home planet beginning population, "SPEED FACTOR" weights overall vessel speed, "FUEL FACTOR" rates average fuel economy, "SCRAP FACTOR" adjusts the resource return obtained when industries are torn down, "LUCK" affects most calculations of growth and combat, "DETECTION FACTOR" controls the distance at which combat can occur, "STARTING CREDIT" sets the players beginning Galactic Credit, "HOME'S HABITAT BARRIER" sets the home planet's barrier, "BIRTH RATE" sets the overall rate at which this player's population will expand, the "HOME STAR'S CLASS" cycle gadget sets the player's home planet's star's class (changing the home planet resources), and the "WORK RATE" sets the overall number of employees generated by a planet's population for any of this player's planets. The "WARNING MESSAGE DISPLAY TIME" controls the amount of time each message (from the computer to the player) will be displayed--a length of zero will cause the message to remain until the message window is closed; the "warning message file" allows for optional storage of messages in a named file. The other file name gadgets may contain the names of files (which you have previously created) which contain the lists of names you wish to use in naming your objects. Section # 15 Name Requester The name requester has a string gadget, a "USE COMPUTER GENERATED NAME" gadget, a close window gadget and no menus. Some unique name must be entered in the string gadget; you may re-use the name of a vessel, task force, shipclass, or droneclass if it is no longer in existence. If you try to close the window without entering a name a warning will occur. The text in the string gadget will become the object's name (unless already in use) when the window closes. A carriage return while the string gadget is active will try to close the window. Selection of the "USE COMPUTER GENERATED NAME" gadget will generate the next available unique name (alphabetically) and try to close the window (it may not succeed if the name is already in use.) Player names are limited to 43 characters, stars, planets, and vessels to 15 characters, and class names to 10 characters. Section # 17 Which Note On those occasions where your vessel and class notes conflict, you will be asked to choose how to resolve the conflict with a large requester--selection of any gadget will resolve the issue. One string gadget labeled "Your UNIT has this note:" will display the unit's note; a string gadget labeled "Your UNIT CLASS has this note:" will display the class note; each may be freely edited--without changing the actual note of the unit or class. Four gadgets are lined up at the bottom of the requester labeled: "USE UNIT'S NOTE", "USE CLASS'S NOTE", "USE BOTH--UNIT'S FIRST", and "USE BOTH--CLASSES FIRST"; you may use no note (have the appropriate string gadget empty), either note (edited or not), or both notes (edited or not) in either order. Section # 18 Players' Phase Window This window presents gadgets representing the name of each player, and tells the phase of play for this turn. There are five phases: building of industries, growth calculation, movement, offense, and defense. The menus "PROJECT", "STATISTICS", and "START PLAYER'S PHASE" are available for selection. The project menu contains seven options which allow major changes affecting all players: "adjust Colors" (keyboard shortcut + c), adjusts the screen colors displayed when no one player's colors are available; "start New Game" (keyboard shortcut + n), begins the gaming process all over (all unsaved play will be lost); "Restore saved game" (keyboard shortcut + r), allows the choice of loading a save file from storage; " save Automatically" (keyboard shortcut + a), sets the save timer to the currently entered delay period; "save as What file" (keyboard shortcut + w), brings up the file requester so that you may specify the destination drawer and name of the saved game file; "save File: no file name entered" (keyboard shortcut + f), will remain ghosted until the game has been saved once, thereafter it will read "save File: RAM:first_game" (assuming you last saved a game to RAM: called first_game) and will resave the game under the same name with no prompts; "Quit game" (keyboard shortcut + q), asks if your sure and if so exits the game--all unsaved play will be lost. The statistics menu has two options: "show Victorious player" (keyboard shortcut + v), displays the relative ranking of each player with 1000000 being the score of the best; "show Galaxy's design" (keyboard shortcut + g), gives access to the automatic save game timer and the delay (in minutes) between saves, and shows the original design specifications for informational purposes (during a player's phase the key combination + g will display this window). Section # 19 Build Phase Upon entering the build phase the player's map is displayed. During this phase you may build and destroy industries, build or scrap starships and drones, negotiate diplomatic treaties, adjust planetary political and social values, load cargo on ships, move resources between a starship and any planet within the stellar system occupied by the starship, and give a movement order to any of your starships, drones or task forces. Section # 20 Movement Orders Each unit (task force, starship, or drone) may receive one of the following movement orders: "ATTENTION", "SENTRY until turn ___", "EXPLORE", "GO TO STAR: ___", "GO TO LOCATION: X = ___ Y = ___ Z = ___", "PATROL TO STAR: from here to ___", "PATROL TO LOCATION: from here to X = ___ Y = ___ Z = ___"; starships and drones can "JOIN TASK FORCE: ___", and "LEAVE TASK FORCE"; starships can also "LOAD CARGO", and "UNLOAD CARGO" while in a star system with planets. An order may be cancelled any time during the build phase. The order "ATTENTION" causes no vessel movement, and a unit's display to be viewed during every build phase--if it's related "view automatically" menu item is selected. "SENTRY until turn ___" sets a timer for the unit--it becomes inactive and even if it's related "view automatically" menu item is selected you will not see it's display until the given turn or if combat threatens it. "EXPLORE" is used to send the unit to the nearest star which you have never visited, and to which no other unit of yours has orders to move to. This is handy for easily exploring the galaxy. "GO TO STAR: ___" sends the unit to the specified star. "GO TO LOCATION: X = ___ Y = ___ Z = ___" sends the unit to the specified location. "PATROL TO STAR: from here to ___" causes a recurring patrol--from the unit's current location to the given star, back and forth. "PATROL TO LOCATION: from here to X = ___ Y = ___ Z = ___" causes a recurring patrol--from the unit's current location to the given location. Patrolling, as with any order, consumes fuel (even SENTRY and ATTENTION, both of which use one fuel per turn), a calculation is made at each end of the patrol which insures adequate fuel to reach the patrol's next turn-around. "JOIN TASK FORCE: ___" will create a new task force if no task force name is used. "LEAVE TASK FORCE" will remove a vessel from it's task force. "LOAD CARGO" and "UNLOAD CARGO" allow a ship within a planetary system to take on and discharge cargo (resources.) Section # 27 Galactic Map Each player sees a personalized display of the galactic map. The player chooses how much map data to display--which stars, which vessels, the point of view from which the galaxy is drawn, the view direction, and the view magnification. The coordinates of the stars never vary, but the star's color, name labels and label offsets are controlled by the player. Imagine, the physical bounds of the galaxy as a giant shoe box--as you look at your monitor you see the small end of that shoebox, wider across the top, extending into the monitor away from you as the longest length of the shoebox. A star's X coordinate is a value across the screen with left being zero, it's Y coordinate is down the screen with top being zero, it's Z coordinate is into the monitor with closest to you being zero. The map displayed is a picture of one part (of two) of the galaxy (the view direction controls which part you are seeing), every star or vessel in that part of the galaxy may be displayed, as the peripheral view is complete. The display is calculated based upon the player's desired point of view, view direction, and view magnification. The player's point of view is based upon the player's current star or last selected unit; view direction is set by menu selection (Z fore, Z aft, X fore, X aft, Y fore, and Y aft); magnification (0-9) is set by menu or keyboard shortcuts. The mathematical point of view, is the center of the monitor screen looking in the view direction. Each icon on the map is a gadget which can be selected with a single or double click, causing the map to be redrawn. A single or double click centers the player's point of view on the object; a double click opens the display window for the object as well. Stars and vessels are portrayed with ten sizes of icons--the larger the icon the closer the object. Very distant objects may be invisible and have no gadget, increasing the magnification will bring these objects onto the map, but the nearest objects will disappear. The X/Y/Z axis orientation changes your perspective view on the screen, effectively allowing you to look from the top or side of the galaxy, the map display will be drawn with the selected axis running from you through the center of the screen and out the back of the monitor. Until you are very comfortable with the map, try leaving the view axis set to "Z" all the time, manipulating only the fore/aft control! The map window has four menus: "PROJECT", "OTHER DISPLAYS", "DISPLAY CONTROLS", and "ACTIONS". The display controls menu has these selections: "VIEW ORIENTATION" has sub-menus, "X axis" (keyboard shortcut + x), "Y axis" (keyboard shortcut + y), "Z axis" (keyboard shortcut + z), which control the axis for the direction of view (if the Z axis is checked, the point of view will be the center of the X-Y plane, if the X axis is checked, the point of view will be the center of the Y-Z plane); the "FORE toggle fore/aft View" (keyboard shortcut + v), sets which direction to look from the plane set by the selected axis (if FORE is selected only those objects with coordinates on the selected axis larger than those of the current point of view will be shown); "do Label objects" (keyboard shortcut + l), enables or suppresses the labeling (by name) of all mapped objects; "DISPLAY SELECTED STAR TYPES:" has six sub-menus: "all stars charted" (keyboard shortcut + *), "my own stars charted", "known hostile stars charted", "known neutral stars charted", "known allied stars charted", and "known special stars charted"; each controls the display of a star depending upon what your stated attitude is toward it (see section "Star Display".) "my own Task forces charted" (keyboard shortcut + t), controls the display of your task forces (you cannot see other player's task forces, though you will see the individual ships and drones in those task forces. "DISPLAY SELECTED SHIP TYPES:" has five sub-menus: "all ships charted" (keyboard shortcut + s), "my own ships charted", "known hostile ships charted", "known neutral ships charted", and "known allied ships charted"; each controls the display of a ship depending upon what your negotiated attitude is toward it's owner (see section "Negotiate Diplomacy".) "DISPLAY SELECTED DRONE TYPES:" has five sub-menus just like the ship types. "LEVEL OF MAP MAGNIFICATION:" has ten sub-menus which control successively higher levels of magnification--0 (keyboard shortcut + 0) is no magnification, 9 (keyboard shortcut + 9) is the highest magnification. "ADJUST LABEL OFFSETS:" has four sub-menus: "current star", "current task force", "current ship", and "current drone" (see section "Current Object"), each of which brings up a requester which allows you to change the offsets for the object's name label (see section "Adjusting Label Offsets".) These menus all allow multiple selection. Section # 29 Adjusting Label Offsets The map label offsets window is draggable, and has two gadgets controlling placement of an object's name on the map: the "X offset:" gadget adjusts the name on the screen's horizontal axis, the "Y offset:" gadget adjusts it on the screen's vertical axis. You may use positive or negative numbers; positive moves the X offset right and the Y offset down, negative moves the X offset left and the Y offset up. These are personal preferences and do not affect the display on other player's maps. Section # 31 Setting Drawing Pens The select drawing pens for attributes window has no menus, but has many gadgets. Each player is allowed to specify which drawing pen is used when the computer displays information about any given industry, resource, attitude, or vessel accessory. If you open the select drawing pens for attributes window and look down in the lower right-hand corner you will see sixteen small gadgets (labeled "COLOR PENS") displaying the sixteen screen colors. The gadgets are organized like this: 0 4 8 12 1 5 9 13 2 6 10 14 3 7 11 15 so the sixth is the second row from the left and the second column down and is pen number 5. The selected gadget will change shape becoming round instead of square, and the text at the lower right-hand corner of the window will change to reflect the selected pen number (drawing the text in that pen's color.) Now when you select a gadget representing an industry, resource, attitude, or vessel accessory, that gadget's text will change to the selected pen color and each time the computer presents you with information regarding that item it will be displayed in the color of the register chosen. If a player's handicap and the galactic configuration allow, the player may use register zero (black or background color) for any unnecessary industry, resource, or vessel accessory thereby hiding all printed reference to that item. Two additional gadgets reside at the lower center of the window: the "WARNING MESSAGE DISPLAY TIME (IN SECONDS)" and "EXAMINE HANDICAP/CHANGE DEFAULT NAME FILES". The warning message display may be set to zero, which opens a message window which remains until closed, or to any number of seconds (up to 65535) for message display before automatically closing the message window. The handicap gadget opens the handicap window, giving a display of all the handicap variables as set before the game started (only the file names and message delay are accessible for change.) Changing any file name will automatically start reading the file at it's beginning, any duplicate entries which are still in use will be skipped over by the name routine. Section # 34 Negotiate Diplomacy The diplomatic negotiation window has no menus and presents three diplomatic attitude gadgets for each opponent: "NEUTRAL", "ALLIED", and "HOSTILE"; initially all players are neutral toward each other. The pen with which a player's name is printed shows what attitude that player has toward you (if you have chosen pen seven to display hostility, and a player has chosen to be hostile toward you, that player's name will be printed with pen seven.) You state your attitude toward each player by choosing the appropriate gadget next to that player's name (the chosen gadget will look different from the two unchosen gadgets--the background fill will be different.) These diplomatic positions are advisory only--you may change them at any time and you may choose to help defend an enemy or attack an ally (any attack on another player's unit will automatically cause your position to become hostile toward the attacked player.) Section # 36 Star Display The stellar report window shares the "PROJECT", "OTHER DISPLAYS", and "ACTIONS" menus with all other object display windows. Near the top center you see a line with one of these three statements: "DATA IS CURRENT", "DATA IS NOT CURRENT", and "UNEXPLORED TERRITORY". The first two possibilities tell you if your information is accurate now or not; information is only current if you have an observer present in the star system--an inhabitant, ship, or drone; non-current data is accurate as of the last time you had something with which to perform reconnaissance in the star system. Five gadgets labeled "SELECT STATUS FOR DRAWING COLOR ON MAP:"--"MINE", "SPECIAL", "NEUTRAL", "ALLIED", and "HOSTILE"; the "mine gadget" is only available while you own a planet in the star system. Selecting one will cause the star's icon to be displayed on your map with the chosen drawing pen. Selecting the gadget which is already selected will set the map drawing back to plain (drawing pen 1--initially white) for the star (a selected gadget will look different--it's background will become the same as the background color.) There is a string gadget labeled "OPEN PLANETARY REPORT FOR:" which allows entry of a planet's name. If the entered name corresponds to one of the planets for which you have reconnaissance, that planetary display will be immediately opened if you press carriage return while the gadget is selected, otherwise it will be displayed after closing this stellar display widow. Across the center of the window is a line of gadgets representing planets; the first and last are the "previous" and "next" gadgets, which allow you to jump directly to your current planet's previous or next planet on your planet list. There is a gadget for each of the star's planets, they are labeled "first", "second", "third", "fourth", "fifth", and "sixth"; each corresponds to each planet's orbital position. There is a string gadget labeled "MY NOTE FOR THIS STAR:" in which you may enter up to 200 characters. Another string gadget is labeled "MY PERSONAL NAME FOR THIS STAR:" it allows you to give the star a nickname used for your displays (though not in the scrolling list view window.) A string gadget labeled "OPEN STELLAR REPORT FOR:" allows you to enter a name. If it is a valid star name (or one of your personal star nicknames) that star will be displayed immediately if you press carriage return while the gadget is selected, otherwise it will be displayed after closing this star display widow. At the bottom center of the window is a cluster of five gadgets dealing with your ordered list of stars: "remove star from list", "GO TO PREVIOUS STAR", "GO TO NEXT STAR", "PREVIOUS STAR:" and "NEXT STAR:". Your ordered star list may contain any or all of the stars in the galaxy, you need not have reconnaissance at the star; this is the list which will be displayed if you check " automatically view all stars" at the "ACTIONS" menu. Your home planet's star may never be removed from your list. Entry of a valid star name in the "PREVIOUS STAR:" gadget will cause the named star to be the currently displayed star's previous star; selection of the "GO TO PREVIOUS STAR" gadget will immediately display that previous star. "NEXT STAR:"/"GO TO NEXT STAR" work the same. The "remove star from list" gadget will remove the currently displayed star from your ordered star list if possible. You need not have a colony or vessel in the star system for it to be on your list. Section # 37 Planet Display The planet window shares the "PROJECT", "OTHER DISPLAYS", and "ACTIONS" menus with an additional menu "PLANET CONTROLS". The control menu has seven items: "ADJUST POLITICAL POWER:", "adjust planet's social Values" (keyboard shortcut + v), "adjust planet's growth Order" (keyboard shortcut + o), "Build starships" (keyboard shortcut + b), "Manufacture drones" (keyboard shortcut + m), "SHIPPING:", and "Inspect resources" (keyboard shortcut + i), some of which may be ghosted. Your current star will become this planet's star. If this star system has ships, drones, or task forces, and the respective current object is not in this system, your current ship, drone, or task force will be changed to one in this system. The political ideology of any inhabited planet may be changed by it's owner. Using the social values menu item opens a window for planetary social adjustment. The adjust growth order menu opens a window which allows you to regulate the order in which planetary growth occurs on this planet. Changes are made on the set planet growth order window which has no menu and twelve gadgets. Enter a number between one and twelve (inclusive) ranking each industry's priority (one being first, twelve being last); each planet has it's own individual build order. Only those offensive and defensive industries which have had resources for their maintenance during the growth phase will be available during the following combat phases. The "build starships" menu item or gadget allows the creation of new starships and shipclasses using the "DESIGN" gadget, or the repair of old starships using the "REFURBISH" gadget. The "manufacture drones" menu item or gadget work the same. The shipping menu item has two sub-items: "Load or unload current ship" (keyboard shortcut + l), and "load or Unload ships" (keyboard shortcut + u.) The "Load or unload current ship" sub-item opens the cargo window for the current ship, "load or Unload ships" opens a scrolling list view of local ships to load and unload. The "Inspect resources" menu item opens a window which displays the planet's resources. The planet resources window is draggable, shares the planet window menu, has no gadgets, and may remain open while you are manipulating the menus and gadgets of the planet display window; it will be updated each time you make a change which affects resources. The planetary display window provides some important information about the planet--the title contains the planet's name, it's sun's name, it's orbital position, environment and environmental modification, and population (a planet's population is not the same as it's employee resource--though they are mathematically related.) The owner is displayed, whether the planet has been modified is shown (if an industry gadget is selected whether it has been modified is also shown), the owner's galactic credit is listed, and the number of vessels in the star system (yours, then all other players' combined.) There are many gadgets on this window. At the top left is a group of twelve integer gadgets, two arrow gadgets, and a slider used to adjust this planet's industries. Each integer gadget shows the number of industries of that kind on the planet, selecting one causes the arrows and slider to become un-ghosted. When an industry's integer gadget is selected you may change the value it contains, either up or down; you may do so by editing the gadget's entry, moving the slider, using the arrows, or using the mouse to select the slider box either above or below the slider knob. Four large gadgets duplicate frequently used menu items: "SOCIAL VALUES" opens the social adjustment window, "NEGOTIATE DIPLOMACY" opens the diplomatic negotiation window, "BUILD STARSHIPS" opens the starship construction requester, and "MANUFACTURE DRONES" opens the drone construction requester. Below them is a string gadget labeled "OPEN PLANETARY REPORT FOR:" which allows entry of a planet's name. If the entered name corresponds to one of the planets for which you have reconnaissance, that planetary display will be immediately opened if you press carriage return while the gadget is selected, otherwise it will be displayed after closing this planet display widow. Gadgets represent planets; the first and last are the "previous" and "next" gadgets and a gadget for each of the star's planets. There is a string gadget labeled "MY NOTE FOR THIS PLANET:" where you may enter a note of up to 200 characters. At the bottom of the window are three gadgets controlling your ordered planetary list: "PREVIOUS PLANET:", "remove planet from list", and "NEXT PLANET". Your ordered planetary list always includes your home planet, and may also include any other planet you have visited.Entry of a valid planet name in the "PREVIOUS PLANET:" gadget will cause that planet to be the currently displayed planet's previous planet--un-ghosting the "previous" gadget if needed; selection of the "previous" gadget will immediately display that previous planet. The "NEXT PLANET:"/"next" gadgets work the same. The "remove planet from list" gadget will remove the currently displayed planet from your planet list except your home planet. Section # 39 Adjusting Social Values The adjust planet's social values window presents ten gadgets and no menus. Each gadget represents a hypothetical question which might be asked of the members of a planet's society, displaying two opposite ends of a response spectrum for that question. Your social attitudes as demonstrated by your answers to these ten questions are reflected (on the average) by the population of this planet. Use the sliders for each gadget to show social values you wish the people on this planet to exhibit. Section # 41 Starship Construction The only way to leave this window is by using the "close window gadget" in the top lefthand corner--this causes your requested ship building to occur (or no building if the build number is left at 0.) The starship construction window has two menus: "AVAILABILITY TYPE" and "SHIPCLASS". The availability menu has sixteen mutually exclusive items: "Titanium" (keyboard shortcut + t), "Krypton" (keyboard shortcut + k), "Uranium" (keyboard shortcut + u), "Silver" (keyboard shortcut + s), "Nitrogen" (keyboard shortcut + n), "Vanadium" (keyboard shortcut + v), "Hydrogen" (keyboard shortcut + h), "Argon" (keyboard shortcut + a), "Gold" (keyboard shortcut + g), "Iron" (keyboard shortcut + i), "Oil" (keyboard shortcut + o), "Jewels" (keyboard shortcut + j), "Wood" (keyboard shortcut + w), "Food" (keyboard shortcut + f), "Employees" (keyboard shortcut + e), and "Money" (keyboard shortcut + m) which are used in conjunction with the last three lines of text at the bottom of the window. The shipclass menu has three items: " Become a shipclass", "Load a shipclass", and "Pick ship to define a shipclass". When you check the first item, the ship you design (whether you build any or not) becomes a shipclass. The next item allows you to pick a design to use as a template for this building session--you may immediately alter the specific accessories to suit your needs. The third item allows you to choose a specific ship to use as a template for this building session. Near the top of the window is a string gadget labeled "STARSHIP NAME (or CLASS stub):", you may enter a name for your ship here, if you are creating a class this will be a prefix or stub to which the computer will add the serial number of the ship. Initially, a starship inherits it's tech level from the planet at which it is created. Weight is automatically adjusted upward (as needed--by the computer) to accommodate the other accessories which you request and is calculated based upon the vessel weight factors entered in your handicap data. You may increase the weight of a vessel beyond that needed. If you press the carriage return key while an integer gadget is selected your resource change due to the entry will be calculated and the display will be redrawn reflecting that change. If you over do it, the entry will be reduced to a level for which there are adequate resources. The more power the faster a vessel goes. All vessels consume fuel all the time. Bombs, missiles, lasers, and shields are combat specific, their weight and effectiveness is regulated by your handicap data. The third line shows the potential range (in the same units as the galaxy display--one pixel = one unit), speed (units/turn), and fuel per turn (FPT) when the ship is moving (using the throttle setting in the throttle gadget.) Below the accessory gadgets are four string gadgets. Two, labeled "PREVIOUS STARSHIP:" and "NEXT STARSHIP:", give you control over the placement of this ship (or series of ships) on your ordered list of ships. If, for instance, you enter the name of one of your existing ship in the "previous" gadget, the new ship(s) will be added to your ship list immediately following the old ship, likewise, if you enter the name of an old ship in the "next" gadget, the new ship(s) will be added to your ship list immediately before the old ship. The gadget labeled "TASK FORCE:" can be used in two ways. If you enter the name of a task force already existing in the star system in which ship construction is occurring, the new ship(s) will be automatically joined to that task force. If the entered name is not in use, a task force will be created with that name and the new ship(s) will be joined to that task force; otherwise you will be notified that the entered name is already in use. A string gadget is available for attaching a note. Below the note gadget is an integer gadget labeled "BUILD". You must enter a number (1 - 65535) in this gadget if you wish to build any ships with this design. If you are only designing a shipclass, this number may be zero; if you build more than one ship, a shipclass will automatically be created (unless a shipclass was used in the design of these ships--then the new ships will belong to the original shipclass.) No actual changes to your resources or quantity of ships will occur until you close this window. Section # 42 Refurbish Starship The window for refurbishing starships is almost identical to the starship construction window (see just previous text.) The menus are identical and are used in exactly the same manner. Two new integer gadgets replace the fixed display of tech level and hits. Tech level may be increased only up to the tech level of the planet at which the vessel is being refurbished. Section # 44 Starship Display The starship display window allows you to inspect a starship and it's cargo, give it orders and notes, and adjust the ship list. The window has four menus, three are the commonly shared "PROJECT", "OTHER DISPLAYS", and "ACTIONS". The other is labeled "SELECT CARGO TO VIEW" and has sixteen items: "TITANIUM", "KRYPTON", "URANIUM", "SILVER", "NITROGEN", "VANADIUM", "HYDROGEN", "ARGON", "GOLD", "IRON", "OIL", "JEWELS", "WOOD", "FOOD", "COLONISTS", and "MONEY". This menu supports multiple selection. You may select up to as many cargo items for display as will fit in the window before ending a single menu session; de-selection may be mixed freely with selection; all sixteen cargo items can not be displayed on the window at once. If a ship is in a star system with planets, the planet at which the ship is docked may be changed. You may do so by selecting one of the planet gadgets labeled "CHANGE PLANETARY DOCKING TO:", which will immediately change the planetary dock; this may occur many times during one turn. There is another docking string gadget labeled "OR ENTER A PLANET NAME:" which accepts entry of any valid planet name known to you; if the entered planet is in the same star system as the ship the ship will be immediately re-docked; otherwise the ship will be ordered to proceed to the star system of the entered planet, upon arrival the ship automatically docks at the chosen docking planet. The "previous" and "next" string gadgets control the starship's placement on your ordered list of ships. Acceptable entries here will activate their respective gadgets below. The task force string gadget allows creation of a task force if none by that name exits, and causes the vessel to join the named task force if it is in the same star system. You may edit this ship's name, and have a note of up to 200 characters. The view ship string gadget accepts the name of any of your ships and immediately displays the named ship if you press carriage return while the gadget is selected, otherwise it will be displayed after closing this ship display widow. The last two lines on the window deal with the ship's orders. The extreme leftmost lower gadget is a cycle gadget which allows you to move through the available orders. Just above the current order is the throttle gadget. A vessel's speed, range and fuel consumption are affected by it's throttle setting, a throttle setting of 1.0 is the fastest, uses the most fuel, and yields the most limited range. A very small entry (like 0.001) will cause a vessel to move very slowly, use little fuel, and have it's most range. You may change a ship's throttle value at any time without affecting it's orders (though you might change the turn on which the vessel will arrive.) Section # 45 Load/Unload Cargo The movement of cargo between ships and planets is accomplished with the load/unload cargo window. The window has four menus, three are the commonly shared "PROJECT", "OTHER DISPLAYS", and "ACTIONS". The other is labeled "SELECT CARGO TO VIEW" and has sixteen items: "TITANIUM", "KRYPTON", "URANIUM", "SILVER", "NITROGEN", "VANADIUM", "HYDROGEN", "ARGON", "GOLD", "IRON", "OIL", "JEWELS", "WOOD", "FOOD", "COLONISTS", and "MONEY". This menu supports multiple selection.The planet at which the ship is docked may be changed, do so by selecting one of the planet gadgets labeled "CHANGE PLANETARY DOCKING TO:", which will immediately change the planetary dock. There is another docking string gadget labeled "OR ENTER A PLANET NAME:" which accepts entry of any valid planet name known to you; the ship will be immediately re-docked if the entered planet is in the same star system as the ship; otherwise the ship will be ordered to proceed to the star system of the entered planet. You may select as many cargo items for display as will fit on the window before ending a single menu session; de-selection may be mixed freely with selection; all sixteen cargo items will not fit in the window at once. The availability of colonists as cargo is regulated by the number of employees who have not worked this turn. Additionally, a set of three gadgets will appear for each selection. These two arrow and one integer gadget control the movement of cargo to and from the ship. At the very bottom of the window are two gadgets: a cycle gadget and the order gadget; use the cycle gadget to display either load or unload as you choose, then highlight the gadget (the gadget is un-highlighted if it asks a question and highlighted if the order ends in `!) to affirm the order--it will be executed when you close the window. In entering an amount of cargo to load (unload) you may use either it's respective arrow gadgets (the up arrow raises the integer gadget contents, the down arrow lowers it), it's integer gadget, or both, to achieve the proper value in the integer gadget. Any entry exceeding the available cargo will be reduced to that available amount. If you select a cargo type, then enter an amount in it's gadget, then de-select that cargo type the gadget will disappear, but the amount entered will be remembered. If (and only if) you have a cargo type selected when you close the window, any de-selected cargo types with non-zero entries will be included in your load/unload order--if no cargo type is selected and displayed no cargo movement will occur. Section # 46 Shipclass Display The shipclass display window allows you to examine your shipclasses and shows the number of existing members of the class in the title. The window has three commonly shared menus "PROJECT", "OTHER DISPLAYS", and "ACTIONS" (see sections "Project Menu", "Other Displays Menu", and "Actions Menu"), and a "MODIFY" menu with a single item "Pick ship to copy" (keyboard shortcut + p.) Picking a ship to copy will fill all shipclass variables with the respective values from the ship. A string gadget labeled "SHIPCLASS NAME:" allows editing of the name, a string gadget for a note is just below it. Seven integer gadgets follow labeled with the various accessories pertaining to shipclasses. You may modify any of these gadgets--any new ships designed upon this class or refurbished to this class specification will use the values shown in these gadgets. At the very bottom is a gadget labeled "DELETE THIS SHIPCLASS" it's selection will do just that, closing the window as well. Deleting an unneeded class will save a little memory. Section # 47 Drone Construction The only way to leave this window is by using the "close window gadget" in the top lefthand corner--this manufactures your requested drone(s) (or no manufacturing if the manufacture number is left at 0.) The drone design window has two menus: "AVAILABILITY TYPE" and "DRONECLASS". The availability menu has sixteen mutually exclusive items: "Titanium" (keyboard shortcut + t), "Krypton" (keyboard shortcut + k), "Uranium" (keyboard shortcut + u), "Silver" (keyboard shortcut + s), "Nitrogen" (keyboard shortcut + n), "Vanadium" (keyboard shortcut + v), "Hydrogen" (keyboard shortcut + h), "Argon" (keyboard shortcut + a), "Gold" (keyboard shortcut + g), "Iron" (keyboard shortcut + i), "Oil" (keyboard shortcut + o), "Jewels" (keyboard shortcut + j), "Wood" (keyboard shortcut + w), "Food" (keyboard shortcut + f), "Employees" (keyboard shortcut + e), and "Money" (keyboard shortcut + m) which are used in conjunction with the last three lines of text at the bottom of the window. The droneclass menu has three items: " Become a droneclass", "Load a droneclass", and "Pick drone to define a droneclass". When you check the first item, the drone you design (whether you manufacture any or not) becomes a droneclass. The next item allows you to pick a design to use as a template for this manufacturing session--you may alter the specific accessories to suit your needs. The third item allows you to choose a specific drone to use as a template for this manufacturing session. Near the top of the window is a string gadget labeled "DRONE NAME (or CLASS stub):", you may enter a name for your drone here, if you are creating a class this will be a prefix or stub to which the computer will add the serial number of the drone. A drone inherits it's tech level from the planet at which it is created. Weight is automatically adjusted upward (as needed--by the computer) to accommodate the other accessories which you request and is calculated based upon the vessel weight factors entered in your handicap data. You may increase the weight of a vessel beyond that needed to handle the current accessories. If you press the carriage return key while any integer gadget is selected your resource change will be calculated and the display will be redrawn reflecting that change. Power is analogous to the number of engines a vessel has--the more power the farther and faster a vessel goes. All vessels consume fuel all the time. Lasers, and shields are combat specific, their weight and effectiveness is regulated by your handicap data. The third line shows the potential range (in the same units as the galaxy display--one pixel = one unit), speed (units/turn), and fuel per turn (FPT) when the ship is moving (using the throttle setting in the throttle gadget.) Below the accessory gadgets are four string gadgets. Two, labeled "PREVIOUS DRONE:" and "NEXT DRONE:", give you control over the initial placement of this drone (or series of drones) on your list of drones. If you enter the name of one of your existing drone in the "previous" gadget, the new drone(s) will be added to your drone list immediately following the old drone; likewise, if you enter the name of an old drone in the "next" gadget, the new drone(s) will be added to your drone list immediately before the old drone. The gadget labeled "TASK FORCE:" can be used in two ways. If you enter the name of a task force already existing in the star system in which drone construction is occurring, the new drone(s) will be automatically joined to that task force. If the entered name is not in use, a task force will be created with that name and the new drone(s) will be joined to that task force; otherwise you will be notified that the entered name is already in use. A string gadget is available for attaching a note. Below the note gadget is an integer gadget labeled "MANUFACTURE". You must enter a number (1 - 65535) in this gadget if you wish to manufacture any drones. If you are only designing a droneclass, this number may be zero; if you manufacture more than one drone, a droneclass will automatically be created Section # 48 Refurbish Drone The window for refurbishing (repairing) drones is almost identical to the drone construction window (see just previous text.) The menus are identical and are used in exactly the same manner. Two new integer gadgets replace the fixed display of tech level and hits. Tech level may be increased only up to the tech level of the planet at which the vessel is being refurbished. Section # 50 Drone Display The drone display window allows you to inspect a drone, give it orders and notes, and adjust the drone list. The window has three commonly shared menus "PROJECT", "OTHER DISPLAYS", and "ACTIONS". In the middle of the window is a group of six string gadgets labeled: "PREVIOUS DRONE:", "TASK FORCE:", "EDIT NAME:", "NEXT DRONE:", "PERSONAL NOTE FOR THIS DRONE:", and "VIEW SHIP:". Two other gadgets labeled "PREVIOUS DRONE" and "NEXT DRONE" may be ghosted if appropriate. The "previous" and "next" string gadgets control the drone's placement on your ordered list of drones. Acceptable entries here will activate their respective gadgets below. The task force string gadget allows creation of a task force if none by that name exits, and causes the vessel to join a task force located in the same star system. You may edit this drone's name, and have a note of up to 200 characters. The view drone string gadget accepts entry of the name of any of your drones and immediately displays that drone if you press carriage return while the gadget is selected, otherwise it will be displayed after closing this drone display widow. The last two lines on the window deal with the drone's orders--the top line shows the order, and the bottom line has gadgets to give new orders to the drone. The extreme leftmost lower gadget is a cycle gadget which allows you to move through the available orders. Just above the current order is the throttle gadget; it may be changed while a vessel is moving, but the change may be reflected in a changed arrival turn. A vessel's speed, range and fuel consumption are affected by it's throttle setting, a throttle setting of 1.0 is the fastest, uses the most fuel, and yields the most limited range. A very small entry (like 0.001) will cause a vessel to move very slowly, use little fuel, and have it's most range. You may change a drone's throttle value at any time without affecting it's orders (though you might change the turn on which the vessel will arrive.) Section # 51 Droneclass Display The droneclass display window allows you to examine your droneclasses and shows the number of existing members of the class in the title. The window has three commonly shared menus "PROJECT", "OTHER DISPLAYS", and "ACTIONS", and a "MODIFY" menu with a single item "Pick drone to copy" (keyboard shortcut + p.) Picking a drone to copy will fill all droneclass variables with the respective values from the drone. A string gadget labeled "DRONECLASS NAME:" allows editing of the name, a string gadget for a note is just below it. Five integer gadgets follow labeled with the various accessories pertaining to droneclasses. You may modify any of these gadgets--any new drones designed upon this class or refurbished to this class specification will use the values shown in these gadgets. At the very bottom is a gadget labeled "DELETE THIS DRONECLASS" it's selection will do just that, closing the window as well. Section # 52 Task Force Creation Task forces may be created in two fashions; you may use the actions menu item to create a task force to join, or you may enter a name which does not exist in the task force gadget of any ship or drone. Either action opens a window with no menus which allows you to define the task force. A string naming gadget is the top line while the second line contains a cycle gadget which cycles between a set of three deep space location integer gadgets and a string star gadget. "previous" and "next" string gadgets are available to control initial placement of this new task force on your ordered task force list. The centrally located "GATHER VESSELS" gadget (if it is selected when the window is closed) causes the task force display window for this task force to open immediately. At the bottom is a "CANCEL" gadget which will cancel creation of this task force. The task force will be created as specified when you close the window. Section # 53 Task Force Display The task force display window allows you to inspect your task forces, give them orders, and add or remove vessels from them; it's title shows the task force's location. The window has four menus, three are the commonly shared "PROJECT", "OTHER DISPLAYS", and "ACTIONS", the other is labeled "TASK FORCE CONTROLS" and has eleven items: "join all Local vessels with this task force" (keyboard shortcut + l), "Select local vessels to join this task force" (keyboard shortcut + s), "select ships to reMove from this task force" (keyboard shortcut + m), "select drones to Quit this task force" (keyboard shortcut + q), "separate this task force into single Vessels" (keyboard shortcut + v), "select local task forces to Break into single vessels" (keyboard shortcut + b), "disassemble all local task forces Into single vessels" (keyboard shortcut + i), "Organize all local task forces as this task force" (keyboard shortcut + o), "select local task forces to join this Particular task force" (keyboard shortcut + p), "Delete this unused task force" (keyboard shortcut + d), and "delete all Unused local task forces" (keyboard shortcut + u.) The menu item "join all Local vessels with this task force" causes all local starships and drones to join that task force. "Select local vessels to join this task force" opens a scrolling list view of vessels available to join this task force, you may select as many as you like. The "select ships to reMove from this task force" item produces a scrolling list view of starships attached to this task force--all selected will be removed from the task force. Using "select drones to Quit this task force" produces a scrolling list view of drones attached to this task force--all selected will be removed. Choosing "separate this task force into single Vessels" removes all vessels. "select local task forces to Break into single vessels" opens a scrolling list view of all local (in the same location) task forces as this task force--all chosen will be broken up into individual unattached vessels. The menu item "disassemble all local task forces Into single vessels" causes all local task forces to be broken up. Selecting "Organize all local task forces as this task force" combines the vessels of all local task forces to be joined with this task force--it has no effect on unattached vessels. Using "select local task forces to join this Particular task force" produces a scrolling list view of all other local task forces--those chosen will have all their vessels joined with this task force. When un-ghosted "Delete this unused task force" will cause the memory set aside for this task force to be released for system use--the task force must contain NO vessels. If "delete all Unused local task forces" is selected ALL local un-used task forces will have their memory released. Removing a task force allows that name to be reused. An "EDIT NAME:" gadget allowing name changes is at the top righthand corner of the window. In the middle of the window is a group of four string gadgets labeled: "PREVIOUS TF:", "VIEW TF:", "NEXT TF:", and "PERSONAL NOTE FOR THIS TASK FORCE:". Two other gadgets labeled "PREVIOUS TASK FORCE" and "NEXT TASK FORCE" may be ghosted if appropriate. The "previous" and "next" string gadgets control the task force's placement on your ordered list of task forces. Acceptable entries here will activate their respective gadgets below. The view task force string gadget accepts entry of the name of any of your task forces and immediately displays that task force if you press carriage return while the gadget is selected, otherwise it will be displayed after closing this task force display widow. You may have a note of up to 200 characters. The last two lines on the window deal with the task force's orders--the top line shows the order, and the bottom line has gadgets to give new orders to the task force. The extreme leftmost lower gadget is a cycle gadget which allows you to move through the available orders. Just above these order lines is an integer gadget labeled "THROTTLE:", it must contain a number between zero and one, inclusive. A task force's speed, and range are affected by it's throttle setting, a throttle setting of 1.0 is the fastest, uses the most fuel, and yields the most limited range.A very small entry (like 0.001) will cause a task force to move very slowly and have the most range. In effect, when you adjust a task force's throttle setting, you are adjusting the throttle of the slowest vessel in the task force. If you give a task force orders to move somewhere, the throttle for each vessel in the task force is set so that all vessels move at the same relative speed. Section # 56 File Requester The file requester window has one menu--"adjust Color", may be sized and dragged, and has a custom zoom gadget in the righthand corner of the title bar. Selection of the zoom gadget toggles the window between very small and it's size just before zooming. The file requester has three jobs--saving, loading and finding; if you select the "CANCEL" or close window gadget the window will close and no action will occur. During LOAD or FIND operations, if you enter a non-valid file name then select the "LOAD" or "FIND" gadget, you will be warned and no action will occur. When attempting a SAVE operation the file name entered (possibly with a full path) will be tested when you select the "SAVE" gadget--if a file of that name already exists a verification requester will ask if you wish to overwrite the old file with the new data, otherwise the file will be saved (unless a disk error occurs.) The file requester contains one gadget which changes it's label depending upon the use for which the file name is intended--that gadget is located in the lower lefthand corner of the window and may be labeled "SAVE", "LOAD", or "FIND". When the gadget is labeled "SAVE" your supplied file name will be used to store the game in progress; when it is labeled "LOAD" your supplied file name will be used to restore a previously saved game; when it is labeled "FIND" your supplied file name will be entered in the string gadget from which the requester was opened. Two arrow gadgets and a slider gadget occupy the righthand border of the window--if there are more file names available than those shown, these are used to scroll through the complete list; the size and placement of the slider knob are directly proportional to the number of files available, and the current place in the file list. If all files are displayed the slider knob will occupy the entire height of it's gadget; if the display is at one end of the file list or the other selecting that arrow gadget will flash the screen. The rest of the gadgets on the window allow you to directly control which files are displayed. The gadget in the top lefthand corner is labeled "PARENT"--a directory's parent directory is the disk if the directory is not a sub-directory, or the directory of which it is a sub-directory. The "PARENT" gadget will cause files in the parent directory or disk to be listed in place of those currently shown. Just to the right of the "PARENT" gadget is a string gadget which displays the full path name of the current directory's parent--you may have a very long string here, scroll through it as needed. If you edit this name or enter a new name, then press carriage return, the requester will display files in the newly entered directory. The second line on the window has a string gadget labeled "current directory = " which displays the name of the current directory--if you edit this name or enter a new name, then press carriage return, the requester will display the files of the newly entered directory (you may enter a directory name with a full path--including volume but no file name.) The third line of the file requester has three gadgets pertaining to sub-directories. The first, labeled "SUB-DIRECTORIES" is either on or off (if off the text on the fourth line will be "files ONLY:" or "Directory is empty!", if on it might be "files and sub-directories:", "sub-directories ONLY:", or "Directory is empty!"); it controls whether the display will include entries for sub-directories of the current directory. The second gadget on the third line is a cycle gadget; it's selection changes the display of the third gadget on this line. The third gadget is labeled with the name of a sub-directory of the current directory, it's selection will result in the labeled sub-directory becoming the current directory with it's files shown. The second and third gadget will be ghosted if no sub-directories are in the current directory. The state of the "SUB-DIRECTORIES" gadget is remembered for each player so the file requester always opens in the same state within which it last closed for the player. The fourth line has only one gadget labeled "FILES" which is either on or off (if off the text on the fourth line will be "sub-directories ONLY:" or "Directory is empty!", if on it might be "files and sub-directories:", "files ONLY:", or "Directory is empty!"); it controls whether the display will include entries of files in the current directory. Next to the gadget is a text display which describes what is being shown. The "SUB-DIRECTORIES" and "FILES" gadgets are used to make file selection and sub-directory navigation easier in directories with many entries. If both gadgets are off, or there are no entries in a directory, the text will always read "Directory is empty!". Below the "FILES" gadget are up to nine file name gadgets (depending upon the file requester window's height), each gadget contains the name of a file (truncated to fit the width of the window--truncation is shown by three periods following the file name.) If you size the window too small to display even a single file, the "FILES" and "Current File = " gadgets will occupy the same line, and there will be some intentional overwriting of the text which describes what is being shown. Selecting a file name gadget causes that gadget to be highlighted, and the non-truncated file name to appear in the string gadget labeled "Current File = " located just below the last file name gadget (this may be a string to long to display--scroll through it as needed.) You may always type an entry into the "Current File = " gadget, even though the file name is not visible on one of the nine file name gadgets. Below the "Current File = " gadget is a line containing two sets of three gadgets; the first set deals with devices, the second with assignments. The gadget labeled "DEVICES" is selectable and will change the file list to show all devices and volumes. Just right of the "DEVICES" gadget is a cycle gadget; it's selection changes the display of the third gadget on this line. The label of this third gadget changes and the selection of this gadget causes the labeled device or volume to become the current directory, updating the displayed list. To the right of this first set of three gadgets are an additional set of three gadgets the first of which is labeled "ASSIGNS". The "ASSIGNS" gadget is selectable and will change the file list to show all directory which have had an assignment made to them. Just to the right of the "ASSIGNS" gadget is a cycle gadget; it's selection changes the display of the last gadget on this line. The label of this last gadget changes and the selection of this gadget causes the labeled assigned directory to become the current directory, updating the displayed list. Below the "DEVICE" gadget are two sets of two gadgets dealing with inclusion and exclusion. The first gadget, "INCLUDE", may be on or off. When turned on, the string gadget just to it's right is considered when displaying file names. That gadget contains a pattern which will act as a standard AmigaDos® file name filter, if the file matches the pattern supplied in the gadget the file WILL be displayed. The third gadget, "EXCLUDE", may be on or off. When turned on, the string gadget just to it's right is considered when displaying file names. That gadget contains a pattern which will act as a standard AmigaDos® file name filter, if the file matches the pattern supplied in the gadget the file WILL NOT be displayed. These two sets of gadgets will help reduce the task of finding the files you want. If both are on, and a file matches both patterns, it will be included. Typing a pattern in either string gadget then pressing return (a carriage return) will activate the selection gadget and redraw the display. Centered at the very bottom of the window are two gadgets labeled "Sort method:"; the first is a cycle gadget and it's selection changes the display of the next gadget among these possibilities: "DATE", "ALPHA", "NUMERIC", and "SIZE". Selecting this next gadget will cause the file list to be shuffled and redisplayed using the method requested. "DATE" will cause the oldest file to be listed first, the newest last; "ALPHA" will alphabetize all file names--those beginning with numbers will be after all those starting with letters; "NUMERIC" will alphabetize all file names--those beginning with numbers will come before all those starting with letters; "SIZE" will arrange the files in ascending order smallest first, largest last. At the righthand lower corner is a gadget labeled "CANCEL"; it's selection (or that of the close window gadget) will result in the failure of the file requester to return a file name. At the lefthand lower corner is a gadget which will have one of these three labels: "SAVE", "LOAD", or "FIND" depending upon the use to which the file requester is being put. Selecting this gadget will result in the closure of the file requester window, and the use of the supplied file name to fulfill the required action. If "SAVE" is chosen, and a file exists with the same name as that supplied, the verification requester will ask if you wish to overwrite the file--if you say no the file requester will not close allowing you to enter a new file name. If "LOAD" or "FIND" is chosen, and there is no file corresponding to the file name supplied, an error message will be displayed. Each player has their own separate color palette for the file requester. To set the colors the way you want them, go to a directory with more than one file, turn the "SUB-DIRECTORIES" gadget off, and select any name file gadget; now, use the menu to open the color palette tool. You will be able to adjust the colors for gadgets which are on (register 5) or off (register 4) and the background color for file name gadgets which are selected (register 9) or unselected (register 7.) Other colors may also be changed to suit you. Section # 62 Scrolling List View The scrolling list view window presents the contents of a list from which you may select no items, one item only, or any number of items. The window title will identify the list; there will be a one line instruction letting you know how many items may be selected, and the use to which the selection(s) will be put. This window is draggable, has no menus and closing the window allows your selection to be used. If the list is smaller than 19 items, the window will be just tall enough to display the number of items on the list, otherwise the window will open full height and contain two arrow gadgets and a slider gadget. The arrows will scroll the item names up and down, the slider will allow bigger changes in the list display. The size and location of the slider knob are directly proportional to the number of items and displayed location on the list. Section # 65 Insertion Requester The list insertion requester describes the possible outcomes of your request for a complex change to an object's position on it's list. First a sample list, and a list depicting double linkage are graphed. Next comes a statement which describes your request using simple numbers as the names of the objects involved. Below that is a graph of the new linkage, and graph of a segment which is remove from the list (the outcome of your complex instruction.) At the bottom are two gadgets labeled "SELECT A SEGMENT INSERTION METHOD:" the leftmost gadget is a cycle gadget which changes the display of the other gadget. Each time you select the cycle gadget another possibility for inserting the segment is presented graphically below the gadgets. If you select an unselected display gadget, that insertion method becomes selected. Only one display will be selected, and the segment will be inserted according to the selected method when the window is closed. There are eight different possible displays of segment insertion available: "IGNORE BOTH", "IGNORE PREVIOUS", "IGNORE NEXT", "INSERT SEGMENT AT LIST'S HEAD", "INSERT SEGMENT AT LIST'S TAIL", "INSERT SEGMENT BEFORE:" (with a string gadget added to accept the name of a valid object), and "INSERT SEGMENT AFTER:" (with a string gadget.) Section # 67 Targeting Window The targeting window is available only during the offensive combat phase. On planets only those offensive and defensive industries which have had adequate resources for their maintenance during the growth phase will be available during the following combat phases. The display also gives information about the targeted unit, this text will be printed in the color you select representing your diplomatic attitude toward the object's owner. If you commit weapons against an object owned by someone with whom you have not specified hostile relations a verification requester will appear confirming this treacherous act! If you attack someone with whom you are not hostile, your diplomatic status will become hostile toward them and they will have a chance to re-think their combat decisions even though they may have ended their attack phase before you. Closing the window or moving forward or backward on the target list causes any entry in the commit weapons gadget(s) to be used to determine your unit's attack against the displayed unit. An object's targeted attacks will only be carried out if the object's combat order is "ENGAGE". Lasers may be fired once each combat phase, and automatically recharge before the next combat phase. Bombs and missiles are expended when fired and must be replaced at one of your colonies. Section # 68 Combat Orders Combat orders are "ENGAGE", "WITHDRAW", and "HIDE"; they are only available during the offensive phase of combat and no movement orders are available during combat. During your offensive turn you may examine any of your objects; using the "ACTIONS" menu's sub-items "create new target list" and "lock Killer weapons on target" (under the "TARGETING" item) you control exactly which weapons to deploy against which targets. Any time before ending your offensive combat turn you may give combat orders to any or all of your space-based combatants; these orders will be used in determining the outcome of any battles. By default, all combatants will have the "ENGAGE" order unless you change that order. Planets may not withdraw or hide, and automatically may engage all targeted enemies within range. If a unit is ordered to "ENGAGE" and you have given it no targets, the unit will stay around--a sitting duck with no offensive say in the battle. If your opponent has targeted that unit, it will receive incoming fire, depending upon it's shields and luck to survive the battle, but firing no weapons against the foe. If a unit is ordered to "ENGAGE" and has targets, the unit will stick around, firing those weapons which you specified in the targeting session. It will receive any incoming fire, counting on shields and luck to survive. If the unit does not have orders to "ENGAGE", and has targeted weapons, they will not fire. The order "WITHDRAW" causes a unit to move out of range of it's attacker, if possible, before hostilities commence. This maneuver is governed by chance, and if effective protects the unit from harm, otherwise the incoming weapons fire will be reduced to half it's normal strength. The outcome of each unit-to-unit conflict is tested separately for the success of withdrawal. Successful hiding is also governed by chance, if your unit does hide you will be spared harm--if not you will receive the full force of incoming fire protected only by shields and luck. Hiding is good against all foes--once you are hidden no attacker will fire on you during this combat phase. Unfortunately, your unit may not get hidden until part way through the battle--as each foe shoots at your unit it will try to hide, if it hides successfully, no shots from this or any subsequent foes will hit it. Section # 70 Resource Shortage Warning During the build phase, this window's text describes the resource which caused your last command to fail. You may have had a partial success. During the growth phase, this describes the first (and only the first) resource which caused the inability of the stated industry to be fully productive. ThesE messages will be posted to your message file, if you have one. Section # 71 Find Text Editor This window has eight lines of instructions followed by two string gadgets labeled "Text editor name:", and "Parameter string:". Enter the file name (with full path) of your preferred text file display program in the lefthand gadget. You must enter the correct instructions for your editor in the righthand gadget. Two special characters are available for use in this gadget. © ( + e), when placed in the gadget string, will be expanded as soidata:help.txt in your editor instructions. ¶ ( + p), when placed in the gadget string, will be expanded as the line number of the file at which the context sensitive help begins for the help requested. Section # 72 Find Palette Tool This window requests that you enter the name of your favorite screen palette adjusting tool, you must include the full name and path of the tool. One palette tool provided with your operating system works great. Look in either your sys:tools drawer or Extras:tools drawer for a file called Colors or Palette. Section # 73 Unified Reports Requesting a Unified report for an object type will cause the generation of an ASCII text file listing specified information about all those objects of that type which are on your object list. If you choose to create a new file and a file of that name already exists, the old file will be LOST WITHOUT WARNING. This is the intended use of this file, and you will be prompted once at the beginning if you try to create your first report using the name of an existing file. The "ALL REPORTS" gadget is either on or off, and always starts out off. If you select either the "CREATE NEW FILE" or "ADD DATA AT END OF OLD FILE" gadgets, the report for the object you requested will be generated and stored under the file name listed in the upper string gadget. If the "ALL REPORTS" gadget was turned on (selected) at the time you selected either file gadget, reports for all seven object types will be made at once. After the directions are two string gadgets, one labeled "FIELD DELIMITER:" on the left and the other labeled "MAXIMUM LINE LENGTH" on the right. The maximum line value if set to zero, will cause all fields to be "packed", they will not have any trailing spaces normally used to fill any extra field width for formatted output. This is especially designed for use with spreadsheets and databases. If a positive number is present (default is 80) the data line will be broken at exactly the character position corresponding to the "MAXIMUM LINE LENGTH" entry (if it is not a space the character will be lost.) This will help those with smaller width displays. The field delimiter is a string of up to five printable characters which you wish placed between data items on your report. Pressing a carriage return while this gadget is selected will cause the example to be redrawn using your supplied delimiter string. No delimiter string will be added to the final item on a line. The following cycle gadget allows you a choice of three possible line terminators: no line terminator (one long stream of data suitable for spreadsheets or databases--use a single comma with no spaces), one carriage return (causing a line feed--char '0A' between objects), and two carriage returns (giving a blank line between objects.) The gadget labeled "MODIFY FIELDS REPORTED" will open a window allowing you to customize your report. Section # 74 Modifying Record Fields This will open a window with one menu with seven items: "CHANGE STAR FIELDS" (keyboard shortcut + *), "CHANGE PLANET FIELDS" (keyboard shortcut + p), "CHANGE TASK FORCE FIELDS" (keyboard shortcut + t), "CHANGE SHIP FIELDS" (keyboard shortcut + s), "CHANGE DRONE FIELDS" (keyboard shortcut + d), "CHANGE SHIPCLASS FIELDS" (keyboard shortcut + b), and "CHANGE DRONECLASS FIELDS" (keyboard shortcut + m), gadgets will be created in pairs based upon the selected object type, each pair will consist of an on/off gadget and a string gadget large enough to hold the biggest possible field for each object type's variables. If you are interested in a field's data, turn the gadget on (selected) and the field will be reported. To the right of each on/off gadget is an integer gadget which allows you to specify how many characters to print (exactly--left justified) for the given field. On the top line is a centered label describing which object type is being displayed, to the left is a simulated gadget showing an ON gadget labeled "PRINT FIELD" to the right is a simulated gadget labeled "DO NOT PRINT FIELD". To edit the fields, choose the appropriate menu item or keyboard shortcut for the object type you wish to change. For instance, at the star display the third item down on the left is "CLASS"; if you want the star's class mentioned in your report, make sure that item is ON, if you wish to devote fifteen characters to this text put a 15 in it's accompanying integer gadget. Make sure that you have an editor, database, or spreadsheet capable of dealing with the longest line you create. Section # 75 Find Unified Report Destination This window requests that you enter the name of your unified report destination, you must include the full name and path. As usual, the gadget which needs a file name will open up the file requester in FIND mode if you click outside the gadget then select the gadget while holding down either key. Section # 76 Get Distance Between Locations This window is draggable, has no menus, and has two lines of three gadgets; each line consists of a cycle gadget, a string gadget, then another cycle gadget. On each line of gadgets, the leftmost cycle gadget controls which list of items will be available in it's respective string gadget, will give you the option of entering raw coordinate locations, or will give you the option of getting an entry off the map (if opened on the map window.) Both gadget lines are identical, and either may be set to any list, both may be set to the same list. The rightmost cycle gadgets will run through the selected list for that line. The bottom line displays the distance between the displayed objects or locations. For reference, each object's location is displayed next to it's string gadget. These string gadgets may be selected while pressing either key which invokes the select name from list requester as usual. Section # 77 Cargo Warning If you attempt to load more cargo than the ship can carry, the ship's weight will automatically be increased to accommodate the cargo being loaded. This will result in a reduction of resources on the planet at which you are docked (from which you are loading cargo.) If insufficient resources exist for the weight to be increased enough to load all the cargo, a warning will appear. You will be offered the choice of three methods of resolving the problem: cancel, retry, or cut. If you choose cancel no cargo will be loaded and no weight will be added to your ship. If you choose retry you will be returned to the load cargo window to modify the load as you see fit. If you choose cut, you must insert a number in the integer gadget. This amount will be deducted from all resources being loaded (up to the amount you have chosen) and the weight calculations will be re-computed. If all is well, the cargo will be loaded and the ship's weight will increase as needed, otherwise you will be forced to cut, cancel or retry again. Section # 78 Computer Artificial Intelligence Library If there will be any computer players, a window will open asking that you supply the name and full path of an artificial intelligence library for each computer player. The computer players do not need to use the same library, but they may. soidata:soicompai.library is currently the only available option, and is the default entry--simply close the window to use this library. Registered users will have additional libraries made available to them as they are created.